Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 22nd May

In this Bulletin …

- Jailed Chinese dissident not allowed medical parole;
- Japan whaling case secretly stopped; and
- Ninth suicide at Taiwan firm.

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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The wife of the Chinese human rights advocate, Hu Jia, has again appealed to the Chinese regime to grant her husband medical parole.

Hu Jia suffers from liver cirrhosis. His wife, Zeng Jinyan says his condition has worsened since he was imprisoned in 2008. In March this year, Hu was hospitalized after a mass was found in his liver, and was later put back in prison.

Despite his condition, the Beijing Municipal Prison authorities have declined five previous applications for Hu’s medical parole.
Hu is known for being an outspoken advocate for AIDS sufferers in China.

For more on this story watch NTD.

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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has gone to China where she will try to convince Beijing to join international condemnation of North Korea, who they blame for sinking a South Korean warship.

Clinton lashed out at Pyongyang for their offensive behaviour in the Cheonan affair.

A multinational panel released its findings in the incident. It concluded that a North Korean submarine torpedoed the ship in March, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.

She said after talks with Japan that they cannot let the attack go unanswered by the international community. She said she looks forward to thorough consultations in China on the matter.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Australia’s federal opposition says the government has secretly stopped any possibility of taking Japan to court over whaling.

Greg Hunt, opposition Environment spokesman, says there is no money in the Federal budget for the court case.

He says it shows the Prime Minister’s election promise to take strong action against whaling was empty.

Mr Hunt says the budget papers have dropped all reference to a case against Japan in the purpose, the intention, the goal of our marine mammal conservation program.

However, Peter Garrett, a spokesman for Environment Minister says the Australian government remains committed to the issue.

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A bus crash in a mountainous region of Indian-administered Kashmir has killed at least 17 passengers and injured 50 others.

The bus rolled down several hundred feet into a steep gorge.

Police chief of the district says thirteen critically-wounded passengers were airlifted for specialized treatment.

The dead bodies were recovered from the accident site and will be given to their next of kin after formalities are completed.

Road accidents are common in Kashmir mainly because of reckless driving, overloading and poor road conditions.

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An employee at the Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer Foxconn has jumped to his death.

This has been the ninth employee to commit suicide at the company this year.

The 21-year-old leapt to his death from a four-storey factory in the early hour, after finishing his work.

Altogether 11 of their employees have tried to kill themselves, two have survived.

The incidents are now raising concerns over worker treatment at the site.

The company has said it will now enlist counsellors and Buddhist monks for emotional support.

Arthur Huang, spokesman for the company, says the company will now carry out social responsibility programmes to ensure workers’ welfare.

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Thousands of Pakistanis are to take to the streets in protest over their anger against Facebook and the West for sacrilegious cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on the Internet.

A Facebook user organised an Everyone Draw Mohammed Day competition to promote freedom of expression. However it has sparked a major backlash in the Muslim country of 170 million.

Islam strictly forbids the portrayal of any prophet as offensive.  The row has sparked similarity with protests across the Muslim world over the publication of mocking cartoons of Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has banned more than 450 links to internet material on the incident.

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