Premier Wen urges saving energy in Olympic construction

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) inspects the swimming stadium under construction for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, on July 17, 2007. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, July 18 - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday urged developers of Olympic stadiums and gymnasiums to promote energy efficiency and environmental protection in their construction.
Wen was inspecting the national stadium, the swimming stadium and the hockey stadium, which are under construction.
"China will not show extravagance in organizing the Olympic Games. We should save every drop of water and every kilowatt-hour of electricity in the construction of the Olympic facilities," said Wen.
Saving energy and environmental protection should be implemented in every project, Wen said.
He also urged developers to ensure the quality and safety of Olympic projects, to strengthen management and be thrifty in construction, and take the future use of the facilities after the Games into consideration.

Yao reports to national team

July 18 - Houston Rockets center Yao Ming arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to join the national team's preparation for the Stankovic Continental Champions Cup.
However, whether the “small giant” will appear on court at the tournament has not been confirmed by his broker, Lu Hao, said a report from website Sohu.
Yao, who has just recovered from a long-term shoulder injury, returned home half a month ago, but failed to compete in the tournament in Las Vegas, where China clashed with several NBA sides.

Shanghai ensures success of Games

July 18 - Shanghai Customs yesterday announced five measures to help people coming to the city for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
An estimated 40,000 athletes, coaches, referees and visitors from 160 countries and regions are expected to pass through Customs between September 26 and 28 for the Games, which will be held from October 2 to 11.
About 1,200 tons of sports equipment will also pass through Customs from next week to the middle of next month.
Bian Zuyao, deputy director of Shanghai Customs, said the five measures are aimed at providing maximum convenience for visitors.
He said a website will be used giving details about relevant laws and regulations regarding Customs clearance.
A telephone hotline (021-6889-1111) will also be set up. And online payments will be encouraged to speed up various processes.
Bian said Customs will also open special counters at its land, ocean and air entries to give priority to equipment brought in for the Games.
Special priority lanes will also be set up for visitors and volunteers will be on hand to help out.
Foreign government and Special Olympics officials will be exempt from Customs declaration.
Shanghai Customs has already granted the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games organizing committee special status to register as an institution with importing rights.
A rapid reaction mechanism will be in place to ensure smooth operation of the Games, Bian said.
He said Customs will also step up its vigilance and examination of dangerous goods such as weapons, explosives, and biological or chemical devices to guard against terrorists.
Unlike other sports meetings, the Special Olympics, first launched by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of former US President John F. Kennedy, in the 1960s for people with intellectual disabilities, is more akin to a carnival.
It has many non-sporting events such as a research symposium, a global youth summit, and a family forum, according to Su Binggong, deputy director of the executive committee of the Special Olympics.

Number of foreign illegal surveys on the rise

July 18 - The number of overseas organizations and individuals conducting illegal surveys in China is increasing, threatening to reveal State secrets and jeopardizing national security, Beijing-based Global Times reported yesterday.
The newspaper warned many Chinese mistakenly believe that geographic information is not secret because satellites are commonly used to gather such information.
But unidentified experts were quoted as saying that coordinates, topography and geologic information of key areas and core facilities are still top secret.
Once acquired by other countries, the information could be used to attack wartime targets, the experts warned.
In recent years, overseas organizations have used the prevailing thinking to conduct illegal surveys.
Some have directly asked for geographic information, taking advantage of local governments' eagerness to attract foreign investment. Others are using the cover of setting up joint ventures and cooperative projects.
In April and May, two Taiwanese were prosecuted for drawing highly classified maps of the Chinese mainland, which they sold overseas.
Investigation showed they had been opening joint ventures in mainland cities since 2000 to "develop and promote Global Positioning System (GPS) products used on vehicles".
In each city, they collected local electronic maps, and conducted field surveys in areas of interest. The maps they drew included a large amount of top-secret information about public security facilities, economic lifelines and military facilities.
In another case, a foreign map company with strong government connections was found to have illegally surveyed 56 cities in 10 provinces. The surveys were conducted through a joint venture set up in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.
The joint venture's survey team was caught in May 2004 when it entered a military area in coastal Shandong Province. Later investigation found the company's survey team had previously broken into military areas in Shanghai and Fujian Province.
Their surveys included accurate positioning of Chinese armies and detailed information on communication facilities in East and South China.
The report added that some foreign diplomats are also involved in unlawful surveys.
In April, a foreign diplomat with military background, who was originally from Taiwan, was caught carrying out illegal surveys in Guizhou Province in Southwest China. The supposed purpose was in support of a local AIDS control and prevention project.

Rising price level arouses complaints

Chinanews, Beijing, July 18 – According to a recent large-scale survey conducted by the China Youth Daily Social Investigation Center and QTick.com, about 90.9% of Chinese are aware of the recent price hike, and 70% of them complain about fast-rising food price.
The survey was conducted in 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, covering 2,538 people.
The statistics from the Chinese Association of Labor Studies show that average annual wage growth rate in China has been 12% in the recent 4 years (the fastest growth since the beginning of the Reform and Openning-up), and the booming market has brought great benefit to the Chinese people, too. However, nearly 60% of the respondents don’t think their disposable income has increased. All they know that is everything, particularly food, is becoming more and more expensive.
The National Development and Reform Commission has just released its latest report on price level in China, saying that pork price in 36 big and medium-sized cities has increased by 10% compared with the figure in last May. It is estimated that China might witness a 3%-plus annual CPI growth this year.

Hidden health hazards haunt Shanghai white collars

Chinanews, Shanghai, July 18 – Zhaopin Ltd has conducted a survey on the health conditions of young white collars in Shanghai, as many of them are complaining about not feeling well these days, particularly in the hot and humid weather. The survey covers 5,000 people, finding that 60% of respondents lead an irregular life, and only 10% of them often take exercises.
Some 26.8% of the respondents admit that they are overweight, including 9.4% who think they are very fat. About 10% of them are already suffering from hypertension, hyperlipermia or hyberglycemia.
Unfortunately, only 49% of the respondents are aware of the possible risks of the three diseases mentioned above, for most of them believe it’s still too early for them to think about these diseases. Besides, no more than 31.8% of respondents take a physical check every year.
In fact, many young people die of karoshi, or to die from prolonged overwork, every year, thus Zhaopin suggests that young white collars should pay more attention to their health, before it is too late. After the survey, about 83.8% of the respondents say they will take their health more seriously.

President Hu confers Nightingale medal on 5 nurses

Hu Jintao (3rd L), Chinese president and honorary president of the Red Cross Society of China, poses with Chinese laureates of the 41st Florence Nightingale Award during an awarding ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2007. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, July 18 - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday conferred the Florence Nightingale medal on five Chinese nurses for their outstanding contributions to healthcare.
The nurses included Cering Namo, a Tibetan caring of lepers at a hospital in southwest China's Qinghai Province, Chen Haihua, who works at a Beijing hospital and was once awarded the UN peace medal, Ding Shuzhen, who kept working after being diagnosed with cancer, Nie Shujuan, who has been fighting hepatitis in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Luo Shaoxia from a Macao hospital.
Vice Premier Wu Yi expressed the hope that nurses around the country would learn from the five recipients and carry forward the Florence Ningtingale spirit.
She also encouraged the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) to play a bigger role in assisting the government and raising public awareness of the work of nurses.
RCSC president Peng Peiyun hoped all Chinese nurses and Red Cross workers would improve their professional standards and service.
Florence Nightingale, a British nurse during the Crimean War from 1854 to 1856, was regarded as the pioneer of the modern nursing.
The Nightingale Award was established by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1912 and is presented every two years. The Chinese Red Cross Society began to recommend candidates for the award in 1983.
Hu Jintao is the Honorary President of the RCSC.

Coming nuke talks to schedule working groups: US top negotiator

July 18 - Top U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks Christopher Hill Wednesday said upcoming nuke talks will focus on scheduling working groups, voicing hope for completing the implementation of second phase by the end of this year.
"All the parties concerned will try to schedule five working groups and get these groups going," Hill told reporters before leaving a hotel in downtown Beijing for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Daiwei.
Reiterating goals for next steps, Hill said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should comprehensively declare all its nuclear facilities and disable all existing nuclear facilities.
Hill said parties concerned will also try to complete the implementation of second phase (of denuclearization) "by the end of this year," adding "no agreement" has reached yet.
"We get a long road ahead of us," he said.
Hill was referring to the stage in a February 13 joint document which requires the DPRK to declare all its nuclear programs and disable all existing nuclear facilities.
"My own view is we ought to wrap this up in the calendar year of 2007," Hill told reporters on Monday evening after separate meetings with the DPRK and Russian chief negotiators, saying all parties "in the same ballpark".
The fresh six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue on Wednesday afternoon will gather chief negotiators from China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.
There will be no opening ceremony for Wednesday's meeting. Top negotiators will go through the main agenda in a "down to earth" manner, including evaluating the implementation of the February joint document and discussing what to do in the next phase.

China to increase pork supply

Chinanews, Beijing, July 18 – In May and July, pork prices in many places across China increased greatly. In order to solve the problem, officials from the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) held a meeting with local government officials on Monday to discuss the issue of pork supply and pork prices. During the meeting, SDRC proposed that the government will try its best to increase the pork supply so that pork will not be out of stock in any places in China.
According to Chinese officials, the price hike is largely the correction of a long-time price drop. Over the past decade, the sales price of pork generally remained low. Compared with 1997, the selling price of pork dropped by 20% in 2006. Furthermore, this year, the price of grains also went up. This increased the costs of farmers' pig raising.
Last year's low pork price, the outbreak of the highly pathogenic blue-ear disease, and the price increase of grains caused the pork price to rise quickly in a short time, officials said.
At the meeting, officials vowed that China would fight against the blue-ear disease and try to increase pork supply as much as possible, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival season and the National Day holiday. At the same time, they said, China will work hard to supervise the market to make sure that hawkers will not store up pork for speculative activities or intentionally push up pork prices. In addition, the government will strictly control the blind expansion of corn deep-processing and the export of deep-processed corn. The central government urges governments at local levels to call a stop to the new projects related with corn deep-processing. At the same time, all the current projects should be checked up thoroughly.

China has 87.5 bln USD of trade deficit with E. Asian regions

Chinanews, Beijing, July 18 – Although generally speaking, China has a large trade surplus with other countries, its trade with East Asian regions in particular are in deficit. The deficit is as large as 87.5 billion US dollars, said Liao Xiaoqi, deputy minister of commerce.
He made the statement while attending the 2007 East Asian Investment Forum held in Beijing last Saturday.
China mainly imports raw materials and spare parts from East Asian countries. All these raw materials and spare parts, after being processed or assembled, will be exported to the European market. China has become the largest export market for South Korea, the second largest export market for Japan, the third export market for Thailand, and the fourth export market for Indonesia, Singapore, the Phillipines and Malaysia. Chinese economic development has brought opportunities for all East Asian countries, Liao said.
He said that China attaches great importance to regional economic cooperation. In 2010, China will establish a free trade zone with ASEAN countries. China has also signed agreements to establish a free trade zone with Pakistan and Chile and the agreement is being implemented. At present, China is working to sign agreements to establish a free trade zone with such countries and regions as New Zealand, Australia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Singapore, and Iceland. The number of free trade zones that China has established or is working to establish with other countries and regions has already reached 11. The 11 free trade zones cover 28 countries and regions and trade activities with these countries account for one-fourth of China’s total export volume.
At present, China has entered into a fast round of expansion in its overseas investment activities. Over the past three years, China’s direct investment at overseas market has increased at an annual rate of 70% or more, making China now one of the biggest investors in the world. By the end of last year, China’s investment activities at overseas market covered 160 countries and regions and its total investment reached 13 billion US dollars, Liao noted.

Large SOEs swarm to Xinjiang to make investment

Chinanews, Urumqi, July 18 – In recent years, many large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) all went to Xinjiang for investment, attracted by its rich mineral and other natural resources, and its contiguity to central Asian countries.
So far, more than ten large state-owned companies, including PetroChina, SinoChem, China Oil and Food Corporation (COFCO), China Power Investment Corporation, Shenhua Group, State Development and Investment Corp (SDIC), and Xuzhou Mining Group, have all made their investment in Xinjiang. The total investment made by these large national companies already exceed 10 billion yuan.
In Tacheng, a remote city in Xinjiang, local government took advantage of the national policy of supporting Xinjiang to invite more and more large state-owned enterprises to go there. So far, more than ten national companies have settled in Tacheng. These companies cover various industrial sectors, including energy, mineral resources exploitation, and agricultural products. Their investment exceeds 3 billion yuan.
Information shows that more than 138 kinds of minerals have been discovered in Xinjiang, accounting for 80% of all the mineral types discovered in China. In Xinjiang, there are 20.8 billion tons of potential oil reserves, 10 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, and 2.19 trillion tons of coal resources. Xinjiang has abundant resources of iron, copper, nickel and gold.
As China further carries out the West Development Strategy, the western region has become a popular place for making investment. With the central government’s western development policy, it is an inevitable trend that more and more state-owned enterprises will go to the west for investment. As economy develops rapidly in Xinjiang, these enterprises will also divert more and more of their capital to the western region, too, some experts say.
At present, Xinjiang has entered into a most booming period of capital flow. State-owned companies directly supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission under the State Council have already put 50 billion yuan of capital in Xinjiang.

Overseas firms can bid in largest gold mine

July 18 - Domestic, as well as overseas, companies can bid for the exploration rights of China's largest potential gold mine.
The gold deposit in Yangshan, Gansu Province, has at least 160 tons in proven reserve, Xiong Bilin, deputy director of National Development and Reform Commission's industry department, said yesterday.
The company with the latest and best technology that can ensure minimum wastage of the precious metal is likely to win the bid.
Without giving a specific date for the floating of tenders, Xiong said: "Any company from home and abroad, as long as it has the mining technology and is able to work out a detailed mining plan without harming the environment, can take part in the bid."
The gold deposit could be more than 200 tons, said a People's Daily report earlier, and is in a convenient area with a national highway passing near it.
The NDRC website says gold deposits, with 50 or more tons of reserves, have also been discovered in Zhaishang in Gansu and Damoqujia and Jinchang in Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces.
China produces 224 tons of gold a year, but last year it consumed more than 400 tons. The top three gold producing provinces are Shandong, accounting for 27 percent of the country's total, Henan (14 percent) and Fujian (8 percent).
In the first six months of this year, China produced 122 tons of gold, up 15 percent year-on-year, NDRC said. Also, the gold industry's gross value of products of about 32 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) - up 44 percent - made a profit of 3.5 billion yuan ($460 million).
In the first six months, the average global gold price reached $656 an ounce, breaking the 1980 record of $614 an ounce.

National University Games open

Performers give performances at the opening ceremony of the 8th National University Games in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong Province, on Monday, July 16, 2007. 6,000 athletes from 34 provinces, municipalities, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Hong Kong and Macao, will compete for 225 gold medals at the Games.

Prolific panda gives birth to its third twins

July 17 - Huamei, an eight-year-old US-born giant panda gave birth to twin cubs on Monday morning in the Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The first cub was born at 6.30 a.m. while Huamei delivered the second one three hours later. The second, weighing 129.8 grams, is male, while the first one was in the arms of its mother and its gender and weight have yet to be established.
Both the cubs and the mother are in good condition, said Li Desheng, vice director of the research center of the Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas.
The cubs are the third pair delivered by Huamei, who gave birth to two twins in 2004 and 2005 since its return to China in February 2004.
Born on August 21 in San Diego Zoo of the United States, Huamei is the first giant panda to have been born and survived in the Western Hemisphere since 1990. Her name means "China and America".
According to estimates by experts, there are only about 1,590 wild giant pandas in the world. The number of giant pandas in captivity stood at about 210 in China.
The mating season of giant panda is mainly from March to May and giant pandas only give birth once in a year, usually to one or two cubs.

Juveniles' lack of sleep to cause overweight, survey

Chinanews, Beijing, Jul. 17 – A survey revealed last Friday that 12 boys and 7 girls are overweight among the 100 students covered in the survey, which shows that overweight and obesity have become more and more serious among students. Experts pointed out that the main reason is unhealthy eating habit, like foreign snacks, sweat beverage and carbonic acid and dessert.
Qi Kemin, an expert from Beijing Children’s Hospital, said that obesity is a kind of dystrophy disease, which is the result of heredity and outside environment.
According to the survey, if young people sleep less 6 hours a day, they are likely to suffer from obesity. Some students also try to eat much as a way to ease psychological pressure. Lifestyle in the family may also cause various problems, including obesity.

Sand washed away, Yellow River flows more smoothly

Chinanews, Beijing, July 17 – The 2007 Yellow River water and sand diversion project was terminated recently. As sand from the river has been washed away into the sea, the riverbed is no longer blocked by sand, and water can flow through the riverbed more smoothly. Since 2002, sand diversion task has been applied to the Yellow River six times, with 420 million tons of sand being diverted to the sea in total, the Yellow River Floods and Droughts Control Center said recently.
"If one wants to harness the Yellow River, one has to solve the sand problem first," as a popular saying goes in China. The Yellow River is said to be a river that contains the largest amount of sand in the world. In the old days, people used to say that 70% of the water in the Yellow River was filled with sand. It is estimated that every year, about 1.6 billion tons of sand are washed into the lower reaches of the river and 400 million tons of sand silted up in the riverbed, making the riverbed higher and higher. The riverbed “grows taller” at an average rate of 10 centimeters every year, finally making it a river floating high above the ground. If a flood occurs in the Yellow River, all the neighboring regions will be seriously affected.
The water and sand diversion project is aimed to solve this problem. In the water and sand diversion task, the water and sand in the Yellow River are first properly controlled in the reservoir and then diverted into the sea, making the riverbed clear again. Experiences show that water and sand diversion has become a proper way to solve the sand problem in the river.
During the six times of water and sand diversion, about 420 million tons of sand have been washed into the sea in total. The main riverbed in the lower reaches has thus become clear. Before the task was carried out, about 1,800 cubic meters of water could flow through the riverbed per second; now, as many as 3,630 cubic meters of water can flow through in one second.
The water and sand diversion project not only helps clear the riverbed, the fresh water flowing from the river also nourish the swamp areas nearby and enrich the biosystem there.

Lin Biao regains his place in army history

July 17 - Marshal Lin Biao, who was handpicked by Chairman Mao Zedong to succeed him as China's leader but who died a traitor, has been resurrected as an army hero in a new exhibition in Beijing's Military Museum.
Lin's portrait is included among the 10 marshals who are honored as the founders of the Chinese armed forces in an exhibition celebrating the 80th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army on August 1.
Lin, denounced for his "treacherous" plot to overthrow Mao, is shown with his nine peers in a display rarely seen since his death in September 1971.
"With objective thinking, we decided to put the picture of Lin Biao along with the other nine marshals," said Jiang Tingyu, senior researcher at the Chinese Military Museum. "We have to show history as it was."
The 10 marshals have been praised since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Lin died in a plane crash in Mongolia while fleeing after a coup attempt. He retained the rank of marshal, but his name and portrait have rarely appeared in public since.
Widely regarded as a talented military leader, Lin led the Communist forces in several notable victories in the wars against Japanese invaders in the 1930s and 1940s and the Kuomintang regime. He was a principal leader in two of the three biggest victories over the Kuomintang Army in the late 1940s.
In 1955, Lin was honored as a marshal.
However, he and Mao held different political views that developed into a rift. Lin approved a coup against Mao but fled after Mao learned of his intentions.
Lin's infamy remained even after Mao's death in 1976. The Supreme People's Court in 1981 determined that Lin was responsible for "counter-revolutionary" activities. He was identified as the "ringleader of the coup," but his name is mentioned twice in middle school textbooks.
The 1997 edition of the Chinese Military Encyclopedia also commented on both the official judgment against Lin as well as his military accomplishments.

High schoolers prefer thrillers to classics

Chinanews, Hangzhou, July 17 - As many high school students plan to read books during the current summer holiday, a junior high school in Hangzhou conducted a survey on reading among its students, finding that many of them would rather read thrillers than literature classics.
In the survey, about 31.9% of boys and 39.7% of girls say they are crazy about thrillers and other horror fictions. Although it is generally believed that boys are more courageous than girls, there are more girls enjoying reading thrillers, for "they are exciting and attractive."
However, not many of them like literature classics, as only 22.3% of the respondents say they often read such books. Take A Dream of Red Mansions, a very famous Chinese classic, as an example. Only 10% of the respondents have read it from cover to cover. Many of them complain that the book is too dull and too complicated.
"I don't think the school should force students to read classics, but rather, it's our responsibility to cultivate students' interest in them," said Zhao Guangxiong, assitant principal of the high school.

Half college graduates depend on parents

Chinanews, Zhengzhou, July 17 - According to a survey in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, about 30% of college graduates this year have not found employment yet, and many of those who have found jobs still can't live on their own. The survey shows that only 52.1% of college graduates can earn their own livelihood.
Besides, 60% of employed college students are not satisfied with their current jobs, and nearly 50% are prone to change jobs soon. About 1/3 of those who graduated last year have already changed 3 or 4 jobs.
The frequent job changes have contributed a lot to the unemployment rate, in fact.
Many of these young people share rooms with former classmates or friends, thus they can have a monthly expenditure of between 500 and 800 yuan. About 43.1% of them can even spend only 300 - 500 yuan every month.

Young people use social values to judge pop stars, poll

Chinanews, Beijing, July 17 – The China Youth Daily Social Investigation Center and Tencent Information News recently carried out a survey about Chinese young people's attitudes towards pop stars. The survey shows that in choosing their favorite pop stars, most people focus on their talents (69.6%), next, or almost equally important, on their sense of social responsibility (69.4%), followed by their patriotism (65.9%), the love they display for the things they are doing (62.3%), and whether they are sympathetic to others (60.6%). Things like appearance are listed as one of the least important factors in people's choices for picking their favorite stars.
About 10,352 people took part in the survey, 95% of them under the age of 35.
“Whether a pop star will be liked by society or not depends on what he or she can bring to society. Although a person's ability plays an important part in it, other factors are equally important - what these stars do or say should conform with the main stream of social values,” a respondent said.
From this respondent's point of view, pop star might be different from one another in their personal styles; however, if they want other people to like them, they should have something in common: these include the sense of social responsibility, the sense of caring for public interests and a kind heart.
Only 9.3% of the respondents still think that traditional educational methods – which teach young people moral values by instilling ideas into them, still works. 51.8% of the people think that such methods might be out of date, although to some extent they are workable. 38.9% of the people think these methods become almost useless now.
On the other hand, celebrities and pop stars play an increasingly important role in helping young people to form their moral values.
In the survey, 39.5% of the respondents say they might be affected by celebrities or pop stars in forming their moral ideas; 26.1% of them hold that people's favorite celebrities, including pop stars, play the most important role in teaching adolescents about moral ideas. The percentage of people who favor pop stars in teaching young people about social values is only lower than those who pick up “parents” and higher than those who pick up “friends, classmates” and those who pick up “teachers”.
Although many of them think that many pop stars have too much rumours, still 54.7% of the respondents think that the most popular stars are those that have both talents and social responsibilities.

1,000 cats poisoned by raticide in 20 days

Chinanews, Changsha, Jul. 17 – Binhu Village in Hunan Province was recently infested with rats. Our reporter saw remains of rats on village roads, and mouse holes could be found everywhere in the villagers’ courtyards.
Binhu is the most serious infested place around the Dongting Lake. Xu Hongguang, local Party chief, said that most plants had been eaten by rats. Since the rat disaster broke out on June 28, the villagers have spent 12 thousand yuan to buy raticides, and even 3 tons of rice were used to be mixed with raticide.
Raticide not only kills rats, but also cats and dogs. Some 1,000 cats and 100 dogs raised by the villagers were killed by raticide in 20 days. Xu said currently the most important task is to kill rats, and some sacrifices are unavoidable.
Tao Weixin, a farmer who was forced to move out of the village, said that only mankind is fighting against rats at the moment, and rat’s natural enemy like cats and owls is on the verge of extinction around the region.

Ads containing sexual implication should be rated

Chinanews, Beijing, July 17 - Chinese kids usually spend a lot of time watching TV during the summer holidays nowadays. However, there are too many ads containing sexual implications on TV. Thus Tang and Shang, two deputies to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, call for the making of a rating system for ads, so such ads will only be broadcast late at night, when kids have gone to bed.
For example, a cellphone ad in China is themed on comparing the size of women's breasts to show its extra-large screen. Some other ads are even more seductive, putting out words like "one night stand" as their themes.
The flood of such dirty ads surely needs to be controlled, for a Chinese kid averagely watch TV 100 minutes everyday. Besides, online ads need to be regulated, too, for the Internet has also become a necessary part of kids' life today.

ICRC: Chinese hostage handed over to Chinese authorities

GENEVA, July 17 - A Chinese citizen kidnapped by Tuareg rebels in Niger on July 6 has been handed over to Chinese officials, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed to Xinhua on Monday in Geneva.
The ICRC has handed over the hostage to Chinese authorities in Agadez, a northern town of Niger near which he was kidnapped, an ICRC spokeswoman told Xinhua by telephone.
She could not confirm whether the Chinese national was in good health, but said there was a nurse with the ICRC team and if the hostage had any health problem he could be cared for.
Together with the Chinese national, three injured soldiers belonging to the Niger armed forces were also returned to the Agadez. All four had been held by the rebel Movement of Niger People for Justice.

One-child policy is not a mandatory policy in China

Chinanews, Beijing, July 17 – The current one-child policy is not a mandatory policy in China. Local governments in both urban and rural regions can make slight changes to the policy based on their concrete conditions, said Yu Xuejun, director of the Policy-making Department under the National Population and Family Planning Commission.
China has now become a country with a low birth rate. In the 1970s, while every Chinese couple gave birth to 5.8 children on average, the number has now been reduced to 1.8. However, it should be noted that as China has a large absolute number in population, the net increase of population will still be large. It is expected that over the next few years, Chinese population will grow with a net increase of 8-10 million every year to reach 1.5 billion by 2030. According to the national population strategic plan, China will witness a crucial period in the 30 years to come when population growth rate will remain low and, even reach zero. During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period (2006-2010), China will continue to implement its current family planning policy and try to keep the birth rate at a low level. It is no good for China either to tighten or loosen its present policy.
China should not loosen its present birth control policy because the country will encounter a small baby boom during the Eleventh Five-Year Period. Furthermore, currently, some local governments have made adjustments to the current policy by allowing more couples in their regions to have two babies already, said Yu.
Yu stressed that China should not tighten its current policy, either, because a tightened policy will bring more structural problems to the country’s population issue in future.

China's pork prices soar 74.6%

The wholesale price of pork in China surged 74.6 percent in June compared with the same month last year, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on Monday.
July 17 - The wholesale price of pork in China surged 74.6 percent in June compared with the same month last year, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on Monday.
The ministry, however, did not provide the average wholesale price last month.
The wholesale prices polled by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) in 36 large and medium-sized cities averaged 18.57 yuan per kilogram on July 11, up nearly 30 percent from the 14.25 yuan on May 11. The average retail price for lean pork has exceeded 22 yuan per kilogram.
The price hikes in feedstuff and the outbreaks of the blue ear disease are mainly blamed for the pork price surge.
According to the MOA, the prices of rice, wheat and corn rose 7.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, 39,455 pigs or 27.5 percent of the pigs that contracted blue ear disease in 586 epidemic areas, had died by July 10.
Blue-ear pig disease remains a severe challenge to China's Yangtze River valley despite the fact that the outbreak has been basically brought under control on the whole, the MOA said on Saturday.
The MOA, the MOC and the National Development and Reform Commission urged local authorities on Monday to ban new corn processing facilities that helped push up the prices of corn.
The three agencies also ordered local officials to ban pork that was injected with water and failed safety tests to enter the market and to eliminate the blue ear disease to ensure pork supply.
The price of pork plummeted in the first half of 2006, prompting pig raisers to slaughter their sows and piglets to avoid further losses.
The nation's pig population stood at 476 million at the end of June, down 0.15 percent from the same period last year.
The pork price will continue to rise in the second half of the year as the supply shortfall can hardly be eased in a short period of time, said Huang Hai, Assistant Minister of Commerce.
"Normally, it will take half a year to complete a pig breeding cycle and make more pork available on markets. That is why it's so difficult to make a turnaround in supply-demand relations," Huang said.
The hikes in pork price, along with other food price rises, have pushed the consumer inflation in May to 3.4 percent, much higher than the target of three percent set by the Chinese government for the whole of 2007.

Nike files suit over shoe logo

July 17 - American sporting goods giant Nike is suing two Chinese shoe manufacturers for alleged copyright infringement and a French supermarket for displaying and selling the shoes.
The infringement involves the use of a logo - silhouette of former basketball star Michael Jordan slam-dunking - on the sports shoes of the Chinese companies.
The Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court held its second hearing yesterday. No verdict was announced.
Nike International Ltd is demanding the three - the shoe companies based in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, and the Shanghai branch of France-based retailer Auchan - to stop the infringement, make a public apology, and pay compensation of 1 million yuan ($131,000).
But the three contend the logo is not well-known in China though it might be in other countries, and therefore, no apology is necessary. They also contend the compensation is too high.
As one of the most frequently copied brands, Nike has been fighting numerous counterfeits of its goods in recent years. Other major international brands are also doing the same.
Felicia Deng, Cartier's Shanghai representative, said the company is seeing counterfeits of its products worldwide. "We have a group of lawyers to deal with it."
Shanghai High People's Court statistics show the courts are seeing an increase in intellectual property rights (IPR) cases involving overseas brands.
Last year, 17.6 percent of the 972 IPR infringement cases were related to overseas companies or individuals.
Brands most copied were from the United States, Britain, Japan and Germany. They involved Levi Strauss jeans, and the sports products of Nike and Adidas.
Early this year, Nike found several shops selling sports shoes bearing the slam-dunk logo but not manufactured by the company. The shoes were being sold for about 100 yuan ($12.8) per pair.
"We found infringements not only in the Auchan store in Shanghai but also in its store in Ningbo," Nike's lawyer told China Daily.
Nike sent solicitors' letters to Auchan Shanghai on February 2, requiring it to stop the infringement and provide records of purchase and sales the shoes.
"The requests were all ignored," the lawyer told the court.
Nike has filed suits against both the Shanghai and Ningbo offices of the retailer and the manufacturers of the shoes, Jinjiang Kangwei Shoes Co Ltd and Jinjiang Longzhibu Shoes Co Ltd.

Central Bank's Xiang to head Agri Bank

July 17 - A vice-governor of China's central bank, Xiang Junbo, is expected to take the helm at the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) to steer it through its shareholding reform in order to secure a market listing.
It is not clear what post the People's Bank of China's Xiang will take but Caijing magazine, a leading financial publication, reported that the 50-year-old would be appointed as the governor and the chairman of the board upon the accomplishment of the shareholding reform.
Analysts say the new appointment will not lead to immediate moves such as inviting in strategic investors or financial restructuring as the bank is widely known to be the worst hit by massive lending to the rural sector, with a non-performing loan rate of 23.43 percent at the end of 2006, far higher than those of the other three state commercial banks, which have all been listed in Hong Kong and domestic A share markets.
Before being promoted to the post of vice-governor of the People's Bank of China in July 2004, Xiang spent eight years with the National Audit Office. His background will be constructive to strengthening the risk control of the ABC, analysts say.
China initiated the reform of the "big four" banks after the first national financial work conference in 1997. The China Construction Bank took the lead in market listing in October 2005, followed by the Bank of China last year.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, staged a dual debut in both Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses on Oct. 27.
All three have followed the steps of government capital injections, dealing with non-performing loans, establishing shareholding companies, introducing strategic investors and seeking opportunities for listing.
Up to 70 billion U.S. dollars would be needed to clear the bank's non-performing loans before it could meet overseas listing standards, analysts have said.
Su Ning, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, replaced Xiang as the chief of the Shanghai Head Office of the PBOC, a central bank statement said on Monday.