新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/10（打印版）

US computerchip maker Qualcomm has agreed to pay a near- one-billion US dollar fine to Chinese authorities and to modify its business practices...

three corporate managers have gone on trial over the explosion that killed nearly 150 last year, at a wheel-polishing workshop in Kunming...

And Chinese authorities are urging Myanmar to maintain stability along its side of the countries' shared border...

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of minus 2. It will be sunny tomorrow, with a high of 8 degrees.

U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm has agreed to pay a fine of nearly a billion U.S. dollars to Chinese authorities and has agreed to modify its practices.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) says the U.S. firm was found to have abused its market dominance and to have limited competition.

This ends a 14-month government investigation into the company's practices in the marketplace.

"According to law, from the day we issue the formal penalty decision, Qualcomm has to pay the fine within 15 days. Imposing a penalty is only regarded as one of the effective measures to regulate companies' behavior, but it's not the purpose. The investigation into this case shows that China pays high attention to the protection of intellectual property rights and firmly opposes any abuse of IPR and the elimination or limitation of competition. "

The deal also sees the chipmaker making changes to the royalty structure it uses to charge Chinese phone makers for using its chip designs.

Qualcomm is also going to offer 3G and 4G patents to Chinese companies, and will no longer require the bundling of those rights with other patents in its portfolio.

Meanwhile, it's also forced to set its licensing rates similar to the royalties it charges elsewhere in the world.

For more on this, CRI's Zhao Yang talked with Liu Baocheng, Prof. from the University of International Business and Economics

Rescue workers continue to search for the bodies of three missing passengers in a river in Taiwan where the TransAsia plane crashed last week.

"With today's search and rescue operation, the important thing is we have low-tide and the water level is very shallow. It's good for the search and we are still focusing on the area nearby. I think the reason that we haven't found the bodies is perhaps because they are trapped in seats under the mud."

A special prayer ceremony was organized on Tuesday, marking one week since the crash. In Chinese culture it is believed that the souls of the deceased start their journey to the underworld on this day.

At least 40 people died after the plane crashed into the muddy Keelung River minutes after takeoff from Taipei's airport last week.

The trial of three corporate managers over a deadly explosion at a factory last August has begun in a court in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan.

Wu Chi-tao, chairman of Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products, is on trial in Kunshan People's Court along with the company's general manager and a manager in charge of workplace safety.

Each of the three could be imprisoned for up to seven years if the court finds them responsible for the workplace accident.

The trial is expected to last for two days and the ruling will be announced at a later date.

Investigators say the explosion at the factory was caused by the ignition of excessive metal dust in the air, blaming the company for failing to manage dust levels in the company's workshop.

The accident also led to the sacking of several local officials in Kunshan, including the local party chief.

Sources within the Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry say South Korea has agreed to return another 68 sets of remains.

South Korea handed over more than 400 sets of remains at the beginning of March last year. The remains to be returned this year have all been excavated within the last year.

The transfer ceremony is to happen in late March, just before the traditional Chinese tomb-sweeping day.

China is urging Myanmar to maintain peace and order along the border after renewed fighting between rebels and Myanmar's army sent some locals fleeing over the border into Chinese territory.

"China is concerned about the Myanmar situation. During the past two days, some Myanmar border residents, because of safety considerations, have entered China. They have been looked after. China will continue to pay close attention to how the situation develops, and maintain the peace and stability of the China-Myanmar border. We also believe that the Myanmar side should also work hard for this."

Hua Chunying says the combatants in northern Myanmar should resolve their differences via peaceful talks and prevent the clashes from escalating and affecting border stability, and especially from affecting security and order on the Chinese side.

The latest escalation of fighting in Myanmar's war-torn northeastern border areas has claimed an estimated 20 lives over the past week.

A senior Chinese official has declared the internet economy a growth engine of the greater Chinese economy.

The announcement was made in Beijing on Monday, during a Lunar New Year reception held by the Cyberspace Administration of China.

China's cyberspace regulator has noted that the internet economy has become china's largest economic growth point. Last year saw remarkable achievements in internet development.

"Internet companies have already seen very clear policy guidance. Business process involved with the government is quite smooth, and this makes it easier for us to do business. Another big change is that China's internet services are gradually going out. The internet sector is trying to interact with other countries in the world."

To strengthen supervision of the sector, the Chinese government specially established the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyber Affaires last year, headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It also had more than 400 million websites nationwide and over 13 trillion yuan in e-commerce transaction value, more than two trillion US dollars.

However, with rapid development of the internet, problems like cyber rumors, network security, and cyber-extortion have gradually emerged.

"Just like 'the rule of law', we should also step up cyberspace management by legal means like formulating laws and regulations. As we just started this process, we can learn from developed countries because they have more advanced and effective measures in this aspect."

At the banquet, the head of the Cyberspace Administration, Lu Wei, reiterates that China will firmly safeguard its cyber sovereignty and network security through legal means.

He also called on every country to respect and support each other in cyberspace management.

"We live in one common cyberspace which is composed of each country's networks. Only if every country performs its duty well in handling cyberspace safety can our shared cyberspace be safer and more orderly. So what we need is mutual respect and support."

135 envoys from 79 countries and more than 60 representatives of foreign companies attended the Cyberspace regulator's reception in Beijing.

The convoy includes the Changbaishan, Yuncheng, and Chaohu warships, as well as shipboard helicopters and special operations soldiers.

Officers from the French and Chinese navies will meet for a series of military and cultural activities, including a joint naval military drill.

Japan's Cabinet has adopted new guidelines for international aid that, for the first time, clearly state that the country will allow provisions for foreign armed forces, though limited to non-military purposes.

"Taking into consideration the important role that the armed forces have come to bear in terms of non-military purposes - such as post-war reconstruction, restoration, or disaster relief - the new guideline clarifies what may not have been clear enough in the past with regards to our policies on non-military cooperation with (foreign) military and military personnel."

The changes are the first in the past 12 years, and in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to bolster Japan's international role in diplomacy and national security.

However, the guidelines say Japan's pacifist aid policy remains unchanged and that each provision will be scrutinized carefully.

Malaysia's federal court announced guilty verdict over opposition leader Anwar's sodomy case

Anwar was accused of having sex with a male aide in 2008. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but very few people are ever prosecuted.

According to the country's constitution, Tuesday's verdict by the Federal Court will remove the opposition leader from his seat in parliament.

Anwar was sentenced to five years in jail in March 2014 after an earlier acquittal was overturned - he appealed the latter ruling.

Former Korean Air Lines executive Heather Cho will be in court tomorrow for the verdict in the so-called "nut rage incident" reported in December.

She had ordered a senior crew member off a plane at New York's John F. Kennedy airport after she was served bagged macadamia nuts instead of nuts on a plate at her seat in first class.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Tuesday boosted by the gains in banks and securities firms.

China Railway Erju surged 10 percent, and China Railway Construction Corporation climbed nearly 5 percent.

China's central bank has put more liquidity into the market in an effort to meeting rising demand for cash ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Bank pumped 80 billion yuan into the market today, some 13 billion US dollars, through 14-day and 21-day reverse repurchase agreements.

Reverse repos involve the Central Bank purchasing securities from regular banks with an agreement to resell them at a future date.

The 14 day reverse repo was priced to yield just over four percent, while the 21-day agreement is at just under 4.5 percent.

The market is experiencing tighter liquidity as nearly two- and-a-third- trillion yuan is expected to be frozen by equity IPO subscription this week. Shopping during the holiday is expected to drive additional demand for cash.

Financial markets and many businesses will shut between the 18th and the 24th because of the holiday.

Official stats for January show CPI, the main gauge of inflation, grew by only 0.8 percent.

At the same time, the producer price index, which is an indication of wholesale inflation, dipped 4.3 percent year on year last month, the 35th consecutive month of decline.

Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of China's CPI weighting, increased 1.1 percent year on year in January.

An expanded comparison base and slumping global oil prices also helped drag down price levels.

For more on the latest stats, we are now joined live by CRI's Financial Commentator Cao Can.

China Railway Construction Corporation has filed for compensation, following the suspension of a high-speed rail project it bid on and won in Mexico.

A senior official with Mexico's transport ministry has confirmed the Chinese company has submitted paperwork for the claim.

The Mexico government announced the "indefinite suspension" of the rail project last month as part of what it calls spending cuts due to a reduced national budget.

The announcement marked another dramatic twist of events since the beginning of the bidding process for the nearly 3.8-billion-U.S.-dollar project.

CRCC led a consortium of some five firms that entered the only bid to win the project back in November, but the Mexican government later abruptly annulled the result citing domestic reasons.

China's leading conglomerate Dalian Wanda has acquired Swiss sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media at about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, expects the new acquisition will help pave the way for Wanda to become a global force in the sports industry, for Infront's long-standing partnerships with some of the most important sports rights-holders.

Wanda also aims to support China for major sports events, as Infront is already involved in the marketing and servicing of a series of top international events.

This purchase is on the heel of Wanda's buying of a 20-percent stakes in the Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid three weeks ago.

China's top quality watchdog has given its seal of approval to Alibaba's quality control efforts.

Director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine Zhi Shuping says the task of improving product quality requires the concerted efforts of society.

On Monday he met with Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma. Zhi says quality is Alibaba's bread and butter, and it should live up to this responsibility.

This was the second meeting between Ma and the market regulator after Alibaba's Taobao.com butted heads with the authority over product quality in January.

Ma promised that Alibaba would, with the support of manufactorers, suppliers, the government, and other stakeholders, come down hard on those selling counterfeit goods.

The top quality watchdog will reinforce supervision of the e-commerce sector and help businesses in ensuring their goods are authentic.

The authority will undertake spot checks and source tracking to eliminate fakes from the market.

An official sample test published last month gave Taobao.com the lowest rank in terms of the certified product rate.

China's third-largest beermaker, Beijing Yanjing Brewery Coporation, is planning to sell about a 20 percent stake to a foreign partner.

Based on its current share price, the stake could be valued at about 700 million US dollars.

The deal is expected to give Yanjing access to foreign technology to counter slowing sales in this country.

Yanjing is currently the third-largest beermaker in China and the only major brewer without an overseas partner.

The trial of three corporate managers over a deadly explosion at a factory last August has begun in a court in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan.

Wu Chi-tao, chairman of Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products, is on trial in Kunshan People's Court along with the company's general manager and a manager in charge of workplace safety.

Each of the three could be imprisoned for up to seven years if the court finds them responsible for the workplace accident.

The trial is expected to last for two days and the ruling will be announced at a later date.

Investigators say the explosion at the factory was caused by the ignition of excessive metal dust in the air, blaming the company for failing to manage dust levels in the company's workshop.

The accident also led to the sacking of several local officials in Kunshan, including the local party chief.

Four people have been killed in a fire that broke out in a residential building in south China's Guangdong Province this morning.

Four bodies were found on the fourth floor of the building, where it is believed the fire started.

The changes are the first in the past 12 years, and in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to bolster Japan's international role in diplomacy and national security.

However, the guidelines say Japan's pacifist aid policy remains unchanged and that each provision will be scrutinized carefully.

A U.S. Airways plane has made an emergency landing without nose gear at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in the U.S. city of Houston.

The pilot of the Houston-bound flight from Philadelphia noticed a problem with the nose gear before landing late Monday night.

There have been no reports of injuries, though the plane landed with smoke and fire in the cabin, which was swiftly extinguished.

Malaysia's federal court announced guilty verdict over opposition leader Anwar's sodomy case

Anwar was accused of having sex with a male aide in 2008. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but very few people are ever prosecuted.

According to the country's constitution, Tuesday's verdict by the Federal Court will remove the opposition leader from his seat in parliament.

Anwar was sentenced to five years in jail in March 2014 after an earlier acquittal was overturned - he appealed the latter ruling.

A herdsman who found a 7.85-kilogram gold nugget in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is now under government protection.

The Kazak herdsman from Qinghe county found the nugget "practically laying on bare ground." Its estimated price is a whopping 1.6 million yuan, roughly 255-thousand US dollars.

An official from Qinghe county said the local government has organized a special meeting to discuss the ownership of the gold nugget.

He denied that the government had offered to pay 5 million yuan to purchase it from the herdsman, adding that security measures had been taken to protect him and his family.

The official also said someone had called and offered 10 million yuan to buy the gold nugget, which is about 23 centimeters long, 18 centimeters on its widest side and 8 centimeters at its thickest.

Hundreds of people were invited via the Internet to taste genetically modified rice at restaurants in 23 cities across China on Sunday in a move to further promote GM foods to the general public.

The organizer of the event says he is trying to get a message across to those who still doubt the safety of GM products and he believes that the GM rice is safe.

According to an official document issued January, China will strengthen research and manage the safety of GM foods.

The rice variety that was tasted at the restaurants was a genetically modified Bt 63 strain. It produces a natural pesticide that protects the plant.

The Bt 63 rice, together with another strain, Huahui 1, received safety certification in January for production for another four years, after the initial certificates expired in November.

A solar-powered plane with a wingspan greater than a jumbo jet is scheduled to begin a round-the-world flight early next month.

Solar Impulse 2 will take off on March 1 from Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, on the five-month flight.

The aircraft will be able to fly at up to 140km/h (kilometres per hour) and average about 70km/h for the 35-thousand km journey.

Two pilots will take turns flying the plane for alternating legs of the journey for each of the five- to six-day stints at the controls.

There is oxygen for high-altitude flight and the seat reclines to double as a bed, so the pilots can rest, and there is space to exercise. There is also a toilet built in.

Airbus says that while solar energy may be able to help a small aircraft fly, it is unlikely to be a practical solution for enabling larger, commercial airliners into the sky.

A new study shows almost half of adults have lied to their partner about how much chocolate they eat.

Research by the British Heart Foundation found that chocolate is the hardest thing to give up, beating alcohol, caffeine, or even sex.

A third of adults have eaten chocolate on their way home from work, and almost half have hidden wrappers to disguise how much they eat, the survey of 3-thousand people showed.

The study was published as part of a campaign by the Foundation to encourage people to give up chocolate for March and help raise funds for heart research.

An employee of the Foundation says by giving it a go, people could not only kick-start a healthier new lifestyle, but help them keep more hearts beating with the life-saving research.

The 27th Jerusalem International Book Fair is underway, featuring books in different languages and many cultural events.

Writers, publishers, and book-lovers have gathered at the First Station compound in Jerusalem for the bi-annual Book Fair.

"There are a lot more books here than what you can find in a regular book store. I have a list of books that I'm interested in buying. And for the kids I'm going to let them run around and see if they find anything that they are interested in and let them choose something."

Around 400 publishers from over 20 countries and regions have brought various kinds of books in different languages.

Miri Alon, the head buyer of foreign books for Steimatzky, the oldest and largest bookstore chain in Israel, says her company has attended every Jerusalem International Book Fair since its inception in 1963.

"It's international. Many people come from around the world. We have a lot of English speakers, German speakers, French speakers who live in Israel as well, so it's a great way to get all the communities together, and to also meet our colleagues around the world."

This is the first time the book fair has been held at First Station. Traditionally, it's been held at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.

Yoel Mokov, Director of the book fair, says a new concept has been introduced with the new location.

"It's more attractive to young people, and we try to attract young people back to the book fair. We put a lot of emphasis on the cultural activities around the books, meeting with authors, many interesting reviews and interviews, so we are talking about a big celebration of books and reading and everything."

Einat Talmon works in a Spanish-book booth and says there will be a series of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the second part of classic Spanish novel Don Quixote.

"We are going to have story-telling for kids in Hebrew about the adventure of Don Quixote, and we are going to have a meeting with the translator of Don Quixote into Hebrew, and with some professors from the Hebrew University who are specialized in Don Quixote."

Jerusalem book fair frequenter Colin is looking forward to finding good books and attending the cultural events.

"It's a chance to see all the different books which are available, to see what's on the market, to see what's coming out, to see the trends. And they have special sessions with writers, so it's a good opportunity to hear them. Within the years I've been to many, and I really enjoy hearing the writers speak and have chance to ask questions."

This year's Jerusalem International Book Fair Literary Award was given to Albanian human rights writer Ismail Kadare. The book fair will last until Thursday.

Venus Williams defeated Maria Irigoyen of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday to advance the United States to the Fed Cup playoffs in April and a chance to return to the World Group, which comprises the top eight teams.

Williams' victory on outdoor clay gave the United States an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five World Group II tie.

Williams needed only 71 minutes to defeat Irigoyen, which kept the series from going to doubles for the decider.

Earlier on Sunday Paula Ormaechea of Argentina defeated Coco Vandeweghe 6-4, 6-4. Vandeweghe filled in for Serena Williams, who did not play because of illness.

Venus and Serena gave the United States a 2-0 lead on Saturday (8 February), defeating Ormaechea and Irigoyen.

The Americans have won the Fed Cup title 17 times, more than any other nation, with the last victory in 2000.

Fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria saved two match points against an irate Paul-Henri Mathieu, beating the French qualifier 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 to reach the second round of World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

The 11th-ranked Dimitrov looked to be on his way out at 5-4 down in the second set but recovered to force a tiebreaker, which is when Mathieu lost his temper on the way to losing the match.

He strongly objected to a replaying the first point of the tiebreaker and -- after losing the set to an ace from Dimitrov -- discussed the replayed point with a nonplussed Dimitrov for several moments.

Mathieu then turned his attentions to the chair umpire, remonstrating angrily and barking "do you understand tennis or not?" before finally walking off to the dressing room.

The break did him little good, however, as Dimitrov broke Mathieu's faltering serve at the start of the third set.

After the match, the 33-year-old Mathieu was still keen to continue the argument with Dimitrov, who tried in vain to explain his own point before the players eventually left the court.

The 23-year-old Dimitrov next plays Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who beat 20th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has reached 1,000 regular-season wins after his side edged the Indiana Pacers 95-93 earlier today.

And over in Philly, Golden State are a bit off their game. Stephen Curry scored 20 points, Leandro Barbosa had 16 off the bench and the Warriors snapped Philadelphia's four-game home winning streak with an 89-84 victory over the 76ers.

Curry and Klay Thompson, the team's star long-range shooters, combined to make just four of their 18 3-point attempts.

In Minnesota, Al Horford scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and DeMarre Carroll added a career-best 26 points to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 117-105 win over the Timberwolves.

The San Diego Padres have reached an agreement with free-agent pitcher James Shields on a four-year deal that will pay him in the range of 75 million USD.

The veteran right-hander, who grew up near San Diego, provides the Padres with a workhorse in pitching-friendly Petco Park.

Shields ranks first among MLB pitchers with 1,785 2/3 innings pitched since 2007, according to baseball-reference.com. Seattle's Felix Hernandez is second in that span with 1,785 1/3 innings, while Detroit's Justin Verlander is third at 1,780 2/3.

Shields had a 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA, 180 strikeouts and just 44 walks in 227 innings for the Kansas City Royals last season.

The 33-year-old Shields, who has pitched more than 200 innings in every season since 2007, will join a rotation that includes Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy.

He has a career 114-90 record and 3.72 ERA over nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Royals.

FC Barcelona on Monday sacked B-team coach Eusebio Sacristan following a run of results which has left the side battling to avoid relegation from the Spanish second division (Liga Adelante) to the third tier of Spanish football.

Eusebio's sacking comes on the back of a 4-0 defeat to Zaragoza at the weekend which leaves Barcelona B in 17th position in the league, just two points above the relegation zone.

Egyptian authorities have suspended football league matches indefinitely after at least 22 fans were killed in clashes with police at a Cairo stadium.

People were crushed in a stampede after police fired tear gas at supporters of Zamalek who were trying to gain entry to a match against city rivals ENPPI.

Jay Chou and his wife Hannah Quinlivan, who married last month in England have held another wedding banquet in Taipei.

The couple celebrated their marriage at a banquet held at the W Hotel in Taipei. It was attended by friends and family who could not make the wedding in the UK.

The pair walked down the aisle accompanied by their dog Machi while Jay Chou's composition A Journey Diary about Love played in the background.

The singer known for his love of magic tricks also performed for the guests after cutting the cake.

Yu Lei, Chief script writer and designer of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala has spoken about the preparations for the mega New Year's Eve show.

She says that feedback from live audiences has been a key factor for producers to determine whether a candidate show could make the cut.

"Every performer should be able to have a feel about how the audience react, especially for the language-oriented show. Feedback from live audience has to be a very important criterion"

After the first two rehearsals, the team discovered the show exceeded the set length and now they are working on slimming it down.

Online ratings about Chunwan has become a global trend among young viewers expressing opinions and suggestions for arguably one of the most watched TV shows in China. This year the production crew have decided to embrace the internet critics by setting up a platform for a more transparent communication channel.

The film's release was originally penned for valentine's day, however was brought forward. Chinese actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei directs the film.

The film tells the story of a girl named Jin Tian, who goes to Prague after her fiancée breaks off their engagement. She meets a man name Peng Zeyang and their love story begins.

Xu Jinglei has said she is aiming for the film to take 200 million yuan at the box office. Producers have already said the film has already reached presale ticket volumes of 440,000.

Sony pictures teaming up with Marvel studios to bring a new version of Spider-Man character to life

Sony Pictures is teaming up with Disney-owned Marvel Studios to bring a new version of the Spider-Man character to life.

As part of the revamp, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film. The companies haven't revealed any details, but the movie is most likely to be Captain America: Civil War. Andrew Garfield is not expected to reprise the character.

Once the character is re-launched, Sony will then release a new Spider-Man movie in July 2017.

There is also talk of looking into ways to integrate characters from the Marvel cinematic universe as the Marvel movies are known, into future Spider-Man films.

The move is a major team up for the two rival studios. Spider-Man has been Sony's most lucrative franchise, while Disney's Marvel has had unprecedented success with its hero films.

The kung-fu star was speaking to a group of reporters this morning at a press conference in Singapore ahead of the premiere of his latest film Dragon Blade.

He told reporters that "once movies are done, they are gone. That's why I think movies are more important. I will see my family sooner or later."

His comments come just as his son Jaycee is getting ready for his release after spending six months in prison for accommodating drug users. He will be released this Friday.

When asked if he would say anything to his son after he is released, Chan said that he would not as he does not want to hurt his son again.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/10（在线收听）