NEW YORK: The Los Angeles Dodgers will send sinkerballer Derek Lowe to the mound to oppose Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels when the National League Championship Series gets underway in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Lowe was 15-11 with a 3.24 earned run average for the Dodgers and manager Joe Torre, who steered Los Angeles to the postseason in his first season at the helm after taking the New York Yankees to the playoffs 12 years in a row.
Hamels was virtually identical to Lowe this season with a 15-10 mark and a 3.09 ERA.
The other half of baseball's final four opens Friday when the young Tampa Bay Rays host 2007 World Series champions Boston Red Sox in the American League best-of-seven playoffs.
The pitching-strong Dodgers allowed the second fewest runs in the league and fewest homers and they must be on their game to contain the homer-happy Phillies and sluggers Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell.
Los Angeles ranked 13th in runs and homers in the 16-team league but the mid-season additions of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake added punch to their lineup.
In a third of a season after coming over from the Red Sox, the 36-year-old, dreadlocked Ramirez batted .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs for the Dodgers.
Ramirez, who hit .500 with two homers in a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the first round, will see a familiar face in the other dugout in Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.
Manuel was Ramirez's minor league manager in his early professional days with the Cleveland Indians organization and later was his hitting coach and manager in Cleveland.
The AL series features the playoff-seasoned Red Sox against the rising Rays, who edged Boston for the East Division title and are in the postseason for the first time in their 11th year of existence.
The Red Sox, who have not had hard-throwing ace Josh Beckett at his best because of injuries, are relying on Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka to head the starting rotation and deliver a lead to closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Tampa Bay boast better depth in the rotation with Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine but are using a bullpen by committee of Australian Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and lefty J.P. Howell to close games.
Veterans David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis supply power in a Boston lineup missing injured third baseman Mike Lowell.
Rookie third baseman Evan Longoria and centerfielder B.J. Upton delivered the long-ball in Tampa's first-round win over the Chicago White Sox.
Home field made a big difference between the four teams in the regular season which favors the Phillies and Rays, who would have four games at home if their series goes to seven.
Philadelphia and Los Angeles split eight games with the home side winning every time. Tampa won their season series against Boston 10-8, going 8-1 at home and 2-7 at Fenway Park.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Massa and Ferrari hope for Fuji lift
FUJI SPEEDWAY: Felipe Massa and his Ferrari team will be bidding for an overwhelming one-two triumph in this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Mount Fuji as they try to rein in McLaren and Lewis Hamilton.
The "scarlet scuderia" need a victory to boost their confidence and revitalise their challenge for this year's Formula One world championship.
Massa, whose hopes of lifting the title suffered a setback when the team spectacularly bungled a pit-stop while he was leading the Singapore Grand Prix, said he remained positive.
"When you consider the championship, like I said in Singapore, it depends how you look at it: a seven-points gap can be a lot or it can be a little," said the Brazilian.
"If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well.
"The most important element to consider is that we have a very good car. Without that, my chances would be much smaller.
"We have two good cars and we can try and get both of us to finish ahead of our rivals. It can be done and we need to think positive and we need to keep fighting to the last race.
"So, the motto for the rest of the season has to be look ahead and don't give up."
Massa's Singapore setback has left him seven points behind championship-leading Hamilton with three races remaining.
For Hamilton, this lead means that he can, in theory, finish second behind Massa in Japan, China and Brazil and lift the title by a single point.
The 23-year-old Englishman admitted he drove cautiously and with the championship in mind when he finished third in Singapore after Massa had lost his lead.
"Singapore was a good learning experience: there was less pressure to achieve a victory because of the unusual circumstances, which meant I was actually able to start thinking of the world championship," he said.
"I hate driving for points, but I think we can all see the benefit of that approach at the moment."
Last year, in teeming rain, Hamilton delivered one of the finest and most thrilling wins of his fledgling career at the 4.5km track.
"I love Japan. Last year might have been difficult because of the wet weather and the poor visibility, but I actually really enjoyed that weekend," he said.
With the title race boiled down to a duel between Massa and Hamilton, their respective teams are under pressure to produce competitive cars and near-perfect team performances.
Ferrari team president Luca de Montezemolo believes the team can bounce back with defending champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen rediscovering his form to back Massa's bid for glory.
Raikkonen has failed to score any points since the Hungarian Grand Prix, but di Montezemolo is sure that the reigning champion will deliver.
"I'm sure Kimi has understood this moment," said di Montezemolo. "Besides, he is not a rookie nor a former star.
"We are talking about the reigning world champion, a driver who, despite a broken exhaust in Magny-Cours, did an extraordinary race. Massa told me that without that problem he would never have beaten him.
"Kimi is brave and always works for the team. In the last three races, he'll have to demonstrate to everyone the effects of being a champion by helping the team and Massa. It's clear we need him at 100 percent."
And McLaren will need their second driver, Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, just as much and he is hoping for another dazzling race on the track where last year he claimed his first podium finish in Formula One.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
The "scarlet scuderia" need a victory to boost their confidence and revitalise their challenge for this year's Formula One world championship.
Massa, whose hopes of lifting the title suffered a setback when the team spectacularly bungled a pit-stop while he was leading the Singapore Grand Prix, said he remained positive.
"When you consider the championship, like I said in Singapore, it depends how you look at it: a seven-points gap can be a lot or it can be a little," said the Brazilian.
"If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well.
"The most important element to consider is that we have a very good car. Without that, my chances would be much smaller.
"We have two good cars and we can try and get both of us to finish ahead of our rivals. It can be done and we need to think positive and we need to keep fighting to the last race.
"So, the motto for the rest of the season has to be look ahead and don't give up."
Massa's Singapore setback has left him seven points behind championship-leading Hamilton with three races remaining.
For Hamilton, this lead means that he can, in theory, finish second behind Massa in Japan, China and Brazil and lift the title by a single point.
The 23-year-old Englishman admitted he drove cautiously and with the championship in mind when he finished third in Singapore after Massa had lost his lead.
"Singapore was a good learning experience: there was less pressure to achieve a victory because of the unusual circumstances, which meant I was actually able to start thinking of the world championship," he said.
"I hate driving for points, but I think we can all see the benefit of that approach at the moment."
Last year, in teeming rain, Hamilton delivered one of the finest and most thrilling wins of his fledgling career at the 4.5km track.
"I love Japan. Last year might have been difficult because of the wet weather and the poor visibility, but I actually really enjoyed that weekend," he said.
With the title race boiled down to a duel between Massa and Hamilton, their respective teams are under pressure to produce competitive cars and near-perfect team performances.
Ferrari team president Luca de Montezemolo believes the team can bounce back with defending champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen rediscovering his form to back Massa's bid for glory.
Raikkonen has failed to score any points since the Hungarian Grand Prix, but di Montezemolo is sure that the reigning champion will deliver.
"I'm sure Kimi has understood this moment," said di Montezemolo. "Besides, he is not a rookie nor a former star.
"We are talking about the reigning world champion, a driver who, despite a broken exhaust in Magny-Cours, did an extraordinary race. Massa told me that without that problem he would never have beaten him.
"Kimi is brave and always works for the team. In the last three races, he'll have to demonstrate to everyone the effects of being a champion by helping the team and Massa. It's clear we need him at 100 percent."
And McLaren will need their second driver, Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, just as much and he is hoping for another dazzling race on the track where last year he claimed his first podium finish in Formula One.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Honda drivers pray for rain
TOKYO: Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button are praying for rain this week, believing it will boost Honda's chance of scoring precious points at the Japan Grand Prix to brighten up a disappointing season.
"I hope the track will be a little bit wet so we can get some more points with the cars," Barrichello said in Tokyo ahead of Sunday's race at Fuji Speedway.
The 36-year-old finished third at the British Grand Prix in July for his first podium in three years. In persistent rain, he changed to extreme wet tyres after the halfway point and lapped faster than anyone else.
"What determined the position at the end was the fact that we chose tires at the right time," he said.
"To be honest with you, the rain gives us a little bit of a better chance," added the experienced Brazilian, who has been racing Formula One for 15 years with nine wins.
"But I hope it won't be raining as much as last year at Fuji at the weekend."
Last year at the Toyota-owned Fuji circuit, Briton Lewis Hamilton won in fog and rain which sent rivers running across the track. Barrichello finished 10th and his Honda teammate Button was 11th.
"I think we're very good with choosing a correct strategy and a right tire choice as a team," said 28-year-old Button, whose best finish this season was sixth in Spain.
"I think if it's wet we do have more possibilities to score points," added the Englishman.
Honda have failed to make the points in the last six races.
Barrichello is 14th in the drivers standings with 11 points and Button is 18th with just three points with three races left, leaving Honda languishing next to last ahead of Force India on the 10-team constructors table.
Forecasters have predicted cloudy weather over the weekend.
"The weather conditions are very up and down because of the mountains all around the circuit," Button said of a track in the foothills of Mount Fuji. "You don't really know the weather you're going to get until you are out on the circuit."
Honda's deputy team managing director Shuhei Nakamoto blamed their poor results this year on slow development of an aerodynamic package at the start of the season, despite the arrival of former Ferrari technical wizard Ross Brawn.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
"I hope the track will be a little bit wet so we can get some more points with the cars," Barrichello said in Tokyo ahead of Sunday's race at Fuji Speedway.
The 36-year-old finished third at the British Grand Prix in July for his first podium in three years. In persistent rain, he changed to extreme wet tyres after the halfway point and lapped faster than anyone else.
"What determined the position at the end was the fact that we chose tires at the right time," he said.
"To be honest with you, the rain gives us a little bit of a better chance," added the experienced Brazilian, who has been racing Formula One for 15 years with nine wins.
"But I hope it won't be raining as much as last year at Fuji at the weekend."
Last year at the Toyota-owned Fuji circuit, Briton Lewis Hamilton won in fog and rain which sent rivers running across the track. Barrichello finished 10th and his Honda teammate Button was 11th.
"I think we're very good with choosing a correct strategy and a right tire choice as a team," said 28-year-old Button, whose best finish this season was sixth in Spain.
"I think if it's wet we do have more possibilities to score points," added the Englishman.
Honda have failed to make the points in the last six races.
Barrichello is 14th in the drivers standings with 11 points and Button is 18th with just three points with three races left, leaving Honda languishing next to last ahead of Force India on the 10-team constructors table.
Forecasters have predicted cloudy weather over the weekend.
"The weather conditions are very up and down because of the mountains all around the circuit," Button said of a track in the foothills of Mount Fuji. "You don't really know the weather you're going to get until you are out on the circuit."
Honda's deputy team managing director Shuhei Nakamoto blamed their poor results this year on slow development of an aerodynamic package at the start of the season, despite the arrival of former Ferrari technical wizard Ross Brawn.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Yao shines on and off court
China's NBA all-star center Yao Ming is once again in the domestic media spotlight as he finished training camp with the Houston Rockets and tipped off the preseason on Tuesday, just one day after he was listed as the richest sporting figure in China, according to the 2008 Hurun China Rich Report.
Yao ranked 987th with a personal wealth of 700 million yuan . He earned $15 million from the 08-09 sports season, before advertising income, enough to make him the country's most wealthy sports person.
On court, the giant center grabbed just 10 points and nine rebounds, although the Rockets edged the Memphis Grizzlies 96-93.
The encouraging thing is Yao looked fully recovered from last season's stress fracture, moving well enough on one possession to get the rebound at one end and be the first player down the floor at the other end.
Even so, with the Grizzlies swarming around him, he struggled with his offensive game.
"I have not played a game with such high intensity for eight months," Yao said. "I did not adapt very well coming into the match, but I was much better after the third quarter."
Speaking of the hard-fought win over a less-fancied opponent, Yao said the team has to play more to improve.
"I am not satisfied with the team or myself. We could have played more aggressively. We still need time to work on team play."
He played the game's first 10 minutes, taking just one shot. The Grizzlies' Hakim Warrick blocked that attempt and Yao missed his first three shots in the third quarter, all jumpers, before getting his first field goal of the night on a jump hook in the paint with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. He followed that with a spin move to a left-handed layup.
When he was through for the night after three quarters, he had 10 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.
"Anyway, it's just a first preseason match. We have time to deal with all the problems. We will play much better basketball match after this match."
For the Rockets, the most encouraging sign, perhaps, was the energetic and effective play of Carl Landry, the last player added to the Rockets roster when they matched the offer sheet he signed with the Charlotte Bobcats days before the start of training camp.
Landry led the Rockets with 18 points, making 7 of 12 shots in 23 minutes.
While much of his scoring was reminiscent of his mid-season run last season, with Landry finishing inside and often above the rim, he also hit four jumpers.
Based on the pivotal lineup from last season and with the major signing of Ron Artest, more can be expected in the new season from Houston, which has been unable to advance into the second round of the playoffs since Yao joined as the top pick in the 2002 draft.
Artest, who played for Rockets head coach Rick Adelman in Sacramento when Adelman was the Kings head coach, proved he has the ability to deliver more, as he gave the Rockets a much needed early offensive lift, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter.
Though making just one of five shots in the second half, four of 12 overall, Artest insisted he will improve and unite with the team soon.
"We still have a lot to learn and we're still learning things," Artest said. "That's why the exhibition season is good for us.
"You got to get ready for the season now. You have to get a chance, obviously, to know your teammates and see how they're going to play against other teams and see the rotations. That would be experimental. Everything else is trying to get ready for the season."
Yao gave credit to Artest in his debut for the Rockets, as well as another new face Brent Barry, an experienced guard from San Antonio Spurs.
"Artest knows very well the coach's system. He and Barry have the ability to get involved soon," Yao said. "Artest make our offense more effective while our guards could learn a lot from Barry's pass and move."
Another Chinese hoopster, Sun Yue, did not appear in the Los Angeles Lakers' opening preseason match list. Sun was sidelined indefinitely as a result of being tested positive for mononucleosis a week ago.
Sun became ill shortly after being officially introduced to the public on Sept 26 and was taken to an area hospital, said the Los Angeles Times, quoting John Black, the Lakers executive vice president of public relations.
Houston Chronicle contributed to the story
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Yao ranked 987th with a personal wealth of 700 million yuan . He earned $15 million from the 08-09 sports season, before advertising income, enough to make him the country's most wealthy sports person.
On court, the giant center grabbed just 10 points and nine rebounds, although the Rockets edged the Memphis Grizzlies 96-93.
The encouraging thing is Yao looked fully recovered from last season's stress fracture, moving well enough on one possession to get the rebound at one end and be the first player down the floor at the other end.
Even so, with the Grizzlies swarming around him, he struggled with his offensive game.
"I have not played a game with such high intensity for eight months," Yao said. "I did not adapt very well coming into the match, but I was much better after the third quarter."
Speaking of the hard-fought win over a less-fancied opponent, Yao said the team has to play more to improve.
"I am not satisfied with the team or myself. We could have played more aggressively. We still need time to work on team play."
He played the game's first 10 minutes, taking just one shot. The Grizzlies' Hakim Warrick blocked that attempt and Yao missed his first three shots in the third quarter, all jumpers, before getting his first field goal of the night on a jump hook in the paint with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. He followed that with a spin move to a left-handed layup.
When he was through for the night after three quarters, he had 10 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.
"Anyway, it's just a first preseason match. We have time to deal with all the problems. We will play much better basketball match after this match."
For the Rockets, the most encouraging sign, perhaps, was the energetic and effective play of Carl Landry, the last player added to the Rockets roster when they matched the offer sheet he signed with the Charlotte Bobcats days before the start of training camp.
Landry led the Rockets with 18 points, making 7 of 12 shots in 23 minutes.
While much of his scoring was reminiscent of his mid-season run last season, with Landry finishing inside and often above the rim, he also hit four jumpers.
Based on the pivotal lineup from last season and with the major signing of Ron Artest, more can be expected in the new season from Houston, which has been unable to advance into the second round of the playoffs since Yao joined as the top pick in the 2002 draft.
Artest, who played for Rockets head coach Rick Adelman in Sacramento when Adelman was the Kings head coach, proved he has the ability to deliver more, as he gave the Rockets a much needed early offensive lift, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter.
Though making just one of five shots in the second half, four of 12 overall, Artest insisted he will improve and unite with the team soon.
"We still have a lot to learn and we're still learning things," Artest said. "That's why the exhibition season is good for us.
"You got to get ready for the season now. You have to get a chance, obviously, to know your teammates and see how they're going to play against other teams and see the rotations. That would be experimental. Everything else is trying to get ready for the season."
Yao gave credit to Artest in his debut for the Rockets, as well as another new face Brent Barry, an experienced guard from San Antonio Spurs.
"Artest knows very well the coach's system. He and Barry have the ability to get involved soon," Yao said. "Artest make our offense more effective while our guards could learn a lot from Barry's pass and move."
Another Chinese hoopster, Sun Yue, did not appear in the Los Angeles Lakers' opening preseason match list. Sun was sidelined indefinitely as a result of being tested positive for mononucleosis a week ago.
Sun became ill shortly after being officially introduced to the public on Sept 26 and was taken to an area hospital, said the Los Angeles Times, quoting John Black, the Lakers executive vice president of public relations.
Houston Chronicle contributed to the story
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Total debts in English soccer more than $4bn
LONDON: FA chairman Lord Triesman on Tuesday said English soccer had total debts of more than 3 billion pounds and warned of its danger to the well-being of the sport.
The four big clubs - Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool - are believed to account for about a third of that amount, he added.
Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Triesman and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore voiced opposing views on the dangers of foreign ownership - one of the sport's most contentious issues - and whether the rules needed tightening up.
Triesman said: "Transparency lies in an unmarked grave. We now have a position where it is very hard to track things. It is not transparent enough and we don't know if we are able to track it, if the debt is held by people who are financially secure or not.
"More and more clubs are in trouble, with a number of owners leaving abruptly."
Reacting to FIFA president Sepp Blatter's outburst that buying a football club was now just as easy as buying a replica shirt, Triesman said he had a point.
"It is certainly true that fans are apprehensive if their club is touted around in the market place. You can't have a complete disregard for people's passion for their club."
Without mentioning any club by name Triesman said the Premier League's fit and proper persons test needed an urgent review.
"If there is a prima facie case of someone's human rights record being regarded internationally as being very serious, it's reasonable to question whether that person should be running a football club," he said.
"Nobody has real confidence in what they cannot see. The fit and proper persons test does not do the job sufficiently robustly.
"A review is now inevitable because football clubs are not mere commodities. They are the abiding passion of their supporters. We forget that at our peril."
Speaking later at the same conference, and with Triesman sitting a few feet away, Scudamore defended the clubs' financial affairs as he hit back at the FA.
"The FA themselves know about all these things because they are one of the most indebted organizations in the world," Scudamore said.
"Our clubs are all heavily regulated but they've also got directors and owners who will assess the level of risk of their overall debt.
"This is at the top of clubs' agendas and I think they are managing it responsibly."
Source: China Daily/Agencies
The four big clubs - Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool - are believed to account for about a third of that amount, he added.
Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Triesman and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore voiced opposing views on the dangers of foreign ownership - one of the sport's most contentious issues - and whether the rules needed tightening up.
Triesman said: "Transparency lies in an unmarked grave. We now have a position where it is very hard to track things. It is not transparent enough and we don't know if we are able to track it, if the debt is held by people who are financially secure or not.
"More and more clubs are in trouble, with a number of owners leaving abruptly."
Reacting to FIFA president Sepp Blatter's outburst that buying a football club was now just as easy as buying a replica shirt, Triesman said he had a point.
"It is certainly true that fans are apprehensive if their club is touted around in the market place. You can't have a complete disregard for people's passion for their club."
Without mentioning any club by name Triesman said the Premier League's fit and proper persons test needed an urgent review.
"If there is a prima facie case of someone's human rights record being regarded internationally as being very serious, it's reasonable to question whether that person should be running a football club," he said.
"Nobody has real confidence in what they cannot see. The fit and proper persons test does not do the job sufficiently robustly.
"A review is now inevitable because football clubs are not mere commodities. They are the abiding passion of their supporters. We forget that at our peril."
Speaking later at the same conference, and with Triesman sitting a few feet away, Scudamore defended the clubs' financial affairs as he hit back at the FA.
"The FA themselves know about all these things because they are one of the most indebted organizations in the world," Scudamore said.
"Our clubs are all heavily regulated but they've also got directors and owners who will assess the level of risk of their overall debt.
"This is at the top of clubs' agendas and I think they are managing it responsibly."
Source: China Daily/Agencies
China vows to enhance educational co-op with Britain
A senior Chinese leader said on Wednesday the country would boost its educational exchange and cooperation with Britain.
State Councilor Liu Yandong made the statement when meeting with Alison Richard, the University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, in Beijing.
Liu spoke highly of the collaboration between Cambridge and the Chinese educational and scientific circle.
"The reform and development of education is the top priority of the Chinese government," she said, adding the country should strengthen its international cooperation on the cultivation of high-calibre talent and high-level scientific research.
Liu hoped the famed British university could expand its exchanges with its Chinese counterparts to increase understanding and friendship between young people.
"The cooperation with Cambridge University is a good example and a key component of our educational cooperation with Britain."
Richard, who was here to celebrate the university's 120 years of cooperation with China, said her school was facing "a real opportunity" to deepen its cooperation.
The two also touched upon other issues in their hour-long discussion, including the establishment of a low-carbon laboratory between Cambridge, MIT and China's Qinghua University, and the expansion of cooperation between the Confucius Institute in Britain and Chinese universities.
Richard also invited Chinese Olympic medalists to study at Cambridge, a proposal warmly seconded by Liu.
Richard, Cambridge's 344th vice-chancellor, is the principal academic and administrative officer for the university. She is the first woman to hold the position full-time.
Source: Xinhua
State Councilor Liu Yandong made the statement when meeting with Alison Richard, the University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, in Beijing.
Liu spoke highly of the collaboration between Cambridge and the Chinese educational and scientific circle.
"The reform and development of education is the top priority of the Chinese government," she said, adding the country should strengthen its international cooperation on the cultivation of high-calibre talent and high-level scientific research.
Liu hoped the famed British university could expand its exchanges with its Chinese counterparts to increase understanding and friendship between young people.
"The cooperation with Cambridge University is a good example and a key component of our educational cooperation with Britain."
Richard, who was here to celebrate the university's 120 years of cooperation with China, said her school was facing "a real opportunity" to deepen its cooperation.
The two also touched upon other issues in their hour-long discussion, including the establishment of a low-carbon laboratory between Cambridge, MIT and China's Qinghua University, and the expansion of cooperation between the Confucius Institute in Britain and Chinese universities.
Richard also invited Chinese Olympic medalists to study at Cambridge, a proposal warmly seconded by Liu.
Richard, Cambridge's 344th vice-chancellor, is the principal academic and administrative officer for the university. She is the first woman to hold the position full-time.
Source: Xinhua
Fifth seminar for African press officials starts in Beijing
The fifth seminar held by the Information Office of China's State Council for African press officials started here on Wednesday, drawing 32 officials from 18 African countries.
Over the next two weeks, the Africans will attend lectures and exchange views with their Chinese counterparts, journalists and experts.
Apart from Beijing, they will also visit Chengdu, capital of the southwest Sichuan Province, and Shanghai, the country's economic hub.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Wang Chen, the Information Office head, called for enhanced exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African press departments. He hoped press officials would serve as bridges to boost mutual understanding between the Chinese and African people.
Adron Aledji Albada, the African delegation head, said each participant cherished the opportunity to visit and learn about China. They would tell what they personally felt about the country to the African people.
The seminar, founded in 2004, aims at strengthening China-Africa press cooperation and cementing friendship.
Source: Xinhua
Over the next two weeks, the Africans will attend lectures and exchange views with their Chinese counterparts, journalists and experts.
Apart from Beijing, they will also visit Chengdu, capital of the southwest Sichuan Province, and Shanghai, the country's economic hub.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Wang Chen, the Information Office head, called for enhanced exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African press departments. He hoped press officials would serve as bridges to boost mutual understanding between the Chinese and African people.
Adron Aledji Albada, the African delegation head, said each participant cherished the opportunity to visit and learn about China. They would tell what they personally felt about the country to the African people.
The seminar, founded in 2004, aims at strengthening China-Africa press cooperation and cementing friendship.
Source: Xinhua
How much can Americans know of China
Foreigners who have never set foot on the Chinese soil might have only a blurred impression on China, a distant land lying beyond and far away from their own home. They can hardly form a realistic mind picture of China's politics, economy and culture.
Yin Weizhi, a lecturer of School of Journalism and Transmission at China University of Political Science and Law, went to the U.S during the 29th Beijing Olympics working as a visiting scholar in the University of North Carolina . She later published an article depicting her experiences accumulated from her two-month stay in the U.S, during which she reached out to communicate with the local people and, as a scholar on journalism, she also closely observed the strange land and viewed from the perspective of a foreigner anything that is going on there.
First impression
The Beijing Olympics spurred curiosity among the ordinary Americans toward China, and those who have been to China proved more friendly to the Chinese.
I set out to the U.S on the eighth day following the Olympic opening ceremony, and the Beijing Olympics were of course the top issue on my mind then. Before departure, I glued my eyes onto TV screen as long as time permitted, and intoxicated by the exciting competitions like all my other fellow Chinese.
But to my dismay, the campus of the UNC was so quietly sitting in a dense wood, and in a violent contrast with the sea of cheers and applauses set up in any sporting scene back at home. I kept busy settling down, trying to get accustomed to my new life as soon as possible and waiting patiently for the start of the new term.
Also to my great pleasure, when the new term finally set in, almost all the professors at UNC asked me with intense interest about the Beijing Olympics once they knew I came from the host city. Some of them highly touted the splendor of the Olympic opening ceremony, and there were many others expressing their curiosity and recognition at the mention of Beijing and China.
I got lost on my first day wondering in the labyrinth of buildings and trying to find my classroom, when a young man approached to me. I asked him for directions, but unluckily he had no idea himself, so he went to others for help and showed me to the classroom. Before I blurted out 'thank you', he took off his shirt showing before my eyes a T-Shirt with 'Fudan University' printed in Chinese characters. I always feel the warmth in my mind whenever I think of the anecdote.
He also told me he just came back from Shanghai and two years before he had been to Hangzhou, Xiamen and Hong Kong, and he got to learn about China and the Chinese culture through travel. Many of his friends, he said, take strong interest in China, and want to learn more about the country and its people.
In actuality, Journalism School of UNC keeps on good terms with China. It sent 32 interns to Beijing during the Olympics to help polish English articles for some Chinese websites and interviewed athletes in the venues. I heard two of them had planned a permanent stay in Beijing. For the duration of lecture hours, I could see some pretty American girls clad in the T-shirt on which the Chinese characters 'I have reached the Great Wall' are printed in colors and sitting proudly in the classroom, which made me feel so good at the moment.
Second impression
Some of the local media were still producing biased and even mistaken reports on China, but only one third of the interviewees could utter at most three Chinese public figures in a random survey.
When the Beijing Olympics drew near to the conclusion, I noticed a good few of American newspapers and magazines combined the Olympic success with the striking problems in existence in present China when reporting on the sports event, and issues such as environmental protection, energy and food safety were often mentioned in their coverage of Beijing Olympics. A professor teaching us Professional Ethics of Journalism used to inform me that much of the negative reporting in the U.S on China is attributed to the fact that the Westerners, especially those who have never been to China, still keep in mind some well-rooted prejudice against China, and the Beijing Olympics would possibly smash some of these hard line biases, but cannot remove them completely off people's mind. Some of the prejudices, once formed, could die hard.
I was new to the U.S, so I could hardly feel the acute pain suffered by a Chinese from the slanting reports on China by some Western media. Many of the overseas Chinese students just told me that they seldom watched the TV programs covering China in the years when they remained in the U.S. 'Too much bias, even sheer lies, makes me feel bad,' remarked a Chinese couple studying in the U.S.
I quickly found the answer myself by watching a TV program, in which the reporter made a random survey on the famous Wall Street to show how much the ordinary Americans know of China and the Chinese people, although the Wall Street seems to be no ideal place for such a survey, as people working there, mostly well-educated, can by no means represent ordinary Americans.
The results, however, really shocked me a lot. Nearly 1/3 of the interviewees faltered and shook their heads, and another 1/3 reluctantly murmured out 'Mao Zedong', and only 1/3 of the interviewees could speak out the names of three Chinese public figures when asked to name at least three Chinese public figures either in modern or in ancient times.
When asked to identify China's location in the map, also only 1/3 of them could give a correct answer. Some of them even mistook in the map the location of Japan, Mid-east, and even Siberia or even Africa as where China lies.
Third impression
The ordinary Americans are actually open-minded to 'a true China,' and therefore the communication with the West need multi-channels and take various forms of expression.
A UNC librarian named Barbara once asked me for help in her Chinese translation of an uncommon profession—cyber reporter, perhaps out of curiosity, she suddenly asked me, 'by the way, do you have cyber reporters in China?' I said 'yes' and added 'more of them in China than in the U.S.' She opened her eyes wide with the look which is conspicuously interpreted as 'unbelievable.' I told her she could find it herself if she had chance to visit China one day.
I could not help but conclude from my own experiences that trying to bridge the communicative gap with the other cultural realm, people need to abandon conditioning and bias, put their feet in others' shoes, and more important, think from the perspective of others. Only when the obstacles in perception are removed can communication go smooth as expected.
By People's Daily Online
Yin Weizhi, a lecturer of School of Journalism and Transmission at China University of Political Science and Law, went to the U.S during the 29th Beijing Olympics working as a visiting scholar in the University of North Carolina . She later published an article depicting her experiences accumulated from her two-month stay in the U.S, during which she reached out to communicate with the local people and, as a scholar on journalism, she also closely observed the strange land and viewed from the perspective of a foreigner anything that is going on there.
First impression
The Beijing Olympics spurred curiosity among the ordinary Americans toward China, and those who have been to China proved more friendly to the Chinese.
I set out to the U.S on the eighth day following the Olympic opening ceremony, and the Beijing Olympics were of course the top issue on my mind then. Before departure, I glued my eyes onto TV screen as long as time permitted, and intoxicated by the exciting competitions like all my other fellow Chinese.
But to my dismay, the campus of the UNC was so quietly sitting in a dense wood, and in a violent contrast with the sea of cheers and applauses set up in any sporting scene back at home. I kept busy settling down, trying to get accustomed to my new life as soon as possible and waiting patiently for the start of the new term.
Also to my great pleasure, when the new term finally set in, almost all the professors at UNC asked me with intense interest about the Beijing Olympics once they knew I came from the host city. Some of them highly touted the splendor of the Olympic opening ceremony, and there were many others expressing their curiosity and recognition at the mention of Beijing and China.
I got lost on my first day wondering in the labyrinth of buildings and trying to find my classroom, when a young man approached to me. I asked him for directions, but unluckily he had no idea himself, so he went to others for help and showed me to the classroom. Before I blurted out 'thank you', he took off his shirt showing before my eyes a T-Shirt with 'Fudan University' printed in Chinese characters. I always feel the warmth in my mind whenever I think of the anecdote.
He also told me he just came back from Shanghai and two years before he had been to Hangzhou, Xiamen and Hong Kong, and he got to learn about China and the Chinese culture through travel. Many of his friends, he said, take strong interest in China, and want to learn more about the country and its people.
In actuality, Journalism School of UNC keeps on good terms with China. It sent 32 interns to Beijing during the Olympics to help polish English articles for some Chinese websites and interviewed athletes in the venues. I heard two of them had planned a permanent stay in Beijing. For the duration of lecture hours, I could see some pretty American girls clad in the T-shirt on which the Chinese characters 'I have reached the Great Wall' are printed in colors and sitting proudly in the classroom, which made me feel so good at the moment.
Second impression
Some of the local media were still producing biased and even mistaken reports on China, but only one third of the interviewees could utter at most three Chinese public figures in a random survey.
When the Beijing Olympics drew near to the conclusion, I noticed a good few of American newspapers and magazines combined the Olympic success with the striking problems in existence in present China when reporting on the sports event, and issues such as environmental protection, energy and food safety were often mentioned in their coverage of Beijing Olympics. A professor teaching us Professional Ethics of Journalism used to inform me that much of the negative reporting in the U.S on China is attributed to the fact that the Westerners, especially those who have never been to China, still keep in mind some well-rooted prejudice against China, and the Beijing Olympics would possibly smash some of these hard line biases, but cannot remove them completely off people's mind. Some of the prejudices, once formed, could die hard.
I was new to the U.S, so I could hardly feel the acute pain suffered by a Chinese from the slanting reports on China by some Western media. Many of the overseas Chinese students just told me that they seldom watched the TV programs covering China in the years when they remained in the U.S. 'Too much bias, even sheer lies, makes me feel bad,' remarked a Chinese couple studying in the U.S.
I quickly found the answer myself by watching a TV program, in which the reporter made a random survey on the famous Wall Street to show how much the ordinary Americans know of China and the Chinese people, although the Wall Street seems to be no ideal place for such a survey, as people working there, mostly well-educated, can by no means represent ordinary Americans.
The results, however, really shocked me a lot. Nearly 1/3 of the interviewees faltered and shook their heads, and another 1/3 reluctantly murmured out 'Mao Zedong', and only 1/3 of the interviewees could speak out the names of three Chinese public figures when asked to name at least three Chinese public figures either in modern or in ancient times.
When asked to identify China's location in the map, also only 1/3 of them could give a correct answer. Some of them even mistook in the map the location of Japan, Mid-east, and even Siberia or even Africa as where China lies.
Third impression
The ordinary Americans are actually open-minded to 'a true China,' and therefore the communication with the West need multi-channels and take various forms of expression.
A UNC librarian named Barbara once asked me for help in her Chinese translation of an uncommon profession—cyber reporter, perhaps out of curiosity, she suddenly asked me, 'by the way, do you have cyber reporters in China?' I said 'yes' and added 'more of them in China than in the U.S.' She opened her eyes wide with the look which is conspicuously interpreted as 'unbelievable.' I told her she could find it herself if she had chance to visit China one day.
I could not help but conclude from my own experiences that trying to bridge the communicative gap with the other cultural realm, people need to abandon conditioning and bias, put their feet in others' shoes, and more important, think from the perspective of others. Only when the obstacles in perception are removed can communication go smooth as expected.
By People's Daily Online
Rates cut to ward off slowdown
China, following other economies, cut the benchmark deposit and lending rates by 0.27 percentage point yesterday to anchor its economy amid a worsening global financial crisis.
The reserve requirement ratio, or proportion of money commercial banks must set aside in reserve, will also be slashed by half a percentage point from Oct 15, the People's Bank of China said yesterday on its website.
The move will help prevent economic growth from declining as the global financial market turmoil is believed to further cut into world growth, which in turn will reduce demand for Chinese exports, analysts said.
The interest rate cut will take effect from today, when the cost of one-year bank loans will fall to 6.93 percent from 7.20 percent, while the benchmark one-year deposit rate falls to 3.87 percent from 4.14 percent.
The reserve requirement ratio would be 17 percent for big banks and 16 percent for others.
The State Council, China's Cabinet, also said it would scrap the 5 percent individual income tax on interest on savings starting today to boost domestic demand.
China began levying a 20 percent individual income tax on interest earnings in 1999 to encourage consumption and investment. The rate was slashed to 5 percent in August last year.
"It is appropriate for the authorities to lower the interest rates and reserve requirement under the current circumstances," said Dong Yuping, economist with the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
If the international financial crisis worsens and leads to a drastic slowdown of the Chinese economy, Beijing may take further measures, he said.
As the US financial woes spread to other major economies, global stock markets have tumbled this week, with Japan's Nikkei average plunging 9.4 percent yesterday and the Dow Jones industrial average slumping for the fifth day on growing fears of a global recession.
China's domestic A-share market fell by more than 3 percent yesterday. Analysts said the latest cuts would help stabilize the stock market, which may have continued to slide without policy support.
In response to the growing crisis, the US Fed reduced its key rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. In Europe, which also has been hard hit, the Bank of England cut its rate by half a point to 4.5 percent and the European Central Bank sliced its rate by half a point to 3.75 percent.
The central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland also cut rates. The Bank of Japan said it strongly supported the actions.
"The recent intensification of the financial crisis has augmented the downside risks to growth," the Fed said in explaining the coordinated action.
"The financial market developments will affect global economic growth and China must take action to cope with the challenge of external impact," Dong said.
Interest rate cuts alone, however, may not be very effective in invigorating the national economy, said Wang Tao, head of the China economic research unit of UBS.
The interest rate cuts show that policymakers may be facing reduced inflationary pressure, analysts said. The government is to release September inflation figures soon.
In August, inflation rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year, signaling an apparent downward trend after it reached a 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February.
However, some are worried that the inflation level may rise again in the coming months if energy prices are liberalized.
"Inflation could rebound in the coming months and the central bank cannot ignore that potential risk," Ma Ming, economist with the Beijing Institute of Technology, said.
Source: China Daily
The reserve requirement ratio, or proportion of money commercial banks must set aside in reserve, will also be slashed by half a percentage point from Oct 15, the People's Bank of China said yesterday on its website.
The move will help prevent economic growth from declining as the global financial market turmoil is believed to further cut into world growth, which in turn will reduce demand for Chinese exports, analysts said.
The interest rate cut will take effect from today, when the cost of one-year bank loans will fall to 6.93 percent from 7.20 percent, while the benchmark one-year deposit rate falls to 3.87 percent from 4.14 percent.
The reserve requirement ratio would be 17 percent for big banks and 16 percent for others.
The State Council, China's Cabinet, also said it would scrap the 5 percent individual income tax on interest on savings starting today to boost domestic demand.
China began levying a 20 percent individual income tax on interest earnings in 1999 to encourage consumption and investment. The rate was slashed to 5 percent in August last year.
"It is appropriate for the authorities to lower the interest rates and reserve requirement under the current circumstances," said Dong Yuping, economist with the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
If the international financial crisis worsens and leads to a drastic slowdown of the Chinese economy, Beijing may take further measures, he said.
As the US financial woes spread to other major economies, global stock markets have tumbled this week, with Japan's Nikkei average plunging 9.4 percent yesterday and the Dow Jones industrial average slumping for the fifth day on growing fears of a global recession.
China's domestic A-share market fell by more than 3 percent yesterday. Analysts said the latest cuts would help stabilize the stock market, which may have continued to slide without policy support.
In response to the growing crisis, the US Fed reduced its key rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. In Europe, which also has been hard hit, the Bank of England cut its rate by half a point to 4.5 percent and the European Central Bank sliced its rate by half a point to 3.75 percent.
The central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland also cut rates. The Bank of Japan said it strongly supported the actions.
"The recent intensification of the financial crisis has augmented the downside risks to growth," the Fed said in explaining the coordinated action.
"The financial market developments will affect global economic growth and China must take action to cope with the challenge of external impact," Dong said.
Interest rate cuts alone, however, may not be very effective in invigorating the national economy, said Wang Tao, head of the China economic research unit of UBS.
The interest rate cuts show that policymakers may be facing reduced inflationary pressure, analysts said. The government is to release September inflation figures soon.
In August, inflation rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year, signaling an apparent downward trend after it reached a 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February.
However, some are worried that the inflation level may rise again in the coming months if energy prices are liberalized.
"Inflation could rebound in the coming months and the central bank cannot ignore that potential risk," Ma Ming, economist with the Beijing Institute of Technology, said.
Source: China Daily
Limits set on melamine levels
The authorities yesterday set standards for melamine levels in milk and associated food products to allay fears following a contaminated milk powder scandal.
The limits were set at 1 mg per kg for infant formula, and 2.5 mg per kg for other dairy products including liquid milk, according to a joint statement issued by five government agencies including the Ministry of Health.
Melamine, used in products including plastics, paint and adhesives, can lead to kidney stones and other urinary tract problems. The chemical has been blamed for the deaths of at least four babies, and more than 54,000 children have fallen ill after being fed milk formula tainted with melamine.
There had been no previous standards, and levels of melamine discovered recently in batches of contaminated milk powder made by Sanlu Group registered as much as 2,563 mg per kg.
Wang Xuening, an official with the health ministry, told a press conference yesterday that it is almost impossible to keep the melamine level at zero as small amounts of the chemical can leak from packaging into milk and other food products. But he warned that "deliberate tainting is explicitly forbidden".
"Those who add melamine to food products will bear the legal responsibility," he said.
Chen Junshi, a researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the limits will "help inspectors assess whether melamine was deliberately added".
"If the amount exceeds 1 mg per kg, we have reason to believe it was intentionally added."
Some dairy suppliers have been found to add melamine to milk to make it appear protein-rich in tests.
Health authorities said the new limits are in line with international standards, and recognized by the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The US Food and Drug Administration said last week that 2.5 mg of melamine per kg would not cause health problems but added that any infant formula sold to the US must be free of melamine.
Standards in Hong Kong and New Zealand also set a safe melamine limit in food products of 2.5 mg per kg, though Hong Kong has lowered the level for children under 3 and pregnant or lactating women to 1 mg per kg.
Meanwhile, China's food safety watchdog said yesterday no traces of melamine were found in the latest round of tests of milk powder sold domestically.
The tests were carried out on 316 batches of milk powder of 54 brands produced after Sept 14, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its website.
It was the fourth time in less than a week that the food safety regulator said tests of dairy products showed no melamine contamination.
Source: China Daily
The limits were set at 1 mg per kg for infant formula, and 2.5 mg per kg for other dairy products including liquid milk, according to a joint statement issued by five government agencies including the Ministry of Health.
Melamine, used in products including plastics, paint and adhesives, can lead to kidney stones and other urinary tract problems. The chemical has been blamed for the deaths of at least four babies, and more than 54,000 children have fallen ill after being fed milk formula tainted with melamine.
There had been no previous standards, and levels of melamine discovered recently in batches of contaminated milk powder made by Sanlu Group registered as much as 2,563 mg per kg.
Wang Xuening, an official with the health ministry, told a press conference yesterday that it is almost impossible to keep the melamine level at zero as small amounts of the chemical can leak from packaging into milk and other food products. But he warned that "deliberate tainting is explicitly forbidden".
"Those who add melamine to food products will bear the legal responsibility," he said.
Chen Junshi, a researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the limits will "help inspectors assess whether melamine was deliberately added".
"If the amount exceeds 1 mg per kg, we have reason to believe it was intentionally added."
Some dairy suppliers have been found to add melamine to milk to make it appear protein-rich in tests.
Health authorities said the new limits are in line with international standards, and recognized by the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The US Food and Drug Administration said last week that 2.5 mg of melamine per kg would not cause health problems but added that any infant formula sold to the US must be free of melamine.
Standards in Hong Kong and New Zealand also set a safe melamine limit in food products of 2.5 mg per kg, though Hong Kong has lowered the level for children under 3 and pregnant or lactating women to 1 mg per kg.
Meanwhile, China's food safety watchdog said yesterday no traces of melamine were found in the latest round of tests of milk powder sold domestically.
The tests were carried out on 316 batches of milk powder of 54 brands produced after Sept 14, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its website.
It was the fourth time in less than a week that the food safety regulator said tests of dairy products showed no melamine contamination.
Source: China Daily
14 more arrested in Hebei milk scandal
Police in Hebei province have arrested 14 more people in connection with the tainted milk scandal, bringing the total arrests in the province to 27, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The suspects are alleged to have produced, sold or added melamine into fresh milk to falsify protein tests.
Cao Aiping, deputy chief of the Hebei provincial public security department, said 91 people had also been questioned in connection with the scandal.
The chemical was first found in baby milk powder produced by Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei.
Cao said police have cracked down on underground plants that produce melamine and their sales networks in the province. In a 10-day crackdown in late September, Hebei police also confiscated more than 380 kg of melamine, he said.
Police in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where dairy majors Yili and Mengniu are based, have also arrested six people suspected of producing and selling melamine.
Meanwhile, Hebei acting governor Hu Chunhua has criticized some local officials for being "indifferent and negligent" on food safety, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The province has started a month-long campaign to overhaul local food and drug industries starting Tuesday, he said. Hu urged local government officials and all enterprises to learn from the "painful" lesson of Sanlu.
A number of local officials have been removed from their posts, including Party chief of Shijiazhuang Wu Xianguo, mayor Ji Chuntang, and deputy mayor Zhang Fawang.
The city's quality supervision chief, food and drug administrator, and livestock and aquatic products bureau head were also sacked.
Source: China Daily
The suspects are alleged to have produced, sold or added melamine into fresh milk to falsify protein tests.
Cao Aiping, deputy chief of the Hebei provincial public security department, said 91 people had also been questioned in connection with the scandal.
The chemical was first found in baby milk powder produced by Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei.
Cao said police have cracked down on underground plants that produce melamine and their sales networks in the province. In a 10-day crackdown in late September, Hebei police also confiscated more than 380 kg of melamine, he said.
Police in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where dairy majors Yili and Mengniu are based, have also arrested six people suspected of producing and selling melamine.
Meanwhile, Hebei acting governor Hu Chunhua has criticized some local officials for being "indifferent and negligent" on food safety, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The province has started a month-long campaign to overhaul local food and drug industries starting Tuesday, he said. Hu urged local government officials and all enterprises to learn from the "painful" lesson of Sanlu.
A number of local officials have been removed from their posts, including Party chief of Shijiazhuang Wu Xianguo, mayor Ji Chuntang, and deputy mayor Zhang Fawang.
The city's quality supervision chief, food and drug administrator, and livestock and aquatic products bureau head were also sacked.
Source: China Daily
Top leaders pay tribute to heroes of earthquake
Top leaders yesterday paid tribute to heroes of the devastating Sichuan earthquake, calling for the "quake relief spirit" to be kept alive.
President Hu Jintao urged the nation to carry on the spirit of unity, courage and people-first thinking that characterized relief efforts after the May 12 earthquake.
At a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to honor outstanding organizations and individuals for their relief work, Hu said the spirit should be propagated among the Communist Party of China and the public. This would help advance sound and rapid economic and social development, he said.
During the country's highest official tribute to quake heroes, Hu delivered an hour-long televised speech, which stressed that the timely and effective rescue and relief efforts were a testament to the vitality of socialist China.
"The rescue and relief efforts fully tested and demonstrated the great achievements of our country's 30 years of reform and opening up," Hu said.
He noted that the country's growing might and prosperity provided the socio-economic foundation for quake relief.
Hu and other State leaders presented awards to soldiers, police officers, grassroots cadres, teachers, medical workers, journalists, construction workers and volunteers, among others.
Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, praised the 146,000 troops, armed police, reservists and police who were mobilized, describing them as the "main force".
All citizens, including volunteers, medical staff, journalists, and technicians had played their part in contributing to the relief work, he added.
Hu said the Sichuan quake, which caused huge loss of life and property and damaged economic and social development, "was a great test of Chinese people's will, courage and strength", as well as the Party's ruling capability.
Paraphrasing Fredrick Engels, Hu said no major historic catastrophe has not been compensated by historic progress.
More than 80,000 people were killed or missing in the May disaster, the most destructive since the People's Republic was founded in 1949. The tremor produced more than 30,000 aftershocks, affecting 500,000 sq km over more than 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Gansu, Shaanxi and Chongqing.
The direct losses exceeded 845.1 billion yuan , as infrastructure was destroyed and industrial and agricultural production devastated, causing major environmental damage.
On Tuesday, President Hu and other leaders also visited an exhibition on the earthquake, which opened on Sept 20 at the China People's Revolution Military Museum.
Nearly 300,000 visitors from all over the country have visited the exhibition.
Source: China Daily
President Hu Jintao urged the nation to carry on the spirit of unity, courage and people-first thinking that characterized relief efforts after the May 12 earthquake.
At a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to honor outstanding organizations and individuals for their relief work, Hu said the spirit should be propagated among the Communist Party of China and the public. This would help advance sound and rapid economic and social development, he said.
During the country's highest official tribute to quake heroes, Hu delivered an hour-long televised speech, which stressed that the timely and effective rescue and relief efforts were a testament to the vitality of socialist China.
"The rescue and relief efforts fully tested and demonstrated the great achievements of our country's 30 years of reform and opening up," Hu said.
He noted that the country's growing might and prosperity provided the socio-economic foundation for quake relief.
Hu and other State leaders presented awards to soldiers, police officers, grassroots cadres, teachers, medical workers, journalists, construction workers and volunteers, among others.
Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, praised the 146,000 troops, armed police, reservists and police who were mobilized, describing them as the "main force".
All citizens, including volunteers, medical staff, journalists, and technicians had played their part in contributing to the relief work, he added.
Hu said the Sichuan quake, which caused huge loss of life and property and damaged economic and social development, "was a great test of Chinese people's will, courage and strength", as well as the Party's ruling capability.
Paraphrasing Fredrick Engels, Hu said no major historic catastrophe has not been compensated by historic progress.
More than 80,000 people were killed or missing in the May disaster, the most destructive since the People's Republic was founded in 1949. The tremor produced more than 30,000 aftershocks, affecting 500,000 sq km over more than 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Gansu, Shaanxi and Chongqing.
The direct losses exceeded 845.1 billion yuan , as infrastructure was destroyed and industrial and agricultural production devastated, causing major environmental damage.
On Tuesday, President Hu and other leaders also visited an exhibition on the earthquake, which opened on Sept 20 at the China People's Revolution Military Museum.
Nearly 300,000 visitors from all over the country have visited the exhibition.
Source: China Daily
National rescue team aims for top standard
Fresh from its experience in the aftermath of the May 12 Sichuan quake, the country's national rescue team is vying for a place among the world's best.
Preparations for the United Nations standard test for heavy rescue work, scheduled for the beginning of next year, are already in full swing.
"The test is very strict, in terms of both equipment that is needed and the skills required of rescue work," Liu Xiangyang, deputy chief of the China International Search and Rescue Team, told China Daily yesterday.
If the national rescue team attains the standard, it will join just two other national teams to have done so - those from the United States and Singapore.
During the test, which will last up to four days, foreign rescue work professionals are expected to gather in Beijing and determine whether the Chinese rescuers have the ability to perform tasks at international levels.
A team that qualifies for the standard is expected to be able to handle various complex situations, as well as be self-sufficient for 15 days without causing disruptions in the disaster area it is operating in.
Liu got a taste of the challenges his compatriots will come up against, when he saw with his own eyes how the Singapore team did it last year.
"A simple mistake of the member failing to wear a required information card may result in immediate failure for the whole team," he said.
Liu believes the work his rescuers carried out for victims of the Sichuan quake will prove invaluable in the coming test.
The team left for Sichuan within 15 minutes after they were alerted on May 12. In the next 17 days, they worked for 216 hours at 48 sites, rescued 49 people, helped locate more than 300 others, and removed 1,038 bodies. Hope among victims reportedly rose whenever the rescuers sporting orange outfits with the words "China Rescue" emblazoned across their backs appeared.
"That's where my confidence stems from," Liu said.
After the quake, the rescue team also got together and re-evaluated their work to seek out possibilities of further reducing their rescue time.
"Time is life. Although we took only four heavy pieces of equipment to Sichuan due to the carrying limits of helicopters, there was always a way to speed up operations. In some cases, time for operational work may even have been reduced by half," Liu said.
All the team members contributed ideas to improve their work, he said.
"The quake provided hard-won experience, at the risk of our members losing their lives," Liu said.
The national rescuers are also sharing their experience in the quake with provincial teams and volunteers.
"I hope they can respond swiftly if similar situations occur in the future and help save more lives. That's at the back of my mind every day," Liu said.
In the meantime, the team has the UN test to pass.
"We know it is an enormous and complex task, but we have complete confidence of success," Liu said.
Source: China Daily
Preparations for the United Nations standard test for heavy rescue work, scheduled for the beginning of next year, are already in full swing.
"The test is very strict, in terms of both equipment that is needed and the skills required of rescue work," Liu Xiangyang, deputy chief of the China International Search and Rescue Team, told China Daily yesterday.
If the national rescue team attains the standard, it will join just two other national teams to have done so - those from the United States and Singapore.
During the test, which will last up to four days, foreign rescue work professionals are expected to gather in Beijing and determine whether the Chinese rescuers have the ability to perform tasks at international levels.
A team that qualifies for the standard is expected to be able to handle various complex situations, as well as be self-sufficient for 15 days without causing disruptions in the disaster area it is operating in.
Liu got a taste of the challenges his compatriots will come up against, when he saw with his own eyes how the Singapore team did it last year.
"A simple mistake of the member failing to wear a required information card may result in immediate failure for the whole team," he said.
Liu believes the work his rescuers carried out for victims of the Sichuan quake will prove invaluable in the coming test.
The team left for Sichuan within 15 minutes after they were alerted on May 12. In the next 17 days, they worked for 216 hours at 48 sites, rescued 49 people, helped locate more than 300 others, and removed 1,038 bodies. Hope among victims reportedly rose whenever the rescuers sporting orange outfits with the words "China Rescue" emblazoned across their backs appeared.
"That's where my confidence stems from," Liu said.
After the quake, the rescue team also got together and re-evaluated their work to seek out possibilities of further reducing their rescue time.
"Time is life. Although we took only four heavy pieces of equipment to Sichuan due to the carrying limits of helicopters, there was always a way to speed up operations. In some cases, time for operational work may even have been reduced by half," Liu said.
All the team members contributed ideas to improve their work, he said.
"The quake provided hard-won experience, at the risk of our members losing their lives," Liu said.
The national rescuers are also sharing their experience in the quake with provincial teams and volunteers.
"I hope they can respond swiftly if similar situations occur in the future and help save more lives. That's at the back of my mind every day," Liu said.
In the meantime, the team has the UN test to pass.
"We know it is an enormous and complex task, but we have complete confidence of success," Liu said.
Source: China Daily
Sichuan quake victim looks beyond disaster
Those who pass a prefabricated classroom of Hongba Central School , often spot 12-year-old Zhao Changli bouncing a basketball in the playground.
The sixth-grader shoots hoops as enthusiastically as any other basketball fan, but he does so with just one arm.
Zhao lost his right arm in the May 12 quake, which had reduced his school's classroom block into rubble and killed 159 students.
Rescuers said Zhao did not cry after he was pulled out of the debris. Sitting by the road, he was seen supporting his broken right arm with his left one, waiting for the medics.
While receiving treatment in hospital, Zhao practiced writing with his left hand. Although it trembled at first, his left limb slowly adapted. He can now write smoothly with it.
Zhao is one of the hundreds of students injured in the magnitude-8 quake who had to have their limbs amputated.
Most of the victims have returned to classes after treatment, the Sichuan provincial department of civil affairs said.
The quake itself claimed nearly 70,000 lives and left more than 374,000 injured.
Chen Kefu, spokesman for Sichuan's provincial department of civil affairs, said the province also gives priority to the employment of those who have been disabled by the quake.
In Beichuan, one of the worst hit counties in the quake, the local government has helped 2,623 of the 7,150 people disabled by the disaster to find jobs through training programs, tax reductions and financial assistance.
Zhao has since received an artificial right arm. With it, the former champion in the school's 400 m and 800 m race can now also ride the bicycle, in-line skate and play soccer.
Zhao's teachers said he is currently the best runner in his class, although he has only one arm.
"I have accepted the fact that I have lost one arm I tell myself to be as strong-willed as the Paralympic athletes who were in Beijing recently," Zhao said.
"When the Paralympics was held in Beijing, all the 4,200-odd athletes were confident and many were smiling, even though they were confined to wheelchairs and crutches or needed others' support to move around," he said.
Zhao said one-armed national swimmer Du Jianping has been a source of inspiration for him. Du won China's first gold medal in the Beijing Paralympics last month.
"I used to dream of becoming a soldier like my father. Now I am determined to become a Paralympian on the track," he said.
Source: China Daily
The sixth-grader shoots hoops as enthusiastically as any other basketball fan, but he does so with just one arm.
Zhao lost his right arm in the May 12 quake, which had reduced his school's classroom block into rubble and killed 159 students.
Rescuers said Zhao did not cry after he was pulled out of the debris. Sitting by the road, he was seen supporting his broken right arm with his left one, waiting for the medics.
While receiving treatment in hospital, Zhao practiced writing with his left hand. Although it trembled at first, his left limb slowly adapted. He can now write smoothly with it.
Zhao is one of the hundreds of students injured in the magnitude-8 quake who had to have their limbs amputated.
Most of the victims have returned to classes after treatment, the Sichuan provincial department of civil affairs said.
The quake itself claimed nearly 70,000 lives and left more than 374,000 injured.
Chen Kefu, spokesman for Sichuan's provincial department of civil affairs, said the province also gives priority to the employment of those who have been disabled by the quake.
In Beichuan, one of the worst hit counties in the quake, the local government has helped 2,623 of the 7,150 people disabled by the disaster to find jobs through training programs, tax reductions and financial assistance.
Zhao has since received an artificial right arm. With it, the former champion in the school's 400 m and 800 m race can now also ride the bicycle, in-line skate and play soccer.
Zhao's teachers said he is currently the best runner in his class, although he has only one arm.
"I have accepted the fact that I have lost one arm I tell myself to be as strong-willed as the Paralympic athletes who were in Beijing recently," Zhao said.
"When the Paralympics was held in Beijing, all the 4,200-odd athletes were confident and many were smiling, even though they were confined to wheelchairs and crutches or needed others' support to move around," he said.
Zhao said one-armed national swimmer Du Jianping has been a source of inspiration for him. Du won China's first gold medal in the Beijing Paralympics last month.
"I used to dream of becoming a soldier like my father. Now I am determined to become a Paralympian on the track," he said.
Source: China Daily
Supply to ensure stable grain price
Chinese agricultural experts yesterday said the country has sufficient grain reserves to keep food prices stable and foresaw no major fluctuations in the country's grain prices.
"Although global grain prices have continued rising rapidly since 2007, the prices in China have grown steadily and with a small range of fluctuation," Ministry of Agriculture expert Yang Jian was quoted by People's Daily as saying.
Larger grain reserves created by expected output increases and State price controls would secure a stable grain price, Yang said.
China has adopted multiple measures and policies since late last year to stabilized grain prices and boost agricultural production, including curbing gain exports, raising subsidies for farmers and tackling fertilizer price hikes.
China expects a grain output increase for the fifth consecutive year in 2008, with production expected to exceed 510 million tons, the State grain information center said.
Rice production is expected to reach 185.49 million tons, up 1.01 million tons from last year, while wheat output would increase 2.64 million tons to 109.86 million tons, the center said.
While generally optimistic, Yang expressed concerns about the long term.
"Domestic grain prices are bound to rise gradually, as the profit margin for farmers is narrowing because of rising costs," he said.
China's grain price straddled low levels after hitting a historical high in 1995.
It continued rising until 2003 but lagged behind other agricultural products' prices.
Yang said the government must specify and expand farmer subsidy policies, because increasing agricultural production costs often offset subsidies' values.
Ministry of Agriculture figures showed China has been mostly self-sufficient in feeding its more than 1.3 billion people.
Source: China Daily
"Although global grain prices have continued rising rapidly since 2007, the prices in China have grown steadily and with a small range of fluctuation," Ministry of Agriculture expert Yang Jian was quoted by People's Daily as saying.
Larger grain reserves created by expected output increases and State price controls would secure a stable grain price, Yang said.
China has adopted multiple measures and policies since late last year to stabilized grain prices and boost agricultural production, including curbing gain exports, raising subsidies for farmers and tackling fertilizer price hikes.
China expects a grain output increase for the fifth consecutive year in 2008, with production expected to exceed 510 million tons, the State grain information center said.
Rice production is expected to reach 185.49 million tons, up 1.01 million tons from last year, while wheat output would increase 2.64 million tons to 109.86 million tons, the center said.
While generally optimistic, Yang expressed concerns about the long term.
"Domestic grain prices are bound to rise gradually, as the profit margin for farmers is narrowing because of rising costs," he said.
China's grain price straddled low levels after hitting a historical high in 1995.
It continued rising until 2003 but lagged behind other agricultural products' prices.
Yang said the government must specify and expand farmer subsidy policies, because increasing agricultural production costs often offset subsidies' values.
Ministry of Agriculture figures showed China has been mostly self-sufficient in feeding its more than 1.3 billion people.
Source: China Daily
Markets dive despite rescue measures
Asian stock markets tumbled yesterday despite various governments' rescue measures, dragging the mainland index down for four consecutive trading days.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 3.04 percent, or 65.62 points, to end at 2092.22. And the smaller Shenzhen Component Index dropped 3.58 percent to close at 6924.48 points.
The fall chopped nearly 3 percent off the total market capitalization to 13.5 trillion yuan.
Combined turnover on the two bourses totaled 55.7 billion yuan, down 14 percent from the previous trading day.
Shares in all Asian markets ended in the red yesterday, shrugging off the latest interest rate cut moves by some central banks aimed to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority yesterday announced it would cut in the benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point to 2.5 percent from today to ease the credit crunch.
Australia on Tuesday also cut its interest rate by the same amount, the biggest reduction since 1992.
However, Asian markets were unmoved by the measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 8.17 percent to 15431.70, a record low in 28 months.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dived 9.38 percent to hit its lowest point since October 1987, ending at 9203.32.
Indonesia's stock trading was suspended after an over 10 percent index dive, the first since a bomb blast in 2000.
Markets in Australia, South Korea and India also suffered huge slumps.
The plunge in Asia yesterday followed a sharp dive on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrials slid 5.11 percent, or 508.39 points, the fifth consecutive day it fell.
"The systematic risks in the global financial markets have been quickly spreading, and the series of interest rate cuts around the world indicated that governments are worried that global economic fundamentals have been deteriorated," said Zhang Fan, a senior analyst at Shanghai-based Tebon Securities.
The mainland's stock market was dragged down by banks partly because of rumors of a cut in bank interest rates to stimulate economic growth.
After the market closed, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced a cut in the reserve requirement ratio by half a percentage point, effective from Oct 15, and a 0.27 percentage point reduction in the one-year deposit and lending rates.
The one-year lending rate was cut by 0.27 percentage point this September, the first time in six years.
"The interest cut may further weaken the net profits of banks in 2009," said Everbright Securities' financial analyst Jin Lin.
Jin added that fewer shares were purchased than expected from the country's three leading commercial banks by the State-owned Central Huijin Investment Co on the previous trading days, which further hurt investors' confidence on the market.
China Construction Bank, the country's second largest bank by assets, was down 5.37 percent to 4.23 yuan, while China Merchants Bank dived 8.34 percent to close at 14.29 yuan.
After a strong rebound on Monday amid the upcoming margin trading and short selling trial program, brokers' shares also suffered huge losses, led by Hongyuan Securities, down 9.97 percent to its daily limits.
Bolstered by today's opening of the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and a possible stimulus package for the agricultural industry, farming-related shares rose in yesterday's trading.
Huang Yiping, Citigroup's chief Asia economist, said the Party meeting may announce changes in government spending on rural development, land tenure and the household registration system.
Xinjiang GuanNong Fruit & Antler Co Ltd and the A shares of Hubei Sanonda Co Ltd soared 7.73 percent and 5.01 percent respectively yesterday.
Source:China Daily
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 3.04 percent, or 65.62 points, to end at 2092.22. And the smaller Shenzhen Component Index dropped 3.58 percent to close at 6924.48 points.
The fall chopped nearly 3 percent off the total market capitalization to 13.5 trillion yuan.
Combined turnover on the two bourses totaled 55.7 billion yuan, down 14 percent from the previous trading day.
Shares in all Asian markets ended in the red yesterday, shrugging off the latest interest rate cut moves by some central banks aimed to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority yesterday announced it would cut in the benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point to 2.5 percent from today to ease the credit crunch.
Australia on Tuesday also cut its interest rate by the same amount, the biggest reduction since 1992.
However, Asian markets were unmoved by the measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 8.17 percent to 15431.70, a record low in 28 months.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dived 9.38 percent to hit its lowest point since October 1987, ending at 9203.32.
Indonesia's stock trading was suspended after an over 10 percent index dive, the first since a bomb blast in 2000.
Markets in Australia, South Korea and India also suffered huge slumps.
The plunge in Asia yesterday followed a sharp dive on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrials slid 5.11 percent, or 508.39 points, the fifth consecutive day it fell.
"The systematic risks in the global financial markets have been quickly spreading, and the series of interest rate cuts around the world indicated that governments are worried that global economic fundamentals have been deteriorated," said Zhang Fan, a senior analyst at Shanghai-based Tebon Securities.
The mainland's stock market was dragged down by banks partly because of rumors of a cut in bank interest rates to stimulate economic growth.
After the market closed, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced a cut in the reserve requirement ratio by half a percentage point, effective from Oct 15, and a 0.27 percentage point reduction in the one-year deposit and lending rates.
The one-year lending rate was cut by 0.27 percentage point this September, the first time in six years.
"The interest cut may further weaken the net profits of banks in 2009," said Everbright Securities' financial analyst Jin Lin.
Jin added that fewer shares were purchased than expected from the country's three leading commercial banks by the State-owned Central Huijin Investment Co on the previous trading days, which further hurt investors' confidence on the market.
China Construction Bank, the country's second largest bank by assets, was down 5.37 percent to 4.23 yuan, while China Merchants Bank dived 8.34 percent to close at 14.29 yuan.
After a strong rebound on Monday amid the upcoming margin trading and short selling trial program, brokers' shares also suffered huge losses, led by Hongyuan Securities, down 9.97 percent to its daily limits.
Bolstered by today's opening of the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and a possible stimulus package for the agricultural industry, farming-related shares rose in yesterday's trading.
Huang Yiping, Citigroup's chief Asia economist, said the Party meeting may announce changes in government spending on rural development, land tenure and the household registration system.
Xinjiang GuanNong Fruit & Antler Co Ltd and the A shares of Hubei Sanonda Co Ltd soared 7.73 percent and 5.01 percent respectively yesterday.
Source:China Daily
HK cuts interest rate to aid bank lending amid turmoil
HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced it will cut its benchmark interest rate with effect from today in a bid to encourage bank lending, as the city's economy heads for downturn amid the global credit crunch.
The base rate for banks will drop to 2.5 percent from 3.5 percent, based on the US benchmark target rate plus 50 basis points, down from 150 basis points, HKMA's Chief Executive Joseph Yam said yesterday.
"Hong Kong's banking system is very stable but we are facing challenges," Yam told reporters.
The move, which is the single biggest reduction since 1998, is in response to central banks around the world looking to increase liquidity, to try putting the brakes on the growing credit turmoil that is hammering financial markets.
But economists warned that lenders will remain cautious and prudent with financial markets still volatile.
"The interest rate cut is made with good intention but it would render little help to the market," said Law Ka-chung, a Hong Kong-based chief economist and strategist at the Bank of Communications.
The cut does not mean lower rates for banks' customers, since inter-bank lending rates remain high, said Dick Lee, an analyst at Phillip Securities.
"This may not have an immediate impact on the market, but we hope the new formula could help stabilize the inter-bank rates in the long run and lower the pressure on banks to lift lending rates," Yam said.
Traders said the effective reduction in the base rate could be smaller as it will be calculated on the average of the HIBOR rates, which have been rising.
"This is seen as being able to soothe the liquidity pressures for banks, but HIBORs could take time to fall as banks should remain prudent in their lending amid volatile market conditions," Standard Chartered Global Research said in a report yesterday.
Standard Chartered Plc is keeping its key lending rate unchanged and "monitoring the market situation", a spokesman for the bank said yesterday.
Hong Kong, a major global financial center and the main investment gateway into the mainland, follows US rate moves because its currency is pegged to the US dollar. But tight credit markets are putting upward pressure on rates globally.
HKMA has said the city's money market was orderly despite rising concerns about credit risk, but it was ready to provide more liquidity if necessary.
The rate cut follows a series of measures by the HKMA to ease liquidity pressure, including the acceptance of US dollar assets as collateral in the inter-bank market. The city's monetary authority said it would provide more liquidity to local lenders after credit market turmoil triggered a bank run on the Bank of East Asia, the city's third largest bank, last month.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index tumbled below 16,000 for the first time in two years yesterday, on concern that the credit crisis will topple more banks and slowing growth will cut demand for Asia's exports.
The city's economy grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace in almost five years, as exports and domestic consumption cooled.
"The measure is good but it tells the market how serious conditions are," said Irene Fan, a senior economist at Hang Seng Bank.
"Companies may benefit from paying lower interest, but what about corporates that can't get new loans?"
Source:China Daily
The base rate for banks will drop to 2.5 percent from 3.5 percent, based on the US benchmark target rate plus 50 basis points, down from 150 basis points, HKMA's Chief Executive Joseph Yam said yesterday.
"Hong Kong's banking system is very stable but we are facing challenges," Yam told reporters.
The move, which is the single biggest reduction since 1998, is in response to central banks around the world looking to increase liquidity, to try putting the brakes on the growing credit turmoil that is hammering financial markets.
But economists warned that lenders will remain cautious and prudent with financial markets still volatile.
"The interest rate cut is made with good intention but it would render little help to the market," said Law Ka-chung, a Hong Kong-based chief economist and strategist at the Bank of Communications.
The cut does not mean lower rates for banks' customers, since inter-bank lending rates remain high, said Dick Lee, an analyst at Phillip Securities.
"This may not have an immediate impact on the market, but we hope the new formula could help stabilize the inter-bank rates in the long run and lower the pressure on banks to lift lending rates," Yam said.
Traders said the effective reduction in the base rate could be smaller as it will be calculated on the average of the HIBOR rates, which have been rising.
"This is seen as being able to soothe the liquidity pressures for banks, but HIBORs could take time to fall as banks should remain prudent in their lending amid volatile market conditions," Standard Chartered Global Research said in a report yesterday.
Standard Chartered Plc is keeping its key lending rate unchanged and "monitoring the market situation", a spokesman for the bank said yesterday.
Hong Kong, a major global financial center and the main investment gateway into the mainland, follows US rate moves because its currency is pegged to the US dollar. But tight credit markets are putting upward pressure on rates globally.
HKMA has said the city's money market was orderly despite rising concerns about credit risk, but it was ready to provide more liquidity if necessary.
The rate cut follows a series of measures by the HKMA to ease liquidity pressure, including the acceptance of US dollar assets as collateral in the inter-bank market. The city's monetary authority said it would provide more liquidity to local lenders after credit market turmoil triggered a bank run on the Bank of East Asia, the city's third largest bank, last month.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index tumbled below 16,000 for the first time in two years yesterday, on concern that the credit crisis will topple more banks and slowing growth will cut demand for Asia's exports.
The city's economy grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace in almost five years, as exports and domestic consumption cooled.
"The measure is good but it tells the market how serious conditions are," said Irene Fan, a senior economist at Hang Seng Bank.
"Companies may benefit from paying lower interest, but what about corporates that can't get new loans?"
Source:China Daily
Better air measure gauge on way
The Guangdong provincial environmental protection agency is working on a system to better evaluate its air quality.
The new system will include indices on visibility, particle mass concentration of PM10 , and black carbon particles, Nanfang Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
"The present air quality evaluation system was devised 20 years ago. It only includes indices on sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and inhalable particle matters of PM10," Liu Guoxian, an official with the provincial environmental agency, said.
"The new system will be better able to evaluate haze, which has long plagued the province, especially the Pearl River Delta region.
"PM10 and black carbon particles are the main cause of haze," Liu said.
He could not give a definite date when the new system will be put into effect.
The Pearl River Delta cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhaoqing experienced haze for more than 100 days last year. Dongguan, in fact, had 213 hazy days.
"Guangdong is currently capable of monitoring haze, but an updated system will benefit research and lead to improvement of the air quality in the Pearl River Delta region," Wu Dui, chief of the Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, said.
"For the Pearl River Delta region, indices on visibility and PM10 are more crucial than any other indices. PM10 is one to three times more serious here compared to the developed countries.
"Excessive emission of black carbon particles due to vehicle emissions is also to blame for the worsening visibility," Wu said.
Source: China Daily
The new system will include indices on visibility, particle mass concentration of PM10 , and black carbon particles, Nanfang Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
"The present air quality evaluation system was devised 20 years ago. It only includes indices on sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and inhalable particle matters of PM10," Liu Guoxian, an official with the provincial environmental agency, said.
"The new system will be better able to evaluate haze, which has long plagued the province, especially the Pearl River Delta region.
"PM10 and black carbon particles are the main cause of haze," Liu said.
He could not give a definite date when the new system will be put into effect.
The Pearl River Delta cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhaoqing experienced haze for more than 100 days last year. Dongguan, in fact, had 213 hazy days.
"Guangdong is currently capable of monitoring haze, but an updated system will benefit research and lead to improvement of the air quality in the Pearl River Delta region," Wu Dui, chief of the Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, said.
"For the Pearl River Delta region, indices on visibility and PM10 are more crucial than any other indices. PM10 is one to three times more serious here compared to the developed countries.
"Excessive emission of black carbon particles due to vehicle emissions is also to blame for the worsening visibility," Wu said.
Source: China Daily
Aircraft service center opens
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd opened its service center in this city on Tuesday, as China's home-made aircraft ARJ21 is ready for test flights.
Known as the Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co Ltd, it is located in the Zizhu Science Industrial Park in Minhang district. The center will provide aircraft maintenance and repairs, pilot training, aviation equipment, leasing and consultation.
Earlier this year, CACC announced it would be manufacturing aircraft with a take-off weight of more than 100 tons and capable of accommodating more than 150 seats.
Jin Zhuanglong, CACC's general manager, said since the launch of the company in May, its jumbo jet program had been progressing steadily, and feasibility studies had begun.
The company has hired a team of domestic and overseas professionals to work on the aircraft's design and manufacture.
CACC's chairman, Zhang Qingwei, said the first trial flight will be held at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport. However, he declined to give a date.
Meanwhile, China's first domestically produced commercial regional jet, also manufactured by CACC, is scheduled for its maiden test flight at the end of next month.
The ARJ21 has entered the final stages of development, with test pilots putting the aircraft through it paces.
For its final test, the aircraft will be equipped with passenger seats.
"Everything is ready. I'm confident of a smooth maiden flight," Zhang said.
The ARJ21, which is expected to sell for between $27 million and $29 million, can seat 70 to 110 passengers and has a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles.
It is the world's first aircraft designed for China's natural environment and is capable of landing and taking off in extreme weather conditions. So far the company has received 200 orders.
Source: China Daily
Known as the Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co Ltd, it is located in the Zizhu Science Industrial Park in Minhang district. The center will provide aircraft maintenance and repairs, pilot training, aviation equipment, leasing and consultation.
Earlier this year, CACC announced it would be manufacturing aircraft with a take-off weight of more than 100 tons and capable of accommodating more than 150 seats.
Jin Zhuanglong, CACC's general manager, said since the launch of the company in May, its jumbo jet program had been progressing steadily, and feasibility studies had begun.
The company has hired a team of domestic and overseas professionals to work on the aircraft's design and manufacture.
CACC's chairman, Zhang Qingwei, said the first trial flight will be held at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport. However, he declined to give a date.
Meanwhile, China's first domestically produced commercial regional jet, also manufactured by CACC, is scheduled for its maiden test flight at the end of next month.
The ARJ21 has entered the final stages of development, with test pilots putting the aircraft through it paces.
For its final test, the aircraft will be equipped with passenger seats.
"Everything is ready. I'm confident of a smooth maiden flight," Zhang said.
The ARJ21, which is expected to sell for between $27 million and $29 million, can seat 70 to 110 passengers and has a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles.
It is the world's first aircraft designed for China's natural environment and is capable of landing and taking off in extreme weather conditions. So far the company has received 200 orders.
Source: China Daily
SIP a model for development
China has witnessed enormous changes, especially in its economic development, since the start of its opening-up and reform campaign 30 years ago. The propelling forces behind the changes are numerous and one of them is, no doubt, China's close cooperation with other countries.
At the beginning, cooperation came mainly through overseas investment in Chinese enterprises, and joint ventures.
Yet Suzhou Industrial Park blazed the path of cooperation at the government level and is surely a successful model that can be duplicated in other areas of China with modifications in accordance with the local environment and conditions.
What can others borrow from the experience of SIP?
SIP is the biggest cooperative project between the governments of China and Singapore and saw its debut in February 1994. Sitting beside Jinji Lake in the eastern suburb of Suzhou, a 2,500-year-old city in East China's Jiangsu province, SIP covers an area of 80 sq k. with a population of about 600,000.
Over the past 14 years, SIP has experienced a fast development with the support from both governments and its own innovative endeavor. Its chief economic indices all grow at an annual rate of around 30 percent, which is much higher than the average national rate.
The success of an action, to a large extent, depends on good planning. This is certainly true of SIP. City planning experts, with good experiences from the world, made the blueprint for SIP. It is to be built into a new town of Suzhou with sections of industry, commerce and residence clearly demarcated.
In SIP, one never finds the common landscape of factories scattered among residential areas as in many other cities in China. This clearly accounts for the rapid increase of population in the area.
SIP has made great contributions to employment. Over the years, 14,000 companies and enterprises have settled in SIP, creating 270,000 jobs. The increase of employment rate is a great help to building a harmonious society.
Yet harmony between environment and man is also what is needed to maintain a sustainable social and economic development.
Examples of damages to the environment brought about by industrial development are countless, especially in the early stages of development.
It is not uncommon that in some areas, local governments seek high economic returns at the expense of environment.
However, this is certainly not what SIP does in its development. On the contrary, it has paid meticulous attention to environmental protection while attracting investment.
It is always the first prerequisite for any investment in SIP to meet with environmental protection standards.
Though many of the enterprises and companies in SIP are environment-friendly, strict supervision of environmental protection is also exercised at all levels, from the approval of investment projects to production.
The protection of the environment can also be attributed to the structure of industries. Such burgeoning industries as electronics, biopharmaceuticals and new materials have become the pillar industries of SIP.
These industries have helped SIP to yield a GDP of 83.6 billion yuan in 2007, accounting for 15 percent of the city's total whereas its population and area only occupy 4 percent of the city's total.
So far, 76 of Fortune 500 companies have invested in 115 projects in SIP, of which 89 have an investment value of over $100 million.
Economic development is of course what a government needs to promote. But a healthy and sustainable one is more important.
Source: China Daily
At the beginning, cooperation came mainly through overseas investment in Chinese enterprises, and joint ventures.
Yet Suzhou Industrial Park blazed the path of cooperation at the government level and is surely a successful model that can be duplicated in other areas of China with modifications in accordance with the local environment and conditions.
What can others borrow from the experience of SIP?
SIP is the biggest cooperative project between the governments of China and Singapore and saw its debut in February 1994. Sitting beside Jinji Lake in the eastern suburb of Suzhou, a 2,500-year-old city in East China's Jiangsu province, SIP covers an area of 80 sq k. with a population of about 600,000.
Over the past 14 years, SIP has experienced a fast development with the support from both governments and its own innovative endeavor. Its chief economic indices all grow at an annual rate of around 30 percent, which is much higher than the average national rate.
The success of an action, to a large extent, depends on good planning. This is certainly true of SIP. City planning experts, with good experiences from the world, made the blueprint for SIP. It is to be built into a new town of Suzhou with sections of industry, commerce and residence clearly demarcated.
In SIP, one never finds the common landscape of factories scattered among residential areas as in many other cities in China. This clearly accounts for the rapid increase of population in the area.
SIP has made great contributions to employment. Over the years, 14,000 companies and enterprises have settled in SIP, creating 270,000 jobs. The increase of employment rate is a great help to building a harmonious society.
Yet harmony between environment and man is also what is needed to maintain a sustainable social and economic development.
Examples of damages to the environment brought about by industrial development are countless, especially in the early stages of development.
It is not uncommon that in some areas, local governments seek high economic returns at the expense of environment.
However, this is certainly not what SIP does in its development. On the contrary, it has paid meticulous attention to environmental protection while attracting investment.
It is always the first prerequisite for any investment in SIP to meet with environmental protection standards.
Though many of the enterprises and companies in SIP are environment-friendly, strict supervision of environmental protection is also exercised at all levels, from the approval of investment projects to production.
The protection of the environment can also be attributed to the structure of industries. Such burgeoning industries as electronics, biopharmaceuticals and new materials have become the pillar industries of SIP.
These industries have helped SIP to yield a GDP of 83.6 billion yuan in 2007, accounting for 15 percent of the city's total whereas its population and area only occupy 4 percent of the city's total.
So far, 76 of Fortune 500 companies have invested in 115 projects in SIP, of which 89 have an investment value of over $100 million.
Economic development is of course what a government needs to promote. But a healthy and sustainable one is more important.
Source: China Daily
Chinese ambassador urges U.S. to honor commitment to one-China policy
Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong on Wednesday urged the United States to honor its commitment to the one-China policy and stop selling weapons to Taiwan.
"The question of Taiwan has always been a very sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. The normalization of China-U.S. relations is based on the U.S. commitment to the one-China policy. And I think the U.S. has made a very serious commitment to China as far as the question of Taiwan is concerned," said Ambassador Zhou, responding to a question after delivering a speech on Sino-U.S. trade relations at the Center for National Policy in downtown Washington D.C.
This has been laid out in the three joint communiques between China and the United States, namely, the Shanghai communique, the Aug. 17 communique, and the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, the ambassador said, noting that "the principle of one China has been the solid basis of all these joint communiques."
Zhou said the recently proposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is a gross violation of the solemn commitments made by the U.S. side to China because in the Aug. 17 joint communique, the U.S. side is committed to reducing its arms sales to Taiwan in both qualitative and quantitative terms, leading to a final resolution.
"Obviously, that is not happening," the Chinese ambassador said. "We hope the U.S. side will honor its commitment and abide by the one-China policy by not just words but action."
The proposed sales of weapons to Taiwan has already had an negative impact on the Sino-U.S. relations, he said. "We hope the U.S. side will correct that and stop selling weapons to Taiwan," Zhou said.
In spite of China's strong objection, the U.S. government on Friday notified the U.S. Congress about its plan to sell arms worth about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles, Harpoon submarine-launched missiles, and some airplane accessory parts.
Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the U.S. act "has seriously blocked bilateral exchanges and contacts in various fields, including high-level visits between the two armed forces."
"The U.S. side should take full responsibilities for the current situation of damaged military-to-military ties," Qin said.
Source: Xinhua
"The question of Taiwan has always been a very sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. The normalization of China-U.S. relations is based on the U.S. commitment to the one-China policy. And I think the U.S. has made a very serious commitment to China as far as the question of Taiwan is concerned," said Ambassador Zhou, responding to a question after delivering a speech on Sino-U.S. trade relations at the Center for National Policy in downtown Washington D.C.
This has been laid out in the three joint communiques between China and the United States, namely, the Shanghai communique, the Aug. 17 communique, and the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, the ambassador said, noting that "the principle of one China has been the solid basis of all these joint communiques."
Zhou said the recently proposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is a gross violation of the solemn commitments made by the U.S. side to China because in the Aug. 17 joint communique, the U.S. side is committed to reducing its arms sales to Taiwan in both qualitative and quantitative terms, leading to a final resolution.
"Obviously, that is not happening," the Chinese ambassador said. "We hope the U.S. side will honor its commitment and abide by the one-China policy by not just words but action."
The proposed sales of weapons to Taiwan has already had an negative impact on the Sino-U.S. relations, he said. "We hope the U.S. side will correct that and stop selling weapons to Taiwan," Zhou said.
In spite of China's strong objection, the U.S. government on Friday notified the U.S. Congress about its plan to sell arms worth about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles, Harpoon submarine-launched missiles, and some airplane accessory parts.
Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the U.S. act "has seriously blocked bilateral exchanges and contacts in various fields, including high-level visits between the two armed forces."
"The U.S. side should take full responsibilities for the current situation of damaged military-to-military ties," Qin said.
Source: Xinhua
China's tallest skyscraper to begin construction
China's tallest skyscraper, the 580-meter-tall Shanghai Center, will begin construction this December and is expected to be completed in 2004，Shanghai Morning Post reported.
After rounds of bids and selections, the design by the architectural firm Gensler was finally selected in a competition. The building will look like a soaring dragon. The 580 meter height will make it the tallest building in Shanghai.
Upon completion, the building will incorporate functions of office building, hotel, retail sales and entertainments. Its total area will reach 558,800 square meters, exceeding Shanghai World Financial Center's 380,000 square meters.
By People's Daily Online
After rounds of bids and selections, the design by the architectural firm Gensler was finally selected in a competition. The building will look like a soaring dragon. The 580 meter height will make it the tallest building in Shanghai.
Upon completion, the building will incorporate functions of office building, hotel, retail sales and entertainments. Its total area will reach 558,800 square meters, exceeding Shanghai World Financial Center's 380,000 square meters.
By People's Daily Online
China expected to become eighth-largest wine consumer
Peter Hayes, President of the International Organization of Vine and Wine praised China's wine at the Second Yantai International Wine Festival. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge also had a taste of the Great Wall dry red wine on the Beijing Olympic Games welcome dinner.
Over the past four years, China's wine consumption has increased by 20 percent. China becomes the most attractive market in the world wine industry. By 2012, China is expected to exceed Romania and Russia to become the world's eighth-largest wine consumer, the International Wine and Spirit Competition estimated.
By People's Daily Online
Over the past four years, China's wine consumption has increased by 20 percent. China becomes the most attractive market in the world wine industry. By 2012, China is expected to exceed Romania and Russia to become the world's eighth-largest wine consumer, the International Wine and Spirit Competition estimated.
By People's Daily Online
Pakistan president to make 1st visit to China
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will pay a state visit to China next week, his first trip abroad since assuming office in September.
"As a guest of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Zardari will pay a state visit to China from Oct. 14 to 17," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.
"China is looking forward to and welcomes Zardari's visit," Qinsaid.
During his stay, Zardari is expected to hold talks with Hu and meet with other Chinese leaders, including top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and top advisor Jia Qinglin.
Qin said China expected Zardari's visit to deepen bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership.
Source: Xinhua
"As a guest of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Zardari will pay a state visit to China from Oct. 14 to 17," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.
"China is looking forward to and welcomes Zardari's visit," Qinsaid.
During his stay, Zardari is expected to hold talks with Hu and meet with other Chinese leaders, including top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and top advisor Jia Qinglin.
Qin said China expected Zardari's visit to deepen bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership.
Source: Xinhua
CPC leadership convenes to discuss further rural reform
The 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China started its third plenary session on Thursday to discuss important changes in rural reform and development policies.
A draft of the Central Committee decision on major issues concerning rural reform and development would be deliberated at the four-day meeting, said a statement issued after the session opening.
The document is expected to guide reform and development in rural areas. Before the session, the draft was reviewed by senior Party members and advisors from various walks of society, including delegates to the 17th CPC National Congress, and amended according to their proposals.
The CPC leadership agreed that changes and problems had occurred in the countryside where economic reform started 30 years ago, the statement said.
Based on the changing reality, advancing rural reform would be a key step for the country, it said. This would also lay the foundation for China's development strategy.
On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited Xiaogang village in eastern Anhui Province. In 1978, a group of villagers there decided to adopt a household contract responsibility system, which entrusted the management and production of public owned farmlands to individual households through long-term contracts.
Later the system, described by then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping "a great invention of Chinese farmers", was widely adopted across the country and triggered the economic reform.
Hu's visit has underscored the importance the government has placed on the issues of farmland management and rural development.
Source: Xinhua
A draft of the Central Committee decision on major issues concerning rural reform and development would be deliberated at the four-day meeting, said a statement issued after the session opening.
The document is expected to guide reform and development in rural areas. Before the session, the draft was reviewed by senior Party members and advisors from various walks of society, including delegates to the 17th CPC National Congress, and amended according to their proposals.
The CPC leadership agreed that changes and problems had occurred in the countryside where economic reform started 30 years ago, the statement said.
Based on the changing reality, advancing rural reform would be a key step for the country, it said. This would also lay the foundation for China's development strategy.
On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited Xiaogang village in eastern Anhui Province. In 1978, a group of villagers there decided to adopt a household contract responsibility system, which entrusted the management and production of public owned farmlands to individual households through long-term contracts.
Later the system, described by then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping "a great invention of Chinese farmers", was widely adopted across the country and triggered the economic reform.
Hu's visit has underscored the importance the government has placed on the issues of farmland management and rural development.
Source: Xinhua
Australian minister says China's continued growth to help Australia
Australian Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said on Thursday his country was benefiting from a Chinese economy which was little affected so far by weakening global growth.
"China is now a major influence in the world economy and it's significant that the IMF doesn't downgrade its growth prospects," Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner told ABC Radio.
The International Monetary Fund , in a global outlook report released Wednesday night, predicts China's economic growth will drop only marginally to 9.3 percent in 2009, compared to world growth of 3.0 percent. It forecasts the Australian economy will grow 2.5 percent in 2008 and 2.2 percent in 2009 after 4.2 percent growth in 2007.
"Exports are obviously significant but the domestic growth in China is really what's driving its very high overall growth rate and, of course, its demand for minerals, particularly Australian minerals," he said.
Tanner said Australia was well positioned to continue selling "an awful lot" of exports to China, which he believed would be one of the important factors that were protecting Australia to some extent, from the influences of the U.S. financial crisis.
Source: Xinhua
"China is now a major influence in the world economy and it's significant that the IMF doesn't downgrade its growth prospects," Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner told ABC Radio.
The International Monetary Fund , in a global outlook report released Wednesday night, predicts China's economic growth will drop only marginally to 9.3 percent in 2009, compared to world growth of 3.0 percent. It forecasts the Australian economy will grow 2.5 percent in 2008 and 2.2 percent in 2009 after 4.2 percent growth in 2007.
"Exports are obviously significant but the domestic growth in China is really what's driving its very high overall growth rate and, of course, its demand for minerals, particularly Australian minerals," he said.
Tanner said Australia was well positioned to continue selling "an awful lot" of exports to China, which he believed would be one of the important factors that were protecting Australia to some extent, from the influences of the U.S. financial crisis.
Source: Xinhua
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