新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/03/26（打印版）

Chinese and US officials talk about cooperation in the hunt for economic fugitives from China...

Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes in Yemen, targeting several locations in the capital...

One of the pilots of that crashed passenger jet in southern France had been locked out of the cockpit...

In Entertainment: a Chinese movie banned because of a star's drug arrest may be released after all...

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 8. It'll be cloudy on Friday with a high of 22.

The US State Department says Washington and Beijing are discussing China's ongoing hunt for fugitive corrupt officials in the US.

The comment made by State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki is in response to a media report that China has handed the U.S. government a priority list of over 150 high-profile fugitive officials with hopes to bring them back to China for trial.

Psaki confirms that China has provided such lists in the past, adding that the U.S. Department of Justice is cooperating with anti-corruption investigators in China.

"The Chinese – at the most recent meeting, the Chinese delegation agreed that they would supply us more evidence regarding their priority fugitive cases so that we can increase our focus on the location and prosecution or removal of these fugitives. So they have provided lists in the past, and certainly that's something that is ongoing."

She added that the U.S. State Department is also talking with China through legal and state channels regarding what information is needed and what steps can be taken.

Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels to protect the government of embattled President Abd rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was ousted in January.

Saudi ambassador in the US Adel Al-Jubeir says a coalition of 10 countries, including five Gulf monarchies, has been set up to protect the "legitimate" Yemeni government.

"We will do whatever it takes in order to protect the legitimate government of Yemen from falling and from facing any dangers from an outside militia. We have a situation where you have a militia group that is in control or can be in control of ballistic missiles, of heavy weapons and of an air force."

Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE say they have decided to answer the call of President Hadi to protect Yemen, as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.

Saudi Arabia has already mobilized 100 warplanes and 150,000 troops, while Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Sudan have expressed willingness to participate in a ground offensive in Yemen.

President Barack Obama has also authorized the "provision of logistical and intelligence support" to this military operation.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has criticised the airstrikes in Yemen, saying that it will not lead to peace, but instead "only bloodshed and slaughter of the people."

Rebel backed al-Masirah TV says ten civilians have been killed in air strikes in the Capital Sanaa.

Most oil tankers from Arab producers like Saudi Arabia have to pass Yemen's coastlines en-route to Europe.

Crude oil prices rose by around one percent on Thursday following news of the air strikes in Yemen.

Cockpit voice recordings from the German jet that crashed on Tuesday in the French Alps show that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the plane went down, killing all 150 people onboard.

The recordings did not make clear why the pilot left the cockpit or why he could not regain entry as the plane steadily descended toward a mountain range in a remote area of the French Alps.

Investigators were studying the voice recordings from one of the "black boxes" for answers on Thursday while the search continued for a second black box.

The airline has made arrangements to allow relatives of the passengers to travel to the crash site.

"I've been at the crash site myself yesterday with the German minister of Transport and Foreign Affairs. It was a terrible site to see the small pieces of debris and we have been organising with the French authorities the possibility for those relatives who want to get closer to the scene of the accident to get there."

French President Francois Hollande, Germany's Angela Merkel and Spain's Mariano Rajoy traveled to the crash site on Wednesday to pay tribute to the 150 victims, who were mostly from Germany and Spain.

The US has launched a series of air strikes against Islamic State militants in the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

The Pentagon says the order followed a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for assistance, after an Iranian backed ground offensive in the city came to a temporary standstill two weeks ago.

Tikrit is a strategically important town in Northern Iraq, that was overrun by Islamic State militants last year.

The operation to retake the town began earlier this month, led by Iraqi soldiers and Shia militiamen. They had made rapid progress, taking several villages along the river Tigris and entering the Southern districts of the city.

The battle for Tikrit is seen as an important step towards regaining control of the larger city of Mosul.

The Iraqi ground offensive, that had stopped earlier due to high casualty figures has resumed on Wednesday.

Media reports say the military has confirmed that it has taken over all the strategic positions in the region and is calling on all Kokang ethnic army fighters to lay down their arms.

The past weeks saw aerial bombings and close-quarter combat in the region, while the Myanmar government was grappling to end decades of border insurgencies in a fresh round of ceasefire talks that began last week.

Tens of thousands of refugees have fled into China's Yunnan province since fighting in Kokang first flared up in early February.

The Kokang ethnic group's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army is accused by the government of being enmeshed in drug trafficking.

Turkey has officially submitted its application in a bid to become a prospective founding member of China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB.

European nations including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland have applied to join the AIIB as founding members.

Applications to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank remain open until the end of this month.

Anchor: The Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia held its first discussion session on Thursday afternoon.

For the first time, issues of China's inclusive approach to international finance and rural banking were high on the official agenda. CRI's Min Rui has more.

After ten years of rural banking reform in China, the rural economy has made considerable progress.

But the economic development of rural areas has been relatively slow when compared to that of urban areas.

In order to gain a better understanding of China's ongoing rural financial reforms, a focus group selected four typical areas in Hainan, Jiangsu, Shanxi and Zhejiang to evaluate the effectiveness of rural financial reforms. The group also aimed to uncover the segments in which the rural finance system needs to further improve.

The outcome of a study Report on Development of Rural Finance 2015 was published at the first discussion session of the Boao Forum.

In the report, Hainan Qiongzhong's experiment was highlighted as a successful example of rural finance reform.

"More than 60 percent of the farmers in Hainan Province have access to small loans, 10 percent more than in other places. The average interest rate is between 7 percent and 8 percent, the highest is 15 percent. What's more, the Hainan government provides a no less than 5 percent discount on the compounded interest. Thus the farmers only need to shoulder a very low interest rate, which leads to a generally widespread willingness to take advantage of the loans."

The latest round of rural financial reform kicked off in 2003 and the following decade saw rural financial institutions diversify increasingly over time.

"We rank among the top worldwide when it comes to the size of small loans. It is the small loan business that makes us among the top. This runs contrary to the older image attracting deposits, but without complementary lending. The small loan business laid the foundation for us to transition from a deposit and remittance institution to a commercial bank."

More loans and low interest rates from the bank are not the only things that are needed. Interest subsidies from the government are also considered to be an important part of the support of rural development.

Wu Xiaoling, Dean of the School of Finance at Tsinghua University, is promoting a new rural household responsibility production mechanism with support from the government.

"The only way forward for rural development is to move towards a more economically efficient form of production. Under the current land ownership system in China, separated farms won't be a good idea to promote. Things are more likely to succeed if we put farmers in a household responsibility production mechanism that takes advantage of the government's financial support and technical support."

Earlier this month, China's banking regulator urged financial institutions nationwide to channel more financial support to rural areas to help modernize the agricultural sector.

China's top legislature says that a 1985 resolution authorizing the State Council to levy business taxes will be nullified by 2020.

This means that by the target date all taxes in the country will require legislation to be enacted.

The State Council had been given the authority to levy business taxes through regulations several years after the launch of the reform and opening-up drive.

Professor Zhu Qing from the School of Finance at Renmin University explains the reasons behind the current practice.

"At that time, many systems and regulations were badly in-need of being established, and the situation was quite complex. Under those circumstances, it was necessary for the top legislature to authorize the State Council to levy business tax. With the deepening of the reform and opening up, the improvement of tax laws and the strengthening of legislative power of the top legislature, now it is time to set all taxes by legislation."

Of China's 18 existing taxes, only three -- individual income tax, corporate income tax, and vehicle and vessel tax -- are levied through legislation. The rest 15 are imposed through formal or provisional regulations issued by the State Council.

A senior health official has said China will continue to send medical teams to help African countries fight Ebola and further develop cooperation within the healthcare sector.

The announcement was made during the 5th international roundtable on China-Africa health collaboration.

An official with China's National Health and Family Planning Commission says China has been sending medical aid to Africa for half a century.

Ren Minghui adds that since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak a year ago the Chinese government has provided medical support worth around 750 million Yuan.

"As a whole, China has sent nearly a thousand medical staff to Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and other surrounding countries. There are nearly five thousand virus samples collected, eight hundred patients treated and more than 120 thousand people trained on the Ebola control. "

In the last five decades, more than 20 thousand Chinese volunteers have helped to treat more than 230 million patients in 45 countries and regions in Africa.

Anchor: Ren Minghui with China's National Health and Family Planning Commission has also said it is a crucial time to hold discussion on China-Africa cooperation in the health sector.

Over 300 representatives from China and Africa healthcare circles are gathering in Beijing for the 5th International Roundtable on China-Africa Health Collaboration.

Ren Minghui, Director-general of the International Cooperation Department of the National Health and Family Planning Committee of China, says it's a critical time to discuss health cooperation:

"Not long ago, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized health cooperation along with industrial cooperation, and security cooperation as three key areas to enhance China-Africa cooperation. And Health development will be an integral part of the new international development goals as the Millennium Development Goals will expire this year. So it's quite meaningful for us to hold this meeting."

The roundtable not only serves as a platform for China-Africa health cooperation, but also presents policy recommendations for the Sixth Ministerial Conference of China- Africa Cooperation to be held Later this year.

When asked about what policies she would like to make to the Ministerial meeting, Luwei Pearson, a regional health adviser from UNICEF, said she hoped the actual voice of Africa was being heard:

"I think it's important for China to form an investment plan according to the actual needs of Africa and the African people. I think we need to deliver the voice of African people, the voice of medical workers working there. There are over 50 countries in Africa. Each country has its distinct conditions. If China wants to spend the money in the right way, it needs to know what the right way is."

Meanwhile, Dr. Delanyo Dovlo with the WHO regional office for Africa has emphasized the role of local communities:

"One of the major things that are critical to get our health system function is understanding our communities and their needs. It's important to change the way how we interact with our communities. And we need to learn how to do that. Not because communities are the same but because they are very different."

Experts say the policy recommendations formed in the roundtable are expected to help promote health coverage and expand access to essential medicines in Africa.

The ship-building sector posted gains following reports that China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and China State Shipbuilding Corporation will merge. The two shares both rose by the daily limit of 10 percent.

At the closing bell, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained nearly three fifths of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, most shares slipped today as the escalating tensions in the Middle East provided a tailwind for oil prices.

The Japanese Nikkei plummeted by over one and one third of a percent, its biggest daily decline in two months.

China's macro-economic regulator has announced that the prices of gasoline and diesel will be dropping again.

The bulk rate will drop by 200 yuan per ton at midnight. For drivers, the price will drop about a fifth of yuan per litre.

The regulator has also ordered oil companies to strictly carry out the price policy and ensure stability of the oil supply.

Analysts say oil prices have been largely dragged down by the slump affecting international crude oil prices, spurred by the global over-supply of oil.

Australia's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into comments by a senior mining company executive.

Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group has reportedly told a banquet in Shanghai that mining companies should be putting a cap on production levels to help inflate iron ore prices.

The Australian Competition Commission is now looking into the statement, saying the proposal could breach competition laws.

For more on Iron Ore prices, the Beijing Hour's Paul James spoke earlier with CRI's Financial Commentator Cao Can.

China's State Council has pledged to boost the implementation of the "Made in China 2025" strategy.

Earlier, Miao Wei, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said the move is expected to further upgrade the manufacturing sector.

"China is a main manufacturing country but it's not a manufacturing power. Many key enterprises are yet to become globally competitive. We still need to make breakthroughs in a large number of major technologies and key equipment in various industries. In addition, we should develop some important and key products that can be positioned well in the international market."

According to a mid- to long-term plan made by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, it will take three decades to transform China from a big manufacturing country into a manufacturing power, and the "Made in China 2025" strategy is the first step.

Twenty six Chilean wineries will showcase their product for the Chinese market at the China Food and Drinks Fair this week in Chengdu city.

An official from Chile's export promotion bureau says Chinese consumers will have access to more and better quality Chilean wines at preferential prices, since China eliminated tariffs on Chilean wines under a free trade agreement.

Meanwhile, a senior Italian official in Chengdu says Italy is looking to topple France as the top exporter of wine to China.

A report says the wine consumption in China expanded by around 6 percent last year compared with 2013, despite a gloomy political and economic situation for the market.

E-commerce company Alibaba Group has permanently shut down 26 online shops for trying to bribe Alibaba staff and seek improper gains.

The move comes after Alibaba vowed to clamp down on fake goods, bogus transactions, and corruption to uphold a healthy online eco-system for shoppers.

The company stated in an open letter to its vendors that no shortcuts or unspoken rules are allowed on Alibaba's platforms.

According to its regulations, members who seek improper gains by bribing Alibaba's staff will be banned from the platform and wrongdoers will be reported to law enforcement departments.

Alibaba's online eco-system has been under the spotlight since its 25 billion dollars initial public offering last year.

Its shares fell nearly 3 percent earlier this month after it was revealed that sellers bloated sales numbers and gained prominence by paying others to pretend to be customers.

News from Bloomberg, consumers will be able to take older iPhones to Apple stores in China for credit against the company's products as soon as the end of this month.

Foxconn, a key Apple supplier, will buy the iPhones directly, without Apple taking ownership.

The China plan is similar to a trade-in program launched in the US in 2013, which bolstered sales.

Under the US program, non-Apple devices are acceptable. In China, however, only Apple phones are currently involved.

China's fourth-largest air carrier, Hainan Airlines, says it is planning to buy 30 Dreamliner airplanes from Boeing. The deal is worth almost $8 billion dollars.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on Sri Lanka to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese companies, expressing willingness to deepen cooperation in trade and infrastructure with the South Asian country.

The president made the remarks during talks with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who is paying a state visit to China and attending the 2015 Boao Forum for Asia.

Sirisena says the current situation with the China-funded port project in Colombo is temporary as problems with the project do not lie with China.

He says his country welcomes more investment from China, promising a healthy investment climate in his country.

The 1.4 billion-U.S. dollar port city project was part of a deal reached between China and Sri Lanka under the former Sri Lankan government. The new government, which took office in January, decided to re-examine it.

China will soon launch a campaign code name "Skynet" to capture corrupt officials who have fled abroad.

The country's anti-graft authority says it will be another major campaign to nab fugitive suspects of economic offenses following the "Fox Hunt" campaign last year.

The new campaign, starting next month, will focus on capturing corrupt officials, cleaning up illegal certificates, busting underground banks, recovering assets involved in criminal cases and persuading fugitive suspects to return home.

A doctor from Beijing on vacation in the US has saved the life of an American woman at Sea World in San Diego, California.

Officials at the popular tourist attraction have confirmed that a woman collapsed at the park last month.

The doctor has been identified as Tang Ziren, a supervisor at the emergency department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital. The doctor wrote about the incident on his Weibo acccount on March 21st, saying he performed CPR on the woman after she suffered a heart attack.

The story on his social media account has received 50-thousand "likes" and more than nine thousand comments and re-posts.

At least 14 workers have been killed and more than 20 injured when scaffolding collapsed at a building site in central Vietnam's Ha Tinh province on Wednesday.

Local police say that all the victims were Vietnamese subcontractors hired to work on a seaport breakwater project.

The Son Duong seaport is part of one of Vietnam's largest special economic zones, where a Taiwan company, Formosa Plastics Corporation, is building a multi-billion dollar steel complex.

Hainan Airlines has become the first Chinese airline to pilot a commercial passenger flight using biofuel produced from waste cooking oil known as "gutter oil," sparking heated debate across the country.

Flight HU7604 traveled two hours between Shanghai and Beijing on Saturday morning, powered by a "half-half" mixture of traditional jet fuel and biofuel developed from gutter oil.

Hainan Airlines says the fuel mix underwent a series of stringent safety examinations and tests by aviation authorities before obtaining official approval for the maiden flight.

Hainan Airlines and Sinopec say the oil mixture can gradually reduce carbon emissions by 35 percent, and also effectively reduce particle pollution.

But that effect can be realized only if biofuel is in mass production and application, the chance of which is now dampened by high production costs.

Statistics show that China's annual output of gutter oil is over 30 million tons, but only about 2 million tons can be collected and recycled.

Unborn babies appear to grimace in the womb when their mother lights up, scientists have shown, demonstrating the harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy.

Pregnant women have long been urged to give up cigarettes because they heighten the risk of premature birth, respiratory problems and even cot death.

Now researchers believe they can show the effects of smoking on babies in the womb - and use the images to encourage mothers who are struggling to give up.

Both 3D and 4D ultrasounds have become very popular in recent years, with some mothers opting to have the images taken once each month during pregnancy.

Beijing education authorities have launched inspection tours of kindergartens to ensure that children are not overburdened with schoolwork.

Although Chinese, mathematics and English are supposed to be taught to primary school students, it is not uncommon to see preschool-age children across China being forced to study these subjects.

In 2012, the Ministry of Education told kindergartens not to burden pupils with schoolwork on the pretext of holding special or experimental classes.

The ministry also directed kindergartens not to assign homework to preschool children. But in practice, few local education authorities and kindergartens have followed the rule.

Fully implementing this regulation has become difficult due to the growing competition for admission to schools and inadequate seats for applicants.

Some parents are too anxious about their children's lagging behind and would send their children to other training schools, which also fails to reduce the pressure on children.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival is underway, with movie fans and experts sharing their insights about Asia's film industry.

China's "New Silk Road" initiative has been widely heralded for its potential to reshape Asia's economic landscape.

Ma Runsheng, a renowned director and producer from Beijing, believes it will also have a profound impact on the region's movie and entertainment industry.

"A Bite of China has been translated into 9 languages and aired in more than 70 countries and regions. Each single episode of the documentary has been well received. So I was considering whether we could produce A Bite of Asia, or A Bite Along the Silk Road, to introduce Asian food in new areas. That would be delicious. "

Aired in 2012, A Bite of China is a series of food documentaries telling the histories and stories behind Chinese cuisine. It was a big hit and has drawn millions of viewers online.

Ma Runsheng also has a suggestion for what filmmakers can do to promote their works globally.

"You can introduce your productions to us and we can translate them and distribute them to other countries, so they can be appreciated by global audience without language barriers. I also hope good Chinese movies, TV dramas, animations and documentaries can be played in overseas TV channels."

Yasushi Shiina, Director General of Tokyo International Film Festival, says movies have no boundaries.

"Movies provide a diverse platform for Asian countries to exchange ideas and understand each other better."

Director of Busan International Film Festival Lee Yong-Kwan says they have learned a lot from the region's film festivals.

"We have set up trans-national movie foundations to invite students to go abroad to study and travel, so they can learn others' cultures and in return, put their knowledge into practice."

India's "Bollywood," Japan's "J-pop" and South Korea's "K-pop" have already established their names globally, while the ASEAN countries, strategically located on the first leg of the "New Silk Road", have committed to opening their film markets this year.

Asia's movie industry is booming as the world's largest and fastest growing film market. Last year, combined box office receipts in this region accounted for 80 percent of all global growth in the sector.

Querrey ensured the first day ended without an American exit following his triumph the second consecutive Masters 1000 event on the ATP World Tour.

Elsewhere, it was a narrow but straight-sets win for Austrian Dominic Thiem over Diego Schwartzman.

He'll be joined by Juan Monaco of Argentina, who defeated Ruben Bemelmans of　Belgium, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4.

Two-time Miami Open champion Victoria Azarenka easily advanced to the second round Wednesday, beating Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain 6-1, 6-3.

Azarenka took a 4-1 lead in the first set before Soler-Espinosa held serve in the fifth game. In the second set, Azarenka initially trailed 3-1 before winning the next five games to end the match.

And Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who has had two shoulder surgeries the past five years, won her first WTA Tour-level match since the Memphis tournament in February 2010.

The 328th-ranked Vaidisova, who had a career-high ranking of No. 7 in 2007, beat Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos 6-1, 7-6.

And finally, 45th-ranked Sloane Stephens posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium

Chinese Football Association has closed the deal to extend national team coach Alain Perrin's contract to 2018.

The estimated salary for Perrin and his two assistants will be around two million dollars annually.

Perrin coached Chinese team to reach the Asian Cup quarterfinals in January, but team China were ultimately laid low in a 2-0 loss to the host Socceroos, the eventual winner of the tournament.

China's overall performance under Perrin's helm since March last year has been impressive and the Frenchman's pragmatic style likely also played a role in persuding CFA to go ahead with the contract extension.

Team China has played a total of 14 games, including 10 friendlies, with Perrin in charge, losing only two games, 1-3 to Mali in a friendly and 2-0, to Australia in the Asian Cup.

James Harden scored 25 points and 10 assists as the Houston Rockets handed the New Orleans Pelicans their fourth straight loss with a 95-93 victory.

The Valero Texas Open is the penultimate tournament before the Masters, with players jockeying for a spot in the top 50 in the world rankings to gain entry to Augusta.

It will take place this week on the Oaks Course, a 7,435 yard par 72 course. This year's victor will take home US$ 1,116,000 of the US$ 6.2 million purse as well as 500 FedEx Cup points.

There have been nine multiple-time winners over the years, with Arnold Palmer and Justin Leonard taking the title three times each.

Zach Johnson has won it twice and will be in the field later today, along with Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Jimmy Walker and Phil Mickelson.

Johnson says that its easy to overstate the degree to which TPC San Antonio prepares players for Augusta:

"I mean, yeah, that certainly doesn't hurt. Any time you have, you know I would say, slope change, undulations around the greens and rye overseed that helps, you know, for Augusta cause that's what we're gonna see. All that being said, I mean, you know, I mean, lotta guys play Houston - they think it's comparable so I don't know if there's a true golf course out there that would get you perfectly ready for Augusta."

Next week the PGA Tour heads to the GC of Houston for the Shell Houston Open before moving to Augusta for the Masters on 9-12 April.

Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees faced their New York rivals, the Mets, in a spring training game in Tampa on Wednesday afternoon.

Tanaka, making his third appearance in spring training, gave up a leadoff double to Juan Legares and Legares scored two batters later.

Yankees catcher John Murphy couldn't handle a low pitch from Tanaka, allowing Legares to make it to third safely and, when Murphy's throw bounced past Chase Headley, the Mets centre fielder made it home safely for the first run of the afternoon.

Tanaka then walked Lucas Duda, but left the Met stranded on first base by sending John Mayberry Jr. and Kirk Nieuwenhuis down on strikes to end the inning.

"All things taken into consideration, I think I was able to get the most out of all of my starts this Spring."

Tanaka was able to get the Mets down in order in the top of the third inning but, after striking out Duda to open the fourth, Mayberry belted 1-0 pitch to left field for a solo home run.

When all was said and done, Tanaka limited the Mets to three runs - two earned - over four and two-thirds innings pitched, but it was not enough as the Yanks lost to their cross-town rivals 7-2.

It has been reported that Wang Xuebing's latest movie "A Fool" might be released as planned on May 1st.

The film has been facing a possible ban recently after Wang Xuebing, one of its leading stars, had been detained because of drug use in Beijing.

A poster of the movie has just been released with the theme "return," three of the main characters walking along a road, but the position that is said to be Wang Xuebing is now empty with only a shadow.

It was a triumphant night for China at the 9th Asian Film Awards held in Macau last night, grabbing 10 prizes from 14 categories.

As predicted director Lou Ye's "Blind Massage," about the lives of a group of blind massage therapists, won best film.

As predicted Ann Hui won best director for "The Golden Era," a three-hour literary epic starring Tang Wei as the 1930s novelist Xiao Hong, one of China's most-prominent women writers.

"Gone With the Bullets," starring Jiang Wen, who also directed the film, took home the most awards, all in technical categories.

The awards glowed in a bit of Hollywood glamour with the presence of musician-singer Jermaine Jackson, who presented the award for best composer.

U.S. producers Cameron Jones and Jerry Weintraub are set to produce two movies in China with Beijing's Galloping Horse, the company behind John Woo's "The Crossing."

Jones will produce "Forever Young," an English-language musical comedy with Eric Stoltz, who has a track record in musicals, including directing 13 episodes of 'Glee,' set to direct.

Production is expected to begin by the end of the year, with filming locations in China and America.

Weintraub will produce "Legion One," a martial arts action comedy, that will likely follow later.

Under recently appointed head of film, Ray Chen, Galloping Horse is expanding feature film activities, and has green-lighted two other local Chinese titles "Lost In New York," and "Love From Another Planet."

Combined production budgets for the four titles are reported to be in excess of $81 million, with Galloping Horse putting up approximately $24 million of the total, alongside finance partners and distributors Enlight and Le Vision Pictures.

Hong Kong film project "Lazy Hazy Crazy" and "That Summer" from the Chinese mainland were both winners at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.

"Lazy Hazy Crazy" is a $1.5 million youth love story and the directorial debut of Luk Yee-sum.

The young director also bagged the iQIYI Special Award, a new prize created by the major Chinese Internet video platform.

"That Summer" is a drama about a 10-year-old boy who discovered his father's secret affair with the daughter-in-law of his elderly neighbor.

Director Zhou Quan and producer Terence Chang have assembled one-fifth of the project's $1 million budget.

Established in 2012, the HAF aims to develop feature films with regional appeal by providing support for promising scripts.

25 features and five documentaries were also presented at the event in search of finance and production partners. More than 300 submissions were received this year.

Malick said his life with the band has been more than he could ever have imagined, but after five years now is the right time to leave the band.

Chinese and US officials talk about cooperation in the hunt for economic fugitives from China...

On behalf of all the Beijing Hour staffers, 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.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/03/26（在线收听）