East Asia

Pyongyang starts preliminary talks with Seoul in preparation for late August historic summit. But in South Korea there are doubts as well as hopes. At issue are the summit’s location, timing and agenda.

South Korean Embassy in Kabul announces early flight home. Negotiations over the other 19 hostages still held by the Talibans, 14 of whom are women, continue. Seoul and Washington call for their “immediate and unconditional” release. Ghazni governor makes an appeal.

In July food costs soared, while the increases on export prices remained stable. Economists warn: the cause lies in the development model.

The head of a Chinese toy factory, involved in the Mattel case and forced to withdraw products containing excessive levels of led from the market. Over 10% of Chinese children have too much lead in their blood.

For 4 days a third of all vehicles will be banned from circulation, to reduce air pollution. But it is forbidden to report on subsequent difficulties and their will even be strict controls on Internet forums. Meanwhile the architect of the Olympic stadium denounces the “false smiles” of the authorities who are covering up current problems and past shames.

Joint military exercises between the six-member Shanghai Co-operation Organisation will continue till August 17; fighting terrorists and criminals is one of their objectives. The games are allowing high-ranking officials from all member states to meet. Moscow is building up its fleet and Beijing needs Russian help to contain the United States.

Captors’ spokesman announces that hostages will not be executed before direct negotiations with a South Korean delegation take place. Some 50 Christian and Buddhist religious leaders appeal for their unconditional release.

The well-known activist for workers’ rights fears the government is more interested in showcasing the Games than the needs of the population. He cites recent examples in which the authorities censored reports of strikes, and points out the contradiction between officially celebrating physical strength in Beijing whilst doing little against the lack of proper health care across the nation.

Hikes in grain prices are hard to explain, but what is clear is that they are affecting pork, China’s staple meat whose consumption has reached record levels in the country. More grain is being produced and Wen Jiabao has spoken of releasing government reserves, the largest in the world. Here is synopsis of an article by Maurizio d’Orlando to be published in AsiaNews’ monthly magazine.

Yesterday’s pre-Olympic events in Tiananmen Square were full of shows and leaders’ speeches stressing national pride and world solidarity. Major anti-pollution measures are planned for the Games but endurance events might have to be moved. Pro-human rights in China demonstrations take place around the world.

On the 62nd anniversary of the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan, city mayor slams nuclear programmes by Pakistan, India, North Korea and Iran. On August 9, 27,000 people died, including 8,500 Catholics. In the historic Urakami Cathedral a special mass is held each year for the victims.

The rapid growth in the economy in China and in Asia has benefited above all the rich who have become increasingly richer, alleviating only a small minority of the hundreds of millions of poor. Beijing is developing along Latin American lines, with a pending crises in social stability.