Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 25th March

In this Bulletin…

- Shipping containers as homes in China;
- Samsung chief returns after conviction; and
- European Union tells Iran to quit satellite jamming.

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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As housing prices skyrocket, the use of cargo shipping containers for homes is becoming more common in Southern China. Even middle-class families are finding it hard to afford housing, reports The Epoch Times.

The cargo containers adapted for use as homes, have oven-like temperatures, are a storm hazard and house hordes of mosquitoes. That doesn’t deter marketers in Shenzhen city who sell and rent out the container houses.

One real-estate specialist said the interest in cargo container housing is the best indication of China’s high price of housing.

Container house developers are now able to successfully compete in the housing market.

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The controversy surrounding the use of unsafe vaccines in China’s Shanxi Province has escalated after two Chinese newspapers published contradictory reports on the effects of the vaccines on children.

Three years ago, vaccines exposed to high temperatures were distributed. Many children who were given the vaccine have died or become handicapped.

One media agency reported the findings of an investigation that found proof of foul play in the use and marketing of the vaccines in Shanxi.

However, regime-run Xinhua News reported their own report which vehemently denied the allegations.

Some outspoken parents on the issue had received threatening messages.

For more on this story, visit The Epoch Times.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Former Samsung Electronics chief Mr. Lee Kun-hee who was convicted of tax evasion, has returned to head the company. He was given a presidential pardon.

He had headed Samsung for two decades before stepping down in April 2008. Three months later he was handed a three-year suspended sentence.

Business analysts say Lee’s return is good news for the company. His return removes what was considered an uncertain future for Samsung Group.

Lee’s father founded Samsung, and was one of South Korea’s most prominent businessmen.

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A human rights group is accusing Malaysian employers and police of abusing migrant workers. Their report is the first to document how widespread the abuses are.

Amnesty International says migrant workers are often forced into labour. Often times they are put in exploitative and abusive situations by employers.

About one in five workers in Malaysia is a migrant. And every year, thousands of people from Bangladesh and the Indonesian region are lured there with promises of high salaries.

Migrant workers face losing their legal status if they leave their jobs; given fines and imprisonment if they do so.

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

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Hundreds of women rallied outside Yemen’s parliament in support of a law that would ban child marriages. Just days after thousands had protested against it.

The law if passed would set the minimum age for girls to be married at 17-years of age and 18-years of age for boys.

The government proposed the law after the marriage of an eight-year-old girl to a 30-year-old man was annulled. However, some conservative Muslims are against the law being passed.

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The European Union is planning to put pressure on Iran to stop jamming satellite broadcasts of international channels. It is not yet clear which actions the EU will take.

Iran has been blocking news channel broadcasts from a French satellite. It was pre-empted by widespread anti-government protests there.

The Union’s foreign ministers said they would take action to end what they labelled, an unacceptable situation. They called for an immediate end to the deliberate satellite jamming and internet censorship in Iran.

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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”