Digest

New security accord sealed with Afghanistan

China and Afghanistan reached a "new important consensus" on Oct 28 on combating the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, arrived in Beijing for his first state visit since being sworn in.

Beijing also vowed to strengthen its support for reconstruction in Afghanistan, pledging assistance of 2 billion yuan ($327 million) from 2014 to 2017. It will also train 3,000 professionals in various fields for Kabul.

"President Ghani said the new Afghan government will firmly support China to fight the ETIM," said Kong Xuanyou, director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry.

Kong was speaking after Ghani's meeting with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People.

"The two sides reached a new important consensus on joint efforts in that regard," Kong said. He did not disclose details.

Ghani arrived in Beijing on Oct 28 for a four-day visit. He was sworn in as Afghan president on Sept 29, replacing Hamid Karzai and marking the first peaceful transition of power in the war-torn country.

China factory suited to help Ebola fight

A factory in China is working day and night to help in the fight against the Ebola outbreak by producing protective suits for healthcare workers as demand surges.

The plant, in Anqiu, Shandong province, which is owned by US protective clothing manufacturer Lakeland Industries, has expanded its capacity.

Fears are continuing to mount over the Ebola outbreak, with the deadly virus spreading to Europe and the United States.

Wang Ximin, the Anqiu plant's general manager, said it has doubled its workforce and equipment output, with sales of its hazardous materials suits rising by 30 to 40 percent from the same period last year.

Day and night shifts ensure almost nonstop production of 6,000 protective suits a day, Wang said. Most of them will be sent to virus-hit areas in West Africa and hospitals in the United States and Europe.

"We have seen a huge jump in orders for our products since mid-October and decided to add night shifts to meet the rapidly rising demand," Wang said.

Former general admits that he took bribes

Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, has confessed to taking bribes, military prosecutors said on Oct 28.

The prosecutors have finished investigating Xu's graft case and started procedures to file it, according to a statement from the military procuratorate.

The statement said Xu took advantage of his position to assist the promotion of others and used his influence to help others make profits. In return, Xu took a large number of bribes personally and through his family.

The amount of the bribes was "extremely high", the statement said.

Xu has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and discharged from military service, and his rank of general has been revoked.

The PLA Daily also reported that Xu had been diagnosed with bladder cancer last year and is being treated.

This year, China's military authorities have taken unprecedented, strict measures to fight corruption, with a number of senior military officers investigated.

Anti-graft legislation overhaul on way

China will upgrade anti-corruption legislation as it continues a campaign to build a clean government and practice austerity.

Anti-graft laws will be introduced into national legislation to construct a better prevention and punishment system, said a key policy document from the Communist Party of China published on Oct 28.

The legal definition of bribes will not be limited to the current "money and goods". Instead, all "property interests" will be regarded as bribes in graft cases.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee approved the decision on major issues concerning comprehensively advancing the rule of law.

Officials taking non-monetary gifts are not subject to criminal charges under the current criminal law, and many officials in corruption cases claim that bribes they are accused of taking were gifts given by friends.

Tokyo should offer sincerity, action, says Li

Vice-President Li Yuanchao called for Tokyo to offer "sincerity and action" to improve relations with Beijing, while emphasizing China's commitment to improving Sino-Japanese relations.

Li made the remarks in Beijing on Oct 28 during a meeting with a delegation of visiting Japanese governors.

Prominent figures from Japan have visited China recently in a bid to thaw the chill in relations, as the two neighbors have seen their ties sink to a new low in the past two years over territorial and historical issues.

Tokyo has appealed for a meeting of top leaders during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing in November.

But inflammatory remarks by senior Japanese Cabinet officials continue to cloud the cooperative and friendly agenda. Their comments have been widely interpreted as an attempt to whitewash Japan's wartime atrocities and diminish the country's previous official expressions of remorse.

China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly  10/31/2014 page3)