Saturday, August 27, 2005

News: Asian Pacific Korner

China Bans Media From Zhejiang Environmental Protest-2005.08.25, HONG KONG- The authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have succeeded in preventing any first-hand media coverage of an environmental protest in which thousands of villagers clashed with riot police, local residents say.

China Culls Cattle in Qinghai Tibetan Village-2005.08.25, KATHMANDU-Chinese officials in the northwestern province of Qinghai have slaughtered cattle belonging to Tibetan villagers after a "mysterious cattle disease" was found in the Amdo region of the province, local residents say.

South Korean Abductee Reunited With Mother After 30 Years-2005.08.18, SEOUL- A 62-year-old former South Korean fisherman has been reunited with his aging mother, 30 years after being abducted from his fishing vessel by the Stalinist North.

China Tightens Grip on Cyberspace-2005.08.17, HONG KONG-The Chinese government has already spent at least U.S.$800 million on state-of-the-art monitoring technology to control its citizens online, but recent moves suggest Beijing may soon tighten its grip on cyberspace still further.

China Jails Three Tibetans For Dalai Lama Pictures, Teachings-2005.08.11, KATHMANDU-Three men who tried to carry pictures and audio tapes of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into the Himalayan region were handed jail terms of up to four years by a Chinese court for ‘political offences.'

Former Chinese Labor Camp Chief Says Regime "Sickened" Him-2005.08.08, TORONTO-A former overseer of labor camps from the northeastern city of Shenyang, Han Guangsheng, has said he defected while on a trip to Canada because he says he could no longer tolerate the level of brutality, human rights abuses and corruption in the Chinese Communist Party.

China Bans Foreign Investors From News Industry-2005.08.05, HONG KONG-China has released a new set of regulations banning foreign companies from operating in the media and publishing industries, tightening existing restrictions still further in a new, and tougher, policy initiative, analysts say.

The Plunder of Tibet's Treasures-2005.08.01, WASHINGTON-The ancient Himalayan culture of Tibet—already subject to strict religious controls from Beijing—is suffering irreparable cultural losses amid a tide of burglaries, looting and illegal trade in Buddhist treasures from its monasteries and temples.

Wild Pigeon: A Uyghur Fable-Read the first English translation of a Uyghur tale of a young pigeon—the son of a pigeon king—trapped and caged by humans when he ventures far from home.