新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2014/07/03

The Beijing Hour
 
Evening Edition
 
 
Shane Bigham with you this Thursday, July 03rd, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on the programme this evening...
We have the latest from the Chinese president's historic state visit to South Korea...
China's state archive has begun publishing the confessions of Japanese war criminals...
And a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program is set to begin...
In business, Chinese non-manufacturing PMI drops, but remains at a relatively high level...
In sports, the Chinese duo in the women's doubles draw at Wimbledon has been bounced...
In entertainment, South Korea’s entertainment industry enjoys increasing influence...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24 degrees Celsius. It will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 29 degrees.　
Meanwhile Shanghai will be cloudy tonight, with a low of 23, overcast tomorrow, with a high of 27.
Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 22 degrees the low, tomorrow cloudy with a high of 31.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, overcast with a high of 34.
Kabul, cloudy, 27.
Over in Australia
Sydney, sunny, high of 18.
Canberra, cloudy,10.
Brisbane, cloudy, 21.
And finally, Perth will be cloudy with a high of 19.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Chinese President Arrives for State Visit to South Korea
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping in now in Seoul on his two-day state visit to South Korea.
South Korea has held a traditional welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping at the Blue House, the South Korean Presidential Office,
Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with top South Korean leaders during his first state visit to the Asian country.
It is also his first time of visiting a single country alone since taking office.
During his stay in Seoul, the Chinese President will also deliver a speech at Seoul National University and attend economic and trade events.
A joint statement on bilateral relations and regional issues is expected to be issued during the president's visit.
The two sides are also due to sign a batch of deals on cooperation involving the economy, trade, finance, the environment and consular affairs.
 
 
Chinese president's South Korea trip expected to advance FTA talks
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip is expected to greatly advance the negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement.
After the establishment of diplomatic relations 22 years ago, China is now South Korea's largest trading partner and export market. Meanwhile, South Korea is the third-largest trade partner and the fifth-largest source of foreign investment for China.
For more on the economic cooperation between the two countries, we are now joined live on the line with Professor Shen Dingli, Associate Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University.
Back anchor: Professor Shen Dingli, Associate Dean of the School of International Studies at Fudan University.
 
 
A Korean student's life in China
 
Anchor:
As part of Xi Jinping's time in South Korea, issues connected to cultural and cultural exchanges are also high on the agenda to be discussed.
Beijing is already home to a large and growing population of South Korean students, who have become social ambassadors, helping link young people from both countries.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter:
Lee Laehyun is a South Korean student at Beijing Normal University. He has been studying Chinese for 4 years.
Like many other Korean students, he politely bows when he meets someone.
Lee has been living in Beijing for a long time and has witnessed the development of a Korean community in Beijing.
"I think after the 2008 Olympics, public service facilities became more developed, like the newly built subway lines in Wudaokou and Wangjing. Now, I can always find stores that sell products from my hometown, and restaurants run by Korean people. It makes our life convenient and cozy."
Lee has been interested in learning foreign languages since he was a kid.
When he came to China with his parents years ago, Chinese became his major.
He likes Chinese culture. As the overseas student leader of the Institute of Literature at Beijing Normal University, he used to organize Korean students to learn Chinese calligraphy.
"In South Korea, we have calligraphy. But it's not as profound as the Chinese calligraphy. We Korean students don't know how to write it. So I organized an activity, inviting calligraphy artists and Chinese students who are also interested in this art to share their experience. It was an experience of fun."
In recent years, the South Korean entertainment industry has had a significant impact on China.
People in many different age groups like to watch Korean TV shows. Lee says those shows, the actors and actresses, and even Korean food are big topics of conversation among his many Chinese friends.
"This is a big topic. Whenever I meet Chinese friends for the first time, they will always ask me whether I have met their favorite Korean actor or actress when I was in Korea, and is it true that in South Korea people really match beer and fried chicken. I laugh and say it's true. We ordinary people do drink beer when having fried chicken. We think they taste good together."
Lee Laehyun says his father has been doing business in China for a long time.
"My father has been in China for more than 10 years. His company, a clothing business, is in Qingdao, Shandong Province. Doing business in a country other than your motherland is tough sometimes. But he says China is a fast developing country, and China has many opportunities that other places can't provide him. So he stays here. I agree with him."
Figures from the Ministry of Education last year show that the number of South Korean students continues to top numbers from other countries in China.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
 
 
China publishes confession by Japanese war criminals
 
Anchor:
Chinese authorities have begun publishing confessions made by Japanese war criminals who were convicted by military tribunals in China after the Second World War.
This comes days ahead of the 77th anniversary of the July 7th incident in 1937, which marked the beginning of China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
CRI's Xiong Siqi has more.
Reporter:
Suzuki Keiku joined Japan's invasion of China in 1934.
He was a regimental commander of the 117th Division in 1945 and was ultimately captured by the Chinese army in Northeast China's Jilin Province.
In his confession, written in 1954, Suzuki recalled the atrocities carried out by Japanese troops.
*This* is just one short paragraph of the horrors he confessed to.
"In January 1942, I ordered Colonel Taura to burn down the houses of 800 families in Tangshan and kill over 1,000 farmers. In April 1942, we used poison gas and killed about 100 Chinese soldiers in Fengrun of Hebei province. Then we killed around 235 farmers who had fled from nearby counties and cut open the bowels of pregnant women. Over 800 households were burnt down, and hundreds of female villagers were raped."
The handwritten confession is the first among 44 others to be published by China's State Archives Administration on its website.
Li Minghua is the deputy director of the State Archives Administration.
"For a long time, there are political parties in Japan that deny Japan's invasion in China or try to sugar up the invasion. The confessions are published to record the history, take history as a mirror and cherish the peace. We stress that recalling history does not mean to recall the hatred, but to reflect on what happened and prevent similar tragedies from happening again."
According to Li, starting from Thursday, the State Archives will publish one confession of these 45 Japanese war criminals every day.
All of the documents will be available on the archives' official website, together with Chinese translation.
Chinese authorities held over 1,100 Japanese war criminals after 1949.
Investigations and trials lasted for five years, between 1951 and 1956.
Historical records show that at least 30 million Chinese people were killed during China's war against Japanese invasion.
For CRI, I'm Xiong Siqi.
 
 
Japanese leading figures condemn Abe's lifting of "collective defense" right ban
 
Anchor:
Leading figures in Japan have sharply criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reinterpretation of the country's pacifist constitution.
The criticism follows cabinet approval of a constitutional reinterpretation, allowing use of military forces to defend Japan's allies oversea.
Our reporter Cao Yuwei has the details.
Reporter:
The reinterpretation of the constitution paves the way for Japan's self defence forces to help defend Japanese allies and others under what is known as "collective self-defense."
Shinzo Abe says the shift is needed to protect the lives of the Japanese people under what he decribes as an increasingly severe security environment.
But Abe's argument has met severe criticism from Banri Kaieda, President of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
"Prime Minister Abe claims this move will protect people's lives. Is this real? As a matter of fact, Abe's moves will only make the people's lives more dangerous. This move is complete barbarism."
World renowned Japanese writer Kenzaburō ?e echoes that sentiment.
"Abe quoted the peaceful essence in the preface of the constitution. But he wrongly quoted the content in it. His quotation totally violates the original meaning. We cannot allow him to go his own way."
Japan's current constitution was written in 1947 under U.S. direction after World War II.
The document says the Japanese people "forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation."
The article was crafted to prevent a repeat of Japan's militarism and invasion of wide swaths of Asia before and during World War II.
Kazuo Shii, Chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, is urging the current Japanese government to leave the dangerous path it is on.
"Here I call upon all of us to crack down on Abe's attempt to revive militarism."
Abe's move has already drawn criticism from China and South Korea, both of which suffered invasion and occupation at the hands of Japanese imperial forces.
The United Nation has also issued concerns over Japan's recent moves on its military policies.
For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.
 
 
Japan to formally ease sanctions on DPRK on Friday: gov't spokesman
 
Japan is due to announce its easing its sanctions against North Korea.
This follows a move by the North Korean side to re-investigate the abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 80s.
It's believed an investigation committee will begin work in Pyongyang on Friday.
After that body is unveiled, Japan is expected to follow with an announcement that some of the unilateral sanctions it imposed related to this issue will be cancelled.
Local media reveals that the sanctions to be lifted include those on visits between Japan and North Korea, like the restrictions regarding money remittance and money carried by visitors.
Japan will also ease the embargo on the entry of North Korea-flagged ships but only if those vessels are visiting Japanese ports during humanitarian missions.
China's Foreign Ministry has released a statement, saying China hopes that the improvement of bilateral ties between Japan and North Korea can be conducive to regional peace and stability.
 
 
New round of Iran nuclear talks starts
 
Six world powers and Iran have officially started the sixth round of nuclear talks in Vienna.
These latest discussions revolve around hammering out an accord later this month to end a long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton leads the negotiations on behalf of the six powers including China and US.
The Chinese delegation is led by Wang Qun, the director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Foreign Ministry.
China has been supportive to achieving a fair agreement while calling for respect and equal treatment among the negotiating members.
Earlier, Tehran said it is committed to resolving the situation before the July 20th deadline.
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"In the next three weeks, we have a unique opportunity to make history, to forge a comprehensive agreement over Iran's nuclear energy program, and to end an unnecessary crisis that has distracted us from addressing together our common challenges, such as the horrifying events of the past few weeks in Iraq."
The talks are supposed to be the last opportunity to reach a final deal by the July deadline, when the Geneva interim deal is set to expire.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
First off, let's take a quick look at the closing number across Asia.
Joining me on the desk, CRI's Ding Lulu.
Reporter:
Asian stocks lingered near three-year highs on Thursday as investors waited for the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report to see if the economy is gaining momentum.
Chinese shares closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.2 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.3 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell less than 0.1 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 trimmed 0.1 percent on profit taking ahead of the release of the U.S. jobless report for June.
South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.2 percent as the South Korean currency rose against the greenback.
Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.4 percent.
Australia's ASX gained 0.7 percent.
 
 
China's non-manufacturing PMI drops in June
 
New data shows that China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index or PMI dropped to 55 points in June from a six-month high of 55.5 in May.
Deputy Head of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, Cai Jin, says it's an active trend and needs to be monitored closely.
"The non-manufacturing PMI is 55 percent in June which is a relatively high level, showing the non-manufacturing economy, especially the market running, is in an active trend. The index shows an accelerating rebound in prices, so a closer monitoring is needed to avoid a new round of inflationary pressure."
The non-manufacturing PMI tracks activity in sectors including construction, software, aviation, rail transportation and real estate.
Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
Earlier this week, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that China's manufacturing PMI rose in June to a six-month high of 51 points.
 
 
China, ROK trade volume up 2.8 pct
 
The latest numbers show that trade between China and South Korea has increased through the first half of this year.
Two-way trade volume has reached some 115 billion US dollars.
That represents a nearly 3 percent increase from the same period last year.
South Korea is China's sixth largest trade partner and third largest source of imports.
Two-way trade between China and the ROK surpassed 270 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, a 7 percent from 2012.
 
 
Chinese IPO market may bottom out in H2 2014: PwC
 
One of the world's leading accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, says Chinese Initial Public Offering volume and value may see a considerable rise later this year.
PwC expected around 100 companies to be listed in the second half of 2014, which would raise 70 to 120 billion yuan, that's about 11 to 19 billion U.S. dollars.
PwC says the Shanghai Main Board will attract about 20 listings while the Shenzhen SME Board could host nearly 80 IPOs.
In the first half of 2014, 52 companies went public, down 50 percent compared to the same period of 2012.
Those new listings raised 35 billion yuan, down 55 compared to the previous first-half.
PwC attributed the sluggish IPO performance to changing economic conditions and the regulatory climate.
 
 
Forex regulator grants banks autonomy in deciding USD-RMB exchange rates
 
Anchor:
China's foreign exchange regulator has lifted its controls on the exchange rates banks can set when exchanging the renminbi and the US dollar.
This means banks can now set their dollar rate against the yuan in over-the-counter deals, based on market demand.
The idea is meant to further liberalize exchange rates for the Chinese currency.
Under the old rules, banks were only allowed to buy and sell the US dollar within a 3-percent fluctuation of the central parity rate, which the People's Bank of China currently allows to move at a maximum of 2-percent on a daily-basis against the US dollar in the interbank market.
For more on the change, CRI's Paul James spoke with our financial commentator Cao Can.
Back anchor:
CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.
 
 
Fed Chair says won't rise rates to fight bubbles
 
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says there's no need for the central bank to change current monetary policy in order to address financial stability concerns.
Yellen says monetary policy is not the best tool to combat financial instability.
"Monetary policy faces significant limitations as a tool to promote financial stability. Its effects on financial vulnerabilities, such as excessive leverage and maturity transformation, are not well understood and are less direct than a regulatory or supervisory approach. In addition efforts to promote financial stability through adjustments in interest rates would increase the volatility of inflation and employment."
Yellen made the comment during a speech at the International Monetary Fund while meeting the IMF's managing director Christine Lagarde.
Yellen reiterated her view that macro prudential policies, such as higher capital standards for banks, should be the "main line of defense" against financial stability concerns.
Yellen's remarks suggested that the central bank would try to build a more resilient financial system rather than raising interest rates to "withstand unexpected adverse developments."
Most economists predict that the Fed won't start raising its benchmark short-term interest rates until mid-2015, given the U.S. economy evolves as the central bank expects.
 
 
Facebook buys video ad technology firm
 
Facebook has acquired LiveRail, a tech start-up that helps businesses buy more relevant video advertisements.
LiveRail also provides a real-time bidding platform for marketers looking to place ads on online videos.
The firms did not reveal the financial terms, but some reports indicate that Facebook paid between 400 to 500 million dollars to buy the firm.
Online video advertising is forecast to grow robustly in the coming years.
According to LiveRail, it delivers more than seven billion video ads per month.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Chinese President Arrives for State Visit to South Korea
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping in now in Seoul on his two-day state visit to South Korea.
South Korea has held a traditional welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping at the Blue House, the South Korean Presidential Office,
Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with top South Korean leaders during his first state visit to the Asian country.
It is also his first time of visiting a single country alone since taking office.
During his stay in Seoul, the Chinese President will also deliver a speech at Seoul National University and attend economic and trade events.
A joint statement on bilateral relations and regional issues is expected to be issued during the president's visit.
The two sides are also due to sign a batch of deals on cooperation involving the economy, trade, finance, the environment and consular affairs.
 
 
China, S. Korea agree on RMB clearing service in Seoul
 
China and South Korea have signed a deal to set up a renminbi clearing service in Seoul.
The People's Bank of China and the Bank of Korea inked a memorandum of understanding in this regard today.
The move is aimed to facilitate bilateral trade and investment by reducing transaction costs and exchange rate risks.
The People's Bank of China is yet to announce the nomination of a clearing bank to handle RMB business in Seoul.
The RMB deposits in the banking sector of South Korea reached a record high of some 11 billion dollars at the end of May
 
 
China publicizes confessions by Japanese war criminals
 
Confessions made by 45 Japanese war criminals tried and convicted by military tribunals in China after World War II has been published online starting from today.
Handwritten confessions, along with Chinese translations and abstracts in both Chinese and English, are published on the website of the State Archives Administration.
The administration will publish one confession each day over a 45-day period.
 
 
6 cult members stand trial in central China
 
Six cult members will be sentenced in central China's Hunan Province.
The six are members of the illegal cult Quannengshen, or almighty god.
They are accused of organizing cult activities and funding, recruiting believers and producing illegal writings in Hunan.
They pleaded guilty to all charges.
The six were caught by police in December.
The cult came into the spotlight when six Quannengshen members beat a woman to death at a McDonalds outlet in Shandong last month.
The victim refused to give them her telephone number after the cult members tried to recruit her.
 
 
Palestinians say Israeli extremists killed teen
 
Palestinian authorities are accusing Israeli extremists being behind the abduction and murder of an Arab teenager this week.
The incident on Wednesday has sparked hours of clashes in east Jerusalem, and has sparked speculation the young man was murdered to avenge the killings of three Israeli teens last month.
The 17-year old's body was discovered burned in a wooded area near Jerusalem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is holding extremist Jewish settlers responsible, and is calling on Israeli authorities to bring the killers to justice.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
China.com
South Korea's Acting "First Lady" Arranged
South Korean government has arranged an acting "first lady" from its cabinet.
Cho Yoon-sun, who was nominated as the government chief, will serve Peng Liyuan, China's first lady, during she and her husband, Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea.
The two sides are struggling on how to welcome Peng Liyuan, China's first lady, due to the fact that South Korean President Park Geun-hye is unmarried.
Seoul's act has broken the rule that the government will never arrange acting "first lady", which was announced last year.
The Korea Times
Chinese first lady impresses with her fashion sense
When Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan got off the presidential plane in Korea with President Xi Jinping, her fashion sense caught the attention of the media.
Peng was dressed in a green blouse and a black pencil skirt with a beige bolero jacket.
Accessories such as white pearl earrings and a black clutch bag with simple black shoes added style to her first lady look.
As President Park Geun-hye has also been a focus of media attention for her fashion sense during previous state tours, the two's fashion choices are expected to create a buzz during the visit.
This is Peng's first trip to Seoul.
 
Special Reports
 
 
Protection Has Precedence over Inscription
 
Anchor:
China's Silk Road, the Grand Cannal, and South China's Second phase Karst landscape have recently been approved to be added to the World Heritage List.
In the meantime, experts are calling attention to the issue of how to preserve and make use of these precious examples of Chinese heritage.
CRI's Zeng Liang has more.
Reporter:
Su Zhiliang, Head of History Department in Shanghai Normal University expresses his concerns about the over-development in cultural heritage.
"We know that there are some local governments regarding the inscription as their vanity projects, resulting in rise in entrance fee, over-development and destruction of historical sites after the registration of world heritage."
Though the successful registration of world heritage can bring noticeable economic benefits, it may also jeopardize the heritage due to overdevelopment.
In the famed Mogao Grottoes, many cave paintings have peeled off due to the carbon dioxide and steam brought by excessive number of tourists. In only a few decades, the caves have been spoiled by visitors, which has impacted much more than natural erosion in the past thousands of years.
According to Su, in terms of heritage development and preservation, there are great differences between China and other countries.
"Taking the Czech Republic for example, some small towns inscribed on the World Heritage List are under well-protection. Everything in these towns are remained the same as before and there are also limitations on the number of visitors. Ticket prices are very low and some of them are even free of charge."
After the inscription, rapid developments in commercial and infrastructure would occur, which always contradict the purpose of heritage preservation.
Culture critic Tan Fei points out that protection should be put first when it comes to development of heritage.
"The purpose of nomination is to gain more resources for protecting the world heritage, but some local governments treat it as a cash cow. Although it is understandable, but protection is prior to development instead of another way around."
Tan also suggests that law enforcement can be better used for protecting world heritage sites.
"Some world heritages are poor-maintained because people do not follow the UNESCO's regulations to protect and manage the sites. I think everything should follow the law, including the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics. Business cannot outweigh the law in response to this issue.
China has its first registered world heritage in 1986, its number of UNESCO designated heritage sites has rapidly gone up to the World's Number two.
For CRI, this is Zeng Liang.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Peng and her partner fall at Wimbledon
 
In tennis at Wimbledon
The Chinese duo of Peng Shuai and Hsieh Suwei has been eliminated from Women's Doubles.
They were edged by the 14th seeded pair from Hungary and France in a 3-set battle.
--
From the Men's Singles draw,
Defending Champion Andy Murray has been ousted in straight-sets in the quarter-finals by 11th seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2.
Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the fifth consecutive year, coming back to beat 26th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2.
The world number two explains why he changed his shoes in the third set.
"I was slipping, I was falling, I was, you know, I wasn't really finding the balance in the third but I don't know whether it was the shoes or socks or whatever - it was very warm so I was sweating a lot so I wanted to change it. I had just the better grip, I had better movement and maybe it was just mental but anyway, it worked."
On Friday, Djokovic will face Dimitrov.
Roger Federer will be up against Canadian 8th seed Milos Raonic in the other semifinal. Raonic downed 19-year old Nick Kyrgios to progress to his first career grand slam semi.
Raonic has become the first Canadian man in more than 100 years to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.
On the women's draw,
French Open finalist Simona Halep will be up against 13th seeded Canadian Eugine Bouchard in the semi-final.
6th seeded Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic will be taking on her compatriot 23rd seeded Lucie Safarova.
Both the women's semi-finals will be contested tonight, starting at 8pm Beijing time.
 
 
Venezuela eager for Maradona to coach national team
 
It is being reported that former star footballer Diego Maradona of Argentina may become the coach of Venzuela's national team.
Maradona has announced he is set to discuss the possibility, following the end of the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
Maradona says he'd be pleased to take on the task.
But the Venezuelan Football Federation has issued a press release saying the hiring of Maradona for the coaching job is not in its plans.
The VFF says the name of the coach will be decided and announced after the World Cup.
In other action,
Legendary coach Ottmar Hitzfeld of Germany says he's happy to retire even after his Swiss national team's tough defeat to Argentina at the World Cup.
The veteran coach says that he knows he has made right decision despite shedding some tears.
"I am very happy that I made the right decision. As you know, when I take decisions they are well thought out. It was a difficult decision. That is what I also told the [Swiss soccer] federation. I cried when I told them. I cried because I realized it was something definite. At that moment I also realized the impact of the decision. I feel grateful that the players gave me this send off."
Hitzfield has amassed an impressive career, winning 18 major titles including two Champions League championships with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
 
 
NBA free agent Carmelo Anthony visits the Houston Rockets
 
Prized NBA free agent Carmelo Anthony has continued his tour of possible suitors with a visit to the Houston Rockets, following the former New York Knicks star's visit to the Chicago Bulls
The Rockets would likely have to trade or release point guard Jeremy Lin to get Anthony.
Houston got the biggest prize in free agency last off season when it signed Dwight Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 30-year-old Anthony would add another proven scorer to a team that features Howard and James Harden.
Howard says he supports Anthony's decision, whatever that ultimately is.
Regardless of what happens, he's a great person. He'll be a great guy for our team. And at the end of the day, we all want to win a championship. That's why I came here. That's our goal."
Anthony averaged 25.2 points last season, second in the league only to Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant.
Anthony is also expected to meet with the Dallas Mavericks and the Lakers before sitting down with his former team, the Knicks.
The Rockets did not provide any details about the team's meeting with Anthony.
 
 
US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson speaks about Tiger Woods
 
Tom Watson is just two months away from making his three selections to fill out the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
But Watson, the US captain, could have a very hard time making his three picks.
He has discussed the possibility of including Tiger Woods on the team.
"I'll be watching Tiger (Woods) as he plays. He'll be playing at the Open Championship. Hope to get together with him there and tell him my feelings about him direct because I've said it in front of the press - if he's playing well and he's healthy, he's on the team. If he's not, yeah, right now, you know, he's way down the list as far as points but who wouldn't pick Tiger Woods to be on your Ryder Cup team? That's my question to everybody. Who wouldn't pick him?"
The U.S.-Europe bout is set to run from Sept. 26 to 28 at Gleneagles in Perthshire.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
South Korea's cultural and creative industry reaches 86bn USD
 
(Crayon Pop)
The value of South Korea's cultural and creative industry has reached almost 86 billion US dollars.
As well as Korean TV and film one of the biggest sellers has been K-Pop.
South Korea's pop culture has had a heavy influence on style and fashion throughout Asia, with stars like PSY the most getting the most views on the planet for his online videos, and other acts such as Crayon Pop and EXO being hugely popular.
Underpinning the strong pop wave is a strategy laid down in 1999 by the South Korea government, to develop the country's cultural industry.
Thanks to South Koreas pop culture people from all around the world are now dancing Gangum style!
 
 
BBC's Sherlock holmes back for 4th series
 
It's been announced that the BBC's Sherlock is back for a forth series.
(Sherlock Theme)
The Creators of the award winning show have confirmed Benedict Cumberbach and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson will be back for a special next year, followed by a fourth series of three episodes.
Filming is set to start in January.
The popularity of the show's stars and creators has made it difficult for them to commit to filming more episodes until now.
The last series kicked off with Sherlock returning from the dead, however the BBC said series four would be "the most shocking and surprising series of Sherlock yet".
 
 
Taiwan TV host Xu Xidi to testify in Top Pot Bakery's scandal
 
Taiwan television entertainer Xu Xidi, better known as Little S, testified at her husband Xu Yajun's trial today.
Xu Yajun, the head of Top Pot Bakery is charged with violating the Securities and Exchange Act.
Last year, the company was found using artificial flavoring in products it advertised as "all-natural."
Further investigations found that Xu Xidi's husband and father-in-law, along with three senior management employees at Genome International have sold company stocks and profited from insider trading.
The five suspects are said to have avoided financial losses totaling nearly 60 million new Taiwan Dollars, or 12.5 million yuan. .
According to the Taiwan media, Xu Yajun may be sentenced to three to ten years in prison.
 
 
Lindsay Lohan sues Grand Theft Auto Game
 
US actress Lindsay Lohan is suing the makers of the video game 'Grand Theft Auto'.
The 28-year-old says in the latest version of the game her image was used to create a character based on her without her permission.
Lohan's lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a Manhattan court. "Grand Theft Auto 5" game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and subsidiary Rockstar Games declined to comment.
Lohan's lawsuit says a character named Lacey Jonas is an "unequivocal" reference to the "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" star.
Lohan claims her image, voice and styles from her clothing line are depicted and the game also features West Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel, where Lohan once lived.
"Grand Theft Auto 5" was released in September of last year. Sales topped 800-million U.S. dollars on its first day.
 
That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour - a quick recap of headlines before we go:
We have the latest from the Chinese president's historic state visit to South Korea...
China's state archives have begun publishing the confessions of Japanese war criminals...
And a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program is set to begin...
In business, Chinese non-manufacturing PMI drops, but remains at a relatively high level...
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.