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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Wednesday, August 21st, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening.
China and India have re-launched strategic talks after delays of some 3-years.
Authorities in Fujian are preparing for the impending impact of Typhoon Trami.
There are fresh allegations of chemical weapons use emerging from the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
In Business... new stats are showing online retail spending here in China is up almost 50-percent through the first half compared to last year.
In sports, qualifying action is already underway for next week's US Open tennis tournament.
In entertainment, Morgan Spurlock's new documentary about British band One Direction has premiered in London.
Weather
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow overcast with a high temperature of 31.
Meanwhile Shanghai will have light rain tonight, with a low of 28, light rain continues tomorrow, with a high of 32.
Lhasa will have showers tonight, 10 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 23.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia.
Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 33.
Kabul, sunny, 31.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, highs of 19.
Canberra, overcast, 11.
Brisbane, sunny, 22.
And finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 22.
Top News
China-India strategic dialogue resumes after a three-year halt in New Delhi
Strategic talks between China and India have resumed after nearly 3-years.
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh have met with visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin for talks in New Delhi.
The two sides have discussed key bilateral, regional and global issues, including ways to reduce trade deficits and deal with trans-border rivers.
Liu Zhenmin says it's important for both sides to improve their bilateral ties.
"The bilateral relations between China and India are very important to both sides. China and India are the two biggest developing countries as well as two emerging economies, so strengthening the cooperation between China and India is significant to both sides as well as to Asia and the world."
Liu Zhenmin has also discussed a planned visit to China by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later this year.
The two sides also talked about potential cooperation on a Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor.
China stress the importance of military dialogue
China's Defense Minister has wrapped up a tour in the United States, which the Chinese side is hailing as "very productive."
As part of his time there, Chang Wanquan has met with his US counterpart, US defense secretary Chuck Hagel, at the Pentagon.
Both say they're committed to cementing mutual trust through more exchanges and cooperation.
Guan Youfei is with the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
"A dialogue between the two counterparts is constructive and positive. It will boost mutual trust on a strategic level since the two departments are responsible for the further development and macroscopic planning of the army."
Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan has been in the US since Friday.
Fujian upgrades emergency alerts for typhoon Trami
Authorities in Fujian have upgraded their emergency alerts ahead of Typhoon Trami.
The storm, which is currently tracking just above the northern tip of Taiwan, was officially upgraded to Typhoon status this afternoon.
The storm is packing winds of 120-kilometers per hour at the center of the storm.
Trami is expected to make landfall in Fujian near the capital, Fuzhou, sometime tomorrow morning.
Li Mei is with Fujian's flood control and drought relief headquarters.
"There may be gusts of winds up to Force 11 or Force 12 or 30 meters per second, especially in the central and northern parts of the province. Most areas of the province will be battered by rainstorms, with precipitation in some areas to exceed 300 mm."
The storm is already beginning to stir up waves of around 5-meters in height in the Taiwan strait.
It's expected to bring waves of as high as 2.5-meters to Fujian's shores as the storm approaches.
As a result, all local fishing boats have been called back to port.
After making landfall, forecasters are predicting Trami will continue on a straight path into Jiangxi and Hunan before dying down.
It's also likely to bring heavy rains and flooding to those provinces, which have already been inundated by flooding from previous typhoons and summer storms.
Philippines evacuate residents affected by the floods
Authorities in the Philippines have evacuated thousands of people living near rivers in the capital, Manila, because of flooding.
Authorities are also bracing for more flooding in regions outside the capital amid heavy monsoon rains pounding the area.
So far 8 people have been killed in the heavy flooding.
4 others are listed as missing.
Around 200 evacuation centers have been opened in Manila and its surrounding provinces, drawing in thousands.
"Our situation is very hard, we don't have anything to eat, my children are starving."
In the city of Marikina, where the local river breached its banks, authorities have started moving around 12-thousand people into local schools and gymnasiums, which have become makeshift emergency shelters.
The Philippines is routinely hit by potentially-deadly weather.
On top of the annual monsoon rains, the archipelago is hit by around 20 tropical storms or typhoons every year.
Syria denies using chemical gases against rebels near Damascus
There are reports of another potential chemical weapons attack in Syria.
The Syrian government is denying allegations being made by rebel forces that the Syrian military has deployed chemical weapons in fighting in the suburbs of Damascus.
Syrian opposition activists have posted videos online, purporting to show a number of dead people the opposition claims have been killed by "poisonous gases" overnight.
The Syrian government is denying the allegation, calling the reports "baseless."
At the same time, reports from the same area are suggesting a series of explosions have been going off over the last few hours, reportedly leaving hundreds of people hurt.
The new reports of chemical weapons use comes as inspectors from the UN tour other sites in Syria where chemical weapons have reportedly been used.
The Syrian government and the rebels have been accusing one-another of being behind a number of chemical weapons attacks.
The latest allegation has been made by the Syrian government, who is accusing Turkey of supplying sarin gas to rebel forces in their battle for a town in northern Syria.
The US and European Union have been expressing concerns about what might happen to the chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria if the government of Bashar al-Assad does collapse.
Egyptian interim government defends arrest of Mohammed Badie
The Egyptian government is moving to defend its decision to arrest the head of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian interim government spokesperson Ahmad el-Moslemany is denying suggestions the arrest of Mohammed Badie is politically motivated.
"I emphasise that we are against political detentions, for any politician, even those with whom we disagree directly, and I can assure all that everybody will find justice in our judiciary."
Badie was arrested in Cairo on Tuesday.
He's since been replaced by his deputy, who also has an arrest order out for him.
Meantime, An Egyptian court is due to review a petition for the release of deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak is facing a re-trial in connection to the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended in his ouster.
But his lawyer is pressing to try to have Mubarak walk free this weekend, now that he has been cleared of a previous corruption charge.
If Mubarak is released, many fear it could lead to further tensions in Egypt.
Emad Hegab is a political analyst with the Al-Ahram news organization.
"The release of Mubarak might cause some clashes in Egypt, because the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters could make disturbance with this chance. It was reported by the Egyptian security department that the Muslim Brotherhood was likely to attack some state institutions in revenge."
In the wake of what has been taking place in Egypt, EU foreign ministers are set to discuss whether to cut off some or all of its billions of euros worth of aid to Egypt.
The Obama Administration in the United States is also reviewing whether to delay or even cancel some or all of its over 1-billion US dollars worth of military aide it gives to Egypt every year.
Two teenagers charged with murder of student baseball player in Oklahoma
Prosecutors say 3 teenagers accused of murdering an Australian college baseball player in the US state of Oklahoma have admitted to killing him - quote - "for the fun of it."
Prosecutors in Oklahoma have already charged two of the teens with murder.
The victim, 22-year-old Chirstopher Lane, was shot last Friday.
16-year-old Chancey Allen Luna is accused of pulling the trigger.
The murder has shaken the campus of East Central University where Lane studied.
"It's always bad to hear a tragedy like that, do you know what I mean, especially here at ECU, it's close to my heart so when I heard about it I was kind of sad for him, even though I didn't know him I still felt for him and his family."
Two of the teens charged will be tried as adults under Oklahoma law.
The other teen allegedly involved is being charged with first-degree murder after the fact.
The 17-year-old is accused of being the get-away driver.
All involved could face life in prison if convicted.
NDRC has no appetite for new stimulus package
Anchor:
China's top economic planner says it has no appetite to create any new stimulus packages to shore up the economy.
CRI's Ding lulu explains.
Reporter:
The National Development and Reform Commission is playing down the idea of new stimulus. It is meant to cool speculation the government was considering sidelining its economic restructuring in the second-half of the year in favor of trying to revitalize growth.
The speculation has been growing, given that earlier this month, the central government reinstated a series of high-speed railway projects in the country's central and western regions.
The Chinese economy has slowed to a 7.5 percent growth in the second quarter, which is the lowest growth rate in over 20 years.
As such, the renewed railway projects, along with a renewed interest in urban construction, have led many to speculate the government is spearheading a new set of projects to boost growth.
However, Fan Jianping, the NDRC's chief economist told foreign jounalists on Wednesday that not even a mini-version of a stimulus package should be expected for the rest of this year.
"The recent installation of key infrastructure projects should not be viewed as anything close to a stimulus. These projects were set as part of the 12th five-year plan and we are just carrying out as to what is already on the blueprint."
Fan says the renewed expansion of railway construction has been timed to follow the dismantlement of the former Railway Ministry, rather than to boost government investment.
There is already over 20-percent growth in fixed asset investment here in China.
Fan Jianping says this level of fixed-asset investment is aggressive enough.
He also contends the country's overall economic growth model is entering a new era, where growth within an 7 to 8 percent range will reign for a long time.
"We do not view the current economic slowdown as a crisis. We think the new growth range is decided by China's growth potential and will stay as the status quo of China's economic growth for the coming few years."
Fan also says China's growth potential is not on a decline because of outside factors, such as the financial crisis of 2008.
Instead, he contends the slowdown is the natural result of 3-decades of extremely-fast development.
He says the slowdown in the Chinese economy has actually created some benefits.
"The slowdown we saw in the first half of this year has many aspects worth commending. We have seen a much lower risk of inflation, and no risk of deflation. And at the same time, job creation has kept up with the demand. Therefore, we think the economy improved quality-wise."
While admitting those who reaped the rewards from 30-years of rapid development may not like the new approach of managing the economy, Fan Jianping says China's new leadership is prepared to get used to it.
For CRI, I'm DLL.
Children’s Reading Competition in Shanghai Book Fair
Anchor:
At the just-concluded Shanghai Book Fair, one of this year's highlights has been the Charlotte's Books Reading Competition, which was set up to try to encourage more children to read.
CRI's Yunfeng has more from Shanghai.
Reporter:
A Chinese boy reads a paragraph from the well-known short novel The Happy Prince on a center stage in the Children's section of the Shanghai Book Fair. He is very attentive in his reading, and although he loses his footing at the pronunciation of certain words, he does his best to read the story loudly and clearly.
Off the stage, the other young competitors are busy preparing, reading the paragraph again and again. Yu Jiayi is a 7 year ago girl who sounds innocent when reading aloud; she says she likes reading a lot.
The judges of the Charlotte's Books Reading Competition are professional readers. Liang Hui, a host at Radio Shanghai tells the young competitors to use their voices to build the characters in the story. Apparently, the children could not control their voices very well. Huang Ying, a producer at Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio says that as a judge she is looking for potential and hoping to hear the joy of reading from them.
"We are NOT looking for perfect pronunciation and intonation from the children, but for their love of words and sounds. I would be happy if I could see their passion and understanding of the story they read."
Liang Hui, an experienced radio host, says reading aloud is one of the best ways to help children build up their abilities in reading comprehension and self- expression. In the context of competitions, children usually try their best to learn quickly and win.
Wu Hong is Vice Chief Editor of Shanghai Translation Publishing House, and one of the event organizers. He says that the publishing house started the reading competition last year. Having observed the previous young participants, they now organize a range of activities, including this reading competition, in the hope of attracting more interest from children.
More than ten competitors, young and old, that were selected from hundreds have read on the stage. It appears that no one really cares about the result of the competition; everyone is here to enjoy reading and share in the joy of reading aloud.
Back Anchor:
CRI's Yunfeng reporting from Shanghai.
Biz Reports
Asian Stock
Asian stock markets ended mixed this Wednesday as investors await details of the discussions that took place at the US Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.
Investors are hoping the minutes of the meeting will help them gauge when the U.S. central bank might start scaling its bond purchase program back.
In China,
The Shanghai Composite Index ended its trading day flat.
The Shenzhen Component closed fractionally higher.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.7 percent
Shares of CNOOC have jumped 5 percent after its profit came in up 7.9 percent in the first half, driven by increased oil and gas output.
Elsewhere,
Japan's Nikkei swung between gains and losses before ending the day 0.2 percent higher.
Shares of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, tumbled 9.3 percent following media reports that the leak of highly radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant will prompt the government to declare the incident as "serious."
In Seoul, South Korea's Kospi shed 1.1%.
In Singapore, the Strait Times gave up 0.6 percent.
In Sydney, shares of Woodside Petroleum shed 1.6-percent after the energy producer cut its projection for full-year output.
Despite this, Australia's ASX 200 finished the day 0.4 percent higher.
China Telecom profit rises 15.9% in 1H
China Telecom is reporting its first-half net profit have risen nearly 16-percent.
The surge is being attributed to the growth of high-value smartphone subscribers.
China Telecom's net profits through the first half have come in at more than 10 billion yuan.
This represents a jump of 1.2 billion yuan from the same period of a year ago.
China Telecom added 18-million more 3G subscribers through June.
This brings the total nubmer Telecom's 3G subscribers past 87-million.
China Mobile has the largest 3G user base at 147-million.
China's Online Retail Market Sees CNY 754.2 Bn Transactions in 13H1
New industry research has revealed online retail transactions through the first 6-months have reached 754 billion yuan here in China.
This marks a 47 percent increase on an annualized basis.
Goods sold online now account for nearly 7-percent of the overall retail sales here in China.
It is expected the total transaction value through e-commerce will hit 1.7-trillion yuan this year.
Retailer giant Suning's e-commerce has seen its sales revenues double through the first half of this year.
It has recorded revenues of 10.6-billion yuan through the first half.
VIPshop, another Chinese online retailer, is reporting its sales revenues have surpassed 4 billion yuan.
China Further Promotes Government Spending Disclosure
Chinese authorities are being tasked with disclosing more of their spending.
The Ministry of Finance will be requiring the fiscal budgets and the so-called 'three public consumptions' be published above county level governments by 2015.
The "three public consumptions" refer to spending on official receptions, vehicles and overseas trips.
Provincial governments will also have to select at least 20-percent of their sub-government budgets to be released to the public this year.
The central government is going to require 50-percent disclosure next year.
Private Capital Poised to Tap into Banking Sector
It's being reported private capital here in China is getting closer to become a reality in the banking sector.
A number of media reports are suggesting the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has given preliminary approval to the establishment of 'Sunan Bank'.
The private bank would be funding through a holding company set up by consumer products giant Suning.
The Chinese authorities have been slowly working toward the establishment of privately-held banks for the better part of a year.
Over capacity in coal industry
Anchor:
New analysis by the China National Coal Association through the first 7-months of this year is pointing to overcapacity still remaining a serious problem in this country's coal industry.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter:
The CNCA report shows that the country's total coal reserve currently exceeds 200 million tons, the highest amount in the past ten years. The revenue of the coal enterprises has dropped by about 50 percent on average compared to the same period last year. Vice chairman of the association Jiang Zhimin says:
"24 of the 90 large-sized coal enterprises in our survey are operating in a deficit. This accounts for one third of the enterprises in the survey. Plus, all the enterprises in the provinces and municipalities of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Yunnan, Chongqing, Anhui and Jiangxi are experiencing losses."
Meanwhile, high prices and low demand has given overseas coal enterprises a big chunk of the Chinese market. In the first 7 months of 2013, China imported a total of 187 million tons of coal, up 14 percent from the year before. Conversely, exports declined by 22 percent to 4.9 million tons.
In the past 10 years, an overheated market attracted too many investors to the coal industry. Statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission show that from 2000 to 2005, investment in the coal industry only totaled 200 billion yuan, but from 2005 to 2010, the figure soared to more than 1.2 trillion yuan.
To curb excessive investment, the central and local governments have made policies to integrate resources within the coal industry by closing small coal mines and developing middle and large-sized ones. But in Shaanxi Province, one of China's biggest coal output provinces, most enterprises are still operating at a loss.
Han Xiaoping, chief spokesperson of China5e.com, an energy information and consulting service provider, says the harsh market may deteriorate even further in the coming years.
"The integration of resources in many places in China, through closing the small mines and expanding the large ones has created some super-sized coal enterprises, which are luring more investment into the coal industry. This is resulting in overcapacity in the industry."
Once a coal mine is built, it needs to maintain operations at a certain level to ensure its survival. Excessive production may push current overcapacity situation to even more embarrassing levels.
In the first six months, the net profit of the country's large- and medium-sized coal producers declined by more than 43 percent from the same period last year.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, with official data showing the country's coal production as exceeding 3.6 billion tons in 2012.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
BOJ's Kuroda - won't hesitate to ease further if downside risks increase
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is maintaining his firm stance on the country's easing policy.
Kuroda says he won't hesitate to pump more money into the system, if he sees a downside risk triggered by the country's planned sales tax hike.
But at the same time, Kuroda says he doesn’t feel the impending sales tax hike is likely to impact Japan's economic growth.
The comments by the BOJ's governor come amid signs the Japanese government is beginning to waver over whether to move ahead with its planned two-stage hike in the sales tax.
Japan's economy has expanded for 3 straight quarters through the second quarter.
But growth slowed to 2.6-percent through the last quarter, casting doubt on whether the economy can stand the pain of the proposed tax hike, which is set to begin in April.
Radiation danger halts Korean carrier's Fukushima flights
South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines is cancelling its charter flights to the city of Fukushima in Japan, given the new radiation fears emerging from the damaged nuclear plant.
The South Korean airline says the suspension of its flights will start in October.
Asiana operates two return flights on a monthly basis to Fukushima under a lease agreement.
The contract is due to expire at the end of September.
This comes as the Tokyo Electric Power Company struggles to deal with massive amounts of radioactive water leaking at the plant.
ECB's to check up on Greek reform progress
Officials from the European Central Bank are heading to Greece to find out just how much more money that country needs.
The debt-laden country is set to receive another billion euros in bailout money in October.
Greece's international lenders have already promised a total of 5.8 billion euros for Greece.
However, the ECB has determined Greece is going to need even more funding before it can pull itself out of its fiscal quagmire.
Greece's economy has lost 23-percent of its real value since 2008.
The Greek economy shrank 4.6-percent in the 2nd quarter.
Mexico's Finance Ministry Cuts 2013 GDP Growth Estimate to 1.8%
Mexican authorities are slashing the country's full year GDP forecast to 1.8-percent.
This, after the North American country reported weaker than expected results for the second quarter.
Mexico's economy contracted by 0.7-percent this past quarter.
This has forced the authorities in Mexico City to downgrade its full-year growth projections from 3.1-percent down to 1.8-percent.
So far, Mexico's economy has only grown by 1-percent this year.
Like a number of other emerging economies, Mexico has been hit hard recently by a slowdown in exports.
The country has also seen a significant slowdown in both its construction and service sectors.
Headline News
China-India strategic dialogue resumes after a three-year halt in New Delhi
Strategic talks between China and India have resumed after nearly 3-years.
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh have met with visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin for talks in New Delhi.
The two sides have discussed key bilateral, regional and global issues, including ways to reduce trade deficits and deal with trans-border rivers.
Liu Zhenmin has also discussed a planned visit to China by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later this year.
The two sides also talked about potential cooperation on a Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor.
China stress the importance of military dialogue
China's Defense Minister has wrapped up a tour in the United States, which the Chinese side is hailing as "very productive."
As part of his time there, Chang Wanquan has met with his US counterpart, US defense secretary Chuck Hagel, at the Pentagon.
Both say they're committed to cementing mutual trust through more exchanges and cooperation.
Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan has been in the US since Friday.
Dengue cases reach 123 in Chinese province
Health authorities in a prefecture in Yunnan are dealing with a new rash of cases of Dengue Fever.
Since last Thursday, 123 people have come down with the potentially-deadly virus.
So far no serious cases of Dengue Fever have been reported.
Of the over 120 cases, 50 have been treated in hospitals or clinics in Xishuangbanna, which is in the ethnic Dai region of Yunnan in the south of the province near Laos.
U.S. hails Keita's election as Mali president
The US government has sent along its congratulations to the new President of Mali.
The US side has sent its regards to Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following word the country's electoral commission has confirmed his election as Mali's new leader.
While sending their congratulations, the US government is also calling on Keita to lead the way toward national reconciliation.
Keita was elected after Mali fell into an 18-month power vacuum when the former President was overthrown in a military coup.
Safety officials face investigation after Spanish train crash
The people in charge of safety along the section of track in northern Spain which saw a deadly derailment last month are now being questioned by the courts.
Safety officials from the state-owned company which operates the Spanish railway system are being accused of not setting up enough preventative safety measures.
The derailment left 79 people dead.
The train was travelling at twice the speed limit when it derailed on a corner, sending the cars on the 8-carriage train flying off the tracks.
However, the judge investigating the case is suggesting the curve where the derailment took place may have been too steep.
Newspaper Picks
Xinhua
"China mulls pension reform to ease burden"
Chinese experts have proposed a new pension scheme, raising the pension age, to ease the financial burden of an aging population.
The new scheme suggests that the initial pension age for both men and women should be raised to 65 as of 2030.
Current retirement age stands at 60 for men and 55 for women.
Experts say the age of 65 was chosen based on the pace of aging in China, but could be adjusted for laborers undertaking especially arduous work.
China will have become a "super aging society" by 2035, which means every two workers will need to support one elderly person.
The scheme, drafted by experts from Tsinghua University, was unveiled earlier this month to solicit feedback from the public.
Global Times
"New online drug safety campaign"
A five-month interdepartmental campaign was launched on Tuesday to combat illegal online pharmaceutical sales, the latest in a spate of official efforts to clean up online activities.
Drugs for the treatment of tumors, sexual dysfunction, diabetes and high blood pressure have been listed as "major targets".
The campaign was jointly launched by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), the State Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
It will primarily focus on websites that have obtained Internet drug sale licenses, but were found to have been involved in the promotion or sale of fake drugs.
Vendors who market drugs online without obtaining business licenses will also be targeted.
Currently there are 101 licensed websites.
Intensive monitoring efforts will be adopted on the major search engines, which have become key marketing channels for illegal drug sales online.
AFP
"Dog donates blood to save cat"
Traditional animal rivalries were set aside in New Zealand when a dog's blood was used to save the life of a poisoned cat in a rare inter-species transfusion.
Cat owner Kim Edwards was frantic last Friday when her ginger tom Rory went limp after eating rat poison, rushing to her local veterinary clinic for help.
The vet said the cat was fading fast and needed an immediate transfusion to survive, but there was not enough time to send a sample to the laboratory for testing to determine the cat's blood type.
Instead, she decided to take a gamble and use dog blood to try to save the animal, knowing it would die instantly if she gave it the wrong type.
Edwards called up one of her friends, who volunteered her black labrador as a doggie blood donor in a last-ditch attempt to save Rory.
Edwards said her cat appeared to have come through its ordeal unscathed, seemingly without any side effects.
Special Reports
When Shakespeare Meets Rock: Lin Shaohua's Coriolanus Debuts at the EIF
Anchor
The Beijing People's Art Theatre has made its debut at the Edinburgh International Festival.
It's also the European premiere of Chinese director Lin Zhaohua's version of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus.
CRI's UK correspondent Tu Yun has more from Edinburgh.
Reporter:
Shakespeare and heavy metal rock?
That sounds a bit odd.
But that's what Chinese director Lin Zhaohua did in 2007 when he first introduced the Tragedy of Coriolanus to the Beijing People's Art Theatre with two rock bands, Miserable Faith and Suffocated.
"Rock music is more powerful in demonstrating confrontation."
And six years later, it hits the stage of the Edinburgh International Festival.
All in Mandarin Chinese; all in plain modern colloquial language.
"I think it's important for people in the United Kingdom to experience very different interpretations of the works of William Shakespeare."
Jonathan Mills is the director of the festival.
"Shakespeare is of course a British playwright. But he's a world figure. And he's open therefore to interpretation across many different genres of art, and across many different cultures."
Set in Republican Rome, Coriolanus describes the predicament faced by a victorious military commander after he becomes a policymaker.
It sheds light on the contradiction between the general public and those with ruling power.
That's the most attractive part to the 77-year old Chinese director.
"What I value most is the relationship between the ordinary people and the ruling group. That's it. Nothing more. The contradiction is always there. That's the case in China, in Britain, and all over the world."
That's also what's impressed Mills most.
"The interpretation from Lin Shaohua, I think he's making a strong reference not only to a very particular form of drama from the late 16th, early 17th century. But he's also perhaps making a statement, a symbol of the emergence of the People's Republic of China—how these acts of selflessness and heroism built a new nation and the challenges. And I read it as a contemporary metaphor for China."
Mills has been in contact with Lin Zhaohua for years, hoping the Chinese director could bring his production to Edinburgh.
But it's not until this year that Mills successfully incorporated Lin's work into the program.
Pu Cunxin, the leading actor of the play, who's also the deputy president of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, explains.
"The budget is one of the problems. We've got an eighty-strong cast, which could be a big burden for any organizer. This time, the organizers have spent heavily on this, owing a lot to the sponsor. Otherwise, only ticket sales can barely cover it."]
The production is supported by China's Ministry of Culture and the KT Wong Foundation.
Tickets for the two-day performance were sold out days before it premiered.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun in Edinburgh.
Sports
Victoria Azarenka looks ahead to the US Open
In tennis...
Qualifying is already underway for the US Open next week.
Chinese hopeful Zhou Yimiao will not be playing in next week's tournament.
She has gone down to Viktoria Golubic of Switzerland in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
On the Men's side, China's Zhang Ze is expected to be in action later on this Wednesday.
The 23-year old from Nanjing will be taking on Austrian Martin Fisher.
Meanwhile, tennis pundits are stepping up with their predictions ahead of next week's official start of the US Open.
American John McEnroe, a four time winner at Flushing Meadows, says he believes defending champion Andy Murray has a good chance of retaining his title.
The world number-3 hasn't made it past the quarter-finals in the last two events he has played in since Wimbledon.
In the women's draw, John McEnroe admits that it is hard to look past World number-1 Serena Williams.
However, world number-2 Victoria Azarenka comes into the US Open off last week's victory over Serena Williams at the Cincinatti Masters.
"Well it definitely gives a good confidence. I mean to play against Serena all the time, it's definitely taking yourself to the next level, and push your limits. So it was an important test for me to have right before the Open.You know the whole preparation, it was about this tournament, to have the game develop and go through the test. I played different players that last week, who I haven't played in a while, so it was also kind of important to have those challenges in front of me. So the whole preparation's been good, and I'm really looking forward and excited about the Open."
Chinese ace Li Na comes into the tournament ranked 6th in the world, after losing the 5th seed ranking to Italian Sara Errani this week.
The US Open officially begins on Monday.
Meanwhile, there's been a bit of an upset in the last tune-up for the US open in North Carolina.
2nd seeded Italian Andreas Seppi has been bounced from the tournament by American qualifier Steve Johnson 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.
This just leaves Spain's Tommy Robredo as the only one of the top-4 seeds left in the tune-up tournament.
Defending champion and home-town favorite John Isner and top seeded Tomas Berdych both pulled out of the tournament in Winston-Salem, citing injuries.
American Marty Fish has also been forced to quit the tournament after he came down with sun-stroke amid his match with Jarkko Nieminen.
PSV held to 1-1 draw at home to AC Milan in CL playoff 1st leg
Football action in Europe...
There are 5-matches in the Champions League tonight.
The big match of the night will see Arsenal on the road in Turkey to take on Fenerbahce.
The away match is likely a big relief for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
His squad was booed off the pitch on Saturday after going down to Aston Villa 3-1 at home in their opening match of the season in the English Premier League.
Wenger admits they're going to be in for a tough match in Turkey.
"We have experience of the competition at that level, but every game is different. What that kind of game demands is to turn up on the night, with a top level of commitment and performance as well to play not forget to play as well. We want to have the ball and in football when you have the ball you can sometimes lose and for example on Saturday we had a lot of the ball and we lost. But many, many games you will win more than you lose and that's our target."
There are 4 other matches in the Champions League.
It's German side Schalke 04 at home to PAOK from northern Greece.
Polish club Legia Warsaw is on the road in Romania to take on Steaua Bucurest.
Bulgarian upstart Ludogorets is at home against Swiss side FC Basel.
And Austria Wien is on the road in Croatia to take on Dinamo Zagreb.
All matches get underway at 2:45am Beijing time.
Last night, it was AC Milan and Dutch side PSV playing to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg of their Champions League qualifier in Eindhoven.
PSV scored in the first 15 minutes.
However, the Italians managed to level within the hour, earning the 1-1 draw away.
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allergi.
"We have played a very good game especially in the second half. In first 15-20 minutes with had some difficulties. We scored at the right moment. We are not completely pleased with this result."
Milan will host the return leg at San Siro next Wednesday.
In other Champions League action,
Spanish side Real Sociedad scored an impressive 2-nil away victory against Lyon.
It was Zenit St. Petersberg hammering Portugese side Pacos 4-1 on the road.
Kazakh squad Karagandy earned a 2-nil win at home against Celtic.
And it was Czech side Viktoria Plzen earning a 3-1 home win over MK Maribor from Slovenia.
8 athletes caught doping ahead of China's national games
China's anti-doping authorities have announced 8 Chinese athletes have tested positive for doping over the last 3-months.
This brings the total number of doping cases up to 12 so far this year.
This is the same number of athletes caught doping through the whole of last year.
The head of China's anti-doping agency says he thinks the rise in doping cases may be because of the forthcoming Chinese National Games.
The National Games, which first began in 1959, are held every 4-years.
They draw athletes from different cities, regions and provinces.
Good results at the National Games have traditionally reflected well on provincial sports bureaus, and usually afford athletes who win medals higher rewards than athletes who win on the international stage.
This year's National Games get underway in Liaoning on August 31st.
Cleveland signs first round NBA draft pick
In basketball...
The NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers have signed this year's number-1 draft pick, Anthony Bennett, to a guaranteed rookie contract.
Terms of the deal haven't been released.
However, it can be worth nearly 23-million US dollars over a 4-year period.
Bennett, from the Canadian city of Brampton, Ontario was a surprise selection to go first overall.
However, the Cavaliers say they believe the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder from the University of Las Vegas will emerge as a leading power forward for the club.
Entertainment
One Direction premieres new film in London
British boyband One Direction held the world premiere of their new film "This is Us" at London's Leceister Square overnight.
Thousands of screaming Directioners swamped central London to steal a glimpse of their idols.
Directed by Morgan Spurlock, the 3D documentary provides fans with a intimate look at the band's meteoric rise to international chart-dominance.
1D's Liam Payne confesses to finding the whole affair somewhat overwhelming.
"I just think it's crazy. Niall has been saying, we came here three years ago to go to a 'Harry Potter' premiere and now we're at our own and this many people have turned up, we can't believe it."
The boys were joined on the red carpet by their families, who also form an integral part of the film.
Niall Horan marks out the occassion as a career highlight.
"On very few occasions do our families come to see us and, I think, honestly this is biggest night of our career, like, we've got a movie coming out and it's the biggest night of our lives. Our families don't get together in massive bunches a lot, only for things like Madison Square Garden and the Olympics and this is one of them, so it's a big night."
Since forming in 2010, One Direction have been leading the new "British Invasion", successfully breaking America with multi-million record sales.
Sony executives declared the band a 50 million empire at the end of last year.
Ridley Scott premieres new trailer for The Counsellor
Veteran director Ridley Scott has premiered the trailer for his latest film The Counsellor.
Prometheus star Michael Fassbender reunites with Scott, playing a lawyer embroiled in drug trafficking in the upcoming thriller.
The film also marks the first collaboration between Scott and Brad Pitt, who had his breakthrough 22 years ago in the director's Thelma and Louise.
Pitt recently said that he is thrilled to work with the man ,who gave him his first taste of the "big leagues".
Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem round up the all-star cast.
The film is based on an original screenplay from Pulitzer Award winning author Cormac McCarthy.
The Counsellor opens on October 25 in the US before arriving on November 15 in the UK.
Chinese painter suspected in fraud ring
A Chinese painter has been named as one of the suspects in a multi-million dollar art fraud case.
73-year-old Qian Peichen is accused of forging works by modernist artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.
The works were sold to New York's Knoedler Gallery for over 80 million by Glafira Rosales who was arrested in May.
Federal investigators on the case say that Qian has since disappeared from his US home and has gone on the run.
The Zhejiang born artist emigrated to New York from Shanghai in 1981, where he worked as a teacher and street painter.
Reports suggest that Qian became involved in the fraud ring after selling 63 immitation paintings to Rosale's boyfriend in the early 1990s.
Qian faces charges of knowingly providing the immitations for the fraud ring.
Suede comes to China
Britpop band Suede is set to bring their "So Young" tour to China this September!
The pioneers of Britpop shot to fame in the early 90s with hits like "Metal Mickey" and "Stay Together".
No strangers to China, this would be the band's third time in recent years.
The band will be performing a mix of old hits and new material from their latest album "Bloodsports".
Suede will be performing in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai from the end of September onwards.
Coolio to sell royalties to fund cooking career
Rapstar Coolio is reportedly auctioning off the royalties to his entire backlog to pave the way for his cooking career.
The collection, including 123 songs from 8 different albums are expected to be auctioned by the Royal Exchange.
It looks like Coolio is keen to build on the success of his 2009 best-selling book Cookin' with Coolio.
The 50 year old is said to be looking to invest the funds into writing more cooking books and setting up his own online food show.
Despite having sold more than 17 million records world wide, the Grammy-winner's career has been somewhat stalled in recent years.
Earlier this year, Coolio was charged with domestic battery and, in a separate case, harassing a woman by jumping on her back in a club.
The First Royal Baby photos released
The royal couple has released the first family pictures with young Prince George.
Taken by the Duchess of Cambridge's father Michael Middleton, the photos show the young couple with their dog Lupo and the young prince.
The photos are a huge departure from the usual fanfare of celebrity photographers and staging involved in traditional royal baby shoots.
The informal affair has been hailed by many to be a testimony to the thoroughly modern nature of England's future King and the Duchess.
In the month since his birth, Prince George met his royal kinsmen at Kensington Palace before spending a few weeks with his maternal grandparents in Berkshire.
In a recent interview, Prince William quipped that his son was "a rascal" who has little inclination to sleep.
Prince George Alexander Louis is Prince Charles' first grandchild and third in line to the English throne.
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