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China’s military activity raises concern in India

The Fresh Outlook — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:46:40 +0000

India has shown growing concern at China’s spurt in military activity, including a boost to its defence spending in its last budget.

China’s recent rail and road links close to India’s north eastern border region along with the latest 12.7% increase in its defence outlay, has rung alarm bells in India. However, recent talk suggests that much of it is hype and rests on shaky strategic raison d’être.

Pic: AP.

Opinion is divided on potential Chinese aggression, even as the communist country amplified its defence expenditure. The United States is reported to have expressed concern over this increased activity in Beijing. India, however, has little reason to react and experts feel, is being rather hypersensitive.

“China is building roads and has also raised a few military installations close to the border with India, but that does not mean China is going to invade India,” Masood-Ur-Rehman Khattak, Research Fellow at the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI), told The Fresh Outlook.

Anti-dowry law dilution could mean danger for Indian women

The Fresh Outlook — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:04:33 +0000

The gift from a bride and her family to a groom, called a dowry, or dahej; in the form of goods, property, or more commonly, money, is a tradition dating back to pre-Babylonian culture. The dowry can be used to pay for marital costs, and in addition act as insurance, should a bride be mistreated by her parents in-law. A wife will be entitled to receive her dowry when her husband dies. The sum is only inheritable to her blood children, and not those of her husband to any other woman.

In Victorian society in Britain, a dowry was usually given in the upper classes as an early payment of a daughter’s inheritance. This meant that daughters who had not already received their dowries, would be entitled to a portion of the estate following their parent’s death.

The gift of a dowry may seem like an archaic practice from a western point of view, however, this custom is still very much a part of Asian culture, especially in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.

Although a dowry may still prove a productive and respectful aid to a new marriage, there were calls for India to pass legislation in 1961 to outlaw the practice. This was due to incidents of horrific treatment to women who refused or were unable to pay.

Nepal’s child slaves fight back

The Fresh Outlook — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:07:37 +0000

Nepalese girls and women are reintegrating back into society in the thousands after years of servitude, according to Plan Nepal, an organisation dedicated to the cause.

Western Nepal has seen thousands of Tharu girls, who form part of an indigenous ethnic group in the region, working as servants for as little as two meals a day. They are known locally as kamalari, which means hardworking girl or woman.

The largest concentration of kamalari is found in the districts of Dang Dekhuri, Banke, Bardiya, Kaiali and Kanchanpur.

Bonded Labour

Tharu girls often engage in the kamalari system of bonded labour, where they will work for landlords, business people or civil servants under a year-long verbal contract. There are no written formal contracts signed between employers and parents who hand over their girls and, in some cases, these commitments last for several years. Contracts are usually made during celebration of their largest festival, Maghi.

Rising concern as India faces ‘brain drain’

The Fresh Outlook — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:37:39 +0000

A growing trend of students from developing nations drifting abroad for higher education is a worrying one, experts believe. Bright students travelling overseas – christened a brain drain – has risen sharply in recent times. The Fresh Outlook spoke to students and other key experts for a better understanding of the situation.

As India experiences a serious exodus of intelligent brains, the receiving countries stand to gain.

One lac Indian students currently study in the United States alone. The UK, Australia, Germany and Singapore are other prime study-abroad locations that attract thousands of students.

: Indian students take lessons from their teacher inside a classroom at a school in Calcutta, India. Pic: AP.

Established views suggest that developed nations are better off as they cash in on the intelligence of the immigrant community.

Tiger parts found in restaurant after raid

The Fresh Outlook — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:22:05 +0000

A Malaysian restaurant owner could face up to $196,000 (USD) in fines, as well as time in prison, after authorities found several animal parts and meat allegedly from protected species, including dried tiger parts.

Officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in Pahang, on the Malaysian east coast peninsula, found approximately 17kg of Common Barking Deer meat, 54 Argus Pheasant feathers, two skinned Mouse Deer and a White-breasted Waterhen during their raid of the man’s house and his shop premises on March 15.

The dried tiger parts, which were discovered in a sealed glass jar, along with dried parts of several other animals, will be sent for forensic analysis.

Perhilitan Director, Khairiah Mohd Shariff, said that the findings are significant because the village of Kubang Rusa, where these parts were found, lies within the country’s most important tiger corridor.

Thousands of foreigners caned in Malaysia

The Fresh Outlook — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:13:46 +0000

Human rights groups have asked for the immediate halt of judicial caning in Malaysia since the government revealed that almost 30,000 foreign workers had been caned over the last five years.

Numbers emerged after Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein responded to a parliamentary question on March 9 by stating that 29,759 foreigners had been caned for immigration offences between 2005 and 2010.

Andika Abdul Wahab from the watchdog Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), said in a statement: “Judicial caning is a form of torture and ill-treatment against human beings because it causes physical suffering, psychological problems an constant trauma.”

He also added that caning is part of a barbaric solution and that it is prohibited by international law.

An old woman paddles a boat in the ocean of Semporna, eastern Malaysia. Pic: AP.

Malaysia is one of Asia’s biggest importers of labour and workers mostly come from neighbouring country of Indonesia. They are usually arrested during large-scale crackdowns on illegal migrants.

Death toll increases with second explosion at Fukashima

The Fresh Outlook — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:01:39 +0000

The repercussions of Japan’s 9.0 earthquake that the country last Friday continue today.

A second explosion occurred at the TEPCO Fukushima nuclear power station that injured 11 people. The cover of reactor 3 blew off at 11.01am today in the nuclear plant, two days after the explosion in reactor 1 on Saturday. Despite the explosions, the core containers of the reactors remain intact.

“Based on the conditions of the explosion and other factors, we believe that this explosion was similar in kind to the hydrogen explosion that occurred in the Unit 1 reactor,” Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edan, saido in an official press release this morning.

Better days: In this undated but recent photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co., the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors stand in line intact in Okumamachi in Fukushima Prefecture. Pic: AP.

Along with the second blast, the cooling system in reactor 2 also broke down today. Since a cooling system breakdown was exactly what preceded explosions at reactors 1 and 3, TEPCO operators are battling to cool the reactor in a bid to prevent a third explosion by pumping seawater into it.

TEPCO has informed the government that the reactor had lost all its cooling capabilities due to an emergency power system failure that was caused by last Friday’s earthquake.

HIV-Positive director denied entry at Manila airport

The Fresh Outlook — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:13:00 +0000

Well known theatre director and artist, Marcelino Cavestany, was turned away by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) as he attempted to enter Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines on Sunday, March 6. Mr. Cavestany, an Australian citizen, was denied entry due to a blacklist order signed by the Immigration Commissioner in March last year.

The order was signed by then commissioner, Marcelino Libanan. It says that in order to prevent the spread of HIV, patients who are HIV-positive will not be allowed to enter the country.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have said that the BI has violated the human rights of the director.

In a statement, CHR chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales said: “Based on news reports, he arrived around 9.30pm from Darwin, Australia and was immediately accosted by immigration agents who physically prevented him from exiting the terminal.”

A man leaves an airport. Pic: AP.

Ms Rosales further said that the CHR is “gravely concerned” about the incident and that they are unsure whether other HIV-positive persons have been excluded in the past.

“Immigration officials, like all other law enforcement officials, are duty-bound to follow the law and respect the fundamental rights of HIV-positive persons,” she said.

Increasing suicide rates in Japan: An analysis

The Fresh Outlook — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:43:52 +0000

On February 28 2010, a Japanese university student allegedly caused an express bus to crash in Hiroshima. 22-year-old junior at Kagoshima University, Yuki Kajita, told investigators that he wanted to die.

There have been many more cases such as Yuki Kajita’s during the last year. According to a National Police Agency (NPA) report in Japan, 153 people, from the ages of 20-29, took their own lives in 2010 due to failure to find work; the age group accounting for more than a third of such suicides.

The NPA also shows that the number of people in Japan who killed themselves in the last year because they couldn’t find a job rose 20 percent. While in 2009, the number of people who commited suicide was 354, in 2010 this rose to 424.

For at least a decade, there has been more than 30,000 annual cases of suicide – almost equating to one every 15 minutes, as was reported by the Guardian last year.

Something is happening in Japan. Why are these rates increasing again? Why are these rates increasing particularly among the youth? The Fresh Outlook spoke to several experts in order to gain a greater insight into the reality of suicide in Japan.

Thousands of Indian farmers’ livelihoods threatened

The Fresh Outlook — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:34:43 +0000

Fifteen thousand Indian farmers could lose their livelihood if a proposed multi-billion dollar South Korean steel plant project goes ahead later this month. POSCO, the steel giant, is currently on course for the $12 billion operation which could see around 4,000 hectares of coastal land cleared in the Jagatsinghpur district, in the Indian state of Orissa.

POSCO has been given conditional clearance by the Indian authorities in an area in which many local farmers depend for their livelihoods. However, according to the condition, Orissa state authorities have to give assurance that no person staying on the proposed project area can claim rights under India’s new forest rights legislation.

The Forest Rights Act, 2008, states that forest-dwelling communities will be able to lay claim to land and other resources if they are dependant on it for their livelihood. However, the law does not always guarantee that the affected communities will be able to have their claims resolved through a transparent and fair process.

Pic: AP.

According to investigations conducted by India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), it has been concluded that Orissa state authorities have failed to settle community claims over forest land and that the proposed steel project by POSCO potentially violates national environmental laws and coastal regulations.

Grameen Bank’s Yunus takes dismissal to court

The Fresh Outlook — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:15:51 +0000

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, has responded to the Bangladesh Bank letter asking for his retirement as the head of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides micro credit to aid its clients to establish financial self-sufficiency.

Last Wednesday, Bangladesh’s central bank removed the 70-year-old Mr Yunus,stating the mandatory age of retirement as 60. The Bank also said proper procedures were not followed when Mr Yunus was appointed Managing Director in 1999 in a statement. Mr Yunus has not agreed with this decision, however, and has initiated legal action against the government order.

China: A government that “buries its head in the sand”

The Fresh Outlook — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:13:36 +0000

The Middle East is witnessing change; pro-democracy campaigners have toppled administrations in Egypt and Tunisia and it’s starting to become clear that the democratic fervour is spreading within the region.

China’s ‘Jasmine Rallies’ that have been inspired by events in the Middle East, are starting to become a growing concern for its authorities. Named after what has been achieved by pro-democracy campaigners in Tunisia, this movement is calling upon weekly protests on the country’s streets.

The Fresh Outlook spoke exclusively to Gao Wenqian, Senior Policy Advisor at Human Rights in China (HRIC). Mr Wenqian speaks about a multitude of issues that have contributed to the Jasmine Rallies; a movement he feels that “the government will not be able to defeat”.

Analysing China’s economy

The Fresh Outlook — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:01:39 +0000

Dr. Damian Tobin from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London reflects on China’s increasing economic power.

Recent news of China becoming the world’s second largest economy has restarted the debate over China’s role in the global economy. It is tempting to assume that China’s trailblazing growth rates, alongside plunging growth rates in western developed economies, confirms the fact that China has overcome the constraints facing developing economies.

China’s rapid growth appears, at first glance, to reject the view that the fortunes of the developing world are ultimately dependent on the economic growth in developed countries. However, beneath the headline figures, the fundamental challenges facing China remain unchanged, especially that of raising living standards.

The late Chairman Mao Tse-tung's face is seen on a pack of bills of Chinese yuan next to the U.S. currency. Pic: AP.

The extent of this challenge is not reflected in aggregate GDP data which do not account for the gradual privatisation of welfare benefits since 1978, the environmental costs of growth, or the vast gaps between urban and rural areas where per capita disposable income in the latter is often less that US$800 a year.