新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2014/07/08

 
The Beijing Hour
 
Evening Edition
 
 
Shane Bigham with you this Tuesday, July 08th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on the programme this evening...
The Chinese foreign ministry says it hopes the new defense deal between Australia and Japan was not signed with any specific "third party" in mind...
Chinese and American officials are set to begin the sixth round of a strategic and economic dialogue...
And the German chancellor in Beijing has delivered a speech on sustainable development at Tsinghua University...
In business, HSBC lowers its rating for Hong Kong equities...
In sports, Brazil and Germany are ready to fight for a spot in the World Cup final...
In entertainment, celebrating Sino-French ties...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 23 degrees Celsius. It will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 32 degrees.　
Meanwhile Shanghai will have showers tonight, with a low of 24, tomorrow showers, with a high of 30.
Chongqing will be cloudy tonight, 27 degrees the low, tomorrow sunny with a high of 30.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, cloudy with a high of 39.
Kabul, sunny, 31.
Over in Australia
Sydney, sunny, high of 18.
Canberra, slight rain,10.
Brisbane, sunny, 20.
And finally, Perth will be cloudy with a high of 16.
 
 
Top News
 
 
China questions Japan-Australia defense deal
 
Chinese authorities have commented on a new defense deal between Australia and Japan, saying they hope it is not designed to target any "third party."
The foreign ministry statement says any cooperation between the two countries should aim to make a positive contribution in terms of regional peace and stability.
According to media reports in Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, signed a deal today boosting cooperation concerning defense equipment, technology, and trade.
 
 
China and US to start strategic and economic dialogue
 
Anchor:
China and the United States are set to start the sixth round of a strategic and economic dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday.
Over 60 agenda items, including investment and the value of the RMB, will be covered in this year's meeting.
CRI's Ding Lulu has more.
Reporter:
China's Ministry of Finance says the two countries are likely to make progress on Bilateral Investment Treaty during the annual meeting.
China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao:
"It is expected that during the meeting, under the efforts of Vice Premier Wang Yang and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, the two sides will reach a new consensus on the Bilateral Investment Treaty, starting negative list-based negotiations as soon as possible. Such talks will be substantial. We believe if the two parties manage to reach a consensus in the end, it will be a historical development."
China wants the US to narrow its national security reviews on Chinese investment, while the U.S. wants China's negative list, which details sectors barring U.S investment, to be as short as possible.
Apart from the treaty, Zhu Guangyao says the two sides will talk about the exchange rate of the RMB and the impact of US monetary policy.
Earlier, China urged Washington to pay attention to the possible spillover effect of changes in its monetary policy on the world economy.
The two countries are also expected to touch upon other issues including new energy and climate change.
China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang:
"The talks will involve major bilateral, regional and global issues. The two sides will exchange ideas on China-US relations, each other's foreign policies, sensitive issues and international issues concerning both countries. The two sides will also talk about climate change, technology and innovation, the situation in Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the illegal animal trade."
The Chinese foreign ministry also says the strategic sessions should provide an opportunity to deal with areas of concern, such as maritime disputes and cyber security.
Former U.S. ambassador to China Stapleton Roy also expressed his concern to the coming dialogue, stressing the importance of such a mechanism between China and the United States.
"Can we imagine that we will be in the United States' interests for us to have a hostile relationship with China? It will divide the region. It will result in enormous waste of resources on military expenditures. It has the possibility of dangerous conflict between two powerful countries. That's not the type of world we want. And therefore, it's very important for us to have mechanisms that work and try to address the types of issues that arise between two countries such as China and the United States. And I think this Strategic and Economic Dialogue is one of those mechanisms."
Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.
The fifth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange will also be held at the same time.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S.
For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.
 
 
German Chancellor Merkel delivered speech on sustainable development at Tsinghua University
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has wrapped up her visit here in China with a wide range of agreements signed between the two countries.
As part of her stay in Beijing today, the Chancellor has taken her chance to give a speech on sustainable development.
"For China, the issue of sustainable growth will become more important, because problems like air quality and environmental issues will play a bigger role in the future. People who enjoy enough food and a better place to live will then take an interest in these qualitative aspects."
About 6 hundred teachers and students attended the speech at Tsinghua University.
Zhao Xueshuang is one of them.
"In the past, we students usually went to Germany to study machinofacture or something within the auto production industry. But according to what she said today, the technological development will not be the only thing we should go for in the future, we need to build up on the institutional level."
For more on the German Chancellor's visit, CRI's Cao Yuwei spoke earlier with Xing Hua, a researcher from the China Institute of International Studies.
Back Anchor:
That is Beijing Hour's Cao Yuwei speaking with Xing Hua, a researcher from the China Institute of International Studies.
 
 
Experts Evaluate Beijing's Anti-pollution Goal
 
Anchor:
Experts attending a UN forum suggest there are a number of challenges involved in tackling pollution in the Chinese capital.
CRI's Min Rui has the details.
Reporter:
As one of the bidding cities of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Beijing has extra incentive for meeting its goal to keep PM2.5 readings under 60 micrograms per cubic meter by 2017.
Pan Jiahua is director of the Centre for Urban Development and Environment at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
He says Beijing's role as a congested metropolis needs to be re-evaluated and adjusted if its pollution goals are to be met.
"For the stated goal, 2017 is too ambitious. Population is the most challenging problem for Beijing. People come to the city, and then you have to create jobs, you have more traffic, and all that inevitably leads to increased emissions. If Beijing can't shift its functions and decentralize the population, it won't bring down PM 2.5."
Pan has made the remarks at a forum entitled "A China Story: Two-New Pathways to Urbanization", being held at the United Nation's headquarters in New York.
2013 marked the beginning of Beijing's "Five-Year Clean Air Action Plan".
According to the municipal environmental agency, the city cut down the use of coal by 130 tons last year and continued to control the number of cars. And new technologies have been used to reduce emissions.
Professor Zhu Dajian, Director of the Institute of Governance for Sustainable Development, Tongji University, is a guest speaker at the UN forum.
He says it's not enough to rely on technological innovation alone.
"Technology is really important but they are efficiency oriented. For example, we can have a lot of less emission cars, but they are still cars. Even you improve the efficiency but still if everyone wants to take a car, you'll still have the traffic. We should take some social innovation not just technical innovation. Social innovation means behavior change."
By behavior change, Professor Zhu says sharing a car instead of owning a car is an example of what he's talking about.
And he says the city needs to change the way it functions, with the goal being to shrink in size.
That would involve building neighborhoods where living, working, and entertainment areas are all within walking distance of each other.
The Professor suggests that the country can combine its usual top-down approach to governance with the western bottom-up method to speed up its sustainable development.
For CRI, I'm Min Rui .?
 
 
People Suffer as Israel-Gaza Tensions to Escalate
 
Anchor:
The Israel Defense Forces has launched a major air campaign against targets on the Gaza Strip.
A military spokesman says the operation, launched early Tuesday morning, is aimed to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel from Hamas.
With tensions at a boiling point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, ordinary people on both sides are struggling to cope with the situation.
CRI's Qizhi has more.
Reporter:
Standing in her home in Sderot, a city in southern Israel, Alice recalls the rocket which hit her apartment last week.
"It happened last Wednesday, one thirty in the morning. We didn't make it to the safety room and there was an explosion and the house was filled with smoke. All of the windows were shattered. The girls were crying and screaming. Now they don't want to go out any more."
Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza.
Rockets fired from Gaza can reach the city within 15 seconds.
Amid the heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions, hundreds of rockets and mortars have been launched from Gaza into southern Israel.
The situation became even worse after nine Palestinians were killed Sunday night in Israeli air strikes.
Over 100 rockets were launched from Gaza on Monday alone.
Israeli Defense Forces are adding more troops into southern Israel, though the Israeli security cabinet has announced it isn't planning a ground offensive into Hamas-controlled Gaza.
However, the Israeli side says it is going to step up its air strikes.
Mukhaimar Abu Saada, a university professor in Gaza, says he believes Hamas is using the situation for its own ends.
"Maybe they are calculating their cards and they believe that a new cycle of violence with Israel will improve the situation right now politically and at all level in Gaza."
The escalation of violence is putting a lot of pressure on the people living in Gaza.
Adnan Abu Hanse is with the UN's Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.
He says a ceasefire is what's needed.
"The situation in Gaza is very bad and deteriorating hour after hour. Now the people here in Gaza are in a great panic. They think that the war is coming very soon. "
However, Doctor Uri Rosset, an Israeli expert in Mideast affairs, says brokering a ceasefire will depends on a number of things.
"First, whether Hamas decides to have a ceasefire. Second, whether the smaller organization will obey the orders from Hamas. And third, if they don't obey, whether Hamas will put pressure on them to obey. And also it depends on the retaliation of Israel. "
Israeli strikes on Monday have left 9 Hamas members dead.
This has prompted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to call on Israel to stop its strikes in Gaza.
For CRI, I'm Qizhi.
 
 
Abdullah rejects preliminary result of Afghan elections
 
Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah has rejected the preliminary results of the presidential election.
The Afghan election commission has announced the preliminary results, with Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai taking the lead with over 56 percent of the votes.
Abdullah has garnered just 43 percent.
The former foreign minister refuses to accept the result, calling it illegitimate.
Mohmoud Saikhal is with Abdullah's campaign team.
"Judging from the result of the first round, or the outcome of the first round, and also judging from the campaign of our second round, and judging from the political alliances that we built during the second round, it was quite obvious that we were the winners of the first round, and we were the winners of the second round."
Abdullah's team has accused the election of being hampered with fraud and vote-rigging.
The official results of the election will be announced later this month and the new president is due to be sworn into office in August.
 
 
Ukraine government vows to rebuild Slovyansk
 
Ukraine's Interior Minister has vowed to rebuild Slovyansk after government forces retook control of the city over the weekend.
It comes after President Petro Poroshenko refused to renew a unilateral ceasefire and ordered the resumption of a government offensive on rebels in the eastern region of the country.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov:
"The situation in Slovyansk is changing. The town is coming back to life. In a day or two we will feel it. Electricity, water and basic necessities will be restored, we will fix the roads, open the shops and banks, pay the pensions and restore the town's financing from the budget."
Over the weekend, Ukrainian troops regained control of nearby Kramatorsk.
Battles between government forces and the rebels have already left over 400 people dead.
Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met over the weekend to discuss the situation in Ukraine, but no breakthrough has reached.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Anchor:
First off, let's have a quick look at the business numbers across Asia. Joining me in the studio, CRI's Ding Lulu.
Reporter:
Asian stock markets drifted lower Tuesday after U.S. indexes pulled back from record highs and investors awaited fresh data from China.
Chinese stocks posted modest gains; with utilities rallying after Datang International Power Generation Co. unveiled plans to restructure its coal-to-chemical business. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended a choppy session up 0.2 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index gained half a percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended unchanged ahead of Chinese inflation and trade figures due in the next two days.
Japanese shares fell 0.4 percent, with a stronger yen and a weak lead from Wall Street hurting sentiment.
Seoul shares ended on a flat note as investors avoided big bets ahead of the earnings season.
The benchmark Kospi average edged up 0.1 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times index was moving down 0.2 percent.
Australian shares fell for a second consecutive session, as metal and oil prices dropped and investors awaited cues from the U.S. earnings season, with results from aluminum giant Alcoa due after the market close.
The benchmark ASX All Ordinaries index slipped 0.1 percent.
 
 
HSBC modifies negative Hong Kong outlook
 
HSBC has cut its rating for Hong Kong equities to underweight from neutral.
HSBC's report cited weak residential real estate prices, a slowdown in tourism, higher U.S. rates, and weak earnings momentum as the reasons for the downgrade.
The HSBC report came 10 days after ratings agency Moody's restated its negative outlook on the city's banking system.
Moody's cited concerns about risks to lenders from rapidly expanding exposure to mainland borrowers.
Hong Kong is one of three markets in Asia outside Japan that HSBC is downgrading for the third quarter - alongside South Korea and the Philippines.
 
 
11 banks seek $8 bln A-Share listing
 
Eleven city commercial banks are poised for a return to the Chinese market with initial public offerings after a seven-year hiatus since China Construction Bank listed in 2007.
Nine banks have announced plans to list on the Shanghai stock exchange while the other two are seeking to list on the smaller Shenzhen bourse.
None of the banks disclosed their fundraising targets, but based on their top-range prices and the net asset value per share, the 11 lenders plan to pull in a total of 52 billion yuan, or 8.3 billion US dollars.
Bank of Shanghai will seek to raise over 14 billion yuan with a maximum of 1.2 billion shares, the biggest IPO fund of the 11 banks.
 
 
Poly Real Estate gets OK to set record-high housing price
 
China's Poly Real Estate has received regulatory approval to price a Beijing project at a record high of almost 100,000 yuan per square meter. That's about 16,100 US dollars.
This signals an easing on pricing policy for developers in the Chinese capital.
Last month, seven projects in Beijing that received selling approval had planned to set prices above 40,000 yuan, a cap set by the local authorities last November.
The cap made developers less interested in bidding for expensive land in the city.
Meanwhile, some Chinese cities have tried to limit property price cuts to 15-20 percent from the original asking price, in a bid to slow a steeper industry downturn and boost confidence in the market.
 
 
UK's BAE company develops self-healing and transformer like planes
 
Anchor:
A British company is developing self-healing fighter jets, planes that split into multiple jets in the air when approaching the war zone, and even 3D printers to create drones while in the middle of a mission.
Experts say this technology is not unrealistic.
Li Dong has the details.
Reporter:
The British defense business BAE Systems are now working with the UK government and aviation authorities from top universities to put many game-changing technologies into reality.
For example, in a project known as "Survivor," researchers are investigating a light-weight adhesive fluid, which can be installed inside an aircraft to permit jets to heal themselves mid-flight in just minutes.
Fu Qianshao, an air-defense expert, says this technology requires special light-weight pipes to deliver the adhesive fluid.
"If the plane needs to carry the adhesive fluid while it's flying, they may result in a passive load. Unless these fluids are highly efficient, and the carbon pipes are very light, either the Nano Meter pipes or other materials, they just need to be light enough and highly efficient. But this is achievable."
BAE engineers also showed off a so-called "Transformer" aircraft.
It's an extended range airplane that can split into a number of smaller jets mid-air for missions including offensive strikes, supply drops, or surveillance.
After completing their missions the jets would then join back into one aircraft and return to base.
Fu Qianshao says this is possible and not hard to realize.
"The so called combination of the planes could actually involve attaching the wings together. This would expand the plane's wing span. This can effectively enlarge the plan's flying range and increase flying time."
According to a BAE Systems spokesman, this advanced use of materials would create a highly survivable jet capable of entering even the most dangerous of scenarios to complete vital missions.
It is unclear if any of these ideas will develop beyond the prototype stage any time soon.
But Fu Qianshao says going "smart" is the future of aviation technology.
"Future planes may work as networks. They would be integrated with mini computers and each system would have its own computer. If any individual system is damaged or loses its function, the information and resources in the network could maintain the function of the plane, allowing it to carry on its mission."
The BAE team is working with the UK's leading aviation thinkers from universities, government and a range of companies, trying to outline how aircraft engineering might evolve.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
 
 
Sinopec enters Fortune Global 500 at No. 3
 
Sinopec has been ranked as No.3 on the Fortune Global 500 list which also hosts a record 100 Chinese companies.
Sinopec moved up a rank to replace Exxon Mobil as the world's third largest company.
The 100 Chinese companies include 91 companies based on China's mainland, five in Taiwan, and four in Hong Kong.
China cemented its place as the world's second largest home for powerhouse companies as the number of Chinese entities rose by five from last year.
The number of US companies fell to 128 from 132.
 
 
Samsung forecasts 25% drop in profit
 
Samsung Electronics has forecast a 25% drop in profits for the second quarter due to a strong Korean currency and slowing demand for smartphones in China.
The South Korean company expects to make an operating profit of 7.2 trillion won, or 7.1 billion dollars in the April-to-June period, down from 9.5 trillion won a year ago.
Its operating profit has now fallen for three straight quarters.
Samsung is the world's biggest maker of mobile phones and the handset division accounts for the bulk of its profits.
 
 
Carrefour to exit India
 
French retailer Carrefour has announced its exit from India.
The move came after the Indian government has said it opposes allowing foreign investors to operate multi-brand retail stores.
The world's no.2 retailer by sales, which has been operating in India since 2010, will shut its five Indian wholesale stores by the end of September.
It is also exiting underperforming markets to focus on reviving its French business.
The supermarket operator has exited markets like Greece, Colombia, Singapore and Malaysia among others in the past few years.
 
 
Japan records current account surplus for 4th straight month in May
 
New data shows Japan's current account surplus improved in May, marking the fourth straight month in black ink.
Japan's Finance Ministry says the country's current account surplus stood at 523 billion yen, or about 5 billion U.S. dollars.
The figure fell 7.7 percent from a year earlier.
Exports rose 2 percent in May from a year ago.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
China questions Japan-Australia defense deal
 
Chinese authorities have commented on a new defense deal between Australia and Japan, saying they hope it is not designed to target any "third party."
The foreign ministry statement says any cooperation between the two countries should aim to make a positive contribution in terms of regional peace and stability.
According to media reports in Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, signed a deal today boosting cooperation concerning defense equipment, technology, and trade.
 
 
Hangzhou Bus Arson Suspect Identified
 
Police have identified the suspect who set a transit bus on fire in the city of Hangzhou.
The suspect is a 34-year-old Bao Laixu from Northwest China's Gansu Province.
But the police have yet to find out the motives of his suspected criminal act.
As of Tuesday evening, several medical experts from Beijing arrived in Hangzhou to join the treatment for the burnt.
Meanwhile an award ceremony to praise those who act bravely is held in the provincial capital today.
 
 
Four killed, one missing in S China flood
 
Four people have died and another is missing as heavy rains hit south China's Guangxi.
Some 330 thousand people have been affected and some 4,600 relocated
Almost 600 houses have been destroyed due to the flood.
Local authorities put the direct economic loss at over 400 million yuan.
 
 
People Suffer as Israel-Gaza Tensions to Escalate
 
The Israel Defense Forces has launched a major air campaign against targets on the Gaza Strip.
A military spokesman says the operation, launched early Tuesday morning, is aimed to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel from Hamas.
Israeli Defense Forces are adding more troops into southern Israel, though the Israeli security cabinet has announced it isn't planning a ground offensive into Hamas-controlled Gaza.
 
 
Foreign soldiers among 16 killed in Afghan suicide bombing: official
 
Four NATO soldiers are among a group of 16 people killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.
The soldiers are from the Czech Republic. The attack happened early Tuesday in Parwan province, eastern Afghanistan, in a town about 55 kilometers north of the national capital, Kabul.
The remaining 12 victims include 10 civilians and two police officers.
A Taliban spokesman has announced that a "local sympathizer" of the militant group conducted the attack.
 
 
Electoral officials prepare for presidential elections; security increased ahead of vote
 
Police have begun setting up temporary command posts around the Indonesian capital, ahead of presidential elections scheduled to begin tomorrow.
In Jakarta more than 22-thousand officers are providing security.
There are more than 180 million registered voters in Indonesia.
For the first time there are only two presidential candidates competing.
Joko Widodo of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle faces off against Prabowo Subianto, a former general.
The competition in the election is expected to be very tight.
It will choose a new leader to replace the current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
Shanghai Daily
Experts say allergy high in children
Medical experts said the incidence of allergic asthma among children in Shanghai is around 8 percent, among which about 5 percent are allergic to certain types of food.
Stats showed about 60 percent of children below two years of age have eczema; most of them can be allergic to milk later in their lives. Infants with a single symptom tend to develop multi-allergy symptoms with age.
Experts have found out that seafood, milk, eggs and nuts are all common allergens.
They urged the authorities to order food manufacturers to name the potential allergen contained in the products.
Today marks the 10th World Allergy Day, which was established by the World Allergy Organization in 2005.
--
China News Service
PSA to teach kids about road safety
A public-service announcement has been issued by the nation's public health authorities to help protect children — particularly in rural areas — from traffic dangers.
The PSA, which lasts about 20 minutes, will be distributed to various media outlets and educational institutions across the country to spread the road-safety message among children.
Authorities say children are particularly susceptible to the dangers posed by motor vehicles.
Worldwide, some 21 percent of road accidents involve children.
Stats show in China, more than 3-thousand children died in traffic mishaps in 2012, while another 13,700 were injured.
Children in rural areas were involved more than their urban counterparts.
The PSA is practical and takes into account the special needs of rural children.
The PSA is being released now because road accidents involving children usually increase during the summer holidays.
--
Daily Mail
Written rules work best for kids:
Researchers have found that young children are more likely to respond to instructions if they are written down rather than if they are spoken.
The technique even works if the written advice is read to the children.
It is the act of putting pen to paper that seems to increase the importance in the eyes of the child.
The only proviso was that the children must have started to read themselves. If they haven't it makes no difference.
It has long been known that adults, in general, see the written word as more accurate or true than its spoken equivalent.
For example, they are more likely to follow a written road sign than verbal directions if they contradict.
There is also a feeling that if something is written down then it has gone through more checks and balances than something that is merely spoken.
--
The Indian Express
Stress may cause insomnia if not controlled
Indian researchers have found that stress can cause insomnia depending on how it is managed.
According to researchers, how people react to stressors has a stronger influence on people's ability to sleep than the number of factors that are causing the stress.
The study also shows that self-distraction techniques such as watching TV or going to the cinema can also have an effect, which scientists admitted was surprising.
This shows that while a stressful event can lead to people struggling to sleep, how they act in response to stress "can be the difference between a few bad nights and chronic insomnia".
It is suggested that if people feel overwhelmed by the events in their life, they should talk to their doctor about strategies to reduce their stress levels and improve their sleeping patterns.
Special Reports
 
 
Protective Masks Setting New Trend at Hong Kong Fashion Week
 
Anchor:
This year's Hong Kong fashion week is underway, with the latest spring and summer collections on display.
One of the collections debuting today is inspired by Beijing, a design that tries to make breathing cleaner air more trendy.
CRI's Alexander Aucott explains.
Reporter:
"I have been making a collection that is inspired by Beijing and so i wanted to incorporate the masks as at the moment pollution is something that everyone is tacking. And so i approached a company called Vog mask as I wanted to put a nice mask into the designs I didn't just sew in some mask from some supermarket or something like that."
Nina Griffee is a Hong Kong based fashion designer and artist who spent five years living in the Chinese capital.
Inspired by the city where she believes that people are not reticent to try something new, she came up with the idea to renovate the concept of masks.
"If anything it's like wearing a hat or a scarf or a pair of earrings. You know a lot of people say to me 'isn't it terrible having to wear a mask?' and I say well it's like with everything if you choose to enjoy it you know it can be fine. You can wear your clothes to match it and look like a ninja sometimes."
Some of her designs are quite simple with patterns such as snake fangs, or a gas mask drawn on the front.
Others might attach into other garments such as ponchos or shawls to make more of a simple and subtle fashion statement and help you create an outfit based on the garment
While other designs are pure art and a bit off the wall but should create a lot of buzz around the collection.
It's all good and well having the designs looking great but how well do they actually function?
Chris Dobbing, Vog Masks representative in Beijing, certainly has his confidence on that.
"A lot of people will buy a mask because they like the look of it without actually doing the research to make sure it functions well. We filter out 99.87 percent of particles down to PM 1. So we filter a very high percentage of a very very small particle and it works very very effectively."
The masks are already for sale in some hospitals and international schools here in Beijing.
And if interested, you can try them on at the Hong Kong Fashion Week.
And just as Linda Li, who has been working with Nina says, the collection is about more than just fashion.
"Beijing I think is a place where you can experiment with a lot of things and a place where you can make statements as well. This is not just about fashion it's also a health statement so if being healthy is fashionable then why not make that a fashion statement?"
For CRI I'm Alexander Aucott.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Look forward to Brazil Germany World Cup Semi-Final
 
Tonight Brazil takes on Germany for a place in the World Cup final. That match is on at 4am Beijing time.
The Brazilian camp has suffered major blows with Neymar out of the competition due to injury and Thaigo Silva out with a one match suspension. With Neymar and Silva out, David Luiz is going to be leading the charge for the home side.
But will the Brazilian's home advantage help them through to the next round? To help me answer that question, I got on the line with Mark Dryer, the founder of the China Sports Insider website.
The other semi-final will see Argentina facing the Netherlands. Interestingly, throughout world cup history, a European side has never claimed the title on South American soil.
 
 
Marcel Kittel claims third stage Tour de France victory
 
The third stage of the Tour de France has ended in London, England with a victory for Marcel Kittel.
The Giant-Shimano rider comfortably out-sprinted Peter Sagan and Mark Renshaw into second and third respectively.
Meanwhile the stage 2 winner Vincenzo Nibili retains the famous yellow jersey. He crossed the line within the peloton to maintain his 2 second advantage.
Defending champion Chris Froome also finished within the bunch and is placed fifth overall.
Elsewhere Mark Cavendish who crashed out on day one is set to undergo surgery after the nasty accident resulted in a dislocated collarbone.
He'll be out of action for around six weeks and will miss the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The Isle of Man rider spoke of his disappointment at having to withdraw from the competition:
"When I was on the floor yesterday I knew something was wrong, it was the first time in my career I knew something was wrong. I wanted to cross the finish line I was in Harrogate there was fans out to see. I got on my bike but it wasn't possible to hold onto the handle bars. When they took my skin-suit off I saw there was something wrong with my shoulder. It was sticking out a bit like it shouldn't and so we went to get it checked up. And I was in a lot of pain, I can't move my shoulder. I kind of held a bit of optimism that maybe it was just swelling that it would go down this morning but it's actually worse this morning so I'm gutted I'm majorly disappointed."
Mark Cavendish is reportedly considering legal action after Norwegian rider Alexander Kristoff claimed the fall looked deliberate.
 
 
Tyson Gay wins first race since return from doping ban
 
Tyson Gay has won his first 100 meters race since returning from a drug ban in Paris.
The former World Champion ran a time of 10.04 seconds in the pouring rain to claim a 0.12 second victory over Richard Thompson.
Tyson Gay returned to competition last week in Switzerland after his drugs ban was reduced from two years to one as he had cooperated with the investigation.
On his return he finished second to another former drugs cheat Justin Gatlin.
 
 
Donald Sterling fails to attend Clippers court hearing
 
Donald Sterling has failed to attend the opening day of a trial involving the 2 billion dollar sale of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.
The real estate billionaire has come under pressure to sell the team since recordings of him making racist remarks were leaked to the press.
Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly, is making attempts to sell the basketball side to get the money for her family, but attorneys representing 80-year-old Donald Sterling say this case has no relevance.
"I think he's been very clear about that, he does not want to sell the team. Quite frankly, the fight for us is not here, the fight is in the federal case that's against the NBA, and that case is going to go on irrespective of what happens here."　
Judge Levanas will decide whether 79-year-old Shelly Sterling acted in accordance with the family trust that owns the Clippers in ousting her husband as the controlling trustee before striking a deal to sell the franchise to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer for an NBA-record price.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
More culture exchanges to celebrate Sino-French ties
 
China and France will host over 80 cultural events in the second half of this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.
The two countries were scheduled early this year to host more than 300 events, ranging from art exhibitions, performances and sporting and academic competitions between high school students.
So far, nearly 90 cultural events covering music, dancing, drama, modern arts and literature have been carried out in cities in both China and France.
Still to come are multiple festivals jointly hosted by artists from the two countries. Such as music concerts by the Orchestre de Paris and ballet performances by the Ballet National de Marseille.
China and France established diplomatic relations in 1964, making France the first major Western Power to recognize the People's Republic of China.
 
 
Cats musical to feature rapping cat
 
The hit musical Cats will return to London's West End this summer with a different twist…. A rapping feline called Rum Tum Tugger.
(Cats clip)
The character would become a street cat in the show. Speaking at a launch event in London, Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said he has wanted to "rework" a couple of poems, including Rum Tum Tugger for many years, and the show deserves a second run.
"Well it's a joy and all of us want to just re-examine it, and one of the things about cats is that we start with some of the best verse you could ever have. What TS Eliot wrote still is as fresh as anything. It was a show that changed my life it changed all our lives and I kind of just think it should have a second one."
Cats, which has not been seen in London for 14 years, is based on TS Eliots's Old Possum's Book of Practical cats.
As well as adding Rum Tum Tugger, Webber has also "completely rewritten" the song Growltiger's last stand because "it was never his favorite moment of the show."
The original show's director Sir Trevor Nunn said there's a whole new generation of kids who haven't seen or discovered Cats yet.
The musical has been seen by more than 50 million people in more than 30 countries since it premiered in 1981. Running for 21 years in London and 18 years on Broadway.
 
 
Doctor Who scripts leaked
 
(Doctor Who)
Five scripts for the new series of Doctor Who have leaked online, almost two months before the show is due broadcast.
The BBC is investigating a security issue "where unfinished material was inadvertently made public".
The broadcaster is urging fans not to distribute any spoilers.
Confirming the leak, BBC Worldwide said: "We deeply regret this and apologize to all the show's fans, the BBC, and the cast and crew who have worked tirelessly making the series."
The leaked scripts are reported to have originated from a BBC Worldwide office in the US.
The first episode is due to have its premiere at a screening in Cardiff, England, on 7 August, after which the show's stars and executive producer Steven Moffat will take it on a world tour leading up to the first TV broadcast.
The series - which marks Peter Capaldi's debut as the Doctor - is due to begin on BBC One on 23 August.
 
 
Guo Degang to buy US network?
 
Chinese comedian Guo Degang said he plans to purchase a broadcasting network in the US.
After recently performing in Chengdu, Sichun Province, the 41-year-old told reporters he has entered the "most comfortable" stage of his career, but his ambitions have yet to stop growing.
Saying he is preparing to apply for a private broadcasting license in LA, so that xiangsheng and Deyun She skits (a xiangsheng performance theater established by Guo in 1995) can air on television.
The Tianjin native made a name for himself while performing xiangsheng, or cross-talk, at small theaters and teahouses.
In recent years, Guo has worked in a variety of markets other than performing arts, including opening his own restaurant and apparel shop.
He'd already tried launched a broadcasting network in Australia but it was halted due to policy restrictions, so his friend suggested he consider the US market.
According to Guo, the idea is not "a small deal and nothing is certain" as of yet, but Deyun She may have its own broadcasting network in LA by the end of 2014.
 
 
Venezuela Painting- Henri Matisse painting stolen more than a decade ago is recovered
 
A painting by famed artist Henri Matisse, stolen more than a decade ago from a museum in Venezuela, has returned to Caracas from the US.
Venezuelan Minister of culture, Fidel Barbarito says the general preservation of the artwork is in good condition, and they will hold an official ceremony for the return of the painting.
 
That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour - a quick recap of headlines before we go:
The chinese foreign ministry says it hopes the new defense deal between Australia and Japan was not signed with any specific "third party" in mind...
Chinese and American officials are set to begin the sixth round of a strategic and economic dialogue...
And the German chancellor in Beijing has delivered a speech on sustainable development at Tsinghua University...
In business, HSBC lowers its rating for Hong Kong equities...
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.