Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 16th March

In this Bulletin…

- Beijing’s political conferences branded as waste of money;
- Chinese interference with Indonesian media investigated; and
- Pacific battered by cyclones.

But first we have our Shen Yun quote of the day

[audio]

For more information please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

Our SOH focus on China is next

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An award winning Chinese journalist has branded Chinas two most important annual political sessions as frivolous and a waste of money.

The National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference are currently under way in Beijing. Journalist Gao Yu has said they won’t solve any of China’s problems.

According to Gao, ever since the 1989 democracy protests that ended in the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre, dissidents has been banned from the two conferences. She said this turned the so-called democratic conferences into mere show pieces.

Listen to our Inside China Today podcast to hear Gao’s thoughts on China’s economy, real estate bubble and the toxic milk powder scandal.

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The Chinese regime has been accused of reaping the profits in China’s overpriced property market

Many attending the regime’s annual sessions in Beijing said local authorities were responsible for China’s sky-rocketing real estate prices.

Experts have also said money from Beijing’s economic stimulus package had been used to enable state-run industries to speculate on the real estate market.

But nobody wants to burst the bubble. Beijing doesn’t want GDP to fall, which it would if real estate prices dropped. China’s banks would be left with a massive toxic debt. And as one critic put it, property speculation has become a means for the rich and influential in China to accumulate wealth.

You can find out how this situation has arisen on the Epoch Times website.

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And now we bring you the second part of our update on the why the Chinese regime is pressuring Indonesia to shut down our media partner there, Radio Erabaru.

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SOH provides Radio Erabaru with the Mandarin programmes it broadcasts. So the news the station airs in Indonesia reveals the truth about what’s happening under the regime in China.

Radio Erabaru said its difficulties started after the Chinese Embassy spoke to Indonesia’s government in 2007. The station was denied a broadcast license without being told why. And now it’s being threatened with closure over alleged technical irregularities. Including not having a valid license.

But Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission recently said the station hadn’t broken any rules. The Commission is seeking an explanation from the government and the Chinese Embassy. Indonesian media, such as the Jakarta Post, have also been investigating the story.

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In Taiwan on Sunday, hundreds of Tibetans and their supporters commemorated the second anniversary of the Lhasa Uprising in 2008.

Tibet supporters gathered in Taipei’s city centre before marching down through the streets.

The Taiwan Friends of Tibet arranged the rally to demand an end to what they say is the persecution of Tibetans by the Chinese regime.

On March 14, 2008, Buddhist monks held protests in Lhasa that gave way to heated violence. At least 19 people died in the violence, which sparked waves of protests across Tibetan areas.

You can see some of what took place in Taipei on Sunday on the NTDTV website.

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“You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network”

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Two Thai soldiers were wounded Monday in a grenade attack on a military base in Thailand.

Four M-79 grenades were fired at the army barracks on Bangkok’s northern outskirts where the Thai government has been housed. The attack came as crowds of red-shirted protesters left their picket in front of the barracks to press their demand for snap elections.

Monday’s incident was the first reported violence in Bangkok since the supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra gathered in the capital demanding that current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva call snap polls. Calls that Abhisit has so far rejected.

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A state of emergency has been declared in parts of Fiji battered