Podcasts ,Asia

Here’s an extract from the radio: &nbsp,

Teresa Tang:
You mentioned that some Yakuza members have left. They’ve tried to start a new career, but there are obstacles, not least of which is the shame of their history, right? &nbsp,

Michiyo Ishida:
Yes, allow me clarify what Tatsuya Shindo said to me. He was detained numerous times, three times for improper drugs, and was in prison. Actually though he completed his name in jail, Chinese culture, he said, was cruel. If he wanted to find a good work, he had to keep any remnants of his Yakuza past a secret. So he had to, for example, cover his tattoo. 20 years ago, when he was ( in the ) Yakuza, the law was not as tough as today towards crime syndicates. Still, there were major hurdles for him to ( integrate ) into society. Tatsuya Shindo explained this to me, exactly. &nbsp,

Tatsuya Shindo:
” For five decades after you are released from prison, deals may be signed. You may get a credit card, book a location, apply for a loan for a vehicle or opened a bank account. Today, if you ca n’t open an account, you ca n’t work. If your money may be remitted, they know why”.

Teresa Tang:
Some refugees, asylum applicants in Hong Kong, Deb, they’re living in purgatory actually, as they wait to get processed. They’re handcuffed, so to speak. What is the atmosphere like in Hong Kong when it is all about them? Are they usually accepted? Are they shunned, or are they ignored? &nbsp,

Deborah Wong: &nbsp,
You know, it’s exciting that you use the term lock, because that’s exactly what happened to Aimé Girimana, the person that we heard at the start of this radio, and he was talking about how no one plans to become a refugee. Then, Aimé’s history was very intriguing. He was a Burundi-based human rights lawyer when he learned that he was a target of death in the time, and he only learned this two days before the document was scheduled to take place. Therefore, he emigrated to Hong Kong with just a single suitcase, and that is where he was actually the only person who may enter the country without a visa 20 years earlier. But upon getting in Hong Kong, he was handcuffed. And Aimé told me that he was shocked, because he thought that Hong Kong was an international capital, and so… with that notion in mind, he was quite surprised you know, that he was being handcuffed without ( be ) given the chance to discuss his position. That is how it was twenty-five years before. Aimé is still awaiting relocation to a host nation, and he claims that over the past 20 years, public conversation has definitely improved. Hong Kong does include Charities like the Justice Centre and the Christian Action Centre for Refugees, both of whom advocate for refugees, but by and large, the migrant society is still largely unidentified.

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Here’s an extract from the radio: &nbsp,

Teresa Tang: &nbsp,

One of the things you asked ( the Prime Minister of Bhutan ) Saksith, was how Bhutan navigates its relationship between its two massive neighbours, China and India. What aspect of what he said surprised you the most? &nbsp,

Saksith Saiyasombut:

This was a topic that was n’t the easiest to approach. You could tell from everyone we spoke to about their great neighbors, in my opinion, because the narrative usually suggests that it’s a little level of country nestled between giants. So I believe they were moving very cautiously, no swaying one way or the other. You know, to put it into context, Bhutan, diplomatically speaking, does n’t have the biggest leverage. Only a few hundred countries in the world have diplomatic relations with it. India is the oldest pal of Bhutan, out of the other a select few nations that have embassy there as well. They had the most extended- standing political relationship going numerous, many, many decades. In many ways, it is being believed that because they are the biggest financial trading partner, India is a little like the great nephew of Bhutan. In the beginning of the political connections, India was offer, unquote, guiding Bhutan in its international plan. &nbsp,

But finally compare that to the northeast, to China. There are no formal diplomatic relations either. However, there have been conflicts and disagreements regarding the frontier dividing line between Bhutan, China, and India, particularly in the western region of the nation, where there was a two-month conflict between Chinese and Indian soldiers. Although it was resolved largely happily, there are still border discussions between China and Bhutan. They have been continued, and they still keep continuing. This is also what makes India a tiny pessimistic about whether or not China is encroaching on Bhutan in some way or another. But much from me, come learn about what the Prime Minister had to suggest, what he’s thinking about Bhutan’s place in the world:

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay:

” Bhutan is a small, landlocked nation sandwiched between companies all around us, not only China and India. Bangladesh and Nepal, greatly populated countries, densely populated countries, and we, if anything, perhaps are underpopulated. We have a very modest people. So we have our own element, and we understand our own path”.

Saksith Saiyasombut:

So in that sense, it’s kind of interesting when you think about it- what has n’t been said there, what they did n’t tell us. I think that’s the more important issue. Even though, despite all of that, this Prime Minister has a very close relation with Modi, this development is continued with Bhutan between India and China. &nbsp,
 

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Here’s an extract from the audio: &nbsp,

Teresa Tang:

These coasts were again inviting, but they have become hostile then. Some also voiced opposition to Aceh’s addition of more Rohingyas. What has changed? Why is there this backlash right then? &nbsp,

Chandni Vatvani:

Also Teresa, again, you know it’s fascinating, because if we look at Aceh, Aceh is Indonesia’s northernmost state. It is Indonesia’s only province that is authorized to practice Syariah law, which is a morally conservative territory.

Today we talk to people in Aceh, we talk to the visitors, and not just in the villages, but also in the investment Banda Aceh and we ask them this very issue, and some stuff stood up in their actions.

Number one: Some people expressed sympathy and understanding for the Rohingya refugees ‘ situation. They did, however, exceedingly feel that Indonesia was being taken advantage of. When smaller numbers ( of Rohingyas ) used to arrive in boats, they said it was okay for them, and it was okay by them, but this influx caused a wave of panic.

And again, if we look at Aceh, as of 2022, Aceh was in the bottom five poorest regions in Indonesia. Aceh has been doing better in terms of the poverty level and that statistic has been decreasing, though.

However, several people, especially the opening areas and within the having communities, people feel the problem, they say, of hosting the Rohingya in their vicinities and their communities worry that more is being done by authorities for foreigners more than locals…

Then there’s also the fact that people worry that Indonesia and in Aceh particular, may be a landing page for Rohingya migrants. You know some folks we spoke to, they say,” Oh, the Rohingya migrants, they cause trouble. They do minor atrocities”. We did learn about escaping from the camps from them as well. &nbsp,

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Here’s an extract from the radio:

Teresa Tang: &nbsp,

What I found really interesting in your TV statement was that you really saw these peach lighthouses in the range and that a Filipino saying that you said translated into” This is ours,” which is incredibly symbolic. On the water, did you encounter any issues? You are aware of what transpired when you approached the reef? &nbsp,

Buena Bernal:

Two China beach guard ships have now begun to shadow our fleet 40 nautical miles away from the coast. By this point, the 100 little wooden vessels were no longer with us. And I spoke with authorities after that journey because 40 nautical miles from shore, that’s properly within a country’s 200 nautical hour exclusive economic zone, and those distances are determined by the UN Convention of the Laws of the Sea, which determines the belt of water a nation can claim based on its distance from its shore.

And they informed me that Chinese vessels monitoring the West Philippine Sea, or the Philippines ‘ coastal area in the larger South China Sea, are getting closer and closer to shore, based on their surveillance. They are beginning to realize that China is constantly moving their target. It started in 1996 with West Philippine Sea with China seizing Mischief Reef, 2012, China’s seizing the inward lagoon of Scarborough Shoal.

Sabina Shoal, the island’s closest big sea feature in the West Philippine Sea to Palawan, is now the focus of the dispute. And therefore what you’re actually seeing these is China’s productive activity of the West Philippine Sea, according to academics I’ve spoken to.

And it’s trying to normalise, the scientists are saying, that activity of its ball. And thus efforts like this, where civilians are attempting to visit these nautical features, have been made, at least to the Philippine-occupied islands there, and have included a tour boat and a visit yacht that I retired from last year.

But all these work to” civilianised” the place, they say, is essentially a rebellion of, or a problem to growing Chinese creative activity of the West Philippine Sea, or what they say is China’s militarisation of that place.

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Four months after being elected Taiwan’s future president, William Lai actually takes on the role next year. He has a lot to do, including preserving stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait.

With journalists Olivia Siong and Victoria Jen, Teresa Tang examines what she can expect from him and Beijing. &nbsp,

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Vital medications are priced in the Philippines at least three times more than those purchased abroad. Caregivers are overworked and underpaid. As they wait to be seen, the sick have to camp on medical streets.

Teresa Tang and Buena Bernal speak about the state of the Philippine healthcare system and why it is n’t working.

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Muslims in Malaysia turn to the Islamic Party of Pakistan and powerful spiritual leaders for instruction as a result of corruption controversies and changing lifestyles, while Indonesia’s recent presidential poll suggests that political Islam is waning it. &nbsp,

Arnold Gay speaks with CNA’s Nivell Rayda and Amir Yusof to learn what’s driving these spiritual changes. &nbsp,

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