Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) – Is Shabhaz Bhatti, a Pakistani Catholic minister murdered, or Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident and blogger the "Asian of the Year 2011"? : this is the debate registered by Fides among organizations, the media, Asian and international websites which, in response to the known ranking by Time, proposes alternative candidates, reserved for people who have distinguished themselves on the Asian scene in 2011.
Very popular, especially in Pakistan, India and even in Europe, the Pakistani Catholic minister Shabhaz Bhatti, who was assassinated in March 2011 by fundamentalists, because he had proposed to amend the blasphemy law, in defense of Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman unjustly sentenced to death on false charges of blasphemy. In Italy, the priest Father Gabriele Mangiarotti, editor of the website www.culturacattolica.it launched an online petition in favor of Bhatti, collecting over 1,000 signatures. The respect for Bhatti is considerable in religious and political environments in Europe.
Instead at the top of the list for the Asian press is the artist, the Chinese dissident and blogger Ai Weiwei. He first fled to the U.S., then returned to China, helped to establish the "Beijing East Village" for experimental artists. Ai Weiwei had problems with the government in Beijing, was arrested and then began a fervent activity on social media, establishing himself as a "provocateur", on issues of transparency and human rights.
Among the other characters mentioned in the Asian rankings, there is the Indian Anna Hazare anti-corruption activist, who gave the government a shake in New Delhi, but today criticized for alleged links with Hindu extremist groups. There is to great "surprise", Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of the discussed tycoon Thaksin, who became Prime Minister in Thailand, who had to handle the flood emergency. The president of Burma Thein Sein is also mentioned, for whom observers raise the question: is he a real reformist or is he just a bluff?
And, among the "faceless heroes," the workers in Fukushima are mentioned with admiration, who despite the risks, jeopardized their lives (among them are also Christians), intervened after the nuclear disaster in central Japan. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 03/01/2012)
