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Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.
In This Edition
Russia circulates a resolution draft at the United Nations Security Council in an effort to solve the ever deteriorating conflict in Syria.
The World Trade Organization formally adopts the accession agreement of Russia, following the country's 18-year-long application.
China solicits public opinion on a new draft law aimed at promoting its film industry, but a rating system is still not an option despite calls for one for years.
Renewed calls on government efforts to improve the safety of school bus following a series of tragic accidents in China.
Hot Issue Reports
China's L.A. Consulate Shooting Suspect Surrenders to Police
An Asian man has turned himself in to the police, claiming responsibility for shooting at the Chinese Consulate-General's building in Los Angeles.
The 60 year old is admitting to firing several shots at the consulate.
Consulate security chief Cipriano Gutierrez,
"I've seen a hollow point bullet land right next to my kneecap and after that I was grabbing the phone books trying to cover my head and then I yelled out 'okay, that's enough, stop, ' and then he was still shooting off a couple of more rounds, three more rounds then the bullets pierced through the metal fencing."
No one was injured in the shooting.
Police officers are still interviewing witnesses and searching for bullets and other evidence.
Meantime, China's Foreign Ministry is urging the United States to take measures to ensure the safety of Chinese missions, institutions and personnel in the country.
The Foreign Ministry says the Chinese Embassy and the consulate-general have made representations to the U.S. side.
Russia Circulates Surprise UN Resolution on Syria
Russia has circulated a resolution draft at the United Nations Security Council in an effort to solve the ever deteriating conflict in Syria.
The document condemns the violence by 'all parties', but does not mention any sanctions.
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin,
"With regard to the need to stop violence, with regard to the need to uphold human rights, with regard to expediting reforms and especially we believe it is important to give a strong message to the Arab League that we encourage them to continue their efforts and of working together with the government of Syria and to carry out its plans to deploy the monitoring mission in Syria."
Churkin says Russia's draft has received "constructive" reactions from other countries in the West.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Washington will study the draft resolution.
Russia, along with China, vetoed a Security Council draft resolution led by western countries on Syria in October, saying it was based on a "philosophy of confrontation".
International journalists face severe restrictions on their movements in Syria, and it is hard to verify reports.
However, the United Nations claims that more than 5,000 people have died over the seven months of unrest in Syria.
In the latest violence, 27 security forces were killed by army deserters.
Egypt Concludes 2nd Round of Parliamentary Elections
The second round of Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak has now concluded.
The elections took place in the rural part of Egypt where Islamist blocs are contesting head-to-head.
The presidential-hopeful and former U.N. nuclear watchdog Chief Mohamed El-Baradei:
"This is the first step towards democracy in Egypt and we still have a long way to go, but it's a step forward. This is the first time that I cast my vote as there was no election before in Egypt so this is a good step towards democracy in Egypt."
Islamist parties took a majority of the seats in the first round, with the Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner, taking 47 percent of the seats.
Many expect them to do at least as well in the subsequent rounds.
The third and final round is scheduled for early January.
Polish President's China Visit to Further Promote Bilateral Ties
At the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski will pay a state visit to China from Dec. 18 to 22.
Komorowski will be the first Polish head of state to visit China in 14 years.
Zhu Xiaozhong, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says his visit will propel the countries' bilateral ties.
"After the Polish government came into power, led by Donald Tusk, I feel that Tusk pursued relatively pragmatic foreign policies including the adjusted China policy. It puts the China and Poland relationship on a constructive track, especially after President Hu Jintao visited Poland in 2004 and built friendly and cooperative relations with Poland."
A 150-strong delegation, which consists of businesspeople, scholars and high-ranking officials such as the Polish economy minister, will accompany Komorowski on the visit.
Poland has been China's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe for the past six years. Bilateral trade volume in 2010 hit a record-high 11 billion U.S. dollars.
WTO 8th Ministerial Conference Begins in Geneva
A ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Geneva has formally adopted the accession agreement of the Russia Federation, drawing a finishing line for the country's 18-year-long membership accession.
Russia will become a formal WTO member 30 days after the adoption of the agreement.
With the accession of Russia, the WTO will cover over 97 percent of all world trade.
Members of the World Trade Organization are meeting at the Eighth Ministerial Conference amid what China recently referred to as the 'grim' world economic outlook.
Addressing the meeting, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming has called upon WTO members to support multilateral trade as part of the solution to the current economic turmoil.
"The importance of the multilateral trade system to global governance has been fully testified by history. It is therefore absolutely crucial to strengthen the system in order to pull the world economy out of difficulty and fight against protectionism."
Due to the sluggish world economy, the WTO has cut its forecast of world export growth in 2011 from 6.5 percent to 5.8 percent.
Trade ministers and representatives from 153 delegations are expected to discuss trade-related topics during the three-day meeting.
China State-owned Insurer of Exports Issues Report on Global Investment Risks
The China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation has now issued its annual report, rating the risk levels of 192 countries in terms of international trade and investment.
According to the report, risk levels of 29 nations have increased from a year earlier and 36 have dropped.
The rating's criteria include overall economic situation, economic growth prospect, financial situation, product prices and employment.
Xie Zhibin, General Managing Assistant of the company, explains in detail.
"The average level of risk worldwide is fairly high amid the world's financial crisis. In particular, systematic risks have emerged and there is a pessimistic mood among many investors. Moreover, risks are on the increase in EU due to its debt crisis and in the Middle East because of tension and conflicts in the region."
Countries that have been rated as having less risks come from Asia and Latin America.
The ratings aim to enlighten Chinese traders and investors about the international investment environment.
Local Governments Help Migrant Workers Get Their Payments
China's local governments have been stepping up efforts to help migrant workers receive their often delayed wages as the workers prepare to return home for the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese, which falls at the end of next month.
Each year around the Spring Festival holiday, tens of millions of migrant workers return home with new clothes or other gifts for their families.
However, delayed payments for them from their employers has been rampant practice around the country in recent years, especially before the Chinese New Year. One reason for this is that many employers would deliberately delay the payment fearing they may not come back after the holiday.
To combat this problem, in east China's Jiangsu Province, the city of Taizhou has been conducting payment inspections.
The city's labor authority states that any employer who delays wage payment to migrant workers will be exposed to public scrutiny.
Chen Cheng is deputy director of the Labor Supervision Division of the city's Hailing District.
"Only a few employers have default problem due to their financial difficulties according to our inspection. We'll push them and see that they make full payments of procrastinated wages to migrant workers."
Similar measures to protect migrant workers have also been taken in the neighboring Zhejiang Province.
Rating System Not Considered in China's Draft Law on Film
China is soliciting public opinion about a new draft law aimed at promoting its film industry.
But the long-awaited law doesn't include a movie rating system even though insiders have been calling for one for years.
Wu Jia has more.
This is the first time that the country has drafted a law aimed at promoting a specific cultural industry. Analysts say it shows the government's commitment to developing the film industry.
Li Min is a doctor of law from China's Renmin University,
"China is pledging to revitalize its culture industry. The government has selected the movie industry because it's already developing on a fast track. "
China is one of the largest movie-making countries in the world. More than 500 films were made this year. And box office revenues climbed to a record-high of 12 billion yuan by Mid December.
Li Min says the country has been drafting laws for the film industry since the 1980s.
"Dispute about adopting a rating system was the major obstacle hindering this law. This time the draft law has omitted any references to the controversial issue."
Some people suggest introducing a system like the one in Hong Kong, under which movies are classified into three categories in terms of suitability for children.
Director Yin Li is one of those people. He says that there is a widespread misunderstanding about the rating system.
"Some people think that the introduction of a rating system means a green light to violence and porn."
Such misunderstanding has forced law makers to be very cautious. Additionally, some people don't think that China has the capability to implement this kind of system. Li Min from Renming University:
"The implementation of the movie rating system in some other countries is based on the research into many different fields including sociology, psychology and medical science. In China, we haven't even started such research and we don't have the framework to do so."
Li Min adds that in other countries women and religious groups help governments supervise movie content. China lacks such non-governmental organizations to offer advice.
For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.
School Bus
A string of school bus accidents have taken place across the country in the last few weeks, leaving dozens of children dead, and many more others injured.
Both parents and experts are calling for more efforts to improve the safety of school buses.
Zhang Wan has the details.
A kindergarten in Chaoyang District has bought two American style school buses to pick up preschoolers, but these two school buses have been suspended after only a few weeks' service.
The principal of the kindergarten, Nie Yutong says the licenses for these two buses have not been approved yet.
"Based on the regulations of the traffic control department, a vehicle can get a temporary license only twice, for a maximum of 15 days each time. We haven't got the formal licenses after the temporary licenses expired, so we have to suspend the school buses."
The suspension of the school buses, affected both the children and their parents. Some parents have been sending their children to school by private car, public bus or even by bicycle.
"We take No. 539 bus to come here. It's very cold. We've waited for a long time, so we are late."
"I use a taxi to send and pick up my child from the kindergarten. The taxi driver charges me 40 yuan everyday. It is much more expensive than the school bus which is 500 yuan a month."
The kindergarten spends its own money to supply the school buses and the parents are willing to pay the charges. Why the licenses are so difficult to get? Principal Nie explains.
"Based on new school bus regulations, the standard school bus is 2.9 meters in height, but the American style school bus we've bought is 3.3 meters. So that is the discrepancy. "
The regulation in question was issued on December 11th, specifying that school buses must be inline with the vehicle national standards. Besides that, it also grants the school buses the privilege of priority and the right of using dedicated bus lanes.
Zhang Jie, manager of a vehicle rental company, has provided school bus services for 12 years. His company sends and pick up more than 200 students and preschoolers everyday, but his school buses are not authorized.
"We are not recognized by the government nor schools. So my company can register as a vehicle rental company but not a school bus service company. The license for a school bus needs special approval in Beijing."
At present, four such companies provide school bus services using minibus, covering more than one hundred routes, which is so far from meeting the huge demand. Under the new school bus regulation, none of these vehicles is qualified.
Three school bus accidents have happened in one week, Professor Ding Limin with Chinese People's Public Security University says we need do more for our children.
"The continuing accidents show that we rarely nip such problems in the bud, but try to solve the problems after they happen. I think we should change our mind. you can't care too much of the kids. Concern for children equals concern for our nation's future."
For CRI, I'm Zhang Wan.
Women Happier Than Man?
Reports from cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou indicate that male youth living in such places are less happy than females.
Wang Wei takes a closer look.
A recent report issued by the Shanghai Communist Youth League indicates that young males in large cities are far less happy than females. It surveyed people whose ages ranged from 15 to 34 about how happy they felt. On a 0-to-10 scale, where 10 meant extremely happy and 0 stood for extremely miserable, young women had an average number of 7.5, while young men had an average of 7.
Another report by the Guangzhou Youth Research Institute shows similar results.
Professor Huang Hongji from the Shanghai Institute for Youth Administrators summarizes the pressures that most young men in China generally face.
"It's been a social habit that man should pay the dinner bill when they date a girl. When it comes to marriage, it's the man who should pay for the wedding. After getting married, a man should perform the role of a model husband. When they have children, a man should be wealthy and powerful enough to give his child the best education possible and help pave the way for his or her career."
Wei Wei complains that women have never really been treated fairly, so they are the ones who must deal with more difficulties.
"Although we study and work as hard as men do, it's likely that we may not get as many opportunities. After graduating from university, it's harder for women to find a job than men. At work, bosses tend to assign men more important tasks, because they simply think that men are more capable."
Despite this, more women still believe that they can perform just as well as men. Xiong Shan is one of them.
"We're living in a modern society. It's not like in old times when women had to rely on men. Women should be independent today. If only we could afford our own apartment and car, then we could find an even more capable man and live a wealthier life."
Xiong says her life partner must be more capable and better equipped than she is. Most of those we surveyed, both men and women, agree.
Professor Huang Hongji says we are now in the midst of a social transformation where an increasing number of women believe they should be independent from men and even do a better job than men in every aspect of life. But Chinese society is still male-dominated, and the concept that men should be the breadwinners is still deeply ingrained in people's minds. Rising feminism, however, has created more competition for men while setting higher requirements from women, and therefore more pressure.
Professor Huang says the situation will remain for decades, during which time men and women should face all of life's pressures together and try to be more understanding.
For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.
Beijing News
A county northeast of Beijing plans to build a large European-style town where the Chinese language will be banned.
A village in Miyun County will be turned into a 67 hectare English castle with 16 courtyards and unique houses where only English will be allowed to be spoken. It aims to boost local tourism. If it goes ahead visitors will be given souvenir passports and be made to feel as if they are abroad.
So far more than 700 thousand US dollars has been invested in the project. However the project has received overwhelming criticism online.
The Australian
Australian airline Qantas is going to trialing inflight internet access. From February, customers will be able to access the internet on flights between Australia and Los Angeles using their personal electronic devices. Initially only passengers in first and business class will be able to access the internet using their credit cards. It will operate similar to wifi hotspots. Other airlines are also apparently mounting similar trials.
Yahoo News
Here's a bit of a feel good story from Yahoo news. Apparently some good samaritans in the US have been paying off Christmas lay-away bills at Kmart for complete strangers. Anonymous donors have been buying the Christmas gifts that impoverished parents could not afford to buy outright.
- One woman says she was shocked to find most of her bill had been paid off. She says she has now saved the money for the gifts and so will pay someone else's bill.
- She says she lives paycheck to paycheck and lay-away helps her to spread out the cost of Christmas.
- One woman in Indianapolis paid off the bills for 50 other customers to ensure the families have a proper Christmas.
Market Update
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, with the Dow erasing early gains, after Fitch Ratings warned to downgrade six European countries.
The blue-chip Dow inched down less than 0.1 percent at the close to 11866. The broader S&P 500 gained about 0.3 percent to 1220. The tech- heavy Nasdaq jumped nearly 0.6 percent to 2555.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.3 percent to 5387. Frankfurt's DAX went down 0.5 percent to 5702. CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.9 percent to 2972.
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