Sydney Reels in Horror, North Korea Wins, What's Next for China, and more.

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LINK: http://asianewsweekly.net/2014/12/19/sydney-reels-horror-north-korea-win... Abe's electoral outcome, a big win for North Korea, and where does China go from here. These stories and more are on the December 19th edition of Asia News Weekly. The Sydney Siege Sydney, Australia was rocked this week when Man Haron Monis siezed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. Host Steve Miller summarizes the key events of the sixteen hour standoff that unfortunately led to the loss of two inside and the gunman. When Monis forced his hostages to hold a black flag with Arabic flag in the cafe's window, Sydney's Muslim groups released a statement condemning the standoff saying in part, “The Australian Muslim community shares with fellow Sydneysiders their utter shock and horror at the unprecedented scenes emerging from Lindt cafe in Martin Place this morning. We reject any attempt to take the innocent life of any human being.” Miller also shares some good news about Australians stepping up in the wake of this horrific event. Japan Election Update Sunday, Japan went to the polls to select new members of the lower house of the Diet in a snap election called by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Michael Cucek, Adjunct Fellow at the Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan returns to the podcast with the results and analysis. North Korea's Big Win The computer hacking incident against Sony has been the most devastating on record. Not because of the information gleaned, but because of its implications. “We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers,” Sony said in a statement as it pulled The Interview from theater release. Miller explains why this is dark and dangerous day for the world. Hong Kong’s Future Police cleared the final pro-democracy encampment Monday located on Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay. Reports say that less than twenty staunch supporters of the Umbrella Revolution staged a sit-in as police took down barricades. But what’s next? Scott Harold, Political Scientist with the RAND Corporation, joins Miller to discuss what the central government must do to turn things around. Harold also comments on what we may see in 2015, as China continues its expansion in the South China Sea. The Weekly Brief Reporter Michael Farrell shares five more stories from the region, including the latest as a US Marine is transferred to a Filipino prison on suspicion of murder. Other stories include a call by some Japanese to ban a World War II prisoner of war film, Chinese President Xi's continued consolidation of power, and how Jack Ma has surged to top of Asia's rich list. Reminder Host Steve Miller is going on vacation. Asia News Weekly will return February 2015. Until then, for everyone at Asia News Weekly, have a safe and happy holiday season. Asia News Weekly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Connect with me on social media and the internet! Twitter: http://twitter.com/SteveMillerANW Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/asianewsweekly Podcast: http://asianewsweekly.net TAGS: asia news,asia news weekly,podcast,steve miller,qiranger,SteveMillerANW,Sydney,Australia,ISIS,Japan,election,Abe,Sony,Sony Hack,North Korea,Cyber crime,Cyber terrorism,The Interview,China,South China Sea,Hong Kong,Umbrella Revolution,Democracy,Asia News,Asia News Weekly,podcast
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