Welcome to the China Daily News page. We hope you will find this page informational and a good resource for keeping abreast of life as we know it to be in the People's Republic of China. Here you will find the latest news on weather, politics, community and current events occurring in the rapidly changing country.
Please note that the following news reports are the research and opinion of the People's Daily Online news and not necessarily the thoughts and opinions of Great Wall China Adoption.
The death toll from an explosion at a fireworks factory in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province last month has risen to 33. An explosion ripped through the fireworks factory in the Wumahe District of Yichun City on Aug. 16. Some 153 were injured in the accident and three people are still missing, Gao Weidong, vice director of Yichun's publicity department, said. A preliminary investigation showed the plant was illegally producing fireworks, as the local work safety department cancele ... - [read more]
China's central government Thursday urged more efforts to boost vegetable output, ensure market supply and to stabilize vegetable prices. Both the market and the macro-control measures must be used to tackle the problems in big cities of sharp changes in vegetable price, the State Council, China's Cabinet, said Thursday in a statement on the government website www.gov.cn. City mayors must shoulder the responsibility to ease pressures on vegetable supply, and local governments should take m ... - [read more]
China said Thursday it welcomes direct peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, urging a serious and practical manner from both sides. "We hope the two parties seize the opportunity of the peace talks to achieve positive results at an early date," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference. Israel and Palestine are scheduled to resume their direct peace negotiations Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President M ... - [read more]
China and India said Thursday maintaining continuity and stability in economic policy is important to the global economic recovery. The two sides achieved the consensus during the fourth round of a financial dialogue between the two nations in Beijing. The dialogue was co-presided over by Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao and Indian Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla. Maintaining the relative stability of major reserve currencies is important to achieving robust, sustainable and ba ... - [read more]
Visiting senior Chinese Communist Party official Liu Yunshan said here Thursday China would like to further expand bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan in all fields. While meeting with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China and Kazakhstan had enjoyed a long-lasting friendship and were good neighbors and strategic partners. "In recent years, high-level exchanges between the two co ... - [read more]
China's Ministry of Transport Thursday sent two airplanes to search for missing crew members who were aboard a fishing boat, possibly a Chinese boat, sunk following a collision with a Republic of Korea (ROK) cargo ship in waters near the coast of the ROK. One helicopter and and fixed-wing aircraft took off from Penglai Airport in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, at 2:20 p.m.. The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said it had received information that a ROK cargo boat, named "O ... - [read more]
&$
Two warships of the 5th Escort Task group of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)- Navy left Myanmar Thursday after concluding a five-day friendly call at Yangon's Thilawa Port . The mission of the two warships -- "Guangzhou" and "Caohu", led by Commander of the Chinese escort task group Zhang Wendan, was aimed at promoting friendly relationship between the two armed forces of the two countries and exchange between the two navies. A grand see-off ceremony was launched for the two Chi ... - [read more]
China Thursday called on all relevant parties to make joint efforts to negotiate and discuss the problems of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference China has always advocated the resolution of international disputes through dialogue and negotiation. She said the situation on the Korean Peninsula is "sensitive and complicated," expressing the hope that all relevant parties remain calm and exercise restraint. ... - [read more]
Wang Zhaoguo, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said here Thursday that China was ready to work with Mauritius to push forward bilateral ties. Wang, also vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks when meeting with Mauritian President Anerood Jugnauth. He said China was willing to make concerted efforts with Mauritius to deepen political mutual trust and cement economic and trade cooper ... - [read more]
Former U.S. President James Carter will visit China next week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday. Besides Beijing, Carter will also visit China's economic hub, Shanghai, and central China's Hunan Province during his six-day visit that starts Sept. 5, Jiang told a regular press briefing. Carter is scheduled to attend a conference on international sister cities in Shanghai and the fourth China Zhijiang International Peace and Culture Festival in Hunan, Jiang said. &$ read more]
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, will visit China as a British special representative for international trade and investment from Sept. 2 to Sept. 11, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday. Prince Andrew will meet with senior Chinese government officials and entrepreneurs to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade, Jiang told a regular press briefing. Jiang hailed the development of China-Britain trade and economic cooperation in recent years, adding that it has huge potential ... - [read more]
China said Thursday the details concerning a suspected Chinese fishing boat sunk by a Republic of Korea (ROK) cargo ship are still unknown. "The situation concerning the boat's crew members is unknown," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular press conference. All crew members of the fishing boat are unaccounted for. The suspected Chinese fishing boat sunk in waters off the ROK coast at around 11:50 a.m. Wednesday. The boat's name and the exact number of sailo ... - [read more]
A 107-strong Chinese military unit set off from here Thursday morning on a military plane for anti-terrorism drills in south Kazakhstan. The drills will be conducted under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The unit will be the first People's Liberation Army (PLA) unit to arrive at the drills named "Peace Mission 2010," the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The first PLA unit to leave for the drills took a train Tuesday from Zhurihe, Inner Mongolia, ... - [read more]
China stressed Thursday its assistance to flood-hit Pakistan is sincere, timely and unconditional. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu made the remarks at a regular press briefing. She said China will continue to offer Pakistan support and help in Pakistan's reconstruction. China is Pakistan's intimate neighbor and an all-weather partner, Jiang said. The Chinese people feel sympathy for the Pakistani people as they suffer the effects of the floods, she said. According to the sp ... - [read more]
Jiang Shusheng, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, left here Thursday for a visit to Canada, Russia and Belarus. During his trip, Jiang is scheduled to attend the conference of G20 parliament heads to be held in Canada, the sixth Baikal economic forum in Russia, and visit Belarus. Jiang paid the visit as guest of Noel Kinsella, speaker of the Canadian Senate, Sergei Mironov, Russia's chairman of Federation Council and Vladimir Andreichenko, Belar ... - [read more]
Thomas E. Donilon, U.S. deputy national security adviser and Lawrence Summers, U.S. director of the White House's National Economic Council will pay a visit to China from Sept. 5 to 8. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu made the announcement here Thursday. Jiang said Chinese and U.S. sides would exchange views in depth on China-U.S. relations and other major issues of common concern. &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
China is in contact with the Philippines in the wake of the hostage crisis on Aug. 23, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said here Thursday. The relevant departments of the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government are communicating and cooperating with the Philippines, said Jiang. An ex-policeman with a gun hijacked a tour bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists in Manila on Aug. 23. The incident ended with eight tourists dead and severa ... - [read more]
Panda-mania is heating up in Singapore as about a thousand entries have been received in a nationwide contest to name two pandas from China, local TV broadcaster Channel NewsAsia reported on Thursday. The pandas, which will be on loan to Singapore for a 10-year period, received overwhelming attention in the island-state. A judging panel will decide on their names based on the suggestions received. Those names are expected to be announced in the coming months. Some of the names which hav ... - [read more]
Myanmar's top leader, Than Shwe, will pay a state visit to China from Sept. 7 to 11, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday. Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, will visit China at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Jiang told a regular press conference. During Than Shwe's stay in Beijing, Hu will hold talks with him, Jiang said, adding that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will also meet him. Than Shwe will also visit the 2010 Sha ... - [read more]
A bright, unidentified flying object that was visible for at least three hours slowly moving to the west was witnessed over the skies in southwestern Haiyan County of eastern China?s Zhejiang Province on Aug. 31. The unidentified flying object that constantly twinkled was not at a high altitude and was much larger and brighter than stars around it. Many people witnessed the UFO at the scene that evening. "I have no idea what it is," a witness said. The reporter found that not onl ... - [read more]
No excessive drug residue was detected from 66 randomly-tested samples on lobsterlings and products labeled pollution-free, according to the Hubei Aquatic Products Bureau on Sept. 1. The provincial department yesterday informed the public that it has randomly tested 66 samples from 40 breeding bases, 12 wholesale markets and two supermarkets on lobsterlings and pollution-free products across the province and no excessive drug residues were detected and all tested samples were qualified. Li ... - [read more]
Changzhou City of Jiangsu Province, which had been famous for its "e-governance" in recent years, introduced another innovation. From the Aug. 31, the Changzhou Internet spokesman Web site(www.czbbs.gov.cn) was launched officially and 76 institutions that involve people?s livelihoods and draw high attention from netizens have become the first institutions listed on the Web site. Changzhou established its "Internet Spokesman" system in since June this year. The main duties of each "Internet ... - [read more]
China's Ministry of Health will provide free measles vaccine inoculation from Sept. 11 to Sept. 20 for 100 million children all over the country to eliminate measles infection by 2012, which will be the fourth infection eliminated by China, said Hao Yang, vice director of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the Ministry of Health. Hao said a nationwide immunization activity targeting children aged 8 months to 14 years would be carried out in all provinces of China. All children with ... - [read more]
Two survivors in the bloody August 23 hostage crisis are willing to cooperate with the Philippine government's investigation, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Thursday. "There are two survivors who are willing to be interviewed. We are making arrangements," de Lima told reporters, after emerging from the initial meeting of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC). The IIRC is a multi-sectoral body tasked to probe last week's hostage crisis that left eight tourists from Hong ... - [read more]
A once war-ravaged Chinese county in northeast China will build a memorial park on facilities left behind by the Japanese invaders of World War II, to commemorate the invasion and Russian assistance, county authorities said Thursday. Sunwu County in Heilongjiang Province, separated from Russia by the Heilongjiang River, was the base for more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers. The invaders left behind 160 war facilities, 24 of which are government-protected cultural relics. ... - [read more]
The death toll from mudslides that hit a village in southwest China's Yunnan Province late Wednesday has climbed to eight, and 40 people are still missing, local government said Thursday. As of 2:30 p.m., rescuers had retrieved eight bodies and saved 23 people from the rubble of homes in Wama Village of Longyang District, the city government of Baoshan said in a press release. It said the accident happened at about 10:20 p.m., trapping 71 people from 20 families. Rescuers ar ... - [read more]
More than 3,000 human remains were recently uncovered at one of the construction sites of the Yichang-Badong Highway in a village near Yichang City, Hubei Province. Local historians identified the remains as those of the officers and soldiers of the 4th Reserve Division of the Kuomintang's 75th Army Corps who died in the war against Japan (1937-1945), according to a report by the China News Service. The construction site is located on a hillside behind the office of the village committee. ... - [read more]
A government official in southwest China, whose alleged graft diary was posted online, told a court Thursday that his behavior was a breach of discipline rather than the law. Former tobacco official Han Feng, 53, appeared at Nanning Municipal Intermediate People's Court, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, charged with taking bribes worth 1.01 million yuan (148,324 U.S. dollars). The scandal around Han was dubbed "Diarygate" by the Chinese media. His diary appeared online in Marc ... - [read more]
Seven people are dead and eight are in hospital after a blowout on a truck caused a pile-up involving five vehicles in northeast China Wednesday, the local government announced Thursday. The accident happened at around 2:30 p.m. when the truck's tire burst in Jianshan District of Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, a spokesperson for the city government told a news conference Thursday. Three people died at the scene and 12 were injured, the spokesperson said. The i ... - [read more]
The arrest of a foreigner who knowingly bought a large amount of fake designer clothing in China for infringement of intellectual property was approved recently, according to Hangzhou Customs. Hangzhou Customs and local police jointly tracked down the man who had in his possession more than 8,000 suits of counterfeit Nike and Adidas sportswear. It is said that this was the first infringement case related to foreigners that Hangzhou Customs has found. The man was detained on July 20. H ... - [read more]
Giant pandas remain an endangered species despite the births of 23 cubs in Chinese zoos over the past two months, a leading panda researcher in southwest China's Sichuan Province said Thursday. "The baby boom began in early July, with 23 cubs born in captivity -- 14 at the Wolong research center, eight in Chengdu and one in Beijing," said Zhang Zhihe, director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Since the boom, the total number of giant pandas in captivity at ... - [read more]
The death toll from the massive mudslide in Zhouqu County, in northwest China's Gansu Province, has risen to 1,471 as of Wednesday after four more bodies were retrieved, with 294 others still missing, rescue headquarters said Thursday. A devastating mudslide hit Zhouqu on Aug. 8, ripping many houses from their foundations and tearing multi-story apartment buildings in half.&$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
The death toll from mudslides that hit a village in southwest China's Yunnan Province late Wednesday has climbed to four, and 44 people are still missing, local government said Thursday. As of 10 a.m., rescuers had saved 23 people from the rubble of homes in Wama Village of Longyang District, the city government of Baoshan said in a press release. It said the accident happened at about 10:20 p.m., trapping 71 people from 20 families. Rescuers are still searching for the miss ... - [read more]
This year's eighth tropical storm, dubbed Lionrock, made landfall at Zhangzhou city in east China's Fujian Province early Thursday morning, local meteorologists said. Its central pressure reached 990 hectopascals upon landing and the maximum wind power reached Force 9 where the center of Lionrock passed. Affected by Lionrock, heavy rain occurred in the coastal areas along Zhangzhou and the rain was the heaviest in Dongshan and Zhangpu counties. Local meteorologists have warned residents t ... - [read more]
An official daily of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday praised the unofficial visit paid by top leader Kim Jong Il to China in late August. Kim's two unprecedented visits to China this year indicated the deep friendship between the DPRK and China, Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial. The visit in August is an event of great significance to further consolidating and developing the historic and traditional DPRK-China friendship, it noted. The trip deepened the frien ... - [read more]
Investors worldwide have got a breather Wednesday after a week of economic woes, as both China and the United States reported better-than-expected factory data. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that PMI, or purchasing managers' index, a major gauge of economic activity, rose to 51.7 percent in August, up 0.5 percentage points from July. The figure has greatly eased earlier fears of a precipitous decline of the world's second largest economy. Later in the day, investor ... - [read more]
Three people died and 57 others were missing when landslides hit a village in Baoshan City of southwest China's Yunnan Province Wednesday night, local government said Thursday. The landslides happened at Wama Village of Longyang District, the provincial government's emergency office said in a statement. It said the area was home to 20 families of about 82 people. Rescuers saved 11 of the villagers in time, while 11 others were working away from home and were therefore unaffected by the ... - [read more]
All 246 tourists were evacuated Wednesday after being stranded for more than two days on an island in east China's Zhejiang Province due to approaching tropical storms. The tourists, including six Russians and more than 30 students, boarded three speed boats Wednesday and arrived at a mainland harbor in the afternoon. They had been staying in hotels in Nanji Island, a popular tourist destination in Wenzhou City of Zhejiang, after local transport authorities suspended ship services Monday ... - [read more]
The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) said on its website Wednesday that the country's Red Cross societies have received cash and materials donations equal to 2.32 billion yuan (about 342 million U.S. dollars) by Aug.17 for disaster relief efforts in quake-hit Yushu of northwest China's Qinghai Province. The RCSC said so far, donations in cash and materials equivalent to 2.12 billion yuan had been delivered for reconstruction projects in Yushu, including 18.78 million yuan in cash and materia ... - [read more]
China has taken a new move to prevent wrongful convictions in death sentence cases and limit the number of death sentences by ensuring the appeals process for the condemned. According to a judicial interpretation published by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and Supreme People's Procuratorate on Tuesday, once an appeal has been accepted by a higher court, those sentenced to death are not allowed to stop it. "In some cases, defendants are threatened by police officers and judges involved ... - [read more]
The "straddle bus," a newly-developed vehicle that may reduce traffic jams by about 30 percent and is less costly than urban subway system has theoretically proved workable, its designer said Wednesday. A work group led by Professor Zhang Jianwu from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University conducted the research that proved it could work, said Song Youzhou, the vehicle's inventor and chairman of the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment Company (SHFPE). The ... - [read more]
After living through major tragedies, such as the Wenchuan Earthquake that claimed over 68,000 lives and the Zhouqu mudslides that left 1,400 dead, the new semester starting Wednesday may bring a much-needed sense of normality to the affected students. Senior high schoolers of the mudslides-hit Zhouqu County, northwest China's Gansu Province, began a new semester on a usual date, Sept. 1, which is the first day of school in many parts of China, but at a place 400 km south of Zhouqu, the prov ... - [read more]
A local smoking-control law came into effect Wednesday in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province. The law covers all of Guangzhou City. There, smoking in most public places, like offices, conference rooms, halls and elevators, is strictly prohibited. Places of business larger than 150 square meters or having more than 75 seats may designate an area for smokers. Those who break the law will be fined 50 yuan (about 7.35 U.S. dollars) and businesses not meeting their ob ... - [read more]
China and Kenya pledged here on Wednesday to enhance exchanges between the parliaments of the two countries in experience of state governing and legislation supervision, and strengthen coordination in international and regional parliamentary organizations. The move came after Kenneth Marendethe, speaker of Kenya's national assembly met Chen Zhili, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, late in the day. During the meeting, ... - [read more]
China donated a number of acrobatics props to a Tanzanian arts institute on Tuesday in order to boost cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Speaking at the hand-over ceremony held at the Tanzania's seventh world heritage site in the east of the country, Director of Culture Development of Ministry of information, Culture and Sports of Tanzania Herman Mwansoko expressed gratitude to China's assistance to his country in the sectors of cultural and education, as the bilate ... - [read more]
Chinese and European Union (EU) officials held a high-level strategic dialogue on Tuesday amid heightened international discussion on where China is headed after displacing Japan as world's second-biggest economy. Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and State Councilor Dai Bingguo co-chaired the one-day, closed-door meeting in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. The dialogue is to outlay the foundation for the coming Chi ... - [read more]
by Xinhua writers Hao Yalin, Wang Li China Wednesday called for the European Union to have a balanced, objective, comprehensive understanding of the world's largest developing country during an upgraded strategic dialogue held in the underdeveloped province of Guizhou. State Councilor Dai Bingguo told the EU side that despite rapid economic growth, China has no possibility to be arrogant, nor is it pretending to be a richer or poorer country than it actually is, with unfathomable strategi ... - [read more]
China on Wednesday rejected reports of the presence of over 11,000 Chinese troops in northern Pakistan, saying that such "groundless reports" were made with "ulterior motives." "We believe the attempts of some people to fabricate stories to provoke China-Pakistan or China-India relations are doomed to fail," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu in a statement. The comment came in response to recent reports of some American and Indian press that China had deployed more than 10,000 t ... - [read more]
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Wednesday asked Party and government officials to carefully use the power in their hands and to take responsibility to serve the people. &$
A senior Chinese official Wednesday urged local governments to cooperate with the central government in supervision and inspection work. He Guoqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting on central inspection work. Head of the country's discipline and supervision work, He asked officials of local governments, especially those at the county level, to cooperate with central government ... - [read more]
At least four people were injured Wednesday in a gas outburst at an office building in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Compressed gas gushed out of a container at about 5 p.m. on the second floor of a 20-story office building in Nanning, the regional capital. The building's air-conditioning equipment and fire-fighting facilities were located on the second floor, and the gas was likely carbon dioxide, Wen Shourong, vice mayor of Nanning, told a Xinhua reporter at the scene. ... - [read more]
China's top leaders have congratulated Vietnam on the celebration of its 65th National Day. General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Wu Bangguo and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have respectively sent congratulatory messages to their Vietnamese counterparts. The Vietnamese leaders include General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vi ... - [read more]
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will arrive in Hong Kong on Friday, paying an official visit, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Wednesday. Donald Tsang, Hong Kong's chief executive, will meet Yanukovych on Saturday at the government house. During his stay, Yanukovych will visit Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and have lunch with local businessmen. &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
All crew members went missing after a Chinese fishing boat was sunk by a South Korean cargo ship in waters off west coast of South Korea later Wednesday, the consulate office of the Chinese Embassy to South Korea told Xinhua. Seoul's Coast Guard informed the embassy that the Chinese fishing boat, whose name and detailed conditions remain unknown, was sunk by the 1,250-ton cargo ship Ocean Ace No. 6, owned by South Korea's HC freight company, in waters about 68 sea miles ( about 126 km) west o ... - [read more]
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Wednesday expressed "serious concern" about the United States' proposed strengthening of its trade remedy practices. The MOC said the move will undermine order in international trade. U.S. attempts to increase exports should rely on improvements in its industrial competitiveness and an open international trade environment, the ministry said in a statement on its website. The U.S. should not limit imports with trade remedy measures, the statement added. ... - [read more]
China Wednesday implemented a system requiring mobile phone users to provide their real names when buying a telephone number, in a move to combat spam and fraud. As of Wednesday, new customers will have to register with their identity card numbers or other valid documents when buying a pre-paid SIM card from mobile phone operators. Foreigners living in China are also required to register with their passports or ID cards to subscribe. In Beijing, street newspaper stands w ... - [read more]
A former prison warden and four other prison staff have been charged with dereliction of duty in connection with a prison break that left a policeman dead in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in November 2009. Zhang Heping, former head of the No. 2 Prison in Hohhot, was charged along with former chief of the second section Wang Jun, policemen Xu Fumeng and Liu Wenzhi and gate guard Qian Guojun, said a spokesman for Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's procuratorate. Four prisone ... - [read more]
Rescuers continued to search for six people missing in the sea off the coast of east China's Zhejiang Province Wednesday, after a French oil tanker collided with a Chinese cargo vessel Tuesday. All seven crew members aboard the Chinese vessel were thrown overboard when the collision occurred at about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday near Ningbo City. Only one crew member was rescued. The 800-tonne vessel had completely sunk by Wednesday afternoon. "Rescuers are finding it hard to go under the water t ... - [read more]
A chemical spill left an unknown number of people injured in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Wednesday, local authorities said. The accident took place at about 5 p.m. in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Highway Administration in Nanning, the regional capital, a spokesman of the local fire-fighting squad said. Medical workers have arrived at the site. &$&$Source:Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
The South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) and Tourism Fiji are collaborating with Air Pacific in commissioning the China Central Television (CCTV) to undertake a TV documentary program on Fiji's tourism attractions for the Chinese and other Asian markets. SPTO said on Wednesday that they initiated a series of negotiations with the CCTV officials at the Shanghai World Expo and secured the commitment of the China's national television station to send a team of crew to undertake the project ... - [read more]
A bus collided with two trucks in the northeastern Chinese city of Shuangyashan Wednesday, but information on casualties was not immediately clear other than that the bus driver had died, local authorities said. The accident took place at about 3:30 p.m., and a rescue operation was going on, the city's emergency affairs office said in a statement. "It is not clear how many passengers were on board," it said. Sources said the bus driver had died and the collision had left some others dea ... - [read more]
As far as land grabs go, it was quiet and secret -- and the perpetrators almost got away with it. Almost 200 Chinese city government officials stealthily changed their identities on the administrative computer system and immediately became eligible for a countryside housing plot of up to 144 square meters. The civil servants had taken advantage of China's long established hukou -- or household registration -- system, which identifies everyone as a "rural" or "urban" resident de ... - [read more]
China Express Air (CEA), which was ordered to halt flights after a landing scare Saturday, said it will strive to complete required safety inspections within five days so it can apply to resume operations. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Saturday ordered the airline to halt operations and conduct safety checks after the right wing of a Bombardier CRJ 200 regional jet scraped the ground on landing at Guiyang Airport in southwest China early on Aug. 28, CEA said in a statement ... - [read more]
Tropical storm Lionrock will bring heavy rains and strong gales to southeast China's coastal areas, closely following tropical storm Namtheun which hit Fujian Province a day ago, local authorities said Wednesday. Tropical storm Lionrock had weakened but was moving quicker at 10 p.m. Tuesday, heading towards the coastal cities of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, according to Guangdong Provincial observatory. Moving at a speed of 83 kilometers per hour, Lionrock is expected to make landfall i ... - [read more]
During World War II, China was the major battlefield in the fight against the Japanese fascist aggression as well as the major oriental battlefield in the war against fascism worldwide. The Chinese people suffered tremendously in the war and made an indelible contribution. As the major battlefield of the Pacific War, China inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese, costing them 1.5 million troops, up to 70 percent of the total Japanese troops killed during World War II. The country's resi ... - [read more]
China's "textile town" Shaoxing County is set to reduce its annual textile printing and dyeing capacity by 710 million meters of textile before September 15, in a bid to save energy and cut emissions, sources with the county government said Wednesday. The reduction is about 5 percent of the current capacity of the county, which is located in east China's Zhejiang Province. The local government has closed down 600 sets of illegal and outdated textile printing and dyeing facilities in 40 com ... - [read more]
China needs to raise the proportion of Chinese brands in its exports, to improve the nation's trade quality and efficiency, a senior official said here Wednesday. Chinese brands make up less than 10 percent of China's exports, said Fu Shuangjian, deputy director at the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), at the 2010 China Trademark Annual Meeting, which kicked off Wednesday in Xining, capital city of west China's Qinghai Province. Excluding overseas invested companies, l ... - [read more]
The Pacific island nation of Samoa is to give 50,000 U.S. dollars in aid to China to assist the regions affected by flooding over the past month. The Samoa government said it wishes to help China because of the assistance it has extended to Samoa in past years, Radio New Zealand International reported on Wednesday. &$&$Source:Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
Many Australian political analysts have forecasted that Australia's major political parties will seek to continue to build a close and productive relationship with China, and believe this process will continue even with a minority government. "Both major parties understand the importance of building and maintaining Australia's close relationship with China, especially in terms of trade and defense," Professor Zareh Ghazarian, senior political analyst of Monash University in Australia told Xin ... - [read more]
Chinese President Hu Jintao has formally appointed six new ambassadors to foreign countries, according to a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Wednesday. Hu made the appointments in line with decision made by the NPC Standing Committee. Liu Hanming was appointed ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, replacing Chen Ligang. Gong Jianzhong was appointed ambassador to Ghana, replacing Yu Wenzhe. Gu Ziping was appointed ambassador to Slovakia, re ... - [read more]
A 3-carat diamond ring worth nearly 2.2 million yuan was stolen by a foreign man from a Tiffany's jewelry store at the Malls at Oriental Plaza in Beijing on Aug. 27. On Aug. 30, a netizen posted a thread on a Web site saying that "a diamond ring worth more than 2.1 million yuan was stolen at the Malls at Oriental Plaza on Wangfujing Avenue," which led to hot discussions. The netizen said a foreign man visited the jewelry store many times to see the diamond ring and stealthily substituted ... - [read more]
Japan starts destroying chemical weapons abandoned in China during WWII&$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
Li Jianguo, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, met here Wednesday with a delegation of Japanese law-makers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The group was headed by Tsutomu Takebe, a member of the House of Representatives and former LDP secretary general.&$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
A Public Diplomacy Research Center was announced to set up at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on Aug. 26, and this is China's first institution to specialize in public diplomacy research. And Zhao Qizheng, director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, holds the office of honorary director of the Public Research Center under BFSU. Since the entry of the 21st century, public diplomacy in China has arrested a growing widespread ... - [read more]
China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, will be launched in the later half of the year, said Sun Jiadong, a top space scientist and the winner of China's State Supreme Science and Technology Award, on Tuesday. Sun said that Chang'e-2, which is named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, will choose landing sites for the country's lunar lander and rover. Sun also said that China's manned lunar landing project is in progress now. He said that the manned lunar landing is an important explora ... - [read more]
An alarm over massive environmental damage along the Yangtze River and its Three Gorges reservoir has been raised by officials as authorities plan to spend billions of yuan treating sewage and planting forests in a major clean-up campaign. "Generally speaking, the ecological state (of the river) is still far from what the people are demanding," said Jia Zhibang, director of the State Forestry Administration at a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office on Tue ... - [read more]
Southern China's Shenzhen City has drafted new labor rules to smooth industrial relations in the special economic zone (SEZ), after the manufacturing hub was stung by a series of worker strikes earlier in the year. The draft law is scheduled to be reviewed as early as September in a meeting of the standing committee of the Municipal People's Congress, which stipulates that the class salary negotiations shall be conducted at least once a year. Fu Bolun, one of the law's chief dr ... - [read more]
The impoverished population in rural areas of China's ethnic autonomous areas fell to around 19.55 million in 2009, down 1.48 million from a year earlier, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission said Tuesday. Impoverished people accounted for about 16.4 percent of the rural population in ethnic autonomous areas, the commission said in a report. The impoverished rural population in ethnic autonomous areas accounted for 54.3 percent of China's rural population in 2009, compared with 44.5 ... - [read more]
Thousands of security guards have been deployed in kindergartens and schools on Tuesday, one day before the launch of the autumn semester in China, in a bid to better safeguard campus security. About 2,000 specially trained safety personnel, uniformed and wearing helmets and knife-proof vests, are deployed at kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in Beijing. All schools in China should take student safety as their first priority and enact concrete measures to protect student ... - [read more]
A Chinese court Tuesday upheld the death sentence imposed on a man for the shooting to death of four people, including two policemen in south China's Guangdong Province last month. The Guangdong Higher People's Court ratified the verdict Tuesday after reviewing the case as handled by the Intermediate People's Court in Jieyang City earlier in August. The death penalty will now be examined by the Supreme People's Court for approval. Hu Yihua, 29, robbed two people of 2,800 yua ... - [read more]
China and Japan need to continue candid exchanges to smooth over thorny security and diplomatic issues and achieve mutual understanding. This was the consensus from the two countries' political and security opinion leaders during the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, which ended Tuesday. "Long-term cooperation and friendship is the only choice for both countries" against the backdrop of a globalized world, Yuji Miyamoto, former Japanese ambassador to China, said in a keynote speech at the f ... - [read more]
Greek and Chinese authors and publishing houses here Tuesday signed a cultural exchange agreement to promote book publications in both languages. Two children's books will be published according to the agreement. One is written by a Greek author and illustrated by a Chinese illustrator. The other is written by a Chinese author and illustrated by a Greek illustrator. The two books will be published simultaneously in Greece and China. Giorgos Poussaios, general secretary for T ... - [read more]
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said here Tuesday that EU needs to know more about China as for the latter's phase of development, and hopes and goal in this regard. China is progressing rapidly and has huge potential of the future, said Ashton, who emphasized that it was also important to better understand what China is up to so that EU could efficiently engage itself with China's process of development. China absolutely ... - [read more]
At least 246 tourists remain stranded on an island in east China's Zhejiang Province Tuesday as tropical storms and a typhoon cut off ship ferrying services Monday, local authorities said. The tourists, including six Russians and 26 students, have to stay in hotels in Nanji Island, a popular tourist destination in Wenzhou City of Zhejiang, after local transport authorities suspended ship services Monday due to strong gales triggered by two approaching tropical storms and typhoon Kompa ... - [read more]
China has cracked 278,000 criminal cases and broken up nearly 1,650 mafia-style gangs since it launched a campaign to maintain public security in rural-urban fringe zones and on campuses in January. About 256,000 suspects had been arrested as of Tuesday, according to a national working group on maintaining public security composed of officials from government agencies, including the Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Minist ... - [read more]
The number of criminals convicted of human trafficking has risen sharply in the first seven months of this year, the country's top court said on Tuesday. &$
The online voting for the "Wang Hai Cup Chinese Entrepreneur Award for Outstanding Contribution" will be launched on Sept. 6. The public can visit the official online voting platform built by People's Daily Online and vote for candidates that they think best represent Chinese entrepreneurship. As part of the 2010 International Chinese Business Festival to be held in Shangqiu, the selection aims to recognize Chinese entrepreneurs who have made outstanding contributions to China's economic and ... - [read more]
China's banking regulator will strictly implement the central government's macroeconomic policies that aim to curb soaring housing prices, an official said Tuesday. Ye Yanfei, deputy head of the Statistics Department of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said the CBRC will restrain speculative property investment and support the building of affordable housing while controlling risk. China's housing market and lending to the property sector are crucial to the nation ... - [read more]
China and Japan need to continue candid exchanges to smooth over thorny security and diplomatic issues and achieve mutual understanding. This was the consensus from the two countries' political and security opinion leaders during the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, which ended Tuesday. "Long-term cooperation and friendship is the only choice for both countries" against the backdrop of a globalized world, Yuji Miyamoto, former Japanese ambassador to China, said in a keynote speech at the forum ... - [read more]
One typhoon and two tropical storms are forecast to land or brush past East and South China coasts on Tuesday and Wednesday. The converging forces will bring heavy rain to the region as they move further northwest. &$
Mobile phone customers will have to present ID when purchasing a phone number from Wednesday, in the latest campaign by the government to curb the global scourge of spam, pornographic messages and fraud on cellular phones. Foreigners will also need to register with their passports or other ID in order to subscribe to mobile phone carriers. Also from Wednesday, street newspaper stands will be banned from selling SIM cards, the Beijing Evening News reported. The report sai ... - [read more]
U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday its decision not to initiate investigation on allegations that China's currency practices constitute an unfair subsidy. The currency allegations under review were made in the context of countervailing duties (CVD) investigations of two Chinese products -- aluminum extrusions and coated paper. "Two allegations before it that China's currency practices constitute an unfair subsidy under U.S. countervailing duty law failed to meet the ... - [read more]
Floods and landslides have left 3,185 people dead and more than 1,060 missing in China this year, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Tuesday. Heavy rains have hit many Chinese provinces, including Gansu, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Jilin, Jiangxi and Hubei, this year. As of Tuesday, about 230 million Chinese had been affected. Nearly 15.2 million people had been evacuated and 16.5 million hectares of crops had been affected. Direct economic losses stood at more than 350 billion yuan ... - [read more]
China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Civil Affairs Tuesday allocated 2.01 billion yuan (294.85 million U.S. dollars) for natural disaster relief work. Serious flooding and mud-rock flows have hit Liaoning, Jilin, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces recently, said a statement on the MOF website. The funds will be used to help relocate disaster-affected residents, rebuild destroyed homes and compensate bereft families, said the statement. Floods, lan ... - [read more]
The death toll from the massive mudslides in Zhouqu County, in northwest China's Gansu Province, had risen to 1,467 as of Monday, with 298 others still missing, rescue headquarters said. The mudslides hit Zhouqu on Aug. 8. &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
After cleaning up the mess left by the flooding of their schools this summer, students in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region began the new school semester Tuesday. Longshan Primary School in Fengshan County, Hechi City, was inundated with floodwaters for more than ten days after downpours hit the area from June 28 to July 10. The floodwaters reached as high as the second floor of buildings of one school that sits in a low-lying area surrounded by mountains, said Li Zhengcai, he ... - [read more]
Six people are missing after a French oil tanker collided with a Chinese cargo vessel off the coast of east China's Zhejiang Province Tuesday, local authorities said. All seven people aboard the Chinese vessel fell into water after the collision that took place at about 11:10 a.m. near Ningbo City, and one was rescued, a spokesman with the Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration said. No oil spill was reported as the French vessel "FLANDRE" was not carrying oil when the accident happened. ... - [read more]
A well-known Chinese philanthropists Chen Guangbiao, also the CEO of a resources recycling company in east Jiangsu Province, donated one million yuan (146,821 U.S. dollars) to Pakistani flood victims on Tuesday. "Pakistan is a friendly neighbor of China and I want to help the Pakistani people get through the disaster," said Chen at the donation ceremony. "I hope other entrepreneurs, in China and abroad, could also lend a helping hand to the suffering Pakistani people," Chen said. Pakist ... - [read more]
An 82-year-old former Chinese "comfort woman" is going to appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in September to pressure the Japanese government to issue an apology to her and other women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. Wan Aihua is the first woman to use her real name when accusing Japanese occupiers of crimes during the war. However, she lost three earlier lawsuits in Japan since her first appeal in 1992. During t ... - [read more]
Liechtenstein Monday recognized China's full market economy status, as Liechtenstein's Crown Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein and Prime Minister Klaus Tchutscher visit China. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and the two Liechtensteiner leaders attended the signing ceremony for the relevant documents Monday. Xi hailed the 60-year diplomatic relationship between China and Liechtenstein when meeting with the two leaders, adding that China hopes to work with Liechtenstein to enhance frie ... - [read more]
The first unit of a Chinese army corps set off Tuesday evening to join anti-terrorism drills in Kazakhstan under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). A train carrying the unit and weapons departed around 7 p.m. from the railway station of the town of Zhurihe, Inner Mongolia, where a military training base is located. The unit is scheduled to arrive at the drilling area in Kazakhstan on Sept. 7. The unit is among about 1,000 personnel from the land and air forces ... - [read more]
China's top trade union leader Wang Zhaoguo pledged here Tuesday to advance exchange and cooperation with Singaporean trade unions to better protect the rights and interests of their respective union members. Wang, chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), made the remarks when meeting with Lim Swee Say, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress of Singapore. &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ... - [read more]
The 6th Tokyo-Beijing Forum, which concluded its two-day sessions on Tuesday, was hailed as a platform facilitating the communication between China and Japan. At a press conference after the meeting, Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Zhao Qizheng said the forum served as the role of public diplomacy which got expanded every year since its launching in 2005, when the ties of the two countries were strained. The panel sess ... - [read more]
Senior Chinese party official Liu Yunshan met with the Albanian president and prime minister, with both sides vowing to strengthen relations between the two countries. In his talks with President Bamir Topi and Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Monday, Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China and Albania enjoy a traditional friendship and have a solid foundation to further relations between the two countries. Liu, al ... - [read more]
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Tuesday there are great potential for New Zealand-China trade and the two countries' leaders have agreed to double two-way trade to 20 billion NZ dollars by 2015. Key made the remarks in his "New Zealand in the World" speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. Key said the trade volume between New Zealand and China has increased significantly since the two countries signed free trade agreement in 2008. The two-way trade stood at ... - [read more]
China's National People's Congress (NPC) and South Korea's National Assembly wrapped up their fifth meeting under a parliamentary exchange mechanism in Seoul Monday with an agreement to further deepen inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation. At the invitation of the South Korea's National Assembly, a NPC delegation, headed by NPC Standing Committee Vice-Chairwoman Chen Zhili, held talks with vice speaker of South Korean parliament Chung Eui-hwa late Monday. During the meeting, Chen s ... - [read more]
For his report about insider trading at the listed company Kan Specialties Material Co., Ltd. (SZ:002012), Qiu Ziming, a reporter at the Economic Observer, had a warrant on his head for ?injuring the commercial reputation of a company" by Suichang Public Security Bureau of Lishui County of Zhejiang Province. A nationwide wanted circular was issued. Upon investigation, Suichang's police found that Qiu Ziming kept releasing public reports aimed at Kan and thus recognized him as a suspect of ... - [read more]
China's National People's Congress (NPC) and South Korea's National Assembly wrapped up their fifth meeting under a parliamentary exchange mechanism in Seoul Monday with an agreement to further deepen inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation. At the invitation of the South Korea's National Assembly, a NPC delegation, headed by NPC Standing Committee Vice-Chairwoman Chen Zhili, held talks with vice speaker of South Korean parliament Chung Eui-hwa late Monday. During the mee ... - [read more]
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said great cooperation potential should serve as the cornerstone of the Ukraine-China strategic partnership. The most promising areas for bilateral cooperation include infrastructure, trade and investment, aviation, railway transportation, energy, tourism, cultural exchange and education, Yanukovych said in a recent interview with Chinese mainstream media. Yanukovych, who will pay a state visit to China from Sept. 2 to 5, said he expects th ... - [read more]
The Secretary for Transport and Housing of Hong Kong Eva Cheng Tuesday left Hong Kong for a three- day duty trip to two major European cities, London and Brussels, according to local government website. Cheng will first visit London where she will meet the British Secretary of State for Transport and Department for Transport officials to exchange views on high speed rail development. She will also visit a number of high speed rail stations in both cities. During her stay ... - [read more]
A survey to judge the international image of Chinese cities was released in Shanghai on Monday, with the financial hub scoring the highest among all the 30 cities that were tested. The survey, co-conducted by Gallup Consulting, a global consultancy, was launched in April via an online questionnaire circulated among foreigners living in the Chinese mainland and abroad. A total of 7,980 foreigners took part in the survey. &$
China's continuing transformation of its mode of economic development has opened up new opportunities for Sino-Japanese trade. This was the thrust of the Chinese delegation at the sixth annual Beijing-Tokyo Forum in the Japanese capital on Monday. China hopes to foster a new pattern of economic growth that is jointly driven by consumption, investment and export, instead of relying on investment and export for economic growth, said Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of the China Center ... - [read more]
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Monday that she believes a strong EU-China cooperation could bring concrete solutions in foreign and security areas as the two sides face common challenges and share similar goals. "I look forward to working together with State Councillor Dai Bingguo in order to advance a constructive and cooperative relationship with China, a key strategic partner for Europe in a globalised world," said Ashton, high representative for foreign affairs and secu ... - [read more]
The 6th annual Tokyo-Beijing Forum, under the theme of "Asia's future: Japan, China's contribution", was held Monday in Tokyo to promote understanding and strengthen ties between the two nations. Present at the forum include Wang Chen, director of China's State Council Information Office, Li Zhaoxing, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress and Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku and former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuoda. "To deepen ... - [read more]
Poland attaches great importance to developing friendly ties with China, said President Bronislaw Komorowski on Monday. Komorowski said this when he received the credentials of Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi. China is one of the countries in the world with the fastest development pace and is playing an increasingly important role in international issues, Komorowski said. Sun passed to Komorowski greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao. He said he will try his best to push ah ... - [read more]
Many Chinese city and provincial officials expressed their wishes to share experience in government and crisis management with their Japanese counterparts at the sixth annual Beijing-Tokyo Forum on Monday. "Local Economy Exchanges and Challenges" was one of the major themes at the forum in Tokyo. Representatives from the Chinese side delivered presentations on topics such as local economic development, natural disaster prevention and relief work, as well as poverty issues. Members ... - [read more]
A court in Anhui province said on Monday that it accepted a case filed by a college graduate who had been denied a teaching job because he was HIV positive. This is believed to be China's first case of job discrimination due to HIV status on the mainland despite widespread HIV/AIDS related discrimination and stigma in the country, where 740,000 people are living with the virus, experts said. The plaintiff, from Anqing, Anhui province, and going by the alias Xiao Wu, was denied a te ... - [read more]
U.S. President Barack Obama decided to broaden economic sanctions on North Korea Monday and froze the U.S. assets of four North Korean citizens and eight firms, The Reuters reported Monday. Obama signed an executive order Monday that lets the United States block the U.S. assets of North Korean entities that trade in conventional arms or luxury products, or other "illicit" activity that U.S. believes would support the authorities in Pyongyang. It was unclear how the actions, which U.S. Secr ... - [read more]
China will promote the direct election of grassroots trade union leaders to ensure employees' rights are better protected, a senior official said on Monday. Many union leaders are currently appointed - and paid by - the companies whose workers they are hired to protect. "Democratic election is a key standard to measure the effectiveness of a trade union," said Guo Wencai, director general of the grassroots organization and capacity building department under the All China Federa ... - [read more]
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 2nd World Investment Forum scheduled to be held next week in Xiamen, a port city in east China's Fujian Province, said the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu Monday. The forum, which will be on from Sept. 6-9, is sponsored by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Xi will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum, featuring a theme of "investment and sustainabl ... - [read more]
China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) seek an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, leaders of both nations have agreed. The pledge comes at a time when several parties involved in the nuclear talks have strengthened diplomatic efforts to restart the deadlocked mechanism. &$
Japan should make the best of China's rapid development and forge ahead with greater cooperation, Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, told Japanese media on Monday. &$
