Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 14th June

In this Bulletin…

- Taiwan-China trade agreement progresses;
- Thousands of Uzbecks flee ethnic violence; and
- Japanese asteroid explorer could reveal early universe’s mysteries.

But first we have our SOH focus on China.

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We begin with a story from the SOH Chinese language broadcast team.

With millions of students in China taking their college entrance exams, the pressure is on to get good results and the prospect of a better future.

With so much at stake some students are willing to pay others to sit their exams for them. A number of businesses openly advertise exam substitutes, with some guaranteeing college entrance. All for a price.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this our reporters uncovered is the fact that the authorities turn a blind eye to this illegal practice.

The Epoch Times website has the full translation of the original Chinese story.

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Taiwan said real progress was made during negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement with China.

Representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait met in Beijing Sunday. The meeting was the third round of talks on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.

The agreement aims to bring the economies of Taiwan and China closer together. Taiwan’s pro-Beijing government says the deal will boost growth. But opponents of the agreement say stronger competition from China will cost Taiwanese jobs and make the island more dependant on the mainland.

Further negotiations are required before the deal can be cemented. But Taipei was upbeat about the way things went.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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As the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan continues thousands of ethnic Uzbeks are fleeing the country.

Officials said a third day of fighting in the southern city of Osh has left almost 100 people dead. Witnesses have spoken of Kyrgyz men shooting members of the ethnic Uzbek minority and setting property alight. There have also been some reports of Kyrgyz casualties.

Desperate to restore order, Kyrgyzstan’s interim government gave security forces shoot-to-kill powers Saturday.

Uzbek emergency officials said at least 30,000 people had crossed the border from Kyrgyzstan. One official told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency that 75,000 had entered Uzbekistan.

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There had been another poison attack targeting schoolgirls in Afghanistan. The Afghan Ministry of Health said about 60 girls appeared to have been poisoned in the latest incident about.

The victims aged from nine to fourteen required hospitalisation. Most suffered minor reactions.

It was the third suspected poisoning of Afghani schoolgirls this week. Three similar attacks in April resulted in 90 schoolgirls being poisoned. So far there have not been any fatalities reported from any of the attacks.

It is suspected that the Taliban are behind the attacks. During the Taliban’s rule of Afghanistan girls were prohibited from attending school.

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

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At least 13 people have been killed by a bus crash in the Philippines. Thirty-nine others were pulled from the wreckage of the bus.

The bus was taking a group of around 50 students on a day trip. It crashed on a remote mountainous road, becoming wedged in a ravine 20 metres below the road.

Accidents are a frequent occurrence on the twisting mountainside roads on the Philippine island of Cebu.

Rescue operations were still under way over five hours after the crash. At least three more bodies are reportedly waiting to be removed.

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The Japanese space agency is celebrating the return to Earth of a capsule thought to contain the first samples grabbed from the surface of an asteroid.

The Hayabusa mission began in 2003. The asteroid explorer spent three months examining the 500-meter-long Itokawa asteroid in 2005.

A mechanical failure prevented Hayabusa actually grabbing some of the asteroid rock. But the Japanese space agency said there was a good chance some dust was collected .

Further technical problems delayed Hayabusa’s return to Earth.

Scientists say that analysis of asteroid material can provide clues about the early history of the Solar System and planet formation.

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And we now bring you the Shen Yun quote of the day

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