Briefly (Asia Pacific)

CHINA

Dissident asks Obama help

BEIJING | A Chinese dissident recently freed after eight years in jail said Thursday he is seeking President Obama’s help in gaining medical parole for two friends jailed with him for forming a political study group.

The appeal, made in an open letter, could result in the re-arrest of Yang Zili because the terms of his parole ban him from political activities. But Mr. Yang said he felt an obligation to help his friends, who are ill, and Mr. Obama may be able to raise their cases with Chinese leaders during his trip to Beijing next month.

Mr. Yang, Zhang Honghai, Xu Wei and Jin Haike were jailed in 2001 for taking part in the New Youth Study Group, an informal group of young professionals and academics that met privately to discuss democratic reform. Two of the dissidents remain in jail.

Many Chinese - especially political activists and religious dissenters - are eager to see whether Mr. Obama will take a stand on human rights during his first trip to China as president. Mr. Obama arrives in Shanghai on Nov. 14.

MYANMAR

Sanctions remain despite talks

BANGKOK | The United States, although embarking on a new policy of engagement, will not lift its sanctions on Myanmar unless its ruling generals make concrete progress toward democratic reform, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel spoke after he and another State Department official completed the highest-ranking visit to Myanmar in 14 years, putting into motion the Obama administration’s new policy of “pragmatic engagement” with the isolated country.

He and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell held talks Tuesday and Wednesday with the ruling generals and had a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest.

INDIA

Journalists blocked from Dalai Lama visit

NEW DELHI | The Indian government refused Thursday to allow foreign journalists to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit to a northeastern state at the heart of a long-running border dispute with China.

Permits allowing foreign correspondents to travel to Arunachal Pradesh state were not given, and the government revoked passes previously provided to four of them.

Foreigners require special government permission to visit the mountainous state.

VIETNAM

Tropical storm death toll rises

HANOI | The death toll from Tropical Storm Mirinae rose to 99 in central Vietnam on Thursday, and authorities estimated damage from the storm at $55 million.

In the hardest-hit province Phu Yen, three districts that are home to 300,000 people remained inundated, said Nguyen Ba Loc, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.