Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 25th March

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese arms manufacturer at full production docks workers’ pay;
- International Whaling Commission releases draft regulation proposals; and
- New Zealand air force helicopter crashes on way to memorial service.

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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A former employee of one of China’s top defense companies told The Epoch Times newspaper he is scared by news the company is producing arms at maximum capacity.

Xu Beifang said he was suspicious about China’s motives for continuing to increase arms production during a time of peace.

Xu stated his concerns while commenting on the company’s deducting of workers’ salaries while having them work overtime everyday.

Check out The Epoch Times website to find out what happened when workers demanded their withheld salaries back.

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Two human rights lawyers in China are waiting to to hear if they’ll be banned from practising law for life because they defended a Falun Gong practitioner in Court.

Tang Jitian and Liu Wei have been accused of disrupting courtroom order and interfering with the regular litigation process.

In a statement published by rights group Human Rights in China, they said the presiding judge repeatedly interrupted their defense statements, restricted their examination of the prosecutor’s evidence, and allowed an unidentified man to film the court proceedings, something illegal under Chinese law.

Watch NTDTV to hear what Tang and Liu had to say about the charges.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency has said last month’s sinking of a naval ship near the disputed sea border with North Korea was not caused by a direct hit.

The tentative conclusion investigators looking into the sinking of the 1,200 ton patrol ship Cheonan, was that it was caused by an explosion at close range.

The Cheonan sank on March 26 with the loss of 40 lives. Fifty eight crew members were rescued before the ship sank. Six sailors are still missing.

On Saturday the bow section of the ship was raised, the stern having been raised earlier this month.

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Taiwan’s largest shipbuilder is preparing to deliver three new container ships to a German shipping company on Monday.

Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC said the unusually large delivery indicated that the shipping industry was recovering.

Two of the ships can carry over six-and-a-half thousand 20-foot containers each. The third is smaller, carrying only just over 4,000 20-foot containers.

The sips were ordered in 2006 , before the global financial crisis struck. The orders were never withdrawn, but delivery was put on hold for several months.

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

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Some conservation groups have reacted angrily to draft proposals put forwards by the International Whaling Commission for the regulation of whaling over the next 10 years.

Whaling commercially was came under a worldwide ban in 1982. But Iceland, Norway and Japan continue to hunt whales under various exemptions.

The whaling commission says if the proposals are agreed on, the lives of several thousand whales could be saved.

Some conservation groups want a total ban on whaling and say the proposals don’t go far enough. Others feel that the proposed reduction in quotas and international monitoring are a reasonable compromise.

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A helicopter from the Royal New Zealand air force crashed Sunday killing three. The helicopter was heading to a memorial service when it came down near the capital Wellington.

The defense ministry said the helicopter was on its way to an Anzac Day service when it went down.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in both Australia and New Zealand. It honours soldiers from the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

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