A creeping trend thailand is cashing in on demand for snail slime skin care fanatics are crazy for the stuff thats now more precious than gold. Im melissa chan welcome to news asia thank you for joining us we start in china and a look at a man who once upon a time was in the good graces of the communist party but not anymore activist she has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for quote deliberately disclosing state secrets thats the crime the party usually uses to go after people like him for almost 2 decades wangs run a website documented human rights abuses including the legal confiscation of land from powerless farmers to the prosecution or rather persecution of religious groups early on his coverage of social problems was actually praised by the government but space for criticism has narrowed over the years and hes found himself in and out of jail we have so few richardson human china director and Human Rights Watch to talk more about this so if he so one shes been convicted of disclosing state secrets what did he actually do. You know its a great question one of the many things thats gone wrong with the latest prosecution or persecution of paunchy are multiple procedural violations with respect to a fair trial and one of the particular problems with it it was never really me clear to on t. V. Or his lawyers one of whom was disbarred the other one was dismissed what exactly he was being prosecuted for this time we think it pertains to your kids having posted a document from a local official saying that his web site and his work are meant to be terminated but we just dont really know why does the government consider someone like him a threat well you know its ironic because in you know of a functional government or a democracy you know his work is the kind that most governments would embrace and as your setup suggested at one point the party actually did like his work because it was a useful way of gathering information you know about what people in particular locations were concerned about land confiscation corruption these kinds of issues but i think partly because he had assembled quite a Large Network of people across the country who would call to report certain kinds of problems or share Information Online that became an acceptable for me authorities perspective but this is precisely the problem with arbitrary rule that what was acceptable today is not acceptable tomorrow and tomorrow and you know the following week you want to actually being prosecuted and getting incredibly harsh sentence for an harsh sentence of 12 years is that more than normal. Well there is no normal anymore. I dont think there ever really was in a country where the judicial system is explicitly stated to serve political imperatives not to actually hold a set of statutes in any sort of consistent way but its certainly been the case under xi jinping since about 2013 that the sentences that people now get for the same kinds of activism or conduct you know 10 or 15 years ago the sentences are much harsher instead of getting you know 2 years or 4 years were seeing people get 101114 year sentences really on baseless charges so it doesnt really sound like hes going to have an Early Release or anything like that a reprieve of any kind i think the only grounds for a reprieve might be that he is in very poor health he has kidney problems he has heart problems Blood Pressure problems and he has said that he was tortured in detention and he goes to jail at a time when a series of very high profile activists have grown fatally ill and either died in detention or to time or die shortly after being released and you know one wants to hope that the Chinese Government is at least vaguely sensitive to the idea that its going reputation that a prison sentence for an activist increasingly turns into a death sentence you know whether that prompts them to actually follow their own rules about things like medical parole remains to be seen he certainly petitioned for that in the past when hes previously incarcerated and those requests were denied. And he talked about changing king earlier how much tougher tougher has the climate been for activists like him. Its deteriorated significantly i mean theres a brief window in which you know it seemed possible and this is actually want to use our own early prediction because shes government you know claiming to be concerned about transparency and Anti Corruption that many there would be some more room for activists but you know that that idea that right now the governments part just held absolutely no water whatsoever so if you richardson thank you thanks according to the World Health Organization malaysia is the fattest country in asia almost half of its population is overweight it has the 2nd highest child obesity rate in Southeast Asia and the numbers continue to rise the government has a National Plan to tackle the crisis but a Healthy Lifestyle starts of course with the individual dave going to bomb has more. 6 started out as gay 6 you at this fitness clinic dozens of malaysians are put through the paces. 6 6 pullups lifts and lunges. So why is de hard to carry is 31 years old 175 centimeters tall and weighs 125 kilograms 25 less than when he joined this program 7 months ago. Because. It does not. Does not well. Good job so this kind of thing makes me realize that i need healthy zakaria says he used to constantly eat fatty foods and he did not exercise regularly he says the problem started when he was a kid because of the healthy and healthy diet that was. We had you know a family so. When you become obese and says that i have. My normal weight its a situation thats all too common in malaysia where about 30 percent of youth 1000. 00 and under are overweight or obese and half of the adults are as this country is a vast economic leader in the past 2 decades more malaysians now office jobs and a lot fewer work the farm fields but their diets often have not changed much help advocates say children adults here you know exercise more eat less and have healthier food. Many malaysians still eat a lot of rice fatty sauces and other high calorie foods but theyre not burning it off the most overweight and obese in asia as well mohammad colleague the c. E. O. Of the galen center for health and social policy says this problem is about much more than just how malaysians look as a result of the overweight obesity crisis that we see today. We see an increase in the incidence. Such as diabetes hypertension cardiovascular disease Chronic Kidney Disease and all of which result in there being more and more people falling sick there are small steps underway the government is introducing a tax on sugary drinks with the money earmarked for an upcoming Healthy Breakfast program for Primary School students and in recent years more and more fitness clinics like this have opened up across the country as part of a push to help malaysians get healthier. Good is a carious says in addition to working out 3 times a week hes eating smaller portions and a lot less calories i have more energy. I can do a lot of things so. I think it. Makes me feel. Positive about my life. And it makes me think. Theres still a long road ahead but zakaria says the early progress. Encourages him to keep pushing. Through. Turning now to thailand where suppliers are racing to meet demand for snail slime yep you heard that right farmers used to consider them pests croc destroyers but not anymore the slimy things have become darlings of the cosmetics Industry Worth about 280000000 euros in the Global Beauty market in the race to stay forever young snail slime appears to be a winner for some women. Slow but steady snails are on the rise in beauty circles for their prized slime once hated pests theyre now a sought after commodity in rural thailand this teachers snail business helps her pocket up to 600 euros a month. But. The villages sell snails to me before when they found snails destroying their crops they used to throw them on the road so they would be crushed by a passing car all threw them into the river now they sell them to me. You dont need them. But. Its the nucleus shes after patiently milked by dripping water over the snails glands which encourages secretion. The raw slime then goes to aid an international its the sole cosmetic company in thailand to package and sell the product and does so at a massive markup at 52000. 00 euros per kilogram the powder form costs more than gold its downer says a very diet makes for superior slime. Poor folk invariant everything even prefer arkan mushrooms shit their ability to eat a variety of things makes them strong and produces good qualities slime which can be used to protect against sunlight and even heal wounds. 8 employees. Doctor to oversee purification she says the slime is rich and college and the last in and useful for tightening skin and reducing wrinkles evidence to prove these claims is scarce but the Company Boasts of its new casus rejuvenated effects and its process. Going to tell us on a real basis before using snail slime we have to purify the slime to free from contamination of various substances and bacteria which can cause diseases we use a particular filtration method with a Membrane Filter me. Shock of that. Animal rights activists say harvesting slime is cruel but others argue the snails are not harmed and their wellbeing is crucial to the production thats keeping producers very busy trading food. For the precious few. Leaving you with pictures from malaysia and the coronation of its new sultan thanks for watching see you next time and goodbye. To. Enter the conflict zone with tim sebastian. Has been challenging those in call asking tough questions demanding. As conflicts intensify ill be meeting with kids players on the ground when the sun goes out cutting through the rhetoric holding the coffin to account for the conflict. Conflict zone with Jim Sebastian hong. D. W. Crowd and they will not succeed in dividing us not succeed in taking the people off the streets because were tired of the stick trying to show you. Taking a stand global news that matters d. Double made from mines. Watch theres a trade war going on that its red sad chinese tech giant weiwei say business is sound and operation smooth despite being blacklisted by washington. U. S. Negotiators arrive in shanghai to resume resurrect trade talks with china can a deal for Global Commerce be brought back from the dead. And worries mounted by a German Chemicals concern warns thousands of new cancer lawsuits are on the way of or its controversial we kill it. Lets do business the chairman of chinas weiwei says business is robust as ever the sponsor giant has surprisingly posed a double digit sales growth in the 1st half of the year thats despite u. S. Efforts to cut off from Global Supply chains but executives admit those sanctions will bring further challenges in the coming months. In the 1st half while way sold 118000000 smartphones up more than a quarter on the Previous Year analysts say the growth was mostly due to the strong domestic market while ways market share in china reached a record 38 percent cause for confidence for the companys management. Honestly huawei has been somewhat disturbed by the us negative list the files are fairly large but the overall impact is definitely manageable thats ago when we
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.