Fans of Indonesia's Radio Erabaru outside the headquarters of Sing FM performing a re-enactment of the September 13 forced shutdown of Radio Erabaru by government authorities as fellow protesters hold placards and banners calling for the station's restoration. (Radio Erabaru)

In this bulletin:

- Another train crash dents China’s rail safety record,
- Discontent growing over land expropriation ,
- Fans rally for silenced Indonesian broadcaster, and
- Asia increasing IT competitiveness.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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ET-Hundreds of passengers were injured in a rear-end train collision on a one-year-old Shanghai subway track Tuesday September 27. State-owned media first said that a signal malfunction was to blame for the collision; but then published a statement on Sept. 28, attributing the accident to a power failure and operator error.

An engineer familiar with subway safety has characterized the system as unreliable and profit-driven. The accident called further attention to China’s dubious public infrastructure safety record after the devastating Wenzhou high-speed rail collision in July.

In the Shanghai crash 284 passengers were injured according to official figures. Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, which manages the subway, apologized online, saying, ‘This is the darkest day ever for the Shanghai subway.’

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ET-Thousands of residents in two Southern Chinese townships recently took to the streets over unfair land expropriation.

A protest in Wukan was triggered September 21 when villagers learned that one of the last pieces of the villagers’ land had been sold to a developer and construction work was about to begin. Villagers have accused village officials of secretly selling their land and villagers demand authorities disclose accounting details of the land transactions.

The next morning, authorities dispatched paramilitary officers and riot police, along with anti-riot vehicles to suppress the protest, but were met with strong resistance from angry villagers, who overturned seven or eight police vehicles.

The protest in Wukan gave rise to similar unrest in other villages of Lufeng City. On September 23, about two thousand villagers of the neighbouring Longguang Village protested to the Lufeng municipal government. This time a city official came out and said he would investigate the issue and get back to them.

Longguang villagers told RFA that they had been petitioning for six years with no avail, from the provincial level of Guangdong to the municipal level of Lufeng. They said almost every village has been struggling with illegal land seizures.

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NTD-The wife of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has written a letter to the legal working committee of China’s National People’s Congress. Lu Qing is urging them to reject proposed changes to the criminal procedure law. The changes would legalize holding suspects in secret locations for up to six months, in some cases without informing their families.

Police arrested Ai Weiwei at the Beijing airport on April 3. Ai was then held in a secret location for 81 days. Lu describes in the letter the frantic search for Ai by family and friends. The family had not been notified of his whereabouts.

The incident sparked an international outcry. Ai Weiwei was eventually released, but is still under investigation for alleged tax evasion. He’s officially banned from speaking to the media.

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

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ET-Supporters of independent Indonesian broadcaster Radio Erabaru have protested the station’s forced closure and use of its frequency by another radio station. Radio Erabaru fans gathered in front of the headquarters of Sing FM, the station that’s been given their broadcast frequency, Sunday September 25.

The protesters called for Radio Erabaru to be put back on the air on its 106.5FM frequency and for Sing FM to move to another frequency. They also want the authorities to protect the rights of Indonesian citizens to obtain information from radio Erabaru’s broadcasts and stop bowing to pressure from the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta.

The protest came after dozens of Indonesian officials burst into the studios of Radio Erabaru, Tuesday September 13. They walked back out with key broadcasting equipment, despite failing to give any warrant authorizing this seizure to the station.

Officials claimed the station had to be shut down because its broadcasting was disrupting the air traffic in the nearby city-state of Singapore. But within hours Sing FM was broadcasting on 106.5FM, Radio Erabaru’s frequency, calling the claim into question.

Listen out for a special Asia Cast report featuring an interview with Radio Erabaru.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Accusations mainland interfering with Taipei protest,
- Indonesian students protest, ‘lazy lecturers. and
- Australia clears way for female front line troops.

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

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The Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan Thursday September 29 rebutted an accusation that Chinese authorities were trying to block a planned anti-Chinese demonstration held in Taipei.

Two Taiwanese businessmen earlier said they had fallen victim to scams perpetrated by their Chinese partners in collaboration with members of China’s judiciary. The pair are planning a protest in Taipei against such practices in the mainland.

But one of the organisers said he received threatening phone calls from Chinese officials in Fujian Province who said they would investigate the event and collect evidence against him if he failed to cancel the demonstration.

The Mainland Affairs Council said there wasn’t any evidence of interference from the mainland with the two previous similar demonstrations.

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NTD-Typhoon Nesat swept through Hong Kong Thursday September 29, with winds gusting up to 75 miles an hour closing markets, schools and most businesses.

The stock market, government offices and schools were also closed for the day. Nesat hit Hong Kong straight after striking the Philippines where it left at least 35 dead and dozens missing.

No deaths were initially reported in Hong Kong, but local television showed footage of at least two people being hospitalized after falling debris hit them.

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ET-According to the Jakarta Post Indonesian students have protested against what they said are lazy university lecturers.

Dozens of students demonstrated at the Aceh Syiah Kuala University because they said since August only a minuscule portion of their 30 teachers have regularly come to teach them.

In the demonstration, students gave speeches about the woeful state of the university and some of the students called for a boycott of the institute. According to the Jakarta Post the university said students should understand that teachers have to attend training sessions, adding that the situation would return to normal.

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ET-The Australian government is lifting restrictions on female soldiers, allowing them to serve in front line combat roles.

The announcement Tuesday September 27 means specialized military positions such as elite special forces, which were only available to men, will be available to women within five years if they meet the criteria for those roles.

Women can serve in 93 per cent of employment categories in the Australian army, navy, and air force. However, the defence ministry said women currently cannot serve as infantry, navy clearance divers, mine clearance divers, or operate artillery.

Australia currently has around 1,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan, but those are to be withdrawn over the next several years.

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On a lighter note.

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A study released Tuesday September 27 showed as Asian economies strengthen copyright protection and implement regulatory reforms they are closing the gap on the West in terms of their IT competitiveness.

The report by the Economist Intelligence Unit says while the West leads the world in terms of an attractive place for IT firms to work, more Asian nations are moving up the ladder.

The United States retained its position as the world’s most competitive IT industry this year with Europe dominating the top 20. The competitiveness index was based on criteria ranging from foreign investment policies to infrastructure and copyright protection.

But, seven Asian economies managed to make it into the top 20; Singapore (3), Australia (8), Taiwan (13), Japan (16), New Zealand (18), South Korea (19) and Hong Kong (19). Malaysia and India recorded the sharpest improvements among the 66 economies surveyed worldwide.

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

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Jiang Tianyong (pictured) and another Chinese rights lawyer, Teng Biao, were recognized for this year’s Prize for Outstanding Democracy Activist, given by the Los Angeles based Chinese Democracy Education Foundation, September 1st.

In this bulletin:

- Rights lawyer undeterred despite torture,
- Beijing’s paid internet commentator training accidentally revealed,
- Japanese protesters seek nuclear free world, and
- India researchers hope discoveries spark conservation.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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ET-Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong recently broke his silence about what he suffered during his recent detention. Jiang was arrested in February as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to nip a homegrown Jasmine Revolution in the bud.

Isolation, brainwashing, sleep deprivation and torture were regular parts of those two months. He was released April 29, but not until mid-September did Jiang tell his story. He told Sound of Hope Radio September 14 the most painful part of the ordeal was the brainwashing sessions.

During the two months of detention neither Jiang nor his family received an official notice or documentation. Jiang became a target because of his willingness to take on human rights cases. In particular, he defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a group that is persecuted without mercy by the regime.

Despite suffering memory loss from being mentally tortured and deprived of sleep, Jiang did not give in. He told Sound of Hope Radio he had to speak out and let everyone know the horrible things happened to me. He said if the regime doesn’t want people to know, then they should not these things, adding, the terror will be and must be broken.

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ET-A Chinese TV news report unwittingly revealed how the communist regime’s Propaganda Department trains its army of paid internet commentators to shape public opinion on the internet.

Xishui TV, a local station in Hubei Province, reported September 8 the purpose of the training was to improve the skills of Xishui County spokespersons and internet commentators. Responding to public crises and guiding public opinion in a constructive way were among the topics covered.

According to a report by Hong Kong’s Apple Daily the number of paid internet commentators in China is estimated to have reached 280,000. With each one of them posting five comments per day, that amounts to 1.4 million posts daily, enough to inundate some internet forums.

The video was originally posted on cnxishui.net, which is operated by Xishui County Propaganda Department, and must have been an accident as it was removed just a few hours after its appearance.

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ET-Police in Hong Kong made the largest drug bust in the city’s history, nabbing more than 540 Kilos of cocaine worth 600 million Hong Kong dollars, some $77 million US dollars.

Authorities said Monday September 19 they arrested eight people. A police statement said the operation had neutralized a transnational drug trafficking syndicate.

Police raided five warehouses throughout Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Standard. reported the drugs were found hidden in containers and pressed into recycled blocks with other recycled garbage.

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

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NTD-Buddhist monks in India’s eastern state of Bihar performed special prayers for victims of the massive earthquake which struck northeast India Sunday September 18.

The epicentre of the 6.9 magnitude quake was in the sparsely populated Himalayan state of Sikkim. Residential structures and a Buddhist monastery in the state capital bore the brunt of the damage.

The earthquake was felt as far away as New Delhi, and there have been numerous fatalities across the country: at least 35 people killed in Sikkim, at least seven in Bihar, and at least six in West Bengal.

The tremors spread around the Himalayan region, affecting Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, as well as Bangladesh.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Burma’s media still censored despite reform promises,
- Japan seeking South China Sea stability, and
- Taiwan prepares for world design expo.

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

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NTD-In Japan tens of thousands of protesters recently gathered in central Tokyo’s Meiji Park for an anti-nuclear rally.

Of the 60,000-plus participants that came from all over Japan, many were from Fukushima Prefecture, the area worst affected by the nuclear disaster which followed the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Prominent writer and manager of the Crayon House book store, Keiko Ochiai, was one of the organizers. He said the protest was only the first step towards their goal of ending nuclear power, not only in Japan, but worldwide. Nobel prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe was also in attendance.

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ET-The Committee to Protect Journalists has found censorship in Burma remains as bad as ever, despite recent government promises of reform.

A report released by the international press freedom watchdog Tuesday September 20 found that journalists in Burma are among the most censored in the world. This is despite the country having switched over to a civilian government after decades of military rule.

The report said although privately owned publications and media entities have sprung up in recent years, they are forced to publish on a weekly basis, while state-run media can publish daily.

The group also said a number of journalists have recently been sentenced to long jail terms.

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Responding to independent recommendations, Thailand said Tuesday September 20 it would review political trials and royal insult cases connected to five years of unrest.

The country’s prime minister said the government accepts a recent report from The Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand. In its first report to Thailand’s new leadership the commission said prosecutions under legislation, including an emergency decree and the lese majeste laws governing insults against the monarchy, were linked to political conflict before and after the 2006 coup.

The Thai authorities have also agreed to the securing the temporary release of political prisoners during the review in line with the commission’s advice.

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Japan has called for a stronger code of conduct aimed at binding rival claimants to waters and islands in the strategically important South China Sea.

The Japanese ambassador to the Philippines said Tuesday September 20 his government expects to tackle the issue during the Philippine President’s official visit to Tokyo.

The ambassador said while Japan is not among the claimants to territory in the South China Sea it has a major stake in keeping the waters open to international shipping because much of its trade passes through the area.

The Philippines and China, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, have conflicting claims to all or parts of the sea.

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On a lighter note.

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ET-Frogs that croak like cats are among the 12 new species of amphibians discovered following a 20-year exploration of the forests of Western Ghats, India.

The study, headed by the University of Delhi, also led to the rediscovery of three species of night frogs previously considered extinct. The creatures are difficult detect, as they only come out when it is dark during India’s monsoon season.

New species include the meowing night frog, whose croak sounds like a cat’s meow, and the Wayanad night frog, which grows to the size of a baseball.

The team hopes that the findings spark conservation efforts in India aimed toward these amphibians. The findings are detailed in the September 15 issue of Zootaxa.

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Taiwan has been gearing up for the Taipei World Design Expo with a number of media events. The design expo will feature thousands of exhibits from around the world in categories such as industrial, interior, communication, and graphic design.

The event runs from September 30 to October 30 at a number of venues in Taipei. It will showcase 6,000 exhibits by some 1,200 designers from 34 countries, including France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the US.

The Taiwan Design Centre, one of the chief organisers of the expo, said it was a great opportunity to showcase Taiwan’s soft power and bring the country onto the international stage.

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Participants in a march in Washington, DC in July celebrate 100 million withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)

In this bulletin:

- Facing restrictions Chinese journalists blog news instead,
- Movement to quit CCP reaches 100 million participants,
- New Tibetan political head sworn in, and
- Taiwan’s population rapidly ageing.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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ET-Faced with restrictions on permissible reports, Chinese journalists have turned to Sina.com and other blogs to make important stories known.

In the wake of last month’s high speed rail collision in Wenzhou City, the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department issued a ban on all reporting of the incident by independent media.

The ban seems to have been the catalyst for an unprecedented campaign of defiance in China’s mass media. Over one million pieces of relevant news were posted on Chinese blogs, which helped the world learn the facts of the tragedy.

A blogger wrote that though blogging and the Internet have been blocked by some interest groups and the authorities at will, many still believe that the power of networking is unstoppable, and the power of justice is indestructible.

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NTD-Residents in the path of tropical storm Muifa were frustrated by the lack of information after high waves brought on by the storm threatened to cause a chemical spill on China’s east coast.

The port city of Dalian in Liaoning province is home to the Fujia Dahua Petrochemical plant. On Monday August 8, 60-foot-high waves breached a dyke protecting the plant.

Fujia Dahua produces paraxylene, a flammable and carcinogenic liquid chemical. Chinese media reports that paraxylene was stored less than 200 feet from the dyke when the breach occurred. This has worried locals, who say authorities aren’t providing details about whether there’s a leak or health risk.

Staff at the plant reportedly stopped a news crew from state-run CCTV entering the plant Tuesday August 9, striking the reporters and their equipment.

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ET/NTD-A milestone has been reached in China, but not the kind the Chinese Communist Party is celebrating. For the past seven years, a peaceful movement has been steadily growing, a movement that encourages Chinese people to renounce all affiliations with the Communist Party.

Recently, that movement reached the momentous milestone of 100 million participants. Known as Tuidang in Chinese, the movement for Chinese to withdraw from the Party began in late 2004, following the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party by The Epoch Times.

The Tuidang movement is distinctly Chinese in its world view, very different from the Western-style democracy movement of the 1980s or the more recent Charter 08. While implicitly supporting regime change in China, it does not come with replacement political prescriptions. It is understood by both its activists and participants as a spiritual and ethical awakening rather than a political revolution.

It calls for Chinese to make a psychological separation between China’s future and the Communist Party.

(Disclosure note: The SOH Network has an affiliation with The Epoch Times, publisher of the Nine Commentaries editorial series. Our Chinese language sister media the Sound of Hope Radio Network has broadcast the Nine Commentaries into China via short wave radio. This may have had an impact on the Tuidang movement’s spread.)

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

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ET-A Harvard-trained legal scholar was sworn in Monday August 8 as the new head of the Tibetan government-in-exile. He now takes over all political duties of the Dalai Lama.

Lobsang Sangay took the oath of office at a ceremony presided over by the Dalai Lama in India’s Tsuglagkhang Temple, where the exiled government is based.

The new leader promised the gathering of several thousand Tibetans he will fight against Chinese ‘colonialism’. Sangay made clear the struggle itself, however, was against the hard-line policies of the Chinese regime in Tibet, not against the Chinese people or China as a country.

The Dalai Lama has been slowly shedding his official duties since 2001 when the Tibetan prime minister, or Kalon Tripa, was directly elected for the first time, instead of being appointed by the Dala Lama.

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According to Taiwan’s Department of Health the country’s population will be officially considered an aged society by 2017.

By this time 14 per cent of Taiwanese will be aged 65 or older. In comparison it’s estimated the US won’t reach the threshold for more than 70 years

The Department of Health went on to say by 2025 Taiwan will become a super-aged society with 20 percent of the population over 65.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Taiwan researchers develop novel e-paper,
- Australia’s asylum seeker policy under legal spotlight once more, and
- Recycling pays off for Thai artist.

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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Nancy Wake, one of the most highly decorated Allied secret agents of World War II, recently died in London aged 98.

Wake was once the Gestapo’s most wanted person, known as ‘The White Mouse’ because she was so elusive. She worked for the French Resistance and later the British government.

While she was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Wake was trapped in France when the Nazis invaded in 1940.

Australia’s prime minister said Wake was a truly remarkable individual whose selfless valour and tenacity will never be forgotten.

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NTD-Scientists at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute have developed a new type of rewritable electronic paper that doesn’t require a back light, and therefore electricity, to work.

The researchers said the resolution of their ‘i2R e-Paper’ made it ideal for use in shops and public areas to update signs and posters.

At a recent demonstration, technicians showed off the paper’s printing ability using a thermal printer, the same kind used in fax machines. And with the flip of a switch, the paper can be erased and is ready for reuse.

Another advantage of the i2R e-paper is it can produce blue, red and green colours. An A4-sized piece costs approximately $2 US dollars.

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Australia’s deportation of a boat-load of asylum seekers to Malaysia has been stopped by the High Court.

The Afghan and Pakistani asylum seekers were picked up in Australian waters. They are the first group to be targeted under a new policy dubbed the ‘Malaysia Solution’.

Lawyers for the group of refugees contended their transfer to Malaysia would be illegal. The High Court found there was a sufficiently serious question over the deportation. It ordered such transfers be halted pending a full hearing later this month.

The immigration minister said authorities expected a legal challenge but believe the injunction will be lifted.

Australia currently has more than 6,000 asylum seekers in detention originating from countries including Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

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On a lighter note.

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NTD-An artist in Thailand is recycling trash to create his very own treasure. From custom built motorcycles to statues of Yoda, Rungroja Saengwongpaisarn, is building works of art using scrap metal from Bangkok’s garbage heaps.

Each day he and his team salvage discarded car parts and household items that are then reused to craft statues, models and even robots.

A one time wood carver, Rungroja began working with metal in 1996 at the request of a patron. Soon enough he fused his passion for conservation with his art and created a distinctive style. Recycling has paid off for the sculptor, whose gallery is filled with works ranging in price from $60 to $40 thousand US dollars.

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A newborn southern right whale and its mother were recently spotted along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. The state National Parks & Wildlife Service said the calf was the first to be born along the state’s coast since 1998.

The pair were seen near Coffs Harbour in the north of the state. Earlier this year two unusually large southern rights were observed off the coast of Sydney. The National Parks & Wildlife Service said one of those would have been the pregnant female.

The sighting is being taken as a sign whale conservation efforts in the region are working.

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Native forest, South Esk, Tasmania. An agreement to protect Tasmania's forests was recently reached. (Courtesy of Environment Tasmania)

In this bulletin:

- Chinese media break reporting restrictions over train crash,
- China now cloning entire stores,
- Independent broadcaster safely aboard new satellite, and
- Thailand elects first female prime minister.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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NTD-Since the high-speed train crash in Wenzhou July 23, the Chinese regime’s propaganda department has imposed tough reporting restrictions on the media. The regime is ordering media organizations to only report positively about the incident.

Yet some media organizations are daring not to be censored. One is The Economic Observer. The newspaper published an editorial written as a letter to Yiyi, a young girl who was rescued from the train wreck, allegedly after the search for survivors had officially been called off by authorities.

The editorial is the latest in a string of breaches of the propaganda department’s restrictions on Chinese media. It has since been removed from the Economic Observer’s website.

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NTD-A Shandong province court has rejected an appeal by the lawyer of Chinese journalist Qi Chonghuai.

Qi was jailed for reporting on corruption. Two weeks before he completed his four-year jail term, the same court sentenced him to eight more years in jail.

Human rights advocates condemn the second conviction, saying it’s a violation of Chinese law.

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NTD-In July, Kunming City in Southwest China gained worldwide attention for having not one, but three knock off Apple Stores that looked identical to the real thing. Now, Ikea may be the latest victim to have an entire store cloned.

The ten-thousand square meter, four-story, yellow and blue building looks in every way like a typical Ikea. The Swedish furniture giant has nine stores in China, but this is not one of them. It’s called 11 Furniture, and it’s a complete fake.

Access Asia told NTD almost every foreign brand ever to come to China has been faked. Although the difference with the Apple and the Ikea store is that they are ‘lookie-likies’, not outright fakes. Access Asia said the cloned Apple store sold genuine Apple computers.

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ET-Nearly 50 million people in Guangxi Province are suffering the worst electricity shortage seen in two decades. China Economic Times reported August 2 the Guangxi Power Grid Corporation said the electricity shortage was 30 percent of the total demand, worse than predicted.

Currently, the Guangxi power plants’ coal supply is extremely low and some power plants have already shut down due to lack of coal.

The electricity shortage has caused more than 1,000 factories and businesses to completely or partially shut down. Rolling blackouts have been affecting some rural areas for months.

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

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ET-Taiwan’s largest telecom company has successfully moved independent Chinese television station NTD onto its new satellite. The transfer completes a months-long public relations battle.

The New York-based New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD) announced that its Asia Pacific transmission in Taiwan has been successfully switched to Taiwan’s new Chunghwa Telecom ST-2 satellite August 1.

Chunghwa Telecom initially refused to renew the contract earlier this year, saying its new satellite did not have enough bandwidth. But NTD AP and many of its backers said the refusal was actually about the wishes of the Chinese communist regime. The regime dislikes NTD’s uncensored news programs and has interfered with NTD’s broadcasting for a long time. The regime was thought to have leverage over Chunghwa Telecom because of the latter’s investments in China and future business opportunities in the market.

Commentators said the outcome showed Taiwan’s continued commitment to support freedom of the press.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Japan shakes up energy ministry,
- Taiwan reinforces claim over Dongsha Island , and
- $250,000 lottery ticket survives wash in New Zealand.

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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Japan indicated Thursday August 4 its three top energy officials would be sacked over the handling of the Fukushima atomic plant disaster. The resulting scandals that erupted over the response to the incident have fuelled public mistrust in nuclear policy.

The ministry in charge of promoting and regulating Japan’s nuclear industry told a press conference there would be a widespread reshuffle.

Reporters were told the changes had been discussed for about a month and would be on a significant scale, although the changes have yet to be officially announced.

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In a historic moment for Thailand’s parliament, lawmakers were voted the country’s first female prime minister Friday August 5.

Yingluck Shinawatra gained support from almost 60 percent of the lower house, reflecting the majority enjoyed by her party and its allies. Her Puea Thai party won a thunderous majority in the July 3 election and enlisted the support of several smaller parties in a coalition.

The political novice faces the challenge of bringing stability to the kingdom after five years of political turmoil since he was removed in a military coup. A royal endorsement is all Yingluck needs before she can officially take power.

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With tensions over sovereignty in the South China Sea continuing to run high, Taiwan has combined wildlife conservation with safeguarding its territory.

Twenty-three college students set off aboard a Coast Guard frigate Wednesday August 3 on a four-day tour of Dongsha Island. The eco camp was designed to educate college students majoring in marine affairs, international relations, and related fields about the island’s ecosystem.

According to the Coast Guard Administration the students will visit the tidal flats, seagrass beds and lagoons in the area. They will also observe how the coast guard officers carry out their daily duties on and around Dongsha Island.

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On a lighter note.

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Australia is close to finally securing the future of Tasmania’s forests. Logging in Tasmania has been a major environmental issue for decades. But recently a government package worth AU$274 million dollars aimed at ending most logging of native forests was agreed.

The deal, which is yet to become legislation, will see logging shifted out of most public native forests, many of which will be protected in national parks, as well as compensation for those forced to leave. While the industry fully supported the deal others were more cautious.

The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed that money had been put on the table to support Tasmania’s regional communities and a transition to a sustainable timber industry. But along with other environmental groups said what was critical was to now translate the agreement into a fully operational process.

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In New Zealand a four-week-old lottery ticket survived a machine wash to win its Christchurch owner NZ$250,000 dollars.

The lucky winner said he found the ticket last weekend after he washed an old pair of jeans. He said he did not think it would be worth anything, but decided to check it anyway. The self-check scanner wouldn’t read the ticket, but when the store checked they told him he had won NZ$250,000 dollars.

The man said he had just been getting by in the earthquake devastated city since February .

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The snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni), just one of the 1,060 new species recorded in New Guinea by the WWF. (Isabel Beasley/Wikimedia)

In this bulletin:

- China slammed for extending journalist’s detention,
- Beijing tested by torrential rain,
- Support keeps independent Taiwan broadcaster on-air, and
- World’s largest tropical island yields new species.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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NTD-Press freedom advocates have criticised the Chinese regime for sentencing a journalist to eight more years in jail. Qi Chonghuai was expecting to be released Saturday June 25 after having served a four-year sentence.

But on June 9th authorities in northeastern Shandong Province extended his term. They found him guilty of the same charges he was accused of four years ago.

After Qi Chonghuai exposed local corruption in 2007, he was convicted of extortion and blackmail. While in prison, he also wrote articles about the ill treatment of inmates, which were published on overseas news services. Qi himself was beaten in prison and forced to do hard labour.

On June 9th, authorities accused him again of extortion and blackmail, plus an additional charge of stealing advertising revenue from a former employer. They found him guilty and extended his sentence to eight more years.

International media advocates have condemned the move.

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NTD-Torrential rains left much of Beijing paralysed Thursday June 23. Residents struggled to make it home, with parts of the subway system closed and treacherous road conditions.

Now Beijing’s construction and drainage system are being criticised as unfit for sudden torrential downpours.

Part of the problem in any city is the more you build and cover the earth with concrete the less water can soak away into the ground, it all quickly flows into the drainage system.

Political commentator Lin Baohua said the problem was symptomatic of the regime’s sub-standard construction methods. He calls it ‘tofu construction’, a popular term for buildings made out of cheap materials that fall easily during natural disasters.

Beijing hasn’t suffered disasters like the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, that collapsed thousands of buildings. But the downpour does pose questions as to whether the Chinese capital’s construction is fit to cope with disasters in the future.

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NTD-A two-month-long exhibition of traditional lanterns recently opened at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, or Yuanmingyuan to give the gardens their Chinese name

The show features different types and shapes of lanterns amidst a backdrop of lotus flower-shaped lanterns.

Stealing the limelight is a 70-foot-high lotus flower lantern encircled by 56 smaller lotus lanterns. The impressive display is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Other lanterns are in the shapes of lotus leaves, balls, ships, butterflies, and peacocks. The park also provides various forms of entertainment, such as theatrical performances.

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

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ET-A recent public opinion survey by the University of Hong Kong found that Hong Kong people’s trust in their government, and in Chinese communist central rule, has dramatically declined, reaching the lowest level in years.

The University of Hong Kong conducted the random telephone survey between June 13 and 16, just two weeks prior to the Chinese Communist Party’s 90th anniversary.

Notable is the age distribution in the survey. The younger the group, the less trust they have in the government.

Chung Ting Yiu Robert, the project director of the survey, said in the analysis that people born after 1980 have higher rates of distrust than those born before 1980. Chung said This is likely related to the sentencing in China of Zhao Lianhai, who organized a support group for victims of the melamine-milk scandal, the recent detention of Ai Weiwei, as well as the 22nd memorial of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

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NTD-NTD Asia Pacific announced Tuesday June 28 the renewal of its contract with Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom. Signed Monday June 27 the contract ensures that our partner media will continue to broadcast NTD’s programming to the region, and to parts of mainland China.

After two months of negotiations and widespread support from both domestic and international calls, this outcome has been warmly welcomed. NTD Asia Pacific thanked Taiwan’s main and opposition parties for helping secure service with the ST-2 Satellite, which has state protection.

The broadcaster is known for airing news usually censored by the Chinese Communist Party. Even with the contract renewal in hand, the station has appealed for continued support to guarantee its broadcast is free from any signal interference.

Viewers will be notified about how to continue watching NTD Asia Pacific programs, once its signal is transferred to Chunghwa’s ST-2 Satellite in August.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Japan welcomes Taiwanese hospitality,
- New Guinea forests, rivers among world’s richest, and
- Australian ointment could revolutionise snakebite first-aid.

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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NTD-Mauritania’s government has recently signed a 25-year deal with Chinese fishing company Poly Hon Done Pelagic Fishery.

The agreement will let Chinese trawlers fish in Mauritanian waters, but local fishermen, green activists and opposition lawyers say all it will do to the poor African country is cause more harm than help.

In exchange for access to Mauritanian waters, the Chinese regime will provide a $100 million US dollar investment, which will be used to build a processing factory, a training center for Mauritanians and a traditional boat manufacturing site.

Fishing makes up around ten percent of Mauritania’s gross domestic product and up to 50 per cent of its export earnings. Mauritanians fear their own inferior traditional ships will be in no condition to compete with Chinese trawlers for already scarce fish supplies.

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Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said Tuesday June 28 an initiative to help Japanese victims of the March 11 earthquake get over their trauma has been warmly received by Japan.

The Tourism Bureau said in Tokyo Tuesday June 28 China Airlines and EVA Air have each offered 250 seats to take Japanese quake victims to Taiwan free of charge. And Taiwan’s hospitality industry has offered 500 hotel rooms to go with the flights.

A large number of Japanese officials and executives attended the Tokyo news conference to offer their appreciation for Taiwan’s the in the aftermath of the earthquake. Many of them said the quake has drawn the Japanese and Taiwanese people closer together.

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On a lighter note.

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ET-A new study from the World Wildlife Foundation reports that 1,060 new species have been identified in New Guinea, the world’s largest tropical island. The study also points out these and other species are at risk, particularly due to logging and clearing forests for agriculture.

Some of the more exotic new species include a one-centimetre-long fanged frog, a blind snake, a snub-fin dolphin, a 2.5-meter-long river shark, brightly coloured snails, and an anteater named after British naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

The World Wildlife Foundation said their research shows New Guinea’s forests and rivers are among the richest in the world. The conservation organisation also noted the island’s forests faced serious threats. But said there was some hope as many oil palm producers in New Guinea are aiming for sustainable certification.

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ET-Researchers in Australia have patented a potentially lifesaving topical ointment that can be used as a first aid treatment for some types of snakebite. The team’s findings were published in the journal Nature June 26.

The ointment causes the lymphatic vessels to constrict. According to the researchers it slows the spread of venoms transported via the lymphatic vessels by some 350 per cent. They also said it has no obvious side effects.

A medical toxicologist quoted in Science Magazine said if the treatment panned out it could revolutionize first aid for snakebite in parts of the world where venom causes paralysis.

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

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Three Gorges Dam infographic. (Created by GDS Inforgraphics for Infrastructure MENA)

In this bulletin:

- No justice for China’s toxic-milk victims,
- Three Gorges Dam should be dismantled,
- Talks stall on independent Taiwanese TV broadcaster, and
- Retirees volunteer for Japan nuclear clean-up.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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Following the recent revelation of a secret compensation fund set up after the 2008 melamine tainted milk scandal, SOH spoke to some victims’ families.

Under the regime’s guidance, China’s dairy industry association established a medical compensation fund managed by China Life Insurance Company. But this fund was deemed a state secret.

The parent of one victim told SOH they got to know a lot of families whose children developed kidney stones from the toxic milk. They said none of them had heard about this multi-million dollar compensation fund.

Several parents of affected children told our Chinese reporters all the authorities had offered them was 2000 yuan, about $300 US dollars. And only then if they agreed to waive their right to sue those responsible.

SOH also learned that children with small kidney stones were being given the all clear to keep the number of victims as low as possible.

Reported by Qin Yue and Yu Ming for Sound of Hope Radio.

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ET-According to a hydrology expert quoted by the Epoch Times, China’s Three Gorges Dam is a huge failure and should be dismantled.

The massive 17-year project on the Yangtze River displaced at least 1.4 million people. It was intended to control and harness China’s mightiest river.

But since the dam’s completion in 2006, nature has not cooperated. A local official said drought and every kind of disaster have descended upon the region. The dam project has also become a financial sink hole, requiring hundreds of billions yuan in ongoing damage control.

At present, many discussions critical of the Three Gorges Dam are surfacing in Chinese media and on websites.

The Epoch Times website has a detailed analysis of how the dam project has failed its original aims including flood control and drought relief.

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NTD-Authorities in China’s Inner Mongolia have taken swift actions to stop the largest demonstrations in the region in twenty years.

Calls recently circulated online for a major demonstration in the region’s capital Hohhot for Monday May 30

But military police poured into the region, students were forced to remain on campus and the local Internet service was disrupted.

The unrest was sparked by the deaths of two Mongol herders earlier this month. In separate incidents, they were killed while protesting against local coal mining activities that have disrupted their traditional lifestyles.

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

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ET/NTD-Taiwan’s premier appeared to give a green light to an independent TV station to continue broadcasting into Asia, including mainland China, but talks have stalled.

The SOH Network’s media partner in Taiwan, NTD AP Television, is calling on the Taiwan government to fulfil its commitment to freedom of the press.

NTD AP has been in talks over a satellite contract renewal with the partially state-owned Chunghwa Telecom. And Taiwan’s premier ordered Chunghwa to continue hosting NTD’s signal when the current contract expires in August.

But Chunghwa hasn’t taken concrete action to move NTD to its new satellite. Many suspect the Chinese regime is pressuring Chunghwa to stop servicing NTD’s signal, because it provides uncensored news and information.

NTD AP says having its signal on a third-party satellite would be undesirable. It fears that without the protection of being on the new Chunghwa-owned satellite, its broadcast would be at risk of getting blocked by the Chinese regime.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- South Korea responds to North’s severance announcement,
- Anti-corruption body investigates Southeast Asian Games, and
- Ancient Chinese village reveals early Yunnan culture.

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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South Korea said Tuesday June 31 it was disappointed with North Korea for announcing it would never deal with its neighbour.

North Korea accused Seoul Monday May 30 of using psychological warfare and said it would never deal with the South Korean president.

The North stated its intent to launch an all out offensive against South Korea after human rights groups and some politicians sent anti-Pyongyang across the border in balloons.

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Indonesia’s sports minister was grilled by the country’s anti-graft body Tuesday May 31. The Corruption Eradication Commission is looking into alleged corruption in awarding the contract to build the athletes’ village for the Southeast Asian Games in November.

The sports minister faced a three hour grilling after the Corruption Eradication Commission called him for questioning as a witness.

Three people have been arrested over the project deal, which is estimated to cost over $2 million US dollars.

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NTD-The Australian live cattle export industry is in turmoil after graphic footage of animal cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs has been released. The footage shows cattle suffering inhumane torture before being slaughtered.

The RSPCA along with Animals Australia released the footage, saying the Live Export Industry was aware of the abuses, but did not act when they were exposed.

Indonesia has about 100 abattoirs where Australian cattle are sent for slaughter. Since the release of the footage, over 100 thousand Australians have registered their disgust on animal rights websites.

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ET-A group of retired engineers and professionals, in their 60s, are volunteering to work on addressing the nuclear crisis facing Japan. They say that the burden of addressing the nuclear crisis should rest on the shoulders of the older workers, not the younger ones.

Yasutera Yamada, a 72 year-old retired engineer, has called upon fellow retired professionals to step forward and help tackle Japan’s nuclear crisis.

In an interview with the BBC Yamada said even if he was exposed to radiation, cancer could take 20 or 30 years, or longer, to develop.

He said he now had almost 200 people from crane operators to cooks wanted to sign up.

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On a lighter note.

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NTD-Researchers in southwest China have discovered ruins of a large village that dates back four-and-a-half thousand years.

The ancient village, located in Chengjiang County, Yunnan province was first discovered in 2009. The initial stage of excavations started last November.

The site occupies two-and-a-half acres and contains the ruins of 20 houses. Where buildings once stood, archaeologists found household items made of pottery, bronze, stone, and copper.

The Yunnan Archaeology Research Institution said the excavation filled a gap in their knowledge of ancient Yunnan culture.

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The expectedly short life of a life-size polar bear ice sculpture began in Sydney, Australia Friday June 3.

Three ice sculptors were set to spend six hours carving the four-metre long and two metre high bear out of a block of ice which has a bronze skeleton frozen inside. They will then leave it to melt.

The message behind the project is that there will always be an Arctic, but it will be a very different place with global warming.

Previous ice bears have lasted two weeks, Sydney’s version is expected to melt within four to five days.

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

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An Australian wildlife park has recovered a stolen koala after a tip off led them to a trash bin containing the animal. (By brian.gratwicke/Flickr)

- Democracy Party targeted in eastern China,
- Lin Zhoa remembered,
- Independent media under threat in Taiwan, and
- Stolen koala found in trash bin.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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Recently SOH has received several reports from eastern China’s Zhejiang Province of Democracy Party members being arrested. Zhu Yufu was detained February 19 and Xue Mingkai April 23, both on charges of inciting subversion of state power, a rather poorly defined charges often levelled against dissidents.

The Democracy Party told our Chinese reporters it was being targeted by the Zhejiang authorities because they have been very active in the province and the regime has not been able to silence them.

Relatives of the two activists have been harassed and at least one local lawyer has been scared off from defending Zhu Yufu. The Democratic Party said they were trying to find a lawyer from out of the province to take the case on. Part of the problem is that China’s judiciary, including the body granting lawyers licenses to practice, is not independent from the regime.

Interviewed and reported by Tian Xi for Sound of Hope Radio.

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Dozens of people in China spontaneously visited the tomb of famous dissident Lin Zhao April 29 on the forty-third anniversary of her death.

SOH spoke to some of those who went to pay their respects to Lin Zhao. They said about forty people, mostly from Shanghai and Suzhou, were at the outspoken dissident’s tomb. Adding, there were also several car loads of plain-clothes police by the roadside monitoring those inside.

Lin Zhao, like many intellectuals, became a victim of Mao Zedong’s 1957 Hundred Flowers Movement. Arrested in 1960 for being a counter-revolutionary she continued to pen critical commentary about Mao while imprisoned, famously using her own blood write with. Many in China regard her as a heroine who fought for dignity, freedom and democracy.

Interviewed and reported by Fu Ming and Tang Li for Sound of Hope Radio.

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NTD-Sand and dust storms hit a large portion of northern and northeastern China for the second consecutive day Thursday May 12. Cities have been blanketed in yellow clouds, disrupting transportation.

The sandstorms hit Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the northeast Wednesday May 11, bringing with them huge amounts of dust. The local weather bureau rated the air quality hazardous and advised people to stay inside.

In Inner Mongolia, sandstorms covered some of its cities in orange clouds of dust Wednesday May 11, reducing visibility and causing two airports to cancel all flights .

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

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ET-A Taiwanese government-controlled telecommunications company has decided to shut down the satellite broadcasts to China of a TV station providing independent, uncensored China news.

Critics say this decision was meant to curry favour with the Chinese regime and represents a threat to Taiwan’s own democracy.

On April 11, Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom informed NTD Asia Pacific Television its contract will be terminated in August. NTD Asia Pacific was told Chunghwa’s new satellite lacked the capacity to carry their signal. This is despite Chunghwa’s own website announcing their new satellite will offer expanded service coverage, higher transmitting power, more transponders, and increased bandwidth.

Taiwan’s government owns 35 per cent of Chunghwa’s shares. Five of nine directors and two of three supervisors are government officials.

The political opposition in Taiwan have strongly criticized Chunghwa’s actions. Taiwan’s National Communications Commission has agreed to hear NTD Asia Pacific’s complaint.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Japanese nuclear evacuees get brief visit home,
- Thailand announces election, and
- Time travel to help Samoan businesses.

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

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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NTD-Around 100 evacuees from the exclusion zone around Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant were allowed a brief visit home Tuesday May 10.

Residents from Kawauchi village had just two hours to collect personal belongings and for some to check on farm animals.

It was their first trip back since the Fukushima Daiichi plant leaked radiation after the March 11 quake and tsunami.

Japan’s prime minister announced the same day he would give up his prime minister’s salary until the nuclear crisis is over.

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NTD-As the hilly Kullu region of India’s Himachal Pradesh grows ever more popular with tourists so does the state’s pollution problems.

Studies reveal that atmospheric pollutants are increasing day by day. A rise in vehicles in the region is the main cause of increasing pollution. The region’s tourism peaks during the dry season when it’s very dusty.

The government is conducting various studies on finding way to lessen the pollution.

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NTD-Thailand is set for a general election July 3rd in what is expected to be a close contest. Some are concerned the violent political conflict that has dogged the country for five years could reignite.

Thailand’s prime minister said the election had been endorsed by the King. The Thai parliament was dissolved Tuesday May 10.

In 2006 a bloodless coup removed the previous Thai prime minister and plunged the country into a political crisis.

The election may be an opportunity to heal political divisions, but some fear it could also reignite the chaos which led to the deaths of 91 people last year.

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The South Pacific island nation of Samoa is turning to time travel as a way of boosting its economy.

Samoa said if it switches to the west side of the international date line it will be easier to do business with its biggest trading partners; Australia and New Zealand. The move will mean the country jumps forward by one day when the switch takes place.

Samoa is currently 21 hours behind Sydney, but from December 29 it will be three hours ahead. The change comes 119 years after Samoa moved in the opposite direction to aid trade with the US and Europe.

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On a lighter note.

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A Nepalese man set a new world record when he reached the summit of Mount Everest for the twenty-first time Wednesday May 11.

The tourism ministry said Apa Sherpa broke the record he set last year for the number of ascents of the world’s tallest peak.

Apa Sherpa first climbed the mountain in 1990. Since 2008 has been climbing Everest as part of an expedition to collect trash such as oxygen cylinders, tent poles, tents and other mountaineering equipment from the mountain. The expidition also seeks to highlight the effects of climate change.

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NTD-It’s good news for an Australian wildlife park near Sydney; their stolen koala was found.

The elderly Koala known as Banjo was taken from his enclosure Monday May 9 during the night. But on Wednesday May 11, the park received a tip-off and found Banjo stashed in a plastic trash bin.

The 13-year-old appeared frightened and mildly dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition. According to park authorities, this is the first time a koala has been stolen from a zoo in Australia.

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

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Scientists in Inner Mongolia recently unearthed the largest spider fossil ever found. Dating to 165 million years ago the find extends the fossil record back by another 130 million years than previously suspected.

In this bulletin:

- Hundreds brawl in Guangzhou over commercial property,
- Chinese comedians break new ground,
- China slammed by independent internet freedom report, and
- Inner Mongolia yields largest fossilised spider discovery.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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A well known dissident from Zhejiang Province has been charged with inciting subversion of state power despite being under house arrest since mid-February.

Zhu Yufu, was taken to the Shangcheng District Detention Center April 5, it was not until almost a week later he was formally arrested and his wife informed. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Zhu’s wife said he hadn’t done anything wrong, and moreover couldn’t have even if he’d wanted as he had been closely monitored by police around the clock.

Friends of Zhu from the Democratic Party he helped establish said Zhu occasionally wrote a few articles and spoke a few words in the media. Adding, if speaking a few words can subvert a state, then the state is too fragile.

Reported by Tian Xi for Sound of Hope Radio.

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A huge fight erupted between hundreds of security guards in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in a dispute over the ownership of a prime commercial property.

Trouble started when the new owners of the New China Building in Guangzhou tried to take possession of the building. The building’s previous owner claimed the lease was not due for renewal and paid their security guards to prevent the new owners from taking possession of the business.

Witnesses said fierce brawls broke out between both sides. At least 400 to 500 guards were involved. Some 50 to 60 were wounded, some seriously. Thousands of bystanders were also caught up in the incident when police sealed off the area.

Our SOH Chinese reporter was told the previous owner paid his security guards to injure or even kill the new owner’s men.

Reported by Tien Xi for Sound of Hope Radio.

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ET-Two Chinese comedians, in a recent performance lauded by audiences and immediately censored by communist authorities, have gone where others dared not tread.

The bitterly satirical hour-long performance takes on a variety of social and political issues deemed sensitive by the ruling Communist Party, including the Tiananmen Massacre and the lack of a social safety net in China.

In the videos posted online, live audience members can be heard laughing uproariously. Comments posted by netizens indicate that the performance broke new ground in making fun of the Chinese Communist Party in such a public setting.

As online commentators anticipated in their praise, soon after the video was posted it was scrubbed clean from popular video websites in China.

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

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According to a new study by Freedom House cyberattacks, politically motivated censorship, and government control over internet infrastructure are threatening internet freedom.

The Freedom on the Net 2011 report released April 18 assesses internet freedom in 37 countries. The study says bloggers, online journalists, and human rights activists increasingly face arrest and imprisonment for their online writings.

China was found to remain one of the world’s most restrictive countries with respect to internet freedom. It is also home to the most sophisticated control apparatus.

Internet users in Burma and Thailand were also among those found to lack freedom.

The report also said China’s indirect influence as a model of internet control was evident in the growing restrictions seen in other countries.

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NTD-Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration building Thursday April 20. They want the government to scrap plans for an offshore refinery and petrochemical plant on Taiwan’s western coast.

The Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Company refinery project is led by state-run oil refiner. It has been the subject of an extended environmental impact review. Protesters warned the project will foul the air and hurt dolphins.

Taiwan is working on more transparent environmental reviews for new projects and tougher energy laws.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Australia and Japan strengthen ties,
- Asia-Pacific’s nuclear worries, and
- World’s oldest man turns 114.

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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ET-Australia’s prime minister arrived in Tokyo Wednesday April 20 for a four-day visit to Japan. The prime minister said Australia will do anything it can to help Japan recover from the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster.

Japan put a no-go zone into effect midnight Thursday April 21, banning residents from remaining within 20 kilometres of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Japan and Australia agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in energy generation and disaster preparedness and responses. Australia also agreed to try to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement and work together toward strengthening international safety standards for nuclear power generation.

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NTD-Anti-nuclear protesters rallied in Seoul, South Korea Thursday April 21 to denounce nuclear developments around the world and to mark Earth Day.

The protest was part of a campaign urging the government to denounce worldwide nuclear developments. Like other anti-nuclear events around, including protests in Tokyo, the world it was sparked by Japan’s struggle in bringing the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control.

South Korea has 21 nuclear reactors in operation at four power plants. They range in age from 33 years to just three months. Twelve more reactors are expected to come on stream in the next decade.

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ET-The largest fossilized spider ever found has been discovered in Inner Mongolia, China.

The fossil’s well-preserved state gave scientists enough details to identify it as an adult female Nephila jurassica, an extinct species of the golden orb weaver.

The University of Kansas Paleontological Institute said environmental change must have occurred in Inner Mongolia at some point since golden orb weavers are now found in tropical environments.

The researchers said it was likely the spider wove large, golden orb webs to catch medium- to large-sized insects in the Daohugou forests. They added predation by these spiders would have played an important role in the natural selection of insects living today.

Details of the findings were published on April 20 in Biology Letters.

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On a lighter note.

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Time magazine Thursday April 20 named Taiwan’s Dharma Master Cheng Yen as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011. Founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Cheng was recognised for her contributions to serving the needy.

The venerable nun founded Tzu Chi in 1966 with four missions; charity, medicine, education and culture. The foundation has grown into a global organisation involved in, international disaster relief, bone marrow donations, environmental protection and community volunteer work.

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Japanese citizen Jiroemon Kimura became the world’s oldest man Tuesday April 19 when he turned 114. Kimura celebrated the day with his family near Kyoto.

Kimura was born on April 19, 1897 and worked at a post office for about 40 years before turning to farming after his retirement, continuing until the age of 90.

Kimura told city officials in Kyotango, Kyoto prefecture, who congratulated him it was a great honour, and words alone couldn’t describe his feelings. He said he took his age as a sign from heaven and was deeply moved.

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

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Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland. The theme park re-opend this week due to popular request. (By vita/Flickr)

In this bulletin:

- China’s shady medical blackmarkets,
- Vietnamese still held over China shortwave broadcast,
- Petitioners rebut claims China improving human rights, and
- Australian children’s surprising second language.

But first our SOH focus on China.

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An SOH Chinese reporter recently looked into the shady world of China’s illegal trade in kidneys for transplant operations.

Following up on a story about a young man from Hunan Province selling a kidney to pay-off gambling debts the reporter found numerous websites offering transplant organs.

Organ dealers openly operate online sales and advertising and maintain good relationships with hospitals. Due to their cultural beliefs, few Chinese are willing to donate a kidney if a relative needs a transplant. But one dealer said since many people had financial difficulties there was an abundant supply of kidneys.

The organ dealers our reporter spoke to said a donor received around $6,000 US dollars while the recipient would have to pay ten times that amount.

Interviewed and reported by Tang Li with special correspondent Xiong Bin for Sound of Hope Radio.

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According to a survey by Chinese media the shortage of blood donors in China has created a black market in blood stocks ruled over by so called blood lords. Their rampant profiteering is spreading AIDS among China’s poorest.

The lack of blood supplies in Beijing and other populous cities has been a problem for some time. The introduction of reportedly arbitrary donation quotas on local authorities to meet the demand for blood was quickly exploited.

The blood lords took advantage of the fact some village committees were willing to buy blood to meet their donation quotas. They organised college students, migrant workers and even farmers in Hebei Province to sell blood, making a huge profit from it in the process.

One villager who spoke to SOH Chinese reporters said a lot of villagers from his home town had been infected with AIDS from selling their blood. But he said many were still doing it because the are so poor and in urgent need of money.

Reported by He Wen with special correspondent Xiong Bin for Sound of Hope Radio.

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China’s netizens have widely criticised the grand mausoleum built for the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee after photographs of it appeared online.

The tomb of Hua Guofeng has been likened to the royal mausoleums of China’s ancient emperors. It took 3 years and around fifteen of million US dollars to build.

Internet users from mainland, China said the tomb was another vanity project, and the officials involved would have been able to garner huge construction commission fees for awarding contracts.

Reported by Tang Li with special correspondent Xiong Bin for Sound of Hope Radio.

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

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ET-There is still no news on when or if the postponed trial of two Vietnamese arrested for broadcasting programmes from the Chinese version of the SOH Network into China.

Both men are Falun Gong practitioners and were broadcasting programming about Falun Gong and its persecution inside China. They were arrested in June 2010 for making their shortwave broadcast from outside Hanoi into China.

The official indictment, obtained by The Epoch Times newspaper, indicates that the two were arrested at the urging of the Chinese regime.

The plight of the men has been championed by media watchdog and human rights groups, with Reporters Without Borders and the Falun Dafa Information Center publishing articles about their case. In addition, media around the world have begun to cover the case, with stories by Associated Press, AFP, and Radio Australia.

Vietnam, in prosecuting the two of them, is caught between the conflicting demands of a Chinese regime that has sought to eradicate the practice of Falun Gong and an international community concerned about possible violations of freedom of the press and freedom of conscience.

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Coming up on Asia Cast:

- Australia creates artificial reef despite protests and inquisitive dolphins,
- Taiwan reviews nuclear reactor safety, and
- Tokyo Disneyland gives thousands a reason to smile..

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

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Back with the rest of today’s Asia Cast I’m Rich Crankshaw

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NTD-The US State Department recently published its annual global human rights report. It accuses the Chinese regime of increasing pressure on activists and using illegal means to target dissidents.

On Saturday April 9, the regime’s Foreign Ministry dismissed those claims, arguing the regime attaches importance to protecting human rights and is continually improving its democracy and law systems.

Petitioners in China say this is just not the case with one petitioner being locked up for a month after complaining about corruption to his friend on the street.

Western governments and rights groups have expressed concern in recent weeks, after the Chinese regime intensified its crackdown on dissent.

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NTD-Plans to sink a decommissioned warship off the Australian coast of New South Wales Wednesday April 13 were delayed for more than one hour due to a pod of curious dolphins.

The dolphins were spotted inside the exclusion zone, established around the HMAS Adelaide five minutes before the decommissioned vessel was due to be sent to the bottom of the Tasman Sea.

Previously environmental protesters had delayed the scuttling of the Adelaide after a partial victory in the Federal Court forced the government to clean toxins from the boat before its sinking..

The ship was scuttled in order to create an artificial reef which is expected to draw diving tourists to the region.

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Taiwan said Wednesday April 13 it was getting ready to upgrade the earthquake-resistant designs of its nuclear power plants in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan

The economic minister said Taiwan’s three state-run nuclear power plants were safe but the government was ready to enhance their safety.

Concerns about Taiwan’s atomic plants have increased since Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was crippled by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11.

Around 2,000 anti-nuclear protesters took to Taipei’s streets in March and campaigners plan to mobilise tens of thousands of demonstrators at a rally on April 30.

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On a lighter note.

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A recent study of school children has confirmed Australia’s status as one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries in the world.

The latest Australia Early Development Index study measured the health and development of more than 260,000 children in their first year of school.

It found that 18 per cent spoke a language other than English. Surprisingly Arabic was found to be the most commonly spoken language after English.

Vietnamese was the second-most prevalent, at just under eight-and a half per cent, followed by Greek, Chinese dialects and Hindi, each spoken by less than five per cent.

Aboriginal children comprised just under five per cent of the student population with one-fifth of them speak a native language in the home..

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Tokyo Disneyland re-opened its doors Friday April 15, five weeks after Japan was rocked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Mickey Mouse was on hand to welcome and put a smile on the faces of many of the thousands seeking some relief. To celebrate its reopening the park put on a colourful musical parade of floats featuring Disney characters.

Tokyo Disney said they were prompted by many to reopen early, to create an environment to cheer people up. The 10,000 visitors who queued up outside the theme park indicates a little laughter remains a popular tonic to life’s woes.

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

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