at 18:30 (JST), March 31

Asian View

"Asian View" is a five-minute news segment broadcast by NHK WORLD-JAPAN. It features the latest news and deep analysis from Japan and the rest of Asia. Listen to "Asian View" and get the latest information from a region that's playing an increasingly important role in the world.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20230331183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : former respect
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230328_26/

Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has indicated that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should work to reduce tensions based on the view that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China.

Ma, who belongs to Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, started his trip to China on Monday. He has become the first Taiwanese leader, current or former, to visit China.

Ma visited the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang, in Nanjing on Tuesday.

In comments issued after that visit, Ma expressed hope that the two sides will work together to pursue peace, avoid war and promote Chinese ethnicity.

He said these goals are the inevitable responsibility of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait, and that they must all work hard to achieve them.

Ma was asked by reporters whether he is satisfied with his welcome. There are views in Taiwan that officials who met Ma when his plane landed in Shanghai on Monday were low ranking.

Ma replied that he is very satisfied and that his treatment has been beyond his expectations.

Taiwan's premier Chen Chien-jen said Ma is its former president, and expressed hope that he would be treated as such in accordance with international norms.

The premier's remarks are seen as asking for respect for Taiwan's sovereignty, as well as a warning to Beijing and to Ma against putting Taiwan under the framework of "one-China."

Key words : ma met
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230331_04/

Taiwan's former President Ma Ying-jeou has reaffirmed that Taiwan and China should uphold the view that both belong to "one China."

Ma met Song Tao, the director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in the city of Wuhan in the inland Chinese province of Hubei on Thursday.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency says Song told Ma that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of one family.

Song emphasized that China resolutely opposes what he called "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and interference from external forces.

Ma said people on both sides belong to the same Chinese nation. He said the two sides must maintain exchanges, cooperate and do everything possible to avoid war and conflict.

Ma, a member of Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, was president from 2008 to 2016. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in 2015, when they affirmed the "1992 Consensus."

The Consensus refers to what's described as a confirmation between the Kuomintang and China that there is "one China." The Kuomintang was in power when the Consensus formed.

Analysts say Ma is seeking to demonstrate to voters ahead of Taiwan's presidential election next January that the Kuomintang has China's ear.

Ma's meeting with Song comes as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is stopping in the United States on her way to Guatemala and Belize, two Central American nations with diplomatic ties to Taiwan.

She is expected to stop again in the US next week to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before returning to Taiwan.

Key words : south publicly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230331_09/

The South Korean government has for the first time publicly released a report on North Korea's human rights violations.

The government of President Yoon Suk-yeol compiled the report based on testimonies from more than 500 people who had defected from North Korea since 2017.

The 450-page report released on Thursday says citizens were executed for watching and distributing South Korean dramas, or selling cosmetics and other South Korean items.

A pregnant woman was also reported to have been publicly executed in 2017 for pointing her finger at a portrait of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung.

The report says executions are widely carried out in the North for acts that do not justify the death penalty.

The human rights report has been compiled annually under a law enacted in 2016. But the documents were classified under the administration of Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who sought dialogue with North Korea.

Yoon has been putting increasing pressure on Pyongyang over human rights issues.

Earlier this week Yoon said human rights violations against the North Korean people should be fully revealed to the international community.

Key words : myanmar US state
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230330_40/

The decision by Myanmar military junta to dissolve the party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of others has drawn international condemnation.

The US government criticized the decision to abolish 40 political parties including the National League for Democracy.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters "Any election without the participation of all stakeholders in Burma would not be and cannot be considered free or fair."

The State Department spokesperson said Washington continues to support efforts to establish democracy in Myanmar.

Myanmar's military announced on Tuesday that the NLD would be dissolved as it had failed to meet a deadline to register for elections.

The NLD won the 2020 general election, but the military alleged voting irregularities and seized power in a coup early the next year.

Japan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing ''serious concern". It said the further exclusion of the NLD will ''make it even more difficult to improve the situation.'' It also called on the Myanmar military to immediately release NLD leaders.

Britain and Australia also condemned the junta for increasing repression of people's democratic rights.

The NLD said in a statement that the junta's actions were a breach of the law. It added that the election commission controlled by the military had no right to dissolve lawfully established political parties.

Key words : 12 years sharing painful memories
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20230310091646890/

The Power of Storytelling

March 11 marks the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. One young woman from a badly-hit area was unable to talk about the disaster for years, following the tragic death of her sister. This report explores how she is finally able to share her memories and transform her grief - through the power of storytelling.