Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital...

Coming up on the program this evening...

An official in Washington, DC says they hope Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent trip to the US capital will help spur more Chinese interest in the city.

China's trade services defecit widens in September.

Next week will see the first public access to the western part of the Forbidden City in the 90-years since it was turned into the Palace Museum.

US President Barack Obama expressing frustration following the latest school shooting in the United States.

In Sports... a Chinese teenager sets a record in the opening round of the Pan Pacific Open golf tournament in Hong Kong.

in the 2nd half of the hour, an edition of People In the Know.

All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

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Top NewsUS officials speak highly of Chinse president's visitPraise among leading voices in the United States is still coming in following Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the country last week.

Former U.S. State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley says Xi Jinping's time in the US is a sign of just how far both sides have come over the years.

"Anytime a United States president and a Chinese president get together at a high level, it's an important conversation and it's a meaningful conversation. It just indicates how broad and deep the relationship between China and the United States has become over the past 40 years."David Do with the Washington, DC Mayor's Office says Xi Jinping's time touring the US capital should help promote stronger Chinese interest in DC.

"It's incredibly important and that's why the mayor [Muriel Bowser] went to greet the president. She really values the president and she wants to continue that relationship. The relationship between our city and our sister city in Beijing is an extraordinary relationship. We have a lot of economic development opportunities between the two cities."Tourists from China now account for the largest number of foreign visiters to Washington, DC.

China's donation to help promote UN WOMEN's work: officialThe United Nations' Women's organization is lauding the recent announcement of a Chinese donation to help the organization advance gender equality and women's empowerment.

Josephine Odera, the senior advisor for UN WOMEN, says the recent announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping of a 10-million US dollar donation to the program will go a long way toward helping them meet their goals.

"The president of China addressed the United Nations. We were particularly delighted at UN WOMEN because he brought up very clearly some of our strategic concerns regarding gender equality and women's empowerment. He mentioned, for example, that we must strive for women's development in tandem with the social and economic development. This, in fact, is one of our strategic areas."Odera says the Chinese President's speech to the UN last week should go a long way toward bringing understanding to the work her organization is doing.

"And perhaps even added to that was the acknowledgment by the president that we cannot go far economically if we don't have women who are developed, who are participating in the social economic development of nations. So that is a very important message, and that is one that UN WOMEN fully subscribes to."UN Women was established in 2011.

Its main goal is to help ensure gender-equality is part of any program put forward by the United Nations.

China's foreign service trade deficit widensNew data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange shows the deficit in China's foreign service trade continued to widen through August.

The service trade deficit has come in at around 144-billion yuan, or about 23 billion U.S. dollars, in August.

That's about 36-billion more above the figures in July, and 50-billion more than June.

The deficit came as spending in service trades increased sharply from July.

Trade in services covers intangible products such as transportation, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing and accounting.

The State Council, China's cabinet, has promised to accelerate the development of trade in services, including the gradual opening up of the finance, education, culture and medical treatment sectors.

Over 12 million Rail Passenger trips made on Oct 1st in ChinaNew figures suggest some 12-million passenger trips were made on the October 1st National Day holiday.

Among all Chinese cities, Beijing alone saw the largest influx of over a million tourists.

An extra 240 trains were put on the system across China on Thurdsay to cope with the increased passenger flows.

More than 532 million domestic trips are expected to be made by train during the current holiday.

The week-long National Day holiday, known as a "Golden week," is one of the peak travel times on the calendar every year in China.

Western Section of the Palace Museum to open for the 1st time in 90 yrsAnticipation among history buffs is running high ahead of the opening up of the western section of the Forbidden City.

Officials with the Palace Museum in Beijing are set to open the western part of the Imperial Palace compound for the first time in 90-years on October 10th.

The western part is home to the renowned Cining and Shoukang Palaces.

Wang Zilin, deputy director with the Palace Museum, says they've put a lot of work into restoring the palaces.

"People are really looking forward to seeing it because it used to be a place where empresses lived. The place is very large, with beautiful furnishings inside the palace, including the best things found during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. We have restored it entirely to what it looked like during that period."Cining Palace is where the Empress Dowager Cixi lived.

It's been transformed into an exhibition hall, where some 12-hundred pieces will be on display.

The 600 square-meter Shoukang Palace has been restored to what it looked like during the reign of Emperor Qianlong from 1735 to 1796.

Even ahead of the opening of the western section of the Forbidden City, the site still remains a popular draw.

Officials had to shut the doors at 1pm yesterday after the daily limit of 80-thousand tickets sold out within hours.

Juilliard School to open first overseas branch in TianjinIt's been announced the New York-based Juilliard School of Music is going to establish its first overseas campus in Tianjin by 2018.

Juillard and the Tianjin Conservatory of Music are teaming up to provide graduate courses in music.

A master's degree obtained in Tianjin will be recognized in the United States.

The New York-Based Juilliard School was founded in 1905.

Its alumni have collectively won more than 100 Grammy Awards and over 60 Tony Awards.

Modern Kazakh Horse WhisperersAnchor:

Today we bring you the second installment of our special series on Xinjiang to help mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the autonomous region this week.

In this edition, we'll take you to Altay Prefecture in the remote northern region of Xinjiang to bring you the story of Muratbek Kykysha, an ethnic Kazakh horse trainer and herder.

Here's CRI's Guo Yan.

Reporter:

Bowled down by a dashing horse, the trainer jumped up at once and rushed to his target, trying to catch the horse with a long rope.

Having missed the chance for a couple of times, he finally haltered the horse.

Waking up early in the morning, the man starts his day by feeding his horses and training them.

Muratbek caressed the neck of his horse while murmuring to it, seemingly talking with his little fellow which he had just tamed.

The 28-year-old has a sun tanned face and a stunning smile.

He is now a staff member of the Golden Triangle Cattle and Sheep Cooperative.

Most of the time he works as a horse trainer on a farm of the cooperative.

Muratbek introduces his horse and explains the secret of taming it.

"This horse is from Mongolia. We have trained it for two years. To harness the horse, first locate your target. Make sure which one you want to catch and rope it. After you get the horse, hold tight to its ears and then saddle it. It's better to train the horse when it's a foal. It's tough to train when it's grown. "As a tradition, Kazakhs race horses on many important occasions like wedding and festivals.

Muratbek is proud of his previous record of horse racing and hopes his little fellow can finish well in the coming race.

"From 2013, I have been training two horses especially for racing. One is a three-year-old foal, and another is older. They won the second and third places, respectively, in horse races. I was awarded 2000 yuan to 3000 yuan in the game. It's actually not a big sum. But I don't race for money. I just love it. "He adds the method of training a horse for racing is different. (03:45)"For example, I got the horse in August. In the first two months, I took it on daily training courses. And the horse was not allowed to drink too much water or eat too much grass. Every morning, I take it out and let it run for an hour. And then feed it some water and food. I usually let it walk around in the afternoon and let it run for two to three kilometers in the evening. After two months of intensive training, it could compete in a horse race. You do your best and trust the rest to luck."Muratbek says he feels his heart beating fast when he hears the horse neighing on the race course.

He recalled an exciting moment during a game in 2014.

"When the horse walked onto the track, I almost had my heart in my mouth. It ranked the third in a game during a wedding ceremony. The family of the bridegroom held the event. Around fifty to sixty horses ran together. It was about twenty to thirty kilometers. The winner won a camel, and the runner-up won a sheep."Apart from the breathtaking moment, for Muratbek, training or racing horses is also dangerous.

Yet he has already become used to the game for the brave.

"The hardest part is trying to catch the horses. I have to catch them one by one. When you try to catch a horse with a rope, the horse will drag you. You have to hold on tight. If you let go, (the horse) will drag you along with the rope and you'll never catch it. It's dangerous. But we are used to it. We'll probably catch just one horse a day. We'll fall down to the ground quite a lot. It hurts but we're already used to it."Among all the tasks of his daily routine, working with horses is his favorite part.

Muratbek's passion for horse riding began in his childhood.

As described by local folks, their children are born on horsebacks.

Like many others in his hometown, Muratbek has been a consummate rider since he was a child.

"When I was a child, my family moved around in the mountains with flocks of cattle and sheep. I learned to ride horses when I was five. When we moved, we rode horses and camels. At the beginning of October, we started our journeys into the mountains. For two to three days, we moved along with the flock of sheep and cows and stayed awake all night. Just like that."Growing up in such an environment, Muratbek says he felt there's a connection between him and his horses.

"Kazakhs" bears the meaning of "White Swans", which represents purity, kindness and strong wills.

With living standards greatly improved nowadays, Muratbek Kykysha and his fellow Kazakhs many not have to cope with the harsh conditions, but their character of being courageous, strong-minded and generous inherited from their ancestors carries on.

EndingFor CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

A School Shooting at Umpqua Community College Shatters the Peaceful Life It Once hadAnchor:

At least 10-people are dead following a shooting at a community college campus in the US state of Oregon.

The shooting has left the sleepy community in the rural part of Oregon searching for answers.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

The shooter, identified as 26-year old Chris Mercer, opened fire at Umpqua Community College in the small city of Roseburg on Thursday, killing 9 people and leaving 7 others injured before eventually being gunned down by police.

The motiviation behind the mass shooting is still unclear.

However, reports are emerging suggesting the shooter asked people to declare their religious affiliations before shooting them.

John Hanlin is the Sheriff in the city of Roseburg, which is a small logging community of around 22-thousand located a couple of hours south of Portland.

"It is a peaceful community. I mean we have our share of crime like any small community but certainly this is a huge shock to the entire community to have this level of crime and incident occurred in our college or school system."Neigbors of the shooter are describing the 26-year old Chris Mercer as a quiet, but seemingly angry young man.

His father Ian, who lives a few hours away in northern California, has issued a brief response to reporters gathered at his home.

"I've just been talking to the police and the FBI, we're not going into detail about that right now. You guys know already. Okay? I can't answer any questions right now, I don't want to answer any questions right now. Obviously it's been a devastating day. Devastating for me and my family. So all I ask is, I know you guys are here to do the job, all I ask is, please just respect our privacy. So far you've done that. So, shocked. Shocked is all I can say."Meanwhile, people in Roseburg have gathered for a candle-light vigil in the wake of the shooting, with many trying to come to grips with what's happened.

"I don't know what to feel right now, I'm terrified. I'm stressed out about it. I was so excited to start college here and it was going great for the first couple days and then this happens and it's like I don't want to go back there for a long time."The shooting in southern Oregon is just the latest in a string of mass shootings which continue to haunt the United States.

Between 1996 and 2012, there were 90 mass shootings in the United States, which account for around one-third of the world's total during that period.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

Frustrated Obama Calls for Common Sense Gun Control LegislationAnchor:

US President Barack Obama is renewing his call for tighter gun control measures in the wake of the shooting in Oregon.

CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong has more.

Ann:

A frustrated President Obama spoke Thursday night in response to the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg.

"Somehow, this has become a routine. The reporting is routine. My response here in this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this."The President went on to say that the United States is not the only country where people have mental health issues. But he acknowledged sadly that the U.S. is the only country that sees mass shootings every few months and it is the only advanced country on earth that lacks common sense gun control legislation.

President Obama began to push for gun control laws after a gunman shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut just a few days before Christmas in 2012. However, his efforts did not go through the Congress.

He made a new push Thursday night in the wake of the latest tragedy.

"This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction."He vowed to bring these issues to congress in order to bring about the needed changes.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

NKorea FM Justifies the country's satellite launchesEven more signs are emerging that North Korea is preparing a rocket launch later this month.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong has used an address at the UN General Assembly to justify his country's rights as a member of the United Nations.

"Our development of outer space for peaceful purposes is a legitimate right of a sovereign state and our nuclear test is a self-defensive measure to cope with a hostile policy and nuclear threat of the United States. It is the steadfast resolve and position of the government of the DPRK to safeguard its dignity by responding strongly to the end with all available self-defensive measures against unjust acts of taking issue with the peaceful satellite launch."Speculation has been mounting North Korea is planning to launch a satellite into space to mark the anniversary later this month of the founding of the ruling Korean Workers Party.

Previous launches have led to additional sanctions on North Korea, as UN-member countries have determined the launches violate UN resolutions against ballistic missile testing by North Korea.

Meanwhile, Ri Su Yong says North Korea will return to the negotiating table if a peace treaty can be worked out on the Korean Peninsula.

"The government of the DPRK is willing to hold constructive dialogue to prevent war and conflicts on the Korean Peninsula once the United States agrees to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty without claiming about someone's provocation through mass media."The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistace, rather than a peace treaty, meaning North and South Korea are still technically at war.

Earlier this week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye issued a statement, calling on the North to stop its nuclear and missile developments immediately.

Tensions in Korean Peninsula have been escalating since August when the two countries exchanged fire over the border.

No immediate signs of DPRK's long-range rocket launch: S.KoreaSouth Korea's Defense Ministry says it's not detected any signs North Korea has immediate plans to launch a long-range rocket.

The comments follow reports in Japan which suggest freight trains, possibly loaded with a long-range rocket, have been spotted heading to North Korea's rocket launch base in the country's northwest, not far from the border with China.

There has been growing speculation North Korea may be planning to launch a satellite into space to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of what would later become the ruling Korean Workers Party, which will fall on October 10th.

North Korean authorities recently erected a 67-meter tall launch tower for long-range rockets at its launch site, which is much larger than the original 50-meter tall tower.

This is suggesting preparations could be underway for the launch of a much larger rocket than the one North Korea sent up in December of 2012.

That launch prompted the UN to level more sanctions on North Korea, as it was viewed as a ballistic missile test, which aren't allowed in North Korea under UN resolutions.

Mexico Agrees to Speed up Extraditions to USA new fast-track extradition agreement has been reached between the United States and Mexico to expodite the transfer of suspects to stand trial in the US.

The agreement comes on the heels of the high-profile escape of one of Mexico's leading drug cartel figures, who had been awaiting transfer to the United States to stand trial.

Jose Alberto Rodriguez with Mexico's Attorney General's Office says the new agreement has nothing to do with the recent transfer of 13 people, including a pair of high-profile cartel leaders, into US custody.

"With or without the escape of el-Chapo Guzman, these 13 extraditions had already been in the works for a very long period of time, and had been making progress. And, I repeat, with El Chapo jailed, or El Chapo on the run from justice, the 13 cases would still be on their way independently of the fate of Joaquin Guzman Loera."Alleged Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as El-Chapo, managed to escape prison in July while awaiting transfer to the United States to stand trial on a series of charges.

It's the 2nd time he's managed to escape federal prison in Mexico.

His latest escape has raised a series of new questions from US officials about the abilitiy or willingness of Mexican authorities to transfer alleged drug lords to the United States to stand trial.

Macao's gaming revenue down 33 pct in Sept.

The latest figures out of Macau show yet another month-on-month decline in casino revenues across the region.

Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordiation Bureau is reporting gaming revenues came in at just over 17-billion patacas in September, which is around 2.2-billion US dollars.

This is a 33-percent drop compared with September of last year.

This marks the 16th-straight month of casino revenue declines in Macau.

A series of austerity measures have been put in-place in Macau since early September after the casino revenue figures began falling below the 20-billion pataca per month "red line" the local authorities have set in the annual budget.

Gambling revenues in Macau have taking a significant hit since authorities on the mainland began their austerity drive in late 2013.

However, a sharp downturn in the number of so-called "high rollers" going to Macau over the past year has seen gaming revenues through the first 8-months of this year drop by over 36-percent.

Mainland golfer with early lead at Asia Pacific Amature golf championshipsIn golf,17-year old mainland golfer Jin Cheng has the early lead at the Asia-Pacific Amature Championships, firing a record-breaking 8-under-62 in his opening round at the Clearwater Bay course in Hong Kong this morning.

Jin finished out his first round earlier this morning after Thursday's golf was cut short by rain.

He has a 2-stroke lead over a young golfer from Singapore.

The winner of this year's event gets an invitation to next year's Masters Tournament, as well as a slot in the final round of qualifying for the British Open.

Semi-Finals set at Wuhan OpenIn tennis,One half of the finals is now set at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament.

Unseeded Venus Williams has made it into the final after downing 15th seeded Roberta Vinci in a 3-set tiebreaker, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6.

Williams will be up against either 5th seeded Garbine Maguruza of Spain or 6th seeded German Angelique Kerber, who are set to battle one another tonight in the other semi-final.

--On the men's side at the Shenzhen Open.

Top seed Thomas Berdych is through to the semi-finals after dumping Czech compatriot Jiri Vesely in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Other matches tonight have 5th seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino against 4th seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Unseeded South Korean Hyeon Cheng will have a major test against 2nd seeded Croatian Marin Cilic.

And 3rd seeded Spainyard Tommy Robredo will be up agaisnt Italian Simone Bolelli.

Yankees clinch AL Wild Card spot in MLBIn baseball,With just 3-days left to go in the regular season, the playoff picture is beginning to firm up.

However, there is still a couple of scenarios which could play out during the weekend to fill the final American League slot in the post-season.

The New York Yankees are heading back into the playoffs, securing an American League Wild Card slot this morning with a 4-1 victory over Baltimore.

The Texas Rangers have also secured at least a Wild Card berth as well, getting past the LA Angels 5-3 this morning.

The loss by the Angels means they now have no chance of catching Texas for the AL West division title, but still have a shot at a wild card spot.

However, their competition for that spot just got tougher, as the Minnesota Twins doubled up on Cleveland 4-2 this morning.

Both the Twins and Angels are now one game back of Houston for the final AL wild card slot.

---So here's how the final 3-days will play out for the final playoff spot in the American League.

Each team will have their own uphill challenges to climb.

Houston, on paper, should have the best chance of securing the final wild-card spot, as the Astros with the one-game lead, finish out their final 3-games on the road in Arizona against the Diamond Backs, who are not in the playoff picture.

However, The D-Backs are in the National League, which means the Astros won't have the extra bat at the Designated Hitter position, as their pitcher will have to hit, as per the National League rules.

Arizona is also 7-3 in their last 10-games.

--The Angels' last 3-games are also on the road in Texas against the Rangers, who will be keen to secure the AL West crown with either a victory tomorrow or a Houston loss.

--The Minnesota Twins finish out their regular season at home, but they're up against the Kansas City Royals, who have already won the AL Central crown, but will still be looking to secure the best record in the American League and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

China on blue alert for typhoon MujigaeA new tropical storm is coming to life in the South China Sea.

Tropical storm Mujigae has come to life just west of the Philippines.

It's currently listed as a Tropical Storm, with winds of around 65-kilometers per hour.

Tracking models have it moving northwest over the next 48-hours, picking up power as it moves toward southern China.

The National Meteorlogical Center is suggesting the storm may make Typhoon status by the time it makes landfall somewhere along the eastern coast of Hainan and southern Guangdong sometime on Sunday.

A blue-alert, the lowest of the 4-tier color coding system for storms in China, has already been issued, with heavy gales and rain forecast for southern China over the next couple of days.

WeatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 12 degrees. Tomorrow will have sunshine with a high of 25.

Shanghai will be clear overnight with a low of 18. It will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 27.

Chongqing will be overcast with a low of 17. Tomorrow will see showers with a high of 21.

That's all the time we have for this abbreviated, holiday edition of the Beijing Hour.

Recapping our top stories.

An official in Washington, DC says they hope Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent trip to the US capital will help spur more Chinese interest in the city.

Coming up in the next half-our, an edition of People In the Know.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.