Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado: In these tough economic times increasing trade is critical to California's economy, and that's why, this week, the Governor is leading a trade mission to Asia. More than 70 of California's top business, technology, agriculture and tourism leaders are joining him and together they will strengthen California's economic and diplomatic bonds with China, Japan and Korea.

Chinese rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng was released from prison on Thursday. He had been serving a 4-year sentence at Linyi city prison in Shandong Province. Mr. Chen, who is blind and a self-taught lawyer, began defending the rights of farmers and the disabled in 1998. He later represented women who were forced to have late-term abortions and sterilizations under the Chinese regime's one-child policy. Mr. Chen was arrested in 2006 after documenting late-term abortions in Linyi city, and charged with damaging public property and gathering people to block traffic. His supporters say the charges were fabricated. A Hong-Kong based advocacy organization, Human Rights in China, says he was beaten and abused in custody. His village and relatives are now under heavy surveillance. At least ten men in plain clothes blocked Associated Press journalists from entering his village. ...Read more

At a UN conference on Advanced Global Health in Australia last week, a Canadian human rights lawyer said the Chinese regime is killing prisoners of conscience for their organs. And he alleges the problem is getting worse. Kathryn Shakespear has the story. Illegal organ transplants are becoming more widespread in China, says Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas. Mr. Matas says a growing number of organs are being harvested from prisoners of conscience. The Nobel Peace Prize nominee touched down in Melbourne, Australia this past week to speak at the 63rd annual UN conference on Advanced Global Health. Matas travels the globe drawing attention to the contents of a book he co-authored called Bloody Harvest. Bloody Harvest details allegations that the Chinese communist regime is harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience, followers of the persecuted spiritual practice Falun Gong. Matas believes forced organ harvesting in China is not only continuing, but increasing. ...Read more

The Chinese regime's Minister of Culture wants to sign a cultural agreement with Taiwan, similar to the historic trade agreement signed in June. Taiwan officials received his proposal with caution. Some analysts say the real motivation for the Chinese regime's push for cultural exchange is to increase its political power over Taiwan. The Chinese regime's Minster of Culture Cai Wu visited Taiwan this month for an 8-day visit, hot on the heels of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. He proposed a similar agreement, geared at fostering cultural exchange between the Chinese regime and Taiwan. Cai's Taiwan counterpart Emile Sheng reacted coolly to the idea. The Council for Cultural Affairs Minister said there was no timetable for such an agreement, and that it's only a long-term aim. Cai is the highest level communist official to have visited Taiwan in 12 years. Political commentator Yang Hsien-hong says his trip has more than cultural ramifications. ...Read more

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Friday that Afghanistan's neighbors need to be engaged in order to find a long-term solution to the conflict there. ...Read more

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will leave Sept. 12 for a trade mission to China, his third trip.

GENEVA (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Friday that Afghanistan's neighbors need to be engaged in order to find a long-term solution to the conflict there.

Pakistan, Iran, China and India all have an interest in preventing...

A recent fact-filled 78-page analysis of China's rapidly expanding military capabilities by the Pentagon with a focus on its developing "disruptive technologies," points to Chinese advances in acquiring the capability to attack satellites for refining its space war strategy.Coming to Sino-Indian relations, the Pentagon report, "Military Power of the People's Republic of China," says that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is concerned with persisting disputes along China's shared border with India, and the strategic ramifications of India's emergence as an economic, military and political power. Even as China shows keenness to improve its ties with India, its military incursions in Sikkim and the line of actual control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, deployment of nuclear submarines at an ultramodern facility at Hainan Island in the South China Sea, and its growing defense ties with Pakistan, remain matters of concern for New Delhi. In the past China has attacked India. ...Read more

US, China to discuss resuming military exchanges The United States and China are soon to start talks on resuming their military exchanges, which were halted because of US sales of weapons to Taiwan. US Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters on Thursday that China has clearly signaled interest in resuming military-to-military discussions, and that the US is exploring how best to do so. Morrell suggested the exchanges may restart this year. He added that US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao have shown interest in such a resumption, and that the two will meet early next year. The suspension of the exchanges earlier this year also resulted in the cancellation of a scheduled June visit to China by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. 2010/09/10 16:58(JST) (JST: UTC+9hrs.)

In Burma, official media are weighing-in on a story that rarely gets covered in the government press: crime. The story involves a clash between soldiers and civilians that left two men dead. The incident reportedly had witnesses and comes at a sensitive time ahead of the country's first election in two decades.  

And now the Burmese government is accusing foreign media of distorting the incident to encourage public unrest.

Its mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, has described the shooting as a "drunken brawl."  It reports the two men were shot and killed last week when young soldiers opened fire on a group of youths following a traffic accident in the city of Bago. The story explicitly states the incident was not a fight between the military and the public. ...Read more