Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 20th March

In this Bulletin…

- Google to reportedly pull out of China;
- Appeal over Nina Wang’s fortune; and
- Hollywood and Bollywood unite over piracy.

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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Next month Google will reportedly pull out of China and shut down all of its services there.

Earlier this year Google said it would no longer censor its Chinese search engine. The decision came after Chinese hackers penetrated Gmail looking for details on activists.

The US internet giant has not been favoured by the Chinese authorities since this decision.

The authorities have requested Google to censor its service in order to operate in their country.

Google will now shut down its Google.cn services on April 10, according to Chinese media reports.

Google is yet to confirm its plans.

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A request from the Federal Government to give Australian officials access to the entire court proceedings during the trial of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu has been refused by China.

In Shanghai next Monday Mr Hu and three Chinese colleagues will go on trial over allegations of receiving bribes and convincing Chinese steel company executives to leak commercially sensitive information.

Consular staff and other observers will not be able to attend the part of the trial dealing with commercial secrets.

The request for the Federal Government to monitor the entire case was also declined.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In related news, Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining company, says it has signed a deal with China to develop a massive iron ore mine in West Africa.

Chinalco, China’s state-backed metals group will pay 1.3billion for 47 per cent of the Simandou project in Guinea.

The tie-up comes in the midst of tensions between China and Australia.

Next week four Rio employees will stand trial on bribery and commercial spying charges. The request for the trial to be fully open to diplomats was rejected by China.

The four accused were arrested last June and go on trial in Shanghai on Monday.

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Tony Chan, the Hong Kong feng shui master, is appealing after his claim was rejected to the multi-billion dollar estate of the late tycoon Nina Wang.

In February the High Court ruled that the will Mr Chan had put forward was forged. They awarded her fortune to the Chinachem Charitable Foundation, run by Ms Wang’s family.

Nina Wang the owner of high-rise towers and companies around the world, died in 2007,

Nina Wang’s former lover, Tony Chan, claimed she had left her estimated 4.2billion estate to him, based on a will written in 2006.

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

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Thai anti-government protesters plan to uproar up the capital with a travelling rally.

They are trying to win support after an offer of talks with the prime minister was rejected.

Up to 30,000 red shirts are expected to arrive in Bangkok from the provinces on Saturday to join the convoy across the capital.

The movement seeks to restart its flagging campaign for snap elections.

The group has rallied in support of overthrown Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for six days now.

Protest leaders vowed to reject negotiations until the closure of parliament’s Lower House.

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US and Indian film-makers have formed a coalition to fight piracy in the South Asian nation – one of the world’s biggest film markets.

Leading Indian studios and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are joining the coalition.

They warned that the danger of copyright infringement now has the ability to make money from films.

Chairman Dan Glickman of the Motion Picture Association of America says pirated DVDs have entered the Indian market even before the official release.

Bollywood film-maker Yash Chopra says that the Indian film industry loses millions of dollars every year due to piracy.

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“Asia Cast … Keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the world.”