AsiaCast

Asia Cast for the week ending Friday 10th December (Human Rights Day)

Freedom House recently launched a new weekly update on press freedom and censorship in China.

In this bulletin:

- Thousands protest land seizures in Southern China,
- Asian Games highlights Chinese sports’ elitist nature,
- Japanese jets scrambled after Russian planes enter airspace, and
- Indonesia arrests top terror suspect.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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Thousands of protesters recently gathered for days outside local government offices in a Guangdong Province township.

The massive protest was triggered by the police response to an attack by an armed gang on villagers protesting forced land seizures.

A local resident told SOH a dozen attackers armed with knives ran into the market place of Xianyong Village, Shunde District on November 25 and set upon villagers protesting the land seizures. Many villagers were injured and at least one was said to have been killed.

The attackers were all caught by the villagers, but the local government sent police to rescue the gang. After the incident thousands of protesters gathered outside local government offices from November 26 to 29 with dozens of students and farmers arrested as a result.

At the end of 2009 local authorities seized 900 acres of land from Xianyong Village for the Guangzhou-Gaoming Highway Project. But villagers who lost their land were not offered any compensation, which sparked the initial protest.

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NTD-A gas explosion at a coal mine in Henan Province killed 26 people according to Chinese state-run media.

Forty-six miners were working underground when the blast occurred just before eight on Tuesday December 7 at the Suzhuang Coal mine.

Twenty miners were brought to safety, but toxic gas had to be released from the mine before the remaining miners could be found.

Police are investigating the cause of the blast.

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ET-Despite China recently topping the medal table of the Asian Games in Guangzhou, many Chinese are lamenting the lack of sportsmanship and public access.

China came first with 199 gold medals, second place South Korea had 76. Hong Kong’s Open magazine said while national resources and tax payers’ money produced these results the public in China don’t have access to sports facilities.

Official public health information shows the fitness of China’s youth has been declining for years. One Chinese journalist said Beijing’s policy of only seeking gold medals was distorting the true spirit and essence of sportsmanship.

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SOH takes a look across the wider Asia-Pacific region.

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NTD-Japan says it launched fighter jets on Monday December 6 when Russian patrol planes entered airspace above the Sea of Japan. Nearby military drills between the US and Japan were put on hold as a result.

Ties between Japan and Russia have been strained since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit in November to one of four islands claimed by both countries, infuriating Tokyo.

Japan