新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2016/02/12（在线收听）

The Beijing Hour

Evening Edition

Shane Bigham with you on this Friday, February 12th, 2016.

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

Coming up on the program this evening...

There have been at least 94 deaths in southern Taiwan following the earthquake last weekend, with 30 people still missing...

Top diplomats participating in a Syria Support Group meeting have announced an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire, to take effect soon...

And scientists in the US have announced that gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago in his Theory of General Relativity, have been detected for the first time...

And In the second half of our program, we will bring you a special edition of People in the Know.

Top

Taiwan quake death toll rises to 94

The earthquake in southern Taiwan last weekend has killed at least 94 people, while 30 others remain missing.

92 of the confirmed deaths happened at the 16 story Wei Guan building in Tainan City, which collapsed during the shaking early Saturday morning.

Rescuers say the chance of finding any more survivors is very slim because of the amount of time that has passed since the disaster. But search efforts will continue.

People from all walks of life in Taiwan have also joined in relief efforts.

The head of the Network & Technology Division of Taiwan FarEast Telecommunications, Herman Rao, says some temporary service points have been made available at the west of the Wei Guan building.

"It is critical that basic infrastructure can send out communication signals at this place. We are now providing necessary support, including communication devices, cellphone batteries and mobile phones for emergency."

Tainan City held a service on Friday morning to mourn the dead.

Outgoing Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou and the island's leader-elect, Tsai Ing-wen, attended the service, joining with bereaved family members.

40 Dustbins on Fire in Mong Kok

About 40 garbage bins were burned in an amusement park in Hong Kong's Mong Kok area on Friday morning, and a similar incident was also reported in the area on Thursday night.

China central television reports that local police are investigating it as an arson case.

The latest news came after Chinese central government expressed strong support for the Regional Government in safeguarding public safety and in punishing illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks on Thursday evening in response to the riot that erupted in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said the riot was plotted mainly by a local radical separatist organization, causing injury to 89 police officers and several journalists.

Int'l support group agrees on cessation of hostilities in Syria

Top diplomats participating in a Syria support group meeting have agreed on a nationwide cessation of hostilities in the war-torn Middle East country.

The talks were hosted by the United States and Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a cessation of hostilities across Syria will be carried out soon.

"First, we have agreed to accelerate and expand the delivery of humanitarian aid beginning immediately. Sustained delivery will begin this week. Second, we have agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities to begin in a target of one week's time. That's ambitious but everybody is determined to move as rapidly as possible to try to achieve this. This will apply to any and all parties in Syria with the exception of the terrorist organizations DAESH and Al-Nusrah."

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the talks will be a "complicated task" to finally achieve a cease-fire in Syria.

"The negotiation process that was suspended when a part of the opposition took an unconstructive stance, and tried to impose preconditions. We have written down that talks should resume as soon as possible in strict compliance with resolution 2254, that is without any ultimatums, without any preconditions."

In addition, all diplomats have also called for an early resumption of the Geneva peace talks.

A working group is to start meeting in Geneva to oversee this issue.

All communication Hotlines between South and North Korea Cut off

All of the communication hotlines linking South Korea and North Korea have been completely cut off as of Thursday, following the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Zone.

The South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed the developments on Friday.

Concerns have surged about possible military clashes across the heavily armed border as all communications channels that can help prevent military skirmishes have disappeared.

The telephone and fax lines were cut off from Thursday by North Korea, after it decided to shut down the joint factory park in its border city of Kaesong, and to freeze all South Korean assets in the industrial zone.

Seoul has denounced the move, since all its deported citizens were only allowed to bring back personal belongings, without any of the finished products, materials and equipment they had been using.

Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea had announced the halting of operations at the joint industrial zone as part of punitive measures to the North's recent launch of a long-range rocket and its fourth nuclear test last month.

Scientists detect gravitational waves 100 years after Einstein's prediction

Anchor

Scientists say they have, for the very first time, detected the existence of gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein in his Theory of General Relativity 100 years ago.

Researchers say the historic discovery, announced on Thursday, will allow people to explore the universe in a whole new way.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter

David Reitze, executive director of the U.S.-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, also known as LIGO, made the announcement in Washington D.C.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have detected gravitational waves, we did it!"

The gravitational waves that were detected were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes as they produced a single, more massive spinning black hole.

This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.

The astronomer also gave a simpler explanation on gravitational waves using ripples in a pond as a metaphor.

"Gravitational waves, sort of at a fundamental level, are very similar to that. In this case, the rock, is some big massive object, some accelerating object, and the surface of the pond is the space. It's basically a space. So when a big object moves and accelerates, you have two objects, orbiting around one another, it's creating these ripples that travel outward, and that's what a gravitational wave is. It's like ripples on a pond, but the ripples in this case are in space themselves."

The gravitational waves were detected on Sept. 14 last year by the twin LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana; and Hanford, Washington State.

Based on the observed signals, LIGO scientists estimated that the black holes involved in the event were about 29 and 36 times the mass of the Sun, and the collision took place 1.3 billion years ago.

Mass, about three times that of the Sun, was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second -- with a peak power output about 50 times that of the whole visible universe.

John Mather, a senior scientist at NASA, says the discovery may prove it is possible that a binary black hole could exist.

Act 4 Mather

"We know from previous work that neutron stars, which turn into pulsars, can be binary, that they can be in pairs. We never knew for sure that they would be stars that could turn into black holes in pairs and then merge together to form this coalescing black hole and make this huge burst of gravitational energy to come out. This is not just a technological accomplishment in a word, and it's not just confirming that Einstein was right. This is saying that we now know something that we didn't already know about astronomy. It's spectacular."

Gravitational waves, first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916 as part of his theory of general relativity, which is one of the two pillars of modern physics, are extraordinarily faint ripples in space-time, the hard-to-fathom fourth dimension.

Some physicists say this new discovery provides us with a completely new way of studying the universe, and may lead to the finding of things that existed out of our knowledge.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

China renews blue alert for cold front

China's national weather observatory has renewed a blue alert for a cold front that will bring low temperatures and gales to most parts of the country.

The National Meteorological Center says the strong cold air will sweep southeastward across China over the weekend.

Temperatures will drop by 14 degrees Celsius in the next three days.

A national travel rush is set to start today as the week-long Spring Festival holiday will end on Saturday.

The Most Dreaded Spring Festival Question: Are You Married?

Anchor:

It's the sixth day of China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Many single young people, while enjoying family reunion, also have to cope with nagging, personal questions from family members.

CRI's Huang Yue has more.

Reporter:

Recent surveys by a youth group show that more than 80 percent of single youths in China are constantly under pressure from their parents to get married.

As familial pressures are at an all-time high during big holiday gatherings such as the Spring Festival, many young people in China have developed a "fear of going home."

"The most dreaded Spring Festival question to me is 'When will you get married?' I've been asked like a thousand times and it's really … awkward. But the question is I don't even have a boyfriend now. How can they push me to get married soon while I don't have a boyfriend? I even fear of going home recent years. "

Once home, these young people are inundated with questions like "do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?" and "when would you like to get married?"

According to the youth group's research, people aged between 25 and 35 are the group that suffers most of the pressure with 86 percent being pushed with such questions. Even 3 percent of youth who have not reached marriageable age are not immune from such pressure.

It seems like parents all over the country have the habit of asking such nagging questions but they just do it in different ways. Parents from Shanghai, for example, seem to be the most insistent, as they persistently harp at their children.

Parents in southwest China's Sichuan province like to take advantage of relatives who are usually called "annoying aunties" to persuade their children. They tend to always complain the kids are not doing as brilliant as their peers of other families. Such annoyance has accompanied the kids even from their school days. Years ago, the statements would be like "other people's kids have higher grades, the neighbor's kids had a higher Gaokao score" etc. As the kids grow older, questions became "other people's kids got married a long time ago, what about you?" "Other women of my age already have grandchildren, why not me?" "The kid who grew up together with you is a parent already, look at you?"

Still, parents in some other area choose to take action instead of relying on nagging alone. Parents from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region do it in a simple and direct way. They are "excellent" in arranging blind dates for their children.

And parents from Jiangsu are "outstanding representatives" of pushy parents. Nearly 20 percent of them push their children more than ten times a year, the highest frequency across the nation. As a result, the number of blind dates that young Jiangsu people participate in also ranks high in the nation. 19 percent of respondents participate more than ten times in a year.

There are reasons behind these efforts. According to data from Jiangsu civil affairs department, the average age of first marriage for locals is 32.4. In contrast, for the elder generation, their children were already in primary school when they reached 30.

But young people feel wronged, as they believe a narrow life circle and tight work routine are the biggest hurdle for them to find a partner. More than three quarters argue that they travel between home and work every day and barely have a chance to meet members of the opposite sex.

Even if they have a girlfriend or boyfriend, it is not easy to get married. 68 percent of people think their "partner or partner's family is overly demanding", which leads to breakups.

Most respondents say they understand their parents but only a few choose to talk over the issue. More than 70 percent keep silent or escape the topic.

"Actually I understand my parents. I'm the only child in my family and all their attentions are focused on me. As I am growing up, they are getting older. They just worry about me like they always do. I will keep as patient as I can when they talk about the marriage issue since it is almost like the once-a-year grill."

Response strategies for the most dreaded "Spring Festival questions" have been a hit on China's social media platforms such as Sina Weibo and Wechat a few days before the holiday. Some even re-wrote a song to tease about the phenomenon.

But all joking aside, given the dramatic change of life style and living environment that most of the parents are unfamiliar with, there needs to be effective communication and real understanding of each other before the "fear of going home" can be overcome.

For CRI, this is Huang Yue.

Conviction of minority police officer prompts discrimination concerns

A New York City police officer of Chinese descent has been found guilty of manslaughter over the shooting of a black man.

Upon hearing the jury verdict, 27-year-old Peter Liang, who shot and killed Akai Gurley in November 2014, admitted his guilt. A manslaughter conviction could lead to 15 years in prison.

The defense said the shooting was an accident, not a crime.

Liang's indictment and trial were controversial among New York's Chinese community.

Last year, thousands of Chinese-Americans marched and called for a fair trial for Liang.

His supporters say Liang has been made a scapegoat to counterweigh the number of white officers who have shot and killed black citizens but have not been indicted by grand juries.

Liang is the first policeman from the New York Police Department to be convicted of homicide in the shooting of a civilian since 2005.

Liang was also facing charges of assault, reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide.

His sentencing is set for April 14.

Clinton, Sanders battle over Super PACs, campaign financing

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled over Super PACs and campaign financing in a television debate on Thursday.

In their sixth presidential debate, Sanders repeated his accusation that Clinton is too beholden to the Wall Street interests she once represented as a U.S. senator from New York.

"Secretary Clinton super PAC as I understand it received some 25 million dollars last reporting period. Fifteen million dollars from Wall Street. Our I average contribution is 27 dollars."

Clinton said the donations did not mean she was in Wall Street's pocket, and noted that President Barack Obama had taken donations from Wall Street during his campaigns.

"I would just say I debated then-Senator Obama numerous times on stages like this and he was the recipient of the largest number of Wall Street donations of anybody running on the Democratic side ever. Now when it mattered he stood up and took on Wall Street."

Clinton entered Thursday's debate under acute pressure to calm a growing sense of nervousness among her supporters.

For his part, Sanders hoped to harness the momentum and enthusiasm he gained from the first two contests and prove he can be a viable contender to lead the Democratic Party to victory.

2nd pregnant Australian woman tests positive

A pregnant woman in Australia has tested positive for the Zika virus after traveling overseas.

The woman, from Victoria state, was diagnosed with Zika after returning from a country where the mosquito-borne virus is prevalent.

This is the second such case in a week in the country.

Victoria State Health Minister Jill Hennessy says the virus poses no public health risk as it is not easily transmitted from person-to-person.

"The Zika virus is not present in Australian mosquitoes and there is no risk to others in the community that this condition will be passed on. However, we are advising all people, but especially pregnant women, or women who may be in trying or intending to get pregnant, to avoid travelling to those countries and places where there has been Zika outbreaks."

Experts say most people who contact the virus have either mild or no symptoms, but it is suspected of causing a birth defect that results in babies born with abnormally small heads.

Eagles trained to take down illegal drones in Netherlands

Anchor:

Drones are increasingly common all over the world, but in the wrong hands can become a trouble or even a danger.

Police in the Netherlands have been working on a pilot project training birds of prey to take down illegal drones.

CRI's Luo Laiming has more.

Reporter:

Drones have many legitimate uses, but the technology can be abused - causing damage or injury, or used to transport illegal items.

Dutch police have teamed up with a company based in the Hague to train eagles and other birds of prey to swoop down on illicit drones.

Police spokesperson Michel Baeten says they are now making use of the birds' natural instincts to tackle the problem of drones flying in restricted areas, including large outdoor events where the technology has been banned.

"The birds are well trained to spot an object with a particular characteristic, in this case, a drone that they can catch and take down to the ground."

The eagles have no problems catching the drones.

But drones come in all shapes and sizes and many are too big, even for the huge claws of a bird-of-prey.

Baeten says the birds are one of the options they have in the arsenal of countermeasures.

"We would like to be in the position that we have more options if we need to take some measures and to assess which of them would be the best for the particular situation. What we have experienced with testing and training birds is that they are very efficient in catching drones in the air and taking them down."

He adds that if tests continue to go as planned, police in the Netherlands will make a decision later this year whether to start using these birds as a counter-measure against illicit drones.

For CRI, I'm Luo Laiming.

Uber executives on trial over app based service

Two top executives of ride-hailing app Uber have appeared in a criminal court in France facing serious charges that could lead to a jail term.

Thibaud Simphal, the company's general manager in France, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, its Western European chief, have gone on trial in Paris on six counts relating to Uber's now suspended low-cost service, UberPop, which linked service users to non-professional drivers.

Ahmed Senbel, President of National Federation of Independent Taxi drivers in France, accused the San Francisco-based company of not paying taxes, social charges, or licensing fees.

"We are interested in the capital of Uber, that today weighs in at more than General Motors. These people must pay into the French Republic so that we can maintain our social and economic system. That's the most important thing. One cannot continue saying 'these poor drivers'. We are not against the drivers. We are against the American platform that does not respect the French law."

The two have also faced criticism that the ride-hailing service had put passengers at risk by using untrained and unregistered drivers who aren't properly insured.

The two face up to five years in prison and fines of 335,000 US dollars per charge, over allegations of violations of privacy law and commercial deception.

Uber has described the French system as outdated and says it needs "radical" reform to keep up with technological change.

The company also said the charges are unclear and the way the men are being prosecuted is questionable.

Stocks of S. Korea, Japan plunge

Trading in small-cap stocks was halted for 20 minutes on Friday after South Korea's benchmark Kosdaq index dropped over 8 percent.

The circuit breaker kicked in late on Friday morning.

The small-cap gauge had slumped 8.2 percent from Thursday's close.

Analysts say this was mainly cased by growing concerns over the global stock market rout and rising geopolitical risk on the Korean Peninsula.

Business experts predict the benchmark Kospi index may slide over 2 percent.

Also on Friday, Tokyo stocks plunged with the benchmark Nikkei average falling below the 15,000 line for the first time in 16 months.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dipped nearly 5 percent on the Japanese yen's rapid appreciation and on fears for the health of the global economy.

All industry categories on the main section ended in negative territory, with transport, financial and securities-linked shares comprising notable losers at the close.

Top Chinese woman shuttler Yu Xiaohan banned for doping violation

A Chinese woman badminton player has received a seven-month sanction for a doping violation committed last year.

The Badminton World Federation announced the news on Friday, saying the sanction against Yu Xiaohan is based on the results from a sample taken on July 12 last year during the 28th Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea.

Yu accepts there were prohibited substance in her sample but claims she did not violate the rules intentionally.

Given the arguments and evidence, the doping hearing panel ruled that Yu did not intend to cheat or to gain a performance-enhancing advantage, but the sanction of seven months is "correct and fair."

The start of the sanction is backdated to when the sample was collected, meaning the punishment ends on Friday and Yu may resume her badminton career on Saturday.

IOC chief Thomas Bach focuses on doping prevention at Winter Youth Olympic

IOC chairman Thomas Bach says his organization is determined to tackle the problem of doping through the education of youngsters.

Bach was speaking ahead of the Winter Youth Olympics, which open Friday in Lillehammer, Norway.

Bach was given a tour of various workshops at the games, including one which tackles the problem of doping.

"This is about prevention and information. We have to make them aware of the risks and the dangers and inform them how they may be approached and how they should react. We have provided a hotline where every athlete from around the world can contact us at any time to seek advice or make us aware of any kinds of problems and we can react immediately."

Ongoing until the 21st, the Winter Youth Olympics will see 71 nations taking part.

1,100 athletes aged 15 to 18 will compete in 70 medal events.

Weather

Beijing expects some sleet tonight with a low of 2 degree Celsius; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 4.

Shanghai, wet overnight with a low of 15; still wet tomorrow with a high of 15.

Chongqing, overcast tonight with a low of 9; still overcast tomorrow with a high of 11.

Lhasa is clear tonight with a low of minus 2; sunny tomorrow with a high of 13.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad, cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 20.

Kabul also cloudy, a high of minus 1.

In the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, sunny, a high of 28.

Brisbane, wet, 28.

Perth, cloudy, 32.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be rainy with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

That's it for this holiday edition of the Beijing Hour. Please stay tuned for People in the Know.

There have been at least 94 deaths in southern Taiwan following the earthquake last weekend, with 30 people still missing...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing. Please join us again for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, and open a window to the world together.