Digest

Car rams barrier at consulate gate

The US consulate in Shanghai was open for business as usual on Feb 13 after a car rammed into a barricade at the gate of the compound, injuring a sentry the previous night.

"All mission personnel at the consulate general have been accounted for and the consulate general is expected to be open for business as usual today, the 13th," a spokesman said.

On Feb 13, four sentries guarded the consulate as usual, and a police car was parked across the entrance.

Liu Daojie, the driver involved in the crash, said someone had been attempting to kill him for a month, and he had "tried to provoke an incident to draw attention".

Shanghai police said Liu, 35, was driving a black Toyota sedan registered in Fujian province. The car hit the guard rail at the consulate's side entrance at 9:43 pm. Police and consulate sentries took Liu into custody.

A guard, Sun Tao, 20, was injured as he tried to intercept the car. He was taken to hospital.

Watchdog checks for online fake goods

Products sold through online shopping websites will be a key target for quality inspectors this year, the national watchdog says.

The announcement comes amid growing pressure from regulators on e-commerce giant Alibaba over concerns about counterfeit products.

The scrutiny of products sold through e-commerce websites will focus on 11 categories, including air purifiers, kitchen goods, textile items and products for children, said Sun Huichuan, deputy chief of the quality supervision department under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Sun said the authority will provide training sessions for manufacturers with e-commerce businesses to improve the quality of their products. It will also help online platforms to improve quality supervision during the merchandise purchasing process.

Problems with fake and poor-quality products sold online have attracted complaints from the public for years, and the authorities have made this a key supervision target in recent months.

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma held two meetings with the heads of the GAQSIQ and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce recently to discuss the crackdown on counterfeit products.

Beijing prepares for Games inspection

The Beijing municipal government is urging everyone involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics bid to make an all-out effort to be prepared for the final inspection by the International Olympic Committee in a month.

Beijing's joint bid with Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, will enter its decisive phase next month with the visit of representatives of the IOC Evaluation Commission. The IOC will vote for the eventual host between Beijing and its only rival, Almaty in Kazakhstan, in July.

The Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress passed a resolution on Feb 13 calling for all resources to be mobilized to prepare for the visit.

"Under the guidance of State authorities, the municipal government should work closely with Hebei province to be fully prepared in all possible areas that the IOC will evaluate and to optimize final preparations for the bid based on IOC rules," the committee said.

Wang Anshun, Beijing's mayor and the bid committee chairman, emphasized that details will play a significant role in the evaluation.

Award-winner praises China's science policy

A scientist who won the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award recognizes the value that China has placed on policymaking.

"Science has become a high policy priority in China, and this is in contrast to many Western countries where science innovation is not given the same level of encouragement as in China," Philip Rolston, vice-president of International Herbage Seed Group, wrote in an e-mail to China Daily.

Rolston was one of seven foreign scientists who won the award.

The 65-year-old native of New Zealand, who has expertise in seed research, leads a seed production research team in Lincoln, New Zealand, and is involved in research and development of the herbage seed industry with a focus on ryegrass agronomy and transmission of endophytes, which are organisms that live within plants. He is also a committee member of New Zealand's Seed Quality Management Authority.

Resolute stance on graft 'must remain'

China's top decision-making body says the Party and government must remain decisive and tough in fighting graft.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee highlighted this stance at a conference following the announcement on Feb 11 of inspections of 26 State-owned enterprises that will start this month.

The SOEs include China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp, China Huaneng Group, State Grid Corp of China, China Mobile Communications Corp and China Power Investment Corp.

Thirteen teams will be sent to the giant corporations, with each team dealing with two companies. The number of enterprises under scrutiny is almost double that of previous inspections.

Athens committed to port, Greek PM says

The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured Premier Li Keqiang in a telephone conversation on Feb 12 that his new government "will not change the nature" of existing bilateral programs, including the Piraeus Port project.

Analysts said the statement signaled a renewal of bilateral efforts to create a stronger hub for Eurasian trade routes. Li responded positively, expressing his hope that the two sides will follow through with their commitments, according to a news release on Feb 12. The port project has not only created local jobs, but has also resulted in improved conditions for workers and better protection of their rights and interests, he said.

Party heads make Work Report final

Members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China finalized the Government Work Report on Feb 12 as the country's leaders prepared for the two most important annual sessions.

The report will be submitted by the State Council to the 12th National People's Congress when its session starts on March 5. Premier Li Keqiang will read the report to the congress and seek its approval.

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body, will begin its session on March 3.

Members attending the Feb 12 meeting agreed to continue pursuing economic development as a key task for the year and highlighted the importance of reform and innovation. They agreed that the country should intensify its campaign against corruption.

Terrorism suspects arrested in Indonesia

The Chinese and Indonesian governments exchanged information on nine terrorist suspects, believed to be from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, who fled to Indonesia after plotting an attack in China last year, Indonesian media reported.

The Indonesian police arrested four of the nine. Three fl ed into the jungle and two others escaped to Malaysia. The captured suspects are likely to be extradited to China as the two countries signed an extradition treaty in 2009, Jakarta Post reported.

China daily

(China Daily European Weekly 02/20/2015 page3)