News & Reports 2010-12-18（在线收听） |
Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International. In This Edition Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao begins a three-day official visit to Pakistan following a trip to India. World business representatives gather in Beijing for the 3rd annual conference of Asia Fortune Forum. European Union leaders say they are ready to do whatever is necessary to save the embattled Euro currency. China's property boom has picked up since the government enacted policies to cool speculation.
Wen Jiabao Visits Pakistan Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is now in Pakistan for a three-day official visit. Accompanied by a huge business delegation, Wen Jiabao is the first Chinese Premier to visit the country in nearly five years. Pakistan says China has already agreed to development projects worth 13.2 billion US dollars in energy, agriculture, infrastructure and health, and wants to increase trade from seven billion to 18 billion dollars in five years. Sardar Aminullah Khan is the Economic Councilor at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing. "China and Pakistan have been cooperating on many projects in various fields. Now, the Chinese Premier is visiting Pakistan. Economic and trade cooperation as well as infrastructure construction projects between the two countries will be further strengthened, especially in the area of energy cooperation. We hope that new progress can be made in this field to create a win-win situation." A Pakistani government official was quoted as saying that "up to 20 billion US dollars worth of projects have been completed with Chinese help in Pakistan, and work on projects worth 14 billion dollars is continuing at present." During the visit, Wen Jiabao will hold talks with Pakistani leaders to reinforce coordination on international and regional issues. The visit came after the Premier's visit to Pakistan's neighbor India.
The 3rd Annual Conference of Asia Fortune Forum got underway in Beijing on Friday. It has attracted more than 500 guests from well known enterprises from China and abroad, as well as investment institutions and chambers of commerce of Asian and European countries. One of the most pressing topics at the conference is China's development potential. Wu Bater is a guest speaker on the conference. He says industries associated with an ageing population in China is a key developing area that's worth investing in. "In the coming ten to twenty years, the aging problem will be a serious one to be solved in China. We can learn from the west, especially European countries and the US, the way they deal with it. This is not only a simple concept but a rising industry, which can generate a chain of industries." Besides the aging industry, emerging industries such as the green industry and new energy are also under the spotlight. Yao Jingyuan, chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics says that in the coming five years, the Chinese market will still be vigorous and has a lot of space for development. "Speaking of the macroeconomics, the industrialization in the 12th Five-year plan will give a strong support to the country's economy as a whole. The urbanization process will supply the country with great domestic demands. Marketization brings vigorous to the economy. And internationalization will give more space for China's economy to grow. All in all, the coming 5 years is an important development period for China's economy." The theme of this year's forum is "Sustainable share of Asia's fortune". It will conclude on Saturday.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief has reiterated that he has "great concern" about the newly reported North Korean nuclear facilities. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano told a news conference in Tokyo that it's too early to judge the purposes of the facilities, but he stressed that the IAEA has an essential role to play in verifying the North's nuclear programs. "It is quite premature to say something about the nature of this facility. In order to have better knowledge, we need to be there, we need inspect, and we need to understand." North Korean authorities last month confirmed reports from a US scientist that the country is operating "thousands" of centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant, saying the large-scale enrichment is for "peaceful use".
European Union leaders are ready to do whatever's necessary to save the embattled euro currency, but they aren't ready to beef up its existing bailout fund despite growing worries about countries overwhelmed by debt. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said at a summit in Brussels that the heads of state of the 27 EU members "stand ready to do whatever is required to ensure the stability of the euro zone." "Firstly we decided on the limited treaty amendment required for member states to establish a permanent mechanism to safeguard the financial stability of the Eurozone as a whole. Secondly, we have confirmed the general features of that permanent mechanism. And, thirdly, we have outlined the follow-up of the overall economic strategy which the European Council has been pursuing since the start of the year." But he insisted that only about 4 percent of the region's 750 billion Euros bailout fund has been utilised since it was introduced in May, and that the question of expanding it "is not being posed today." He spoke after EU leaders agreed in Brussels to change their central treaty to allow for a permanent rescue plan for countries overwhelmed by debt after 2013, when the existing bailout fund expires. The treaty change contains no details, but is a necessary legal step toward establishing a permanent mechanism for dealing with countries that can no longer pay off their debts. Officials have also said it may contain language allowing the EU to force private creditors to assume some losses when a country can no longer pay off its bonds. Finance ministers of the 27 EU nations will now begin working out details of the new mechanism, including how much money euro-zone nations are willing to chip in and when exactly private creditors will be involved.
US President Barack Obama says the United States is "on track" to achieve its goals in Afghanistan. Obama's comments follow the publication of the United States' annual strategy review. Declaring significant progress in disrupting al-Qaida and combating the Taliban, Obama says the US will start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan in July, as promised. "I want to be clear, this continues to be a very difficult endeavour. But I can report that thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals." The Obama Administration plans to end combat operations in 2014 and transfer responsibility for Afghanistan's security to the Afghans, though the pace and scope of the withdrawal remains unclear. The White House review comes at a time when civilian casualties in Afghanistan are at their highest level since the US-led invasion of 2001. This year has also been the bloodiest for foreign troops since 2001. There are now about 100-thousand US troops in Afghanistan, as well as 40-thousand other NATO soldiers. At least 480 American troops have been killed so far this year, and more than 21-hundred have died since the conflict began.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has walked free on bail from a British jail, protesting his innocence and pledging to continue exposing official secrets. "I continue on with our work. Clearing my name is not the highest task I have, the highest task I have is to continue on with my work. Obviously clearing my name is also important and I will continue to do that and my legal team will continue to do that. We will press the Swedish government to provide us with evidence of the allegations; something that has been denied to date. I have yet to receive a single page of anything ever." The WikiLeaks founder will spend his time under house arrest at the mansion of his friend and supporter, British broadcaster Vaughan Smith. Assange also alleged that there might be a US indictment against him for espionage originating from a secretive US grand jury investigation. WikiLeaks has angered U.S. authorities by publishing hundreds of US diplomatic cables from a trove of 250,000, including details of overseas installations that Washington regards as vital to its security. Asylum Boat Death Toll Now 30 Thirty asylum seekers have been found dead in the fatal Christmas Island boat accident. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says there is little chance of finding any more survivors from the shipwreck. "I believe we do need to face the grim reality that it is becoming increasingly unlikely and an increasingly remote possibility that survivors will be found at this stage." Gillard says the search and recovery operation will continue until nightfall, and then emergency teams will decide whether or not to continue the mission over the weekend. The wooden fishing boat was carrying as many as 100 asylum seekers of Iraqi, Iranian and Kurdish origin, when it smashed into Christmas Island's Rocky Point in high seas. There were 42 survivors.
More than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon took office four years ago, according to the government. Speaking to reporters in Mexico City, Attorney General Arturo Chavez said almost 12,500 have been killed so far this year, a sharp increase on 2009. But, despite the figures, Chavez reiterated the government's position: that it is winning the war against illegal organisations. "There is an important weakening of criminal groups and also, based on the examples we have seen in 2010, I think it's perfectly clear to all that there is no criminal organisation that can be even remotely superior to the strength of the state. And the government will continue, without wavering, working to reestablish peace, order, and the rule of law in our country." Chavez said the government has seized record quantities of arms and drugs and captured or killed 10 of the 24 most wanted drug traffickers. The Mexican government says many of the deaths are the result of fighting between rival gangs over territory and smuggling routes into the US. Most of the killings are concentrated in certain regions, particularly the northern border states. The border city of Ciudad Juarez alone has seen 3,000 killings so far this year, ten times more than in 2007.
Belarussian opposition candidates are gathering for a rally in Minsk, saying they are ready to challenge any irregularities in Sunday's presidential elections. About a thousand people have so far been rallying to protest against what they see as the almost certain re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in charge of the country since 1994. Andrei Sannikov is among the nine candidates due to contest Lukashenko's bid for another term in office. "Early voting by force, blackmailing and threats-everything shows that they will steal our votes again. But we will not let this happen." Lukashenko has stayed in power from one election to another, and based on his past performance, could well be poised to win re-election by as much as 80 percent of the vote.
China's property boom has picked up since the government enacted policies to cool speculation. Home prices in 70 Chinese cities climbed 7.7 percent in November from a year earlier. While the year-on-year advance in November's property prices was the slowest for a year, values increased for the 18th month in a row. China's biggest developer Vanke said earlier this month it became the first Chinese developer to post annual sales of 100 billion yuan or about $15 billion US dollars, reaching a target it had set for 2014. To find out more about the prospects for China's property market, we talked to Danny Bao, Head of China property research, of Daiwa Capital Markets, based in Hong Kong.
An exhibition has taken place in Beijing showcasing the application of modern science and technology to preserve Chinese cultural heritage. Unlike ordinary exhibitions of relics that tell visitors about their history or workmanship, this one explains how Chinese cultural workers have preserved treasures using scientific and technological innovations. CRI's Wu Jia has more. China has a vast number of cultural relics. Movable or immovable alike, to varying degrees, they are susceptible to corrosion, pests and diseases. Cavernous temples, along with the murals and stone carvings inside, are considered to have some of the greatest historical and artistic value in the world. However, salinity had long troubled cultural workers. It is regarded as the cancer of cave temples, which directly causes the walls and murals to be cracked, powdered and come apart. Therefore, in order to prolong the life of murals and carvings, scientists from the Dunhuang Cultural Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Lanzhou University have, through joint efforts, invented a technique that can decrease the salinity and fundamentally solve the problem. As for the preservation of archaeology, surveying and mapping work appears very essential. According to the exhibitors, three-dimensional panoramic scanning is now widely used in archaeology. "The traditional surveying work is usually contact measurement. One of the advantages of 3D panoramic scanning is that while measuring, you don't need to touch the relics and, thus, they better preserved." The White Crane Ridge Inscription in the Yangtze River was a No.1 hydrometric station in ancient China, which recorded more than 1,200 years of hydrologic history since the Tang Dynasty. Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir, it has been sunk 42 meters underwater. In order to make it regain its previous splendor, experts came up with a theory called non-pressure containment, by which they solved the problems like lighting, passageway, and hydrologic cycles. By building an underwater museum on the original site, they have made it possible for hundreds of thousands of visitors to once again admire such a miraculous piece of heritage. For the past five years, China has made a big step forward in heritage preservation. Chen Jianli, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University appeals for a closer tie between science and archaeology. "So far, for many archaeological excavations, science and technology don't come into play from the very beginning. Instead, it participates after excavation finishes. However, we should involve science in every procedure of cultural work. " As such, China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage has planned for the next five years to promote cooperation across all fields regarding this issue. Media Picks The Shanghai Daily: The Ministry of Health has started to solicit pubic opinion on its official website about whether to ban the use of whitening agents in flour. The side which rejects the use of whitener says the chemicals are no longer necessary due to technical advancements and questions its safety. Those who support the use of whiteners say no safety problems have been found when using the chemicals. The flour whiteners include benzoyl peroxide and calcium peroxide. The research found that although the chemicals are safe if the right amount is used, it is very difficult to add the correct measure to the flour using current technology. So some batches of flour could contain too much whitener, which might pose a health risk. According to the statement on the ministry website, if public opinion is in favor of a ban, flour whiteners will be prohibited from December 1, 2011 to give flour producers one year to change over their processes. -------- From the Wall Street Journal: A warning to choose a good password for your internet accounts, and change it regularly. A group called Gnosis launched a massive hacker attack on Gawker media, one of the web's most popular blog networks.1.3 million registered users' passwords were compromised, and over 188,000 of them were made public. The Wall Street Journal analysed the passwords and published some of the most obvious and stupid ones. Top of the list for easy-to-guess passwords is 123456. 111111 also came pretty near the top of the list, as did the word 'password' itself. The paper advises people with a weak password to change it according to four rules-use different passwords for different internet accounts, don't tell anyone your passwords, substitute numbers for letters, and change your passwords regularly.
US stocks wavered in a tight range Friday, a day after major indexes hit two-year highs. Bond yields fell slightly at the end of the last full trading week of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent, to 11,492. The Standard and Poor's 500 index gained 0.1 percent, to 1,244. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.2 percent, to 2,643. European markets fell after Moody's Investors Service downgraded Ireland's government bond rating by five notches and said that the country had a weak economic outlook. Britain's FTSE 100 went down 0.2 percent to 5872, Germany's DAX lost 0.6 percent to 6982, and France's CAC 40 dipped 0.5 percent to 3867 |
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