Regulator: Performance of China securities companies improved

Shang Fulin, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) chairman, said on Friday the performance of the nation's 106 securities companies had been improved markedly as a result of an effective three year industry overhaul. He made the remark at an industry meeting here, noting the asset value of the 106 securities companies totaled 350 billion yuan (51.14 billion U.S. dollars) through September. Nearly 5 trillion yuan of clients' assets are managed by those brokers, according to Shang. He said violations in securities trading had been curbed as the companies drew lessons from past experience and enhanced their risk management effectively. The companies had also beefed up their fiscal strength and the securities trading runs in order. China's brokers were once plagued by scandal, including stock price manipulation and insider trading since the capital markets were initiated in the early 1990s. To prevent losses to small investors, the CSRC had stepped up supervision of brokers, and a number of securities companies had been fined or shut after being found involved in illegal trading. Shang noted more pre-emptive measures were needed to prevent potential risks from exploding and the administrative supervision of the CSRC should function together with the self scrutiny of the companies.

All tainted dairy products destroyed in core province of milk scandal

All the tainted dairy products would be destroyed in north China's Hebei Province, the core province of milk scandal, on Saturday, local authorities said. A total of 32,200 tons of tainted dairy products would be destroyed by Saturday, a government the spokesman said. China started to review the draft law on food safety on Thursday, which sets stricter food quality standards and demands greater government responsibility. The draft would ban all chemicals and materials other than authorized additives in food production. In the tainted dairy products scandal, melamine, often used in the manufacture of plastics, was added to substandard or diluted milk to make protein levels appear higher. More than 3,000 infants nationwide were still receiving hospital treatment for kidney diseases caused by tainted powdered milk, three were in serious condition, China's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday on its website.

Taiwan military recovers flight recorder

Days after a Taiwanese military plane crashed, the in-flight recorder, or black box, has been recovered, local media reported Thursday. It was found Thursday off the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, where an Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jet went down. According to media reports, it has been sent to professionals who are investigating the crash. Altogether, 75 objects such as ejector seats, life vests, unopened parachutes and helmets of the pilots have been found. The military is still looking for the pilot's remains. The aircraft went missing Monday morning during a routine training flight near the Penghu islands. It lost contact with ground control 30 minutes after taking off from the Chingchuankang air force base near Taichung at 9:15 a.m.. The two pilots aboard the aircraft have been identified as 29-year-old Ku Chih-pin and 31-year-old Chen Chien-ting. Meanwhile, rescuers are still searching for a Taiwanese naval helicopter which crashed Tuesday off Hualian. One crew member aboard the anti-submarine S70-C helicopter was confirmed dead. Two others were found with injuries and another two people are still missing. Chen Chao-min, chief of the defense department of the Taiwan authority, has apologized for the crashes, and banned all military aircraft, except for those on regular patrol and rescue missions, from flying for three days until special inspections are done.

10 die in SW China bus plunge

At least 10 people died and 13 others were injured on Friday when a bus plunged off a cliff in Liupanshui City in southwestern China's Guizhou Province. The accident occurred at 3:40 p.m. when the mid-sized bus drove from Guiyang, the provincial capital, to Weining County, an autonomous area inhabited by ethnic Yi, Hui and Miao people. The bus, carrying 23 passengers, fell about 70 meters from the cliff, tearing its roof off in the process. The 13 injured were treated at a nearby hospital, but five remained in serious condition, rescuers said.

Chinese premier expounds on "Scientific Outlook on Development"

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expounded on "The Scientific Outlook on Development" for Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of the Science Magazine of the United States on Sept. 30. In the two-hour exclusive interview at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, Wen said the first and foremost principle of the concept of scientific development is to put people first, to make every person attain full and harmonious development in an equal and free environment. He said the comprehensive development came to the second, which means the integration of economic development with social development, the integration of economic reform with political reform, the integration of an opening-up and inclusive approach with independent innovation, and the integration of advanced civilization with traditional Chinese culture. "Thirdly, we need to resolve the disparities, including rich-poor disparity, regional disparity and urban-rural disparity in our country's developmental process. " He added. Sustainable development is also an important part of the concept, which aims at meeting the challenges of population, resources, and environmental protection faced by the 1.3 billion Chinese people in the modernization process. He said. "We want to achieve sustainable development by adopting a resource-conserving and environment-friendly approach." He also emphasized that these four goals could not be achieved without science and technology or without innovations.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time is a partnership between the Palace Museum and IBM. The goal of the project is to provide the means for a world-wide audience to celebrate and explore aspects of Chinese culture and history.

A Brief History of the Palace Museum

The Palace Museum, historically and artistically one of the most comprehensive Chinese museums, was established on the foundation of the palace that was the ritual center of two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, and their collections of treasures. Designated by the State Council as one of China's foremost protected monuments in 1961, the Palace Museum was also made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Situated at the heart of Beijing, the Palace Museum is approached through Tiananmen Gate. Immediately to the north of the Palace Museum is Prospect Hill (also called Coal Hill), while on the east and west are Wangfujing and Zhongnanhai neighborhoods. It is a location endowed with cosmic significance by ancient China's astronomers. Correlating the emperor's abode, which they considered the pivot of the terrestrial world, with the Pole Star (Ziweiyuan), which they believed to be at the center of the heavens, they called the palace The Purple Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420 by the third Ming emperor Yongle who, upon usurping the throne, determined to move his capital north from Nanjing to Beijing. In 1911 the Qing dynasty fell to the republican revolutionaries. The last emperor, Puyi, continued to live in the palace after his abdication until he was expelled in 1924. Twenty-four emperors lived and ruled from this palace during this 500-year span. The Forbidden City is surrounded by 10-metre high walls and a 52-metre wide moat. Measuring 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west, it covers an area of 720,000 square meters. Each of the four sides is pierced by a gate, the Meridian Gate (Wu men) on the south and the Gate of Spiritual Valor (Shenwu men) on the north being used as the entrance and exit by tourists today. Once inside, visitors will see a succession of halls and palaces spreading out on either side of an invisible central axis. It is a magnificent sight, the buildings' glowing yellow roofs against vermilion walls, not to mention their painted ridges and carved beams, all contributing to the sumptuous effect. Known as the Outer Court, the southern portion of the Forbidden City centers on the halls of Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony, and Preserving Harmony. These are flanked by the halls of Literary Glory and Military Eminence. It was here that the emperor held court and conducted his grand audiences. Mirroring this arrangement is the Inner Court at the northern end of the Forbidden City, with the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility straddling the central axis, surrounded by the Six Palaces of the East and West and the Imperial Garden to the north. Other major buildings include the halls for Worshipping Ancestors and of Imperial Splendor on the east, and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Pavilion of the Rain of Flowers and the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility on the west. These contain not only the residences of the emperor and his empress, consorts and concubines but also the venues for religious rites and administrative activities. In total, the buildings of the two courts account for an area of some 163,000 square meters. These were laid out precisely in accordance with a code of architectural hierarchy, which designated specific features to reflect the paramount authority and status of the emperor. No ordinary mortal would have been allowed or even dared to come within close proximity of these buildings. After the republican revolution, this Palace as a whole would have been sequestered by the Nationalist government were it not for the "Articles of Favorable Treatment of the Qing House" which allowed Puyi to live on in the Inner Court after his abdication. Meanwhile, all of the imperial treasures from palaces in Rehe (today's Chengde) and Mukden (today's Shenyang) were moved to the Forbidden City for public display in History Museum established at the Outer Court in 1914. While confined to the Inner Court, Puyi continuously used such vestiges of influence as still remained to plot his own restoration. He also systematically stole or pawned a huge number of cultural relics under the pretext of granting them as rewards to his courtiers and minions or taking them out for repair. In 1924, during a coup launched by the warlord Feng Yuxiang, Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City and the management of the palace fell to the charge of a committee set up to deal with the concerns of the deposed imperial family. The committee began a sorting and counting of the imperial treasures. A year of intense preparations later, its members arranged a grand ceremony on 10 October 1925 in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity to mark the inception of the Palace Museum. News of the opening flashed across the nation, and such was the scramble of visitors on the first day that traffic jams around Beijing brought the city almost to a standstill. According to a 28-volume inventory published in 1925, the treasure trove left by the Qing numbered more than 1,170,000 items including sacrificial vessels and ancient jade artifacts from the earliest dynasties; paintings and calligraphy from the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties; porcelain from the Song and Yuan; a variety of enamelware and lacquer ware; gold and silver ornaments; relics in bamboo, wood, horn and gourds; religious statues in gold and bronze; as well as numerous imperial robes and ornaments; textiles; and furniture. In addition, there were countless books, literary works and ancient records. All these were divided into separate collections of antiquities, library materials and historical documents and placed under teams of staff to sort and collate. Exhibition halls were opened to display some of the treasures, while writers and editors worked away at publishing in book or journal form all the new areas of research and academic inquiry that the establishment of the museum had ushered in. The Palace Museum was soon a hive of activity. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese, having annexed territory in China's northeast, proceeded to march on Beijing. With this looming threat, the museum authorities decided to evacuate its collection rather than let it fall into enemy hands or risk destruction in battle. For four frantic months between February and May 1933, the most important pieces in the collection were packed into 13,427 crates and 64 bundles and sent to Shanghai in five batches. From there they were dispatched to Nanjing where a depository was built and a branch of the Palace Museum established. On 7 July 1937 shots fired around Marco Polo Bridge west of Beijing heralded the eruption of the Sino-Japanese War. Within a year, the Japanese had penetrated to most of eastern China. Now the treasures stored in Nanjing had to be moved again, this time by three routes to Sichuan, where they were secreted in three locations, Baxian, Emei and Leshan. Only at the end of the war were they consolidated in Chongqing, whence they were returned to Nanjing in 1947. By then the Nationalists were considerably weakened, and with the imminent takeover by the Communist armies of areas south of the Yangtze, they began their retreat to Taiwan. Between the end of 1948 and the dawn of 1949, the Nationalists picked relics to fill 2,972 crates for shipping across the Strait. A rival Palace Museum was set up in Taipei to display these antiquities. Most of what were left were gradually returned to Beijing, although to this day 2,221 crates remain in safe-keeping in storag in Nanjing. During this tumultuous decade of war and revolution, not one item of the treasures was lost or damaged even though the volume involved was enormous. This was largely due to the dedicated energy of the Palace Museum staff, whose achievement in preserving these treasures was nothing short of heroic. But it was also as a result of this long period of upheaval that the treasures have been dispersed. Yet the rationale for keeping the collection together, representative as it is of the motherland's traditional culture, seems so incontestable that most people believe the treasures will be re-united one day. In the early 1950s, shortly after the establishment of the People's Republic, the Palace Museum staff worked with a new will and enthusiasm to return the Forbidden City to its former glory. Where previously the dirty and dilapidated halls and courts lay under weeds and piles of rubbish, some 250,000 cubic meters of accumulated debris were now cleared out, giving the place a sparkling fresh look. A policy of comprehensive rehabilitation was also launched, and in time the crumbling palace buildings, repaired, and redecorated, looked resplendent once more. All the tall buildings were equipped with lightning conductors, while modern systems of fire protection and security were installed. It has been a priority of the People's Government, particularly since the beginning of the reform era in the early 1980s, to keep the surrounding moat dredged and clean. As for the collection of antiquities, a systematic inventory was completed during the 1950s and 1960s, redressing the legacy of inaccurate cataloguing. The collection was moreover augmented, for example by the salvage of a number of precious artifacts from a jumble of apparently worthless objects. After more than a decade of painstaking efforts, some 710,000 relics from the Qing palace were retrieved. At the same time, through national allocations, requisitions and private donations, more than 220,000 additional pieces of cultural significance were added, making up for such omissions from the original Qing collection as colored earthenware from the Stone Age, bronzes and jades from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, pottery tomb figurines from the Han Dynasty, stone sculpture from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and tri-color glazed pottery from the Tang Dynasty. The ancient paintings, scrolls and calligraphy added to the collection were particularly spectacular. These included, from the Jin Dynasty, Lu Ji's cursive calligraphy "A consoling letter" (Ping fu tie), Wang Xun's " Letter to Boyuan (Bo yuan tie) and Gu Kaizhi's "Goddess of the Luo River" (Luo shen fu tu); from the Sui Dynasty, Zhan Ziqian's landscape handscroll "Spring Outing" (You chun tu) ; from the Tang Dynasty, Han Huang's "Five Oxen" (Wu niu tu ), Du Mu's running-cursive script handscroll "Song of the Courtesan Zhan Haohao" (Zhang haohao shi) ; from the Five Dynasties, Gu Hongzhong's "The Night Revels of Han Xizai" (Han Xizai yeyan tu) "; from the Song Dynasty, Li Gonglin's "Painting after Wei Yan's Pasturing Horses" (Lin Wei Yan mu fang tu) Guo Xi's "Dry tree and rock, level distance landscape" (Ke shi pingyuan tu), and Zhang Zeduan's "Going up River on Spring Festival" (Qingming shang he tu)--all masterpieces without exception. Unremitting though this attempt at recovery has been, however, there have been further exertions in recent years to acquire such works as Zhang Xian's "Landscape with Poems (Shi yong tu)" (Song Dynasty), Nai Xian's calligraphy "Ancient poem on south of the city" (Cheng nan yong gu shi) (Yuan Dynasty), Shen Zhou's landscape handscroll "After Huang Gongwang's 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains'" (Fang Huang Gongwang fuchun shan ju tu) (Ming Dynasty), Shi Tao's ink bamboo "Calling Wen Yuke" (Gao hu Yu ke tu) (Qing Dynasty). The first two were spirited out of the palace by the last emperor Puyi on the excuse of bestowing them on his brother Pu Jie; they fell into the hands of others and only now have been returned to their rightful place in the Palace Museum collection. From the 1950s onwards, the museum's existing storehouses were completely overhauled to provide a damp-proof and insect-proof environment for the treasures. In the 1990s a new storehouse with a capacity of over 600,000 items was built, equipped with controls for maintaining constant temperature and humidity, as well as safeguards against fire and theft. A workshop was established in the 1950s and expanded in the 1980s to encompass a scientific Conservation Department. These not only continued traditions of craftsmanship, but also drew upon scientific discoveries to facilitate the restoration of damaged relics. In the past few decades the Conservation Department has treated as many as 110,000 objects from the Palace Museum and other public collections. Besides its continuous refurbishment of the main courts and halls, the museum has opened galleries to display bronzes, porcelain, crafts, paintings and calligraphy, jewelry, and clocks to expand the scope of its exhibitions. A number of thematic shows have been held in galleries devoted to temporary exhibitions; in recent years these have included such acclaimed ones as "A Comparison of Authentic and Counterfeit Paintings and Calligraphy", "Genuine and Imitation Examples of Ancient Porcelain and Materials from Ancient Kilns", "The Art of Packaging at the Qing Court" and "Selections from the Finest Acquisitions of the Last Fifty Years". Traveling exhibitions have also graced various provincial museums and museums abroad. In fact, since the beginning of the economic-reform era, an increasing number of exhibitions have been mounted in countries such as Britain, the USA, France, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Austria, Spain, Australia, Japan and Singapore, among others. All of them have aroused great interest and admiration and played a key part in the promotion of international understanding and cultural exchange. The number of visitors to the Palace Museum has risen along with the growth of tourism, in the last decade reaching six to eight million a year. General interest has been further stimulated by the Palace Museum's range of publications touching on both the architecture of its buildings and its vast cultural holdings. Published works include Famous Historical Paintings in the Palace Museum Collection, Selected Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, National Treasures, Palaces of the Forbidden City, Daily Life in the Forbidden City, A Collection of National Treasures, and The Complete Palace Museum Collection (in 60 volumes, of which 18 have been published so far). There are also two periodicals, The Palace Museum and The Forbidden City. Since 1997, the Palace Museum's administration has been significantly reorganized. Where previously there were three departments covering conservation, exhibition and research, these have now been split into the departments of Antiquities; of Painting and Calligraphy; of Palace Arts; and the Exhibition, Promotion and Education Department. With substantial investment, the latest technology has been deployed by the newly established Resources and Information Center to set up the Palace Museum website. The website you are now browsing enables all, even those in distant places, to enjoy a sightseeing tour of this mysterious palace and feast their eyes on its splendid treasures. The creation of a state-of-the-art virtual Imperial Palace is no longer just a dream.

China needs better food safety laws: UN report

China needs better food safety laws, the United Nations said in a report released Wednesday.
It said there is a need for education and training of stakeholders, the food industry and enforcement agencies, to bring the country in line with international norms.
The report comes in the wake of the country's dairy products scandal, and a day before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is to review a draft law on food safety.
The report, Advancing Food Safety in China, gives an in-depth analysis of the situation in the country and recommendations for improvement.
It calls for tighter management, inspection, enforcement, monitoring and communication.
The report said China has for many years paid close attention to the safety of food it produces and exports, which has resulted in improvements year by year.
"Food safety systems, however, are a work in progress, no matter what country you are talking about," Jorgen Schlundt, director of the WHO's department of food safety, zoonoses and food-borne diseases, said in Beijing.
"But there are certainly key areas where China can focus on improvements."
Last month, infant formula and other milk products were found to contain the chemical melamine, which causes kidney problems.
The chemical has so far been blamed for the deaths of four infants and sickening more than 54,000 children on the mainland.
"The recent food safety incident is an example of what can go wrong, even within a system that has started to work on improvements," Schlundt said.
"Our recommendations address many of the problems China has already acknowledged."
The UN resident coordinator in China, Khalid Malik, said: "As in other countries, food safety involves a broad range of stakeholders both at home and abroad. Improving the system requires a truly multi-sectoral and multilateral response.
"The UN has broad experience working with China on this topic, and we will continue to offer our support and expertise."

China housing market stimulating policy boosts consumer confidence

The China Youth Daily survey showed 55 percent of the future home buyers said they would apply for bank loans to pay for the mortgage. The rest admitted they would need their parents' financial support to get a home.

To An Wei, a white-collar migrant worker in Shanghai, China's tax exemption on house purchase and mortgage deposits reduction announced on Wednesday night were a real stimulus for home buying.
"The new policy would not only save me more than 4,400 yuan (644 U.S. dollars) from the tax reduction in purchasing a 90-square-meter flat in Shanghai and make it earlier to obtain a bank loan to pay for the mortgage, but also give me confidence in the stability of the housing market," said the newlywed IT worker.
The Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, made the synchronous move on Wednesday to announce a series of new measures to boost the domestic real estate market, which had shown signs of slowing amid the global financial turmoil.
"The policy is concentrated on tax reduction and relaxing restrictions on financial institutes to give loans to private homebuyers," said Nie Meisheng, the Chamber of Real Estate of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce director.
The chamber was one of the advisors prompting the promulgation of the policy.
Nie said the policy, aimed at benefiting home buyers, rather than bailing out property developers, can woo potential purchasers' confidence.
The Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday to exempt the stamp tax on property purchase and the value-added tax of land on property sales, starting from Nov. 1, to boost the slowing real estate sector.
The central bank announced to lower the threshold of the down payment for those making their first home purchase for self use from 30 percent to 20 percent. This would start as of Monday.
According to the financial website caijing.com.cn more measures to benefit the sector are on the table of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
The report said the housing authority was likely to give more stimulus to the trade of second-hand houses to further revitalize the property sector.
Shanghai disclosed its regional housing policy immediately after the national policy was announced. The city government made bolder encouragements in the policy adjustment, especially in the trading of second-hand houses.
"With the new policy, I could save 90,000 yuan in taxation from selling a 60-square meter flat that I bought in 2006," said Shanghai resident Zhuang Xiaowei, intently reading over Thursday's local newspaper reports on the housing policy.
He said the city had taxed second-hand house transactions heavily over the past few years, which he fully understood was "an effort to rein in the over-heated property market."
The National Bureau of Statistics reported property prices in major cities increased 3.5 percent in September from a year ago, the slowest pace in more than three years. Meanwhile, people's enthusiasm to buy tumbled to its lowest point in a decade.
The shrinking household consumption reflected a general trend of global economic slowdown, said Yi Bocheng, a professor at the Shanghai-based Fudan University.
He said the government's policy stimulation would help set free potential consumption tendency.
A recent survey of 4,807 Beijing college undergraduates suggested 57.6 percent were potential home buyers in the next five years. About half said they would choose a house of 70 to 90 square meters.

China invests more in housing construction for low-income earners

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- China invested 1.551 trillion yuan(227.1 billion U.S. dollars) in housing construction projects in the first nine months of this year, a growth of 28.7 percent on the same period of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
Of the total, 63.8 billion yuan went to projects targeted at low-income earners, up 19.9 percent.
Around 2.404 billion square meters of housing were being built between January and September, up 20.3 percent. Property enterprises developed 179 million sq m of land for real estate development nationwide, down 1.6 percent.
By the end of September, unoccupied commercial properties totaled 130 million sq m nationwide, up 10.2 percent, the bureau added.

Allergy Treatment by Acupuncture

A number of energy-based treatments are effective at treating allergies. These include allergy relief systems (ARS); Nambudripad's allergy elimination technique (NAET); Tapas acupressure technique (TAT); thought field therapy (TFT); Jaffe-Mellor technique (JMT); and Bio-SET. There may be others I am not aware of. These treatments have in common the fact that they are relatively new in the medical field, and all use some aspects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) such as acupressure. They also all require some kind of medical feedback or medical divination technique. (More on medical divination can be found in a previous article on AcupunctureToday.com.) The most common method for feedback or divination is muscle testing. The primary notion behind using such a technique is to get information about a person's health that is more accurate than the practitioner's educated guess. The educated guess is still the norm in all forms of medicine. These "new" allergy treatments are an exception to this rule. There is a reason why these newfangled techniques have sprung up in recent years, and why they all incorporate TCM as well as feedback or divination techniques. Certainly the common use of steroidal medications to treat allergy symptoms by allopathic medicine is part of what drives people to seek less culturally-enforced treatment methods, but even common TCM and naturopathic approaches to allergies are only marginally successful. Allergies are traditionally very tricky, and one false move on the part of the practitioner can have very serious consequences. If treating allergies without medical feedback or subtle energy medicine constructs were very successful, these new methods would not have gained such notoriety in such a short period of time, and there would not be such a propagation of alternatives to what is already considered alternative medicine.Even something as old and traditional as TCM has always had its trends. TCM is adaptable, flexible and inclusive, which is part of why I personally feel such a passion for this medicine. There are reasons why the old methods of treating allergy don't work very well. They lack the subtlety and accuracy needed for the future of world medicine; for the future of humanity.In a world where the only thing that is certain is change, it is a time of great change for humanity. More and more people are hearing their own personal wake-up call. It is time for humans to evolve. I personally believe the Divine has created us with the capacity to grow and change, the capacity to evolve. I fail to see why a belief in the Divine and a belief in evolution must be viewed as mutually opposed. But that's another article!As humans evolve, we need less heavy-handed treatment, and more refined, highly accurate, gentler methods. Evolution is a personal matter, and it is a little bit different for each person. What is heavy-handed for one person is perfect subtlety for another. Evolution is also, of course, a collective process.In TCM terms, evolution is ruled by the liver. Your liver has the blueprints for your evolutionary process, which you are probably well-engaged in by now whether or not you are consciously aware of this. The exception would be if you're planning on dying soon. If this is the case, you may be putting your energy elsewhere and waiting until you are no longer embodied to evolve. Bodies are dense and slow at times, and evolution may be less complicated without one. Those of us who plan to stick it out, however, are here for just that experience: evolving while embodied. A question which arises, then, is how many of us are truly sick? Are practitioners treating the sick, or merely helping people to grow and change? Are you sick, or are you engaged in radical change? Are you evolving, or are you dying? Nobody decides for you.

China's embassy says 9 Chinese workers kidnapped in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Sudan said on Sunday that nine Chinese workers had been kidnapped in an oil field near the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur.
A spokesman of the Chinese embassy told Xinhua that the nine workers belonging to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) were kidnapped by unknown militants at the Southern Kordofan State.
Until now no armed group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
The Chinese embassy has started an emergency mechanism and held intensive contacts and consultations with the Sudanese authorities for an early release of the Chinese workers, according to the spokesman.

China endeavors to set up modern rural financial system

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Sunday set the direction for establishing a modern rural financial system in effort to boost the rural economy.
The guidance was made in a document approved by the committee on Oct. 12 at a plenary session.
It said the country should promote innovation in rural financial system and lower the threshold for establishing rural financial institutions.
The committee also urged the establishment of a sound and safe rural financial system with the integration of commercial, cooperative and policy-based finance.
Financing channels should be widened to steer more credit and social investment funds for rural development, according to the document.
The decision called upon various financial institutions to better support rural economic growth.
Agricultural development banks should work to expand their agriculture-supporting businesses and offer more policy-based financial assistance to long-term loans for agricultural development and ongoing infrastructure construction in rural areas.
Postal saving banks should develop more business in favor of rural development. Banks in rural areas should lend new deposits mainly to local farmers, said the document.
More new-type rural financial institutions should be set up. Small loans should be promoted and more financial services tailored to rural needs and conditions should be encouraged.
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the industry watchdog, said on Oct. 9 the country would have more than 100 new-type rural financial institutions operational by year end. Through August, there were 61 such institutions.
Small loans stood at 100,000 yuan (14,632 U.S. dollars) to 300,000 yuan for farmers in developed rural areas, and 10,000 to 50,000 yuan for those in less developed countryside.
The combined balance of deposits in these financial institutions stood at 2.831 billion yuan through August and the combined balance of loans reached 1.917 billion yuan, CBRC figures showed.
The country's central bank decided on Oct. 15 to trial the provision of more small sum credit loans and group guarantee loans to farmers in nine provinces, including eastern Anhui, central Hubei and others.
The CPC decision also allows farmer cooperatives to develop credit cooperation to push forward the rural credit system.
A market operating rural credit guarantee mechanism with government support and public participation should also be set up. Rural insurance and agricultural futures market should be enhanced, according to the document.

Report: China to make unremitting efforts to ensure grain security

China must make unremitting efforts to guarantee the country's grain security at all times, a policy paper published by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said on Sunday.
The Decision on Major Issues Concerning the Advancement of Rural Reform and Development was approved by the CPC Central Committee on Oct. 12 at a plenary session.
According to the full text of the document, authorities should accelerate the construction of an effective grain security system with steady supplies and ample reserve.
It said efforts must be made to protect the country's farmland, and raise the per unit grain yield to improve grain production, which was the top priority of the agricultural modernization.
It urged local authorities to set up respective goals in grain production and reserve development, and in intensify supporting policies for agricultural production.
Favorable policies concerning agricultural production, including larger financial grants and other kinds of support toward agricultural projects, will be made in major grain producing regions to increase farmers income and mobilize their enthusiasm toward grain production.
In regions that barely make ends meet between grain production and consumption or those which still depend on grain imports from other parts of the country, authorities must make sure the farmland doesn't decrease in future and their self-provision rates of grain doesn't drop further.
An open market with fluent grain circulation must be maintained, and the grain risk fund policies perfected, the paper said.
It also said authorities must raise public awareness in grain saving, and strengthen international cooperation in grain production to help improve the world food security.
China's grain output is expected to reach 510 million tons this year, a net increase of more than 10 million tons over 2007, an official with the State Administration of Grain named Yang Weilu told Xinhua last month.
According to a long-term plan approved in July by the State Council, China's Cabinet, the country would be 95 percent self-sufficient in grain over the next 12 years.
The plan also aims to ensure grain output stays above 500 billion kg until 2010, and reaches 540 billion kg by 2020.

Former Beijing vice mayor given suspended death penalty for bribery

Beijing's former vice mayor Liu Zhihua was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes, local media reported Sunday, citing a Saturday court ruling.

Liu, 59, was charged with taking bribes of about 6.97 million yuan (1.02 million U.S. dollars) when he was vice mayor of Beijing and director of the management committee of Zhongguancun Science Park from 1999 to 2006, according to Hengshui Intermediate People's Court in neighboring Hebei Province.
The court said the bribes were pocketed by Liu and his mistress Wang Jianrui. Liu abused his power to get contract projects, loans and offer promotions for others in exchange for profits.
Liu's lawyer Mo Shaoping said Liu did not decide whether to appeal or not.
Liu was removed from the post of Beijing vice mayor in June 2006 and expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) six months later.
He had been head of the Beijing labor bureau, secretary of the CPC Committee of Xicheng District in Beijing and secretary general of Beijing municipal government. In 1999, he was elected vice mayor of the capital, a job that oversaw construction, real estate, sports and traffic projects around the city.

Top China political advisor proposes more attention on grain security

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China should pay more attention to its grain security in rural reform, said Jia Qinglin, the country's top political advisor, here on Saturday.
It should be a top priority to maintain grain production when the country develops modern agriculture, said Jia, chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, when the third meeting of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee concluded here.
"China should stick to the most strict system to protect farming land."
During the four-day meeting, senior political advisors reviewed the decision on rural development and reform made at the third Plenary Session of the 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
They exchanged views and presented valuable ideas on rural reform, said a statement issued after the meeting.
"We should realize new situations and problems China faces in rural economic and social development, as well as urgency and responsibility to push forward rural reform," Jia said.
The CPPCC would work on proposals on system building, agriculture and public service development in rural areas.
He also asked political advisors to watch and study the global financial turmoil's impact on the domestic economy and contribute their talent to the administration.

Harbin Public Security Bureau in 6 police beat to death suspected

Harbin Public Security Bureau held a news conference on the 13th, reported Oct. 11 that occurred the night of vicious case of injury to death. At present, the 6 suspects have been detained and the case is still pending. It is understood that this 6 per capita for the police.

October 11, 22 am, Nangang District, Harbin, 84 West St., the big candy bars in front of the occurrence of vicious cases of fatal injury, resulting in 22-year-old Lin Songling victims died on the spot.

The night of the incident, the vice mayor of Harbin, the city Public Security Bureau, Wang Xu and Harbin Municipal Public Security Bureau about the leadership of the command arrived at the scene detection. Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department received a report that, by the men, led by Sun Bang, deputy director of ministries and agencies of the criminal police corps, the corps inspectors to the Council's guidance solve the case.

At present, the Harbin Municipal Public Security Bureau in the detachment of the criminal investigation, criminal detachment of the technology, Nangang sub-inspector and detachment, and other relevant units to work together, after 12 hours of work, has been involved in the case of the 6 suspects arrested all, and other 5 summoned the parties to the public security organs.

It is reported that the case summary of the case are as follows: October 11, 22 am, suspect the new Qi (male, 30 years old, Kazakhstan Railway Public Security Bureau directly under the Office of the Public Order Police Battalion of the deputy group chief) hosted a banquet in the Chinese People's Public Security University-the-job Li Feng training students (male, 28 years old, Zhaodong City Public Security Bureau police) and at the same time the students have been invited Li Xinyu (male, 30 years old, the Public Security Bureau Hashi anti-drug police detachment), Jin-Gang Wang (male, 31 years old, the Public Security Bureau, Hong Hashi Square Branch police), Luan Ao (male, 31 years old, Hashi Public Security Bureau police, traffic police detachment) and Liu Li male colleagues (male, 31 years old, Kazakhstan Railway Public Security Bureau police command center) to participate.

After dinner, Liu Li in the men's proposal, the 6 two separate cars to the Nangang District, 84 West St., Grand candy bars to continue drinking. Li Xinyu as a result of a bar in front of the car too fast, and standing in front of the Linsong Ling Yeung Sum, light trucks, Pershing and others altercation took place, after the two sides Sida, caused the death of Lin Songling, the two sides more per capita were injured to varying degrees.

Harbin Nangang Branch of the Public Security Bureau received the case after case in accordance with the jurisdiction of the Railway Public Security Bureau for the transfer of Kazakhstan, after the families of the victims in accordance with the strong demand of the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department designated the case by the public security authorities in Harbin to host Kazakhstan iron fully cooperate with public security organs. Harbin Public Security Bureau has set up quickly, "10.11" task force, to investigate the case. At present, the 6 suspects have been detained and the case is continuing in the trial.

Harbin Public Security Bureau of the Party attaches great importance to the case, ordered the task force handling the case must be serious and committed to the community, will be fact-based, to laws, strictly enforce the law, the case impartially, regardless of who is involved in the case, Will never tolerate, in the end be investigated.

Beijing Mayor Liu Zhihua, former deputy for accepting bribes in the first instance Reprieve

Beijing Mayor Liu Zhihua, former deputy for accepting bribes in the first instance Reprieve

Yesterday, former Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua City Intermediate People's Court in Hengshui in Hebei Province to accept the verdicts. The court found that Liu alone or with his mistress Wang Rui common bribery nearly 700 million yuan, Liu Zhihua was sentenced for taking bribes to death sentence with two years reprieve. After the court ruling, Liu Zhihua is not clear whether an appeal.

It is reported that yesterday's verdict in 8:30 around about the end of half an hour. Prior to the October 14, Liu Zhihua's Court in Hengshui trial.

The court found that from 1999 to 2006, served as the use of Liu Zhihua, vice mayor of Beijing, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Parks, director of management functions such as the convenience of others to seek replacement of assets, land development, promotions, bank loans and so on The interest alone or together with his mistress Wang Rui (a separate deal), obtained illegally or receiving financial products in Beijing Co., Ltd., and other 10 units and personal effects equivalent to a total of 6,965,900 yuan.

According to Liu Zhihua's defense lawyer Mo Shaoping, the court finds the prosecution and the content of these allegations fully, defense lawyers put forward the views of the defense is basically not accepted. Lawyer Mo Shaoping said Liu Zhihua is not clear whether the court of appeal, said defense counsel and to discuss the decision again. 9:30 last night, reporters before the deadline, a lawyer Mo told reporters that the defense lawyers and family members of Liu Zhihua has not yet decided whether to appeal.

Chinese documents of the CPC Central Committee put forward a variety of forms to allow farmers the right to transfer the land contract

Chinese documents of the CPC Central Committee put forward a variety of forms to allow farmers the right to transfer the land contract

BEIJING, Oct. 19 Xinhua China's official media today authorized the full text "of the CPC Central Committee on rural reform, development and a number of major decisions." The paper by the Third Plenary Session of the CPC through 17. The paper points out that in accordance with the law in accordance with the principle of voluntary payment to allow farmers to sub, lease, swap, transfer of shares in circulation in the form of cooperation, the land contract operation rights to develop various forms of moderate scale operation.

Referred to the document, areas where conditions permit may develop major professional and family farms, farmers cooperatives, and other professional main-scale operation. Land Contact, shall not change the nature of collective ownership of land, land use change can not and must not harm the land contract rights and interests of farmers.

Wandashan injection of all pharmaceutical products were suspended business initiative to recall all

Wandashan injection of all pharmaceutical products were suspended business initiative to recall all
Xinhua Beijing on October 18 (Reporter ZHOU Ting-Yu, Xu Jun) 18 reporters from the State Food and Drug Authority was informed that the pharmaceutical factory in Heilongjiang Province Wandashan 17 based on the "management of drugs called" relevant provisions of the initiative to recall their All specifications and product lot number of injections.

In order to eliminate drug safety to ensure that drug safety, the Ministry of Health and State Food and Drug Authority also jointly issued a circular calling for an immediate moratorium on the sale of various parts of the use of Heilongjiang Province for Wandashan marked Pharmaceutical (Heilongjiang Wandashan Pharmaceutical Company Limited Company) of all injections, to do a good job with the work of drug recall. At the same time, all over the Food and Drug administration to supervise the recall enterprises, and pay close attention to the injection of adverse drug reactions.

Oct. 6 this year, the State Food and Drug Administration in Yunnan Province received a report of the Food and Drug Administration, the Yunnan Honghe Prefecture 6 patients with the use of the mark for Wandashan pharmaceutical factory in Heilongjiang Province produced two groups of "Ciwujia injection Solution, "serious adverse reactions, of whom 3 died.

"Ciwujia injection of" serious adverse events occurred, the Ministry of Health and State Food and Drug Administration has asked to suspend sales of pharmaceutical production and use of Wandashan "Ciwujia injection." State Food and Drug Administration, which had been ordered to recall pharmaceutical factory in Heilongjiang Province, has Wandashan listing all the specifications and the lot number "Ciwujia injection."

State Food and Drug Administration said the investigation is still underway.

China started to export to investigate Japan's "Green Con" incident

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Chinese Government and the Japanese side is willing to maintain close communication and cooperation at an early date to identify the truth



According to reporters from Xinhua News Agency reported that a comprehensive Laiyang in Shandong Yantai City and the North Sea Food Co., Ltd. held on the 16th to meet reporters at the meeting was informed that the North Sea Food Co., Ltd. Yantai current moratorium on the export of Japanese products, the local public security authorities in the investigation.
October 15, Laiyang City received a Taiwan-Japan territorial joint venture in Yantai North Sea
Report of the Food Co., Ltd., the company Japan's exports of frozen green concanavalin sales in Japan after the female lead to a consumer does not eat after the accident situation. In this regard, Shandong Province, the municipal government attaches great importance to and immediately start to deal with emergencies related initiatives.

According to Japanese media, on October 12, a female Japanese consumers to buy Yantai North Sea Food Co., Ltd. Japan's exports of frozen green Con, felt sick after eating, after testing the Japanese side, the consumption of beans contain the highest 6900PPM the residue of dichlorvos, Is the standard value of 34,500 times that of other beans Kaifeng not detected dichlorvos.

It is learned that the North Sea Food Co., Ltd. Yantai has been suspended exports of Japanese products to meet all testing to investigate. Inspection and quarantine departments of enterprises in Japan unforeseen circumstances remain the same batch of products according to the kind of legal procedure were tested, the results of dichlorvos was found pesticide residues.

According to Mu Xin, vice mayor of the city of Laiyang, currently, the local public security departments are coordinated with relevant departments to carry out preliminary investigations.

【Investigation】

The same batch of products like to stay

Not detected pesticide residues

According to the Laiyang city government officials, at 8 o'clock on the 15th of information received, the local government held an emergency meeting of the topic, set up a special leading group for investigation, Shandong Exit Inspection and Quarantine and General Administration of Quality Supervision relevant personnel have arrived in enterprises, local At present, the Government is making every effort to assist the relevant departments to investigate.

16 reporters from the city of Laiyang in Shandong Province and the entry and exit inspection and quarantine departments interview was informed by the testing, unexpected situation in Japan, China's Qing concanavalin like to stay with the batch was not found pesticide residues.

It is understood that this time the Japanese consumer does not feel that this batch of products from raw materials to export has been carried out for the inspection and quarantine departments, exporters, importers, Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare pesticide tests were not detected the problem. Company official said that the batch number of products in the cultivation of raw materials, not used by the detection of organophosphorus pesticides, factories and bases have never had this type of purchase and use of pesticides.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

China's green food concanavalin

Japan's consumer illness

To express my sincere condolences

16, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that China's food exports to China Green Food concanavalin body of a sick Japanese consumers to express my sincere condolences and hope that she will have a speedy recovery.

Qin Gang said, we have a preliminary investigation to the Japanese side had informed the Japanese side should also request the Japanese Embassy officials in Yantai, Shandong 16, rushed to the understanding of the situation.

According to the Japanese side to the Chinese side relevant information provided by the Japanese side about in this agencies only provide consumers with a bag of the product were found residue of dichlorvos, in the same batches of the same product, also did not find the same pesticide residues.

Qin pointed out that he also noted that the Japanese authorities, the police and the media in recent days is widely acknowledged that the product in the production process contaminated the possibility of relatively small, it may not be together with food safety accidents, are more likely to be man-made Poisoning. Japanese police have been on file for investigation.

Qin Gang said that in dealing with such incidents, the Chinese government and the Japanese side is willing to maintain close communication and cooperation at an early date to identify truth of the matter.

【Press】

North Sea Food Co., Ltd. was founded in 1990, the Department of Taiwan-Japan joint venture, are to Taiwan for the distribution of the ratio of investment to 80 percent, Japan 20%, mainly engaged in processing of frozen vegetables, 85% of the products exported to the Japanese market