The Agonist - Asia

Add locusts to China's list of calamities

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:02:58 -0700

Mark Magnier | Beijing | July 3

LA Times -

Add locusts to China's list of calamities
Riots -- check. Earthquake -- check. Flood -- check. Plague -- check. Such a concentration of woes in this high-profile year has fanned rumors and superstition.

First there was the freak snowstorm in February. Then the Tibetan riots in March. Then in rapid succession the controversial torch relay, Sichuan earthquake, widespread flooding and an algae bloom that's tarnishing the Olympic sailing venue. Just when it seemed that nothing else could go wrong this year in China, the locusts arrived.

Locusts? What is going on here? The litany of near-biblical woes would seem to lack only a famine, frogs and smiting of the first born.

The Middle Kingdom's parade of problems has threatened to put a major damper on China's anticipated moment of glory less than five weeks before the start of the 2008 Beijing Games.

This week, China sent out an all-points bulletin for exterminators. About 33,000 professional pest killers were quickly dispatched to Inner Mongolia in hope of preventing a cloud of locusts from descending on Beijing during the Games.

Direct China-Taiwan flights begin

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:28:45 -0700

July 4

BBC - The first regular direct flight from mainland China to Taiwan for nearly 60 years has landed at Taipei's airport.

Since the two sides split in civil war in 1949, travellers have had to fly via a third destination - apart from a few special flights during major holidays.

The flight from Guangzhou marks the beginning of regular non-stop direct flights between a number of cities.

The flights will be on weekends only but are seen as a big step in improved relations between the two sides.

The Going Gets Weird in Malaysia

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:34:15 -0700

Not seeing much coverage of the mess in Malaysia:

An accelerating national drama involving leading government figures, conspiracy claims, personal smears, sodomy allegations and a grizzly murder appears to be driving Malaysia inexorably towards its biggest political upheaval since independence in 1957.

Chinese Massive Wrench

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:12:06 -0700

Francesco Sisci | July 3

Asia Times -

A new world under one Heaven

It is a brave new world for China. And for the world, it is a brave new China. As China reaches across the globe for all kinds of resources and energy as well as new markets for its growing industries, it has had to Westernize many aspects of its culture, from language to dress to housing. In turn, the West will have to come to grips with this new China, which will shake its culture to its roots and its soul.

Part 1: Change in the face of foreign devils

India blows up a monsoon

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:10:04 -0700

M K Bhadrakumar | July 3

Asia Times - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made a very calculated political - and potentially dangerous - move to seal the much-delayed civilian nuclear accord with the United States. The deal, though, is only one piece on the chessboard of India's global ambitions that includes the key players of Pakistan, Iran and the United States. But it's the weather that could decide Manmohan's and the chess game's fate.

Soldiers patrol Mongolian capital amid state of emergency

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:14:43 -0700

Ulan Bator | July 2

AFP - Heavily armed soldiers patrolled the capital of Mongolia Wednesday after a state of emergency was declared to quell deadly protests that erupted amid outrage over disputed national elections.

Four people were killed and about 400 policemen injured during the riots that saw thousands of protesters destroy buildings and cars as they stormed through Ulan Bator on Tuesday, according to state-run television.

The Soviet-era headquarters of the formerly communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) that claimed victory in the weekend elections was still smouldering after being set alight and looted in the unrest.

As the protests erupted, Prime Minister Sanjagiin Bayar, of the MPRP, accused the rival Democrats of inciting the violence by unfairly alleging Sunday's parliamentary elections had been rigged.

Kashmir tries to defuse shrine riots by revoking deal

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:51:14 -0700

Andrew Buncombe | Delhi | July 2

The Independent - Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir have stepped in to try to defuse a row over the donation of government land to a Hindu shrine which triggered the biggest protests in the area for almost two decades.

The state government said it would revoke its decision to hand over almost 100 acres to build facilities for the hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims who visit the Shri Amarnath shrine in the predominantly Muslim state.

It hopes the move will calm demonstrations that have raged across Kashmir for the past fortnight, leaving at least five people dead and hundreds injured.

Business In Asia

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:21:45 -0700

I don't really have any great or significant observations to make today. Just a few minor ones.

Doing business in this part of Asia really isn't much different that doing business back home--well, India aside, which is a whole 'nuther story as they say.

Things happen pretty quickly here. Singapore is about business, a regional hub, with the harbour facilities being critical to the region. There is a good deal of finance and a lot of software companies are moving in as the government seems to make it easy for them to do so. Besides, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other nearby countries all have pretty much fully English IT staff.

As for food: man, this place is the food capital of Asia. Wow! I'm just loving it. And the portions are just the right size--not like back home. I never leave a place so full and bloated like I would in Austin.

I'm sure there will be more observations to come, but this place is a very, very English speaking friendly place. Quite different than I expected. But I'm not really sure what I expected anyway.

Kashmir: Mass protests force government to reverse controversial land-transfer decision

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:23:24 -0700

Mian Ridge | July 1

CSM - Eight days of mass protests in Indian-administered Kashmir have prompted the region's government to reverse a controversial decision to transfer a large tract of land to a Hindu organization.

The land transfer, which was seen by some as an attempt to change the Muslim-Hindu ratio in this Muslim-majority area, sparked huge – sometimes violent – protests in the capital, Srinagar. The protests, in which four people were killed and hundreds injured, were the biggest in Kashmir for years.

(media roundup article)

Malaysian opposition leader denies sodomy claim

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:59:41 -0700

KUala Lumpur | June 29

AP - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has denied accusations he sodomized a male aide in a politically explosive scandal, which he blamed on a government conspiracy to thwart his rising clout.

The accusations revived memories of a similar sex scandal a decade ago that led to his imprisonment and ouster as deputy prime minister. Hours after the aide filed the complaint, Anwar, 60, took refuge at the Turkish Embassy, claiming his life was in danger. Anwar, 60, dismissed the accusation as "a complete fabrication

UN says US Aid arrived in Nth Korea

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:18:32 -0700

Seoul, Sth Korea | June 30

AP - A U.S. ship carrying thousands of tons of food aid has arrived in North Korea, after the communist nation agreed to expanded international assistance for its impoverished people, the U.N. food agency said Monday.

The World Food Program said the American ship that arrived Sunday carried 37,000 tons of wheat, the first installment of 500,000 tons in promised U.S. aid that will be distributed by the United Nations.

The aid was not directly related to the ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as the U.S. says it does not use food as a means of diplomatic coercion. However, the shipment came just days after the North handed over its delayed atomic declaration and blew up the cooling tower at its main reactor site.

Fuel Prices Boost Cause of S. Asia's Maligned Rickshaw

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:46:52 -0700

Emily Wax | New Delhi | June 28

WaPo - The bicycle rickshaws that weave through New Delhi's narrow lanes have long been scorned by authorities here for congesting the city's already fierce traffic. The creaking carriages crawl alongside luxury sedans, book hawkers, horse-drawn carts, hulking buses and cows.

In this city and the other quickly modernizing capitals of South Asia, governments have called the rickshaws backward, embarrassing symbols of the Third World.

Now, however, in a time of $7-a-gallon fuel in New Delhi and growing concerns about pollution, environmental activists and transportation experts are pushing back against rickshaw critics. And rickshaw cyclists are seizing the moment to tout the virtues of their trade.

Militants mass near strategic Pakistani city

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:24:25 -0700

Peshawar | June 28

McClatchy/NYT -

Heavily armed Islamic militants have massed on the outskirts of Peshawar, the strategic provincial capital in northwest Pakistan, and the Pakistani government has dramatically stepped up security around the city amid fears that it could fall.

Taliban groups and other extremist warlords now threaten Peshawar from three sides. Should they take over Peshawar, the rest of the North West Frontier Province could follow, leaving Islamic extremists in control of a region that borders Afghanistan and sits astride one of the main supply routes to U.S. and coalition troops there. Weapons for NATO troops pass from the port of Karachi, to the outskirts of Peshawar and through the Khyber Pass to the battlefields of Afghanistan.

UPDATE JUNE 29:
** Pakistan says anti-militant offensive successful
** FC occupies all heights, destroys 3 militant centres
** Pakistan claims control of warlord's former stronghold
** Peace deals scrapped as Pakistani troops strike Taliban

Lhasa's monks all but vanish in Chinese crackdown

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:53:10 -0700

Geoffrey York | Lhasa | June 23

Globe & Mail - Severe restrictions, including checkpoints and surveillance, imposed since wave of anti-government protests in March, exiles say.

The pilgrims returned to the Potala Palace yesterday, spinning their prayer wheels and prostrating themselves in front of the Dalai Lama's ancient palace on a mountaintop in Lhasa.

For two days, the Buddhist pilgrims had been pushed to the sidelines to make room for the Olympic torch relay in Lhasa. The traditional pilgrimage route at the Potala Palace was unceremoniously shut down, in one of many security measures by Chinese authorities, even though a month-long Buddhist festival has drawn thousands of pilgrims to the Tibetan capital.

North Has Handed Over Nuclear Declaration/Off terrorism list next?

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:28:00 -0700

UPDATE:

S. Korean FM: North Has Handed Over Nuclear Declaration

South Korea says North Korea has submitted a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear programs, nearly six months after it was due.

Speaking in Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said the North submitted its declaration to Chinese officials in Beijing. VOA

Bush, who once branded North Korea part of an "axis of evil," said he will call for the lifting of sanctions against North Korea under the Trading with Enemy Act and notify Congress that he intends to take it off the terror list, a move that will take 45 days.

But he warned that the easing of U.S. sanctions on the secretive state would have little real effect.

"The next 45 days will be an important period for North Korea, to show its... cooperation," he said. North Korea will have to end its nuclear activities in a "verifiable" way, he added.

Bush warned Pyongyang that it would still remain one of "the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world". CNN

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