Friday, September 5, 2008

Different walks of life in Myanmar hold activities in cyclone relief fund raising

Different walks of life in Myanmar have been holding various activities to raise relief funds for cyclone victims as a charity move.

According to this week's issue of the local 7-Day News, vocalists serving in Myanmar's State Radio Broadcasting Station will take part in more live show sponsored by the country's national-level Musicians Association to raise fund for the relief and resettlement of cyclone survivors.

As a follow-up of several other music shows held earlier by the association in Yangon and Mandalay, about 20 noted radio vocalists will participate in the event scheduled for October-November.

As a latest move, Thai entrepreneurs investing in Myanmar will hold market festival in Yangon later this month to raise relief fund for the storm victims.

In cooperation with the Thai Embassy, the activity will take place at the Thai-invested Kandawgyi Hotel on Sept. 21, according to earlier reports.

At special reduced prices, the items to be sold include Thai-manufactured garments, costumes and various kinds of Thai food, the report said, adding that fashion shows will also be attached.

The proceeds from the market festival are set to be donated to storm-hit regions.

Other local reports said German artists will hold auction in Yangon for their paintings on Saturday to help raise fund for storm survivors.

Meanwhile, 12 Myanmar famous artists have been invited to participate in a mobile international painting auction, organized by one of the world's famous auction companies, Sothebys and Christices, touring around four big international cities -- Hong Kong, London, San Fransisco and New York.

The event designates each artist to present two paintings for auction, half of the proceeds are set to be donated to Myanmar's cyclone-hit regions.

Many noted and rich entrepreneurs from these big cities will be invited to bid for the paintings in the auction, it said.

More painting show, aimed at raising relief fund for the cyclone-damaged Mawlamyainggyun township in Ayeyawaddy delta, was held in Myanmar's former capital of Yangon last week, in which 95 artists from Yangon and Mandalay took part.

Meanwhile, amateur artists from the Myanmar-Chinese community also held the first ever live show of its kind in Yangon on Aug. 30, sponsored by the Myanmar-Guangdong Music Band and involved eight other local Chinese cultural associations, to help raise relief funds for cyclone survivors and for reconstruction of the storm-ravaged regions.

The show, also attached with auction of electronic goods for donation to disaster-hit regions, was overwhelmed by cheering audiences.

Deadly cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states -- Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on last May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon suffered the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.

Official death toll showed the storm has killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese tourists head to Israel

The first Israel-bound Chinese tour group will depart later this month, opening a channel for tourists to see Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

The group of 80 tourists will leave in two batches on Sept 25 and 28, Israel's Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila said at a press conference yesterday.

Previously, Chinese tourists need invitation letters to get business visas to visit Israel, Wu Jianguo, manager of the Latin America and Africa Division at China Travel Service Head Office, told China Daily.

"This made it extremely difficult for tourists to visit Israel, which boasts rich culture and beautiful natural sceneries they can experience," he said.

The tour group to Israel will visit famous sites such as Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Eilat in the 10-day trip, which will also include some scenic spots in Jordan, he said.

The price for the trip is 28,000 yuan , higher than the price of most trips to the United States.

"Most people in the group are experienced tourists, who find Israel a mysterious country," Wu said.

The biggest appeal comes from Jerusalem, one of the oldest cities in the world and the spiritual center of the Jewish people, he said.

Believing Israel will be a potential destination for Chinese tourists, he said much work however still needed to be done to persuade people that Israel is safe to visit.

"Our group will not go to Gaza Strip, and all stops on the journey are famous scenic spots flooded with foreign tourists," he said.

Tourists are warned not to go to bar or cafes at night for safety's sake, he said.

China and Israel signed an agreement last year, making Israel an approval destination for Chinese tour groups.

More than 10,000 business tourists visited Israel last year, and the number is expected to rise sharply this year, Avraham-Balila said.

Israel is making preparations for receiving Chinese tourists, including providing brochures printed in the Chinese language, she said.

China is forecast to be the world's leading outbound market by 2020, the United Nations World Tourism Organization said.

Source: China Daily

China's new energy auto perform well

Beijing has realized "zero-emission" in Olympic central districts and fulfilled the promise of "low emission", said Wan Gang, Minister of the Science and Technology at the 2008 summit forum on green energy development of China's auto.

Wan said: "Those energy saving and new energy consuming autos, which are promoted by China independently, did a great job in the Olympic demonstration test, and received praise from representatives of other countries."

During Beijing Olympics, nearly 600 hybrid power vehicles, pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles were used, and they became a beautiful scene of the city.

These vehicles were developed by auto manufacturing companies such as Chery, Changan, FAW, Dongfeng, Jinghua and Futian, together with developing institutes like Tsinghua, Tongji, Beijing Institute of Technology and Shanghai Fuel Cell Vehicle Powertrain Company.

It is revealed that Ministry of Science and Technology plans to demonstrate hybrid power vehicles, pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles and infrastructure of energy supply in more than 10 large and medium size cities in China in the next three years. Through this movement, China's energy saving and new energy autos will reach 10,000 by 2010.

By People's Daily Online

Mexican short film wins Golden Lion award in Venice film festival

The Mexican short film "Tierra y Pan" won the Golden Lion award Thursday at the 65th Venice International Film Festival, according to news reports reaching here.

The jury said within a few minutes and a single space, the author has managed to tell a dramatic story of misery and loneliness.

The jury formed by Amos Poe, the president, along with Italian movie historian Gianni Rondolino and China's Macao filmmaker Joana Vicente, voted unanimously to award the prize to the Mexican director, Carlos Armella.


Venice Biennale President Paolo Baratta poses on the eve the 65th Venice Film Festival at the Venice Lido in August 2008. The Mexican short film "Tierra y Pan" won the Golden Lion award Thursday at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.
Mexican Director Eugenio Polgovsky received the prize on behalf of Armella, saying that "we feel extremely happy, and he wants to dedicate this award to everyone who has worked in the film and the festival."

In Mexico, Armella said he was surprised and happy when hearing of the news.

Armella said the short film was shot in the Mexican state of Puebla with a budget of 20,000 U.S. dollars, adding that "it's a movie without dialogues so it helped make it more universal."

The festival also gave a special mention to film "Vacsora" by Hungarian director Karichi Perlmann. And the best European short film was awarded to "De onbaatzuchtigen" by Belgian Dejaegher Koen.

Source: Xinhua

AIDS rampant among Beijing gays

The transmission of HIV/AIDS among gays in the Chinese capital was even worse than through sex workers, the city's disease control center said on Friday.

Up to 5 percent of homosexuals in the city were infected, compared with 0.5 percent of women sex workers, said He Xiong, the Beijing Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention deputy director.

He attributed the HIV/AIDS increase among gays to the lack of protection measures during sex.

Some gays don't have due knowledge on HIV/AIDS, while condoms were used in less than half their sex acts, he added.

Despite society's increasing tolerance to homosexuals in recent years, discrimination against them still exists. Gays usually kept their sexual orientation secret, making it difficult to improve awareness of the disease among them.

Beijing authorities examined 1 million blood samples between January and July and found 563 people infected. Among them, 118 were permanent residents of the city, according to He.

The percentage of infections from mother to baby, from blood products and needle sharing among drug addicts had dropped, a sign of the city's prevention efforts.

While the prevalence of AIDS in China remains low compared with the total population, the situation is very serious in several provinces affected by drug trafficking and illegal blood donation.

China had registered about 214,000 HIV cases by July 30 last year, but many HIV-positive people were still not registered as having the disease, officials said.

According to the last major survey in 2005 by the Ministry of Health, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and World Health Organization , the number of people suffering from HIV in China was estimated at 650,000.

Source: Xinhua

Beijing primary, middle school students to get free health checkup

Beijing Municipal Commission of Education announced on Thursday that students at the city's primary and middle schools and vocational schools will enjoy free physical checkup once a year.

Education departments at district and county level will ask health organizations and hospitals to establish health records for each student, while informing their schools and parents about the results of physical checkups, Beijing Morning News reports on Friday.

Those departments will cover the fees with their public education funding. The physical examination will include measurement of height and weight, urine and blood tests, dental and other checkups. First year middle school students will also receive blood-pressure and color blindness tests. Boarding school students will take hepatitis tests, the newspaper said.

The data of their health results will be kept by education departments.

Source: Xinhua

British icon on wheels made in China

FENGJING, Shanghai: London Taxis are as British as bowler hats and the Big Ben. But the latest models coming off the new assembly line are unlikely to ever touch an English road.

At a sprawling factory in the lush green suburbs of Shanghai, young workers are gearing up for full-scale production of black cabs, one of Britain's most iconic vehicles. It's part of an alliance that aims to give the distinctive black cab a greater presence outside its namesake city.

London Taxi International , which will continue to build nine out of 10 cabs used in Britain at a factory in Coventry, couldn't increase production at its small-scale, high-cost plant. So it turned to a partner - and to China - as a way to drive overseas expansion.

"To say the writing was on the wall would be pushing it a bit too far. But you do need to make progress within the automotive industry," says Paul Stowe.

Stowe is a British auto executive overseeing the joint venture between Britain's Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC, owner of LTI, and Geely Group Holdings, one of China's biggest independent automakers.

The venture is bearing fruit already, Stowe says, with agreements signed to sell 6,000 London Taxis from the Chinese factory, more than double the Coventry plant's annual output.

Most will go to cities outside China - places like Singapore, Dubai, Moscow - that covet the image associated with the London Taxis' tradition of good service and durability.

Since the black cabs demand a higher price, they are unlikely to displace other vehicles used as taxis in China.

The LTI expects to sell them mostly to hotels, limousine services, airports and individuals who might want to collect one, Stowe says.

Manganese Bronze Holdings hunted for nearly a decade for a suitable Chinese partner. Geely likewise was looking for a chance to bring onboard the new technology and quality upgrades it needs to get ahead in China's brutally competitive market, without risking being swallowed by a huge international rival.

"We were the right size and available at the right time. It works well for both companies," Stowe says.

Trial production of the London Taxi's TX4, equipped with 2.4-liter Mitsubishi engines, began last week in Geely's sprawling Shanghai Maple factory in the scenic canal town of Fengjing. The plant will start mass production by mid-December.

By increasing production, the LTI expects to reduce costs by up to 60 percent, with most of the savings coming not from cheaper labor but from less costly parts, Stowe says.

The price for the vehicles has not been disclosed, but it will be significantly cheaper than the British-made models that sell for about 30,000 pounds , says Stowe who, as deputy general manager of Shanghai LTI Automobile, is busy plotting the venture's brand strategy.

"Classical British Icon with Traditional Chinese Spirit," reads one of the many slogans in the factory.

Unlike most highly automated modern auto plants, there are few robots because the London Taxi is hand-built and hand-welded. The result is a heavy-duty, durable vehicle that can be driven 1.6 million km and last several decades.

But it's the vehicle's traditional idiosyncrasies, such as its famed ability to make extremely tight turns, and the storage space next to the driver's seat that originally held hay bales in the days of horse and carriage, that give the black cab its appeal as "not just another car", Stowe says.

Black cabs - which these days often come in other colors and are festooned with advertising - are seen strictly as a commercial vehicle in Britain. But in China, the vehicle's novelty, and notoriety from appearances in dozens of films, lends it a certain cachet.

Source: China Daily/Agencies

20,000 will benefit from refurb plan

Twenty thousand of Beijing's poorest families with at least one severely disabled member will benefit from a housing renovation program that will continue until 2010, the city's vice-mayor Ding Xiangyang said yesterday.

"Many disabled people spend most of their time at home, yet so much public money is spent on improving facilities and services outside the home," Ding said.

"It is therefore of great significance to help create a better home environment for people."

The housing project was launched in 2006 with the intention of helping those Beijing residents with the most severe physical disabilities, although anyone with a disability can apply, Ding said.

Five thousand homes will be renovated by the end of the year, he said.

Each family will receive an assistance package worth about 4,000 yuan , he said.

The refurbishments will include such things as the addition of handrails both inside and outside the properties, and the construction of access ramps for wheelchair users, he said.

Doorbells fitted with flashing lights and notice boards will be provided for deaf people, while walking sticks and special drinking mugs will be given to the blind, he said.

Under a related project, almost 2,000 free wheelchairs have been donated to disabled people in the city over the past two years, he said.

Beijing has almost 1 million disabled people - about 6.5 of its total population - of whom 70 percent are senior citizens, Ding said.

About 80 percent of the 100,000 disabled people who are of working age are currently in paid employment.

Meanwhile, as part of the city's policy to stop curable diseases from becoming physical disabilities, medics performed eyesight and hearing tests on 1.35 million newborn babies by the end of last year, Ding said.

"The health monitoring and examination system has been extended to 98 percent of all newborns," he said.

More than 1 billion yuan is taken from the employment security fund each year to finance a range of projects to help the disabled, he said.

But despite all the government-funded measures and the work of many private groups, more effort is needed to improve the public's awareness of the needs and value of the city's disabled community, he said.

"People have to start seeing disabled people as an important part of our society, and stop viewing them as a burden," he said.

The whole of society must work together to recognize disabled people's status and help to improve their living and working conditions, Ding said. "It is a glorious task and our solemn dedication to help these people," he said.

Source: China Daily

Chinese athletes eye more than gold

China will send 332 athletes to the Beijing Paralympic Games, its largest team ever and more than any other competing country.

Wang Xinxian, chef de mission of the delegation, said yesterday he was optimistic the team will top the medals table.

China has participated in the previous six Summer Paralympic Games since 1984. At the 2004 Athens Games, it won 63 golds and ended top of the table.

"Encouraged by the impressive performance by China's athletes at the Olympics, the Paralympians will try their utmost to exceed their achievements in Athens," Wang told China Daily yesterday at the Main Press Center.

"We should learn from the Olympic delegation and try to do better in Beijing."

This year's Paralympics will be the largest in the event's history, featuring 4,000 athletes from 148 countries and regions. Some 6,300 journalists from around the globe will cover the world's second-largest sporting event.

China is strong in athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting, Wang said.

Its athletes will compete in all 20 sports at the Games, with the country making its debut in equestrian, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, rowing, sailing, boccia, goalball, seven-a-side soccer and five-a-side soccer.

"But we are not just chasing gold medals. We hope to get more recognition for our athletes and more understanding and support from society," Wang said.

"The most important gold medal for the people with disabilities is confidence."

China's Paralympic athletes include farmers, students and government workers, and their ages range from 15 to 51.

All of them were selected from the National Games for People with Disabilities and have passed the qualifications of the International Paralympic Committee and its affiliated sports federations, Jia Yong, director of the sports department of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, said.

As they have trained with national teams, the government will cover all their expenses, and outstanding athletes will not only be financially awarded but receive some welfare, such as free vocational training, he said.

Source: China Daily

2 become 1 in Beijing

In a bid to highlight the theme of "transcendence, equality, integration", the Paralympic torch relay will start today at the China Millennium Monument, a symbolic and commemorative piece of architecture built to welcome the arrival of the year 2000.

"A total of 240 torchbearers will participate in the 12-km relay in Beijing over two days," Sun Xuecai, deputy director of the Beijing sports administration, told a news conference yesterday.

Today will begin with a ceremony at 8:15 am, when the torches from the Modern and Ancient routes come together to light the cauldron.

Wang Juan, a polio sufferer who works at the Beijing Sports and Vocational Training Center for the Disabled, will run the first leg.

In her sporting career she has broken nine world records in athletics and fencing.

In a bid to address the ancient history and culture of Beijing, the torch will be carried to the Summer Palace.

Beginning at the New Palace Gate of the Summer Palace, the torch will be carried through the Long Corridor to the Marble Boat and will be passed to a torchbearer in a boat on Kunming Lake.

The boat will travel in a "Z" pattern, like the Beijing Paralympic emblem.

Thirty torchbearers will pass the torch on the water and 47 relay will carry it in the Palace.

The torchbearers are representatives from different walks of life from home and abroad, including 10 people from Hong Kong and 83 from overseas, Sun said.

The oldest torchbearer will be 81-year-old former Olympian Shirley Olafsson from Canada, and the youngest is 14-year-old Philip Cochrane from Britain, who ranks fourth in the international Tennis Federation's Wheelchair Tennis for Youth listing.

Seventy people with disabilities will take part in the two-day relay, Sun said.

"I am glad to be a Paralympic torchbearer, and I will hold the torch high to light the way to my future," disabled singer and shooter Li Chen said.

"Sport is not only about gold medals for me. It has allowed me to pursue the uplifting Olympic spirit that encourages me to be more active and confident in my life."

Source: China Daily

BMW tie-up may add plant

German luxury carmaker BMW's joint venture with Brilliance China Auto is expected to build a second plant in the Liaoning capital to meet growing demand in the world's second biggest vehicle market, a government official said.

Liu Guoqiang, vice-governor of Liaoning, said yesterday at a ceremony marking the joint venture's fifth anniversary that the new plant will double annual production capacity to 80,000 cars.

Construction of the new factory is expected to begin this year, Liu said.

Friedrich Eichiner, a BMW board member, didn't confirm Liu's remarks yesterday, saying: "It is in the planning process and we are evaluating alternatives."

BMW brand sales on the mainland grew by a quarter year-on-year to 28,766 cars in the first half, including 16,196 units of the 3 and 5 Series sedans from the joint venture.

"We are confident that we will achieve new record sales by the end of the year," Eichiner said. Last year, BMW brand sales on the mainland exceeded 49,300 units.

BMW will increase the number of its authorized dealerships to 120 by the end of this year from 90 last year to boost sales.

Alfred Rupp, CEO of the joint venture, said it plans to source 4.4 billion yuan of China-made spare parts this year, up from 3.6 billion yuan in 2007.

He said the joint venture will have a total of 150 local spare parts suppliers by the end of this year, up from 100 last year.

China's booming economy has spurred growing demand for luxury cars.

Audi, Volkswagen's premium brand, sold 59,902 vehicles in China in the first half of this year, an increase of 23 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz's China sales surged by 52 percent to 18,000 units.

Overall vehicle sales in China rose by 18.52 percent to 5.18 million units in the first half of this year, according to industry data.

Full-year sales are predicted to hit 10 million units, up from 8.8 million last year.

Source: China Daily

Investors start to trickle back

China's A shares, after plunging nearly 60 percent this year, are sparking renewed interest from value investors known for buying low and selling high.

"There's more interest in investing in the A-share market and seeking our advice ," Dong Chen, a senior analyst at CITIC China Securities, said. "I believe there's opportunities emerging."

According to Kang Hongtao, chief investment consulting officer at Guoyuan Securities, a strong stock rebound is likely in September. But that doesn't mean China's A shares have already hit their lowest point.

"In the short term, A shares may fall further, given the uncertainties in the country's overall economy and the likely slowdown of company earnings growth," Dong said.

Dong said he believes that China is just at the beginning of an economic decline as a tighter monetary policy, soaring raw material prices and a slumping stock market erode profits.

The net profit of 1,595 listed companies was 582.9 billion yuan at Aug 30, up 15.01 percent year-on-year.

Analysts attributed that to the unified corporate income tax on local and foreign companies that started this year, cutting the rate for local firms to 25 percent from 33 percent.

According to a Guosen Securities report, net profit growth for 2008 will slow to 13 percent. That situation is not likely to improve in the first half of 2009.

But assuming profits remain flat next year, the market is now valued at only 18 times 2009 earnings - near the record low of 16 times in 2005, the end of a four-year slump.

Liu Lefei, chief investment officer of China Life, the country's largest life insurer and also one of the largest institutional investors in the market, said although A shares appear more attractive now, the insurer will be "prudent" about investment.

Merrill Lynch is upbeat about China's A shares, saying in a recent research note that they have reached a turning point and investors should prepare to buy.

Individual investors are taking note.

Hu Ran, a 61-year-old retiree, is closely monitoring the stock market - as he did in 1994.

He stayed away from stocks for over a decade after losing over 5,000 yuan in the 1990s, when the Shanghai Composite Index dropped from 1588 points in 1993 to its record low of 523.51 in 1996.

But now, Hu is weighing opportunities against risk. Many investors fear masses of shares could be released onto the market as lock-up periods expire after a reform of State-held shares.

The post-public offering lock-up period for many stocks expires this year. About 10 percent of locked-up shares will become tradable, and another 25 percent will be unlocked next year.

Source: China Daily

Local firms look beyond mainland

More than 40 percent of privately owned mainland businesses plan to go overseas in the next three years, according to an HSBC survey.

Of the 902 privately owned companies surveyed by HSBC and Fudan University in Shanghai, 43 percent said they were keen to expand overseas. The respondents are based mainly in the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas.

Liang Xiaoya, assistant professor at Fudan University's school of management, said around 75 percent of the mainland businesses surveyed are privately owned and the majority had sales revenue of less than 50 million yuan.

"These enterprises have seen rapid growth and extraordinary market opportunities as the mainland economy has developed. Their average annual sales growth over the last three years was 24 percent," Liang said.

She also said privately owned businesses would drive mainland economic growth in the future.

More than half of Dthe respondents are already doing business overseas through exports and joint ventures with foreign partners.

"However, more than 70 percent of these businesses lack experience in international marketing and don't understand the overseas investment environment," Liang said.

Most of the respondents said their primary financing channel was State-owned commercial banks. Only 12 percent of businesses surveyed said they would consider borrowing from foreign banks.

But Liang expects that attitude will change.

"Our respondents showed increasing interest in foreign banks' services such as short-term renminbi loans, hedging and merger and acquisition advisory services," she said.

Source: China Daily

Steel companies follow global trend

A recent domestic steel industry merger is a sign of things to come, as the nation's mills try to counter pressure from global steelmakers, an industry analyst said yesterday.

Wuhan Iron and Steel, the nation's fourth largest iron and steel producer, on Wednesday said it will launch a joint-stock venture with Guangxi Liuzhou Iron and Steel.

Wuhan Steel will inject 35.2 billion yuan into the new venture, accounting for 80 percent of its overall registered capital, while Liuzhou Steel will take the remaining 20 percent share, bringing in its current net assets.

The venture, Guangxi Iron and Steel Group, will be located in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and will have registered capital of 44 billion yuan.

The new plant will have an initial annual capacity of 10 million tons of steel products, with an investment of 69.8 billion yuan. The steel mill will ultimately enlarge its capacity to 30 million tons, and total investment will hit 204.9 billion yuan.

The merger is the third consolidation in the domestic steel industry in less than three months.

In June, China's largest steel producer, Baoshan Iron and Steel, joined forces with southern rivals Shaoguan Iron and Steel Group and Guangzhou Iron and Steel Group to set up a joint venture in Guangdong province, with registered capital of 35.9 billion yuan.

Also in June, Tangshan Iron and Steel Group merged with Handan Iron and Steel Group in a bid to become China's largest steelmaker.

Steel is a key sector for China and is linked to sectors including mining, shipping and downstream industries.

The Guangxi steel factory will cater to local demand as well as newly emerging markets in Southeast Asia and China's west, according to Jia Liangqun, executive general manager of industry information provider Mysteel.

In the past five years, China has cruised into the fast lane of steel production. By 2007, China's steel output accounted for 36 percent of total global production. That figure's expected to reach 38 percent this year.

"China's steel industry has gone through the first phase of steel development, in which a local mill develops and expands independently, trying to seize the largest share of the market on their own," Jia said.

"Now, they're shifting focus and seeking merger and acquisition opportunities. By upgrading their industrial structure, they're aiming to solidify and boost their market standing."

And that's the global trend, according to Jia.

"Even an enormous group like BHP Billiton wants to find the opportunity to combine with Rio Tinto."

Source: China Daily

Gold loses its luster

Despite occasional spikes, Shanghai gold prices have mirrored the global downturn, as the strengthening US dollar and declining oil prices combine to take the sheen off the yellow metal.

Although the price of the most actively traded gold futures contract for December delivery rose a slight 0.61 percent to 180.30 yuan per gram yesterday on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the contract has dropped an aggregate 14.9 percent since mid July.

Gold futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange have dropped a total 16.7 percent in the past six weeks. The price of the most actively traded gold futures for December delivery on the NYME climbed 1.25 percent to $816.1 per ounce during yesterday's trade on the Asian electronic board.

The "dollar strength" has come in large part from weakness in other major currencies - in particular, the euro, according to a JPMorgan report on gold and precious metals.

The exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar has dropped a total of 8.6 percent since mid July.

Traders and analysts said rising investor worries of a possible interest rate cut to be announced by the European Central Bank at its regular meeting last night forced investors to shift from euro-denominated to US dollar-denominated assets, which further pushed up the US dollar value against the euro.

Analysts said the downward spiral of gold prices would last for some time, because the US dollar is expected to appreciate and oil prices will drop further on concern about a slowing world economy.

Oil prices on the global market have dropped sharply over the past two months, with the most actively traded oil futures contract for delivery in October on the NYME plunging an aggregate 25.6 percent to $110.15 per barrel from the peak of $148.13 on July 11.

But some analysts said gold prices would recover slightly in the coming months on falling world gold mining supplies and seasonal demand from India.

"In this environment, the established dollar/gold relationship cannot be relied upon ... the falling mine supply and the reduced willingness of the central banks to sell gold should be supportive of the metal," John Bridges, CFA at JPMorgan Securities Inc, said.

Source: China Daily

Caterpillar to establish multifunctional research and development center in Wuxi

Chinese economy just slows down in some separate aspects, and Caterpillar doesn't get affected, said CEO of Caterpillar Inc. James Owens recently, according to International Finance News.

The company will invest 20 million USD to establish a multifunctional research and development center in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, accroding to James Owens.

The project of the center will be divided into four phases. The first phase project will start in October 2008 and be completed by the end of 2009.

James Owens estimated that Caterpillar will have more than 2 billion USD sales in China this year. Moreover, it will invest 1 billion USD in emerging markets including Chinese market in the next three years.

By People's Daily Online

Chinese shares slump 2.40% in morning session

Chinese shares plummeted 2.40 percent on Friday morning, dragged down by an overnight Wall Street fall and a dampened investor confidence.

The Shanghai Composite Index dived 2.40 percent, or 54.73 points, to close at 2,222.68. The Shenzhen index fell 1.54 percent, or 115.42 points, to close at 7,358.18 points.

Wall Street slid on Thursday with Dow Jones down more than 340 points as disappointing jobless and retail data left investors in doubt of a recovery in the U.S. economy, and dealers said the downturn partly contributed to China equity's fall.

Aggregate turnover was 20.8 billion yuan from 38.99 billion yuan on the previous day.

Losses outnumbered gains by 756-64 in Shanghai and 646-33 in Shenzhen.

On Thursday, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges released new transaction regulations respectively, saying the country will further enhance market transparency and perfect transaction mechanism. These rules will take effect as of Oct. 1.

According to the regulation, companies no longer have to suspend transactions of their shares when they publish important information, or release annual reports. Before that, companies halt shares trading for an hour during these periods.

Temporary trading suspension was allowed when a company's shareprice fluctuate abnormally, said the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, a trading moratorium for investors who had bought stakes in companies before their initial public offers will be slashed to 12 months from current three years.

"The regulation, which intend to better link up with international rules, will help to build a more effective and fair domestic stock market in the long run. However, it seems not as favorable as investors expected," said Tang Xiaosheng, Guosen Securities senior analyst.

Investors expected that the government would adopt more effective measures to save the market, which has slumped about 58 percent this year, he said.

"The news that China Merchants Securities planned to launch an IPO also dampened investors confidence," Tang said.

China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd. said on late Thursday it would issue 358.55 million A-shares in domestic market, accounting for 10 percent of the company's total outstanding shares.

As for individual shares, China Shenhua, the country's biggest coal company, dipped 2.84 percent to 24.62 yuan. China Life, the leading life insurer, slide 2.83 percent to 23.68 yuan, while the Bank of Communications dived 2.57 percent to close at 6.83 yuan.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese shares fall at week's end after overnight loss on Wall Street

Chinese equities tumbled on Friday following a heavy slump overnight on the Wall Street as concerns about U.S. economic slump worsened.

The Shanghai Composite Index sank 3.29 percent, or 74.97 points, to 2,202.45. The key index has declined more than 58 percent this year and more than 63 percent from its peak in October.

In Shenzhen, the market fell 2.8 percent, or 209.4 points, to 7,264.2. Aggregate turnover expanded to 42.55 billion yuan from 38.99 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Losses outnumbered gains by 827-47 in Shanghai and 702-32 in Shenzhen.

Source:Xinhua

Taiwan stocks fall 1.64 pct to lowest level in 2 years

Taiwan stocks continued to fall on Friday over Wall Street's steep drops overnight, hitting the lowest level in two years, according to media reports reaching here Friday from Taipei.

The benchmark weighted index opened 185.56 points, or 2.89 percent, lower at 6,227.07 and pared its losses to 105.35 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 6,307.28 after trading between intra-day high 6,347.47 and intra-day low 6,211.35.

Turnover rose to 96.74 billion New Taiwan dollars from Thursday's 91.2 billion New Taiwan dollars .

Seven of the eight major stock categories were under huge selling pressure. Construction stocks plunged 5.1 percent. Cement issues fell 4.1 percent. Paper and pulp issues slumped 2.6 percent. Textile stocks declined 2.3 percent. Banking and financial shares went down 2.1 percent. Plastic and chemical shares fell 2 percent. Machinery and electronics shares dipped 0.9percent.

Foodstuff issues outperformed the entire market by adding 0.9 percent.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancers 1,398 to 530, with 362 stocks unchanged.

Source:Xinhua

Tony Blair's sincere, candid view of China

"Wall Street Journal" of the United States on August 26 carries former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's signed article concerning his own view of China, which is titled "We Can Help China Embrace the Future". In the article, the former British leader talked about his impression on Beijing's 2008 summer Olympics as well as on contemporary China, and also offer his ideas on how can the West get to know China and get along well with China.

"The Beijing Olympic Games were a powerful spectacle, stunning in sight and sound," said Blair. "But the moment that made the biggest impression on me came during an informal visit just before the Games to one of the new Chinese Internet companies, and in conversation with some of the younger Chinese entrepreneurs."

These people, men and women, were "smart, sharp, forthright". Above all, Blair noted, there was鈥�"a presence of the spirit of get up and go, that reminded me greatly of the U.S. at its best and any country on its way forward"鈥� and "that is the spirit that will define its future," he acknowledged.

What does the Olympic Games mean to China? In the words of Blair, "It is that they mark a new epoch 鈥�an opening up of China that can never be reversed. It also means that ignorance and fear of China will steadily decline as the reality of modern China becomes more apparent."

During his 10 years as British leader , he frankly conceded that "I could see the accelerating pace of China's continued emergence as a major power鈥�I understood it analytically. But I did not feel it emotionally and therefore did not fully understand it politically." Moreover, he noted clearly and explicitly that "power and influence is shifting to the East", and that "some see all this as a threat. I see it as an enormous opportunity."

In exhorting Western observers not only to "illuminate the distance to go, by all means, but recognize the distance traveled," Tony Blair said, "This means that the West needs a strong partnership with China, one that goes deep, not just economically but politically and culturally. The truth is that nothing in the 21st century will work well without China's full engagement."

This article reflects Blair's political sensitivity as a distinguished senior British statesman. He has come to see that a booming, prospering China offers an "opportunity" to the rest of the world, which should actively contact or engage it, and this profound, incisive view of his derives from his super political sensitivity. During his tenure as the British prime minister, Hong Kong smoothly returned to China and an all-round Sino-British partnership was forged with a frequent exchange of visits between leaders of the two countries, and bilateral cooperation in all spheres began "warming up".

To date, Britain has become the largest accumulative investor and the third largest trading partner within the European Union . Last year, the Sino-British trade volume reached close to 40 billion US dollars, a 100-percent increase over the figure for 2005.

Recognition of complex national conditions in China and the need for gradual, steady progress of its reform and opening up, and the recognition of the rise of the East not as a "doomsday" for the West -- also pose a visual angle for the West to get to know China.

Britain was the first nation in the Western world to set up a democratic system of the modern times, apart from its Civil Wars of the mid 17th century, its democratic political process has all along been alive with strong hues of reformism for the gradual spread of peaceful democratic governance. It is perhaps because of this reason that Blair is fully capable to understand the largeness and complexity of China and that its reform and opening-up progress have to be active but sound and steady.

Britons once had their psychological gaps of vicissitudes in history, but contemporary Britain, nevertheless, has again found or restablished its own position globally. It is precisely ascribed to its historical experience and correct angle of view that Blair is adept at exhorting them not to hesitate before the rise of the East, which they should see as "an enormous opportunity" rather than "a threat". "But we have to exercise a lot of imagination and eliminate any vestiges of historic arrogance," he said.

London 2012 gives Britain a tremendous chance to explore some of these changes and explain to the East what the modern West is about, he wrote at the end of his article. "My thoughts after the Beijing games are that we shouldn't try to emulate the wonder of the opening ceremony. It was the spectacular to end all spectaculars and probably can never be bettered. We should instead do something different, drawing maybe on the ideals and spirit of the Olympic movement," said former Prime Minister Tony Blair. "We should do it our way, like they did it theirs. And we should learn from and respect each other. That is the way of the 21st century."

By People's Daily Online, and its author is PD desk editor Wang Tian

Beijing ensures barrier-free transport for disabled

Beijing declared absolutely ready for the Paralympics on Friday, pledging barrier-free facilities and services of transportation for the disabled during and after the Games.

"We are working to offer personalized services for the disabled people in terms of reservations for taxis and public vehicles, construction of ramps and barrier-free toilets and others," said Liu Zhi, spokesman for the Beijing Paralympic Games.

"All the facilities designed for the disabled will continue to use even after the Games," he added.

The organizing committee has provided wheelchair users with 70 barrier-free taxis during the Paralympics, accepting phone appointments by dialing 961001, according to Liu.

"Besides, we have strengthened training for service staff who provide reservation and relay service to realize entirely barrier-free trip for disabled passengers," he said.

They could reach 96166 and 96834568, respectively, to request help for taking public vehicles and subways.

To ensure barrier-free trip for the disabled people in subways, Beijing has paved blind tracks and installed with Braille marks in gateways. Meanwhile, over 300 elevators, lifting platforms and stair-climbing vehicles were installed to carry wheelchairs.

The city has 2,835 low-floor barrier-free buses and 600 barrier-free buses for the disabled people, with blind paths, ramp roads, wheelchair waiting areas and ground marks set to help them, according to Liu.

To help the blind pedestrians and wheelchair users, Beijing has paved 1,541-kilometer-long paths for the visually impaired in 880 urban roads, and built 23,641 ramp crossings in such key areas as busy streets and peripheries of the Paralympic venues.

Meanwhile, a total of 18 underground passages and 48 overpasses accessible for wheelchairs, while some 450 overpasses and underground passages built with special care for the visually impaired, Liu said.

The world's premier event for disabled athletes is to begin Saturday in Beijing, where more than 4,000 competitors from 148 countries and regions were readying for participation in a total of472 disciplines in 20 sports.

Source: Xinhua

Mine gas blast toll rises to 10 in southwest China

The death toll from a coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Sichuan Province early on Friday has risen to 10 with eight still missing, rescuers said.

The gas blast occurred at 2:52 a.m. Friday in the mine of Jinhe Coal Mining Co., Ltd in Jiuqing Town, Xingwen County, when 44 miners were working underground, the Sichuan Provincial Work Safety Administration said.

Only 26 emerged from the pit after the accident, and rescuers are still searching the missing.

Sichuan's vice governor Li Chenyun has rushed to the site to direct rescue work.

The licensed township mine has an annual production capacity of 90,000 tonnes.

On Thursday, a mine gas explosion in northeastern Liaoning Province killed 27 people and injured six.

Source: Xinhua

Barrier-free website opens in Beijing

The opening ceremony for Chaoyang Distric govenrment's barrier-free website was held in Beijing recently.

Disabled persons can browse the website without others' help through an voice mode interactive operation.

The website is built for visually impaired people , and in accordance with the needs of disabled persons to mainly issues relevant policies and service information, timely reports Paralympic Games tournament activities.

Besides the disabled persons in Chaoyang District, the disabled persons in other places can visit this website through the Internet too.

By People's Daily Online

Over 40% of private enterprises have plan to expand overseas business

About 700,000 private enterprises in Chinese mainland have plan to expand their business overseas in the next three years, including establish overseas sales channels and overseas offices, says a survey by HSBC Bank . In the process of globalization, private enterprises need more international financial services.

The survey shows that in the early stage of development, the majority of private enterprises mainly rely on its own capital. With the development of business, they need external funding support.

Currently, 71% of private enterprises mainly get loans from state-owned commercial banks, and only 12% of private enterprises in mainland use foreign investment banking services.

Many private enterprises have growing interest in foreign banks' services, including short term RMB loans, the exchange rate / interest rate hedging, mergers and acquisitions advisory services, and so on.

By People's Daily Online

Robert Mundell: China expected to become world's largest economy in 2050

China is expected to become the world's largest economy in 2050, said Nobel laureate in economics, "the father of Euro" Robert Mundell in a speech entitled "Construction of Northeast Asia Headquarters Base", according to sources from the Ministry of Commerce.

At the fourth Northeast Asia Economic Cooperation Forum, Robert Mundell gave his own evaluation of China's economic development situation.

In his view, China's annual GDP growth maintains a rate at around 11% at present; in the next 15 to 20 years it will not be lower than 8%, and China will retain a rapid growth until 2030. China is expected to become the world's largest economy in 2050. The per capita income of China will also keep on rising.

Robert Mundell also pointed out that a major bottleneck of China's economic development is energy. As a major coal consumption country, China's carbon dioxide emissions accounts for 14% of the world's, of which more than 85 % are from coal. To keep sustainable energy development as soon as possible and get rid of the excessive dependence on coal are crucial for the economic development of China.

By People's Daily Online

Cambodian Senate president returns home from China visit

Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday after paying an official visit to China.

Chea Sim was welcomed by some Cambodian senior officials and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

At the invitation of Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chea Sim left Cambodia Monday for China to pay a five-day visit.

During his stay in China, Chea Sim respectively met with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Jia Qinglin on Tuesday.  

Source:Xinhua

ASEAN, China's Guangdong Province sign cooperation deal

The ASEAN Secretariat and China's Guangdong Province, signed in Jakarta Friday an agreement aimed at deepening and widening China's Guangdong Province and ASEAN business forum and cooperation through mechanism.

The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Nicholas Tandi Dammen and Vice Governor of Guangdong Province Wan Qingliang at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Under the Memorandum, the two sides will explore and facilitate cooperation activities in various areas including agriculture, information and communication technology, trade and investment, tourism promotion, energy and environment, education and public health.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Surin Pitsuwan said ASEAN attaches great importance to its relations with China and welcomes cooperation in various fields and at different levels, including furthering the friendly exchanges between the Chinese provincial governments and ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat.

"Guangdong is the southern gateway of China and links between Guangdong and ASEAN have been growing. 27 percent of China's trade volume are from Guangdong," he said.

The ASEAN Secretariat had signed a similar Memorandum with China's Hubei Province on May 11, 2008. The purpose was to explore cooperation possibilities with the Central and Western provinces of China which can offer opportunities to expand ASEAN-China relations.

Source:Xinhua

Commeoritive stamps for Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games to be issued

The State Post Bureau will issue a set of two stamps for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games on September 6.

The face value of each being 1.2 yuan, the stamps portray the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games emblem and mascot of Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

By People's Daily Online

Industry cuts back on energy

The majority of industrial companies involved in a government energy-saving campaign have achieved their targets, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

Of the 953 companies that pledged to reduce energy use, 879, or 92.2 percent, fulfilled their goals, saving 38.2 million tons of standard coal last year, the NDRC said.

It said 391 companies, or 41 percent of participants, had gone further and saved more energy than targeted.

About 73 percent of the campaign participants invested 50 billion yuan to upgrade facilities to help achieve conservation goals.

They invested in more than 8,000 projects to make their operations energy efficient, including boiler retrofits and waste heat utilization facilities.

The 74 companies that failed to meet targets will be given one month to remedy the situation, the NDRC said.

Those businesses are ineligible for preferential policies and their new project or industrial land use applications will not be granted this year, it said.

The conservation campaign was launched in 2006 by the NDRC, covering nine high energy-consuming industries - steel, coal, electricity, non-ferrous metals, petroleum and petrochemicals, construction materials, textiles, chemicals and papermaking.

Manufacturing and construction accounts for 70 percent of the country's total energy use. The participants used 670 million tons of standard coal last year, or 33 percent of the total energy used in China.

China has vowed to cut its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent by 2010. It also said it will cut pollutant emissions by 10 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan period .

But the energy-saving story is still "grim", Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister of the NDRC, said previously.

In 2006, China cut energy use by 1.23 percent, but its target was 4 percent. It was closer to the target last year, but still short by 0.34 of a percentage point.

In 2007, China consumed 1.16 tons of coal equivalent when it produced 10,000 yuan of GDP, a 3.66 percent year-on-year decrease.

Provincial and regional government officials' performance reviews are now linked to energy saving and environment protection.

Source: China Daily

Circle of fans for Hu and Wen settles with PD Online

At the request of the fans for the Party General Secretary and Chinese Premier, the People's Daily Online sets up the "circle of fans for the "assorted, 'eight-treasure' rice", to provide a platform for those fans, who cherish genuine feelings for the Party General Secretary and Chinese Premier, to discuss, exchange and voice their true love or affection for the Chinese leaders, as well as a warm, harmonious and affectionate home for them.

People's Daily Online released a month ago a news story that "Party General Secretary and Chinese Premier, too, has a circle of fans, who styled themselves as 'assorted', 'eight-treasure' rice". It is by no means delicious food but rather a general term for a group of fans, or enthusiastic admirers and supporters of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.


The web page of the circle of fans for Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.
The group, made up mainly of the post-80 youths, boasts a very extensive representation, and has drawn media attention nationwide, a web survey has indicated.

The so-called "assorted rice" refers to a group of fans to back President Hu, and the "eight-treasure rice" means a group of fans in support of Premier Wen, whereas the "assorted, 'eight-treasure' rice" is naturally a general term for both groups. Netizens in the fan groups voice their sincere endorsement of the work style of the Party and state leaders in boosting pragmatism, getting closer to people and striving to build a clean and honest government.

By People's Daily Online

Illegal fund-raising causes chaotic petition in C China

An illegal fund-raising dispute in central China's Hunan Province led to lenders' chaotic petition to local authorities on Wednesday and Thursday, causing road block and railway suspension.

The lenders gathered at the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture government on Wednesday asking for authorities' intervention after the fund-raising company failed to pay them back as promised.

Some of them and lookers-on swarmed to the railway station of Jishou City, capital of the prefecture, at 10 p.m., but were persuaded by officials, including provincial law and public security chief Li Jiang, to leave about an hour later.

The lenders, however, gathered again Thursday morning in streets and at the railway station, blocking traffic and delaying trains.

Provincial vice governor Xu Xianping and banking regulatory officials came to Jishou on Thursday to handle the affair.

The executives of the company were controlled and the petitioners dispersed after registering their investments to local authorities.

The traffic had returned to normal and the railway station had resumed operation by Thursday evening.

Underground fund-raising has existed for long in Xiangxi. Some companies have been in payback crisis since June, causing panic among lenders.

Source: Xinhua

Coca-Cola puts new takeover law to the test

The Coca-Cola Company's $2.3 billion bid for premier juice maker China Huiyuan Juice may help the US company achieve dominance in China's beverage market. But analysts remain skeptical because of the many hurdles that could threaten to rock the marriage.

China is Coca-Cola's fourth largest market, and the proposed transaction would be the company's largest overseas acquisition. If the deal goes through, it could strengthen Coca-Cola's stranglehold in one of the world's fast growing beverages market.

The combined total sales of the beverage giant and Huiyuan would be 8 billion liters, lifting The Coca-Cola Company's share of China's soft drinks market from 16.3 percent to 18 percent, said Hope Lee, a non-alcoholic drinks analyst from Euromonitor International.

If the acquisition goes ahead, Coca-Cola will overtake France's Groupe Danone, which occupied a 16.3 percent share of China's soft drinks market in 2007, as the country's top brand with a 17.9 percent market share.

"Beset by shrinking demand for carbonated drinks in China, Coca-Cola has been held back by its unitary product line and has to come up with more diversified products to enhance its position, " said Teng Binsheng, a strategy professor from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

The American company launched its Minute Maid juice in China last year as part of its aggressive expansion into the nation's fruit and vegetable drinks business, valued at $10.6 billion in 2007, while carbonated drinks only reached $7.4 billion, according to figures from Euromonitor.

The fruit and vegetable drinks market is set to grow 16 percent to $12.3 billion this year, much quicker than the 7 percent rise expected for carbonated drinks, Euromonitor estimated.

The deal "will enable Coca-Cola to greatly reduce its reliance on carbonated drinks," Lee said, and "still drinks' contribution to Coca-Cola's retail value sales will increase from 28 percent to 47 percent".

Huiyuan's strength is in pure fruit juice, where it has a 46 percent market share, according to ACNielsen figures.

"Coca-Cola will successfully convert its largest rival in soft drinks into its subsidiary," said Qu Honglin, a senior partner of Glocal Strategy Consulting Co.

Teng noted that it is a common move for foreign companies to purchase low- or medium-end brands when synergizing with local companies.

"Recent merger and acquisition activities between overseas and domestic enterprises, including Coca-Cola and Huiyuan, Johnson & Johnson and Dabao, and Schneider Electric and Delixi, all followed this trend," he said, adding that the acquisition would complete their product lines and meet Chinese customers' demand for medium-end products.

As for Huiyuan, analysts said that the company would also reap great benefits from the pending transaction, thanks to the rather attractive price offered by Coca-Cola.

"It's a good deal for Huiyuan, as a private company it has met a growth bottleneck due to a lack of financial support from banks and the government, " Qu said.

Teng said that Zhu Xinli, the founder and president of Huiyuan, "couldn't say no to such a price from Coca-Cola, particularly when China's equity market is suffering such a lean period", Teng said.

But how successful Huiyuan will be after the acquisition largely depends on strategies devised by Coca-Cola's top executives based in Atlanta, who will probably make the same mistakes as other multinationals synergizing with domestic brands, Qu said.

In addition, the two companies have to surmount several obstacles ahead of their marriage.

As it is the first major deal after the country's anti-monopoly law came into force on Aug 1, this transaction will be a major test of the new regulation, said Zhang Tao, a lawyer from Shanghai Zhongtianxin Law Firm.

"Regulators will probably subject the acquisition to very stringent checks," Zhang said.

Coca-Cola said in a statement that the success of the deal is subject to the approval of China's antitrust authorities.

Source: China Daily

$4b money laundering uncovered last year

China uncovered 89 cases of money laundering involving a total of 28.8 billion yuan last year, the People's Bank of China said.

A total of 350 financial institutions in 2007 were punished for violations of anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including 341 banks, four securities and futures firms, and five insurers.

Meanwhile, the police and the central bank launched more than 50 campaigns to clamp down on 43 underground banks and detained 180 suspects.

"The year 2007 marked the establishment of China's anti-money laundering system," said Su Ning, vice-governor of the central bank.

Last June, China joined the Financial Action Task Force, an international organization fighting money laundering. The nation passed its first anti-money-laundering law in 2006 and then required all lenders to report any suspicious transactions in a timely manner.

Since last October, all securities and insurance companies have been required to send data on dubious deals to the anti-money laundering monitoring center of the central bank.

The central bank has joined forces with the Ministry of Public Security to set up a network to check the identity of bank customers. By the end of last year, it set up anti-money laundering agencies in all of its provincial branches.

China's anti-money laundering efforts have also benefited the nation's lenders.

Last November, China Merchants Bank Co, got the green light from the US Federal Reserve Board to open a branch in New York.

The Fed later said it decided to approve the application as Chinese regulators had taken adequate steps to clamp down on money laundering, a key requirement for operating in the US.

Source: China Daily

Software pirates go on trial

Nine members of a gang alleged to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar counterfeit software scam went on trial here yesterday.

The gang, led by Shanghai native Ma Jingyi, is accused of selling 677,000 pieces of pirated computer software to buyers in the United States at a price of $10.48 million, the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate Prosecutors' Office said.

The men were arrested in July of last year following a joint investigation codenamed "Summer Solstice" that was launched in 2005 by authorities from China and the US.

Ma, 50, pleaded guilty to the charge but denied he had made such high profits, prosecutors said.

He told the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court that he went to the US in 1993 and co-founded a computer company with an American man named Wu Kai.

At that time, he was known as Ma Kepei. "In 2003, while I was in Shanghai visiting family, our business was raided for selling pirated software," he said.

Wu Kai received a suspended prison term and Ma was indicted on suspicion of distributing about $15 billion worth of pirated Microsoft and Symantec products over the previous two years.

Because of that, he changed his name to Ma Jingyi.

In July 2003, Ma set up three companies in Shanghai, selling software, most of it pirated, to only US buyers, prosecutors said.

Ma hired workers in Shanghai to advertise his cheap software on the Internet and others in the US to process payments and deliver products, prosecutors said.

"Our main customers were firms selling computer hardware and software, and our main product was Symantec's anti-virus program," Ma said.

He said he sold the pirated version for $15.

In the beginning, he said he bought most of his stock from a man in Los Angeles who identified himself only as Tyen. He paid $5 to $6 per piece.

From December 2003, Ma began to buy from Lu Yi, the second defendant in the case, at 12 yuan per piece, and sold it to Tyen.

In 2006, armed with information from the Ministry of Public Security and the FBI, Shanghai police began to investigate Ma's illegal business activities.

Officers conducted raids in both Shenzhen and Shanghai in July 2007, while at the same time police in Los Angeles conducted 24 searches at illegal distributors.

The Shanghai trial is expected to last for two days.

Source: China Daily

Party reps get more say under new rule

Representatives of the Communist Party in Guangdong will have more rights from now on, under a new regulation on the province's tenure system.

According to the regulation, Party representatives will be authorized to propose resolutions, make enquiries into the Party committee they belong to and even challenge Party leaders concerning their obligation implementation, deployment of officials and suspected bureaucratic behavior, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Concerning the resolutions, targeted Party departments are required to respond to the representatives in written form within three months.

Related departments, once challenged, must respond to the representatives within one month and the departments must reply to the enquiries of the representatives in time, or at most 15 working days on the occasion that further investigation is necessary.

"The regulation empowers us to keep a close eye on the operation of a Party committee and do more for the committee during my tenure," Luo Kangda, a Party representative with the Huangpu town Party committee in the Pearl River Delta city of Zhongshan, said.

"I think a growing number of Party representatives would like to play a more active role in the Party work of our town," he said.

In the past, Party representatives just sat and listened to reports and raise their hands from time to time to vote for or veto a resolution during a congress, he said.

"It was a very passive role."

Ren Jiantao, a professor of public administration with Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University, said the regulation is a great breakthrough in the reform of the Party system.

"As deputies to people's congresses supervise the government's work, Party representatives will play the role of additional eyes on the operation of a Party committee," he said.

"That will help prevent the operation and decisions of a Party committee from derailing and turn a Party committee into a more democratic and open body."

The province has carried out the pilot work of a tenure system for a Party representative in the city of Huizhou, county of Yangdong, and district of Bao'an in Shenzhen in the past decade.

A Party representative there has served a term of five years, who has been supervising and advising the local Party committee when the annual Party congress is closed.

Source: China Daily

Sichuan heritage restoration begins

Restoration of ancient buildings and other cultural relics damaged in the Sichuan earthquake is under way. The central government has allocated 30 million yuan toward the restoration, Sichuan Daily reported yesterday.

The Sichuan provincial administration of cultural heritage said 79 of the province's 128 heritage sites under State protection were damaged in Wenchuan county.

It said 169 heritage sites under provincial protection were also damaged.

The sites contain museums, heritage protection and management institutes, archaeology research institutes, four historical villages, and 1,645 cultural relic items, the administration said.

Archaeological experts and technicians from the State administration of cultural heritage in Beijing, the provinces of Shaanxi and Jiangxi, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have been working since last month on the restoration.

"Our institute is restoring the ancient building of Qingcheng Mountain, which is listed as a world cultural heritage, and three other buildings at the State protection level - Langzhong Yong'an temple, Langzhong Wulgong temple and the Mianzhu Jiannanchun Tianyi wine cellar," Zhou Ping, director of the Shaanxi provincial ancient building design institute, told China Daily yesterday.

The restoration team has completed a survey of the buildings, and work will commence shortly, Zhou said.

Sichuan plans to restore and reconstruct the cultural heritage of the Qiang people within three years with the support from the central government and other provinces.

Source: China Daily

Yangtze marker lights to go solar

The Yangtze River waterway administration has announced that it will use solar power for the more than 5,700 marker lights along China's busiest waterway.

All 5,700 of the battery-powered navigation mark lights along the world's third longest river will gradually be replaced with domestically produced solar-powered lights over a two-year period, Wang Qufa, an official with the Wuhan-based Yangtze waterway bureau, said yesterday.

"Solar powered lights will cut costs because there is no need to maintain them until five years after they have been installed. They also avoid the use of pollutant lead-acid batteries," he said.

The present navigation mark lights have a service life of two years, and their batteries need replacing every three months, he said.

"It would cost at least 4,000 yuan to keep the battery-powered lights working over a five-year period, but only 1,200 yuan to use solar-powered lights," he said.

Domestic research staff have designed seven types of light to suit the climate along various sections of the river, he said.

"One model generates continuous light for a month, even when the weather is overcast two weeks," he said.

High-grade waterways of the future will all be equipped with solar-powered navigation mark lights, Zheng Qingxiu, an official in charge of waterway management with the Ministry of Transport, told China Daily.

The ministry is also applying remote monitoring and measuring technologies to inland waterways that raise the alarm when a navigation mark light moves out of position.

Source: China Daily

Time up for substitute teachers

Substitute teachers will have a mixed future in Guangdong, the provincial Party secretary said here on Wednesday.

In a meeting with local educators and officials, Wang Yang said the time was ripe to rid the province of such transitional posts for the benefit of both students and the teachers themselves.

He gave education authorities in all cities three alternatives: one, promote existing substitutes to full teaching posts and provide them with proper training and decent salaries; two, offer substitutes non-teaching positions; and three, fire them.

Authorities in the Pearl River Delta cities have one year to finish the task, while all others have two years, Wang said.

The decision to eradicate the position of "substitute teacher" came after hearing countless complaints from them, the Party chief said yesterday.

"I have heard far too many complaints from teachers about how miserable their lives are," Wang was quoted by the Southern Metropolis Daily as saying.

Xiao Chu works as a substitute teacher in the city of Zhaoqing, where the minimum monthly salary is supposed to be 580 yuan .

"But I earn only 400 yuan a month," Xiao told China Daily yesterday.

"Are we just cheap labor?"

Substitute teachers do the same job as authorized teachers, but are paid only a third of the wages, she said.

Song Hai, vice-governor of Guangdong, said on Wednesday that the average monthly income for a State-employed teacher in the province is 1,200 yuan.

"But substitutes get only 300 to 400 yuan," he said.

"In the poorest areas, they get as little as 200 yuan."

Of Guangdong's 756,000 middle and primary school teachers, 52,000 are substitutes, he said.

"We have more than any other province in the country," he said.

However, getting rid of substitute teacher posts will not solve all of the province's education problems, Luo Weiqi, head of the Guangdong education bureau, said this week.

The problem is that even authorized school teachers in rural areas earn less than civil servants, he said.

According to a report published in Monday's Yangcheng Evening News, the provincial government has said it will "strive" to increase teachers' salaries to a level equivalent to those of civil servants.

The government also plans to include rural teachers within the social security system to improve their living and working conditions, Luo said without giving details.

Also, a more transparent system is needed to supervise the transfer of money from provincial governments to lower-level authorities that is intended to go to teachers.

Source: China Daily

Traffic patrol ready for Games

Few people can claim to have witnessed numerous motorcades carrying state leaders in a single day, but for traffic police officer Yao Weizong, it is all in a day's work.

He was on duty at the Olympics, and will do so again at the Paralympics.

Yao's team of 72 traffic police is the only one in the capital based in a traditional Beijing-style courtyard.

"This is where all my team members lived during the Olympic Games," Yao, 44, said, adding that pressure of work had prevented any of the team from going home since July 20.

In view of the central location of their patrol and its historical features, the Paralympics will be just as taxing as its predecessor, he said.

The 5.5 sq km patrol area includes Zhongnanhai, where China's top leaders meet with foreign counterparts, as well as Xidan, one of Beijing's busiest shopping areas.

Managing local traffic while the motorcades of various state leaders proceed up Chang'an Avenue has been routine work for Yao for more than two years.

"Aug 8 and 9, when 80 state-level motorcades traveled along our daily patrol route, were the busiest days in my whole career," Yao said.

Yao and his colleagues normally patrol six hours a day, but during those two days the whole team was on the beat from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm.

But Yao is happy in his work. "I'm proud to be a member of the team," Yao said.

He said the entire Olympic period had been accident-free.

Having successfully weathered the Olympics' experience, Yao is looking forward to the Paralympics, when more than a dozen state leaders will visit the capital. "All my team members are proud of our contribution to these historical events."

As part of their preparations for the Paralympics, Yao's patrol team has learned fundamental sign language at a local school for the deaf.

"We've also been busy sectioning off lanes on the city streets for the visually challenged," Yao said.

Source: China Daily

China Mining Congress & Expo 2008 to be held in November

China Mining Congress & Expo 2008 to be held in November

China Mining Congress & Expo 2008 will be held at Beijing International Convention Center on November 11-13, 2008.

China Mining Congress is hosted by the Ministry of Land & Resources, China and supported by domestic & international governments, associations as well as organizations including the World Bank Group, China Mining Association, Australian Embassy and Canadian Embassy.

As one of the world's top four mining events and the biggest Asian platform for mining exploration and exploitation, the event provides an important channel for communication and exchanging information among global mining enterprises, while building relationships.

After a very successful event last year, China Mining Congress & Expo is now approaching its 10th anniversary. More than 3000 registered delegates, 300 exhibitors and 30 sponsors from 45 countries and regions participated in last year's China Mining Congress & Expo. With a larger exhibition space and more conference streams more attendees of the world wide mining community are expected to celebrate the 10th anniversary of China Mining Congress & Expo in this year.

China Mining Congress & Expo 2008 consists of three parts 鈥�conferences, exhibitions and featured events.

Conferences

During the conferences, high-level speakers from both Chinese and foreign mining industries will present and discuss new developments, investment policies and programs of the Chinese mining industry. China Mining Congress speakers include high-level Chinese and International government representatives, domestic and international experts as well as CEOs and General Managers of large international mining companies.

China Mining Congress will have an in-depth discussion about various topics including CEO Forum, Mining Investment and Financing, New Technology and Equipments, Mining and Sustainable Development, Mining Commodities, Mining Valuation and Service. For the 10th anniversary of China Mining Congress & Expo, Mining Ministers from ten countries will be invited. The developments and trends of mining exploration will be discussed in this session. The conference will also increase the networking opportunities to address business issues that are relevant for the participants.

Interested parties can contact the organizing committee at conference@mining-expo.com.

Exhibitions

This year's exhibition will still include the Countries Pavilions, the Chinese Government Area, and an Equipment Exhibition Area. Exhibitors consist of governments and associations, banks, stock exchanges, insurance and investment companies, consulting companies, accounting and law firms, mining evaluation services, mining rights traders, trading companies, geological exploration companies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, universities, training institutions and medias and publishers, which covering most of sections in the mining industry.

China Mining Expo will open up the D galleries on the second floor in addition to the original A, B, C galleries on the first floor. Total amount of booths will reach to 400 in order to meet the growing demand of exhibition space.

On the occasion of China Mining Expo's 5th anniversary, a large number of professional buyers and visitors from nearly 50 counties and regions will participate. Currently, there are a number of countries' governments departments that will organize their nationals to attend the exhibition. Canada, Australia, Chile, USA, Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, South Africa, and Nigeria are just a few of the countries that will be represented. Until now, more than 150 booths have been booked or reserved, totally 18 domestic and international companies including CIBC, Sino Gold and China Minmetals have confirmed to be sponsors of this year' event.

Featured Events

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the China Mining Congress, the organizing committee will promote several featured events, including China Mining Awards Nomination, China Mining Congress's 10th Anniversary Achievements Exhibition, the Awards Gala Dinner, Students Day, Mine Site Visit and Golf Function.

China Mining Awards are being presented in five different categories. They recognize and promote innovation and co-operation achievements in China. Focusing on exceptional success stories in exploration, mining, technical innovation and sustainable behavior, they reward industrial leaders for forward looking business strategies. The China Mining Awards focus on joint ventures that are leading the way in China's mining industry. You are invited to participate in China Mining Awards by nominating a company for an Award in one of the five categories. Please contact the organizing committee at conference@mining-expo.com.

China Mining Expo has been held successfully for the past four years, with China Mining Congress held at the same time also welcoming its 10th anniversary ceremony. Conferences, exhibitions and featured events, as the three core content of China Mining Congress & Expo, are contributed to greater world appeal and influence of China Mining Congress & Expo with its emerging distinctive manner. China Mining Congress & Expo not only collects tremendous information stream, capital stream and technology stream, but also provide a convenient channel for domestic and international mining companies for a purpose of economic and trading cooperation and communication between China and the world. China Mining Congress & Expo has grown to be a matured community of gathering East Asia and international professionals in the mining sector. However, China Mining Congress & Expo will continue to impel the constant development of global mining economy with its cohesive effect and core impact. We confidently believe that China Mining Congress & Expo 2008 is going to build a wider stage for a better dialogue communication and cooperation opportunity for governments, enterprises and all circles from each country.

For more information about China Mining Congress & Expo 2008, please visit the website: www.mining-expo.com/en or www.china-mining.com.

China tightens control over exporting livestock, poultry genetic resources

China has moved the tighten the control over the export of genetic resources of livestock and poultry with the promulgation of a new ordinance that will take effect on October 1.

The government will ban the export of genetic resources of newly-discovered, unidentified livestock and poultry breeds that are unique to the country, according to the ordinance signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on August 28.

It will be unlawful to cooperate with overseas institutions or individuals in studying and utilizing those resources forbidden to be exported, said the ordinance.

No agencies or individuals will be allowed to transfer the information of the country's livestock and poultry genetic resources to overseas agencies or individuals without government permission.

Besides, breed resources listed under national protection must not be carried abroad if it threatens Chinese animal husbandry production and exports.

The move was to "protect and make proper use of the genetic resources of livestock and poultry, prevent them from flowing off and boost the sustainable, healthy development of animal husbandry," said the ordinance.

The ordinance also stipulated the introduction of such resources into the country must make no threats to the safety of domestic breeds and ecological environment, with their source regions free of epidemics and their use clearly stated.

China boasts 576 breeds of livestock and poultry, about a sixth of the world's total. In the past two decades, at least 10 varieties disappeared, with more than 20 on verge of extinction and over 100 breeds seeing a sharp drop in number.

China's animal husbandry posted an output of more than 1.3 trillion yuan in 2005, accounting for 35 percent of the total agricultural production.

Source: Xinhua

Sunday, August 3, 2008

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