Rocketfuel’s Weblog

Chinese students studying in Korea jeered and clashed with South and North Korean protesters who were demanstrating for better human treatment towards North Korean refugess in China.

By SANG-HUN CHOE
Published: April 27, 2008

SEOUL, South Korea — Thousands of young Chinese assembled to defend their country’s troubled Olympic torch relay pushed through police lines on Sunday, some of them hurling rocks, bottled water and plastic and steel pipes at protesters demanding better treatment for North Korean refugees in China…

In other cities, the globe-trotting relay of the torch leading up to the Beijing Games in August has triggered protests against China’s crackdown on violent protests for independence in Tibet. In South Korea, one of the torch’s final stops before entering China, demonstrators focused on human rights for North Koreans who live in hiding in China after fleeing hunger in their homeland….

When lone protesters demanded that China stop repatriating North Korean refugees, they were quickly surrounded by jeering Chinese. Near the park, Chinese students surrounded and beat a small group of protesters, news reports said…

In another scuffle, at the city center where the five-hour torch run ended, Chinese surrounded several Tibetans and South Korean supporters who unfurled pro-Tibet banners, and kicked and punched them, witnesses said…

Although the torch run stirred little interest among South Koreans in general, thousands of North Korean defectors in the South and their supporters saw it as an opportunity to press Beijing to better protect North Korean refugees in China…

In recent years, thousands of North Koreans have fled across the loosely controlled Chinese border, rather than the heavily fortified border with South Korea. China sends back North Koreans it catches as illegal economic migrants, a policy condemned by rights groups. They face life-threatening punishment in labor camps once repatriated, according to rights groups…

Many placards Chinese waved on Sunday in Seoul criticized the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader whom China accuses of instigating violence.

“Tibet is part of China forever,” one said. (full article)

Vid

It’s rather funny how similiar China and USA are and people don’t even realize it. When someone speaks out against the government in the USA…people are labelled as unpatriotic. If a Chinese person speaks out against the Chinese government, they are called a traitor. Both countries have certain groups who’ll act violently towards individuals with a different political view. Chinese people say the western media distorts the truth and the Chinese government openly censors it.

Western media doesn’t need to villify China when certain groups of Chinese people already do it themselves. So it’s one thing to protest and be supportive of Tibet being part of China (because I don’t give a crap)…but when you jeer at and beat up those protesting for better treatment of North Korean refugees…then f*ck you.

Get the hell out of Korea.

Held in San Diego every year.

Outro…

ichigeki vs gamblerz

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Escape from North Korea

Secret Victims of North Korea

Too Dumb or Too Lazy to Protect and Serve?

At 3:44 p.m. on March 26, carrying her schoolbag in her hand, a little girl in third grade got into the elevator of her apartment building in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Shortly afterwards, a man wearing a baseball cap followed her in, ordered her to come with him and tried to pull her out of the elevator. When the girl resisted, the man pulled a yellow box cutter out of his pocket, kicked her six times and punched her in the face. When the elevator stopped on the third floor, the man grabbed the girl by the hair and dragged her out. She grabbed the rails of the elevator and resisted, but ended up being dragged out on the ground. One of her shoes fell off and the elevator doors closed.

….If a female college student living on the first floor had not rushed to the elevator after hearing the girl’s screams, then there is no guarantee that she would not have suffered the fate of two schoolgirls who were murdered by a neighbor in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Two police officers dispatched to the scene shortly after the incident saw the horrifying images captured on the surveillance camera and simply returned to their precinct, filing a report the following day to the Ilsan Police Station as a simple case of assault. Police had decided it had been a simple assault by an intoxicated individual, even though they saw images of the man wielding a box cutter he had prepared for the crime. Before questioning the professional ability of the police officers, we must question their level of intelligence.

On March 27, around 100 leaflets displaying the face of the criminal were posted in and around the apartment complex, printed by the parents after they heard nothing from the police. It wasn’t until March 29 that a detective from Ilsan Police Station came to investigate the scene of the crime, which had been assigned to him on March 27. The detective is said to have taken a day off on March 28. It was only after the news report on Sunday night that the chief of Ilsan Police Station appointed an investigative team to the case and made a huge ruckus in the process. (chosun)

For all the stories that have came out, I vote for both and more. Korean pigs are dumb, lazy, and irrational beyond the ability to protect and serve. They did end up catching him though, only after taking a “day off.” (more details) Nice work bacon bits…..now castrate the fool.

And of course, so-far-so-good bad ass President Lee Myung-bak took notice:

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that the public is incensed over the police’s lukewarm attitude.

“As seen on the CCTV recording, it was really brutal. The state’s utmost duty is to protect people’s lives, but the police still show such an attitude at this time when many cruel cases remain unsolved and people feel pity for them. The police need to change,” Lee said. (Koreatimes)

It’s no wonder Korean Cops don’t help foreigners that are victims of crimes, they can’t even help their own people.

is getting ballsy..and good for them.

Seoul’s Patience ‘Running Out’ on N.Korean Nuke Issue

Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Wednesday said South Korea’s “time and patience are running out” over North Korea’s delay in declaring details of its nuclear weapons program. Yu’s remarks are the firmest public statement on the North Korean denuclearization issue yet made by South Korean government officials, especially coming from the man in overall charge of foreign and security policy.

Some observers say that Yu’s statement was a clear message at home and abroad that the new government will not rule out the use of sticks as well as carrots vis-à-vis the North.

In the same context, Gen. Kim Tae-young, the designated chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Wednesday, “What is the most important is to identify and hit enemy locations suspected of storing nuclear weapons.” Gen. Kim made the remarks when asked, “How would you react if North Korea develops small nuclear weapons and attacks South Korea with them?”

A South Korean government official said the minister “showed the government’s strong will on the North Korean nuclear issue.” Yu also clarified the new government’s changed principle toward humanitarian aid to the North. “We should give aid to the North if there is a great need to do that,” he said. “But giving the North large amounts of food aid every year definitely goes beyond the humanitarian level” — a hint that food aid will continue on a reduced scale.

(englishnews@chosun.com)

That’s much better. It looks like South Korea finally has a decent government for the first time in a long time…..

Nice….very nice.  Two bad asses for the price of one film!

Korean actor Choi Min-soo will co-star alongside Hollywood stars Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia in the up-coming film “Street of Dreams,” Yonhap news reported Tuesday.

“Street of Dreams” is a 40 billion won co-production between US-based FR Productions, Korea’s Hyun Jin Cinema and Japan’s Wides Japan. It will be produced by Fred Roos, whose credits include “The Godfather: Part II” and “The Godfather: Part III.”

Hyun Jin Cinema has produced Korean films such as “Holiday” and “My Wife is a Gangster 3.”

“Street of Dreams” is based on the true story of Montana Joe, a legendary Japanese-American gangster in the 1940s. In the film, Choi will play the role of Montana’s Korean friend, Eddie. This will be Choi’s first Hollywood film, having appeared in several Korean films such as “Holiday” and “Sword in the Moon.”

FR Productions said De Niro has been cast as an Italian mafia leader. De Niro, who has won two Academy Awards, is known for memorable roles in “The Godfather Part II,” “Taxi Driver” and “The Untouchables.”

Garcia, who also appeared in “The Untouchables,” “The Godfather: Part III” and the “Ocean’s” series, will also play a mafia boss. Chinese actress Shu Qi will also star in the film.

However, no actor has been cast in the lead role of Montana. There will be auditions for the role in April and May.

Raymond De Felitta, who was nominated for an Academy Award for a live-action short film “Bronx Cheer,” will direct the film. Roger Towne, who won an Academy Award for “Chinatown” in 1975, wrote the script.

“Street of Dreams” is slated for release in 2009.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr

Thailand Urged Seoul to Accept More N.Korean Refugees

The Thai government told the South Korean government in January to take the large numbers of North Korean refugees currently in Thailand off its hands. But the South Korean government found it difficult to transport more than 70 refugees at a time for reasons of security and the size of the North Korean refugee camp in South Korea, it emerged Tuesday…

An estimated 800 North Korean refugees are staying at police stations or private homes in Thailand in addition to the immigration center, waiting to be taken to South Korea. Many more than the number the South Korean government is currently taking to Seoul are flocking to Southeast Asia, chiefly because China is forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees it captures and the food shortage in North Korea is serious…. There are also hundreds of North Korean refugees staying in Cambodia and Laos. Hanawon, the South Korean government resettlement center for North Korean refugees, now accommodates some 660 North Koreans. They undergo resettlement training for three months before leaving the center. Ongoing extension work at Hanawon is expected to be completed around December…

Do Hee-yoon, the head of the Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees (CHNK), said “Nobody knows when and how a massive escape will occur in North Korea. The existing resettlement center is too small to accommodate a massive refugee exodus.” From March to May is the hottest season in Thailand, when the temperature hovers around 30 degrees Celsius even at night, making life harsh in an overcrowded facility.

In a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo, a female North Korean refugee staying in the immigration camp in Bangkok said, “Skin disease is spreading, and medicine is in short supply. Some women are suffocating and faint.” A male North Korean refugee in the same camp said, “There are seven children under 10. They have difficulty eating. We hope the South Korean government will take these children out ahead of others.” (full article)

Brownie points for Thailand for not only making great commercials, but also for doing the best they can to help these North Korean refugees. Same goes for the other Southeast Asian countries who are holding onto them rather then send them back to the North or keep them as slaves, like China. I probably can’t do much from where I stand…but I’ll help out anyway I can.

So anyone who happens to stumble across my humble blog….you can either go to LiNK and educate yourself or go to Facebook and look for that same non-profit group. Then if you feel like you learned enough to make you act, you can donate some money or buy a T-Shirt where the profits will go to their cause. For me, it’s certainly more productive than reading these articles and just letting my blood boil without any action to do something positive for these North Korean refugees.

For each article where I read about North Korean refugees suffering…I plan to make another donation. I just don’t want to be one of those people who reads about them and then forgets about it because I have other things to do….Hell, I know my mom came from the North and I probably would never have been born if my mom didn’t meet my dad in the South.

Sadly…I can’t tell which team belongs to which country. I’m trying to look for BBoy Snake’s signature twisty thing he does with his torso and legs….

but if I had to guess…..RIGHT SIDE is T.I.P., but…the crowd is cheering for them even though it’s a “Japanese Show”… hmmmmmmm

Part 2

Part 3

actually….T.I.P. is on the ride side, I’m sure of it! Part 1 (00:3 looks like Snake Boy. Plus, the routines looks like T.I.P.

Say it isn’t soooo….not as Jubei!

Live Action “Ninja Scroll” In The Works?

Ah, the heady days of the mid-90s, when anime was just coming into it’s own in the States and MTV’s Liquid Television ran bumpers cut from a then-obscure anime titled “Ninja Scroll.” The clips MTV used to lead in and out of their animation show were ridiculously popular, leading first to bootlegged copies of the Scroll hitting cons nationwide, then to an official release which sold amazingly well, I believe setting records as it broke the anime dam wide and titles began to really flood the US market.

(Note: this is all how I remember things happening. Actual facts may vary, but I don’t care. I like my story.)

Well, rumor has it that the Wachowski siblings are working on a live action version of the classic anime, and this casting list that’s popped up is supposedly for the flick. They’re referring to the movie as “Ninja Assassins,” but it’s pretty typical for codenames to be used at this point in a movie’s production. Korean pop-star Rain is already signed to star (and is making an appearance in the Speed Racer movie) and James McTiegue will be directing.

I’m slapping the full list below the fold here, just in case the page gets yanked. (source)

Well, if it’s true….Rain just might have a chance in the US with an edgy Anime that has sex and ultra-violence. Looking at the casting call, it seems like there will be a lot of Asians in it…as well as it should.

This could be Rain’s niche in Hollywood….”Anime Action Star, RAIN!”  He just better hope the American audience doesn’t see him in that white fanny pack he wore in Full House….because that’s just embarrassing.

If the film wasn’t made in Singapore but by Hollywood, I would probably laugh at the fact that even though it’s a dance movie, “they just haddddd to add the kung-fu.” Granted, the screen writer is Australian, but that doesn’t really say anything. And to his credit, the leading actors in this film are all Asian and Asian-American. I probably won’t go see the movie, but I think as a whole…the project is rather cool. You have an international group of people working together on a film for a global audience…and I’m sure they are taking a big risk in not casting a top Hollywood actor that’s not Asian.

It should open up in US theaters on May 15, 2008.

And on a sidebar, I’ve pretty much written off Dragon Ball: the Hollywood movie as being lame. I just don’t care about it anymore because it doesn’t seem like they are going to try and have fun with what’s in that world. However, looking at Dance of the Dragon poster…Jang Hyuk has the Goku thing going on. If he were to grow out that hair even more, add some yellow glow on it…he’d be a perfect Super Saiyjin, minus the muscles. Then with bad ass Jason Scott Lee; his protruding forehead and intense eyes could be used for Vegeta.