Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 29th April

In this Bulletin…

- Tibetan scholars arrested for earthquake statement;
- Blood-type discrimination in Japan; and
- Australia puts emissions trading scheme on hold.

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

**********************

The Chinese Communist Party has replaced their party secretary, Wang Lequan. He held the most powerful position in the western region since 1994.

No explanation has been given for demoting Wang, said NTDTV.

He was the target of massive public anger after his botched handling of riots and syringe stabbing attacks in the regional capital of Urumqi.

Wang gained unpopularity among Uighur constituents because of iron-fisted tactics. In September, Han Chinese protested his removal in a rare public challenge to the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang.

Zhang Chunxian will assume the influential position of Party Secretary for Xinjiang next month.

**********************

Chinese authorities arrested a Tibetan scholar shortly after he co-signed a statement expressing concern over Qinghai earthquake relief funds.

The group’s statement alluded to the suffering of the Tibetan people; enduring the earthquake on top of suppression, violence and brutality imposed by the Chinese communist regime.

They said donations should be delivered with trusted personnel. They alluded that corruption and embezzlement are everywhere.

The Epoch Times was told that the Tibetan is being charged with the crime of inciting subversion of the state.

**********************

And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

**********************

In Japan, authorities are dealing with the trend of people using blood type to determine ones personality, regarding work and life.

They have coined the term, Bura-hara, which roughly means, blood-group harassment.

Dating services connect singles with their preferred blood types, and even during job hunts, many employers insist on knowing applicants blood type.

Critic, Satoru Kikuchi, a Japanese professor, said it was like racism. Its idea is rooted in propaganda adopted by the imperialist government during World War II, originating in the ideology of the Third Reich

Stripped of its racial overtones, the idea emerged again in the 1970s.

**********************

Thailand’s anti-government protestors are asking the European Union for help on Thursday. This just a day after clashes between opposition protestors and troops left one soldier dead and 18 people injured.

The red-shirt protestors want the EU to send observers to Bangkok as rival, yellow-shirt protestors, ready their own rally.

The red-shirt group released a letter it planned to submit to a EU ambassador requesting for the body to send monitors to Bangkok to prevent another crackdown.

Thailand is reeling from its worst political violence in almost two decades in its capital.

**********************

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

**********************

An Egyptian court has convicted 26 men of planning terrorist attacks on ships and tourist sites. 22 of the men were accused of being members of a Lebanese Islamist Hezbollah cell.

One Lebanese citizen, who Hezbollah had confirmed was a member, was given a life sentence.

The sentences were issued by the State Security Court in Cairo and cannot be appealed, reports say. Another four men, who are still on the run, were convicted in absentia.

Hezbollah has said the charges are politically motivated and in revenge for the movement’s stance on Egypt’s support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

**********************

Australia’s government has put plans for a flagship emissions trading scheme on hiatus. The scheme was rejected twice by the Senate.

Australia’s prime minister blamed opposition obstruction and slow global progress on emissions cuts for the plan’s delay.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was to have cut the nation’s carbon emissions by up to 25 percent from 2000 levels, by 2020. Industrial polluters would have been required to buy licenses to emit carbon.

The prime minister said the government would now delay plans until the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

**********************

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