Salem-News.com Asia articles Page 7

Chinese Activist`s Family Gets US Asylum

It is reported that Guo has been constantly abused while serving his current sentence.

(HONK KONG RFA) - The wife and two children of a jailed Chinese rights lawyer have been granted political asylum in the United States, Radio Free Asia reports.

Zhang Qing, the wife of jailed Chinese rights lawyer Guo Feixiong, and their two children were notified of their status on Nov. 19, she told RFA's Mandarin service in her first interview since arriving in the United States in early April.

North Korea`s Underground Bunkers

Hundreds of bunkers are decoys, a defector says, while hundreds more contain material for a possible invasion.

(SEOUL RFA) - North Korea built hundreds of bunkers at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating it from South Korea even as the previous Seoul government pursued its policy of opening to the North, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

A well-informed North Korean defector said in an interview that Pyongyang had built at least 800 bunkers, including an unknown number of decoys, to prepare for a possible invasion of South Korea while South Korean president Roh Moo Hyun was in office.

Jailed Laotian Group Wanted Help From Government

Several hundred Lao people detained on their way to the capital weren’t dissidents, one man says.

(BANGKOK) - An ethnic Lao man briefly detained this month as he and several hundred others converged on the Lao capital to petition the government, says the group was planning to seek help from the authorities rather than stage a political protest, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

“What have we done that is so wrong, that we had to be detained? All we were doing was asking the government for help. I want to live with dignity even if it costs my life,” the man, 47 and an illegal migrant worker in Thailand, said in an interview.

Oregon Developer Enters Joint Venture Agreement With Vietnamese Investment Firm

Plans call for building green/solar affordable housing in Oregon and high-end housing in Viet Nam.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In a meeting at the state capitol, Mr. Nguyen Van Kinh, President and CEO of KVN Investments, LLC, a Vietnamese firm with offices in Hanoi and California, affirmed his commitment to invest in the Oregon housing market utilizing state-of-the-art green and solar panel technology.

Baltazar “Buz” F. Ortiz, founder of Ortiz & Associates, will partner with Mr. Kinh to build Champion Village, a $25 million solar-powered pilot housing project in Sandy, Oregon, using GeoPanel™ light concrete and other green technologies.

New Book Chronicles Published War Stories From SE Asia

"These stories needed a wider audience for the world to know what they suffered, how most survived, and how they overcame adversity." - Marc Yablonka, author of "Distant War: Recollections of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia"

(BURBANK, Calif.) - A new book by Reporter/Author Marc Yablonka, Distant War: Recollections of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. chronicles eighteen years of Yablonka’s reportage on American involvement in Indochina, and the people affected by America’s connection to that part of the world.

The reports in this newly-edited compilation account for a time that in Yablonka's view, that left an indelible mark on American history.

Election Call From Former Aide in China for Full Democracy

"All of the great mistakes at a national level with far-reaching consequences were committed under the planning and leadership of the Communist Party" - Bao, a former aide to disgraced late Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang.

(HONG KONG RFA) - A former top official in China's Communist Party has called on patriotic Chinese to "return power to the people" and push for full democracy ahead of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

Sixty years after peasant leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Square on Oct. 1, 1949, former top Party aide Bao Tong said the Party has never admitted its mistakes.

Record Harvest of Marijuana Seized by Crimean Militia

News from Simferopol, Ukraine, a sister city of Salem, Oregon: A record harvest of marijuana seized by the Crimean militia in Simferopol, Ukraine may amount to political posturing,

(SEMFEROPOL, Ukraine) - The new chief of the Crimean militia, Gennadiy Moskal, hasn't been in his position very long, but he is attracting attention on a regular basis. Moskal arrested his first assistant, Marina Chernova though Moskal is probably a bigger target for the future. Some speculate that is why president Yushchenko send him to Crimea.

He already arrested Simferopol's Gennadiy Babenko, his assistant Chernova, and now has a new show underway in the Crimea militia’s yard.

Over a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Morakot Strikes East China

More than 300 houses have collapsed, and 16,200 hectares of farmland were inundated. The city's airport was closed and 56 roads were cut off by rainstorms.

(FUZHOU, China ) - Typhoon Morakot slammed into Chinese provinces on the eastern coast on Sunday, causing casualties, destroying houses and inundating farmlands.

Morakot made landfall in the coastal areas of Beibi Town, Xiapu County in Fujian Province, at 4:20 p.m., packing winds up to 118.8 kilometers per hour in its eye, the province's meteorological bureau said.

Sought After Pakistani Taliban Leader Mehsud May Be Dead

The death is unconfirmed, but militants say the Taliban is already holding a "shura" council to select Mehsud's replacement.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Military officials in Pakistan believe Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud may have been killed during a CIA missile strike.

Pakistani security officials report that Mehsud, his wife and bodyguards were killed on August 5th 2009 when an American drone aircraft attacked their location in the Zangar area in South Waziristan.

Journalists Pardoned by North Korea

A special pardon is issued to two detained U.S. journalists after former U.S. President Bill Clinton meets with North Korea's leader. Will Clinton's visit open other windows for talks?

(WASHINTON D.C. RFA) - Radio Free Asia reports that North Korea has issued a "special pardon" to two detained U.S. journalists following a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton to Pyongyang, according to North Korean media reports.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years' hard labor by a Pyongyang court in June. The pair admitted violating North Korean law in an attempt to shoot television footage relating to North Korean refugees in China.