Exclusive column

Playing for the Beijing Ducks this season has been one of the best experiences of my entire professional basketball career. I have had so much fun over the past five months.

From day one, my teammates and I have been on the same page. I have never experienced such camaraderie and a strong desire and will to win on any team that I have played for in either the Chinese Basketball League or the NBA.

We win as team and lose as one too. We know what it feels like to float on cloud nine after winning a lot of basketball games. However, we also know how disappointing it is to suffer consecutive defeats.

Man, it felt so good at the beginning of the season when we were on our winning streak. But after a string of losses during the regular season, we learned exactly what we were made of.

Talk about basketball seasons, you might think we play only one season. That is not exactly true, if you ask me.

My belief is there are four seasons played, regardless of the league. Preseason is first. Then, it is the regular season. Third are the playoffs, ending with the championship!

Our preseason started in October, and it was my toughest one by far. It was a real grind for my teammates and I because of coach's six-hour practices. I can remember being so tired that usually by the end we were all running on reserve fuel, no joke. Still, we pushed each other beyond our limits. We were determined to make each other better. We were one!

During one tough preseason practice, I screamed at the top of my lungs for motivation. I kept yelling, "We are running for something. We are preparing ourselves for something." Most of my teammates didn't seem to understand me. Maybe it was the language barrier. But when I kept repeating this message, "We are preparing for the championship!" they seemed to get that. In fact, they got just as hyped as me.

From the jump, I saw something different in this team. Our work ethic plus our commitment to play hard, smart and together convinced me we had a real shot at doing something epic in Beijing.

I still feel that way. Yes, I really think we can win this season's CBA championship!

We only have one last game left in the regular season. We are in second place and, as of today, our record is 21-10.

The playoffs are close now, and we are gearing up for battles against the league's best teams that also believe they can win it all.

I know there are people who don't believe in us, or our championship dream. But, just think, those same non-believers thought we would not make league history by winning 13 games in a row, yet we did. They expected us to end the regular season with one of the worst league records. Fortunately, that never happened.

Even though we were plagued by injuries, hit a wall, experienced several straight losses and had our confidence shaken, we still managed to end the grueling season with one of the best league records.

I give credit where it is due. Our quest for the CBA title won't come without a real fight from our opponents that have just as much game as us.

So, get ready Beijing as we need you now more than ever to support and help us do something else they say we cannot do, and that's win this season's championship.

Love is love.

Yours truly,

Starbury

Stephon Marbury can be reached at sports@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page24)

BEIJING-The sensational emergence of Chinese-American player Jeremy Lin has provided a much-needed boost for the NBA in China following Yao Ming's retirement last summer.

Though he was born in the United States and speaks few Chinese words, the 23-year-old New York Knicks point guard has become a darling of the Chinese media and fans, who switched their attention to the domestic league due to the NBA's lockout last year and a lack of Chinese faces in the world's premier league.

Lin has averaged 26.8 points in his past five games, highlighted by a career-high 38 in the Knicks' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday, and his influence on the Chinese-American community has been compared to that of All-Star center Yao.

However, he has followed a markedly different path to that of the giant Yao, who was the overall first draft pick in 2002. Lin was an undrafted Harvard graduate who emerged from seemingly nowhere to become the toast of New York and Asian-Americans everywhere.

"There are a lot of players like Lin in America, they linger outside the gym doors and continue to go to training trials ... 99 percent of them fail, but Lin held on to his dream; he is lucky and this is a typical American dream," said Yang Yi, deputy chief editor of Chinese newspaper Titan Sports and a popular basketball commentator.

Meanwhile, fellow commentator Zhang Weiping hailed Lin as the pride of Asia.

"No Asian-American had such success in the NBA before Lin, whose first game as a starter for the Knicks not only attracted Chinese fans but also saw South Koreans and Japanese cheer for him, too. The whole of Asia is proud of him," Zhang said.

"Lin has shown that being tall is not the only way for Asians to make it in the NBA. It also comes down to working harder than others and understanding the right way to play basketball," he said.

Lin had more than 862,000 fans following him on Sina Weibo on Monday, a massive rise compared with 190,000 earlier this month. His self-made humorous videos, including How to Get into Harvard, have also been widely viewed on the Internet in China.

Despite Lin's skyrocketing popularity, people still believe he has benefited from the absence of Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

"The absence of the Knicks' main scorers and other teams' unfamiliarity with him have provided him with opportunities," Zhang said. "It won't be easy for him to maintain his stellar form as other teams will begin to study him more closely. Therefore, he needs to work even harder for a long-term career in the NBA."

Yang said, as an Asian, Lin still needs to improve his fitness and strength to compete in the league.

"Lin has better physical qualities than other Chinese because he has grown up in America and trained in the American system, but compared with other point guards in the NBA, his weakness is still on the physical side," Yang said. "To firmly establish himself in the NBA, Lin needs to play regularly, and it's still too early to say he can do that."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page24)

TORONTO -'Linsanity' may be the NBA's newest smash hit but the Kobe Bryant Show remains one of professional basketball's longest running acts.

The All-Star guard proving again he is basketball's ultimate showman as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 94-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday with some late-game heroics. With charismatic newcomer Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks set to follow the Lakers into Toronto on Tuesday, the buzz around Sunday's matinee was very much focused on the phenomenon that has become known as 'Linsanity'.

But after Bryant came to the rescue with a jaw-dropping winner with less than four seconds to play, everyone was caught up in the grips of Kobe-mania.

"That's who he (Bryant) is," praised Lakers coach Mike Brown. "We are in a one-point game, a two-point game, the ball is going to be in his hands.

"We expect him to make the play and he did that tonight.

"When you have a guy like Kobe Bryant you are always going to give yourself a chance."

Recognized as one of the NBA's hardest working athletes and relentless perfectionist, Bryant is also described as one of the game's most ruthless competitors, willing do whatever it takes to win.

"Don't matter if you're in the backyard playing or on the main stage, he's going to try to take your neck off," Raptors DeMar DeRozan said as he prepared to face Bryant "It don't matter where, it could be a snowy day against Eskimos. He's going to try to kill them all."

Just a handful of games into his NBA career, Lin barely qualifies as a one-hit wonder while Bryant has been the league's longest running hit.

For 16 seasons, Bryant has been the headliner, leading the Lakers to five championships and claiming a trophy case full of individual honors, including league and finals MVP awards.

Lin has become the NBA's Tim Tebow, the unwanted underdog who has emerged to capture the imagination of basketball fans around the world.

Bryant is an NBA institution, who leads the league in scoring this season and the 33-year-old shows no signs of slowing down, saying he was ready to take on the heavy workload of another playoff run followed by a bid for a gold medal at the London Olympics.

"It's a big Olympics for us, an opportunity for us to cement ourselves again as being a powerhouse," said Bryant.

"We won the last Olympics, we won the worlds and now we want to win the Olympics in London and that will put us back where we belong.

"I don't have to do much. I'm the closer, they bring me in the last two minutes.

"I don't have to do anything, LeBron (James), (Dwyane) Wade they can do all the heavy-lifting."

Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page24)

Polo

Hong Kong crowned champ in Tianjin

Hong Kong defeated South Africa 7-4 to win the Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2012 on Sunday at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.

Asia's first snow polo World Cup, which started on Feb 4, saw 12 teams taking part with each side's handicap ranging from 14-16, thus making this international high-goal tournament one of the largest in the world. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, England, Hong Kong, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States competed in the event, hosted by the Equestrian Association of China and the Federation of International Polo.

Hong Kong scored six goals in the first three chukkas of the final, leaving South Africa's rally in the fourth chukka in vain. In the third-place playoff, England edged Argentina 8-7.

Tennis

Kerber claims first tour title in Paris

Germany's Angelique Kerber stunned home favorite Marion Bartoli 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 to win the Paris Open on Sunday and seal the first WTA Tour title of her career.

Second seed Bartoli, the world No 7, was looking for her first trophy on home soil and Maria Sharapova's quarterfinal defeat by Kerber seemed to have opened the door for the Frenchwoman.

However, left-hander Kerber raised her game again with a confident display in the hardcourt final, silencing the crowd at the Stade Coubertin.

"It's unbelievable. It's my first title, I don't know what to say. It was a difficult match, I battled for every point. It's been a fantastic week," Kerber said.

The ninth seed and world No 27's win came in the 20th edition of the Paris Open.

Rugby

Wales punishes Scotland in 27-13 win

Wales overcame a sluggish start to crush an error-prone and ill-disciplined Scotland 27-13 in the Six Nations on Sunday and make it two wins from two.

Fullback Leigh Halfpenny scored two tries and kicked 12 points and wing Alex Cuthbert also touched down for the host who scored 24 unanswered points in a rampant 15-minute spell at the start of the second half at the Millennium Stadium.

The Scots, who had more than held their own in the first 40 minutes and were level at 3-3 at halftime, were put to the sword after having two players sin-binned.

Scotland rallied briefly from 27-6 down with Greig Laidlaw getting his side's first try in five matches on his first start but it was too little too late as Wales confidently followed up last weekend's win over Ireland.

Skiing

Knee injury could end Kostelic season

Overall World Cup leader Ivica Kostelic could miss the rest of the Alpine skiing season after injuring his right knee during his super-combined victory on Sunday.

The Croatian's win clinched the super-combined title but he needed help to walk away from the course after getting hurt in the slalom portion of the event.

"During the second run he felt a shock in his knee," Croatian ski federation director Vedran Pavlek said at the Russian ski resort that will host the Alpine events at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Kostelic was taken to a local hospital for an MRI scan but it proved inconclusive.

China Daily - Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page23)

Alpine skiing

World Cup super-combined

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia - Results from the final men's World Cup super-combined of the season Sunday on the 2014 Sochi Olympics course:

1. Ivica Kostelic (CRO) 2:50.21 (2:02.14 + 48.07)

2. Beat Feuz (SUI) 2:51.37 (2:00.62 + 50.75)

3. Thomas Mermillod Blondin (FRA) 2:51.98 (2:01.69 + 50.29)

4. Matteo Marsaglia (ITA) 2:52.23 (2:01.91 + 50.32)

5. Benjamin Raich (AUT) 2:52.78 (2:04.05 + 48.73)

6. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) 2:52.79 (2:01.73 + 51.06)

7. Carlo Janka (SUI) 2:53.04 (2:01.32 + 51.72)

8. Christof Innerhofer (ITA) 2:53.05 (2:02.19 + 50.86)

9. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) 2:53.06 (2:01.80 + 51.26)

10. Peter Fill (ITA) 2:53.29 (2:01.76 + 51.53)

10. Andreas Romar (FIN) 2:53.29 (2:01.80 + 51.49)

World Cup super-combined standings (after fourth and last race)

1. Ivica Kostelic (CRO) 336, 2. Beat Feuz (SUI) 300, 3. Romed Baumann (AUT) 159, 4. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) 130, 5. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) 128

World Cup overall standings (after 29th of 44 races)

1. Ivica Kostelic (CRO) 1043, 2. Beat Feuz (SUI) 973, 3. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) 825, 4. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) 691, 5. Didier Cuche (SUI) 661, 6. Romed Baumann (AUT) 620, 7. Bode Miller (USA) 612, 8. Hannes Reichelt (AUT) 605, 9. Ted Ligety (USA) 578, 10. Klaus Kroell (AUT) 547

Women's World Cup giant slalom

SOLDEU, Andorra - Women's World Cup giant slalom results on Sunday:

1. Tessa Worley (FRA) 2:01.80 (1:10.37 + 51.43)

2. Tina Maze (SLO) 2:01.96 (1:10.79 + 51.17)

3. Maria Hoefl-Riesch (GER) 2:02.55 (1:10.74 + 51.81)

4. Manuela Moelgg (ITA) 2:02.79 (1:10.50 + 52.29)

5. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 2:02.80 (1:10.99 + 51.81)

6. Anna Fenninger (AUT) 2:02.94 (1:11.97 + 50.97)

7. Marie-Michele Gagnon (CAN) 2:03.08 (1:11.59 + 51.49)

8. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 2:03.16 (1:11.76 + 51.40)

9. Lara Gut (SUI) 2:03.41 (1:11.71 + 51.70)

10. Eva-Maria Brem (AUT) 2:03.73 (1:11.76 + 51.97)

World Cup giant slalom standings (after five of nine races)

1. Tessa Worley (FRA) 310 points, 2. Viktoria Rebensburg (GER) 290, 3. Anna Fenninger (AUT) 262, 4. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 249, 5. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 221

World Cup overall standings (after 25 of 41 races)

1. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 1,382 points, 2. Tina Maze (SLO) 972, 3. Maria Hoefl-Riesch (GER) 856, 4. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 719, 5. Anna Fenninger (AUT) 707, 6. Marlies Schild (AUT) 659, 7. Julia Mancuso (USA) 622, 8. Kathrin Zettel (AUT) 473, 9. Tina Weirather (LIE) 463, 10. Viktoria Rebensburg (GER) 437

Basketball

NBA results on Sunday (home team in CAPS):

LA Lakers 94 TORONTO 92

BOSTON 95 Chicago 91

Washington 98 DETROIT 77

Miami 107 ATLANTA 87

GOLDEN STATE 106 Houston 97

Utah 98 MEMPHIS 88

Golf

PGA Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Leading final-round scores on Sunday from the $6.4 million US PGA Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links (USA unless noted):

269 - Phil Mickelson 70-65-70-64

271 - Charlie Wi (KOR) 61-69-69-72

273 - Ricky Barnes 70-66-70-67

274 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 66-72-69-67

275 - Dustin Johnson 63-72-70-70, Kevin Na 66-69-70-70

276 - Ken Duke 64-73-65-74, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 68-66-72-70

277 - Jason Kokrak 68-67-72-70, Spencer Levin 69-69-71-68, Greg Owen (ENG) 68-67-72-70, Kevin Streelman 70-69-68-70, Brendon Todd 67-69-69-72, Jimmy Walker 69-68-71-69

278 - Steven Bowditch (AUS) 71-67-72-68, Bob Estes 67-70-69-72, Richard H. Lee 65-71-73-69, Hunter Mahan 65-70-70-73, Tiger Woods 68-68-67-75

Dubai Desert Classic

Leading final round scores in the $2.5million Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday at the Majlis Course of Emirates Golf Club (par 72):

270 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 63-69-70-68

271 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 69-65-67-70, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 69-65-68-69

273 - Marcel Siem (GER) 65-69-68-71

274 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 68-69-70-67, George Coetzee (RSA) 69-66-69-70, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 65-68-70, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66-65-72-71

275 - Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 66-72-67-70, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 66-65-73-71, Joel Sjoholm (SWE) 71-66-66-72

276 - Romain Wattel (FRA) 66-71-70-69

277 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 66-67-70-74, Ben Curtis (USA) 70-67-67-73, Tano Goya (ARG) 68-68-72-69

278 - Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 66-67-73-72, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 70-68-69-71, Johan Edfors (SWE) 69-71-68-70, Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 74-67-69-68

Ice Hockey

National Hockey League results on Sunday (home team in CAPS):

NY RANGERS 3 Washington 2

Florida 4 NY ISLANDERS 1

Anaheim 5 COLUMBUS 3

Los Angeles 4 DALLAS 2

PITTSBURGH 4 Tampa Bay 2

ST. LOUIS 3 San Jose 0

DETROIT 4 Philadelphia 3

Rugby

Six Nations

Wales beat Scotland 27-13 (halftime 3-3) in a Six Nations championship match in Cardiff on Sunday:

Scores:

Wales: Tries: Alex Cuthbert, Leigh Halfpenny (2); Penalties: Halfpenny (2); Conversions: Halfpenny (3)

Yellow card: Gethin Jenkins

Scotland: Try: Greig Laidlaw; Penalties: Laidlaw (2); Conversion: Laidlaw

Yellow cards: Nick De Luca, Rory Lamont

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Soccer

English Premier League

Results on Sunday:

Aston Villa 0 Manchester City 1 (Lescott 63)

Wolves 1 (Fletcher 45) West Brom 5 (Odemwingie 34, 77, 88, Olsson 64, Andrews 85)

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Man City 19 3 3 64 19 60

Man Utd 18 4 3 61 25 58

Tottenham 16 5 4 49 25 53

Arsenal 13 4 8 48 35 43

Chelsea 12 7 6 44 31 43

Newcastle 12 6 7 36 36 42

Liverpool 10 9 6 29 23 39

Norwich 9 8 8 37 41 35

Sunderland 9 6 10 34 26 33

Everton 9 6 10 26 27 33

Swansea 7 9 9 28 32 30

Fulham 7 9 9 31 36 30

Stoke 8 6 11 24 38 30

West Brom 8 5 12 29 35 29

Aston Villa 6 10 9 29 34 28

QPR 5 6 14 27 44 21

Blackburn 5 6 14 37 56 21

Wolves 5 6 14 28 49 21

Bolton 6 2 17 29 51 20

Wigan 4 7 14 23 50 19

French league

Results on Sunday:

Lille 4 (Rozehnal 8, Hazard 65, Debuchy 75, Roux 90) Bordeaux 5 (Maurice-Belay 2, 50, Obraniak 17, 90+3, Gouffran 60)

Nice 0 Paris Saint-Germain 0

Toulouse 0 Saint-Etienne 1 (Aubameyang 71)

German league

Results on Sunday:

FC Augsburg 0 Nuremberg 0

Cologne 0 Hamburg 1 (Guerrero 88)

Italian Serie A

Results on Sunday:

Atalanta 0 Lecce 0

Catania 4 (Lodi 7-pen, Barrientos 49, 62, Bergessio 72) Genoa 0

Inter 0 Novara 1 (Caracciolo 56)

Parma vs Fiorentina - postponed

Bologna vs Juventus - postponed

W D L Pf Pa Pts

AC Milan 14 5 4 45 20 47

Juventus 12 9 0 33 13 45

Lazio 12 6 5 37 24 42

Udinese 12 5 6 34 22 41

Inter Milan 11 3 9 34 30 36

Roma 10 5 7 36 26 35

Napoli 7 10 5 36 24 31

Palermo 9 4 10 33 34 31

Cagliari 7 9 7 22 24 30

Genoa 9 3 10 31 42 30

Fiorentina 7 7 7 23 19 28

Catania 6 9 6 27 29 27

Parma 7 6 8 27 34 27

Chievo 7 6 9 19 28 27

Atalanta 7 9 6 25 27 24

Bologna 5 7 9 18 26 22

Siena 4 8 9 21 22 20

Lecce 4 6 13 22 38 18

Cesena 4 4 14 15 34 16

Novara 3 7 13 20 42 16

Note: Atalanta deducted six points at start of season for match-fixing

Spanish league

Results on Sunday:

Espanyol 0 Real Zaragoza 2 (Da Silva 55, Carlos 90+4)

Rayo Vallecano 2 (Michu 34, Diego Costa 64) Getafe 0

Malaga 3 (Seba 11, Toulalan 55, Rondon 69) Real Mallorca 1 (Pereira 4)

Valencia 4 (Feghouli 34, Botia 73-og, Jonas 90+1, 90+2) Sporting Gijon 0

Villarreal 3 (Ruben 12, Borja Valero 64, Julio Cesar 74-og) Grenade 1 (Lopez 50)

Real Madrid 4 (Cristiano Ronaldo 45-pen, 50, 57, Benzema 66) Levante 2 (Cabral 5, Kone 63)

W D L Pf Pa Pts

Real Madrid 19 1 2 75 21 58

Barcelona 14 6 2 63 16 48

Valencia 11 7 4 35 22 40

Levante 9 5 8 29 29 32

Espanyol 9 5 8 25 26 32

Atletico Madrid 8 7 7 31 27 31

Malaga 9 4 9 28 32 31

Osasuna 7 10 5 26 35 31

Athletic Bilbao 7 9 6 34 30 30

Rayo Vallecano 8 4 10 27 32 28

Getafe 7 6 9 22 29 27

Sevilla 6 8 7 22 24 26

Real Betis 8 2 12 25 31 26

Villarreal 6 8 8 23 30 26

Real Mallorca 6 7 9 19 28 25

Granada 7 4 11 17 31 25

Real Sociedad 6 6 9 23 30 24

Racing Santander 4 11 7 18 26 23

Sporting Gijon 5 4 13 20 43 19

Real Zaragoza 3 6 13 18 38 15

Tennis

Davis Cup World Group

Davis Cup World Group first-round results this weekend:

At Oviedo, Spain: Spain 5 Kazakhstan 0

At Wiener Neustadt, Austria: Austria 3 Russia 2

At Vancouver, Canada: Canada 1 France 3

At Fribourg, Switzerland: Switzerland 0 US 5

At Ostrava, Czech Republic: Czech Republic 4 Italy 1

At Nis, Serbia: Serbia 4 Sweden 1

At Hyogo, Japan: Japan 2 Croatia 3

At Bamberg, Germany: Germany 1 Argentina 4

WTA Paris Open

Result on Sunday (x denotes seeding):

Final: Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Marion Bartoli (FRA x2) 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.

WTA Pattaya Open

Result on Sunday:

Final: Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x3) bt Maria Kirilenko (RUS x4) 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page23)

Tiger Woods' long and winding journey back to the game's pinnacle suffered another setback on Sunday when he battled his way to a final-round 75 at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Seeming well placed for a last-day surge after shooting a six-birdie 67 in the third round, the former world No 1 struggled on the greens as his playing partner Phil Mickelson beat him by 11 shots.

"What's frustrating is I had a chance (to win)," a subdued Woods said after failing in his bid to end a PGA Tour victory drought of more than two years. "All I had to do was get off to a good solid start today and I didn't do that.

"I thought I could get it going in the middle part of the round but instead I went the other way."

World No 18 Woods, who has not won a full-field event since the 2009 Australian Masters, recorded three consecutive bogeys from the seventh and failed to gain any momentum after the turn.

"I didn't hit it as bad as the score indicated but I putted awful," the 14-times major champion said.

"I just could not see my lines, I couldn't get comfortable and I couldn't get the blade to swing. Anything that I tried to do wasn't working.

"And consequently I made a ton of mistakes on the greens," said Woods, whose form over the past two years has been exacerbated a swing change, injury problems and the breakdown of his marriage.

Asked whether being paired with Mickelson in the penultimate group had been a factor in his last-day struggles, he replied: "Not at all. I still had to go out there and post my number."

Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page23)

41-year-old Mickelson discovers the key to beating his archrival at close quarters

Tiger Woods has put himself among the greatest legends in golf history but he continues to go belly up in recent head-to-head battles with Phil Mickelson. Mickelson has won their past five meetings when they have gone head-to-head in the final round of a tournament, including Sunday's come-from-behind victory at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and at the 2009 Masters.

"I am inspired playing with him," four-time major winner Mickelson, widely known as "Lefty", said. "I think most people are, but he seems to bring out the best in me and the last four or five years, I've played some of my best golf playing with him."

Mickelson and Woods were first paired together in the fourth round of the 1997 PGA Championship, where they both shot 75s. In 30 such career pairings, they are now level at 13-13-4 in who scores better.

"I just seem more focused," Mickelson said. "His level of play is so much greater when he's playing his best than anybody else's. That just forces me to focus on my game more intently, and hit more precise shots."

That's exactly what he did on Sunday at Pebble Beach as Mickelson rallied from a six-shot deficit at the start of the day to win by two strokes over runner-up Charlie Wi for his first victory since last April's Houston Open.

The 41-year-old American fired a final-round eight-under par 64 for a 17-under total of 269 while Woods closed with a disappointing three-over 75.

Mickelson is the first to remind people that before his recent success over Woods, he was the one getting cuffed. After their first tie at the PGA Championship, Woods won the next three fourth-round head-to-heads.

"It has only been the past five years," Mickelson said. "Before, I got spanked pretty good.

"Let's not forget the big picture here. I've been beat up. But the last five years, I've been able to get some of my best golf out when we play together."

No one knew what to expect from Mickelson heading into the Pebble Beach tournament. He got off to a rocky start this season, failing to crack the top 25 in his first three tournaments.

But Mickelson said his game is finally rounding back into shape, especially his putting.

"I haven't played the last year the way I would like to," he said. "I felt like my game was so close heading into the season, and yet my scores didn't reflect how I felt I was playing.

"I put it together this week and especially the final round and it just feels terrific. It gives me a lot of confidence but also inspires me because I believe now that what I'm doing is correct and that I'm able to play some of my best golf."

Mickelson drained two long par-saving putts on the back nine on Sunday to stay in contention for the win.

"I seem to make more and more putts," he said. "I still miss putts, but from the last couple of years where I wasn't making hardly any, now I feel like I'm making a bunch.

"I don't worry about my stroke and have not now for the last six weeks. I didn't have any mechanical thoughts, because I had confidence in my ability to roll it. I believed I was going to make these 30 and 40-footers."

Mickelson plans to play next week's PGA event at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles before taking a family vacation.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page23)

JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd, a Chinese solar power product manufacturer, has become the main sponsor of Spanish soccer giant Valencia.

Under the sponsorship's terms, JinkoSolar's logo will be displayed on team shirts, which will gain exposure for the company at both home and away games.

"We always look forward to collaborating with businesses that want to make an impact on a global scale, which is why we are very excited that JinkoSolar has chosen to partner with Valencia," says Manuel Llorente, president of Valencia CF.

"We are currently in the process of reconstructing our home stadium - one of the biggest in the world - and with our established partnership with JinkoSolar, we are initiating a development project for renewable and sustainable energy within our facilities."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page22)

MADRID - Cristiano Ronaldo hit his sixth hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid took a huge step towards winning La Liga on Sunday, coming from behind to beat Levante 4-2 and open a 10-point lead over Barcelona.

After Gustavo Cabral gave Levante a surprise early lead, Ronaldo got his first from the penalty spot following a handball by Vicente Iborra, who was also dismissed for his second yellow card.

Ronaldo headed home a Gonzalo Higuain cross after 49 minutes and then completed his hat-trick with a wonderful 30-yard strike which flew into the roof of the net.

An Arouna Kone header briefly gave a glimmer of hope for Levante but Karim Benzema slotted in a fourth for Real after 65 minutes.

While Barcelona, beaten 3-2 by Osasuna on Saturday, has stuttered on its travels, Real has been in ominous form, winning 19 of 22 games and scoring 75 goals which has put it on course for its first league title since 2008.

Levante is the only team along with Barcelona to have beaten Real this season and when Cabral headed home a freekick, which flicked off Sergio Ramos, after just four minutes, Real must have feared another setback.

But Ronaldo's penalty, a minute before the break, helped settle the nerves.

"The mathematics tell us that to consider this league won, it's necessary to get another 39 points, that's 13 wins," said Mourinho.

"The road is long, but a 10-point lead has given us margin for error."

Despite its 10-point deficit, Barcelona captain Carles Puyol says the champion will not throw in the towel.

"The league is not lost but it is going to be complicated. This team always fights to the end and what we have to do is try and win every week. We have to concentrate on ourselves and see where we get," he said.

Valencia moved eight points clear of the chasing pack in third place with an emphatic 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon which brought to an end a run of five league games without a win.

Second-from-bottom Sporting started solidly under coach Inaki Tejada in his second game in charge, but after a cagey opening spell, Valencia had the first chance with Aritz Aduriz firing wide.

Then Sofiane Feghouli gave it the opener after 33 minutes with a fine finish from a Jeremy Mathieu cross.

Sporting was unable to bounce back and Aduriz missed another excellent opening before the break while, after the restart, Valencia dominated the match as the visitor's rearguard was unable to cope.

A deflected Feghouli shot off Alberto Botia gave Valencia a two-goal cushion and then, in injury time, substitute Jonas Goncalves bagged a double to add gloss to the win.

The teams are now bunching up below Valencia with Espanyol still level with Levante on 32 points after losing 2-0 at home to Zaragoza.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page22)

Cote d'Ivoire, who yet again failed to fulfil its favorite's tag at the Africa Cup of Nations, heads back to Abidjan laden down with disappointment, coach Francois Zahoui said.

The top team on the continent was defeated by Zambia 8-7 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Sunday's final to revive memories of its 2006 penalty shoot-out defeat to Egypt in Cairo.

The Elephants had come to the 2012 edition with high hopes of atoning for other failures in 2008 and 2010.

But they now head home trophyless, despite having had an opportunity to claim the title in regulation time only for captain Didier Drogba to send a second-half penalty high over the bar.

Zahoui said: "The disappointment is enormous and it's sadness which is the overwhelming sensation. We are very upset tonight. I was anticipating a difficult game, I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

"We didn't start well but we had occasions like the penalty to kill off the game.

"Then Zambia began to believe. That's football."

Zambia wase driven by its desire to honor the national team wiped out in a 1993 plane crash off the Libreville coast, but Zahoui insisted his side too was hungry to win the title for only the second time after 1992.

"The Zambians had a history but we also wanted to win this Cup.

"We wanted to claim the title because of the difficult situation in the Cote d'Ivoire," said Zahoui.

AFP

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page22)

LIBREVILLE - Coach Herve Renard believes Zambia's shock defeat of Cote d'Ivoire in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final was "written in the sky".

The Frenchman was referring to Zambia's quest to be crowned the continental champion in homage to its fallen comrades in the national team who were killed in a plane crash off the Libreville coast 19 years ago.

"We know what we wanted to honor this evening, it was a sign of destiny, written in the sky, there was a force with us. I think God has helped us and given us strength," Renard told a post-final press conference.

After Zambia's stunning 8-7 penalty shoot-out defeat of hot favorite Cote d'Ivoire, Renard embraced Kalusha Bwalya, the Zambian Football Federation chief and only survivor of the ill-fated '93 national team.

Bwalya it was who had enough confidence to appoint Renard, then assistant to Ghana manager Claude LeRoy, as coach of Zambia in 2008, and again to re-sign him in 2010.

Renard reflected: "Kalusha was one of the best Zambian players of the last century.

"Then he was coach of the national team, now our president.

"He survived the crash, he was supposed to have been on that plane which was going to play a World Cup qualifer against Senegal.

"He knows how terrible this crash was for the nation.

"I want to dedicate this title to him, he gave me my chance when nobody knew me.

"With Claude LeRoy and Kalusha I have been fortunate to have met these two people along my journey."

He reckoned Zambia had been lucky to play all its games up to the final across the Gabonese border in Equatorial Guinea, explaining: "It was only possible for us to return to Gabon (to honor the 1993 team) if we made the final, that gave us incredible strength."

Zambian midfielder Isaac Cansa said they appreciated they had achieved something enormous for the Zambian people.

"The 1993 tragedy played its role. We weren't favorites for the competition or the final, but we believed in ourselves."

Renard, who has joined a select club of Frenchman to win the Nations Cup, a group that includes LeRoy and Roger Lemerre, who won in 2004 with Tunisia, says his future lies with Zambia.

"It's a fantastic country. I'm proud to bring the Cup back to Zambia."

Even though it was Stoppila Sunzu who converted the winning penalty, his teammate, Rainford Kalaba, had had the chance to score the decisive spotkick after Kolo Toure had missed the Cote d'Ivoire's seventh.

"They call Kalaba 'the master' because he's such a fantastic player, but, like (Diego) Maradona or (Michel) Platini he's a human being and is capable of missing something. This wasn't the right time for him to miss, but luckily along came Stoppila to give us the title."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page22)

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom - Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insists he will be willing to shake Carlos Tevez's hand and end their rift if the striker apologizes to him.

Tevez hasn't played for City since he refused to warm up during the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich in September but the Argentine forward is expected back in England on Tuesday after seeing a move away from Eastlands fail to materialize last month.

Mancini had initially vowed Tevez would never play for the club again.

However, speaking after Sunday's 1-0 victory at Aston Villa, which moved City back to the top of the Premier League, the Italian indicated he is prepared to forgive and forget and pick the player again.

At the weekend the Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra saga took a fresh twist over the Liverpool forward's failure to shake hands with the Manchester United defender, Mancini said: "I think it is a bad moment to talk about shaking hands, but yes. I always forgive people, every time.

"It's up to him. Carlos knows everything. We are here, we didn't change city in these three months, so we are here and Carlos knows this.

"Carlos is a City player. For three months we have been expecting him back.

"I am there, Carlos knows. I spoke to him one week after Munich, Carlos knows everything. I can't say any more.

"Would I like him to apologize? This is normal I think. And after, Carlos can train and Carlos can play if his condition is good."

Meanwhile, Mancini hailed his players after Joleon Lescott's second-half strike ended Villa's stubborn resistance in a game City completely dominated.

"I'm very pleased with all the players because I think they did a very good performance," he said.

"They played very well. We conceded only one chance. We would have been really unlucky if they had scored with the last chance. We played very well and we had a lot more possession.

"It is not easy to play away against Aston Villa as they are a good team. But if you don't score two goals then maybe in the end you can be at some risk."

The win enabled City to restore its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League after Manchester United had climbed above it for 24 hours with a victory over Liverpool on Saturday.

Mancini was delighted with the character shown by his squad in grinding out the victory, however he insisted its neighbor remains the side to beat.

"For us, December and January were difficult months because we had players injured, players banned and players away," Mancini said.

"Now we are in February and we are still on the top. I think next week we will have all the players and this is very important for us.

"But to stay on the top with Manchester United and Tottenham, I think that we have to be very strong because United are still better than us.

"United have won everything in the last 10 years. Until we win the title, United are better."

Meanwhile, Villa manager Alex McLeish revealed he expects centerback Richard Dunne to be out for a prolonged spell with a shoulder injury.

"I believe he will be out for at least a month, that's serious enough," McLeish said.

"He's definitely damaged his shoulder which is part of the bad luck we've been having recently."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page22)

Who's in charge of the chinese basketball association

Standings (after 33 rounds)

W L

Guangdong S. Tigers 26 5

Beijing Ducks 21 10

Dongguan Leopards 19 12

Shanxi B. Dragons 19 12

Xinjiang Flying Tigers 18 13

Shanghai Sharks 17 14

Fujian SBS 17 14

Zhejiang Lions 17 14

Qingdao Eagles 16 15

Zhejiang Golden Bulls 15 16

Liaoning Jiebao 14 17

Jilin Northeast Tigers 14 17

Shandong G. Lions 14 18

Tianjin Gold Lions 10 21

Bayi Rockets 10 21

Foshan Longlions 9 22

Jiangsu Dragons 8 23

Top scorers

1. J.R. Smith

guard, Zhejiang Golden Bulls

34.5 ppg

2. Lester Hudson

guard, Qingdao Eagles

33.6 ppg

3. Marcus Williams

guard, Shanxi Brave Dragons

31.9 ppg

Top rebounders

1. Zaid Abbaas

forward, Fujian SBS

14.8 rpg

2. Donnell Harvey

forward, Tianjin Gold Lions

14.5 rpg

3. P.J. Ramos

center, Zhejiang Lions

13.7 rpg

Leading in assists

1. Osama Daghles

guard, Jilin Northeast Tigers

7.3 apg

2. Stephon Marbury

guard, Beijing Ducks

6.5 apg

3. Yang Ming

guard, Liaoning Jiebao

6.5 apg

Notes

You won't see J.R. at the All-Star Game

Although being voted as a starter and posing for a photo shoot in an All-Star uniform, J.R. Smith won't appear at the CBA All-Star Game this weekend in Guangzhou as the former Denver Nugget will return to the US on Wednesday.

After losing the Zhejiang derby to the Lions last Friday, Smith's Golden Bulls were officially eliminated from the playoffs and the league's top scorer will be allowed to opt out his contract when the CBA regular season ends on Wednesday.

Smith announced his return to the US via Twitter last Saturday, saying, "Ladies (and) Gentleman, I am happy to tell you my return to the US is (official). I will be home on (Feb) 15, 2012! Hyped!"

After inking a one-year contract with the Golden Bulls last September, during the NBA lockout, Smith performed well in the CBA, averaging 34.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.6 steals in 30 games.

Despite failing to lead his team to an expected playoff berth, Smith's explosive scoring was cheered by boisterous Chinese fans but several incidents involving his sister and girlfriend having altercations with fans on the road made international headlines.

Unlike fellow countrymen Wilson Chandler and Aaron Brooks, who will continue their China sojourns in the postseason, Smith will be able to receive a FIBA clearance letter as soon as his team's season ends this week.

A group of NBA teams including the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and New York Knicks have shown interests in landing the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Injured Ducks guard Lee returns

The Beijing Ducks received more exciting news after clinching second in the CBA standings after Sunday's home win over the Shanghai Sharks.

Their former starting point guard, Lee Hsueh-lin, who has been sidelined with a back injury since last December, returned to the court and played 29 minutes in his first game in more than two months.

Delivering two points, four rebounds and three assists, Lee remained guarded about the injury.

"I feel happy with my recovery over the past month, but I still need time to get back my rhythm and regain my strength," Lee said after the 93-78 victory.

"I still have to be careful with it and test my body over the coming week. Hopefully, I will be able to get fully ready for the playoffs."

Lee's return should release some of the pressure on team leader Stephon Marbury, who has carried the brunt of the side's offense during his teammate's absence.

"I am so happy to have my backcourt mate back. He makes the game so much easier," Marbury, 35, said on his micro blog on Monday.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page24)

Berlin film festival warms up in Europe

The 62nd Berlin Film Festival got under way on Thursday night as a cold spell gripped Europe. In cinemas, however, the atmosphere was much warmer, with the opening movie Farewell My Queen recalling the French Revolution.

The French drama, along with 17 other movies, all world premieres, will vie for the top award Golden Bear prize in the main competition of the festival over 10 days.

Chinese director Wang Quan'an will present his latest film White Deer Plain in the main competition, vying for the top award for the third time, after winning a Golden Bear in 2007 and a Sliver Bear in 2010.

Wang's movie, which is more than three hours long, depicts the twists and turns of two major families in a village of Shaanxi province at the turn of the 20th century. It's based on a controversial and prize-winning eponymous novel by writer Chen Zhongshi.

China's leading director Zhang Yimou also returns to the Berlinale with his The Flowers of War. The film is to be screened out of competition.

Picasso exhibition tour to open in Chengdu

Pablo Picasso's masterpieces will tour Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, from Feb 28 to May 1, after its China debut in Shanghai in October.

On view will be 56 oil works and sculptures by Picasso, with 50 photos that chronicle his artistic career. A documentary film about him will be screened during the exhibition.

Also, ink masterpieces by artist Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), whose home city is Neijiang, Sichuan province, will be featured alongside Picasso's works.

The two maestros met and forged a friendship half a century ago in Paris.

True Love and Peace honors China-Japan ties

A joint exhibition entitled True Love and Peace runs from Feb 12-19 at Yanhuang Art Museum in Beijing to mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese Diplomatic Relations.

On display are more than 50 ink paintings by renowned artists from the two countries to promote mutual understanding of each other's time-honored artistic traditions, organizers say.

China Today marks future with anniversary

China Today, a monthly magazine published by China International Publishing Group, celebrated its 60th anniversary recently in Beijing.

The magazine, initially titled China Reconstructs, was founded by Soong Ching-ling (also known as Madame Sun Yat-sen) in January 1952.

Renamed as China Today in January 1990, the magazine has grown from a single edition bimonthly to a monthly in nine foreign languages, in addition to seven electronic editions for readers in at least 150 countries and regions, editor-in-chief Gong Xixiang says.

China Daily-CRI

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page20)

The goal will be to provide Chinese teenagers and 20-somethings with lenses for their glasses.

Each time I see one of these unfortunates walking the streets with just empty frames, my heart breaks a little.

"Look," I say, to whichever person is unlucky enough to be near me at the time.

"That poor child has spent so much money on shiny, overpriced bags, coats and shoes that they don't have enough left for corrective lenses."

It's a strange style.

No more strange than what the rest of the world is doing, granted, but I still wonder why anyone would think it looks "cool" to hang bits of plastic off the front of their face unless they actually need to. Then again, hanging bits of metal from our ears seems odd to me.

The first time I noticed someone wearing empty spectacles in China was when I was interviewing potential new hires in early 2010. (Perhaps my own shortsightedness had prevented me from seeing it before then.)

One smartly dressed hopeful had completed her outfit with what I thought were glasses with sparkling brown and gold frames. The more I looked, however, the more I felt something was odd.

I twisted this way and that in my seat to get a good look from different angles, all the while trying my best to listen to her answer our questions.

Unsurprisingly, she said at the end that she thought the interview had not gone well - I suspect because throughout it I fidgeted like someone who desperately needed the toilet.

I'll never pretend to understand fashion. It's lost on me. I'm still happy getting hand-me-downs from my father, and I'm all-smiles when Marks & Spencer have a sale so I can stock up on sensible trousers and plain T-shirts.

It's probably because I don't understand and appreciate the art of fashion that I find it - and the people who become "slaves" to it - so terribly amusing. (I've been guaranteed on more than one occasion that the feeling is mutual.)

The funniest moments are when the uber-stylish are forced to do something that clashes with their too-cool-for-school exterior.

For instance, why would anyone with the kind of swept, bouffant haircut usually seen on male Chinese pop stars ever sign up for game show that involves donning a leotard and helmet and doing forward rolls on a thin ledge above a pool of water?

I refer to Brave Invincible, which I stumbled upon while browsing the television channels during Spring Festival. It's a typical action-packed entertainment show with the obligatory smug hosts and piano music whenever anyone tells a sad story. ("I'm doing this to make my mother proud," said one woman, shortly before being lowered into a pool and fired at a mass of overhanging rubber rings.)

That half hour was one of the highlights of the holiday, not least for the male contestant whom I can only imagine was there by mistake. Perhaps this coiffured dandy thought he'd applied for Creative Sky, the Chinese version of Project Runway.

His bag must have been packed with so much extra-hold gel, because every time he ended up in the drink, not one hair looked out of place in the next segment.

I should thank him, though. Until I saw him taking part in a running challenge while wearing Ugg boots, I had always struggled to come up with the definition of a "style victim".

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page20)

Quilt-making traditions are fading from the social fabric. Huang Yuli reports.

Lu Ping had much to prepare for the marriage of her daughter and local tradition put providing the couple with handmade cotton quilts toward the top of the list. The custom is likely born out of Lixian town's longstanding identity as a cotton production base in Hunan province. Lu made two quilts for her daughter. Lixian resident Guo Fangzhi bought freshly harvested cotton from growers in September and ordered eight quilts from the quilt-makers for her son.

Quilts made by craftspeople are more "reliable", Guo says.

"I know it's really good cotton inside. But I can never be that sure with quilts from supermarkets, even it says its 100-percent cotton."

"You can use them for more than 10 years, and when they lose their fluffiness, you can take them back to the workshop and get them fixed."

Much of the quality is determined by the craftspeople's experience.

Pan Guotai has spent the past two decades making quilts.

"The cotton quality used by quilt-makers is much better," the 46-year-old says.

Pan explains quilt-makers use at least Level 2 quality, while the supermarkets usually use level 5 or 6. Level 10 cotton is the lowest quality.

And craftspeople invest more time and attention to ensuring the cotton is fluffy and the stitching is better.

"And you can customize. Some people like lighter and thinner quilts and use about 3 kg of cotton. Those who like thicker ones can order theirs made with 5 kg."

And handmade quilts are cheaper, selling for about 135 yuan ($21), while supermarkets sell them for about 500 yuan.

Pan started making quilts in his 20s as an apprentice and opened a shop with his wife after mastering the trade.

Pan identifies three steps for quilt-making.

First, cotton is fluffed by machine. Second, the refined cotton is shaped into a massive rectangle with a thread grid. Third, the quilt is milled to blend the thread grid into the cotton.

The first and last steps are most important, Pan says. "The more refined the cotton, the fluffier the quilt," he says.

"The thread and cotton must blend. Otherwise, the thread will likely unravel."

Despite handmade quilts' advantages, Pan doesn't believe the trade will last.

"Nobody wants to learn it," he says.

Pan hasn't been able to find an apprentice in the past seven years. Neither have any of the town's other quilt-makers.

The main reason is the trade doesn't bring in much income. Pan and his wife take an hour and a half to make a quilt and can finish about seven a day on average. They charge 30 yuan to 45 yuan for their work, depending on the quilts' sizes. So, they earn 200-300 yuan a day.

It's also seasonal work that follows the cotton harvests.

Business starts in September and ends in the 12th lunar month, so quilt-makers have about four months of regular business.

"Even those young people who have mastered the skill will give it up if they can find other work," Pan says.

"It's more work than pay. It also produces a lot of dust - usually more than a mask can protect you from. So, quilt-makers face the risk of lung diseases."

But not all challenges to the trade's future are on the supply end.

"Most of our customers are middle-aged or elderly people, who are ordering quilts for their children," Pan says.

"Young people won't bother to buy cotton and go through the rest of the process. They prefer to go to the supermarket, even though it's more expensive. How many quilts will one need, anyway?" he continues.

"And many young people - even in our town - don't even know we quilt-makers exist."

Tan Wenge echoes Pan's concerns about the future of their trade.

The 45-year-old took over his master's business seven years ago, when the man who taught him the craft became too old to continue.

Tan makes quilts the ancient way - without machines.

He instead uses a bow-shaped tool called a jiong that he slings over his shoulder. Tan holds the jiong with one hand and a wooden mallet in the other. Striking the jiong string fluffs the cotton.

And he grinds the cotton with a thick wooden slab that has handlebars.

"I might be the only one in town who still uses the old tools, although the old way makes better quilts," he says.

And using ancient implements slows the process. Tan and his wife need at least two hours to make a quilt, which means less money over time.

Tan recalls that, 20 years ago, quilt-makers only made one quilt a day and focused on ensuring top quality.

But he understands that way of doing things doesn't have much space in an age where time is money, he says.

"Our town's quilt-makers are about my age or older," Tan says.

"Very few young people do this business."

Pan has a daughter and a son. The daughter is pursuing a postgraduate degree in English at Beijing Institute of Technology, while the son is a sophomore at a medical college in Lanzhou, Gansu province.

Neither knows how to make quilts. Nor does Tan's son.

"When we get old and leave the business 20 years later, quilt-making will disappear from our town," Tan says.

Pan agrees. "It's inevitable," he says.

"There's nothing we can do about it. And I don't encourage young people to do this job. It's not worth the hard work."

You may contact the writer at huangyuli@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page20)

It may seem grotesquely inappropriate to recall Primo Levi's struggles for survival in a Nazi camp while thinking of the apparently self-reliant individualists of a slum called Annawadi near Mumbai's airport - the setting of Katherine Boo's extraordinary first book, which describes a few months in the life of a young garbage trader, Abdul, and his friends and family.

After all, these plucky "slumdogs" may be - in at least one recent fantasy - India's next millionaires, part of the lucky 1 percent able to savor the five-star hotels that loom over Annawadi.

Certainly, as noted by Boo a staff writer at The New Yorker who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2000, when she was a journalist at The Washington Post they are not considered poor by "official" Indian benchmarks. They are "among roughly 100 million Indians freed from poverty since 1991", when the central government "embraced economic liberalization", "part of one of the most stirring success narratives in the modern history of global market capitalism", in which a self-propelling economic system is geared to reward motivated and resourceful individuals with personal wealth.

Going Solo, by Eric Klinenberg (Penguin Press)

Living in families, though traditional and almost universal on this evolving planet, is experiencing an unplanned but effective attack, according to a new book.

Author Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology at New York University, sees lessons to be learned. He sums them up in his subtitle: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone.

What good is living alone? Isolate yourself from all your friends? No wife? No husband? No mother? And all that laundry to do? Babies? Maybe, later.

Klinenberg also collects interviews with older people who choose independent living rather than available alternatives as long as they can, though their stories are necessarily sadder than those of young people.

Though the short book is largely concerned with the United States, it devotes 10 vivid pages to solutions innovated in Sweden. Back in the 1930s social planner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Alva Myrdal opened a "collective house". It had 57 units for single women and single mothers, with a communal kitchen, a nursery and small elevator service to each unit for meal deliveries.

"Solitude, once we learn how to use it, does more than restore our personal energy," Klinenberg concludes. "It also sparks new ideas about how we might better live together."

The Science Of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards, by William J. Broad (Simon & Schuster)

In The Science of Yoga, William J. Broad brings something unusual to his subject: an open mind.

Broad, the book's biographical note informs us, has practiced yoga since 1970. For nearly that long he has also been a science reporter for The New York Times, writing books like Teller's War: The Top-Secret Story Behind the Star Wars Deception along the way.

Broad's objective is simple enough: to evaluate in scientific terms the claims made for yoga. But this turns out to be more complicated than it seems. For one thing, there are the sheer number and variety of those claims: Yoga, it is said, can prevent heart disease, reverse aging, eliminate pain and bestow serenity and peace.

Broad patiently and exhaustively examines the evidence for each of these assertions, revealing surprises along the way. Yes, yoga can reduce anxiety and improve mood. No, it won't help the overweight shed pounds. Yes, it may actually slow the body's biological clock.

Broad doesn't just discuss the results of the scientific literature; he weighs the relative prestige of the journal in which the studies were published and scrutinizes each experiment's design and methodology. This is more information than some readers may want, but Broad leaves no doubt that he's done his homework.

New York Times - AFP

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page19)

Hong Ying's work (is) ... tough, uncompromising, direct and tense with strong emotion but also full of poetry and grace.

Andrew Motion, British Poet Laureate

(Daughter of the River is) the story of one person's awakening but also of a society's. In its stark and detailed portrayal of unremitting poverty and of the stress and intimacies of family life, the work is reminiscent of Angela's Ashes ... A major writer emerges here, combining flawlessly the often broken dreams of youth.

Kirkus Reviews

(Good Children of the Flowers is) a compelling, compassionate, candid and often shockingly revealing story about the mother-daughter relationship that endured through the years.

Xu Gang, associate professor with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page19)

Hong Ying has followed up on her two hit novels, inspired by her life experiences, with what she calls a supplement about the good things in her childhood. Yang Guang reports.

Arguably one of China's most international writers, Hong Ying published her third novel based on her life, The Little Girl, at the end of last year, after 1997's Daughter of the River and its 2009 sequel Good Children of the Flowers.

Resembling American writer Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, The Little Girl is a collection of 57 short stories about a little girl growing up in her rundown neighborhood on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the 1960s and 1970s.

"The Little Girl is a supplement to Daughter of the River and Good Children of the Flowers," the 50-year-old writer says. "It tells the warm episodes of my childhood, which are absent in the previous two books."

Born to a sailor's family in Chongqing, Hong Ying is the sixth child in her family of eight. Her mother worked as a bricklayer to support the family, as her father was too ill to work.

"Little Six" endured great poverty and hunger and, worse still, felt she didn't belong to the family. Her mother was strangely indifferent and her siblings treated her like an outsider. A history teacher awakened her emerging womanhood.

During the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), she saw people arrested at school for writing big-character posters or being written into them.

"As a lonely girl, I was fascinated by the fact that you could draw people's attention just by writing a few words," she remembers. So she began to write, putting down her thoughts secretly in a notebook.

She finally discovered the truth of her birth on her 18th birthday - she was in fact the illegitimate daughter of a lover her mother took when her father was in prison. The history teacher committed suicide because of the persecution he suffered during the "cultural revolution" at almost the same time.

Determined to free herself from the past, she left home alone, swearing never to return. It was then that she changed her name from Chen Hongying (meaning "red hero") to Hong Ying (meaning "image of the rainbow") - inspired by lines from the ancient Chinese Book of Songs:

There is a rainbow in the east

and no one dares to point to it.

When a girl goes away (from her home)

she separates from her parents and brothers.

She spent the next 10 years wandering, drinking, dancing and having casual sex, as well as writing short stories and poems. In retrospect, she says the years "on the road" were invaluable in expanding her horizons and liberating her body and soul.

After a brief stint at the Lu Xun Literature Academy in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai, she moved to London in 1991 with her first husband, a university professor.

She shot to fame in 1997, with the fearlessly honest bestseller Daughter of the River, a widely translated autobiography that recounts her harrowing coming of age and the family history from the 1940s to the 1980s.

However, she was not happily married and wanted to return to China. She divorced and moved to Beijing in 2000.

Having left home at 18 and returned at 38, she says she finally understands her roots after the long and painful odyssey.

In 2009, she came up with a long-awaited autobiographical sequel, Good Children of the Flowers, prompted by her mother's death in 2006. It begins with the entire family gathering for her mother's funeral and unravels the secrets of how she ended up separating from her husband and how her mother spent her miserable last days.

It isn't easy to confront the darkness accumulated in the heart over the years, but she is aware that "you cannot live a happy life if you choose to ignore your scars".

She started writing The Little Girl a year ago, when she found her daughter Sybil liked these stories from her childhood. She told Sybil the story her mother told "Little Six":

"Left all alone in the world, a little girl makes her living by picking peas for a landlord. One day she runs into a fairy, who promises to realize one of her wishes. She asks for a family and finds herself in a cozy room when she opens her eyes. Dinner is ready and her parents and siblings are sitting at the table.

"'Little Six' cried and asked Mother whether she could be the little girl. 'You are my little girl,' Mother said."

Hong Ying says the book recalls the years spent with her mother and perhaps she is finally reconciled with her past.

She is now married to British writer and businessman Adam Williams and lives in Beijing. She is currently working on a novel that she expects to finish by the end of 2012 about how a 10-year-old girl searches for her lost mother.

You can contact the writer at yangguang@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page19)

I'm no romantic.

It's fortunate I'm a female because my idea of professing my love, in the case of my then-boyfriend-now-husband, was to put itching powder down his pants.

That would have pretty well closed the door on the relationship if the roles were reversed.

Every day is Valentine's Day for couples in their fresh throes of love, but for the rest of us, those who lack adequate REM sleep due to our partner's sonic snoring, have woken up next to the Crypt Keeper's twin sister, kept sensibly quiet about his football fanaticism or her shopping marathons, yes, we need a day to mark a celebration of our love.

Anniversaries are a retrospective of where we started, and how far we've traveled. But Valentine's Day marks where we are today and hope to be tomorrow.

For guys, Valentine's Day is the romantic equivalent of scoring a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of a tie-breaker. The times you left the toilet seat up, forgot your anniversary, told her the roast could have used more seasoning - all this and more are forgiven with the annual offering of flowers, gifts and a candlelit dinner. USA Today reports men spend an average of $169 on Valentine's Day to, as one respondent put it, "stay out of the doghouse".

Valentine's Day in China is a recent import.

Setting aside the fact that public displays of affection are as common as orderly lines at the train station, the more entrepreneurial types wholeheartedly flog the sales of flowers at 300 percent profit and pricey set dinners with a couple glasses of cheap Champagne.

But while the foreign influence of Valentine's Day has got a foothold in China, it doesn't seem to have affected the older crowd. This is not surprising as the traditional Chinese idea of romance steers away from anything that involves confessing their lifelong love - unless on their deathbed, or revealing that it was he/she that secretly supported their love interest's dream of being a doctor/lawyer/artist, or admitting that their unrequited love but lifelong friend is really the father of her child - well, you get the picture.

The three words heard most in a Chinese relationship is not "I love you" but rather, "How much money?" That is not to say the Chinese are not romantic, but practicality and busy schedules play a big part as evidenced in the Chinese valentine story The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid. Due to major in-law issues, the mythical couple is swept apart for eternity and allowed to meet only once a year. The popularity of this tale only goes to show that time-wise, family and business receive the lion's share of Chinese couples' concerns, and bringing home a bouquet of flowers or a pearl necklace may generate more suspicion than gratitude.

But don't get romance confused with love. In Chinese families, love is measured not in hugs or words of encouragement but rather in long hours toiling at the workplace or over a hot stove, decades without a vacation and a nest egg sacrificed for their children's education and, finally, their own home.

Don't judge us because we proffer a handshake or a bow. Close personal contact is not the Asian way.

Even today, my hugging style is awkward. It's a half-lean into their chest while my bony elbows karate chop their backs. However love is expressed - in flowers, gifts, kisses or sacrifice - let it always be this: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page18)

The performer who had to take a career break for four months won six gongs at the Grammys and was given a standing ovation after singing. Michael Thurston reports from Los Angeles.

British soul diva Adele made a storming comeback at the Grammys on Sunday (Monday, Beijing time), performing live for the first time in four months and winning a clean sweep of six prizes at the United States music awards.

The 23-year-old, who canceled all her shows in October to undergo throat surgery, was given a standing ovation after singing Rolling in the Deep to a star-studded audience at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The tune won the best song Grammy, to go along with wins in the five other categories in which she was nominated - best record, best album for her breakthrough 21, best short video, best pop album and best pop artist.

Speaking afterwards, she admitted she had been scared when told she had to have the surgery - but that ultimately it was good to be forced to silence her usual "mouthy" manner.

"It was a bit traumatic having to have the surgery ... being silent in such a noisy world - everything's so noisy in my world - it was actually a bit of a blessing in disguise," she told reporters, backstage.

"Thank god my voice healed, and I stuck to all the rules that they gave me. And I've actually never been happier I really enjoyed having to be quiet. I'm so mouthy, it was quite nice to be forced to be quiet."

During the show, Adele took to the stage with producer Paul Epworth, who she called "the best producer in the world", before launching into the worldwide hit from her breakthrough second album 21.

Her solo voice soared out of the darkness into the opening lyric, before a thumping drum kicked in, followed by a choir for the chorus. She earned a raucous standing ovation from the crowd and mouthed "Thank you" at the end.

Speaking before Sunday's show, Adele - known for her trademark bouffant hair, generous figure, liberal swearing and raucous Cockney laugh - said it was "an absolute honor" to perform, but also "of course nerve-racking".

Four months ago, the singer-songwriter had announced, "heartbroken", that she was canceling her sold-out US tour due to a hemorrhage she likened to a "black eye" on her vocal cord.

"Singing is literally my life," she wrote on her blog. "It's my hobby, my love, my freedom and now my job. I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever."

She is now the first living artist since The Beatles in 1964 to have had two top five hits in the British singles and albums charts simultaneously.

21 topped the 2011 year-end charts in Britain, the US Billboard 200 and lists in other countries, including Canada, Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Despite her success, Adele remains unaffected and close to her roots.

She has been unflappable in the face of a controversy over her weight, after haute couture designer Karl Lagerfeld suggested that she's "a little too fat". He later backtracked on the comments.

The British singer's reply, to US television in an interview airing this weekend, is that she refuses to conform to the industry's standard of what a pop music diva should look like.

"I've never seen magazine covers ... music videos and been like 'I need to look like that to be a success'," the British singer said in an interview for CBS' 60 Minutes news program.

"I don't want to be some skinny Minnie ... I don't want people confusing what it is that I am about.

"I'm just writing love songs. I'm not trying to be pop. I'm not trying to be jazz. I'm not trying to be anything. I'm just writing love songs, and everyone loves a love song."

After Sunday's show, she was asked what she thought the man who broke her heart, inspiring her record-breaking records, would think.

"I think he'd be very happy for me," she said.

"I'm very very proud of myself ... it hasn't really sunk in. We all just keep laughing. It's incredible."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page18)

Houston's body was found in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room. The cause of death is still unknown.

Besides the top winner Adele at the Grammy Awards, Rockers Foo Fighters were the other big winners, picking up five Grammys including best rock performance for the hit Walk.

"This is a great honor because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio We made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine," frontman Dave Grohl said. "It shows that the human element of making music is what's most important."

Grammy organizers gave out awards in more than 75 categories and many early winners mentioned Houston. Singer Melanie Fiona, who won with Cee Lo Green for a traditional R&B performance for Fool For You, said the singer inspired her.

Other major Grammy winners included Taylor Swift, who picked up Grammys for solo performance and country song with Mean, which she performed to a standing ovation. She had been expected to take best country album, too, but Lady Antebellum swooped in and took that prize with Own the Night.

The other big surprise came when indie folk band Bon Iver took the Grammy for best new artist over rapper Nicki Minaj, who had been widely expected to win behind hit album Pink Friday.

DJ Skrillex won two Grammys for best dance recording and top dance/electronica album with Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

Jay-Z and Kanye West won best rap performance with their song Otis from the album Watch the Throne, but they failed to show up to claim their prize. Chris Brown won the Grammy for best R&B album F.A.M.E.

Rousing performances were given by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Chris Brown, Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt sang a duet of A Sunday Kind of Love from Etta James, who also died in 2012.

Minaj gave fans an over-the-top performance toward the show's final act, and Sir Paul McCartney ended in a guitar-heavy number with Springsteen, Grohl and others. Memorable moments came in a reunion of members of the Beach Boys and a lifetime award for Glen Campbell, who sang Rhinestone Cowboy.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page18)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's Supreme Court charged Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani with contempt of court on Monday over his failure to accept the apex court's orders to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Supreme Court has issued repeated orders to the government to write to the Swiss authorities to revive cases of alleged money laundering against the president in Switzerland.

Gilani pleaded not guilty and again defended his decision not to write to Swiss officials, saying that the president enjoys immunity in Pakistan and abroad as head of state.

He also said that all cases against Zardari are politically motivated.

It is the second time in nearly a month that Gilani has appeared before the Supreme Court in contempt proceedings. He last appeared in court when it took up the contempt case on Jan 19.

The prime minister, who drove his own car, waved to police and the media as he entered the building.

The authorities have declared a security alert in areas near the Supreme Court and closed several roads leading to the building.

Paramilitary troops were also deployed to help police maintain security in the vicinity.

A bomb disposal team searched the court building early in the morning, officials said. All visitors passed through special "walk-through" gates. Special passes were issued to the visitors, and no one without the passes was allowed to enter. The prime minister's security team also arrived at the building to inspect the arrangement.

Only the prime minister's car was allowed to enter the building. Other cars were diverted to parking outside the building.

Officials of the main secret service, the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch of the police were also deployed and were monitoring the security situation through closed-circuit television cameras.

Several ministers, political leaders of the ruling coalition and lawmakers were also present in the Supreme Court to show solidarity with the beleaguered prime minister.

The paramilitary soldiers and anti-terror police squads are carrying out foot and mobile patrolling near the Supreme Court building.

A defense lawyer for Gilani told reporters in the premises of the court that he will argue the innocence of his client before the apex court.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said that the apex court will determine how to conduct the special contempt proceedings, and the court will first ask Gilani about his stand. The court will ask the prime minister if he wants to make any statement.

Several senior leaders of the coalition parties spoke to reporters and reiterated their support for the prime minister, whose fate depends on the court's verdict.

Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told reporters that Gilani will follow the constitution whatever the court decides. She also defended the government's decision not to write a letter to Swiss officials requesting the reopening of graft cases against the president.

Reuters-Xinhua

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page12)

ATHENS, Greece - Firefighters doused smoldering buildings and cleanup crews swept rubble from the streets of central Athens on Monday following a night of rioting during which lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the nation from bankruptcy.

At least 45 buildings were burned, including one of the capital's oldest cinemas, while dozens of stores and cafes were smashed and looted.

The stench of tear gas still hung in the air on Monday morning, choking passers-by. More than 120 people were hurt in the rioting which also broke out in other Greek cities. Authorities said 68 police needed medical care after being injured by gasoline bombs, rocks and other objects hurled at them, while at least 70 protesters were also hospitalized.

Police arrested at least 67 people, while in several cases they had to escort fire crews to burning buildings after protesters prevented access.

The rioting began on Sunday afternoon ahead of a landmark vote in parliament on yet more austerity measures. The drastic cuts debated in parliament include axing one in five civil service jobs over the next three years and slashing the minimum wage by more than a fifth.

Lawmakers approved the bill in a 199-74 vote - to the relief of investors who pushed the Athens stock index up 5 percent on Monday.

The vote paves the way for Greece's international creditors to release 130 billion euros ($172 billion) in new rescue loans to prevent the country from a potentially catastrophic default next month - bankruptcy could push Greece out of Europe's euro currency union, drag down other troubled eurozone countries and further roil global markets.

Worsening dilemma

The trouble is, analysts said, much still needs to be settled while the prospect of widespread popular unrest as the economy slows under the weight of more austerity could complicate matters even more.

GFT analyst David Morrison in London said the immediate market reaction was one of relief, with the euro and stocks rising on hopes the worst is over.

The accord, however, also paves "the way to further civil unrest and further strike action, and the Greek government now has to follow through with its promises", Morrision said in a note.

"This is going to be problemmatic, and it is 'odds on' that we'll be hearing that yet more (fiscal) targets have been missed in months to come."

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said before the tense vote on Sunday, with thousands of police on guard outside parliament, that "if we collapse, we won't be able to fix anything anymore ... the package is the country's only hope".

The protesters denounced what they described as blackmail by the "troika" of the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank.

AP-AFP

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page12)

BEIJING - Russian experts called for more communication with the opposition and criticized the policy of only having contact with the current Syrian government in a video meeting with Chinese experts held by the Russian News Agency on Monday.

"We now only show our support on one side, but we should uphold the legality of the opposition," said Vladimir Akhmedov, an expert on oriental studies with the Russian Academy of Sciences.

With speculation over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, experts urged the new government to have continuity.

"Russia hopes that the power organs in the present government will not be completely removed. The situation in Syria will be worse when they are all eliminated," said Akhmedov, adding that the opposition's national council is likely to be admitted in the future.

Asked about the decision by China and Russia to veto a United Nations proposal to promote regime change in Syria, Wan Chengcai, an expert on Russian studies with the Xinhua Center for World Affairs Studies, said the vote shows two countries are responsible.

If the United Nations becomes a tool of some countries for regime change, it may harm Chinese and Russian sovereign rights, said Wan.

"China's veto doesn't mean that China opposes the Syrian people's will of reform," he said.

Jin Canrong, an expert on international relations with Renmin University in Beijing, said China's veto of the UN's proposal showed its concern over the trend that the West starts wars in the Middle East and North Africa countries in response to losing power.

The West doesn't know how to deal with the fact that they are losing the power of hegemony, so they are starting wars, Jin said.

Akhmedov agreed with Jin and said that the US has realized it will not always be the dominant power in the world and is adjusting by starting wars.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page12)

BEIJING - China urges and supports the Arab League to continue its political mediation efforts over the unrest in Syria, experts said.

Syria's stability is important for the peace and security of the Middle East, and China hopes the 22-nation league will play a positive and constructive role in peacefully and properly resolving the crisis, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said on Monday at a daily news briefing.

"China hopes all relevant parties can proceed from the overall situation of peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East, and keep the dialogue (going) to play a positive and constructive role in politically resolving the Syrian issue and easing the country's tension," Liu said in response to a question about a request to establish a joint UN-Arab League peacekeeping force.

The league said on Sunday that it would open contact with Syria's opposition and offer full financial support. It also called for a joint UN-Arab League peacekeeping force to monitor the situation while ending its own observer mission.

The UN should provide constructive help based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms guiding international relations for the peaceful and proper resolution of the Syrian issue, Liu said.

Liu said UN actions should be conducive to easing tension, pushing political dialogue, resolving differences and maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East, rather than complicating the issue.

Zhang Xiaodong, secretary-general of the China Association for Middle-Eastern Studies, said the league's determination to oust Assad is very firm, and there is no going back since the league's watchdog group has made no essential progress and some gulf states have recalled their ambassadors to Syria.

The request to establish a joint UN-Arab League peacekeeping force also represents a global trend over the crisis, Zhang said.

"The most likely result is that the league carries out military operations with countries of similar purposes," he said. "These operations may not be dominated by the US ... and the military task should be completed by European countries by establishing no-fly zones and carrying out bombings, since the league does not have the strength" to do it.

Zhang said the United States is being very cautious and is in no hurry to launch a military strike because international pressure can still be used against Syria.

China cannot block the league if it uses force against Assad's rule, Zhang Xiaodong said. But the statement was just an excuse because the peacekeeping force, which would separate governmental forces and the opposition, might objectively protect Assad, and the US would not accept it.

Ye Hailin, a professor in international relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, agreed with Zhang, saying that the US strategically gains less than the league on the issue of toppling the Syrian regime.

It was also a difficult decision for the league to make because there have been differences in opinion among member states over the unrest in Syria, Ye said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page12)

LONDON - Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid The Sun on Monday said police raids against its journalists were part of a "witchhunt" that had weakened press freedom in Britain.

Days before Murdoch was due to fly in to reassure staff that he would not close the paper, Associate Editor Trevor Kavanagh said in an editorial that police were treating staff "like members of an organized crime gang".

"The Sun is not a 'swamp' that needs draining," wrote Kavanagh, who was political editor at The Sun from 1984 to 2005, a time when Britain's biggest-selling paper boasted that it could swing election results.

"Nor are those other great News International titles, The Times and The Sunday Times," he added.

"Yet in what would at any other time cause uproar in parliament and among civil liberty and human rights campaigners, its journalists are being treated like members of an organized crime gang."

Police arrested five senior Sun journalists on Saturday on suspicion of bribing police and public officials for information, in a new blow for Murdoch's US-based News Corporation.

Twenty-one people have now been arrested in the inquiry, plus 17 in a separate inquiry into the hacking of mobile phone voice mails.

The hacking scandal prompted Murdoch to shut The Sun's weekly sister title the News of the World in July, with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Kavanagh said the investigation into corruption and phone hacking was "the biggest police operation in British criminal history - bigger even than the Pan Am Lockerbie murder probe".

The bombing of a Pan Am flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 was the worst terrorist attack on British soil, killing 270 people.

Kavanagh also accused police of carrying out pointless raids on journalists' homes, instead of calling them in for appointments.

"Wives and children have been humiliated as up to 20 officers at a time rip up floorboards and sift through intimate possessions, love letters and entirely private documents," Kavanagh wrote.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page11)

SYDNEY - Australian women may have embraced the digital era, but they prefer a face-to-face declaration of affection to an "I love u" text and find men addicted to their mobile phones a major turnoff.

That's according to a study carried out by romance publisher Mills & Boon, timed to coincide with Valentines Day on Tuesday.

The 2012 Australian Romance Report found 91 percent of woman expected to be asked out on a date with a telephone call rather than via a mobile phone message.

And 86 percent of respondents were more comfortable saying "I love you" in person than via a text message.

The least romantic of gestures was declaring one's love via a relationship status change on Facebook.

At a time when women see themselves as more independent than ever before, many of the traditional beliefs about romance still resonate, said Michelle Laforest of publisher Harlequin Enterprises, which carried out the survey.

"We are seeing new challenges as women manage their persona on a digital level yet they are still cynical about finding romance on the very same medium, instead preferring the authenticity of real life experiences," she said.

While most single woman would admit that the rules of dating have changed, 61 percent still believe a guy should "ask me out".

The online survey of 1,200 single women aged 18 to 55 also revealed 76 percent would be more willing to stand in front of someone naked with the lights on than send a naked photograph by text.

When it came to relationship deal-breakers, a Blackberry/iPhone dependency and Facebook photos with ex-lovers rated highly as turnoffs.

Asked what they most wanted in a partner, women were mostly traditional, nominating a killer smile, a great sense of humour and an accent as their biggest turn-ons.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page10)

Maldives

New leader welcomes probe

New Maldives President Mohamed Waheed on Monday welcomed a Commonwealth mission to investigate the ousting of his predecessor after overnight clashes during protests in the restive capital Male.

Waheed agreed to a Commonwealth ministerial probe into the dramatic fall of Mohamed Nasheed, the nation's first democratically elected leader who came to power in 2008, spokesman Masood Imad said.

"The president welcomes the Commonwealth mission," Imad said. "Please come here and see the exact situation. We want not only the Commonwealth, but others too to come and see what really happened."

Indonesia

Trial opens for Bali bombings

An Islamic militant captured in the same Pakistan town where US forces killed Osama bin Laden went on trial in Indonesia on Monday accused of making bombs that exploded at Bali nightclubs packed with Australian tourists in 2002, killing 202 people.

Umar Patek, 45, is also accused of mixing chemicals for 13 bombs that detonated in five churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve, 2000 and killed around 15 people. Security officials say he belonged to the banned Jemaah Islamiah group linked to al-Qaida.

The Bali bombs were a watershed for Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, forcing the secular state to confront the presence of violent militants on its soil.

Turkmenistan

President wins re-elction

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on Monday scored a massive re-election victory with over 97 percent of votes in a poll where his uncritical rivals served only to make up the numbers.

Berdymukhamedov scored 97.14 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, the head of the energy-rich nation's central election commission Orazmurat Niyazliev told reporters, based on almost 97 percent of the votes counted.

Bahrain

Police clash with protesters

Bahraini police clashed with protesters on Monday, witnesses said, as the kingdom's security chief warned citizens not to heed calls by activists to mark the first anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising.

Police fired tear gas and sound grenades at hundreds of demonstrators in what some described as "violent" clashes in Shiite neighborhoods that lasted throughout the night on Sunday and into Monday morning, the witnesses said.

Afghanistan

Children killed in airstrike: NATO

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said on Monday they had mistakenly killed a group of children in an airstrike that has enraged the government, and said their deaths may have been linked to an anti-insurgent operation in the area.

The airstrike took place last Wednesday near the village of Giawa, in eastern Kapisa province, and followed similar bombings that have stoked tension between the government and NATO over a civilian death toll that has risen annually for five years.

The children were killed as NATO aircraft and ground forces attacked insurgents on open ground in the Najrab district of Kapisa, said Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for NATO's 130,000-strong International Security Assistance Force.

AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page12)

BEIJING - China is ready to explore solutions to South China Sea disputes under reasonable conditions, while stressing that the most important immediate task is to advance practical cooperation with Southeast Asian countries to create an atmosphere in which to solve these disputes, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

"On the South China Sea issue, China's stance is clear, which is known by the Vietnamese side," ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news conference, when asked about Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh's ongoing visit to China.

Minh began a four-day visit to China on Sunday, his first since becoming the country's foreign minister in August.

The two countries are in a dispute over some islands in the South China Sea.

Liu said the two sides have agreed that, considering the overall nature of bilateral ties, the dispute should be resolved through friendly negotiations.

"China is ready to consider exploring solutions to the South China Sea disputes with all relevant parties under reasonable conditions," said Liu.

Of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have claims to territories in the South China Sea.

China and ASEAN adopted guidelines on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in July, which is a non-binding agreement.

Liu said China is open-minded and willing to actively promote the final conclusion of a "code of conduct of parties in the South China Sea" when the conditions are right.

"The pressing task for now is that all parties take opportunities to implement the DOC, and promote practical cooperation in the South China Sea to safeguard regional peace and stability," Liu said.

According to Reuters, Vietnam is opening up to Western defense firms amid tensions in the South China Sea.

Minh met with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on Sunday. Yang said China was ready to work with Vietnam to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and enhance political mutual trust, deepen cooperation and properly handle sensitive issues, in order to promote the sustained, sound and stable development of bilateral ties.

Minh said Vietnam cherishes its traditional friendship and cooperation with China.

Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also met with Minh on Monday.

Minh will also go to the southwest province of Yunnan on Tuesday, which borders Vietnam.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page11)

BRUSSELS - A senior European Union legislator called on EU and Chinese leaders to hold an "open dialogue" at Tuesday's summit to tackle trade protectionism "carefully and objectively".

"During the summit a topic that will be high on the agenda is EU-China trade and investment relations in the context of our strategic partnership," Iliana Ivanova, a member of the European Parliament and vice-chair of the parliament's delegation for relations with China, told China Daily in an interview before the 14th China-EU leaders' summit in Beijing on Tuesday.

Given the colossal scale of bilateral trade, Ivanova said: "It is important to discuss the issue of protectionism carefully and objectively."

Ivanova urged the two sides to acknowledge the difficulties that both sides face in an impartial and objective manner.

"I know some of the problems that European companies encounter when trying to do business in China and at the same time, we know about issues that Chinese companies have in the EU, not necessarily of the same nature, but these are still making their life more difficult compared to those of their EU partners," said Ivanova.

While saying that each side can point to such examples, she added: "The question here, as I see it, is to focus on the possible solutions and dialogue, and not to point fingers at each other."

Ivanova said this is what a strategic partnership means, and both sides are too important for each other to let temporary political feelings hamper the relationship. And in the long run, no one will gain from protectionism, although it may seem like an attractive short-term solution.

"This is what I mainly expect from this summit - an open dialogue where all viewpoints will be heard and a place where possible solutions might arise. I truly hope for that," said Ivanova.

She added the eurozone had to shoulder most of the responsibility for overcoming the bloc's debt crisis.

"We in the EU have to do our work and then look for additional assistance."

She said that as China is the world's biggest creditor, its role in assisting the eurozone during the debt crisis could be critical.

Currently, the EU is China's biggest trading partner and destination for China's exports.

"If the eurozone falls into a deep recession this scenario will have also a negative impact on the Chinese economy."

Moreover, China is looking to diversify its foreign exchange holdings, and lending to Europe would boost Beijing's euro holdings, she said.

"Though I do not think that we shall limit the topic only within the amounts which China can lend to the EU, but also focus on Chinese companies which are willing to invest in the EU economy, especially in Central and Eastern Europe," said Ivanova, who is from Bulgaria.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page11)

BEIJING - China does not mind criticism but cannot accept double standards from the foreign media, Minister of the State Council Information Office Wang Chen said on Monday.

"China's domestic media is critical too, and China is not against criticism but biased reports based on a Cold War mentality or different ideologies," Wang said when addressing the Sino-French Media Forum in Beijing.

Considering the different cultures, values and levels of economic development in China and the West, both sides should learn from each other and respect the diversity of their development paths, "just like those who use a knife and fork to eat respect those who use chopsticks", he said.

China is trying its best to enhance social justice and equality, which is not an easy task within the Western world either, he added.

China's media is expressing much more accurate and diverse opinions now, said Sylvie Bermann, France's ambassador to China, comparing it with the time she studied in China 36 years ago.

She also called for the media to respect diversity and learn lessons from each other to safeguard its credibility.

The comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France has enhanced trust between the media of both countries, said Severin Naudet, director of Etalab, a European public information platform, adding that both sides can further boost mutual understanding through reporters' personal experiences in each other countries and working together on new media innovation.

Shi Anbin, a professor of media and cultural studies at Tsinghua University, said much more work needs to be done to increase media exchanges between the two countries.

"French media are looking forward to improving their voices in China," he said.

Around 20 students from the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University had a discussion with French media representatives on Sunday.

"Some representatives told me that the French media usually adopts a moderate tone when reporting on China, and the openness and diversity of the Chinese media is far beyond their expectations," Shi said.

According to the Chinese embassy in France, 18 French media organizations are represented in China, while there are 15 Chinese media bodies in France.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page11)

SYDNEY - Two bills calling for the legalization of gay marriage were introduced to Australia's parliament on Monday in a move campaigners said would add momentum to the push for equality.

The private member's bills, introduced by left-leaning Greens lawmaker Adam Bandt and Stephen Jones from the ruling Labor party, take to three the pieces of legislation now before the parliament calling for gay marriage rights.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young brought a similar bill in the upper house in September 2010 which is now being examined by a legislative inquiry.

None of the bills have enough support to pass into law but rights campaigners said their introduction, which follows Labor's reversal of its official policy to pro-gay marriage in December, showed the tide was turning.

"The Jones bill demonstrates the immense momentum behind reform," said Alex Greenwich, convenor of the Australian Marriage Equality lobby group.

"Three months ago the Labor Party was officially opposed to reform and now we have a Labor member leading the way towards equality."

He described Monday's events as a "milestone on the road to equality".

Greenwich said rights advocates wanted both Jones and Bandt's bills to be examined by the Senate committee looking into Hanson-Young's bill so that "the best possible legislation can be developed and put forward".

Jones said there would not be a debate or vote for some months yet.

In Australia marriage is mandated by federal legislation, so although civil same-sex unions are recognized in five states, the couples are not seen as "married" by the federal government.

All the same, same-sex couples have equal rights with heterosexual couples in areas such as pension schemes and medical benefits.

Until December there had been bipartisan opposition to same-sex marriage in Australia and though Labor's official platform has changed, the party agreed to vote on conscience rather than en bloc, meaning there is presently little prospect of legal change.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard opposes gay marriage, and the conservative Liberal-National coalition has made clear that its members will be expected to uphold the current heterosexual definition of marriage if a vote is called.

"Our position is clear. We believe that a marriage is between a man and a woman and that's the way the Coalition will be voting," said Liberal front-bencher Joe Hockey.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page10)

Nearly a year has passed since a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, but the site of the reactors at the center of the Fukushima nuclear crisis remains off limits for residents, save for short trips to hastily abandoned homes.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant, on the coast 240 km northeast of Tokyo, was wrecked by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, triggering reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks that caused mass evacuations and widespread contamination.

For the around 11,000 residents of Okuma, and the nearly 80,000 people across the prefecture who have been unable to return to their homes due to high radiation, the mental scars run deep even though many of their homes are physically intact.

Many do not know when, if ever, they can return to land that has been in their families for generations.

Takeda, 74, who visited her home with her husband at the weekend to remove cabinets, said that she has been unable to properly function ever since the evacuation last March.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat, I lost 8 kg and when I went to the doctor I threw up everything I took," she said, walking through her house, less than 10 km from the plant, in a white protective suit.

On her third trip back, Takeda fought back tears as she tried on her kimonos one last time before the three-hour window to return ended and they were once again forced out of the 20-km exclusion zone in which their home lies .

Okuma is the location of four reactors at the center of the nuclear crisis, out of the crippled plant's total six reactors .

More than 1,000 people from three towns, all within the exclusion zone, went back on Sunday to an area where weeds have taken over kindergarten schoolyards and manure from roaming cattle covers the roads.

In some cases, families left in such haste that their futon sleeping quilts were still spread out on the floor.

While some people, like Takeda, used their precious few hours to pick up belongings, others visited family graves and repaired the damage caused by the quake and its aftershocks.

With headstones overturned and weeds encroaching on ancient graves, 59-year-old Minoru Fukuo and his wife tidied up the area even though its only visitors now are passing wild animals.

"We just prayed that we want to come back soon, and clean up the grave properly. So we asked them (our ancestors) to wait until then," Fukuo said.

This is only the third time that residents have been allowed back into the nuclear exclusion zone since the disaster, and the first time that they have been allowed to visit graves.

Since the quake hit, the residents of Okuma have scattered across the country.

With no clear future, some are losing hope.

"If it's a normal disaster you recover from it, and you go forward a bit every day. But this time you don't," said Tomiko Ikinobu, 47. "All that's left is uncertainty."

The Japanese government declared the Daiichi nuclear plant to be in a state of "cold shutdown" late last year but the Environment Ministry has said about 2,400 square km of land around the plant may need to be decontaminated an area roughly the size of Luxembourg.

Ikinobu, who lives with her four children in temporary housing, has been without a job since the disaster.

"Once a year goes by, everything has a year added to it, so getting a new job gets harder. My kids are getting bigger as well."

Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page10)

A couple kisses during the "World's Longest Continous Kiss" competition in Pattaya, Thailand, on Sunday. Seven couples are taking part in the kissing marathon in the hope of breaking the Guinness world record, and in the process receive prizes totalling 300,000 Thai baht ($10,000). The record last year was 46 hours, 24 minutes and nine seconds. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP

PATTAYA, Thailand - Lips locked at all times including for bathroom breaks and meals is the less than romantic challenge facing Thai couples trying for the kiss to blow away all kisses at a Valentine's Day marathon.

Seven couples have brought their lips together in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, some 100 km southeast of Bangkok, hoping to break the world record for longest continuous kiss which currently stands at nearly two days.

The marathon kicked off on Sunday and will go through Valentine's Day, with prizes and glory for the pair that manages to hold out longer than 46 hours, 24 minutes and nine seconds.

That record was set in 2011 by Lakkana Tiranarat, 31, and her husband, both back this year for another go.

"We'll try to do better than last year but maybe just for a little longer. We'll see how tough the other competitors are but we'll do our best," Lakkana said.

Each couple has a space of 1 square meter to prove their affection for each other.

Food and drink must be taken through a straw. The toilet is off-limits for the first three hours of the contest. After that, lips still together, they must be accompanied by a referee for any later bathroom break.

Suggesting the contest has more to do with ordeal than romance, the organizers noted that the number of contestants has fallen by half from last year's marathon.

"The world record last year of 46 hours, 24 minutes and nine seconds is very difficult to beat. Contestants have to be patient to prove their love," said Somporn Naksuethrong, general manager of Ripley's World Pattaya.

The record-breaking couple stands to gain a diamond ring worth 100,000 baht ($3,333) and a hotel gift voucher for 200,000 baht as well as, presumably, very sore lips.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page10)

China's bank regulators, responding to public complaints, have issued a notice voicing a crackdown on the irregular practices and service fees of commercial banks.

The number of service fees increased from about 300 in 2003 to more than 3,000 in 2010. But as the number of fees has increased so have the complaints from the public.

The net profits of the 16 listed banks in China totaled 890 billion yuan ($141 billion) in 2010 and 1.2 trillion yuan for the first nine months of 2011.

Seven mainland banks rank among the world's top 10 most lucrative banks, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as No 1. But ICBC's quality of service is hardly satisfactory.

Because of the limited intermediary businesses and immature financial derivatives' trade at home, Chinese banks depend heavily on rate margins and paid services for their profits. The continuous growth of the consumer price index (CPI) has led to years of negative interest rates for depositors, and the frequently increased interest rates for loans make rate margins a reliable profit source for banks.

The newly issued notice classifies banks' service charges into those fixed by the government, those guided by the government, and those adjusted by the market. But even while it is apparently an effort to integrate China's banking service into international conventions, the notice does not deal with the existing 3,000 paid services at all.

The notice is by no means binding and does not even send a to-the-point signal. The articles regulating arbitrary fees are expressed in ambiguous and opaque ways, without mentioning any concrete punishment measures and accountability system for banks violating customers' rights.

Most commercial banks are cash cows for governments, which leaves consumers helpless. However, the authorities' tolerance toward banks will only spoil them. While some hope the National Development and Reform Commission can lead amendments, a third-party institution could be introduced to participate in drafting and amending such notices and regulations in the future.

A healthy banking system not only benefits customers, but also the national economy in the long run. Any short-sighted, profit-oriented banking practices will only mean paying a greater cost in the future.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page8)

It is not easy for this country with its huge population to set up a healthcare security net that covers all residents. It is even harder to manage it.

Repeated reports of hospitals swindling money out of local healthcare security funds by fabricating patients' records points to the urgency of strengthening the security and management of such funds.

That a case has not been concluded three years after a hospital in Zhengzhou, capital city of Central China's Henan province, forged patients' records, suggests that there is not yet a workable mechanism to identify and deal with such malpractices.

In another case involving a hospital in Harbin, capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, the hospital forged documents to suggest that dozens of patients had been hospitalized and received treatment in order to obtain money from the local healthcare security fund. Despite the obvious flaws in the documents, the local healthcare security fund management center has failed to put a stop to such cheating.

It seems that some hospitals are willing to resort to such wrongful behavior as they see the local healthcare security funds as a source of easy money.

What is even more outrageous is the fact that those managing the funds do not care whether the money they manage is really paying for healthcare of genuine patients.

The money in the healthcare security funds comes from both the central and local governments and payments by individual residents. Such funds are intended as a way to realize a fairer redistribution of social wealth and a means for more residents to enjoy the fruits of economic reform and opening-up.

But if an increasing number of hospitals adopt such malpractices and if the managers do not perform their duty of guarding against such abuse, the funds will turn out to be nothing more than an ATM for greedy hospitals.

If such practices continue the government's attempt to alleviate the healthcare burdens of ordinary residents will merely benefit the hospitals instead.

An effective supervision and monitoring mechanism to prevent healthcare security funds from being abused is no small matter, governments at all levels need to attach more importance to it.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page8)

Forty years after the restoration of official communications between China and the United States, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries have grown like a giant tree thriving despite the storms.

I. Mutually beneficial cooperation is the main theme of China-US economic and trade relations

Economic and trade cooperation is at the core of China-US relations and serves as the foundation and stabilizer of strategic cooperation between the two countries.

The development of China-US relations is mainly built on common economic interests.

Common economic interests have always been a strong impetus for the development of China-US relations. As the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world, China and the US are highly complementary in resources, markets, capital, technology and other areas, with increasing common and overlapping interests. Both sides recognize that the healthy and sustainable growth of one economy is vital to the prosperity of the other. Although China-US economic and trade relations are often affected by political factors, the economic and trade cooperation between two sides continues to strengthen.

China-US trade is the most complementary in the world.

The two countries are the most important trading partners for each other. Their bilateral trade volume reached $446.7 billion in 2011, 188 times the $2.37 billion of 1979. China has been the fastest growing export market for the US for the last 11 years. Last year, China imported $122.1 billion worth of goods from the US, topping $100 billion for the first time. US exports to China have enjoyed a cumulative growth of 468 percent from 2000 to 2010, while its exports to other countries grew by only 55 percent in the same period. China is the US' second largest trading partner, its third largest export market and its largest source of imports. The bilateral trade volume between the two countries is expected to exceed $700 billion in 2015 and Chinese imports from the US are expected to double by then. The rich variety of Chinese export goods meet the demands of American consumers, while the expanding Chinese imports of electronic, aerospace, biological, medical, agricultural and services trade items from the US help meet China's development needs.

The Chinese and US economies have formed a pattern of "each having something of the other".

By the end of 2011, with a total investment of $67.6 billion in more than 60,000 companies in China, the US is one of China's largest sources of foreign investment. According to statistics from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, direct-invested subsidiaries of American multinational corporations in China have become the most profitable American overseas enterprises. A large portion of goods exported to the US from China is manufactured by US enterprises in China. A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China found that 85 percent of the US invested enterprises in China saw increased profits in 2010. At the same time, China is the largest foreign holder of US Treasury Bonds. As of November 2011, the foreign holdings of US Treasury Bonds amounted to a total of $4.74 trillion, of which China held $1.13 trillion, 23.8 percent of the total.

China-US economic and trade relations have an important global impact.

Economic globalization has made China-US economic and trade relations unprecedentedly close. The trade and investment between the two countries have great significance for the world economy. At present, the combined economic volume and the trade volume of China and the US account for one-third and one-fifth of global total respectively, suggesting that the importance of China-US economic and trade relations goes far beyond just the two countries. In the last two years, the enhanced cooperation between China and the United States in coping with the international financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis was instrumental in restoring market confidence and boosting the global economic recovery.

II. The causes of economic and trade frictions between China and the United States are complex

China-US economic and trade relations have been moving forward in the midst of friction as well as cooperation. The economic and trade frictions between the two countries stem from multiple complex factors.

Focus of the China-US economic and trade frictions

From China's perspective, there are mainly four major points of friction: The first is China's status as a market economy. China has been a member of the World Trade Organization for 10 years now and should be regarded as a market economy according to objective standards. However, the US refuses to recognize China's status as a market economy. The second is that the US has constantly imposed antidumping and countervailing sanctions against Chinese exports to the US. Textiles, color TVs, steel pipes, furniture, tires and solar photovoltaic panels, along with other products, have all been the target of sanctions one after another. Although these products together account for less than 5 percent of the China-US trade volume, the sanctions have made trade friction commonplace. The third is that the US imposes rigorous restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China. The US Export Administration Regulations assign China to the extremely restricted group D. Although the US has reformed its export controls over the last two years, it has not loosened its control measures against China. For example, although the US revised its trade facilitation policy on Dec 9, 2010, extending preferential trade policies to 164 countries in three categories, China was still excluded. The fourth is that Chinese enterprises are discriminated against when making investments in the US, leading to the failure of the merger and acquisition plans of many Chinese enterprises in the last few years. From the point of view of the US, there are also four major focuses. The first is that many US congressmen and major think tanks are of the view that the renminbi to US dollar exchange rate is undervalued, and have proposed many times to list China as a "currency manipulator". The second is that China-US trade is severely imbalanced and the US trade deficit is too large. The third is that China does not strictly enforce intellectual property law and thus copyright infringements result in damages to the interests of US companies. The fourth is that China's policy of encouraging independent innovation results in discrimination against US companies. In recent years, China and the US have engaged in many rounds of maneuvering with respect to the aforementioned eight focuses.

Structural factors behind China-US economic and trade frictions

The trade imbalance is the main reason for China-US trade frictions. It stems from the two countries' economic and trade structures. From the perspective of economic structure, in the early 1980s, many US labor-intensive industries moved overseas. This coincided with the time when China started its economic reform and opening-up, and its efforts to attract large-scale foreign investment. As a result, China became a natural destination for the relocation of US manufacturing industries. At the same time, the US implemented an expansionary fiscal policy and introduced very low interest rates, which stimulated excessive consumption and a large demand for imported goods. Consequently, the US national savings rate declined and current account imbalance grew with a large trade deficit. Meanwhile, China's processing trade industry expanded rapidly and its exports increased considerably. In this regard, the "opposite" economic structures of China and the US led to trade imbalances between the two countries. From the perspective of the trade structure, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, of the value of imports from China, only a small portion consists of the costs of local labor, material and administration. The majority comes from components and raw materials produced in other countries, including the US. Because of this, China has large trade deficits vis-a-vis Japan, South Korea, ASEAN member states and other countries and regions while having a large trade surplus vis-a-vis the US. For example, as some US researchers point out, in 2007, each Apple iPod costs $150 to produce, but only about $4 of that cost was Chinese value-added and most of the value came from components made in other countries, including the US. Yet when those iPods were imported from China, where they were assembled, the full $150 was counted as an import from China, exaggerating the extent of trade imbalance between China and the US.

Special interests behind China-US economic and trade frictions

Special interest groups are the key players behind China-US economic and trade frictions and disputes. Take the example of the special tariffs on Chinese tires imposed by the US starting from September 2009. According to the price data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the two years prior to the imposition of the special tariff, the increase in the price of tires was 5.7 percentage points, which was lower than the increase in the price of vehicle accessories other than tires; but in the two years thereafter, the increase in the price of tires was 3.4 percentage points higher than the increase in the price of vehicle accessories other than tires. This suggests that the special tariffs caused US consumers to pay 9.1 percent more for tires. For the tire market worth billions of dollars in annual sales, the cost of the higher price to the consumers dominates the benefits accruing to the few producers.

Political factors behind China-US economic and trade frictions

In the modern history of international trade and economic relations, no other bilateral economic and trade relations are so influenced by politics as China-US relations. Much of what is behind China-US trade frictions is political maneuvering, which is always initiated by the US. China has always advocated not politicizing economic and trade issues, but because the US insists on approaching economic and trade problems from the standpoint of politics, China is forced to react. Take the renminbi exchange rate as an example. Since China started the reform of renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism in July 2005, the dispute over the exchange rate between the Chinese and US currencies has become almost regularized, "institutionalized", and sometimes "white-hot". Although the renminbi has since appreciated against the US dollar by more than 30 percent in nominal terms, and by about 40 percent in real terms when inflation is taken into account, the US continues to criticize the appreciation of the renminbi as being too little and too slow, and to blame the under-valuation of the renminbi as the main cause of the growing trade deficit and rising unemployment rate in the US.

The US has even accused China of manipulating the exchange rate. On Oct 12, 2011, the US Senate adopted the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011, requiring the government to impose punitive duties on trading partners with undervalued exchange rates. It is generally believed that the act was designed to punish China for "its behavior of forcing the exchange rate down in favor of its exports", so as to force the accelerated appreciation of the renminbi. As Chinese scholars, we believe that the renminbi exchange rate is not the primary reason for the increase in the US trade deficit and unemployment, and that appreciation of the renminbi cannot solve the imbalance of trade between the two countries. If the renminbi exchange rate was to appreciate as much as demanded by some in the US, American consumers would have to pay higher prices for manufactured goods imported from China, or these manufacturers would leave China for countries with lower labor costs. In any case, these manufacturing jobs would not flow back to the US, because it is impossible for the US to lower labor costs to a level lower than China's. Furthermore, as the costs of these manufactured products increase, US firms along the value chains of these products will also suffer. In fact, the exchange rate formation mechanism is very complicated. So far there is neither an exchange rate theory nor empirical model that can accurately estimate the equilibrium exchange rate for the renminbi against the US dollar.

Even though China has maintained surpluses in trade and in its balance of international payments for several consecutive years, and holds large foreign exchange reserve, the share of trade surplus in GDP has declined from 8.8 percent in 2007 to about 3 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, its agriculture has a weak foundation; its industry is big but not strong; and there are still 150 million people living below the UN poverty line. These basic national conditions dictate that at the current stage, the equilibrium exchange rate of the renminbi cannot be excessively high and the currency cannot appreciate too much. More importantly, the renminbi exchange rate is a matter of China's economic sovereignty and it will not succumb to any external pressure. It should be said that both Chinese leaders and political elite have soberly recognized the prominence of the problems of imbalance, lack of coordination and weak sustainability in China's economic development. That being said, it is not caused by the exchange rate of the renminbi. Even if the exchange rate is not completely right, it is the "result" of the economic structural imbalances of China and not the "cause". The politicization of China-US economic and trade frictions manifests not only in the issue of the renminbi exchange rate, but also in the issue of Chinese enterprises' investment in the US. Compared to the investments of nearly $70 billion made by US enterprises in China, the investments made by Chinese enterprises in the US are only $4.8 billion, suggesting a huge investment imbalance between the two countries. With the Chinese economy growing, Chinese enterprises are demonstrating great enthusiasm for investments in the US. The Chinese government sincerely hopes that Chinese enterprises make investment in the US and thus produce some of the currently exported products locally in the US, which would not only help reduce the US trade deficit but also create jobs for US workers, leading to a win-win situation. Regretfully, the US is far more concerned about the potential security problems of Chinese investment than its trade deficit and unemployment. A typical case is the Shenzhen-based Huawei Company whose investment in the US was blocked. Huawei is an ordinary Chinese private company. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States jumped to the conclusion that this company has military background simply because the person in charge of the company once served in the Chinese army, leading to the failure of the attempt by Huawei to acquire an US company in 2010.

III. Forging four foundations for China-US economic and trade cooperation

Promoting the healthy and stable development of China-US economic and trade relations is in accordance with the current and long-term interests of the peoples of the two countries. Facing the new circumstances, both China and the US should foster and forge firm foundations for bilateral economic and trade cooperation with strategic vision.

A) The foundation for free trade

In the framework of the World Trade Organization, the principle of free trade refers to substantially reducing tariffs and other trade barriers through multilateral trade negotiations as well as expanding the trade of goods and services among WTO members. Both China and the US should adhere to the principles of free trade and abandon all forms of protectionism. The US should relax restrictions on high-tech exports to China so as to forge more balanced trade relations. The two sides should adopt a constructive attitude toward resolving bilateral trade and investment disputes and should not politicize economic and trade frictions. They should also start the negotiation for a free trade agreement and a free trade zone as soon as possible.

The Chinese side should continue to push reform of the renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism as well as the process of market-based exchange rate formation, while the US side should stop exerting pressure in any form on the renminbi exchange rate.

B) The foundation for mutual benefits

China-US economic and trade cooperation should benefit both sides. The two sides should expand their "common interests" in all areas and at all levels to build an "interest community". They should expand two-way investments and ensure the security of Chinese investment in the US. Both parties should forge new growth points for bilateral economic and trade cooperation; strengthen cooperation in such fields as new energy, clean energy, energy efficiency and emission reduction, biomedicine, aerospace and infrastructure; actively promote effective cooperation between local governments in trade, investment, tourism and other fields; and strengthen the cooperation among enterprises of the two countries, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. China and the US should also work together to foster the formation of an open, equitable, and transparent investment environment.

C) The foundation for balanced structure

China and the US should push forward in-depth structural reform. China should make efforts to encourage domestic demand, especially consumer demand, increase household incomes, lower the savings rate, and increase the contribution of consumption to GDP. The US should increase the share of national savings in its GDP, lower the federal fiscal deficit to a sustainable level, and reduce the dependence of excessive consumption on imports. Both parties should seek a more balanced, new economic partnership, with China not deliberately pursuing trade surplus and the US making serious effort to reduce external imbalance.

D) The foundation for equality and fairness

China-US economic and trade cooperation must be based on equality and fairness, free of political interference. Both parties should provide impartial market access to enterprises from the other side; the US government should abandon its unreasonable discrimination policy against Chinese investment and reduce its tendency of politicizing the review of investment in the real economy. The US should recognize China's status as a full market economy, and substantially relax its control over the exports of high-tech products to China. And China should recognize the non-discrimination principle in government procurement and innovation policies.

We believe that as long as both parties make concerted efforts to nurture it, the tree of China-US economic and trade cooperation will continue to grow and thrive.

Qian Yingyi and Bai Chongen are professors at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University; Wang Jisi and Jia Qingguo are professors at the School of International Studies, Peking University; and Wang Min is special research fellow at Peking University.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page9)

China's willingness to get involved in Europe's debt crisis is based on both economic and political considerations

Chinese and European Union leaders will meet on Tuesday in Beijing to attend the postponed 14th EU-China Summit. Undoubtedly both parties have a lot to discuss, notably China's role in alleviating the eurozone crisis, global economic governance, climate change, regional peace and other bilateral issues.

In the past decade, Sino-European relations have experienced ups and downs, changing priorities, and a period of readjusting that has redefined the partnership. Will the China-Europe Summit give new impetus to relations between the world's largest single market and second largest economy? Will the two parties regain the intimacy and harmony they enjoyed during the so-called honeymoon period between 2003 and 2006?

Nearly a decade ago, when China released its first policy paper on Europe in 2003, China and Europe experienced a brief period of intensive exchanges. The same year, for the first time, the European Union launched a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. However, this honeymoon period soon proved lacking in any real substance. Neither of the two main objectives, namely the lifting of the EU weapons embargo and the granting of market economy status to China, was realized. This made the Chinese leadership re-evaluate their expectations of relations with the EU.

At the same time the EU was confronting the growing pressure of its trade deficit with China and began to call for a more balanced relationship and for China to be a "more responsible player" in global trade. The bilateral relationship had almost stalled when the 2008 bilateral summit was canceled at the last minute.

However, the ongoing debt distress in Europe and the global economic recession has brought China and the EU closer again. With its foreign exchange reserves valued at $3.18 trillion at the end of December 2011, cash-rich China is regarded by the EU as the potential savior of its turbulent financial markets and fragile economies. Leaders of the EU and its member states have been actively courting China's support in aiding Europe, in terms of investment into the newly established European Financial Stability Facility and European Stability Mechanism, and equally importantly showing confidence in the single currency and eurozone.

During the forthcoming summit, Herman van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jos Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission will certainly follow the steps of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in seeking to boost China's involvement in Europe's debt troubles. China has repeatedly shown its willingness to rescue debt stricken EU member states and the detailed lending conditions and methods will most probably be discussed by the leaders at the summit.

China's willingness to get involved in Europe's debt crisis is based on both economic and political considerations. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, Chinese exports increased 13.4 percent in December 2011, which marked the slowest export growth since November 2009. Exports of goods and services have been China's central economic powerhouse, accounting for nearly 40 percent of its GDP. Yet earlier last year, China's monthly trade surplus with the 27-nation EU, its biggest export market, declined to $11.8 billion in November from $13 billion in October.

Rising wages in the manufacturing sector are making Chinese exports less competitive and the depreciation of the euro against the renminbi will undoubtedly make the country's exports even more expensive for the European market.

Therefore, it is not surprising that China wants to prevent any further weakening of the euro. Furthermore, China is deeply concerned with the security and returns on its investments in the EU. China will be eager to see their European counterparts providing assurances they will repay Chinese loans or reduce the lending risks by going through a broker such as the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, Chinese foreign direct investment to the EU was $4.28 billion in 2011, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. Chinese companies can now be found in all 27 EU member states. So safeguarding these investments and the access of Chinese enterprises to the greater European market will also be on the agenda.

Equally important are the political considerations of a closer Sino-EU partnership. The political uncertainty of elections and power transitions in countries such as Finland, South Korea, France, Russia and the United States, is further complicated by the evolving crises in Syria and Iran, as well as the aftershocks of the "Arab Spring" and the US administration's renewed strategic interest in the Asia-Pacific region.

As China starts to assert its global power, a broad political space and a respectful diplomatic environment will be essential for China's rise. Therefore, a closer partnership with the EU and aid to Europe may help to not only expand its influence but also boost its image in Europe. No wonder China and the EU have agreed to highlight the importance of dialogue and exchanges between their civil societies in the coming years.

China and the EU now have a more realistic view of their relations, so they should aim to take pragmatic steps to ensure their partnership is constructive and mutually beneficial.

The author is associate dean and professor of international affairs, ESSCA School of Management, Angers, France.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page8)

One can never underestimate the importance of cell phones in people's lives today. Many people are so reliant on their cell phones that the devices have become inseparable part of their everyday lives.

It's fair to say that cell phones are now squeezing the time from people's non-cell phone activities. With today's hectic lifestyles cell phones, especially smartphones, are serving as people's integrated communication platform.

The use of cell phones among Chinese citizens is occurring at an increasing pace. And the popularity of smartphones, facilitated by the third-party development of various applications, has greatly increased. With the improvement of the general living standards of people, the availability of more and more easy-to-use apps, whether they are functionally useful or just recreational in nature, has attracted an increasing number of those who were traditionally non-users or light users of cell phones. For example kids and the elderly are increasingly becoming the heaviest users of smartphones, particularly when it comes to playing games.

In the early stages of Internet development, a typical Internet user was a well-educated youth, and the main concern was the digital divide. Two key factors affecting people's adoption and eventual use of the Internet are the cost of access and the ease of use. The continuous drop in access fees, combined with the development of increasingly user-friendly apps in the recent years, has facilitated the flourishing of the Internet in China, both in urban and in rural areas.

There have long been controversies regarding the consequences of computer and Internet use, but one thing is sure, cell phones are increasingly carrying much of their owner's life and dreams and people are spending more and more time in this private territory.

Considering today's fast-paced and busy world, as more and more elderly people are left alone, the prevalence of social media and their numerous attached apps seems a natural shelter for the elderly against boredom and loneliness. The increasing affordability of cell phones, together with the persistent efforts toward the user-friendliness of smartphones and their various apps, have greatly empowered the previously marginalized group of elderly people to embrace them as new recreational activities.

Mobile games enable senior citizens to play games which effectively alleviates their perception of loneliness and isolation. This reinvigorates their vitality by helping them reconnect with the world that they, in many cases, have reluctantly retired from.

What was once strictly a youthful domain is now becoming theirs as well. Playing such games also gives the elderly the confidence to better exploit the new possibilities and life experiences facilitated by the prevalence of new information and communication technology.

Therefore, we can reasonably assume that the adoption of cell phone games and other user-friendly apps will bridge the gap between generations, at least to some extent. The elderly and the young will have some common interests to talk about. This exchange of experience will help facilitate socialization.

During the process, elderly people's often negative self-perception of being isolated or excluded by society will be substantially mitigated, and a feeling of connectedness with society will arise. Last but not least playing these games will keep them mentally active.

That said, however, the smartphone world is a double-edged sword.

Being able to make full use of cell phones is becoming a requisite skill for contemporary life and, accordingly, a failure to grasp its use could isolate the elderly even more.

It is therefore very important for our society in general, and the younger generation in particular, to encourage the elderly to overcome any technology anxiety.

The author is a professor from School of Journalism & Communication, Tsinghua University.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page8)

NEW YORK - Like a good academic, Jean Adilifu did her homework.

The assistant principal for foreign languages at the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in New York had all the data at her fingertips before responding to questions about the recently released China Daily/Gallup poll.

"Spanish is the No 1 foreign language offered in the schools across the country, French is second and Chinese is third - but growing exponentially," Adilifu added.

In the survey of 2,007 US citizens and 250 opinion leaders, conducted in December, four choices were given to the question, "If you were given a chance to learn a new foreign language, which language would you rather learn?"

Not surprisingly, Spanish was the easy winner with 58 percent, but Chinese placed second at 15 percent. Arabic was third with 11 percent and Japanese trailed at 10 percent.

This is consistent with the US census data from 2010 showing English as the top spoken language in the United States followed by Spanish and Chinese as the third.

At Adilifu's preparatory school, all sixth graders are required to take Chinese.

Teacher Michael Jiang, who works closely with young children every day, sees the change in how China is viewed.

"In the old times, people looked at China and thought of communism. But today young kids see Chinese and the beauty of the culture," Jiang said.

Adilifu cited the exposure of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the positive media portrayal it received as a tremendous boost for US perceptions of China. Adilifu attended the Games and raved about the pageantry and lavish production of the opening and closing ceremonies.

The two-week world event also dispelled many notions of China being a threat and helped open up many avenues for the long-isolated land.

Strong relations between China and the US were either very or somewhat important, said 71 percent of the respondents in the survey.

The opinion leaders represented US government officials, think tank leaders, media personnel, executives and university faculties.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page3)

BEIJING - China is ready to work with the United States to advance people-to-people exchanges, Education Minister Yuan Guiren said in an article prior to Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit to the US.

Xi's visit will push such exchanges to a new level, Yuan said, noting that this area will be a particular focus of the visit as the two countries strengthen mutual political trust, and economic and trade cooperation.

The third annual high-level China-US Consultation on People-to-People Exchange will be held in China this year, Yuan said, adding that a number of activities and events are planned.

"Forty years ago, visionary politicians of China and the US took people-to-people exchange as a way to break the ice between the two countries," said the minister.

People-to-people exchange is still an important driving force in today's increasingly close China-US relations, he said, noting that leaders of the two countries often discuss this topic and attend related events.

To boost the partnership, the Consultation on People-to-People Exchange was established in Beijing in May 2010.

Yuan said President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama have always attached importance to, and supported, this kind of exchange.

Since State Councilor Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-chaired the second exchange in Washington in April, China and the US have reached more than 40 agreements in the areas of education, science and technology, culture, sport, women's issues and youth, according to Yuan.

In 2010, China announced that it would provide scholarships to 10,000 US college students to study in China, implement the "Chinese Bridge" study program for 10,000 US citizens in China, and send 10,000 PhD candidates to the US on Chinese government scholarships.

Yuan said the Education Ministry has been working on these programs since 2010.

By the end of last year, 4,363 Chinese postgraduates have participated in PhD programs in the US, while "Chinese Bridge" scholarships have funded 4,563 US citizens to study in China, and the Study-in-China Scholarship has already issued 2,094 scholarship quotas for US students, according to Yuan.

To enhance educational support to the central and western regions of China, the Education Ministry helped 500 teachers from remote regions pursue advanced studies in the US last year, he said.

The Education Ministry also assisted the "100,000 Strong" plan proposed by Obama in 2010 - a goal of sending 100,000 US students to learn Mandarin in China in the next four years - by helping establish contacts between the US side and Chinese universities.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page3)

Better understanding will improve Sino-US ties, business cooperation

NEW YORK - Forty years after it hosted the visit of a Chinese ping-pong team in the United States, the National Committee on US-China Relations is still opening doors to communication.

"Better understanding between the US and China will strengthen bilateral ties further and make the world a better place," says Stephen Orlins, president of the committee.

"The single greatest impediment to constructive relations is the mistrust between China and the US," he says.

"If I had a magic wand and could wave it, I want more trust from China to America, and from America to China. I wish they could trust each other more."

Set up in 1966, the National Committee on US-China Relations has evolved over the years.

It first briefed US government officials on China at a time when there were no diplomatic relationships between the two nations.

In 1972, after former secretary of state Henry Kissinger's visit to China, the committee hosted the Chinese ping-pong team in the US. It was the foundation of a people-to-people relationship that has blossomed in the last four decades.

On Feb 15, the committee will co-host a luncheon for Vice-President Xi Jinping during his visit to Washington.

"Because of our nearly 45-year-old association with China, we have been able to hold discussions on many sensitive topics that even the American government could not," said Orlins, who worked for the US State Department, and was part of the legal team that helped establish diplomatic relations with China.

"We have conducted economic dialogue on subjects that both governments are wary of discussing. We are franker than the governments could be. We had a discussion with the People's Liberation Army about security issues. We had human rights discussions with the State Council of the People's Republic of China and China Foundation for Human Rights Development," Orlins says.

Even though there have been several impressive strides, Orlins still sees some impediments in Sino-US ties. He agrees with some experts' predictions that trade tensions between China and the US will worsen this year due to the bleak financial outlook and US election politics.

"The economic outlook creates risk to the trade relationship, and that is worsened by the fact that elections portray China to be a very negative force in US job losses. The candidates are saying Chinese trade policy - its currency valuation - is a significant cause for unemployment in the US. So the response will be further trade actions against China," he says.

"If you ask whether there are going to be problems in the relationship, the answer is yes. Will there be problems with trade issues? Yes. Will there be problems on US criticism of China's human rights policy? Yes. Will there be problems relating to how we deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran? Yes."

While China and the US face similar threats such as terrorism, climate change, piracy and financial crisis, cooperation is "something that will occur" between the two, he says. Fundamentally, the two countries' interests are complementary, and not conflicting.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page3)

SHANGHAI - After an online tip, an inspection of an electronics factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, found more than 10 child laborers working there, a labor supervision official said on Monday.

"Officials from the district government and our division have gone to the plant for investigation and evidence collection today," said the man, surnamed Zhou.

The official inspection of Suzhou Nousstar Electronic Technology Co in the city's Wuzhong district was triggered after an Internet user named Quanquantian uploaded a post and a video clip to an online forum on Saturday. The clip showed a dozen boys and girls around 1.5 meters in height working on an assembly line.

As seen from the video on Tudou.com, some of the workers were so young and they had to prop themselves up on benches because they were too short, and one boy claimed to be a recent primary school graduate.

Another official from the district bureau of human resources and social security, surnamed Yang, also confirmed that there are children working at the factory. "But no child is as young as 9, as previously reported in the media," he said.

Officials declined to reveal the exact number of children involved and how long they had been in the factory. Labor supervision officials were unavailable for further comment at press time.

The Internet user said in the post that these children are members of ethnic groups and were led there by a fellow villager, who forwards the children's monthly income from the company to their families. They work nearly 12 hours every day, he said.

A foreman of the company told Suzhou Television Station that "people of the Yi ethnic group from at least four counties are here in the plant".

A security guard at the staff accommodation area of the factory told Modern Express, a Jiangsu-based newspaper, that quite a few boys and girls live in the apartments.

They have a fixed work schedule every day. They get up at 6 am and get off work at midnight in droves, he said.

"Life is tough for them. I often see them go to hot water dispensers to cook instant noodles, which they eat in a hurry as they are walking home," he added.

Legal experts said labor departments should hand out a stiff punishment to the business, which knowingly violated laws.

According to Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labor, a minimum fine of 5,000 yuan ($795) will be imposed on businesses for each worker younger than 16 years old they have employed for at least a month, and individuals or agencies that introduce minors to jobs will be penalized in the same way.

Juvenile rights experts urged the legislation of new child welfare laws to regulate the behavior of guardians and ensure a safe and healthy environment for childhood development.

"The government should offer guidance and assistance when a family can't provide a child with a healthy environment, and official intervention should be adopted when the guidance and help fall short," said Zhang Wenjuan, deputy director of the Beijing Children's Legal Aid and Research Center.

She said the country could establish an integrated investigation mechanism for any child who leaves school to be a manual laborer, a child beggar or just homeless. Such a system might include teacher reports, investigations from authorities and follow-up tracking.

Yi Shenghua at Beijing's Ying Ke Law Firm said more consideration must be given to how the children will be living after being sent back home.

"A home should be warm and provide protection and opportunities for children to get educated," he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page7)

Number of births in November is twice the average of other months

BEIJING / SHANGHAI / GUANGZHOU - Love is in the air on Valentine's Day, and the many Scorpios walking around may be living proof.

The 2000 national census shows that more people are born in November - the month of Scorpio - than any other time of the year. The number of births is twice the average of other months.

Valentine's Day - which comes about 280 days, a complete pregnancy cycle, before Scorpio birth dates - must have a lot to do with it.

"Scorpio has sexy and mysterious power, and now we can see where that probably comes from," said Yu Jia, 28, an astrology enthusiast. "They come into the world in a romantic setting."

Deng Wei, a Scorpio, said, "If a woman gets pregnant on the most romantic day and gives birth to a Scorpio, then it's God's will and meant to be."

More than 1,978,000 babies were born in November 1999, 14 percent of the 12-month total (from November 1999 to October 2000) counted by the census.

With 1,609,000 newborns, December, the Sagittarius month, had the second-largest number of births, at 11.4 percent.

By way of comparison, babies born in other months accounted for 6.6 percent to 8.6 percent of the total.

Jiang Kelan, an obstetrician for six years, said she has noticed November has always been the busiest month for births at her hospital in Duyun in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

"That may be because many festivals, including the Valentine's Day and Spring Festival, often fall in February," Jiang said.

"It's the time when people don't worry about work and enjoy their free time with their loved ones."

From crystallike cabins of the Ferris wheel in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to extreme freefall from Canton Tower, China's early adaptors to the Western lifestyle have driven the rapid development of products and services provided on Valentine's Day in recent years.

In Shanghai, themed hotels whose facilities and services are dedicated to making couples' private stay more intimate have thrived.

Fashion Hotel, a 90-room boutique hotel with a romantic design on East Huaihai Road, has been especially busy in recent days

It has 10 types of themed rooms priced from 188 yuan ($30) to 677 yuan. Some have waterbeds surrounded by floor-to-ceiling gauze and a feather-decorated ceiling lamp above.

The honeymoon themed room, decorated in pink and red, with rose-petal patterns on the wall and a heart-shaped king-size bed, is also one of the most popular.

"Many couples bring their own wine, rose petals and balloons to add to the romantic atmosphere, so we won't provide additional service on the Valentine's Day," Li Xiao, the hotel manager, told China Daily.

"So far the rooms are fully booked from Monday to Wednesday. In fact, the rooms were also full last weekend, because some people celebrate the Valentine's Day in advance," Li said.

In Guangzhou, in addition to fine cuisine, a rotating restaurant known among locals as Xiaomanyao (little slim waist) will give young patrons not only roses and chocolates, but also caviar.

"To make it more attractive to young couples, we will adjust the lighting to make it more romantic and play Italian music."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page5)

GUANGZHOU - A chow chow couple walks by, the brown groom glowing with pride as he crosses the lawn. His light-colored bride has a happy bounce to her step as she passes in her lace wedding gown.

A toy poodle, a bachelor, that had been "speed-dating" with a group of poodle girls, is fascinated by the chow chow beauty and starts following her. But the groom catches on and scares the rival away.

The chow chow couple and amorous toy poodle were at a Valentine's Day party for dogs, where they could take wedding photos or look for a date.

More than 50 dogs attended the event on Saturday in a park in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. All were well-dressed.

Liu Fang, the toy poodle's owner, said dogs also have a need and right to find that special someone and celebrate Valentine's Day.

The 50-something retiree has had her pet, Qiao Ba, for almost two years. Since August, she has posted two marriage advertisements online for her pet.

"Qiao Ba is upset and has no appetite when he gets frisky," Liu said. "I can send him to a pet shop for breeding, but he has his own taste, and I should respect his right to choose a mate."

Qiao Ba is open-minded when it comes to relationships and would readily hook up with a different species of dog or another male.

"I'll respect Qiao Ba's choice if he wants a gay marriage or an interracial one," Liu laughed. She lovingly watched as the pet chased after another male poodle.

Liu, who got Qiao Ba as a gift from her son before he left to study in the United States, is delighted with the dog and thinks of him as a second son.

The popularity of themed parties for pets is a sign of the increasing importance of pets in peoples' lives, said Lin Ruxiong, the host of the Valentine's party for dogs in Guangzhou.

Lin's company, Poco.cn, a photo sharing website, has organized on average two events for pets a week since 2005. He said that in the past three years, the number of participants has grown from about 20 to more than 50.

With pets' status on the rise in families, pet owners expect to elaborate pet events. Pet wedding photos have been popular since 2009, said Lin, and he listed other pet events Poco.cn had held, including dog fashion shows and beach carnivals at summer resorts.

"Pet owners take the events seriously and are willing to spend money, time and energy on their pets," Lin said.

"I think pets deserve that care because they have become important in peoples' lives, especially for white-collar workers amid the hectic life in the city, and for parents whose only child has left the home."

Li Qianxin, 26, a Guangzhou resident, described her two pet Samoyeds as the "saviors" of her rocky relationship with her boyfriend. "We've quarreled less since we adopted Leo and Fox," she said.

"We often need to talk with each other about issues regarding the dogs, and what with the effort that goes into caring for two big dogs, we have neither the time nor energy to quarrel," she said.

According to Li, Leo and Fox have a puppy love for each other. Fox, the female, was born a week after Leo, and they have lived together since they were a month old.

"It's their first Valentine's Day since they became a couple in March," Li said.

"I'll dress Leo and Fox in wedding clothes and take them along with us on the day my boyfriend and I marry," she said with a smile.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page5)

Kang Zhiming and his girlfriend Meng Xue have fun with a giant toy bear at Oriental Plaza in Beijing's Wangfujing Street on Monday. Zou Hong / China Daily

BEJING / SHANGHAI / GUANGZHOU - Valentine's Day in this auspicious Year of the Dragon has couples across China stepping forward to give each other not only flowers and chocolates, but also the promise of lifelong love.

Civil affairs officials in Beijing estimate that 4,000 couples will marry on Valentine's Day, and their Shanghai counterparts are expecting 2,000.

According to marriage registration website of the Beijing municipal civil affairs bureau, about 1,400 prospective newlyweds have made appointments to register their marriage in the bureau offices of six urban districts in Beijing - almost twice the number of last year.

In Haidian district alone, more than 370 appointments were made for the day, compared with 26 on Feb 15, according to the Beijing municipal marriage and adoption registration services website.

In Shanghai, the civil affairs offices in Pudong, Putuo, Yangpu and other districts and counties were already fully booked as of the weekend.

"The booking surge on Valentine's Day is associated with this being the Year of the Dragon, which is preferred by newlyweds," said Zhou Jixiang, head of marriage registration department in Shanghai municipal civil affairs bureau.

Wang Chao, 27, a software developer in Shanghai, said he and his fiancee made a reservation a week ago and will wait their turn in the afternoon.

"We have no specific thought on when to have a baby, but it will be great if we can have one in the Year of the Dragon," he said.

In recent years, new couples have preferred dates whose number is considered lucky.

More than 16,000 couples in Beijing swore lifelong love on Aug 8, 2008, when the Olympic Games began and the date ended with three eights, a number that sounds like "get rich" in Chinese.

Registration officers nationwide have been alerted to the expected surge.

Officers in Beijing's Fengtai district said that they will begin work half an hour earlier and that they have prestamped many of the marriage certificates to be more time-efficient on that day.

Guangzhou has made arrangements to make Valentine's Day more memorable.

Couples there will receive their marriage certificates from a guest presenter, who will pose for photos with them, according to bureau employees.

The presenters are academics, and in the future will include celebrities in science and the arts, as well as couples celebrating golden wedding anniversaries.

The presenters are chosen because of their happy marriages, positive view of values and passion for charity or social services.

They will offer the newlyweds their best wishes, and authorities are hoping the experience will better help the couples understand their responsibilities in a family.

About 300 couples have signed up to register their marriages on the Valentine's Day at the bureau, about six times the usual number.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page5)

KUNMING - "This is a special day for me, and only roses could represent my love to my girl," said Qian Jiale in Beijing, who has ordered 99 roses for his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.

"It's expensive and cost me nearly 1,000 yuan ($160), but I usually buy flowers only on this day, so whatever it costs, I'll buy it," he said.

Many young men like Qian contributed to the annual price surge for roses around Feb 14.

Zhang Li, general manager of Kunming International Flower Auction Trade Center, said the price of roses started rising 10 days ago and reached a peak on Feb 8 at 2.5 yuan per rose on average. The finest specimens could reach close to 12 yuan, compared with 1.5 yuan on normal days.

Amid a gloomy economic situation, the rose business has steadily continued to grow, increasing from an average price of 1.5 to 2 yuan in 2011 to 2.5 yuan this year.

"This year, more than 50 million roses were sold at Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, which is 85 percent of the total national sale of roses before Valentine's Day," Zhang said. He added that the reason Kunming did so well is that roses have a hard time growing elsewhere because of the unfavorable winter weather.

Roses from Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, went not only to other Chinese cities, but also to Southeast and Central Asia and Russia.

Hou Yujuan, a Beijing flower shop owner, went to Dounan Flower Market to select roses a few days ago. She said a single rose costs 2.5 yuan in Kunming, but the price will be at least 15 yuan when it gets to Beijing.

"It's not only the price of flowers that's rising, but also the transportation cost, which has more than tripled," she said. "Most days, it costs 3 yuan a kilogram to deliver roses by air, but now it's 10 yuan."

Dounan Flower Market is the biggest fresh-flower market in China and even Asia. More than 1,000 kinds of flowers can be found there, and the daily trade volume reaches 500 to 700 tons.

Zhou Hongmei, 47, a flower farmer in Kunming, said these days are golden.

"This is the best time of the year to sell flowers because the price and trade volume of roses grows to many times what it is the rest of the year," she said. "The money I earn around Valentine's Day is equal to a month's income the rest of the time."

She said a rose that sells for 3 yuan on Valentine's Day is only 0.10 yuan at the cheapest time of the year.

Zhou's family has 20 hectares of roses, each of which earns 20,000 yuan a year, which means her family could earn around 400,000 yuan yearly by selling roses.

Guo Anfei contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page5)

Measure aims to promote Chinese programming

BEIJING - Imported TV series will be barred from airing during prime time on the mainland, according to an announcement from the top broadcasting regulator on Monday.

These series should run for no longer than 50 episodes, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

The aim is to improve the quality of imported TV programs and to enrich the content of shows available in high definition, so high-definition imported TV shows are preferred.

Under the new directive, a channel cannot broadcast imported TV series during prime time - 7:30 pm to 10 pm - and the total running time of imported shows should not exceed 25 percent of the time allocated to TV series that day.

Once a channel imports a TV series, it should be first aired on the channel before it can be resold to other channels, according to SARFT.

Channels are forbidden from broadcasting unapproved TV shows produced by companies outside the Chinese mainland in the form of shorts and introductory clips.

According to the statement, the SARFT has asked provincial stations to supervise the content of TV programs made by companies outside the mainland. TV series that contain vulgar and violent scenes should not be imported.

The statement also said channels should not intensively broadcast TV series from a certain country or a certain region during the same period.

Severe punishments will be handed out for stations that are found to have violated the rules.

Professor Peng Jixiang from Peking University's School of Arts said the new order is SARFT's latest effort to protect domestic cultural products and will help create a favorable environment for TV shows made by companies on the Chinese mainland.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page7)

XIAMEN, Fujian - Local prosecutors said on Monday that Lai Changxing, who confessed to running one of the largest smuggling operations in the nation's history, will not face execution for his crimes.

The 53-year-old from Fujian province stands accused of running a multibillion-dollar smuggling group in the 1990s in Xiamen, a costal city of Fujian province, and paying bribes while serving as the chairman of Yuanhua Group in Xiamen.

The city court of Xiamen has taken on the case, according to the statement.

Lai and the other suspects have confessed.

"If charged with smuggling common goods and bribery, Lai will face the maximum jail term of life imprisonment rather than death penalty," Li Guifang, vice-director of the criminal defense committee under the All-China Lawyers Association, said on Monday.

If only accused of these two crimes, Lai surely will not face the death penalty, which also reflects Chinese judicial organs' desire to "fulfill its commitment to the Canadian side that no death penalty would be applied to Lai," Li said.

After the case was exposed, Lai immediately fled to Canada with his ex-wife, two sons and one daughter on tourist visas. Since then, he has used Canadian laws to apply for refugee protection to avoid punishment from Chinese judicial organs in one of the country's longest extradition cases.

In July, 2011, the federal court in Canada finally rejected Lai's appeal to suspend the repatriation order and decided to repatriate him to China to face trial, ending a 12-year battle by Chinese judicial authorities.

"The legal rights of Lai as well as other suspects and their lawyers have been protected, and prosecutors had an extensive exchange of ideas with them before filing the lawsuit," according to the statement.

The investigation concluded in late December, and Lai was handed over for prosecution.

"After investigating all the seized evidence and interrogating Lai, we confirmed the criminal facts were clear, and the evidence was solid, so we made the appropriate charges in line with the law," said the statement.

According to a previous statement from the local customs and anti-smuggling agency and the Xiamen prosecutor's office, the investigation showed that Lai had smuggled a large number of commodities, such as cigarettes, cars, petroleum, cooking oil, chemicals and equipment, through Xiamen Customs from 1996 to 1999.

Lai paid significant amounts of money in bribes to dozens of government officials and ordered his subordinates to do so.

"But considering the amount of money involved was huge and he bribed many officials many times, he is likely to face a jail term of life imprisonment," said Li from the lawyers association.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page4)

Hainan

Island elects new governor

Jiang Dingzhi was elected governor of the island province of Hainan on Monday by the people's congress, the local legislative body.

Jiang, 57, served as Hainan's acting governor in August last year after the resignation of his predecessor, Luo Baoming.

Jiang, a native of Liyang in Jiangsu, had long worked in the eastern province before moving to Hainan. He served as vice-chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission from 2005 to 2010.

Guangxi

Names 'safe' in HIV tests

Responding to criticism of a proposal that real names be given for HIV tests, local officials and medical practitioners have said that the personal information of those who are HIV-positive or have AIDS is well protected.

Many have attacked the proposal, arguing that fear of exposure may deter potential test takers.

But Liu Li, an official from the department of health for Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said personal data is kept secret and no information leaks have been reported since the region adopted an HIV-test confirmation policy two years ago.

Beijing

Fresh moves on seawater

China is to greatly increase its seawater desalination capacity over the next five years to ease water shortages in coastal areas and islands and improve drinking-water safety in some central and western regions, the government said on Monday.

With 20 cities expected to be using desalinated seawater by 2015, capacity is projected to rise to between 2.2 million to 2.6 million cubic meters per day in that time, according to a statement released by the General Office of the State Council.

Tibet

Visitor numbers climb higher

Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region received 8.7 million tourists last year, up 26.9 percent on 2010, local authorities said on Monday.

The number of domestic travelers surged 27.2 percent to 8.42 million, and the amount of international tourists increased 18.6 percent to 270,000, bringing in a total of 9.7 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) in revenue last year.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page2)

BEIJING - After more than 17 years living in seclusion as a monk, murder suspect Xu Xinlian has finally been brought to justice.

When the police interrupted his chanting and put handcuffs on his hands, Xu was very calm and seemed resigned to his fate.

"I've waited for this day for 17 years and now I need to escape from the torture of my soul," said Xu, once a senior monk of the famous Jingci and Xiangji temples at Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province.

"I haven't slept well for a single night since the murder happened. I have been suffering from worry, panic, and have been repenting all these years."

He said he felt so relaxed, now that he is able to pay for the serious crimes to which he has admitted.

Xu, 39, was born in Jiujiang county of Jiangxi province, where his parents are farmers. He has a sister and two brothers.

He failed at his senior school studies, blaming the poverty of his family, and began to mix with bad elements in society.

Then one night in July 1994, his friend Wang Jun asked him to help exact revenge on a former classmate Xu Min, who had beaten him in a fight.

They got together with another five young men and went to Xu Min's dormitory.

Xu Xinlian is said to have kicked open the door and slashed at Xu Min's head with a knife. Xu Min was later found dead with 56 wounds to his body. Nearby, his wife also lay dead and his 2-year-old son seriously injured.

The police later arrested six of the suspects, but Xu Xinlian managed to escape.

"After the murders, my first reaction was to get away as soon as possible and hide in the temple," Xu Xinlian said.

"Because the temple is far removed from modern society, I spent most of my days there. It's difficult for the police or others to follow my track, and I didn't need to worry about food and clothes."

In November 1994, Xu officially became a monk in Sanzu Temple at Anqing in Anhui province, and to begin with, he was responsible for cleaning the temple, selling tickets and doing some chores.

As time went by, Xu said he regretted his actions more, and he began to see his service at the temple as a way of compensating for his actions.

In 2000, he went to the famous Jingci Temple in Hangzhou as a common monk. The abbot of the temple considered him hardworking, diligent and modest, and after nine years, he was appointed as the director of Xiangji Temple. In January 2011, he returned to Jingci Temple to become director.

But on Nov 26 last year, Jiujiang police in Jiangxi got a tip-off that Xu was hiding in a famous temple in Zhejiang. Two days later, while he was chanting at Xiangji Temple, he was arrested.

The police said Xu insisted on eating vegetarian food and chanting during the day and night after he was held in Jiujiang county detention house.

Of the other six suspects in the murder case, who were all in the same detention house, three have been executed.

When the police asked Xu, "Do you think you can escape legal punishment in the end?" he answered, "I just want to be reborn in paradise."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page2)

HULUDAO, Liaoning - Waves were no longer lashing the quayside. Looking out from the harbor, the Bohai Sea had turned into an ice rink as far as the eye could see.

In the middle of the glistening sheet of frozen sea, Captain Fang Yusen, 59, was at the wheel of his tugboat Jinshuiqiao 6 clearing a passage through the ice to Liutiaogou Harbor at Huludao, in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

"Even when there's no need to guide ships to and from port, we have to go out every day. Otherwise, vessels might become icebound at sea," Fang told me when I boarded his boat.

Now it was snaking its way through the ice field to rescue a trapped navigation buoy.

Crashing noises continuously came from the tug's hull until it hit thick ice and could not move forward. Fang reversed his boat and then accelerated full ahead. After three tries, he made it and reached the buoy.

Three crewmen got a rope around it and pulled it in.

"The sea ice is powerful. It kidnapped the buoy, which was fixed to a cement block, and took it 9.2 km away," Fang said.

The Bohai Sea freezes every year. Floating chunks of sea ice can extend up to 100 nautical miles (185 km) from the coast. The Liaodong Bay, where Huludao is situated, is one of the most affected areas.

Fang said there are three tugboats at Liutiaogou Harbor. These days, all of them are as busy as bees from morning to night, breaking ice, carrying food supplies to ships at anchorage, and performing their designated task of towing big ships in and out of the harbor.

A native of Shenyang, Liaoning's provincial capital, Fang has been working on tugboats all his life. The veteran used to be a signalman on one in Dalian, Liaoning, when he served in the army. He started working on a tugboat at Huludao after leaving the army.

"My father took me to Huludao in the late 1950s. It was the first time I saw the sea and wished I could live by the seaside. But I didn't expect that I'd be living on it for nearly 40 years," Fang recalled.

Life on the boat is not easy. The crew has no fixed timetable.

"One day in January, we worked from 6 am to 2 am the following morning," said Fang. "But that's normal. Whenever the call comes, we must move quickly."

Because of their busy schedule, none of the seven crew went home for the Spring Festival, the most important occasion in China for family reunion.

"We ate jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), lighted firecrackers and pasted on Spring Festival couplets, like all families do," said the tug's chief engineer, Sun Yisheng.

In Sun's eyes, Fang is a born captain.

"On a boat, everyone has his own job. The captain must keep the team united. Cooperation is essential for ensuring safety. Our captain does a good job of that," Sun said.

According to Fang, there are few options for entertainment on the boat - watching TV, playing cards or just chatting.

"Things are much better today," he said. "We used to have no television on the boat. All we had were a compass, a chart and a radio transceiver."

At that time, before the tugboat sailed, someone had to plot the course on the chart first, he said. If they had to change direction, they had to calculate time and distance based on the speed of the boat before they could turn.

"Now the boat is equipped with an electronic chart system providing instant navigation," he said.

But there are situations that modern technology cannot handle. Fang remembered one boat that was trapped en route to Juehua Island in 2009.

The island, about 27 km southwest from Liutiaogou Harbor, was totally cut off from the mainland by the ice, so local government officials had to send food and medicine to the island by Fang's tugboat.

They hit very thick ice at one point and could not move forward or backward.

"Some large chunks of ice stuck together and became as thick as 40 or 50 cm, wrapping itself around the boat," he recalled. "Our boat weighs more than 300 tons. But it's difficult to crush those big pieces."

They filled the boat's ballast tank with seawater to add more weight, but that did not work directly. Instead, they had to keep adding and discharging water until, an hour later, they managed to maneuver the boat free.

"Frankly, severe weather often makes me feel like quitting the job," Fang confessed. "But I don't know what else I can do as I've been doing this for so many years.

"Besides, I can earn more than 4,000 yuan ($635) per month. That's good pay. My health permitting, I will keep working on the tugboat. I think this is my job for life."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page2)

Farmers at Jiangman village of Qinglong county, Guizhou province, weigh a sheep before selling it. A growing number of farmers in the area are shaking off poverty through raising sheep. Zhang Daquan / for China Daily

GUIYANG / BEIJING - The government of Southwest China's Guizhou province is planning to spend 18 billion yuan ($2.85 billion) to relocate 1.5 million people living in mountainous regions in a bid to end chronic poverty there.

Ethnic minorities account for about 39 percent of the province's population, and the province is eight years behind the national average development level, according to official statistics.

Zhao Kezhi, governor of Guizhou, on Monday said in a news conference in Beijing that the local government has initiated a pilot relocation project for the first batch of 100,000 people this year.

"In Guizhou, 1.5 million people live in mountains that barely provide the conditions for sustaining life," said Zhao.

Explaining the necessity of the plan, Zhao said "even if we build roads to reach them, provide drinking water to them and work to alleviate poverty there for another 50 years, the problem still might not be addressed, in my opinion".

He said the relocation plan will take nine years to complete. In order to address complications that will arise when moving farmers from mountains into townships, the project will require massive funding as well as supportive policies that boost jobs.

Per capita GDP of the landlocked and ecologically fragile province was 13,000 yuan in 2010, equivalent to 40 percent of the national average or just 17 percent of that of economically prosperous Shanghai, according to official figures.

More than 30,000 square kilometers of Guizhou's 170,000 square kilometers of territory can be classified as rocky desert terrain, according to official statistics.

Yang Hongmin, a farmer from Jiangman village of Qinglong county, said rainwater has washed away the topsoil of his land, and Yang and other fellow villagers "had no choice but to sell blood to sustain themselves" 10 years ago. The situation at that time was so dire that rice was now only served during celebrations of marriage or new births, Yang said.

"Poverty and underdevelopment are two major problems Guizhou should address to realize common national prosperity," said Du Ying, deputy minister of the National Development and Reform Commission. China's top economic planner, at the conference.

Though Guizhou's relocation plan is pending approval by the State Council, Zhao added that the Guizhou government has initiated a pilot plan because it is urgent to get the process under way.

"When faced with difficulties that have emerged during Guizhou's development, our attitude is we can't wait any longer. We have to begin doing it while reporting to the senior leaders," Zhao said.

A total of 1.2 billion yuan from the provincial, city and county budget has already been allocated to facilitate the relocation of the first batch of 100,000 people from villages to townships or development zones, Zhao said.

He added that senior citizens could get an allowance from social security funds and medical insurance.

Jobs will be created for people in their 40s and 50s to help them adjust to the move.

Zhao said the government will buy 80,000 job posts in the service industry and the public welfare sector at the cost of 12,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan each. These jobs will be provided to the middle-aged.

Vocational education and training will also be given to the youth during the relocation.

"I talked with many villagers in the remote mountains, and they said they would like to move for their children," Zhao said.

"Moving out is also done for the sake of improving their own lives," he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page4)

84% arrested following operation aided by modern technology

BEIJING - Fugitive numbers have been slashed by 84 percent following a seven-month crackdown, an officer from the Ministry of Public Security said.

The crackdown, launched at the end of May, targeted nearly 320,000 fugitives who were listed online, said Wang Zhigang, deputy director of the police supervision department under the ministry.

A total of 2 million police officers nationwide participated in the crackdown and nearly 270,000 fugitives were arrested.

Police arrested 190 A or B-level fugitives, those wanted for the most serious crimes, such as murder, kidnap, drugs and rape, and 12,000 suspects were apprehended for questioning in relation to homicide.

Of those arrested, 23,000 had been on the run for more than 10 years.

Moreover, police arrested or persuaded 900 suspects to turn themselves in.

The number of prosecutions taken against the fugitives nationwide is not yet available but in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, 97 percent of the 3,400 fugitives detained will face trial.

"Many fugitives are allegedly involved in serious violent crimes, such as homicide, kidnapping, rape, drug trafficking and smuggling, which threaten social order," Wang said.

Fugitives were able to take advantage of shortcomings in law enforcement technology, but this has been tackled as can be seen by the results, Wang said.

"On committing crimes the first reaction was to escape and change their identity, getting new ID cards, even by having operations," he said.

However, loopholes still exist, he said and fugitives can sometimes find shelter in poorly regulated areas.

But generally speaking, technology has improved and is an increasingly useful tool in the fight against crime, he said.

"DNA, fingerprints, skull reconstructions and other technical advances have helped us catch suspects on the run."

A special pursuit unit, with 247 police officers, was established in Shenyang, Xu Wenyou, director of its public security bureau, told China Daily.

"Criminals leave traces of their activities and phone calls, and we use these traces to track them down," Xu said.

Besides, Wang said, some who have escaped overseas have been persuaded to turn themselves in with the help of other police forces.

China has signed extradition treaties with 37 countries and criminal justice agreements with 47 others, he said.

The public have also helped by reporting anything suspicious. Last year the public provided 30,000 items of information but these led to more than 19,000 arrests, he said.

As for the fugitives still at large, Wang hoped they would offer to turn themselves in.

"We will adhere to relevant international conventions to protect human rights and other legitimate rights of fugitives in line with China's laws and regulations," he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page1)

Death sentence for ex-tycoon fuels debate over private lending, report Li Jing and He Na in Beijing, and Xu Junqian in Zhejiang.

Wu Ying used to be one of the richest women in China. Today the former billionaire is on death row.

In the eyes of many people, particularly the judge who threw out her appeal last month, Wu is a fraudster who swindled her friends and business partners out of 770 million yuan ($122 million).

Yet, others oppose the sentence and say her case highlights a major issue in China: the reliance among small- and medium-sized enterprises on high-interest loans from private lenders.

From loan sharks and underground banks to pawnshops and auction houses, the private lending chain is huge and diverse, according to economists, who blame the situation largely on the struggles experienced by entrepreneurs in getting startup funds through authorized channels.

After 30 years of ongoing reforms, experts are now adding their voices to calls for China's financial sector to be opened up even further.

On Jan 18, Zhejiang province's high court upheld the death penalty handed down to Wu, insisting that the 31-year-old had purposefully cheated lenders between 2005 and 2007, using false financial statements and promises of large returns.

"Her intention was to defraud, this was more than just illegal fundraising," said presiding judge Shen Xiaoming on Feb 7, in a statement issued in response to public opposition to the sentence.

Yet, Hu Xingdou argues differently. The professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology said that as tightened monetary policies have made it tough to get bank loans, borrowing money from relatives, friends and acquaintances on the promise of high returns has become the only option for many Chinese entrepreneurs.

Most long-term lending by commercial banks only goes to government-backed projects, which carry less risk, he said. All that is available to small and medium-sized enterprises, such as those run by convicted tycoon Wu Ying, is short-term capital that cannot be invested in fixed assets.

Although it is illegal and unregulated, he said private financing might actually be complimenting the official system.

"Interest rates are sometimes much higher than those set by State-owned banks, but the 'application' process is flexible and straightforward," Hu added.

Tightened policies

Xinhua News Agency recently reported on a survey of 2,835 SMEs in Zhejiang province done late last year that found almost all of them had had difficulty getting loans. (The report did not reveal who conducted the study.)

About 15 percent had seen applications to commercial banks either rejected or "downsized", it said. And for those who did get loans, 86 percent said there were "additional conditions", such as a requirement to buy financial products or pay high consulting and service fees, which pushed up the cost.

Ultimately, the findings in the Xinhua report showed companies are being pushed into the arms of private lenders, who offer fewer rules but higher interest.

The Supreme People's Court deems private lending illegal when the interest rate is four times higher than that of a commercial bank. Yet, while the current average is from 6 to 7 percent a year, some underground banks are lending at an annual rate of up to 90 percent.

According to the survey of Zhejiang businesses, roughly 9 percent of respondents said they "frequently" borrow from private lenders to ensure cash flow, with 47 percent doing it "occasionally".

The most recent data from China's central bank also supports this theory. It stated that private lenders had loaned 3.38 trillion yuan ($536 billion) last year by May.

One of Zhejiang's most vibrant industrial hubs is Wenzhou, where economists say underground banks have become a lifeline for small businesses.

Despite a robust economy and a large collection of nouveau riche, the city's largely light industry relies heavily on labor, and therefore is often passed over for loans by official financial institutions.

"In Wenzhou, 90 percent of enterprises need private lending to get their production lines running. It's high time to legalize private lending," said Zhou Dewen, director of the Wenzhou Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Association. "It's not that businesspeople prefer private lending to (commercial) bank loans, but they have little option."

Open to abuse

Without a proper monitoring system, however, experts warn that private lending poses a threat to the health of China's economy.

Private lenders enjoy no legal protection, meaning that unpaid loans often result in disputes and, in extreme cases, violence. Meanwhile, the existing system is also open to money launderers.

Authorities have been cracking down on the illegal practice since October, when a number of Wenzhou bosses fled or killed themselves to avoid paying back high-interest loans. Now that the tap has been turned off, small business in the city has been hit even harder. The owner of a shoe factory, which has been in operation since 2003, told China Daily that this year is the first time he has been unable to restart the production lines immediately after the Spring Festival holiday.

"We just don't have enough money," he said, on condition of anonymity. "Without cash flow, we cannot and dare not hire people and receive orders."

With the rising costs of labor and materials and the tightened bank policies, he said that the government crackdown on private lending had been the last straw. "We just hope something concrete can be done sooner or later," he added.

According to Zhou's association, Wenzhou until recently had about 160 private lenders and "guarantee organizations", which are companies or individuals who stand as guarantor on loan applications. Today there are no more than 20.

One lender, who gave his name only as Fu, said he will not even lend money to relatives nowadays, explaining that once the money is "out of my hand, I have little chance of ever seeing it again".

Nine out of ten lenders mostly bankrupt bosses will take the money and flee, he said, adding: "It's a vicious circle."

Legalization of private lending is urgently needed, said Zhou, as well as moves to create more financing options for small and medium-sized enterprises, such as relaxing monetary policies on private banks.

He Tian, a real estate developer based in Zhejiang, agreed. "In some ways, we're luckier than the manufacturing industry, as we barely rely on private lending. Yet, we still need it for emergencies," he said. "The sooner it is regulated, the better and safer it is for both creditors and debtors."

Economists, legal experts and sociologists from across China met to discuss the implications of Wu Ying's case at two seminars in February. Most echoed the call for legalization.

"Private financing has supported the development of China's private sector, so it is worth recognition by the authorities," said Hu at the Beijing Institute of Technology. "That's why Wu's case has attracted so much public attention."

Final decision

The fate of former tycoon Wu now lies with the Supreme People's Court, which is reviewing her case. Hu argues that if her execution is approved, the monopoly by State-owned banks can be further consolidated and would deal a heavy blow to the country's burgeoning private sector.

"Instead, the government should admit the legal status of private lending, support those with good records and establish a set of criteria to bring underground banks to the surface," he said. "This way, it will be easier to monitor and regulate."

There is also no clear legal boundaries between illegal fundraising and reasonable private lending, a fact that has fueled opposition to Wu's death sentence, he said.

Wu grew up in Dongyang, a city in Zhejiang, and started her working life in a relative's a hair salon in 1997.

Within a decade, she was running a conglomerate of hotels, car dealerships and real estate, and was regarded as the country's sixth-richest woman.

At the time, she represented a success story of the robust entrepreneurial spirit that could typically be found in the coastal province in East China.

"Many questions are still left unanswered in Wu's case," Hu said. "For example, she only collected money from 11 lenders, two of whom were her business group's senior executives. They were fully aware of the financial situation.

"How can it be defined as fraud?"

The reporters can be contacted at lij@chinadaily.com.cn, hena@chinadaily.com.cn orxujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page1)

Nothing preventing friendly cooperation, vice-president says

NEW YORK / BRUSSELS - There are no reasons why China and the United States cannot engage in friendly cooperation, Vice-President Xi Jinping said.

Xi was speaking prior to his departure for the US on Monday.

In a written interview with the Washington Post, published online on Sunday night, Xi emphasized the importance and benefits of cooperation and respect.

"Mutual benefit is the defining feature of China-US business ties," Xi said.

"As economic globalization gathers momentum, China and the US have become highly interdependent economically. Such economic relations would not enjoy sustained, rapid growth if they were not based on mutual benefit or if they failed to deliver great benefits to the US. The Americans who know the real picture of China-US economic relations, including those in the business community, will echo this point," Xi said.

The visit will lead to better understanding between the countries, said David Fouquet, a specialist on EU-Asia relations with the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels.

The visit, it is hoped, will see relations soar above the rhetoric that accompanies a US election year, he said.

Friction and differences are hardly avoidable in bilateral economic and trade interactions, Xi said. But "we must not allow friction and differences to undermine the larger interests of our business cooperation".

Xi pointed out that China has taken active steps to meet legitimate US concerns over intellectual property rights and trade, and will continue to do so.

"We will continue to press ahead with the reform of the exchange rate formation mechanism and offer foreign investors a fair, rule-based and transparent investment environment," he said.

But Xi hoped the US will take substantive steps, as soon as possible, to ease restrictions on high-tech exports to China and provide a level playing field for Chinese enterprises to invest in the US.

What Xi listed are some long-term irritants in the Sino-US relationship, said Da Wei, an expert on US studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Although those problems cannot be solved overnight, Xi's comments will help ensure that problems, at least, don't hurt ties significantly.

On regional cooperation, Xi said China and the US have more converging interests in the Asia-Pacific region than anywhere else.

"At a time when people long for peace, stability and development, to deliberately give prominence to the military security agenda, scale up military deployment and strengthen military alliances is not really what most countries in the region hope to see," said Xi, clearly in response to recent US plans to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

"The vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China and the US," Xi said.

On international economic and security cooperation, Xi said the two countries have conducted effective coordination and cooperation in addressing major international and regional issues and meeting global challenges in recent years.

"We are at a time when the negative impact of the international financial crisis and the European debt crisis continues to spread, regional hotspot issues crop up from time to time and traditional and nontraditional security threats are intertwined. Under such new circumstances, it is all the more important for China and the US to communicate, coordinate and cooperate more closely and work together to play a constructive and responsible role in upholding and advancing world peace, stability and development."

The rest of the world wants China and the US to work closer together, experts said.

The international community would like to see greater cooperation, Fouquet said, especially "on security issues such as the Middle East".

The personal element will play an important role on the tour.

"I think Americans are really eager to know who he is, to have a sense of him, what his views are on many questions," said Jerome Cohen, law professor at New York University and a leading Western scholar on China's legal system.

"We always like to have some feeling of the personality of great leaders, those of ours and those of other countries," Cohen said.

Fouquet said Xi's visit would be seen as more personal than political or strategic.

It will be interesting to see Xi in a different way, rather than being a negotiator he will play the role of a communicator, he said.

Xi emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges and fondly recalled his visit to Iowa in 1985.

"I saw corn farming and processing and stayed with a family for a couple of days. I was deeply impressed by America's advanced technology and the hospitable and industrious American people. That visit drove home to me the importance of closer exchanges between our peoples and gave me a better understanding of China-US relations," said Xi, who will pay a return visit to the Iowa town of Muscatine.

Xi said he watches NBA games on television when he has time. "They are exciting to watch and have global appeal. They are very popular in China," he said.

"I like sports, and swimming is my favorite. Doing physical exercises keeps one fit and healthy and helps one work more efficiently. I think we all need to strike a balance between work and relaxation. This can keep us energetic and help us do our job better."

Zhao Shengnan in Beijing contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page1)

HONG KONG - The European Union will press ahead with emissions levies for international airlines, despite opposition from countries including China, India and the United States.

"The EU will not suspend the legislation," Siim Kallas, the European Commission's vice-president for transport, said on Monday in Singapore at an airline conference. "It's a very high-profile environmental issue."

At least 27 countries are due to meet next week in Moscow to discuss placing new charges on European airlines as they protest the EU's addition of aviation to a carbon-emissions trading system last month. The governments say the move extends EU regulations beyond the bloc's border.

"What started out as a solution for environment has become a source of potential trade conflict," Tom Enders, chief executive officer of Airbus SAS, said in Singapore on Monday. "That should be a worry for all of us."

China and India have already asked airlines to rebuff mandatory requests from the EU for data needed to fix emissions payments. Carriers will have to hand over permits for 2012 carbon production by April 30, 2013. They will receive about 85 percent for free and will need to buy the rest in the market.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the main global trade body for airlines, has called on the EU to halt the emissions cap while a global system is developed. The EU has said that carriers can be exempted for its carbon system if their home government introduces a similar program.

Chinese airlines are in an "intolerable" position because of the spat between the country and the EU over the levies, Tony Tyler, the head of IATA, said on Sunday in a Bloomberg interview. The industry needs a solution to the impasse, he said.

Last week, China barred carriers from taking part in the EU emissions-trading system because of concerns it will raise costs and impinge on non-European governments' sovereignty. The China Air Transport Association asked its government to oppose the EU levies and it is working on a legal challenge to be filed in Germany, Vice-President Chai Haibo said on Feb 6.

"They are sovereign countries and have the right to voice any objections they have," said Qatar Airways Ltd Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. "Qatar Airways is abiding by the rule, but we're not happy."

China hopes to reach an "acceptable solution" and will consider "appropriate responses", Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said on Feb 7.

The EU added flights to its cap-and-trade carbon program on Jan 1. Under the system, which is designed to pare pollution, airlines must monitor and report their emissions on all flights into and out of Europe each year, and purchase carbon permits to cover these discharges.

Carriers will be given about 85 percent of their permits free of charge in 2012. One permit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide.

"The issue here is that the EU is charging based on the whole journey and whether they should be imposing anything out of the European airspace," said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines Ltd. "The whole principle doesn't make sense."

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page17)

DALLAS, Texas - Global companies from NEC Corp to PepsiCo Inc and AstraZeneca PLC are chopping jobs more than three times faster than in 2011 as they brace for recession in Europe.

Announced workforce reductions surged to 94,369 through Friday from 26,561 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Employers based in Western Europe accounted for the biggest group of job-cut disclosures, threatening to add to unemployment in the eurozone already running at a 13-year high.

Such firings are now running at the quickest pace to start a year since a 2009 peak, when the European and US economies shrank amid the deepest slump since World War II.

"The problems that the European Union has to deal with suggest that any recovery will be slow in coming and weak," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics Inc. "Businesses have started to change their commitments in terms of their workforce in light of all the uncertainty."

Slowing economies in Europe and some developing markets were cited by NEC President Nobuhiro Endo on Jan 26 when the Tokyo-based maker of mobile phones and computers lopped 10,000 jobs. The London-based drugmaker AstraZeneca's Feb 2 plan for 7,300 firings follows the elimination of 21,600 positions since 2007.

Europe's weakness contrasts with a US labor market in which economists project more job creation this year than at any time since 2006. Even with PepsiCo joining 26 other companies in North America in disclosing cuts in 2012, fewer than 25 percent of the 8,700 jobs being trimmed at the company will be in the United States.

Joblessness in the US slid to 8.3 percent in January amid the fastest growth in nonfarm payrolls in nine months. December's unemployment rate in the eurozone reached 10.4 percent, the highest since June 1998.

"We look at the same data as everybody else," said Michael Lamach, chief executive officer of the Ireland-based Ingersoll Rand PLC. "But the part that we probably interpret less positively is Europe."

Europe revenue may fall as much as 12 percent in 2012 at the maker of Trane air conditioners as business dwindles and the euro weakens, Lamach said. Ingersoll Rand expects $50 million in unspecified European restructuring costs, possibly including job cuts.

"There's a recession in Europe right now," said Jay Bryson, senior global economist with Wells Fargo Securities LLC.

"The confidence shock on financial markets in the second half of last year has translated in a drop in orders and activity," Clemente De Lucia, a BNP Paribas economist, said in an interview from Paris. "The employment situation remains tough as business sentiment on activity hasn't recovered."

While an EU recession will last only a couple of quarters before growth resumes in the second half of 2012, the pullback in public-sector spending may mean slower European expansion persists for years, said Gerd Hassel, an economist at BHF Bank AG in Frankfurt.

"It's simply the austerity measures that dampen consumer expectations," Hassel said in an interview. That backdrop means CEOs "are very reluctant to increase their production".

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page17)

Reports suggest that electronics retail giant may open virtual store

BEIJING - E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc, a major Chinese online retailer, may join hands with Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd, the electronics retailer, to develop its product portfolio in the face of increasing challenges from competitors.

Dangdang, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, is reported to be in talks with Gome - the country's biggest electronics retailer by sales - concerning possible cooperation, according to a report in the China Business News on Monday.

Gome is likely to open a virtual shop on Dangdang to sell products, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source close to the matter.

The e-commerce website has been paying more attention to competitors that sell electronics online, said a Dangdang director, who declined to be named. However, the source denied any knowledge of possible cooperation between the companies.

Yu Liangchuan, the public relations manager of the e-commerce division of Gome, declined to comment on any possible cooperation. However, he said that companies such as Gome and Suning Appliance Co Ltd have price advantages in terms of logistics and purchasing over stores that only operate online, so the template of e-commerce will change in the near future.

In recent years, Dangdang, which began as an online bookseller, has been making efforts to increase its product portfolio, especially as its competitors have been increasingly aggressive in exploring areas that were once its strong suits, such as book sales.

Last year, the company was involved in price wars with rivals, such as Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co, the operator of the website 360buy.com.

The profit margin on sales of home appliances and electronic devices is narrower than for other products, but Dangdang has to provide items of this kind to attract customers, said Li Guoqing, the company's chief executive officer, in an earlier interview with China Daily.

"Electronics and home appliances are the weak performers for Dangdang, that's why it's reasonable that it may cooperate with Gome," said Chen Shousong, an analyst with the researcher Analysys International.

However, some analysts believe that a deal between Dangdang and Gome would not prompt big changes in the industry.

"Dangdang has missed the best time to be the big winner in e-commerce," said Hu Yanping, general manager of the Data Center of China Internet.

"It (Dangdang) is unlikely to grow to a very large scale, considering the resources and funding it has," he said, adding that if the companies do not cooperate at the capital level, it is unlikely to have a substantial effect on their performances.

The Chinese e-commerce business-to-consumer market generated sales worth 40 billion yuan ($6 billion) in 2011, and 360buy.com took 12.9 percent of that figure while Dangdang only garnered 1.5 percent.

Gome entered the e-commerce market in 2003, and remodeled its website in April 2011 to attract more customers. The company's President Wang Junzhou has said the retailer will invest more in the company's online store this year.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page16)

SHANGHAI - Most stocks on the Chinese mainland rose on Monday.

The advance came after Premier Wen Jiabao said the nation needs to start "fine-tuning" economic policies this quarter, boosting speculation that the government will ease monetary policy further.

Shuangliang Eco-Energy Systems Co, a maker of sea-water desalination equipment, advanced 4 percent after China said it will increase support for the industry. Western Mining Co led gains for metals producers.

China Vanke Co and Poly Real Estate Group Co led a gauge of property companies to its biggest drop in a week after Wuhu city said it will shelve a plan to provide housing subsidies.

Wen's comments "boosted sentiment but this is nothing different from what he said back in December", said Helen Zhu, a strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. "Policymakers actually have a lot of different policy areas they can fine tune."

The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.13 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2351.85 at the close. About five stocks rose for every two that fell on the measure. The CSI 300 Index lost 0.1 percent to 2531.98.

The Shanghai index advanced 0.9 percent last week for a fourth weekly gain, its longest winning streak since July 15.

The measure has rebounded 6.9 percent this year on speculation the central bank will further cut lenders' reserve-requirement ratios to spur growth.

It announced a reduction in reserve ratios on Nov 30, the first cut since 2008, after boosting them and interest rates last year to cool inflation that accelerated to its fastest pace in three years in July.

China will increase policy support in the areas of fiscal and taxation, financial and pricing for the sea-water desalination industry and projects, according to a State Council statement posted on the government's website on Monday.

Shuangliang Eco-Energy jumped 4 percent to 8.24 yuan ($1.31), its highest close since Dec 21. China Gezhouba Group Co added 0.5 percent to 8.14 yuan. Anhui Water Resources Development Co rose 0.7 percent to 13.94 yuan.

China's economic circumstances in January and the first quarter deserve attention, Wen told business executives last week in Beijing, according to reports on the official Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.

Wen's remarks may fuel speculation that the government will soon ease policy to preserve growth in the world's second-biggest economy. New lending missed estimates by 26 percent in January and money supply grew the least in more than a decade, according to data released by the central bank on Friday after the market closed.

Chinese banks extended 738.1 billion yuan of new yuan-denominated loans last month, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page16)

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page16)

Officials consider monetary easing as gains in yen hurt companies

TOKYO - Japan's economy shrank an annualized 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, more than economists estimated, as slumping exports undermined a recovery from last year's record earthquake.

The contraction compared with the median forecast for a 1.3 percent decline in a Bloomberg survey of 26 economists. Growth was a revised 7 percent in the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said in a report on Monday in Tokyo.

The report underscores pressure on Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials meeting on Monday and Tuesday to consider more monetary easing as gains in the yen worsen losses for companies from Sony Corp to Panasonic Corp. At the same time, the world's third-biggest economy may get a boost this quarter from more reconstruction work, fading disruptions from floods in Thailand and signs of improvements in the United States.

"The drop was mainly due to weak exports exacerbated by slowing global demand and the impact of the Thai floods," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp, in Tokyo on Monday. The central bank may reserve more easing for any "excessive yen gains and a deterioration in overseas economies", Maruyama said.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond was little changed at 0.975 percent as of 10:49 am local time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

First-quarter forecast

Junko Nishioka, an analyst at RBS Securities Japan Ltd, forecast that GDP will expand at a 1.6 percent pace this quarter and Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JP Morgan Securities in Tokyo, forecast 1.8 percent growth.

Japanese Economy Minister Motohisa Furukawa cited the Thai floods and a "weak overseas recovery" for the fourth-quarter contraction, adding that the economy will "continue recovering slowly" and is on "an upward swing". "We expect a steady increase in exports on a gradual recovery in the global economy," said Furukawa.

The nation's currency climbed to a postwar record of 75.35 per US dollar on Oct 31, making exports less competitive. It traded at 77.68 as of 10:49 am in Tokyo on Monday.

Net exports, or overseas shipments less imports, subtracted 2.6 percentage points from annualized GDP, the report showed. Capital investment rose at a 7.9 percent pace, the first increase in five quarters, and consumer spending rose 1.2 percent, the third straight advance.

'Severe' condition

BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said last week that the economy is in a "severe" condition because of deflation and gains in the yen. The GDP deflator, a gauge of price trends, fell 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. In nominal terms, GDP contracted an annualized 3.1 percent from the previous quarter.

Furukawa said on Sunday that the central bank may need to improve communication of its stance on prices, after the Wall Street Journal cited an unnamed person as saying that the topic would be considered by officials. So far, the BOJ has avoided setting an explicit inflation target.

On Feb 3, Panasonic, the world's largest maker of plasma televisions, said that it almost doubled its annual loss forecast to a record 780 billion yen ($10 billion) because of the Thailand floods and slowing demand for TVs.

Sony predicts loss

Sony, Japan's largest consumer-electronics exporter, said on Feb 2 that it had widened its full-year net loss forecast to 220 billion yen from the 90-billion-yen loss predicted in November.

First-quarter growth may get a boost as earthquake reconstruction work kicks in, said Masayuki Kichikawa at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co.

Last week, the Japanese Parliament passed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's 2.5 trillion yen recovery package from the earthquake and tsunami, the fourth supplementary budget since the disaster. The government will allocate 300 billion yen for eco-friendly car subsidies as part of its fourth extra budget.

"If exports stop falling as the impact of the flooding in Thailand winds down, overall GDP is likely to return to growth," Kichikawa said before the report.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that Japan's economy will grow 1.7 percent in 2012, compared with a likely 1.8 percent expansion for the US and an estimated 0.5 percent contraction for the eurozone.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page17)

TOKYO - Olympus Corp, the camera maker that admitted to accounting fraud and lost 59 percent of its value last year, predicted an annual loss of 32 billion yen ($412 million), which was worse than analysts' estimates.

The scandal, which broke in October, had no major effect on Olympus' business, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Monday. Analysts from Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank Group estimated a 25.5 billion-yen average loss.

Olympus is considering ways to boost capital after it restated past securities reports and took a $1.3 billion cut in net assets in December.

The world's biggest maker of endoscopes plans a special shareholder meeting on April 20 for investors to vote on new management.

Any decision on a strategic alliance will be determined by a new board, President Shuichi Takayama said last month.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange last month allowed Olympus to keep its stock market listing by fining the company 10 million yen and telling it to submit reports on efforts to improve management.

The exchange put Olympus on a watchlist last year after the company admitted to inflating fees to advisers on the $2.1 billion acquisition of the London-listed Gyrus Group PLC in 2008 and overpaying for three Japanese companies.

The company still faces criminal probes and shareholder lawsuits against executives including Takayama even after purging executives including ex-chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, whom the company found to have been involved in the 13-year loss cover-up scheme.

The company has been reeling since Michael Woodford disclosed inflated takeover costs after he was fired as chief executive officer on Oct 14.

The allegations forced the company to reveal a $1.7 billion scheme to conceal soured investments dating back to the 1990s, which raised concerns among investors and lawmakers over Japan's corporate governance rules.

The company's operating profit will probably decline 6.2 percent to 36 billion yen while its revenue may increase 0.8 percent to 854 billion yen. While the revenue forecast matched estimates, the operating-profit forecast misses the average estimate of 41 billion yen.

Olympus closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,282 yen in Tokyo trading. The stock is down 48 percent since Woodford's dismissal.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page17)

By the end of 2010, the average per capita consumption of pork by Chinese people came to 33.1 kg, an 85 percent increase from 1990. The figure for dairy products, meanwhile, was 11.27 kg, 6.7 times greater than 10 years ago, according to a report by Southwest Securities Co Ltd.

The report said Chinese people are placing a greater priority on their health, which has directly influenced agriculture production and investment activities in the country.

Beijing Century Chestnut Ecological Agriculture Co Ltd, a company that provides eggs and chickens to large Chinese cities, raised 100 million yuan ($15.8 million) last year from a financial consortium led by DT Capital Partners and Tiantu Capital Co Ltd.

Chen Lihui, a financial consultant for the investment and a partner at SSG Capital Ltd, said institutional investors are putting money into Beijing Century Chestnut Ecological Agriculture because it has its own chicken breed and is setting up a comprehensive system to guarantee food safety, making it a brand that will be fairly easy to promote.

"Brands are now important because people are no longer satisfied with simply having enough to eat," Chen said. "More and more they want high-quality food. Having good brand recognition is also important if the company plans to raise money in the capital market."

Chen said the price of high-quality eggs is about 50 percent more than ordinary ones, and he expressed confidence that such products will prove popular in the market.

He said Beijing Century Chestnut also plans to use the money raised to develop high-quality rice, grains and vegetables.

Kunwu Jiuding Capital Co Ltd, a domestic equity-investment company, is also putting 100 million yuan into a food company's rice business. Kunwu Jiuding said it plans to help build a strong brand for the company, which it declined to name.

"An increasing number of agricultural companies are setting up brands, but the costs of working with supermarkets and shops, as well as marketing activities can also be high," Liu Achang, an investment manager at Kunwu Jiuding, said.

He said he and his colleagues are discussing possible brands for the company Kunwu Jiuding has invested in.

A researcher at the strategic investment department of Beijing Xinfadi Agro Co Ltd, the largest wholesale market for farm produce in the capital city, said supermarkets and other retailers pay most attention to the branding of eggs, meat, and dairy products because such foods are more likely to give rise to troubles.

Recently the capital markets have witnessed a fairly large number of investments into the agriculture business. Since 2006, global investment firms such as KKR & Co LP, Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group have invested in the Chinese agriculture sector.

Blackstone led the pack, spending about $600 million on the China Shouguang Agricultural Product Logistic Park. Domestic investment institutions such as CDH Fund and Hony Capital have also made similar investments.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page16)

BEIJING - Analysts said now is not the time for banking regulators to lower the provision-ratio requirements for commercial lenders since lending is still proceeding at a fast pace and banks are trying to expand credit.

Chinese banking regulators are considering loosening a rule requiring lenders to hold a provision equal to 2.5 percent of their outstanding loans, China Business News reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources.

The money held in the provision is meant to cover losses on non-performing loans.

An official at the China Banking Regulatory Commission said the commission is unlikely to lower the provision-ratio requirement because it remains the best means of curbing financial institutions' desire to lend.

"The adoption of such a rule is meant to regulate credit expansion among banks," said Zhao Xijun, a financial professor at Renmin University of China. He said there is enough lending to keep the economy shored up and he sees no need to change the requirement.

"The problem lies in the fact that capital hasn't been lent to the right industries," Zhao said. "So regulators plan to adopt different standards for various categories of lending while maintaining a general policy for all."

In May 2011, the regulatory commission announced rules that set stricter criteria for lenders' capital adequacy, provisions, leverage and liquidity conditions, and set the 2.5 percent provision ratio.

Large banks were given a grace period of two years to comply with the rule, while small and medium-sized lenders got from five to seven years.

Even so, a formal adoption of the rules was postponed in response to the country's economic conditions and looser monetary policies.

At the same time, the regulatory commission demanded a provision coverage ratio of more than 150 percent - meaning the amount of money in lenders' provisions had to be worth one and a half times that of their gross non-performing assets.

According to data from the regulatory commission, the provision ratio for outstanding loans among lenders reached 2.57 percent by the end of the third quarter last year, up by 0.1 percentage point from the beginning of the year. The provision coverage ratio exceeded 270 percent, 53 percentage points higher than at the beginning of the year.

Guo Tianyong, director of the Central University of Finance and Economics' Research Center for the Chinese Banking Industry, said the 2.5 percent provision ratio will put pressure on banks in the long term. That will especially be true, he said, for small and medium-sized lenders.

Lian Ping, chief economist at the Bank of Communications Co Ltd, said systemically important banks, which are believed to be "too big to fail", will have an easier time under the requirement. Non-systemically important lenders, in contrast, will see their credit costs increase at a faster pace.

Fan Wenzhong, head of the regulatory commission's international department, said the CBRC will adopt the regulation in a flexible way and will take other factors into account when deciding if a bank meets the requirement. Lenders with high-quality assets won't be punished if they do not immediately meet the rule, he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page13)

SHANGHAI - A third-tier city in eastern Anhui province has called an abrupt halt to a housing policy that was announced only last week.

The move indicates the central government's determination to keep house-price inflation in check, analysts said.

On Thursday, Wuhu government in Anhui province published a notice on "further improving the living conditions of local residents". In an obvious break from the State's tightening policies, the notice said home purchasers would receive subsidies for the whole year if their newly bought homes were less than 90 square meters in area.

New homes with a gross floor area of between 70 sq m and 90 sq m would garner a subsidy of 50 yuan ($8) per sq m, while new homes less than or equal to 70 sq m would see a subsidy of 150 yuan per sq m.

Furthermore, under the policy, buyers would also be exempt from paying the deed tax for home purchases.

Although the local government denied that the policy was aimed at bailing out the ailing property market, the move triggered wild debate over whether the nation's tightening property policies will be reversed.

However, just three days later, the Wuhu government announced on its website that the policy will "be suspended because related supporting rules are being studied and improved".

"The sudden halting of Wuhu's new policy is related to bad timing, especially after Premier Wen Jiabao recently reiterated the importance of cooling the property market," said Hui Jianqiang, research director of Beijing Zhongfangyanxie Technology Service Ltd, which provides information about the real estate market.

The central government has two goals for the current round of property tightening. One is to return house prices to a reasonable level, and the other is to promote the long-term, steady and sound development of the property market, said the premier at a meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet, in early February.

"Wuhu's short-lived housing policy shows the central government's resolution to eliminate any possibility of pushing property prices higher," said Song Huiyong, a research director with Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd.

"Distributing subsidies to cope with inelastic demand in the local property market will undoubtedly fuel purchasing activity and indirectly jack up property prices," Song added.

Wuhu is not the first city to attempt to slacken the home-purchase restrictions. In October, Foshan, a third-tier city in Guangdong province, became the nation's first city to allow families to buy an additional dwelling, and to make houses that have been owned for more than five years tradable. However, that policy was scrapped just 12 hours after it was announced.

In 2009, China recorded land sales revenue of 1.59 trillion yuan, equal to 48.8 percent of local governments' revenue over the same period, according to a report in the China Securities Journal. The figure reached 2.7 trillion yuan in 2010, or 66.5 percent of the local governments' revenue as they became increasingly reliant on the revenue raised by land transactions, said the report.

However, the central government's tightening policies on the property market are leading to lower prices for most players.

Zhang Hongwei, research director at Shanghai Tongce Real Estate Co Ltd, expected that cash-strapped local governments may implement policies similar to those in Wuhu to loosen the restrictions on home purchases.

In one example, Zhongshan in Guangdong raised its price ceiling for tradable residential properties from 5,800 yuan per sq m to 6,590 yuan per sq m in late January, becoming the first city in China to do so in the Year of the Dragon, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

Of the 61 listed property companies tracked by Oriental Securities Co Ltd, only 10 saw their shares close higher on Monday. China Vanke Co Ltd, the nation's largest property developer by market value, dropped 1.91 percent to close at 7.70 yuan, and China Merchants Property Development Co Ltd fell 2.75 percent to close at 18.36 yuan.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page13)

Bad loans set to be restructured and gradually resolved, experts predict

BEIJING - The China Banking Regulatory Commission is considering long-term extensions of bank loans to local governments, a CBRC official told China Daily on Monday on condition of anonymity.

The official said that policy details would likely be released later this month.

A debt rollover could give the central government breathing space to deal with the huge debt load triggered by stimulus spending during the 2008 global financial crisis, analysts said.

As of the end of 2010, total local government debt stood at 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion), data from the National Audit Office show. About 4.46 trillion yuan was scheduled for repayment this year.

The CBRC declined to say how much local government debt might be rolled over. However, the Financial Times quoted an anonymous source as saying on Sunday that maturing debt might be extended for as much as four years.

Wang Tao, chief economist with UBS AG in China, wrote in an email to China Daily that extensions of local-government debt started last year and "will continue".

According to Wang, about 20 to 30 percent of the total local government debt is unlikely to be repaid, but that might not lead to a massive bailout by the central government.

"The bad debt will be restructured and gradually resolved over the next few years," Wang said. "The authorities may forgo some dividends, use tax cuts and protect banks' interest margins to deal with the bad loans."

Industrial Bank Co Ltd chief economist Lu Zhengwei was not worried about banks' solvency. "The concentration of loan maturity dates is expected to increase the pressure on their cash flow. But local governments still have the ability to pay back the loans."

Local governments' fiscal revenue totaled 5.24 trillion yuan in 2011, according to the Ministry of Finance, which was enough to cover maturing loans.

Also, the value of State-owned enterprise assets is estimated to be as high as 30 trillion yuan, which would be sufficient as collateral for the loan payments, Lu said.

Although the local government debt situation isn't at a stage that would spark a crisis for the world's second-largest economy, the longer the delay in repayment, the heavier the price to be paid by banks and the government, according to analysts.

"Forbearance" on debt repayment might support Chinese banks in the short run, but it could have negative long-term implications, said Liao Qiang, an analyst with rating agency Standard & Poor's Financial Service LLC.

"However, regulators will not just watch local debt platforms collapse," Liao said. "More debt restructuring could emerge in the coming months."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page13)

New guidelines for desalination

The State Council released guidelines on Monday intended to boost the nation's sea water desalination capacity. The country aims to protect water resources and ensure sustainable fresh water supply.

Desalination capacity is set to rise to 2.6 million cubic meters a day as of the end of 2015 from 660,000 cu m last year, a statement on the website of the National Development and Reform said.

China's per capita fresh water resources are about 28 percent of the world average, and about two-thirds of Chinese cities face water shortages.

Bidders for Kingway assets

Domestic brewers, including China Resources Enterprise Ltd and Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd, might bid for the brewery operations of Hong Kong-listed Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

"Many mainland brewers are interested in the assets, including CR Snow, Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd, Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co Ltd and Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Co Ltd," said a source close to the company, declining to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

"Many have asked for additional information, but nothing has been finalized," the source said.

Aluminum output to rise

Aluminum output in China is expected to rise 10.5 percent this year to 21.5 million metric tons, surpassing demand by 200,000 tons, according to Aluminum Corp of China's internal newsletter. A "huge amount" of new capacity additions will hit the domestic aluminum market, while consumption growth is likely to slow to 6.6 percent in 2012 from 11.5 percent last year, Li Dongguang, general manager of the company's international trading unit, wrote in the Feb 11 online edition of Chinalco News.

Futures trade for Sinograin

China Grain Reserves Corp, known as Sinograin, the manager of State grain inventories, is seeking government approval to trade in overseas futures markets, the China Business Journal said on Monday.

Sinograin plans to trade in overseas commodity markets to hedge against its physical market positions and lower risks, the report said, citing unidentified officials close to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Chinalco, Erdos sign agreement

Aluminum Corp of China signed a framework agreement with the local government of Erdos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to build an integrated 500,000-metric-ton aluminum project, the Erdos Daily reported on Saturday.

The company, known as Chinalco, will invest 30 billion yuan ($4.76 billion) to build a coal mine with an annual capacity of 10 million tons, three 350-megawatt power units and a primary aluminum plant, according to the newspaper.

The report didn't provide a timeframe for completion.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page13)

Near-70 percent surge on 2010 sales and figure is expected to continue upward momentum

BEIJING - For the first time, the turnover of China's online luxury goods shopping market has exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) and the market is likely to continue expanding at a year-on-year increase of 30 percent over the next several years, according to a report.

The turnover of the nation's online high-end brands hit an unprecedented 10.73 billion yuan last year, surging sharply by 68.8 percent compared with 2010's sum of 6.36 billion yuan, according to findings released by the Internet analysis company iResearch Inc.

The market will continue to increase at a speed of 30 percent over the next few years, which mean the turnover is likely to hit 37.24 billion yuan by 2015, said the report.

Revenues generated by the luxury goods' direct-sales stores on the Internet were not included in the turnover.

"Current online luxury purchasing was confined to top-class brands such as Hermes, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Many second- and third-tier brands are not yet being sold in China. When they enter the market, online selling would be the best channel for them," said Ding Jiaqi, an analyst at iResearch.

As of last year, the turnover of luxury goods accounted for only 1.41 percent of China's total online shopping industry. The report estimated that the proportion could exceed 8 percent by 2015.

"So far, China's online luxury market remains small. We are waiting for it to explode," Chen Xiao, founder of the luxury goods selling website ihaveu.com, told Chinese-language newsmagazine, China News Weekly.

One of the factors that set back the growth of the nation's online luxury shopping market was the fact choice is limited. Bags, jewelry and watches are the most-bought items, said Ding, who added that greater choice would boost demand.

The nation is likely to become the world's biggest e-commerce market in terms of turnover by 2015, surpassing the United States, said the Boston Consulting Group Inc.

Statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center show that the nation had 173 million online shopping customers as of the first half of last year.

The figure is likely to reach about 350 million by 2014, more than the population of the US.

The total turnover of China's online retail market was 583.5 billion yuan during the first three quarters of last year, according to data from Analysys International.

The US consulting firm Bain & Co said revenues from the luxury market will exceed 100 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland in 2011. The nation is set to become the world's largest luxury goods market in 2012, replacing Japan.

However, the report expresses concern that high tariff and consumption tax could undermine China's luxury market.

Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said that China is willing to reduce import duty, including "some medium to high grade goods". It will be better if people buy high-end goods on the Chinese mainland rather than outside the country, the ministry indicated.

A weak economy will also affect the industry.

In July, xiu.com, one of the biggest luxury goods websites in China, announced that it received financing of up to $100 million in 2011. Its rivals, shangpin.com and vipstore.com, also announced financing plans in the second half of last year.

But according to China Business Journal, the luxury shopping websites are finding it difficult to lure venture capital now, most likely because of uncertain economic prospects.

Wan Donghui, deputy secretary-general at China Electronic Commerce Association, said China's online shopping websites should "take good care of" their credibility because reputation is a "core competitiveness" for Web-based shopping.

Chinese group-buying website gaopeng.com, a joint venture between Groupon Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd, was accused of selling counterfeit Tissot watches in November. On Dec 8, gaopeng.com pledged to offer a full refund to customers who bought a fake Tissot watch.

Research shows men are big fans of shopping for designer goods online.

According to a separate iResearch report, about 65.5 percent of customers of websites that sell high-end goods were male, although across the online shopping industry as a whole they accounted for fewer than 50 percent.

The report also said that about 80 percent of buyers of luxury products were younger than 35, indicating that well-off younger people are the major customers of Internet-based luxury shopping. About 40 percent of China's online customers were aged under 24 in 2011, while about 20 percent of all Chinese shoppers were under that age.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page14)

Topic 1: The National Development and Reform Commission raised the price of gasoline and diesel by 300 yuan ($47.6) a ton on Feb 8 - 0.22 yuan a liter for gasoline and 0.26 yuan a liter for diesel. The commission said global oil prices had already risen and it postponed the price until after the Lantern Festival. The price of oil was lowered by 300 yuan a ton on Oct 9 - the first time it was cut over the past 16 months.

ZIYOU_ZHAO: Oh dear! The price of oil went up again in less than half a year since the price was lowered last time.

LAOFANGSHUSHU: Another oil price hike is coming along for those who rejoice about deciding not to buy a car.

TINA-YA: I'd like to see if there are as many motor vehicles on the roads as there were before the price hike.

SUATIE: It's obvious that automobiles are the transportation vehicles of wealthy people.

Topic 2: Recently, the State Council released a document about promoting employment. According to the document, during the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), China will develop a mechanism for wage increases. The lowest standard for wage growth will be set above 13 percent on average annually. In most regions, the lowest wage will have to be more than 40 percent of local urban employees' average income.

XIAOJUNJUN: I'm wondering whether the policy just applies to civil servants, and employees of foreign enterprises and whether private companies won't enjoy the policy.

SHADOWEVERYWHERE: I don't think the new mechanism of wage increases will help a lot because the growth rate of wages is less than that of commodity prices.

QIANTANGCUNSHE: Wage increase? For my colleagues and me, our wages are experiencing a reduction right now.

All the information is from Sina Weibo.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page14)

The best selling imported business and investing TITLES on amazon.cn

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page14)

BEIJING - China Investment Corp, the nation's sovereign wealth fund, has received a capital injection after it invested almost all of its cash in 2010, said Lou Jiwei, CIC chairman.

In an interview at a Beijing forum on Monday, Lou declined to disclose the amount of the infusion. He said a Caixin Online report that said CIC received $50 billion was "inaccurate".

Almost all of the money in the fund was spent in 2010 as an improving world economy prompted a 10-percent gain in the MSCI World Index, which tracks more than 1,600 stocks, and CIC has been seeking capital from the government for a year.

The country's foreign-exchange reserves, managed by the central bank through the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, dropped for the first time in more than a decade in the fourth quarter.

China's reserves, the largest in the world, fell from $3.2 trillion on Sept 30 to $3.18 trillion on Dec 31 as foreign investment moderated, the trade surplus narrowed and Europe's debt troubles spurred sales of emerging-market assets in the quarter.

CIC received the new capital from the nation's central bank after the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which ended late last month, according to a Feb 10 Caixin report citing an unidentified source. The People's Bank of China will become a new shareholder in the fund, the report said.

According to Lou, European government bonds are not the best purchases for long-term investors such as CIC.

Instead, CIC will look to put money into infrastructure and real industrial projects, Lou added.

"For instance, the European bonds - like the government bonds of Italy and Spain - only central banks with certain responsibilities can invest, you know, for commercial investments, it's very difficult to make such investments for long-term investors like us," Lou said.

"Investment chances may lie in areas like infrastructure and industrial projects, and these projects can help economic recovery."

CIC recently bought a minority stake in the London water supplier Thames Water Utilities Ltd, an early sign that the attempts to drum up foreign investment in Britain's ailing economy may be paying dividends.

CIC was established in 2007 using $200 billion of capital from the Ministry of Finance, which borrowed reserves from the central bank through a bond sale. The fund posted an 11.7-percent return on its overseas investments in 2010, it said in its 2010 annual report.

Its cash and cash equivalents fell by 28 percentage points in 2010 to 4 percent of the fund's global portfolio, CIC said in its 2010 annual report.

Bloomberg News - Reuters

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page15)

Manufacturers urged to boost competitive edge by developing high-end goods

BEIJING - The growth of China's machinery exports will slow this year because of the weakening global economy and increasing protectionism in developed countries, Cai Weici, deputy-president of the China Machinery Industry Federation, said on Monday.

The federation said this year's growth in machinery imports and exports would be about 15 percent each, less than in 2011.

According to the General Administration of Customs, machinery exports rose 24.5 percent last year to $321.8 billion, while imports rose 21.2 percent to $309.4 billion.

Cai said that the growth rate of machinery exports would continue to fall in the coming years.

"Europe is an important market for China's machinery industry, so its economic gloom has led to a shrinking market and lower exports," said Cai.

"Further, increasing trade frictions will worsen the difficulties for exports."

He said that the increase in China's machinery exports in recent years had made some foreign companies feel "threatened" in their domestic markets.

Those concerns had led to trade actions against China, such as recent US anti-subsidy and anti-dumping probes against Chinese wind power equipment producers.

"Chinese companies should be prepared for more trade disputes and learn from them," said Cai. "The central government also needs to work harder on protecting domestic industries when it confronts trade barriers."

"Although we had (an industry) trade surplus of $12.4 billion, it mainly came from the downstream production of the industrial chain," Cai said.

He said Chinese machinery companies should invest more to develop high-end products, which are the "growth sector" but also the segment where global competition will intensify.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the machinery industry accounts for about 19 percent of China's industrial output.

Because of rising costs and an unstable export market, among other factors, the industry's annual profit growth in 2011 sank to 21.1 percent from 55.6 percent a year earlier.

The federation has forecast that profits would only grow about 12 percent this year.

Cai said the number of orders declined throughout 2011. As of the end of last year, the growth rate in orders had fallen to an annual 6 percent, compared with 30 percent in 2010.

The federation has forecast that the industry's output and sales would each grow 18 percent this year, compared with about 25 percent last year and 34 percent in 2010.

Excess domestic supplies will persist this year, according to the federation, adding to companies' difficulties in making a profit.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page15)

Generation Y, also known as the millennials, is the fastest growing segment of the workforce. Raised in a time of global economic prosperity (1974 to 1994), Generation Y is known as the most high-maintenance cohort to ever enter the force. Often dissatisfied with their jobs and employers, these educated and confident youngsters need strong management to bring out their potential. With appropriate guidance and supervision, these energetic and innovative employees could be the key to a company's success and should therefore not be dismissed due to the prevalence of common stereotypes.

Firstly, managers need to tell Generation Y staff what is expected of them in a clear and concise manner. By informing them of how they fit into the big picture, managers can motivate them to work toward an end goal, providing them with a sense of value and belonging. By showing them that success can only be reached through dedication and hard work, Generation Y people can be motivated to apply themselves to every task, enjoying the challenge and craving recognition.

Managers need to fulfill Generation Y members' desire for regular feedback. They hate to be left in the dark and enjoy knowing how they are progressing, even when they are not performing well. As they favor an inclusive style of management, managers should meet with them regularly, giving them pointers on how to improve in a respectful rather than critical manner, thus spreading a sense of positivity throughout the workplace.

Generation Y people expect to be consulted on decisions that affect them. Managers should therefore establish vertical and horizontal communication channels in order to encourage constant discussion throughout the organization. Although they should not be given veto power over decisions, they should still feel that their voice is being heard and that their opinions matter. By demonstrating emotional intelligence, managers will be able to foster a sense of inclusiveness, thus satisfying the desire for collaboration Generation Y people crave. Why should managers care that these up-and-comers are happy? Because satisfied employees perform better, thus resulting in a higher profit margin for the company as a whole.

Finally, managers of Generation Y people must be flexible because the imposition of a rigid schedule is a sure-fire way to deter them from doing what they are told. A work and life balance is vital to them and, as a result, managers should not expect their employees to continuously sacrifice their personal lives for work. Managers should sit down with them to develop a mutually agreeable, flexible, work and life plan so that employees are able to have a full and balanced life, thus reducing work place stress.

(Contact gaoyuan@chinadaily.com.cn for questions and career advice.)

Contributed by Richard Ni, associate director of consumer sales and marketing and HR division at Robert Walters Talent Consulting Ltd China.

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page14)

SHANGHAI - Shanghai is encouraging more foreign companies to set up microfinancing operations, the city's financial authority said on Monday, ahead of the opening of the first such organization in the municipality.

As many small companies have had difficulty borrowing from mainstream banks since last year, amid global weakness and tight monetary policy, demand for loan companies has grown.

Fan Yongjin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Office of Finance Service, said the Hong Kong-based United Asia Finance Ltd had received approval to set up a joint venture lending firm in Shanghai, the first microloan company in the city with an overseas investor.

Other financial institutions from Hong Kong, and some from France, have also expressed interest or made preparations to open a loan branch, Fan said.

To be approved to conduct such business in Shanghai, an applicant must have experience and standing in the microloan industry, Fan said.

Earlier reports said that UAF, a member company of Sun Hung Kai & Co Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed company, will hold 70 percent of the equity in the new lending company.

However, a senior official at UAF's Shenzhen branch said that no decision had been reached yet.

"We just got permission to open this company, so how much of a share UAF is going to take, and the specific services it will offer, are still unknown," said the official.

UAF opened the first microlending company in Shenzhen in 2007. Without collateral or a guarantor, the company can lend 600,000 yuan ($95,000) to small companies or individuals.

Overseas banks and financial institutions have become increasingly interested in China's small-loan business. Since last year, several lenders backed by overseas capital have opened in second-tier cities, including Dalian, Chongqing, Wuhan and Shenyang.

In April, Fullerton Credit Services Co, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Temasek Holdings, became the first wholly foreign-owned capital loan company to set up a chain of branches in Wuhan. It serves small companies with annual sales below 60 million yuan.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises create about 80 percent of the country's jobs, and pay a lot of taxes, but they usually have trouble borrowing from banks, which prefer larger companies, especially State-owned enterprises.

The State Council said earlier this month that China would accelerate the development of small financial institutions.

The nation would also ease restrictions on the use of private capital, foreign capital and funds from international organizations in the establishment of financial institutions of this type, the council said, to relieve the financing problems faced by many of the smaller companies.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/14/2012 page15)

WASHINGTON DC / BRUSSELS - The 40th anniversary of former US president Richard Nixon's historic trip to China is only a week away on Feb 21. Yet Brent Scowcroft celebrated his part in it six weeks ago.

A member of the advance team sent to prepare for Nixon's trip, Scowcroft landed in Beijing on New Year's Day, 1972.

Having served in three administrations and witnessed the ups and downs of the bilateral relationship, the 86-year-old firmly believes that the US policy on China is one of the most successful American foreign policies of the past 40 years.

Scowcroft is expected to meet Xi during a meeting shortly after his arrival on Monday. Former US senior government officials, including Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Madeleine Albright and Henry Paulson will also join the meeting.

"Since 1972, every American president, Republican or Democrat, some of them starting out with very different views of China, has come to the same conclusion that broadening and deepening the relationship with China is in the US national interest," said Scowcroft, who served as the National Security Adviser under President Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush and later as chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under George W. Bush.

In Scowcroft's eyes, that conclusion remains the same today despite the fact that China is very different from 1972.

"Now the world is more complicated and the relationship is more complicated. We have different perspectives, different history and different cultures, so we have a lot to do to understand each other," Scowcroft told China Daily.

"As China grows, our countries run into each other in more places and over more issues in the world. The world itself is getting more complex," he said.

The history of the US in the past 100 years is also very different from the history of China in that period, and that gives the two peoples different psychological perspectives on the world and how to behave, according to Scowcroft.

The retired Lieutenant General does not believe that the US and China have fundamental problems and irreconcilable differences. He believes the best way to address differences is to have sincere discussions on major issues affecting the world and find out each other's views on them.

"Then we will identify places where our interests are common, where we don't know and where they differ, and if they differ, how to reconcile these differences. I think that's the way we should proceed," he said.

To Scowcroft, the US and China don't have to agree on everything in order to have a good and solid relationship. "Understanding is the important thing, not agreeing," he said.

"And that is one of the reasons why I think Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit is so important," he added.

Pierre Defraigne, executive director of the Brussels-based think tank The Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation, told China Daily that the visit of the Chinese vice president to the US represents a major event in China-US relations.

Although the trip appears to be a routine first meeting between leaders, it would help the two powers to "lower the temperature" of numerous ongoing conflicts in their relationship, Defraigne said.

Tao Wenzhao, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Xi's expected visit to Pentagon is of crucial importance as it will give both sides a good chance to "greater clarify their own strategic priorities".

"The mutual lack of trust is most evident in defense affairs," said Tao.

With his vast experience in the US military and national security matters, Scowcroft also applauds Xi's planned visit to Pentagon.

"Diplomats understand each other and business people understand each other much better than our two militaries," he said.

The weaker military aspect of the relationship is "placing limits" on the overall development of China-US relations, Tao claimed.

"That is not good because it's easy to demonize someone you don't know. That's why I think military-to-military discussions are very important to reduce friction," Scowcroft said.

To Scowcroft, confrontation will happen mostly through misunderstanding and misinterpretation of motives. That is why he believes the more the two countries understand one another, the more they can reduce the possibility of a crisis developing.

Scowcroft dismisses the notion of a zero-sum game being played between the two countries.

"In my view, it's simply not right for people to think that gains in China mean deficits for the US and gains in the US are deficits for China," said Scowcroft, adding that, despite all the challenges, he remains optimistic about the relationship.

He said he hopes China will play a more active role in world affairs, whether or not they directly affect China's interests.

Having assisted President Obama in choosing his national security team, Scowcroft describes the current administration's China policy as "generally successful and going reasonably well", noting that both countries have their own national policies and public opinion to worry about.

"We have to get beyond those and look fundamentally at what it takes to understand each other better in order for us to work together more closely," he said.

Zhang Yunbi in Beijing contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page3)

BEIJING - The agricultural ministries of China and the United States are to boost levels of cooperation to benefit mutual development, it was reported on Sunday.

Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu announced the move in an interview with Xinhua News Agency prior to Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit to the US.

Agriculture was one of the first areas in which China and the US began to cooperate, as both were large agricultural producers and viewed it as a vital and basic industry, said Han.

After 30 years, a solid foundation has been laid, with extensive exchange and cooperation programs at all levels, he added.

According to Han, the agricultural ministries of both countries will increase cooperation in the areas of food safety, sustainable development, agricultural trade, and science and technology.

This will create opportunities for closer ties between agricultural enterprises and joint research projects.

China and the US have effectively worked together on crop plantation, stock raising, fisheries, research and education, food processing and distribution, he explained.

The two nations have launched more than 500 exchange programs since they established the working group on agricultural science and technology cooperation in 1980, involving around 3,000 experts.

Han said the rapid growth in bilateral agricultural trade had resulted in an improved restructuring of the industry and increased agricultural production in both countries.

The volume of agricultural trade between the two nations has increased from $4.1 billion in 2001 to $24.5 billion in 2010, with an average annual growth of 22 percent, according to official statistics.

In 2010, China imported $18.6 billion of agricultural produce from the US. This accounted for 13 percent of US total agricultural exports, said Han, making China its biggest market.

The growing challenges posed by food security and climate change have also encouraged greater cooperation between the two agricultural industries, Han added.

Since its reform and opening-up, China has attracted and made use of foreign capital to step up construction of a modern agricultural industry, he said.

Han said the sustainable development of agricultural cooperation had benefited from the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and the Joint Commission on Agriculture, which had its fourth meeting in 2011.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page3)

PRETORIA, South Africa - Nelson Mandela's face will feature on all South Africa's bank notes to honor the former president's role in fighting apartheid, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.

The announcement coincides with the 22nd anniversary of Mandela's release from prison after serving 27 years in jail for his opposition to white-only rule.

"It is a befitting tribute to a man who became a symbol of this country's struggle for freedom, human rights and democracy," Zuma said.

"With this humble gesture, we are expressing our deep gratitude as the South African people, to a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity worldwide."

News on Friday that Zuma would make an announcement of "national importance", along with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus, spooked the market and sent the rand tumbling as much as 2.6 percent on the day. Marcus apologized for the confusion.

The new notes featuring Mandela, who became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, will be in circulation by the end of the year.

The frail 93-year-old has not been seen in public since the closing ceremony of the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg in July 2010.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page10)

MONROVIA, Liberia - The beat is infectious US-style hip hop but the rhymes come straight from the streets of Monrovia, a city which for years has had very little to sing about.

In a soundproof recording booth in the center of Liberia's teeming capital, sweat beads on the forehead of 30-year-old Jonathan Koffa - aka Takun J - as he spits out a stream of improvised lyrics into a microphone.

Koffa is one of the founding fathers of "hipco", a homegrown musical mash-up of hip hop and the Liberian "colloquial" English.

In a nation still reeling from years of conflict and with a high rate of illiteracy, it's a style of music that's speaking to the young people of Liberia in words they understand.

"We had just come from war and people just wanted to cancel the stress and just dance and wanted to hear something different - and we relate to one another easily with hipco" said Koffa, smoothing a narrow goatee that sits low under his chin in the style of US rapper Snoop Dog.

The on-off 14-year civil war in the West African nation left around a quarter of a million people dead - but also deprived an entire generation of an education and of a chance to engage with Liberia's music scene.

Only now, with the relatively stable government of Africa's first and only elected female head of state, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is the continent's oldest republic beginning to show its creative colors.

And with the help of new radio stations, and the limited but expanding use of mobile phones and the Internet, hipco is leading the charge.

Every inch the hip hop artist with wide-rimmed black baseball cap, baggy T-shirt and thick silver chain, Koffa recalls a time when rapping wasn't quite so easy.

His first hipco song in 2007, Policeman Coming, attacked police corruption with the lyrics: The policeman can take sides when he see money / The policeman not fair, policeman not right / Policeman judge your case, brother you'll be scared...

"People understood what I was saying in the song - every five minutes they (police) beat me and chased me and sent me to jail."

The music bridges the gap between the much-admired symbols of US culture and young Liberians for whom the bling, cars and cash seen in hip hop videos is as foreign as the bright lights of downtown Manhattan.

Liberia was founded in 1847 by freed US and Caribbean slaves and the links remain strong - not least in the red and white stripes of the national flag.

"People tried to do their music like the Americans but we're not American so we came out with this hipco stuff which is our own way of talking to Liberian people," Koffa said.

"I'm from the streets and I write about the people who have been neglected and rejected, who feel they cannot make it in society and so that's why we write these songs."

Koffa no longer gets locked up for the lyrics he writes and recent songs like Six Jue and Who Make You Cry talk more about relationships than running from the police.

But while he dreams of fame, wealth remains out of reach.

In a country of mass unemployment and with more than 60 percent living below the poverty line, few can afford to buy music on tape or CD.

"We are just young people trying to build a career in this industry but there is no money in it," said 33-year-old Hazem Harb, co-owner of the HOTT FM radio station, and part-time promoter for Takun J and other hipco artists.

Harb made 10,000 copies of his first hipco compilation CD, giving most of them away.

"We're still trying to figure out how to make money out of this music - now we're just getting the buzz out there, we're not concerned about money. But I will tell you that if you come here after one maybe two years or even where you come from, you will hear the music from right here in Liberia."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page10)

Editor's Note: China Daily reporter Li Lianxing looks at how Chinese businesses in Egypt view their future

SUEZ, Egypt - Chinese companies in Egypt are confident in the economy and investment future in Egypt, saying its political reshuffle might offer a chance for foreign investment.

"The political change of the Egyptian government is a domestic issue that will hardly affect foreign investment," said Han Ruihua, executive manager of Egypt-TEDA Suez Industrial Park.

"Whoever takes the leading role in the coming government, and also ordinary Egyptians, will realize the importance of reviving its economy," Han said.

"Egypt has a relatively lower cost of energies such as oil, gas and electricity; its high unemployment rate needs more job opportunities; it is located in the pivotal region among Africa, Europe and Asia, its market is enormous; and fundamental industries in this country are in dire need," he said.

Although the situation in Egypt, with a new government on the way, is not "stable", the Industrial Park, officially established in 2009, will welcome a new contract from China worth $223 million. This is just the first part of a three-phase project, according to an official with the Jushi Group Co Ltd, a manufacturer and promoter of China's fiberglass industry.

The official said the three-phase investment is worth $700 million and is expected to be ready in the next few years.

As economic development modes in the two countries are highly complementary, labor-intensity and energy-hungry industries that are finding it increasingly difficult to operate in China could take Egypt as an ideal choice, according to Han.

Han said the development presents both challenges and opportunities.

"As the new government is about to declare favorable policies to boost its economy, Chinese investors should join the plan as soon as possible," Han said.

"The first 18 days after Jan 25, 2011, were intense, and we were even afraid of going out and had to rely on the food supplied by local staff," he said. "But actually across the whole year, companies in our park in a general sense all increased their profits and we rarely heard that any foreign investment was opposed by locals."

"Although the turbulence in the past year brought low efficiency and some personnel change in the government, Egyptian officials generally have a quite positive attitude toward our investment and development here," he added.

Located on the west bank of the Suez Canal, the Suez Industrial Park is one of the five industrial parks jointly set up by China and African countries based on agreements reached at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006. The park now has 40 companies and factories, including 26 investment entities and 16 service companies.

The industrial park, which is worth $300 million, covers a wide range of industries including machinery, motorcycles, textiles, energy-saving bulbs and women's sanitary products.

Some companies were affected by the turbulence in 2011. For example, sales at a motorcycle factory in the park waned last year as it required immediate payment after purchase to ensure financial security amid the social turmoil. The policy ended up scaring away many clients.

Muyang is a machinery manufacturer from eastern China's Jiangsu province that is considering joining the park. It's still weighing the current security situation in Egypt after a number of robbery and theft cases were reported in other industrial parks last year.

Sino Tharwa Drilling Company, which works in Egypt's pillar oil industry, had its operation disrupted on a number of occasions by staff calling for wage increases.

"Actually, the majority of employees soon realized that the pay was already above the average level, and the complaints didn't last long," said Li Zhigang, the company's general manager.

Sino Tharwa Drilling Company witnessed slow but consistent development last year. "We even extended our business from land to sea when we constructed a marine drilling platform in 2011," said Li said.

Supported by the Ministry of Petroleum, the company was previously directed by the ministry, and some officials would attend the executive board meeting, which would complicate the whole process of the business.

"After the revolution, the management system of the company became more standardized, so the company is running according to market rules and the bureaucratic procedures were greatly reduced," he said.

Despite factors that may affect the development of the Egyptian economy, the changes in Egypt are a chance for new companies to join the nation's oil market and break the traditional Western monopoly, Li said.

"As we have extended our business to the sea, we are seeking to become a more comprehensive service company that is not only drilling but is involved in more technological innovation," he added.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page11)

MALE, Maldives - Ousted Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed on Sunday rejected a US call for compromise and dismissed proposals for a unity government to end political unrest in the Indian Ocean nation.

Nasheed, who insists he was removed in a coup, told supporters overnight in the capital Male that he would press for snap elections instead of recommending his party consider a coalition with his former deputy who succeeded him.

"We want an election and we will campaign for it," Nasheed told large, cheering crowds, who later dispersed peacefully.

Nasheed said his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) did not accept the new government as legitimate.

He also repeated his calls for an independent investigation into the alleged coup that toppled him and he accused the police and military of carrying out arrests of MDP supporters and those linked to his administration.

His remarks came after US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Robert Blake spoke out against snap polls and asked both sides to make "compromise."

New Maldives President Mohamed Waheed Hussain Manik said on Saturday he was open to an inquiry into how he took office.

Diplomats from the United States, Britain, India, the United Nations and the Commonwealth have been pressing for an independent inquiry after former president Nasheed quit office on Tuesday.

"I have heard calls for an independent inquiry into the events that preceded my assumption of the presidency," said Waheed, who met Blake on Saturday. "I am open to those suggestions," he told reporters.

Nasheed says he was forced out at gunpoint by mutinying police and soldiers, while Waheed says Nasheed resigned freely.

On Friday Nasheed threatened mass street protests unless his successor stepped aside and handed power to the parliament speaker until new elections are held in two months. The next elections are due in October 2013. Nasheed remains free despite an arrest warrant against him, issued, he says, by the same judge he ordered the military to arrest on the grounds he was illegally blocking multi-million dollar graft cases.

The judge's Jan 16 arrest sparked three weeks of protests which culminated in Tuesday's mutiny of police and soldiers.

Maldives, a chain of 1,192 islands, is home to around 330,000 Sunni Muslims, and annually receives about three times as many visitors to its luxury resorts.

On Addu atoll, a southern island chain with 30,000 people, calm appeared to have returned after police retaliated against Nasheed supporters who rampaged and destroyed police stations and other government buildings.

Five people Reuters spoke to reported being assaulted by police and soldiers, and being detained for a few hours. Most bore bruises and visible signs of assault.

"My face was pushed into the ground, they walked on my back, pulled me up and I put my hands up and they began to beat me," said Muaz Haleem, a Nasheed supporter.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page11)

United States

Narrow victory for Romney in Maine

Mitt Romney eked out a narrow win in Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced, providing his campaign for the party's presidential nomination a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week.

The former Massachusetts governor defeated Ron Paul, the only other Republican hopeful competing in the state.

Japan

Emperor to undergo heart surgery

Japanese Emperor Akihito will undergo heart bypass surgery on Saturday, after a detailed examination found a heart problem had worsened, the Imperial Household Agency was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Kyodo news agency said the emperor, 78, had undergone an angiogram on Saturday, which showed that blood vessels had narrowed over the past year.

AP - Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page12)

And the theory going around - amid the din of shouted exchange rates - is that Afghanistan's rich are preparing again to shift their money and lives from the country over fears of chaos or civil conflict after foreign troops leave.

"The money will all go out of Afghanistan. It is always like that. As soon as the foreign soldiers leave all the problems come back,"said money changer Hajji Asadullah, gripping bundles of US dollar bills, Gulf currencies and tattered local Afghani notes.

Three years from the end of NATO combat missions and a total transfer to local security, Afghan officials are thinking hard about how to stop the flight of hard currency like dollars or euros that usually happens when nervousness overtakes their countrymen.

"It is the main topic of conversation now," said Naseem Akbar, who heads Afghanistan's Investment Support Agency and whose job is to lure investment.

"The worry is about the country going into crisis, and parallel to that is that from now until 2014 we must work out how to avoid such a calamity."

A US government audit report last year found it was almost impossible to track where much of the billions of dollars spent on security and development projects in the last decade had gone given the country's dysfunctional financial tracking system and poor bank oversight.

Wealthy Afghans have for years locked their money into safe havens and property elsewhere, with Dubai and its man-made Palm Jumeirah island being favored locations, with an estimated $8 billion stashed away in the Arab emirate.

But Haji Sher Shah Ahmadzai, the millionaire owner of a group of construction companies in Kabul, said property prices at home jumped by 15 percent at the start of last year after foreigners pledged to support Afghanistan well beyond 2014.

Confidence however began leaching away with the September assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who headed an Afghan peace council trying to launch talks with the Taliban.

It took a further blow as the United States, the Taliban and the Afghan government circle each other over possible peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, which could eventually see the austere Islamists return to Kabul as a political force.

"A flat cost around $220,000 months ago, but now it costs around $140,000 because of the uncertain situation," Ahmadzai said in his plush, heavily-guarded office in the upmarket Wazir area of central Kabul.

Hardly any Afghans expect the Taliban to be strong enough to again rule the country by force, but memories of past brutality are enough to worry people about their influence, even as President Hamid Karzai tries to reassure his country.

In 2009, ahead of the last Afghan election, millions of dollars - much of questionable origin - made its way out of the country in suitcases and even on pallets loaded into aircraft, according to police at Kabul's main Airport.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page10)

HAVANA - Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro held his second lengthy public event in a week, this time a nine-hour session with writers and intellectuals, Cuban state media said on Saturday, showing he is doing well after serious health problems.

A story on the government website Cubadebate.cu described the meeting in which representatives from 22 countries discussed topics ranging from the sad state of the world, as Castro views it, to the 85-year-old's health.

"We have to fight. We can't let pessimism win. It's our duty," he was quoted as saying.

The story said that everyone was "impressed by the vitality and enthusiasm of Fidel", and that those who spoke congratulated him "for his visible recovery".

The session was part of Havana's annual international book fair.

A week ago, Cuban media reported on a six-hour appearance where the man who ruled Cuba for 49 years pitched a new two-volume biography of his early life, called Guerrilla of Time.

Cuban television showed a videotape of that appearance and in which Castro had to be helped to his chair, but was energetic, witty and totally in control of a rapt audience.

Cubadebate.cu had numerous photos of Friday's event, but so far no video has been shown.

Castro took power in January 1959 and was famous for speeches that went on for hours. But he had to cede power provisionally to brother Raul Castro, 80, in July 2006 when he fell ill with intestinal problems.

He stepped down officially in February 2008 and Raul Castro succeeded him as president.

He was out of the public eye for four years before reappearing in the summer of 2010, but has stayed mostly in the background.

Before these latest two events, he was last seen publicly at a Communist Party congress in April.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page11)

LONDON - British police threw Rupert Murdoch's scandal-hit News Corporation into fresh turmoil on Saturday by arresting five senior staff at the top-selling daily The Sun in a probe into journalists paying police for tip-offs.

The move is part of a wider investigation into illegal news gathering practices that has rocked Britain's political, media and police establishments and last year prompted the closure of the Sun's sister Sunday title, the News of the World.

Saturday's arrests came after the company passed information to the police, a move that infuriated staff and sparked talk of a witch hunt among journalists by a proprietor who previously celebrated their work.

Murdoch is due in London this week and is set to meet staff, a source familiar with the situation said.

Four current and former Sun staff had already been arrested last month, and the latest detentions raise questions about the viability of Britain's best selling daily.

News International Chief Executive Tom Mockridge sent a memo to staff saying: "I have had a personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish the Sun newspaper."

Sun Editor Dominic Mohan said he was "as shocked as anyone by today's arrests" but determined to keep fulfilling the paper's "duty to serve our readers".

The source said the arrests included the Sun's deputy editor, picture editor, chief reporter and two other senior staff. Police said a serving police officer was among a total of eight people arrested on Saturday and later released on bail.

The source said a defense ministry employee and a member of the armed forces were the others. The ministry declined comment.

The current staff who were arrested in January have been suspended by the paper, and the same fate is likely to await those arrested on Saturday.

As no production staff have been arrested, the company should be able to get a paper published on Monday. Staff who were not due to work over the weekend volunteered their services to make sure the paper was produced, said a second source close to the situation.

Both sets of arrests resulted from information from News Corp's Management and Standards Committee (MSC), a fact-finding group the firm set up in a bid to rescue its reputation.

The MSC is working alongside up to 100 personnel from top law firms as well as forensic advisers and computer experts searching through more than 300 million e-mails, expense claims, phone records and other documents. Some 15 or 20 police are embedded with the team.

According to people familiar with the work of the MSC, the project could take at least another 18 months. Piles of paperwork that cannot fit in the offices are stored in warehouses at another, secret location.

"The MSC provided the information to the 'Elveden' investigation which led to today's arrests ... News Corporation remains committed to ensuring that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past will not be repeated," News Corp said in a statement.

Murdoch shut the hugely popular News of the World last year after a public outcry over revelations that its reporters hacked the voicemail messages of celebrities and victims of crime.

He had hoped the newspaper's closure would draw a line under allegations of malpractice, but the arrests of Sun staff have renewed speculation over the future of his newspapers, with rival publications warning of a "crisis" and "staff in uproar".

Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page11)

He made the statement in a televised address to the nation ahead of the vote on 3.3 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in wage, pension and job cuts - the price of a 130-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Papademos said parliament had a historic responsibility to back the bill, or face catastrophic consequences if Greece misses a March 20 deadline to service its debt.

"A disorderly default would set the country on a disastrous adventure," he said. "It would create conditions of uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion."

"The country would be drawn into a vortex of recession, instability, unemployment and protracted misery and this would sooner or later lead the country out of the euro."

On a day of dire warnings and stormy debate, leaders of the ruling coalition told uneasy lawmakers on Saturday to support the bill or be dropped from party lists for an election that could come by April.

Athens faces a March 20 deadline to meet debt repayments of 14.5 billion euros. If the rescue package is put in place, its private sector creditors will have to accept a 70 percent reduction in the value of their holdings.

The effort to ease Greece's huge debt burden has brought thousands into the streets in protest, and there are signs of a small rebellion among lawmakers made nervous by the extent of the cuts and by how voters might punish them in the next election.

At least 20 deputies from the two main parties in the Papademos coalition threatened on Saturday to vote "No" - but the bulk of the coalition's 236 MPs are still all but certain to approve the package.

Six members of his cabinet have resigned. More demonstrations are expected in front of the parliament on Sunday, after clashes between police and protesters on Friday.

The assembly's finance committee approved the bill on Saturday. Sunday's debate in the full 300-seat chamber started at 2 pm, and a vote is expected late in the evening (Monday, Beijing time).

The measures include 300 million euros in pension cuts and a 22 percent reduction in the minimum wage, which currently stands at about 750 euros per month.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page12)

With Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, DC, there is hope that a new face will usher in a new era in Sino-US relations.

The simple truth is that the US and China have had few reasons to celebrate their relationship since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Efforts to cooperate on issues as wide-ranging as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, climate change and Iran have fallen well short of full cooperation. Different priorities, approaches and values often undermine the best intentions on both sides. The result is a bilateral relationship that is characterized above all by uncertainty, mistrust and frequent friction.

There is a path forward, but it will necessitate a reorientation in the perspectives of leaders in both countries. First, both sides need to acknowledge that they are unlikely to find themselves aligned closely on most issues. In some cases, the difference will be a matter of degree. For example, while Washington and Beijing agree on certain issues against Iran, they don't agree on how broadly encompassing the sanctions should be.

In other cases, the differences will be more profound, as when the US and China found themselves on opposite sides of the recent draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria. There may even be instances in which we find ourselves actively at cross-purposes, such as in the South China Sea, where China's moves have run up against opposition from some of its neighbors and a consequent enhanced US presence.

Recognizing and admitting openly the differences is the only way to begin developing policies that will either mitigate the potential for serious conflict or expand the opportunities for real cooperation.

Second, perhaps counter-intuitively, both sides should de-emphasize the potential import of the relationship. While talk of a "G2" has subsided, there is still a tendency to raise unrealistic expectations of what the bilateral relationship can accomplish. De-emphasizing the relationship might also help avoid placing issues into a bilateral context when they don't belong there. In fact, most issues should not be understood in the context of the US-China relationship. The decision of Myanmar's president to halt construction of the Myitsone dam or to undertake the first steps toward political reform, for example, is not usefully understood as an issue between the US and China, although it affects both countries.

Similarly, as China becomes more engaged in Afghanistan, there has been a tendency to place Afghanistan in the cross hairs of the US-China relationship to no good effect. The extent to which both China and the US view the bilateral relationship - as one among many bilateral relationships - will help reduce the pressure on the relationship to shoulder more than it can bear.

Third, China and the US must also make an effort to be the standard-bearers for multilateral institutions. Institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) help constrain the worst excesses and impulses of both economic powers and provide an impartial arena for the adjudication of disputes. The rules-based system thrives on understanding that you win some and you lose some.

Fourth, the US and China should identify a long-term common objective that will force both sides to engage deeply and continuously, as they did during China's WTO accession process.

Given the increasing economic stake both countries have in each other, one possibility might be a free trade agreement or bilateral investment treaty, both of which have been proposed by senior US business leaders. Such agreements are likely to take years to negotiate. However, the ongoing talks would force a certain discipline on both sides, offer clear benefits for powerful actors in both countries and provide the potential for meaningful accomplishment.

Finally, as the US and China work to establish themselves as credible leaders in the international community, each has at least one serious deficit to overcome. The US must ensure that it practices what it preaches. Whether on climate change or fiscal responsibility, the US cannot urge others to adopt best practices if it does not have its own house in order. And for China to be an effective global leader, it needs to increase transparency, improve the rule of law and enhance official accountability.

I hope, along with most Americans, that the visit of Xi Jinping will mark the beginning of a more cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship. A more realistic appreciation of both the real challenges and opportunities the relationship confronts will help both China and the US find their way forward.

The author is a senior fellow at and director of Asia Studies in US-based nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank Council on Foreign Relations.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page9)

The minimum wage in the country will be raised by at least 13 percent a year during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), according to a State Council special employment promotion plan. The plan stipulates that the minimum wage should be increased to at least 40 percent of an average citizen's income.

Domestic demand cannot be boosted without setting up a rational wage-increment mechanism and a supporting institutional framework. And since the State Council's plan envisages both, it should also be seen as part of the efforts to transform the existing economic development model.

Only when people have enough disposable income will their consumption level increase. The plan rightly lays emphasis on increasing workers' wages, but it is impossible to maintain demand and consumption levels without fair distribution of national wealth.

Statistics show that per capita income in rural areas last year was 6,977 yuan ($1,107), compared to 23,979 yuan in cities. Besides, the average annual disposable income of urban residents is only 21,810 yuan, far from enough to boost consumption.

The consumer price index (CPI) in January increased by 4.5 percent year-on-year, higher than the predicted 4 percent. If the increase of workers' real income is not higher than the inflation, their purchasing power will actually decline.

Wealthy people are not sensitive to the CPI because they have many more sources of income than wage earners.

Studies show that in 1985, the income of the richest group was 2.9 times that of the lowest, but the gap widened to 8.9 in 2009. Some experts think that the real gap is much wider, though.

The lower an average worker's wage, the wider will be the income gap. And if more of the national wealth goes to the rich, the higher will be the chances of it flowing overseas. For example, well-off Chinese spent about $7.2 billion abroad during just the Spring Festival holiday.

So the State Council's plan may not reach its goal if the wealth gap is not narrowed and prices are not controlled.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page8)

Vice-President Xi Jinping's five-day official visit to the United States from Monday starts this year's high-level interactions between China and the US.

Both countries have attached great importance to Xi's visit, because it is meant to further advance their cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. The new tone for China-US ties was set by President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama when Hu paid a state visit to the US at the beginning of last year.

Xi is expected to settle the details of bilateral relations with US officials so that the two sides can fulfill the commitments they have made and expand their ties further.

China-US relations have progressed beyond imagination and the friendship between peoples of the two countries has deepened greatly since Xi's last visit to the US 27 years ago. That the average one-day bilateral trade volume is more than $1.2 billion today is just one proof for that.

Xi is expected to discuss bilateral ties, and international and regional issues of common concern with high-ranking US officials, including Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In-depth consultations will help each country understand where the other stands and pave the way for better cooperation.

Xi's visit is also expected to convey to the American leaders China's concerns over politicization of bilateral trade, including restrictions on the export of US high-tech products to China and the obstacles Chinese companies face when it comes to investing in the US. Needless to say that both sides will benefit from their removal.

We hope that Xi's visit helps strengthen mutual confidence between Beijing and Washington and make their interactions smoother.

US arms sales to Taiwan and its attempt to contain China in the Asia-Pacific region are two major factors preventing the deepening of China-US ties. More face-to-face interactions between leaders of the two countries and between the two peoples are needed to remove the "trust deficit". Therefore, the two sides should use Xi's visit to acquaint themselves with each other's sensitivities.

Given that Sino-US ties are important for the rest of the world, too, Beijing and Washington should effectively coordinate over pressing issues such as the global financial crisis, climate change, the Korean Peninsula denuclearization issue, the Iranian nuclear crisis and the Syrian question.

We hope Xi is able to convince the American leaders and people that the only way to move forward is cooperation and respect for each other's interests, for that is the trend of the times. And we believe that Xi's visit to the US will be a great success.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page8)

US must honor 'One China' principle and China's sovereignty, and both sides should dispel hegemony for the benefit of all

Forty years ago, China and the US made epoch-making contact when former US president Richard Nixon paid an unprecedented visit to China at Beijing's invitation.

At that time, the two powers were entangled ideologically and strategically, and Beijing and Washington were confronting various issues ranging from Taiwan to Vietnam. Both were strategically mired - China was plagued by internal chaos and the US was deeply trapped in Southeast Asia.

However, China and the US both faced the common threat of Soviet expansionism. The Soviets stationed 1 million troops along China's northern border, and the US felt no less security pressure because of the Soviet military presence in East and Central Europe as well as the West Pacific.

In 1971, the two countries seized the chance to engage in what has become known as Ping-Pong diplomacy, when the 31st International Tournament of Table Tennis in Nagoya, Japan, presented the opportunity for China to invite the US team to visit the People's Republic. The success of their visit, and the subsequent visit to the US by a Chinese team, precipitated former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger's secretive trip to Beijing that fall, followed by Nixon's historic visit across the Pacific in the chilly February of 1972, which consequently reshaped the world political landscape.

Nixon's visit attained its climax when China and the US issued their famous Shanghai Communiqu. Since its inception, this communiqu has formed the cornerstone of contemporary Sino-US relations, and is a foundation for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Though four decades have elapsed, its spirit has continued to inspire the successive generations of both nations to carry on its legacy.

Through the Shanghai Communiqu, China and the US succeeded, in the early 1970s, in forging a strategic consensus between the two countries to jointly seek peace and stability by countering hegemony. Despite their vast ideological gap, China and the US agreed that they shared fundamental interests in peace and stability in the region and aspired to collaborate toward this end.

With the Shanghai Communiqu, China and the US successfully demonstrated the wisdom of their diplomacy by openly agreeing to disagree. The document allowed each party to elucidate its distinct Asia-Pacific policies. It comes as no surprise that after confronting each other for more than two decades, China and the US disagreed on various issues and how they should be handled.

The world has experienced a sea change since the Shanghai Communiqu, and the threat of the Soviet Union, which brought China and the US together, has disappeared. However, the spirit of the Shanghai Communiqu has continued and China and the US have continued to cooperate to counter new common threats such as terrorism, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the global financial crisis.

The world today is much different from what it was 40 years ago. In addition to the demise of Soviet Union, the Vietnam War that used to divide China and the US has ended, and since the late 1970s China has embarked on its path of reform and opening-up and reaped remarkable economic achievements through international collaboration.

However, the Shanghai Communiqu left the issue of the US arms sales to Taiwan unresolved, and, though both China and US stressed the "One China" principle in it and the two following communiqus, the US has continued to intervene in China's domestic affairs by selling weapons to the island, which harms trust-building between China and the US.

After Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit to the US, overall bilateral relations will be much broader and deeper than they were 40 years ago. China and the US are now collaborating on a more balanced footing on various regional and global matters. Nevertheless, the lack of satisfactory political trust impairs their deep engagement and in fact ferments mutual hedging at the regional and global levels.

While commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqu, great leadership is needed to further substantiate the communiqu. The US should honor the "One China" principle and fully respect China's sovereignty, and both nations should open a new page in their relations by having the courage to dispel hegemony for the common good of all.

The author is a professor and director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page8)

That 1.3 billion is greater than 13 is a matter of common sense for ordinary people, but not for some "human rights fighters". Since the beginning of 2012, some Western politicians, diplomats and "observers" have made an issue out of the suffering of individual Chinese and pointed figures at China's human rights situation. They have assumed that the majority of Chinese people are living a miserable life and public outcries can be heard everywhere. According to their theory, the stories of a few far outweigh the livelihoods of the 1.3 billion people.

But they forget that it is up to the Chinese people themselves, or rather the majority of the 1.3 billion Chinese, to decide whether they are happy or not. In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 87 percent of the Chinese respondents said they were satisfied with their country's direction, nearly two-thirds said their lives were better now than five years ago and 74 percent said they were optimistic about the future. Like many other polling results, the figures cannot represent the opinions of every Chinese, but at least the majority of Chinese seem more upbeat than their American and European counterparts in the same survey.

It is natural to find some among the 1.3 billion people who are not happy or who complain about their life. The Chinese government hopes every Chinese lives a happy life and is making efforts to make that a reality. But the government still has a long way to go before it attains that goal.

In fact, even developed countries with smaller populations but enormous wealth have a lot more work to do. The social unfairness that exists in Western societies was exposed when French workers went on a strike, when London was terrified by street riots and when protesters held banners that shouted "99 percent versus 1 percent" in the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US.

In China, one most widely accepted belief and also the overarching principle for Chinese is that when there is a conflict of interests, 13 people should be subordinate to 1.3 billion, 0.1 percent to the 99.9 percent and the minority to the majority, because a country as big and populated as China has never before adopted a project to promote modernization and lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Owing to the complexity of the project, it is impossible to accommodate the interests of every individual.

Making its 1.3 billion people lead a happy life is China's ultimate goal, which will make a huge contribution to world peace and development. Over the past three decades, China has made remarkable achievements, but it has also paid a heavy price in terms of environmental pollution, waste of resources and the negative impact on the interests of a few people. These are all problems that appear in the process of development.

But China's history of self-development has a clean record. China didn't loot treasures from other countries or colonize others' land. It didn't trade in African slaves or slaughter Indians. Once it reaches the same development level as the Western countries, China would do better and show more respect for human rights than the West.

In the past when the whole of China was battling poverty, most of its people had no place to live or no clothes to wear and some even died of hunger or illness. Their basic rights to survive were not protected. But the West didn't show any sympathy or care for them. Now that Chinese are becoming rich and their lives are getting better, some Westerners have suddenly become concerned about the "human rights" of a few. Such "compassion" is hard to understand.

If the West really cares about human rights, it should first handle its own affairs properly, show more concern over the rights and interests of the strikers in France and the aggrieved in London, and talk to the big powers that use their might to cause heavy civilian casualties in other countries. If it cares about the human rights situation in China, it should observe more carefully the real life of the 1.3 billion Chinese and adopt a more constructive and cooperative attitude when talking about human rights with China. Only in this way can the West win true respect and friendship of the majority of Chinese.

China is not afraid of talking about human rights. But dialogues can continue only when they are held on the basis of mutual respect.

The author is a Beijing-based scholar of international relations.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page8)

I. The Rising Prominence of and Severe Tests Facing China-US Relations

After entering the 21st century, especially since the 2008 international financial crisis, the world situation has become increasingly complicated and in flux. Against such a background, two prominent features stand out in today's China-US relations. First, China, after having successfully dealt with the crisis and with continuous expansion of its economy, has promptly come to the center stage of international politics and global governance. Second, the global financial crisis has taken heavy tolls on the economies and financial systems of the United States and the European Union. While the recovery of the Western economies is going to be a tortuous and slow progress, it has been further overshadowed by the ongoing Euro crisis. Under such circumstances, the United States intends to strengthen cooperation with China to overcome its difficulties, and expects China to assume a greater share of "international responsibility." Meanwhile, China is willing to make greater contributions to the restoration of global financial stability and the recovery of global economy with the aim of assuaging the wariness and concerns of the United States and other parts of the world about China's growing power. Now the total size of the Chinese and American economies and the total foreign trade volume of the two countries have amounted to one-third and one -fifth of those of the whole world, respectively. Consequently, the internal development and external strategy of China and the United States, as well as their bilateral relations, have an increasingly important impact on international politics and world economy. Both Chinese and American leaders are of the view that the China-US relationship has become "the most important bilateral relationship in the world."

Meanwhile, the China-US strategic relationship has encountered more stern challenges. Since the end of the Cold War, China-US relations have witnessed ups and downs. After the "9/11" terrorist attacks, counter-terrorism became the top priority of US global strategy, whereas China seized the important period of strategic opportunity and focused on pursuing internal development. Consequently, the China-US bilateral relationship could be characterized as one of "complex interdependence," and a basically stable strategic pattern has been maintained for about a decade. After entering the second decade of the 21st century, the power gap between China and the United States has narrowed considerably and the "structural contradiction" between the two risen. Certain conflict of interests between the two countries in the economic, political and international security arenas tends to gradually grow and escalate, causing both sides to be more vigilant against each other and adding to their mutual suspicions. In particular, the United States recently has, in a high-profile manner, announced its "return to Asia", further strengthened military deployments targeting China, and embarked on the enlargement of the "Trans-Pacific Partnership" (TPP). Some American political figures regard China's rise as the severest external challenge to the United States, and allege that China's refusal to cooperate with the United States on certain international issues is intended to weaken US "global leadership." Those trends have evoked strong repercussions among the Chinese public and political elites, and have caused many to believe that the long-term US strategic intention is to contain China and prevent China from becoming powerful, and that therefore China should take tough counter-measures against the United States internationally. The personages of two countries who wish to strengthen China-U.S. cooperation are gravely concerned that China-US strategic mutual trust has reached a new low.

II. The Main Manifestation of and Deep-rooted Factors for the Absence of China-US Strategic Trust

President Hu Jintao points out, "China and the United States should become cooperative partners that respect and trust each other and should persistently enhance strategic mutual trust." We hold the view that strategic mutual trust in bilateral relations and on the international scene means that both sides deeply understand each other's strategic intention and have a positive expectation of the other side's stances and behavior in areas concerning their respective core interests. To build strategic mutual trust does not mean denial of the objective existence of conflict of interests or ideational differences. Rather, it is, upon the recognition that "common interests are greater than differences", to endeavor to reduce the impact of the conflict of interests and ideational differences on bilateral relations, and to forge the pattern of long-term beneficial interactions. Judging from the present situation of China-US relations, the strategic mutual trust between the two sides still lags far behind the common interests they actually share.

The main manifestation of and deep-rooted causes of the absence of China-US strategic mutual trust are as follows:

Inadequate sincere communication and failure of carrying out some consensuses

In January 2011, President Hu Jintao made a successful visit to the United States when the two sides reached new strategic consensuses of far-reaching significance. At present, the two countries have established many effective dialogue mechanisms at various levels and in various issue areas, notably the highest-level "China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue". However, some dialogues might have become a mere formality or highly scripted event in which the two sides merely stick to talking points or utter rhetoric. Consequently, there is disconnection between the consensuses reached and real policies or actions that follow. Commenting on the effects of some of the dialogues, former CEO of the American International Group (AIG) Maurice R. Greenberg has recently written in The Wall Street Journal, saying, "I have taken part in a number of dialogues over the years between Chinese economists and trade officials and similarly placed economists and officials on the US side. Every time the results are the same. Each side states its problems and concerns and reports the other side's problems and concerns back to their respective governments. Although the proceedings are cordial, unfortunately nothing is resolved and the frictions that hamper development of a better relationship persist." Many people in both China and the United States share Mr. Greenberg's feeling. Currently, the main problem is not that the number of dialogues is inadequate, or that the scope of the dialogues isn't broad enough, or that the level of dialogues isn't sufficiently high. Rather, the problem is that some of the dialogues have failed to strike home or resolve real problems.

Politicization of economic frictions weakens the basis of strategic mutual trust

Economic and trade relations have for decades served as the "ballast" of China-US relations. However, as the economic and trade frictions between China and the United States grow and are increasingly politicized, the weight of the "ballast" of China-US relations is continuously decreasing and, it may sometimes even become a stumbling stone to strategic mutual trust. The United States has on many occasions threatened to name China as a "currency manipulator" and impose sanctions, continuously imposed restrictions on high-tech exports to China, and set up political barriers to prevent Chinese firms from investing in the United States. As the 2012 US presidential election unfolds, many American politicians, out of their political motivations, have jumped on the wagon of "scapegoating" and blaming US economic woes on China. Those actions will bring all harm and no benefit to strategic mutual trust.

Changes in relative power between China and the United States

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the power gap between China and the United States has narrowed. The change in the relative power between China and the United States has led to subtle and yet significant psychological changes on two sides. As a result, worries and anxieties on both sides are on the rise. Specifically, there are concerns and worries in many quarters of the United States about the possibility of the rising power of China threatening US preeminence and the "China Model" posing challenges to the "American Model". Meanwhile, the Chinese government remains highly vigilant against America's "export of democracy" and "human rights diplomacy". Moreover, the Chinese political elites are frustrated at the appearance that China's security environment does not seem to have improved as China's power position rises, and are anxious and worried that the United States has been intensifying strategic encirclement along China's periphery. Despite the reassurances by top leaders of both countries that their strategic intentions are not intended to do harm to the other side, it has proven to be difficult, if not impossible, to remove the mutual suspicions and anxieties that have been internalized in both societies.

III. Abandoning Outmoded Thinking and Steering Clear of Obstacles to Establishing China-US Strategic Mutual Trust

If we do not make great efforts to abandon outdated ideas as quickly as possible and to redress the misunderstandings and prejudices, the cornerstone for stabilizing China-US relations will be severely eroded and even shaken.

Abandoning zero-sum thinking

The biggest peril of zero-sum thinking is that it is a "self-fulfilling prophecy" in nature. Some would argue that in modern world history there has not yet been a precedent of peaceful co-existence between a rapidly rising great power and a dominant power seeking to preserve hegemony. However, we believe that historical precedents are set by the people and their countries. The China-US relationship can and must set a precedent for avoiding rivalry for hegemony and for long-term cooperation. To do otherwise will hurt the fundamental interests of the peoples of the two countries and the world at large. As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton points out, "China represents one of the most challenging and consequential bilateral relationships that the United States has ever had to manage," adding, "(a)t the end of the day, there is no handbook for the evolving China-US relationship. But the stakes are much too high for us to fail." US Vice President Joe Biden also wrote last August in The New York Times that "a successful China can make our country more prosperous, not less". Likewise, US economic recovery and prosperity, as well as the positive, inclusive elements in US domestic and foreign policies are also beneficial to the development of China.

Abandoning cold war mentality

The features of the Cold War mentality are to make political systems and ideological beliefs predetermine the closeness of state-to-state relations, form rivaling military and political alliances, and forge two antagonistic international camps. Some would argue that two countries with distinct political systems and ideologies are bound to head down the irreversible path of confrontation and rivalry. The matter of fact, however, is that forty years of history since the embarking on of the normalization of the China-US relationship has proven that the differences in political and value systems didn't prevent the two countries from moving closer to each other, nor did they stop the expansion of exchanges and cooperation between the two sides. On the one hand, the political differences and diverging values between the two countries will exist for a long time and at times the two sides might even run into fierce debates. On the other hand, the society, culture and domestic politics of the two countries are constantly changing and influencing each other. Little, if any, shadow of the Cold War can be found in today's exchanges between young students from the two countries. Internationally, virtually no country would be willing to get itself involved in the strategic confrontation that might occur between China and the United States; the era of forming two antagonistic ideological and military camps is forever gone. Therefore, a new Cold War between China and the United States is something that can be avoided.

Abandoning arrogance and parochial thinking

Both Chinese and Americans are great peoples in the world, with many merits and good qualities, and together the two peoples have made outstanding contributions to the civilization of mankind. The United States of America, after gaining independence, had quickly joined the ranks of the world's major powers, and in the past sixty plus years, has kept its position as a "superpower." Therefore there must be something praiseworthy in the US experiences of administrating a country. In the past several decades, China has rapidly changed the face of poverty and backwardness, and has in the history of mankind made achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. Therefore there must be undeniable characteristics and advantages in China's political, economic, cultural and value systems. The growth experiences of China and the United States show that both countries have chosen a path of development that suits their own national conditions. Looking into the future, the national power of China and the United States will continue to grow together, the living standards of both peoples will improve continuously, and expanding mutual cooperation will be beneficial to both countries' development. Therefore, both sides should look at each other with a modest rather than arrogant attitude, much less to gloat and jeer at or take pleasure in the other side's domestic difficulties and shortcomings. We shall also acknowledge that there is a tendency in both countries to have insufficient global vision and to overly rely upon their own experiences when dealing with international affairs. Therefore, in dealing with bilateral and international affairs, China and the United States should enhance consultation and coordination, learn from each other's experiences and angle of view, respect the other side's attitudes and stances, and abandon parochial thinking.

IV. Building China-US Strategic Relations with Creative Thinking

Vice President Xi Jinping, in his meeting with former US Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson last December, pointed out that "history has proven that China-US relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature and the common interest and need for cooperation between the two countries far outgrow their differences". Such a statement is a reflection of the creative thinking on the Chinese side regarding China-US relations. Indeed, there are controversial and seemingly irresolvable difficult problems in certain areas of the bilateral relationship, and the two countries hold vastly different positions on certain international security issues. But by applying such a new mode of thinking, one may find that these problems and differences cannot fundamentally hinder the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries on global finance, trade, energy, climate change, public health, and regional hot spot issues, nor can the problems and differences reverse the long-term trend of the continuous expansion of social interactions between the two countries and of drawing on each other's merits in fields such as education, culture, and science and technology. As long as both China and the United States continue to expand the "convergence of interests" in various fields and at various levels and aim to construct a "community of interest", the two countries should be able to build a global partnership based on strategic mutual trust.

To sum up, as Chinese scholars and experts who wish to engage in in-depth strategic thinking, we would like to lay out three main points.

First, the China-US relationship is encountering severe tests and facing the absence of strategic mutual trust. As a Chinese aphorism says, "a boat sailing against the current must forge ahead or be swept downstream." The relationship is just at this critical juncture.

Second, turbulence in this bilateral relationship would cause enormous and unbearable losses of interests of both sides and jeopardize world economy as well as global security. Meanwhile, the profound changes in the international situation and the increasingly growing common interests between the two countries also provide unprecedented strategic opportunities for both sides.

Third, we must adhere to the new type of strategic thinking that holds that "China-US relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature". That is, we should not only face squarely the difficulties and obstacles in bilateral relations, but also make efforts to discard outmoded thinking that is unbeneficial to the development of common interests, so as to gradually accumulate and build strategic mutual trust.

Wang Jisi and Jia Qingguo are professors at the School of International Studies, Peking University; Wang Min is a research fellow at Peking University; Qian Yinyi and Bai Chongen are professors at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page9)

NANJING - A South Korean cargo ship that allegedly spilled phenol into China's longest river, causing water pollution in part of East China, was detained on Saturday, and the owners of the vessel could face trial.

The Wuhan Maritime Court, which has jurisdiction over the waters in the region, ordered the detention of the cargo ship Gloria, which was docked at the river city of Nantong in Jiangsu province as of the weekend.

Bail of 20.6 million yuan ($3.3 million) has been set, according to the official website of the Zhenjiang government.

It also said that the ship spilled the chemical into the river through underwater pipes, though South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the company that owns the Gloria has denied the claim.

"We have gathered evidence that the source of the pollution was from the pipes of Gloria," Mao Desheng, director of the Zhenjiang maritime safety administration, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

"The cause of the spill will soon be verified and made public as soon the judicial procedure starts," said Mao.

Zhang Jiangshun, head of a lower-level court in Jiangsu province that is subordinate to the Wuhan court, said the shipping company would not face trial if a compensation agreement was reached with the local water supply company.

Zhang said that while there had been prior cases of contamination caused by foreign ships in China's open waters, cases involving pollution of inland rivers were rare.

The ship, which on Feb 2 was docked in Zhenjiang, a city downstream on the Yangtze River, leaked phenol on Feb 2 and Feb 3 due to a faulty valve.

Phenol is an organic compound that irritates the eyes and skin, and it can damage the liver and kidneys if absorbed in large amounts.

Over the past week, some residents of Zhenjiang, a city of 3 million people, reported that their tap water had a pungent smell. Rumors that a capsized ship was polluting the river sparked a run on bottled water in at least two cities in Jiangsu province.

Jia Yunliang, deputy director of Zhenjiang's environmental protection bureau, told China Daily that the quality of the city's water sources had returned to normal since the afternoon of Feb 3, and tap water had been safe to drink since Feb 4.

The local environmental protection bureau has stepped up the examination of the water sources, and water quality analyses have been provided twice a day since Feb 7, he said.

The local center for disease control has also provided free water quality analysis for residents who are still concerned.

To reassure local residents that the water was safe to drink, officials of the Zhenjiang government, including the secretary-general and vice-mayors, visited the residents and drank boiled tap water together with them on Saturday morning.

The Yangtze, which runs for 3,219 km west to east across China, is the country's longest river.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page5)

WUHAN - Many people have volunteered to help rescue white swans that are threatened with being poisoned and hunted in a wetland in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province.

However, experts have warned that too much attention could also be a problem for the birds.

The Wuhan Evening News reported last week that more than 50 migratory birds, including two white swans that are under national second-class protection, were found dead. A third swan was found with part of a metal trap on its leg.

Bags containing toxic pesticides have been found scattered around the wetland.

The reports have aroused much public concern, and a growing number of people have gone to the area to help protect these endangered animals.

A China Daily reporter on Sunday morning saw an animal protection group, with about 30 members, post a banner urging the public to "protect wild animals" in the wetland, where the birds' bodies were found.

"We are a civil organization and we volunteered to come here," said a young member, who only gave his surname as Liu. "We hope to raise public awareness about protecting these wild animals and alert government departments to take responsibility."

But the report also drew many cars full of curious spectators to the wetland, which shattered its natural silence.

"The place is popular for many wild animals, especially some migratory birds," said Huang Lide, a 48-year-old local farmer.

According to Huang, many migratory birds use the wetland as a transit hub and make their nests there year after year.

"Some of the visitors took their children to the wetland as well," Huang said. "It's more like a family trip out of curiosity."

Local farmer Zhang Xiaoluo, 58, told the Wuhan Evening News that he had seen more and more people come to observe the white swans, and some of them even set off firecrackers on the banks of the wetland.

"The birds flew away as they were scared by the noise," said Zhang.

Yang Guoxiang, a senior engineer from Hubei's wildlife protection center, suggested citizens pay thoughtful visits. "More visits don't bring more help," he said.

"Rescue activity with constructive ideas is encouraged, but it should not be for fun," he told China Daily.

Tang Zhaozi, a professor at the college of life sciences at Wuhan University, agreed.

He confirmed that rising human activity had driven some white swans away.

A netizen nicknamed Dichanlaozhang, who is also an amateur photographer, discovered the swans' tragedy on Feb 3. He quickly reported the incident to the local forestry department and posted a photo of a trapped swan online.

His picture was later forwarded by film star Yao Chen on her Sina Weibo, a major micro-blogging website in China. It attracted attention from some 17 million of her followers.

The local forestry department launched an investigation into the birds' death on Thursday.

Law enforcement officials penalized seven restaurants nearby, as they were caught selling the meat of hunted wild animals, which is forbidden by law.

According to the State Forestry Administration, at least 100,000 swans have been counted each year flying from Siberia to Central China's Poyang Lake, which is not far from Wuhan.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page5)

Turnout reported to exceed 80% as eligible residents cast secret ballot

WUKAN, Guangdong - More than 6,000 villagers of Wukan in South China's Guangdong province, who made headlines with a protest over illegal land use and other issues, voted for deputies on Saturday in the second round of democratic elections for new leadership.

The voting, presided over by an 11-member election committee chosen on Feb 1, lasted from 9 am to 3 pm at a village school.

Yang Semao, director of the election committee, said that 6,466 secret ballots were cast for group leaders and 6,475 were cast for villagers' representatives.

The election was held to select a team of 107 village representatives and seven group leaders.

The election results were announced late on Saturday. The outcome was that the number of village representatives was increased to 109, as two groups each had two candidates with an equal number of votes.

Yang said turnout exceeded 80 percent of the 7,923 villagers who registered to vote and the election results are therefore valid.

However, Saturday's voting failed to elect seven group leaders, as all the candidates got less than 50 percent of each group's votes.

Another election will be held to fill the seats of group leaders.

Wukan has about 12,000 villagers, 8,222 of whom are of legal age and therefore eligible to vote, though not all of them registered to vote.

Those who applied for group leader candidacy were required to get supporting signatures from at least 100 voters, while village representative candidates were required to get at least 50, according to local election procedures.

"This is to make sure the candidates are well-grounded and trusted by the villagers, and to ensure fairness in the upcoming village committee election," said Yang, director of the election committee.

Villager Lin Shuzhen, who is illiterate, asked her 16-year-old son to read the election instructions for her and fill out her ballot.

Volunteers also stood by to help other illiterate villagers fill out ballots.

"The voting process was smooth and orderly," said Lin Zulian, the village's Communist Party of China secretary. "The villagers took an active part in the voting, and they are more familiar with the procedures compared with the previous round of voting for election committee members on Feb 1."

Lin was appointed secretary after last year's protests.

Lin and the election committee will summon the new deputies to meetings to discuss election procedures for the new village committee.

"I hope the deputies who eventually stand out will all be capable people of integrity," said Huang Deping, a villager in his 50s. "I hope they will safeguard our rights and interests and help us manage our land well."

On Sept 21-22 last year, villagers in Wukan, which is administered by the city of Lufeng, began to protest against village authorities over issues related to land use, financing and the election of village officials, with large protests in the village on Nov 21 and 22.

The villagers gathered again on Dec 11 after Xue Jinbo, a man who was suspected of organizing the November demonstrations, died while in police custody.

Officials from a provincial work team in charge of handling the village's unrest conceded that the residents' major demands were reasonable and "some mistakes" had been made by local officials.

They also announced that last February's election of the former village leaders was invalid and new elections were to be organized.

The previous election drew complaints from the villagers, who complained that a list of candidates was never published and that some of the candidates were also election organizers, both of which go against local election laws and regulations.

According to this year's election procedures, the election committee will be dissolved after the new village committee is formed, although the deputies will continue to perform their duties.

Under the new village leadership, the deputies will attend village committee meetings, report the villagers' suggestions and complaints to the village committee and keep the villagers informed of decisions made at the deputies' meetings.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page5)

SHANGHAI - The publisher of the city's first sex education textbook for primary schools, the release of which last year was a source of controversy, has put out a new edition tailored for family use.

Titled Boys and Girls, which is the same as the first printing, the new edition will work as a complement to the previous. And it's more suitable for parents and children to read together, according to Zhang Zhijun, an editor from Shanghai Education Publishing House, who worked on the book.

"Last year's textbook stirred much controversy, and some parents complained about it. But after using it for some time, many parents have begun to applaud it," Zhang said.

"Since the textbook are still being used on a trial basis in some of the city's schools, some students cannot receive the curriculum in school. And many parents have come to ask if they could have an edition that can be used by parents at home," she said. "So we designed this edition for family use."

"Like the previous one, we also emphasize gender education rather than sex education. Biological knowledge is only part of it. The book gives appropriate education from a psychological standpoint," said Xu Jing, vice-president of the primary school affiliated with the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, who is also an editor of the book.

Xu said the new edition and the textbook are mutually complementary.

"The old textbook largely relied on teacher's instruction, while the new edition can be picked up by children independently," Xu said.

Unlike the textbook intended for school use, the new edition utilizes a large number of paintings and cartoons, which give it a more lively and light-hearted style.

The new edition uses a lot of fold-outs when covering some sensitive topics, such as answers to questions like "Where did I come from?"

"We use the fold-out design because we want children to know that some parts of the body are private and should be protected," Zhang explained.

The sex education textbook, the first of its kind in the city, is being tried in 18 schools citywide. Earlier, it had drawn fire from some parents, who complained that the book's language is more direct and its content involves too many names of private parts of the body.

Gu Jun, a sociology professor at Shanghai University, said that giving children earlier exposure to sex education will have a positive effect.

"This book gives a chance to have a discussion with children on some topics that are embarrassing to talk about," said Xu Yang, who plans to buy the book for her 7-year-old daughter.

"Sometimes I want to talk about sex with my daughter, but I don't know where to start and how to start. As parents, we need some guidance so we can have an appropriate dialogue with children on sex," she said.

Xu said that teen pregnancies have been on the rise due to a lack of sex-related information. Children must learn to protect themselves as they grow, she said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page4)

SHANGHAI - A taxi driver was killed and two other people were burned alive in a pileup caused by an intoxicated driver on Saturday afternoon in suburban Shanghai.

The accident happened around 3:50 pm at the juncture of Nanliu Road and Luda Road.

Earlier, the driver surnamed Huang, who was driving a black car registered in Henan province, had a minor accident with a taxi and fled.

The taxi driver caught up with the car and a fight ensued. Then, the taxi driver jumped on to the hood of the Huang's car to prevent his escape. Instead of stopping, Huang accelerated and crashed into two cars, according to the accounts given by witnesses.

One of the cars struck by Huang's caught fire, and two people, a woman and a man, in the car were trapped inside, where they burned to death, witnesses said.

The taxi driver, who broke his legs and sustained other severe injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Huang, 47, is from Jiangsu province. Alcohol tests showed 212 milligrams of alcohol in his system per 100 milliliters of blood - nearly three times the legal limit, according to police.

Under Chinese law, a person is considered intoxicated if tests show a concentration of at least 80 milligrams alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

According to local media, Huang's passenger, surnamed Liu, and the man's child were also in the car at the time. Liu persuaded Huang to stop and tried to grab the key but failed.

"So far, Huang has been in criminal detention under suspicion of intentional killing. Police are still investigating the accident," an officer from Shanghai Nanhui traffic department said, but the officer declined to reveal more.

The country has continually tightened its crackdown on driving while intoxicated, and government figures have shown significant yearly declines.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, the number of intoxicated drivers caught by the department from May 1 to Dec 30 last year was about 38,000, down by 45 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

During the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, a peak season for drinking, the country saw 1,795 traffic accidents, a year-on-year decline of 14.9 percent.

These accidents caused 547 deaths and 2,080 injuries, down 34.3 percent and 28 percent, respectively, from last year, according to the ministry.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page4)

SHANGHAI - Many supermarket chains around the country have stopped selling Red Bull products in reaction to concerns that the energy beverage might contain unauthorized additives, even though the manufacturer insisted that its product was safe.

The moves follow media reports in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, that claim some ingredients in the drink have not been registered with the State Food and Drug Administration and are not approved for vitamin drinks.

"We took all the beverages from this brand off the shelf on Saturday out of safety concerns, even though the reports gave conflicting answers as to whether the drink was safe or not," said a store manager surnamed Sun at City Shop in Shanghai's Huangpu district on Sunday.

"We will consider returning the goods to the supplier, or putting them back on the shelf, if the quality watchdog says they are safe," he said.

A woman surnamed Shi in the customer service department of the Furong outlet of Carrefour in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, also said that sales of Red Bull products had been suspended after a weekend order by the chain's city headquarters.

Some major stores in Guangzhou and Beijing also told reporters that they had temporarily suspended sales.

The company posted a statement on its official website on Saturday, saying all of its functional beverages were safe and produced in line with national laws and standards.

Functional beverages are a category of drinks that includes sports and nutrition beverages.

The company also uploaded an announcement from the National Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center.

"Long-term regular and unscheduled sample checks showed that Red Bull products are in accordance with the standards it has claimed, and have never been found to contain unregistered substances," reads the announcement dated Saturday.

The Harbin food and drug administration on Saturday put a statement on its website, which said that Red Bull beverages were approved as a health food by the Ministry of Health in 1997.

The statement said that government records show that sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, carmine pigment and tartrazine - which are said to have been listed among the food additives on the product bottles, though they are not registered with government agencies - are included in its ingredients.

But records on the website of the State Food and Drug Administration did not provide the same information. None of the four additives are listed among the primary ingredients of the beverage, a China Daily reporter found.

Regardless of whether these substances are registered, food experts said some might have been abused.

"The use of sodium benzoate in the product, a beverage for special purposes, doesn't meet the requirements for using food additives," said Yu Yuqin, a senior engineer from a Shanghai food industry institute.

The national standards for food additives implemented in 2011 indicate that the preservative can be used - in limited amounts - in tea, coffee and herbal drinks. Vitamin drinks are excluded.

Some other additives listed on the product's bottles might also be misused.

Sodium citrate is only allowed in baby formula and infant food supplements as an acidity regulator, and caffeine is only permitted in cola-type carbonated drinks, according to the standards.

People with cardiovascular diseases must be cautious about caffeine, which is a stimulant, said doctors.

"Long-term intake will affect kidney functions and calcium retention," said Gu Zhongyi, a dietitian at the Beijing Friendship Hospital.

Chen Xu, a 27-year-old Shanghai resident, said he was surprised that a product launched 15 years ago had been faulty for so long.

"I think government watchdogs should have guarded the pass. Now they must put the products under scrutiny, and give a clear answer to the public," he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page5)

Jiangsu

Shipyard blast kills 3, injures 12

Three people were killed and 12 others injured, including one seriously, in a shipyard blast on Sunday in East China's Jiangsu province, according to local authorities.

The accident occurred at around 2 pm on a ship that was under construction at the Wujiazui shipyard in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu.

The explosion was triggered by sparks that ignited combustible gas, a local work safety watchdog said after an initial investigation.

Beijing

6.4 million catch trains

More than 6.4 million people traveled by train in China on Saturday as students returning to colleges filled carriages across the country, according to a release by the Ministry of Railways on Sunday.

Stations continued to see massive numbers of passengers in the remaining days of the 40-day Spring Festival travel season, which begins on Jan 8 and ends on Feb 16.

By Saturday, the railway authorities had sold 193 million tickets during the travel season.

Qinghai

Project benefits 250,000 farmers

More than 250,000 farmers and herders in Northwest China's Qinghai province have benefited from a water project, the goal of which is to provide clean drinking water and improve irrigation for the locals.

Water conservation authorities in the province invested more than 900 million yuan ($142.86 million) into the project in 2011, said Li Jie, a spokesman with the Water Resources Department of Qinghai.

Besides providing clean drinking water, the project also worked on water infrastructure and improved irrigation for more than 18,333 hectares of farming land.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page2)

BEIJING - The government plans to introduce 500 to 1,000 high-end non-Chinese foreign professionals from other countries in 10 years to spur innovation and promote scientific research.

The One Thousand Foreign Experts Project, launched late last year, has attracted 214 candidates from countries including the United States, Japan and Germany, said Yi Fanping, deputy director of a work team under the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs that oversees the project, over the weekend.

The first application phase of the project started in November after requests were submitted from 214 universities, scientific research institutions and corporate units nationwide that seek foreign talent, according to Yi.

Potential employers are asked to make an initial deal with candidates and then apply for the project.

The project awards each foreign professional a subsidy of up to 1 million yuan ($159,000) from the central government and scientific researchers can get a 3 million yuan to 5 million yuan research allowance.

The professionals are also entitled to favorable visa, taxation and wage, residence, medical care and insurance policies.

According to the project's eligibility criteria, employers should be universities, scientific institutions, Chinese-invested enterprises or joint ventures in which Chinese investors have a more than 50 percent stake.

The targeted foreign professionals include professors at prestigious universities and scientific research institutions as well as senior technology and management professionals at world-renowned corporations or financial institutions. The program also seeks those who control intellectual property rights to master core technology and those with overseas experience in starting and running businesses and other skill sets China urgently needs.

Candidates must be non-Chinese, under the age of 65 and currently not employed full time in China. However, those already working in China can still apply for the project if they started their current job fewer than six months before each application phase of the project ends.

The second round of applications started on Friday and will close on March 12.

The project also requires foreign experts to work no fewer than three consecutive years and spend at least nine months a year in China.

"Central authorities will organize 40 experts to check each candidate's qualifications, including their achievements and influence in his or her field as well as each potential employer's expectations of the person it wants to hire and the work conditions it provides. Special meetings using video teleconferencing will also be held to see if individual candidates can really meet employers' demands," said Yi.

Yi did not reveal the date that the first meetings will be held.

"We will also work out measures to deal with any emergency that could happen, such as the illness or sudden death of a foreign expert," he said.

Many corporations in Beijing have expressed their desire to hire high-end professionals from overseas to give a shot in the arm to their business.

"My company already has an expert from Germany. We plan to introduce two to three experts from the United States or Japan this year through the project because experts from those countries are leading in the industry," said Ye Jing, a human resources manager with Pulead Technology Industry Co, a new material and new energy developer.

Chen Bei, deputy director of the Beijing municipal bureau of human resources and social security, said they are designing a website that will provide positions offered by employers to better implement the project.

"Currently, an employer is on its own when seeking high-end foreign talent, which is not very efficient. In the future, we will provide a platform that can ensure better interaction and matches between employers and foreign experts," she said.

Chen said her organization will also meet with Beijing's high-tech companies to introduce the project to them and help them better develop in order to facilitate innovation and promote upgrades to the city's industrial infrastructure.

More than 40,000 foreign experts - mainly senior technology and management personnel in fields such as education, scientific research, manufacturing and health - come to work in Beijing every year, Chen said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page2)

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to adopt further measures to encourage private investment in monopoly industries to address problems with China's economic structure.

In response to economic turmoil, Wen said the government this year will further support the real economy, small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, and push forward reform of monopoly industries.

The government should also better handle issues related to living standards, tackle unfair income distribution and corruption, and address public concerns about inflation and the affordability of housing, Wen said.

The premier made the remarks in meetings held last week to solicit opinions from representatives of different sectors of society on the draft of the government work report, which is to be delivered at the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, next month.

Wen said private capital should be encouraged to flow to fields such as finance, energy, transport and social services, "which can not only alleviate the difficulties of economic development but also accelerate the development of these causes," he said.

Details of policies supporting private investments must be drawn up within the first half of this year, Wen said.

Zhou Tienong, vice-chairman of China's top legislative body, said reform of monopoly industries has lagged far behind and resulted in unfair competition.

Although there are already policies in place allowing the involvement of private capital in financial markets, those applying to do so were often rejected because of the high requirements, said Zhou Dewen, chairman of the Wenzhou Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Association.

The establishment of private sector financial institutions will play an active role in solving the financing difficulties of SMEs and promote the healthy development of the private sector, he said.

Wen said the government is paying close attention to the economic situation in January and the first quarter of this year.

"We have to make a proper judgment as early as possible when things happen and take quick action," Wen said, adding that fine-tuning of macro policies should begin in the first quarter. China's inflation rate rebounded to a higher-than-expected 4.5 percent in January, fueling speculation that policymakers may be showing more caution when considering further easing measures, according to figures compiled by Wang Tao, chief China economist with UBS AG.

In addition, it is still difficult to determine the actual strength of the real economy at the current stage. Therefore, the market should not expect the central bank to cut the bank reserve ratio in the next few weeks, Wang said.

But in the long term, the downward trend of inflation has not changed, so the credit supply target and overall policy stance will not be affected, Wang said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page2)

BEIJING - High underwater pressure will be the greatest danger that Jiaolong, China's manned deep-sea vessel, will contend with when it attempts to make the deepest dive on record this year, a senior official said.

"Jiaolong will make a 7,000-meter test dive this year after several improvements are made to the submersible vessel," Jin Jiancai, secretary-general of the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association, said over the weekend.

Before attempting the record-breaking dive, the vessel will make a roughly 3,000-meter test dive in the South China Sea in March or April, he said.

He did not say when the 7,000-meter dive is to take place.

Underwater, pressure increases at the rate of one atmosphere for every 10 meters of depth. One atmosphere is equal to about 10 metric tons of force per square meter.

If the planned dive is successful, Jiaolong will have proven itself capable of reaching nearly any seabed in the world. China will also hold the record for performing the deepest dive, surpassing Japan, whose Shinkai 6500 dove 6,527 meters in August 1989.

Jiaolong - designed to reach a maximum depth of 7,000 meters - carried three people to 5,188 meters below sea level in a test dive in international waters in the northeastern Pacific Ocean last year, indicating the vessel is capable of reaching more than 70 percent of the planet's seabeds.

"If Jiaolong succeeds in the 7,000-meter dive, the vessel will play an important role in future scientific research and mineral exploration in the deep sea," said Tao Chunhui, professor of the Second Institute of Oceanography and chief scientist on the Chinese scientific research ship Dayang Yihao, or Ocean No 1.

According to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) released by the State Oceanic Administration on Friday, China is working faster to build both a ship that will take deep-sea vessels to dive sites and another vessel that will conduct scientific research in the ocean and explore the underwater world.

Over the next 20 years, China will push its technical capabilities to catch up with advanced nations in conducting deep-sea research. Scientists say the ocean floor contains rich deposits of a range of potentially valuable minerals, but the extreme depths pose obstacles to gathering them.

Last year, China became the first country approved by the International Seabed Authority to look for polymetallic sulphide deposits, a recently discovered mineral source, in the Southwest Indian Ridge, a tectonic plate boundary on the floor of the Indian Ocean.

In 2001, the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association signed a 15-year contract with the seabed authority to search 150,000 square kilometers of seabed for polymetallic nodules, small rocks containing metal ore.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page2)

HAIKOU - Political advisers in South China's Hainan province urged authorities to levy taxes on vacant homes in popular travel destinations to discourage speculation and cool the island's overheated property market.

The vacancy rate among residential buildings in Hainan has become alarmingly high because many non-residents have flooded the property market to buy winter vacation homes and investment properties, said Wang Yiwu, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Hainan Committee, on Saturday during the committee's ongoing annual plenary meeting.

"About 80 percent of the new residential buildings in cities such as Haikou and Sanya are vacant, according to my research on the property market in Haikou and Sanya," said Wang, who is also an economics professor from Hainan University.

Liu Huizhen, who works for a property maintenance company in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, said about 450 out of 500 apartments in the neighborhood she works for are owned by people who are not from the island, and about 200 homes are often vacant.

The market for winter homes has become very lucrative, said Dai Hong, another member who attended the committee's annual meeting, which concluded on Sunday.

"Many developers are keen on building high-end property projects in Hainan that target these well-off outsiders," Dai said.

The price increase resulting from the property boom hurts the local population, Dai said.

"When locals cannot afford them and non-locals can afford them but often do not live there, then a high vacancy rate is inevitable," Dai said.

Liu Shengnan, a property salesperson in Sanya, a popular tourism destination in the province, said on Saturday that nearly all of the buyers for her company's commercial residential buildings near Haitang Bay are not permanent residents.

Her company's project contains 358 apartments sized from 80 square meters to 220 square meters, and the average price is 30,000 yuan ($4,770) per square meter, she said, declining to reveal the exact number of apartments that have been sold.

According to the latest report released by the China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate consultancy, the average home price was estimated at 8,326 yuan per square meter in Haikou in January.

"It's impossible for me to afford a two-bedroom apartment with a monthly income of 1,000 yuan," said Liu Huizhen, the property management agent, who is a 24-year-old Haikou native and plans to get married late this year.

Professor Wang said that the rising purchasing power of mainlanders has accelerated the rise of housing prices in Hainan.

"Because our local residents' incomes have not increased so rapidly, this trend will hurt the quality of life and rights of local people if it is not effectively curbed," he said.

He said the high vacancy rate has also led to a waste of land resources and public services.

Liu said that the issue has also complicated her company's day-to-day work and even led to losses.

"It is really difficult for us to handle the situation when water leakage, electricity leakage and burglaries occur in those apartments. What's worse, our company has to prepay the fees that the government requires, such as fees for garbage disposal. The money cannot be returned if no one lives in those homes," she said.

Wang suggested that the local government should tax homes with high vacancy rates to crack down on property speculation. It should also simultaneously encourage the construction of more public rental apartments to accommodate low- and middle-income residents.

Dai suggested that the government should tax a residential home if it remains vacant for two years or longer, and the tax on a vacant home shall be assessed annually at the rate of 1 percent of the standard value of the building and increase year by year.

In a work report that he delivered to the annual plenary session of the provincial people's congress on Thursday, Jiang Dingzhi, acting governor of Hainan province, pledged to build 75,500 government-subsidized homes in 2012.

Liu Xiaoli contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page4)

Millrose Games

Saturday's results (all distances in meters):

Men

60: 1. Keston Bledman 6.62sec, 2. Sam Effah 6.69, 3. Reggie Dixon 6.70

60 hurdles: 1. David Oliver 7.51, 2. Terrence Trammell 7.52, 3. Aries Merritt 7.53

500: 1. LaShawn Merritt 1min 1.39sec, 2. Jeshua Anderson 1:01.86, 3. Erison Hurtault 1:02.27

5,000: 1. Bernard Lagat 13:07.15, 2. Lawi Lalang 13:08.28, 3. Stephen Sambu 13:13.74

Mile: 1. Matt Centrowitz 3:53.92, 2. Miles Batty 3:54.54, 3. Garrett Heath 3:55.24

Women

60: 1. Bianca Knight 7.25, 2. Jessica Young 7.26, 3. Trisha Ann Hawthorne (JAM) 7.27

60 hurdles: 1. Kristi Castlin 7.91, 2. Tiffany Porter 7.93, 3. Natasha Ruddock (JAM) 8.06

800: 1. Morgan Uceny 2:03.35, 2. Fantu Magiso (ETH) 2:03.72, 3. Phoebe Wright 2:03.95

Long Jump: 1. Olga Kucherenko (RUS) 6.75, 2. Tori Bowie 6.27, 3. Krysha Bailey 6.25

USA Track and Field Classic

Saturday's results (all distances in meters, all USA unless noted):

Men

60: 1. Lerone Clarke (JAM) 6.52 seconds, 2. Justin Gatlin 6.57, 3. Trell Kimmons 6.57. DNF: Richard Thompson (TRI)

400: 1. Kirani James (GRN) 45.19, 2. Demetrius Pinder (BAH) 45.40, 3. Calvin Smith 45.73. DQ: Tabari Henry (ISV)

Mile: 1. Silas Kiplagat (KEN) 3:52.63, 2. Caleb Ndiku (KEN) 3:52.66, 3. Daniel Kipchichir Komen (KEN) 3:53.93

Shot Put: 1. Ryan Whiting 21.43, 2. Justin Rodhe (CAN) 20.95, 3. Dylan Armstrong (CAN) 20.63

Women

60: 1. Tiana Madison 7.02, 2. Veronica Cambell-Brown (JAM) 7.08, 3. Murielle Ahoure (CIV) 7.09, 4. Allyson Felix 7.11

1,500: 1. Siham Hilali (MOR) 4:09.36, 2. Btissam Lakhouad (MOR) 4:09.72, 3. Brenda Martinez 4:09.96

60 hurdles: 1. Ginnie Crawford 7.97, 2. Dawn Harper 8.03, 3. Phylicia George (CAN) 8.16

Long Jump: 1. Janay DeLoach 6.83m, 2. Bianca Stuart (BAH) 6.79, 3. Brittney Reese 6.65

Shot Put: 1. Jillian Camarena-Williams 19.89, 2. Michelle Carter 19.09, 3. Cleopatra Borel (TRI) 18.35

Basketball

NBA results on Saturday (home team in CAPS):

LA Clippers 111 CHARLOTTE 86

Denver 113 INDIANA 109

Philadelphia 99 CLEVELAND 84

NY Knicks 100 MINNESOTA 98

San Antonio 103 NEW JERSEY 89

Orlando 99 MILWAUKEE 94

DALLAS 97 Portland 94 (OT)

Golf

Australian Women's Open

Leading final-round scores in the $1.1 million women's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne (par-73) on Sunday (Australian unless stated):

289 - Jessica Korda (USA) 72-70-73-74 (won on second play-off hole), Stacy Lewis (USA) 69-73-77-70, Seo Hee-Kyung (KOR) 75-66-75-73, Brittany Lincicome (USA) 70-75-73-71, Julieta Granada (PAR) 70-72-76-71, Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 71-69-76-73

290 - Jenny Shin (KOR) 72-74-74-70

291 - Katie Futcher (USA) 74-72-71-74, Yani Tseng (TPE) 70-76-71-74

292 - Beatriz Recari (ESP) 76-72-72-72, Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 76-77-71-68

PGA Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Leading third-round scores in the $6.4 million US PGA Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday on the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links, par-70 Monterey Peninsula Country Club and par-72 Spyglass Hill Country Club (USA unless noted):

199 - Charlie Wi (KOR) 61-69-69

202 - Ken Duke 64-73-65

203 - Tiger Woods 68-68-67

205 - Phil Mickelson 70-65-70, Kevin Na 66-69-70, Dustin Johnson 63-72-70, Brendon Todd 67-69-69, Hunter Mahan 65-70-70205

206 - Ricky Barnes 70-66-70, Bob Estes 67-70-69, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 68-66-72

Ice hockey

NHL results on Saturday (home team in CAPS):

BOSTON 4 Nashville 3 (SO)

Florida 3 NEW JERSEY 1

NY ISLANDERS 2 Los Angeles 1 (OT)

NY Rangers 5 PHILADELPHIA 2

PITTSBURGH 8 Winnipeg 5

Edmonton 4 OTTAWA 3 (OT)

Tampa Bay 2 BUFFALO 1

Montreal 5 TORONTO 0

ST. LOUIS 3 Colorado 2 (OT)

Columbus 3 MINNESOTA 1

Swimming

Missouri Grand Prix

Saturday's results (USA unless noted, all distances in meters):

Men

50 Freestyle: 1. Cesar Cielo (BRA) 22.13 seconds, 2. Frederick Bousquet (FRA) 22.26, 3. Jason Lezak 22.75

400 Freestyle: 1. Ryan Cochrane (CAN) 3:53.47, 2. Keegan Zanatta (CAN) 3:53.60, 3. Kier Maitland (CAN) 3:56.18

100 Backstroke: 1. Matt Grevers 53.57, 2. Adam Mania 55.42, 3. Thiago Pereira (BRA) 55.54

200 Breaststroke: 1. Eric Shanteau 2:10.47, 2. Jack Brown 2:14.19, 3. George Klein 2:14.47

200 Butterfly: 1. Joseph Schooling 2:00.08, 2. Leonardo de Deus (BRA) 2:00.52, 3. Stefan Hirniak (CAN) 2:00.60

Women

50 Freestyle: 1. Amanda Weir 25.44, 2. Jane Trepp 25.49, 3. Christine Magnuson 25.61

400 Freestyle: 1. Barbara Jardin (CAN) 4:09.17, 2. Kathleen Ledecky 4:09.30, 3. Samantha Cheverton (CAN) 4:09.56

100 Backstroke: 1. Rachel Bootsma 1:00.20, 2. Laure Manaudou (FRA) 1:00.80, 3. Julia Wilkinson (CAN) 1:01.08

200 Breaststroke: 1. Tianna Rissling (CAN) 2:27.98, 2. Jillian Tyler (CAN) 2:29.93, 3. Mariya Chekanovych (CAN) 2:30.05

200 Butterfly: 1. Joanna Maranhao (BRA) 2:09.73, 2. Elaine Breeden 2:10.14, 3. Katerine Savard 2:10.50

Soccer

Dutch league

Saturday's results:

AZ Alkmaar 2 Excelsior 0

VVV Venlo 2 FC Groningen 0

Roda JC 1 NEC Nijmegen 0

NAC Breda 0 Ajax 2

English Premier League

Saturday's results:

Blackburn 3 (Yakubu 15, Nzonzi 23, Onuoha 45-og) QPR 2 (Mackie 71, 90)

Bolton 1 (M. Davies 67) Wigan 2 (Caldwell 43, McArthur 76)

Everton 2 (Pienaar 5, Stracqualursi 71) Chelsea 0

Fulham 2 (Pogrebnyak 16, Sorensen 28-og) Stoke 1 (Shawcross 78)

Manchester Utd 2 (Rooney 47, 50) Liverpool 1 (Suarez 80)

Sunderland 1 (McClean 70) Arsenal 2 (Ramsey 75, Henry 90)

Swansea 2 (Graham 23, 87-pen) Norwich 3 (Holt 47, 63, Pilkington 51)

Tottenham 5 (Assou-Ekotto 4, Saha 6, 20, Kranjcar 34, Adebayor 64) Newcastle 0

French league

Saturday's results:

Auxerre 1 (Boly 18) Lorient 1 (Emeghara 90+2)

Montpellier 3 (Belhanda 53-pen, Cabella 64, Giroud 67) Ajaccio 0

Valenciennes 1 (Samassa 90+2) Nancy 0

Lyon 1 (Lisandro 86-pen) Caen 2 (Hamouna 13, Nabab 73)

Rennes 1 (Erding 16) Sochaux 0

Brest 1 (Gentiletti 90+2) Dijon 1 (Kakuta 76)

Evian v Marseille postponed

German league

Saturday's results:

Dortmund 1 (Kagawa 45) Bayer Leverkusen 0

Bayern Munich 2 (Gomez 6, Mueller 30) Kaiserslautern 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Arnautovic 90) Hoffenheim 1 (Vestergaard 4)

Mainz 05 1 (Zidan 7) Hanover 1 (Sobiech 89)

VfB Stuttgart 5 (Ibisevic 24, Harnik 28, 41, Okazaki 32, Kobiashvili 58-og) Hertha Berlin 0

M'gladbach 3 (Reus 2, Hanke 15, Arango 32) Schalke 04 0

Italian Serie A

Saturday's results:

Cagliari 2 (Pinilla 56, Dessena 81) Palermo 1 (Hernandez 83-pen)

Udinese 1 (Di Natale 19) AC Milan 2 (Maxi Lopez 77, El Shaarawy 85)

Portuguese league

Saturday's results:

Maritimo Funchal 2 (Ben Achour 21, Danilo 60) Sporting Lisbon 0

Benfica 4 (Garay 9, Cardozo 21, Rodri 39, 61) Nacional 1 (Claudemir 29-pen)

Scottish Premier League

Saturday's results:

Celtic 1 (Ledley 16) Inverness CT 0

Dunfermline 1 (Kirk 16) Rangers 4 (Healy 24, McCulloch 39, Aluko 71, Kerkar 85)

Hibernian 0 Aberdeen 0

Kilmarnock 1 (Heffernan 79) Hearts 1 (Santana 90)

St Johnstone 1 (Anderson 66) Dundee Utd 5 (Anderson 35-og, Davidson 61-og, Russell 84, Daly 89, Lacny 90)

St Mirren 0 Motherwell 0

Spanish league

Saturday's results:

Racing Santander 0 Atletico Madrid 0

Osasuna 3 (Lekic 5, 22, Raul Garcia 56) Barcelona 2 (Sanchez 51, Tello 73)

Real Betis 2 (Ruben Castro 10, Nelson 90+1) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Javi Martinez 23)

Tennis

Davis Cup World Group

First-round results:

At Oviedo, Spain

Spain 3 Kazakhstan 0

Friday

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-4; Nicolas Almagro (ESP) bt Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1

Saturday

Marcel Granollers/Marc Lopez (ESP) bt Evgeny Korolev/Yuriy Schukin (KAZ) 6-2, 6-3, 6-1

At Wiener Neustadt, Austria

Austria 2 Russia 1

Friday

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) bt Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) bt Alex Bogomolov (RUS) 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2

Saturday

Nikolay Davydenko/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) bt Alexander Peya/Olivier Marach (AUT) 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (7/9), 7-5, 3-6, 4-6

At Vancouver, Canada

Canada 1 France 2

Friday

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-1, 6-3, 6-3; Milos Raonic (CAN) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-2, 6-4, 7-5

Saturday

Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) bt Daniel Nestor/Milos Raonic (CAN) 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3

At Fribourg, Switzerland

Switzerland 0 USA 3

Friday

Mardy Fish (USA) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7; John Isner (USA) bt Roger Federer (SUI) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2

Saturday

Mike Bryan/Mardy Fish (USA) bt Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

At Ostrava, Czech Republic

Czech Republic 3 Italy 0

Friday

Radek Stepanek (CZE) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Saturday

Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) bt Daniele Bracciali/Potito Starace (ITA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

At Nis, Serbia

Serbia 2 Sweden 1

Friday

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) bt Filip Prpic (SWE) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4; Viktor Troicki (SRB) bt Michael Ryderstedt (SWE) 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3

Saturday

Johan Brunstrom/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) bt Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (3/7), 10-8

At Hyogo, Japan

Japan 1 Croatia 2

Friday

Go Soeda (JPN) bt Ivan Dodig (CRO) 6-7 (3/7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5; Ivo Karlovic (CRO) bt Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

Saturday

Ivo Karlovic/Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt Tatsuma Ito/Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

At Bamberg, Germany

Germany 0 Argentina 3

Friday

Juan Monaco (ARG) bt Philipp Petzschner (GER) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; David Nalbandian (ARG) bt Florian Mayer (GER) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)

Saturday

David Nalbandian/Eduardo Schwank (ARG) bt Philipp Petzschner/Tommy Haas (GER) 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

WTA Paris Open

Saturday's results (x denotes seeding):

Semifinals

Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-4; Marion Bartoli (FRA x2) bt Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 7-6 (7/3), 6-0.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page23)

United manager slams striker after handshake snub at Old Trafford

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said Liverpool should sell Luis Suarez and ensure he never plays for the club again after the Uruguayan snubbed Patrice Evra's handshake.

Ferguson's outburst came in the wake of an ill-tempered meeting between the clubs at Old Trafford which United won 2-1 thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson also made an impassioned plea for English soccer to ensure that racism is stamped out of the game once and for all.

Suarez was starting a game for the first time since serving an eight-match suspension, handed out by the FA after he was found guilty of racially abusing United defender Evra in a game between the clubs in October.

Before kickoff, Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand as the two clubs met in the traditional pre-match handshake between opposing clubs.

In response, United's Rio Ferdinand declined to shake Suarez's hand, setting the tone for an ugly afternoon which featured a tunnel melee at halftime as Evra reportedly attempted to remonstrate with the Liverpool forward.

On the final whistle, Evra also inflamed matters when his enthusiastic celebrations took him alongside Suarez in what appeared a clear attempt to taunt his rival.

"For a club with their history, I'd get rid of him, I really would," said Ferguson. "Liverpool Football Club have a player banned for eight matches and they've tried to blame Patrice Evra. It's him they should be bloody blaming. He could have cost them a European place.

"I couldn't believe it. I just could not believe it. We had a chat this morning and Patrice said: 'I'm going to shake his hand, I have nothing to be ashamed of, I'm going to keep my dignity.' And he refuses.

"He is a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club. That player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again. The history that club has got ... and he does that today. It could have caused a riot.

"I was really disappointed in that guy."

Ferdinand responded in the handshake line by ignoring Suarez as the mood turned confrontational even before a ball was kicked.

"It created a tension," said Ferguson. "You have seen, the referee didn't know what to do about it. It caught him off guard. It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created."

Ferdinand also entered the controversy by explaining his actions. "After seeing what happened, I decided not to shake his hand," he said. "If he is not going to have the respect to say sorry. I lost all respect for the guy."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page24)

Gunners' striker scores on English soil for maybe the last time

SUNDERLAND, England - Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out another return to Arsenal for Thierry Henry after the Gunners legend said farewell to the Premier League with a dramatic winner at Sunderland.

Henry came off the bench and struck in stoppage-time as Wenger's side came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

The France forward, who rejoined Arsenal on loan from New York Red Bulls, returns to America after Wednesday's Champions League second-round first-leg trip to AC Milan and this was his final appearance in the English top-flight, for the moment at least.

Asked if Henry may come back again, Wenger said: "We'll see next season, he might want to stop at some stage.

"I felt it might haunt me because when he goes again, people would say: 'Why did he not stay?'

"Thierry finished the story of the legend. I hope he reacts in the Champions League on Wednesday.

"It shows they never lose it, these players. Exceptional talent survives, you have that at Manchester United with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and we have it with Thierry."

Arsenal trailed to Irish winger James McClean's 70th-minute goal, but hit back five minutes later through substitute Aaron Ramsey, whose shot went in via both posts.

Then Henry, introduced in the 66th minute, took center stage as he guided in fellow substitute Andrey Arshavin's cross from close range.

Wenger said: "Thierry got us the three points in a very difficult game. Sunderland were resilient and well organized and they tried to catch us on the break every time.

"It was a spirited performance, but I thought we were intelligent, patient and resilient."

Arsenal players complained when Sunderland scored, claiming McClean should have stopped playing after centerback Per Mertesacker had gone down with what proved to be ankle-ligament damage.

Yet Wenger said: "I thought about it after the goal, but you cannot demand that. You don't know whether the guy has gone down because of injury or if he has slipped.

"We were unfortunate because Mertesacker told me he got pain in his ankle and couldn't move.

"We are a bit worried about it because he goes home on crutches and he's done some ligament damage. How deep the damage, we have to check. But, for sure, he is out for Wednesday."

It was Martin O'Neill's first home defeat as Sunderland manager after going unbeaten in six on Wearside, and he said: "I thought we didn't deserve to lose.

"They won't have Henry next weekend when we play them here in the FA Cup. He has been a terrific player in the Premier League and he's scored again. But from our point of view, he shouldn't be allowed to find the net from that distance.

"Maybe the exertions from extra-time at Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening took a toll on us a little. We were tired but perhaps the tables will be turned next week when we've had a week to rest and they've played in midweek."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page23)

Tennis

Australia routs China 5-0

Australia completed a 5-0 whitewash of China in the Davis Cup on Sunday with straight sets victories for Chris Guccione and Matthew Ebden.

Guccione downed Wu Di 6-2, 6-4 in a best-of-three rubber and Davis Cup debutant Ebden beat Ma Yanan 6-4, 6-2 in his reverse singles match.

Australia went into Sunday with a tie-winning 3-0 lead after Guccione and Davis Cup veteran Lleyton Hewitt won Saturday's doubles clash against Li Zhe and Zhang Ze - China's best-ranked male player - in straight sets.

Athletics

Blake 2nd in 400, Bolt a no-show

World 100m champion Yohan Blake opened his season with a 400m personal best on Saturday at the Camperdown Classic while 100m world-record holder Usain Bolt skipped the Jamaican meet.

Blake's time of 46.49 seconds was .2 of a second behind winner Allodin Fothergill, a member of Jamaica's third-place 4x400m team at last year's World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Blake, who ran very easily for the first 200m, faded in the homestretch with Fothergill moving past in the last 10m for the victory.

Soccer

Rooney backs Gerrard

Wayne Rooney said he would cherish the opportunity to become England captain, but backed Steven Gerrard to get the job once a new coach is installed to replace Fabio Capello.

"For everyone asking, I would love to be England captain. But that's up to the new manager to decide. Gerrard is perfect choice for me," Rooney wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday.

Rooney scored both goals on Saturday as his Manchester United side beat Gerrard's Liverpool 2-1 in a stormy Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Skating

Lovebirds in fashion show

China's figure skating lovebirds, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, celebrated an early Valentine's Day by taking part in a fashion show on Saturday in Beijing.

Invited by Fujian Seven Brand Group Co Ltd, which is an integrated enterprise mainly engaged in designing and selling clothes, the world champion pair took part in the show in celebration of its first Valentine's Day after announcing its affair last May.

"We are busy preparing for the World Championships next month, so we may have no time to celebrate on Valentine's Day (Tuesday). So, today's show is a celebration in advance," said Pang on Saturday.

AFP-China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page23)

MADRID - Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted his side's sinking hopes of hanging onto its La Liga crown were at the mercy of bitter rival Real Madrid following Saturday's shock 3-2 defeat at Osasuna.

The loss left Real with the chance to open up a 10-point gap at the top if Jose Mourinho's side beats Levante on Sunday.

"Win the title? Well, we will try to defend our Champions League crown and then attempt to negotiate each match in La Liga," said Guardiola on a freezing night in Pamplona.

"We will see what happens. But we are a significant distance behind, which I guess will increase on Sunday. The league will be more difficult for us now.

"In the second half tonight we did well on this pitch but we should have done better in the first half. It was hard for us to get into this game but we have to congratulate Osasuna."

The reigning La Liga and Champions League winner has struggled on its travels this season with just four wins and succumbed to its second defeat on Saturday.

A double from Dejan Lekic put Osasuna in a commanding position before the break and while Alexis Sanchez reduced the arrears after 50 minutes, a clinical finish from Raul Garcia restored the two-goal cushion.

Substitute Cristian Tello hit Barca's second and there were chances at either end in the final stages, but Osasuna held on.

While Barca struggle, Real continues to roll over its opposition, having won 18 of 21 games, scoring 71 goals in the process, eight more than the champion.

Guardiola continued to put his faith in youth against Osasuna and left Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas on the bench with possibly their midweek Champions League match with Bayer Leverkusen in mind.

Sergio Busquets was also absent through injury, and the Catalan side lacked its normal fluidity on a bumpy pitch.

A double from Lekic put Osasuna in a commanding position before the break with only a shot from distance by Lionel Messi, tipped over by the keeper Andres Fernandez, offered in response.

Barca started the second half strongly and after five minutes substitute Juan Cuenca crossed for Sanchez to reduce the arrears.

But just as the visitors appeared to be turning the game around, Garcia restored the two-goal cushion with a clinical finish off the post.

Barca had more of the ball and another substitute, Tello, fired in their second, which beat the keeper at his near post.

In the final stages, Francisco Punal hit the post for the home side while Sanchez had a goal ruled out for offside.

Despite Barcelona's problems, Real Madrid coach Mourinho feels the title contest will not be decided any time soon.

"February is possibly more difficult for us than Barcelona as we take on Levante, Racing (Santander), who are improving, Rayo (Vallecano), without doubt the surprise package this season, and then Espanyol, who are fighting for a place in Europe," he said.

"Levante are a good side and not just for the fact they have beaten Barcelona but also for where they are in the table. In October and November everyone thought they would run out of steam."

Earlier, a series of spurned chances saw Atletico Madrid draw 0-0 at struggling Racing Santander but the revival under Diego Simeone continued as it pushes for a place in Europe.

Atletico is now in sixth place while it is unbeaten in six games and yet to concede a goal under the new Argentine coach although this was its second consecutive goalless stalemate.

It is a point above Athletic Bilbao who lost 2-1 away to Real Betis after conceding an injury-time strike from Nelson.

Ruben Castro put the home side ahead after 10 minutes but Athletic drew level with Javi Martinez heading home after being left unmarked at a corner.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page23)

BEIJING - For German automaker Volkswagen AG, China is not only its biggest market for high quality cars but also a place where it is investing heavily in a global standard "green" manufacturing base.

Volkswagen built the new plant in a joint venture with local partner FAW Group in Chengdu.

It opened on Oct 13 and is hailed as a global benchmark for factory energy efficiency, resource utilization and environmental protection.

It incorporates the world's most advanced technology and equipment and also involves Volkswagen's state-of-the-art measures for sustainable development.

Manufacturing includes control measures before, during and after production using 22 worldwide standardized environmental criteria designed to minimize the impact on the environment and better utilize energy and resources.

In the press shop aluminum scraps are 100 percent recycled. In the welding shop, new techniques enable a 72.3 percent saving of electricity compared with using traditional machines,

The welding production line has 240 robotic operations and is the most advanced in China. It can finish welding work on 60 cars an hour.

The paint shop features "eco-dry scrubber" technology, which reduces by 90 percent the amount of water used on the paint line.

Through using pulverized lime instead of water to deal with paint fog, the technology, currently unique in China, can help the FAW-Volkswagen Chengdu plant save 2,600 tons of water a year. Moreover, the used pulverized lime can be reused as raw material in the cement industry.

It also reduces carbon dioxide emissions from the final paint line by nearly 10,000 tons, or 19.6 per cent. The 100 percent automation rate creates a perfectly smooth paint surface on the cars.

At the general assembly line, a closed water cycle is used to test car seals. The latest conveyance machinery is employed to save energy.

The plant has already achieved a yearly output of 350,000 cars, which will be increased to 450,000 cars after it is fully completed in 2013. The joint venture is producing the new Jetta and Sagitar models and will manufacture A-grade, A0-grade, B-grade vehicles, four-wheel drives and hybrid electric cars in the future.

According to a recent survey jointly conducted by Tsinghua University and public relations firm Ruder Finn, 92.1 percent of consumer respondents say they are concerned about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the automobile industry, a figure much higher than in other industries.

"Consumers are the most direct and essential resource of enterprise profits and they are showing unprecedented concern for CSR today. And green production is one of the key sectors for a company to achieve its sustainable development," said Fiona Lang, associate account director of Ruder Finn CSR team.

"In the short term, the huge investment in 'green' production will put pressure on the company's costs. However, through innovative technology, production processes and management, the company may increase its efficiency, thereby reducing operational costs from a long-term perspective. Moreover, as more consumers adopt an eco-lifestyle, their likes and dislikes are having more and more direct influences on the reputation and performance of enterprises."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page22)

Former watchdog calls for more transparency

Government-backed charity groups must improve transparency or risk losing donors and public trust, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a former watchdog official.

Wang Zhenyao, the former head of the department of social welfare and charities under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, also called for a loosening in the requirement for organizations to be registered as public charity foundations. Only public foundations that are affiliated to the government are allowed to raise funds from the public.

A series of scandals triggered a public outcry over government-backed charity groups last year.

"This dented the image of China's public charity groups," according to Wang.

Education favored by charity donors

China received a total of 24 million yuan ($3.8 million) in donations in the week Jan 28 to Feb 3, China Philanthropy Times reported, citing information from the China Charity and Donation Information Center.

Education received the most donations at 77 percent, according to the report.

Overall, charities received more than 60 percent of the donations, the report said.

School bus standards to be enacted this year

The Ministry of Education pledged to set up a nationwide school bus standard before the end of this year after a series of deadly school bus accidents in late 2011 aroused public concern over the vehicles' reliability, Beijing News reported.

The ministry also said it plans to establish a lodging school system in rural areas and will be more cautious on issues such as merging and abolishing schools in remote regions.

The government's move to reduce the number of schools in rural areas has forced many children to travel several kilometers between school and home each day.

Thousands of hectares of wetlands restored

China restored 23,000 hectares of wetlands in 2011, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing information from the State Forestry Administration (SFA).

An SFA spokesman said China reinforced wetland protection in 2011 by increasing subsidies in appropriate areas. During the year the country carried out 42 wetland protection projects, increased 330,000 hectares of protected wetland areas, added four wetlands of international importance and 68 national wetland parks.

The spokesman said in 2012 the country will further step up wetland protection and restoration, finish the second national wetland resources investigation and carry out pilot projects in assessing healthy conditions of the wetland ecological system.

Ecological security barrier for Tibet

Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region spent 3.2 billion yuan ($507 million) in 2011 to turn the area into an "ecological security barrier", the local government said.

The spending financed 10 major projects including the conservation of Tibet's pastureland and wetlands, measures to prevent forest fires and pests, wildlife protection and environmental monitoring, said Zhang Yongze, the regional environmental protection chief.

Tibet, covering more than 1.2 million square kilometers, plays a vital role in maintaining the eco balance on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. With abundant glacier resources, rivers, wild animals and plants, the plateau region is widely recognized as a potential regulator against climate change for Asia and the entire Northern Hemisphere.

The State Council, China's cabinet, approved plans for the construction of Tibet's eco-security barrier in 2009.

Paper recycling to be promoted

China will promote recycling paper and reducing its use in order to save resources and protect the environment, according to the country's new five-year plan for its paper industry.

The authorities should urge people to cut back on using high-quality paper such as sheets with high whiteness, said the country's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for the paper industry, released in January.

Current paper product standards should be revised to encourage the production of energy-saving and emission-reducing paper, and promote the substitution of paper packaging with other options, said the plan.

The plan requires government purchasers to give priority to paper products mixed with waste paper, and to reduce paper use by switching to digital systems.

More trees for Beijing

The municipal government of Beijing said it plans to add 1 million mu (66,667 hectares) of woodland in the next five years, Beijing News reported on Feb 2.

The move will lift the capital's forest coverage to more than 25 percent, it said.

The government plans to add 200,000 mu of forests this year. The urban afforestation program was set to be a key emphasis in the government's annual work agenda, said the newspaper.

Most of the woodlands are planned for flat areas in southern Beijing, according to the local government.

Fish farmers banned from selling produce

Fish farmers in two counties in the lower reaches of a cadmium-contaminated river in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have been banned from selling their fish, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Fishermen from the Liujiang and Liucheng counties of Liuzhou city have been prohibited from selling farmed and wild fish from the Rongjiang River, where the spill occurred, according to a ruling by the Liuzhou Municipal Fishery, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau.

The two counties are located downstream of the Rongjiang River, right before it joins the Liujiang River, which runs through Liuzhou city.

The local government pledged to evaluate fishermen's losses and will order the polluter to pay compensation to the fishermen, local newspapers reported.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page22)

$1.6 million will help Ministry of Education, UN fund for young in five counties

BEIJING - The Walt Disney Co announced a $1.6million donation to support United Nations Children's Fund and the Ministry of Education in a project aimed at improving the quality of children's education and creativity in China.

The donation will support the SMILE Project's creative programs targeting children in grades three to five in primary schools in five counties in Guangxi Zhuang and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces and Chongqing municipality.

The programs will focus on making learning fun and enjoyable through the introduction of creative and engaging teaching methods and materials.

Its pilot program will involve 1,200 teachers and 18,000 to 36,000 children at schools in the five counties.

"We at Disney believe it is critical to harness the power of creativity to help children and families improve their communities and create the future they imagine," said Jay Rasulo, senior executive vice-president and chief financial officer of the Walt Disney Co, during a visit to Beijing. The company has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with more than 1,000 employees in the country.

"It is our hope that Disney's investment will help nurture the creative thinking skills necessary to become innovators and entrepreneurs of the future," Rasulo said.

Disney's track record in learning and education spans more than 30 years of experience, with world class educational materials found in excess of 100,000 classrooms in 50 countries.

Rasulo said the company's business is to tell great stories and relate them in new and unique ways. This initiative to "bring innovation and fun to learning, to imagine learning in a new way that creates innovative-thinkers and children who grow to be innovative-thinking adults, is exciting to us", said Rasulo, who added it is "our mission to champion the well-being of children".

Gillian Mellsop, Unicef Representative in China, said the organization is delighted to launch this "very special and innovative partnership" with Disney for the benefit of China's most disadvantaged children living in remote rural communities.

"The SMILE project will lend significant momentum to the Ministry of Education's efforts to bring about deep-rooted reform in classroom teaching and learning practices," Mellsop said.

"As with all of our work, we have great confidence that the lessons we learn through this collaboration will contribute to improved national policies and programs that will eventually benefit children across the length and breadth of China."

The strategy of enhancing the learning experience includes the development of materials and methods for effective teaching of difficult areas of the curriculum and the development of individual group games that reinforce curricular concepts and help develop children's cognitive and social life skills.

It also helps establish libraries in schools and host community fairs and summer camps.

The two-year program will see the strategy implemented and measured with recommendations made after this period to produce a template for its repetition in more schools around the country.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page22)

More than 15 years after the event, duxianqin (one-string dulcimer) player Su Chunfa still fondly recalls his first performance in a music hall, at the Shanghai Tourism Festival in 1996, and the rousing applause at the end.

"The audience was excited and many waited in line to try it out for themselves afterwards," the 56-year-old says.

The duxianqin is fashioned out of a single bamboo reed and is played by the Jing ethnic group, which mainly live on the islands of Dongxing city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It was included on the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2011.

Having played the duxianqin for half a century and passed on his skills to hundreds of people, Su was designated as a successor of intangible cultural heritages in Guangxi, in 2008.

Su's connection with the duxianqin started when he was 5.

"When I was herding cows with my uncle, he often played the duxianqin when he had time to rest. Its shape was so interesting and the sound so beautiful I asked my uncle to teach me to play. However, he refused, saying I was too young then," says Su, from Wanwei village.

At the age of 11, Su and another four villagers started to learn the instrument, but it was so difficult Su's four classmates gave up after a few days.

"I feel so blessed that I did not give up," he says. "Now, there are few Jing people and even less play the duxianqin. That is why it is so important that this skill is passed on to a new generation."

He says he has taught more than 300 people to play the duxianqin.

"They come from every part of the country and I do not charge as it is my responsibility to help this art survive," Su says.

When he was young, like many other Jing, Su traded goods with neighboring Vietnam, then set up his own business to repair bamboo rafts and trade seafood.

"That is why I can afford the expense of training people to play the duxianqin for free," he says, adding his wife and kids now take care of his business.

"I like duxianqin very much," says Wu Hongyu, one of Su's students. "Although Su is very busy, he always instructs me whenever I visit him."

Su also takes pride in a troupe he has formed to entertain his fellow villagers.

"The 10-member team always performs during the Spring Festival," Su says. "Our performance is closely related to our culture and lives such as fishing and harvesting."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page20)

An ongoing project moving Yao ethnic group members from their traditional mountain homes to more urban settings leaves just the elderly behind. Guo Jiaxue and Zhang Yu'an report.

Matouchong, one of the country's largest and oldest Yao ethnic villages, is in Liannan Yao autonomous county, 230 km northwest of Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou. The 10-hectare village's history dates back 1,000 years and in its heyday comprised about 700 houses and over 7,000 residents. Today, the village has just 300 shabby houses and is home to 100 people. The exodus began in the 1980s and it didn't take long before Matouchong became almost a ghost town. Young people have moved out and most of those remaining are in their twilight years, such as 86-year-old Deng Shalierpo.

When it's warm, Deng usually sits and watches the comings-and-goings on Main Street, built on a ridge, in the heart of the village.

The street is practically deserted most of the time, with just the occasional old woman walking by in clothing that appears ill-suited to the winter temperatures.

Most of the time, Deng just stares at the great vista of mountains spread out in the distance.

Once, Main Street was full of vitality, Deng says. Now the houses lining the street, with black tiles and gray brick walls, are empty.

The age-old water supply system is still in perfect condition, however, and clear water from the mountain trickles through bamboo pipes on either side of the street.

Sometimes young, noisy travelers pass by.

"It's good to have tourists, it's much livelier," Deng says cheerily in the local dialect, her smile revealing the last of her upper front teeth.

Deng lives in a traditional Yao brick house, a single room of about 10 square meters. In the center of the room is a small burner, which has blackened the room's walls.

The firewood piled high outside the house blocks the sunlight, making the room lit by a single light bulb even darker.

Deng seizes a handful of sweet potatoes from the pot on the burner, as she invites her visitors to enter. She hands out the sweet potatoes and begins to tell her story.

She was born and grew up in the village, married and had two sons. They left in the 1980s and 1990s and have families of their own in modern flats at the foot of the mountain.

Deng's husband died nine years ago but she insists she doesn't feel "abandoned".

Deng grows her own vegetables and cooks for herself. "I feel healthy for a woman of my age."

The pain in her left leg has slowed her down in the past two years, but that didn't stop her from walking down the mountain to have cataract surgery a few months ago.

She stayed with her youngest son's family for a short time after the surgery and then returned to the village.

"Kids are noisy," she explains. "I had nothing to do during the daytime when my son and daughter-in-law went to work and the kids went to school."

"I have dozens of old friends in the village, I'm used to life here."

The local government of Liannan Yao autonomous county encourages Yao people to move out from the mountains and live in more urban settings.

Eight new villages have been built that have cozy modern flats and access to medical care, education and well-paid jobs in the town. The homes are offered to eligible Yao people for around 40,000 yuan ($6,400) for a 70-square-meter two-bedroom apartment.

The relocation project, involving 80,000 ethnic Yao people in Liannan, has been ongoing for years.

Yet, old people like Deng choose to stay and hold on to their age-old traditions, such as wearing traditional costumes, cooking with wood and drinking mountain water from bamboo pipes.

For Deng, village life is easy and simple. "I don't want to leave."

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page20)

Diva opened the door to Western pop, report Chen Nan, He Na and Wang Chenyan in Beijing.

Musicians, producers and fans on Sunday paid tribute to US soul diva Whitney Houston, hailing her as an inspirational figure who opened the door to Western pop music.

The singer, a household name in China since her 1992 mega-hit I Will Always Love You, was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room on Saturday (Sunday, Beijing time). She was 48.

"She was a queen on the stage," music mogul Song Ke wrote on his micro blog shortly after hearing of Houston's death. "My heart and soul were shocked when I watched her live in concert. We will not find many voices like hers."

Song, founder of Taihe Rye Music and former head of Warner China, said he had seen the diva perform in the United States and China and described being overwhelmed by her talent.

"In this fast-changing world, when a new star pops up every day, it's easy to forget a voice. But for Chinese fans her songs will always be classics," he told China Daily. "She was far too young to die."

Xiao Ke, the popular singer-songwriter, also expressed his shock and said that Houston's style was unforgettable.

"Take a look at what she did and you'll see she was a born singer," said the Beijing-based musician, who has written hits for stars including Faye Wong and Na Ying. "Whitney Houston conquered the world with her voice."

Houston had been in LA for Sunday's Grammy Awards and was staying at the Beverly Hilton, where she was also scheduled to perform at a pre-ceremony party hosted by Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records.

Lieutenant Mark Rosen of the Los Angeles County Police Department told the Associated Press that emergency services were called to the singer's room on the fourth floor. Paramedics, who found her in the bath, were unable to resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 pm.

The cause of death is still under investigation, he said, adding that there was "no obvious signs of any criminal intent".

A report in The Los Angeles Times said Houston had behaved erratically during an appearance on Thursday at a rehearsal for a Grammy awards party. Although she greeted people with a warm smile, she appeared disheveled, with mismatched clothes and dripping-wet hair, the paper said.

The singer flailed her hands frenetically as she spoke, skipped around the ballroom in a childlike fashion and wandered aimlessly about the lobby, according to the report.

Davis, who had been the diva's longtime mentor, went ahead with his annual concert at the hotel and dedicated the evening to Houston. He asked for a moment of silence, while a photo of the singer, hands wide open, looking to the sky, appeared on the screen.

After bursting on to the scene in the US in the 1980s, Houston went on to become one of the world's biggest R&B stars, with hits including I Have Nothing, All At Once and Get It Back.

To date, she has sold more than 170 million albums and still holds the record for the most Grammy's won by a female artist.

Her success in China came in the early 1990s, following the global hit The Bodyguard, for which she recorded I Will Always Love You. At the time, the only way for many people to hear about Western pop acts was through limited edition tapes and music magazines.

Her only performances in China were in 2004, when she appeared in concert in Beijing and Shanghai. She traveled from the US with her then-husband, Bobby Brown, and their daughter.

Following her divorce from Brown in 2007, Houston is reported to have struggled with alcohol and drug problems, which some critics say seriously affected her vocal range.

"From looking at the news of the last few years, we can see that her physical and mental health has suffered. That's inevitably a bad sign for such an established singer," Song said.

Last year, Houston canceled several dates on her world tour, including concerts in China, citing illness.

However, despite all her offstage problems, the soul diva has remained a huge draw for Chinese music fans.

Zhang Liangying, winner of TV's Supergirl talent show, and Lin Yu-Chun, who is known as Taiwain's answer to Susan Boyle, both said on Sunday that Houston had been a major influence on their lives.

Lin, 24, whose version of I Will Always Love You has been viewed at least 480,000 times on Youtube, the video-sharing website, said he had always wanted to duet with the US sensation. "My dream can never be fulfilled now," he was quoted as saying by media in Taiwan. "My heart is broken."

Many other stars from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland expressed their grief on the Internet.

"Whitney your great voice was the spark that ignited the explosion of stars who followed behind you," wrote Taiwan singer-songwriter Tanya Tsia on her micro blog.

The blog sphere was also lit by messages of grief from Houston's fans across China's mainland, many of whom grew up in the 1980s. Most said they were left speechless by the tragic news.

"Whitney Houston, you were my first contact with a foreign female singer. Thanks for your songs for so many years. I'll never forget your voice," wrote one of the 500,000 bloggers who had posted on Sina Weibo, a popular micro-blogging website, as of 4:30 pm on Sunday.

"What a pity!" wrote Vicky Hao, a Chinese Canadian who works as a simultaneous interpreter in Beijing. She added that Houston had "one of the most powerful voices in the business" and that her songs were always moving.

Yu Yang, a 30-year-old engineer at a State-owned enterprise in Beijing, told China Daily that he remembers being surprised by how well Houston could act when he watched The Bodyguard.

"I first listened to her songs and I thought she just a singer, but in fact she was a great entertainer," he said.

Johnny Jiang, who works for PayPal in Shanghai, said he was devastated by the news of Houston's death. He has been listening to the diva's music since he was at middle school.

"She was blessed with talent. Her voice was the soundtrack to an era," he said.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page1)

At her peak, Whitney Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. She had the perfect voice and the perfect image.

Yet, by the end, she had become a stunning cautionary tale of drug use.

Growing up in New Jersey, Houston seemed born to greatness: the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of soul legend Aretha Franklin.

She started singing in church, and by her teens was working as a studio backup for Chaka Khan, and modeling. It was then that music mogul Clive Davis heard her perform.

"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he said of the occasion.

Houston's debut album, Whitney Houston, in 1985, sold millions and brought her first Grammy. She followed this with the multi-platinum Whitney in 1987.

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism from some who saw her as playing down her black roots. Some saw her 1992 marriage to soul bad-boy Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics.

The couple had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, born in 1993, the year after Houston's starring role in The Bodyguard and the worldwide chart hit I Will Always Love You.

During the career highs of the 1990s, Houston was using drugs. There were missed concert dates and public meltdowns, and she went to rehab twice before declaring herself drug-free to Oprah Winfrey in 2009. She blamed the drug use on her rocky marriage to Brown. (The couple divorced in 2007.)

Houston came back with the 2009 album I Look To You, but things soon fell apart. At concerts, Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key, while a world tour launched overseas left many fans unimpressed.

Before her death on Sunday, Houston's once-serene image was shattered. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her voice had become raspy and hoarse.

"The biggest devil is me," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in a 2002 interview. "I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy."

Associated Press - China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page1)

European leader says measures to tackle problem are being taken

BRUSSELS - The European Union itself, not China or any other emerging nation, will solve the eurozone debt crisis, European Council President Herman van Rompuy, said.

"The debt crisis in the eurozone is being solved by its members - the euro is a part of the DNA of Europe, a common currency at the heart of the daily life of more than 300 million citizens," Van Rompuy told China Daily in an interview before departing on a visit to India and China.

"All European leaders are determined to do whatever is needed to overcome the crisis," he said.

Van Rompuy will attend a summit with Chinese leaders on Tuesday. His remarks have dented speculation that the reason for his visit is mainly to seek Beijing's support in tackling the debt crisis.

His agenda includes cooperation on global and regional issues and this emphasizes the strategic interdependence between China and Europe, he said.

The EU has established a permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and that should be in place by the summer. It will have funds of 500 billion euros ($660 billion).

The existing rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), still has about 250 billion euros. More funds may be needed to build a firewall to protect bigger eurozone economies that may face difficulty.

Beijing has been closely watched by the market, especially after the EFSF head Klaus Regling visited China and other countries for help at the end of last year.

After weeks of internal consultation, Beijing has basically reached a consensus that it will act to enrich a bailout fund through international financial institutions once Europe comes up with a deliverable solution to the crisis, experts said. Chinese leaders are expected to reveal their position at the summit on Tuesday.

Van Rompuy said he appreciated the confidence Beijing has always demonstrated toward Europe and the euro.

The euro is a global reserve currency, second only to the US dollar, he said. "There is no doubt that the stability of the eurozone is important for the world economy".

Francois Godement, an expert on Chinese and East Asian affairs at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, said the unfolding European crisis is "bound to be a high priority" on the China-EU agenda.

China's goodwill is in contrast to US reluctance to contribute to a bailout plan, Godement said.

Van Rompuy said China and the EU are in the same boat because of their interdependence.

For example, as China's biggest export market, Europe has helped Chinese economic growth, he said. "On the other hand, China is our fastest growing market and an important force in stabilizing the euro."

Measures have been taken to restore confidence and growth, through financial firewalls, tightening fiscal policies and structural reforms, he added.

For the Tuesday summit, Beijing and Brussels have identified two main areas where they can make the "comprehensive strategic partnership" stronger. They will launch a brand new "high-level dialogue" aimed at improving communication between people.

"The EU and China, with almost 1.8 billion human beings, expect this dialogue to have real added value," Van Rompuy said.

"It will add another pillar to our architecture next to the economy and security," he said.

A partnership on "sustainable urbanization" will also be launched after China reached the symbolic point last year where the urban population exceeded the rural one.

The common objective will be to share and develop expertise in addressing this enormous challenge, he said.

Gu Junli, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Europe is also expected to provide cutting-edge technology to help China achieve environmental sustainability. "Europe is expected to enhance cooperation with China in eliminating pollution and inspiring Chinese policymakers to come up with new solutions in urban development," Gu said.

Zhang Yunbi in Beijing contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page1)

Great expectations in Iowa ahead of vice-president's reunion with friends

MUSCATINE, Iowa - The small town on the banks of the Mississippi River is "Feeling Great", abuzz with excitement and recalling happy memories as it looks forward to the return of an old friend - Vice-President Xi Jinping.

It was 27 years ago that Xi visited Muscatine, an agricultural center in the US heartland, when he led a delegation to learn about farming technology. The delegates were all given badges to wear sporting the town's slogan: "Feeling Great".

Sarah Lande, a resident of the town, had the same feeling early last month when she got a call from Iowa State Governor Terry Branstad.

"Sarah, guess what, I think Xi is coming to our state," Branstad said.

"I was really surprised and excited. I also felt humble, honored and, of course, a little proud," Lande said.

Lande, 73, and her husband Roger, 74, were among several families in Muscatine to host Xi in April, 1985.

Xi, then a local official in North China's Hebei province and director of Shijiazhuang Feed Association, led a five-member delegation to learn about agricultural technology in Iowa, the state that calls itself the Food Capital of the World.

They were visiting as part of an Iowa Sister State program after Hebei and Iowa cemented the relationship in 1983.

The delegation spent two weeks in Iowa, visiting farms, feed suppliers, and grain processing and food biotechnology companies.

The three days Xi spent in the small, charming town of 23,000 left him with fond memories.

At the invitation of US Vice-President Joe Biden, Xi will visit the United States on Feb 13-17. He will arrive in Washington DC to meet with US President Barack Obama and other government officials, and then leave for Iowa and Los Angeles.

On Wednesday afternoon, Xi is due to meet up with old friends for tea in Muscatine before heading for the state capital Des Moines.

Lande, who was the executive director of Iowa's Sister State program for 12 years, is organizing the reunion.

She will prepare jasmine tea, champagne, spring rolls, sweets and other local tidbits for the occasion.

"He wants to meet only the people he has met before," Lande said. "There are 17 of them. It will be at least an hour. We will remember the old days."

The intervening years may have changed appearances, just a little bit, Joan Axel, who also played host to the 1985 Chinese guests, said.

"We all look a little bit different now. He remembers some of his old friends. I think he's curious about what we do now."

Many have retired, but one of the people who took the delegation on a tour around the Muscatine Foods Corp grain processing plant in 1985 still works for that company.

Xi will meet his host family Eleanor and Tom Dvorchak at the reunion. He stayed at their four-bedroom house for two nights in 1985.

The Dvorchaks, moved to Florida three years ago, but will fly back to Muscatine on Tuesday to meet Xi.

"I lost track of him after he left," Eleanor, 72, said. "I was surprised when I heard he was coming back. But we had a lot of fun then and I am more than happy to go back to meet him again."

She has prepared a gift for Xi: Obama on the Couch, a book by Justin Frank, a highly regarded expert on psychoanalysis.

"I hope it will help Xi understand the man (US President Barack Obama) better and help them get along, so it will lead to a peaceful and successful relationship between China and the US," she said.

The Dvorchaks visited China in 1987 with a tour group and are hoping to go again. Their son Mark runs a China-related business consulting company in California.

Other folk in Muscatine, including a Chinese language teacher and her students at Muscatine High School, are equally looking forward to the vice-president's visit.

"He is such an important person from such an important country and all of us want to meet him in person," teacher Carol Kula said.

Aric Bower, a senior student who has studied Chinese for four years, added: "I was really amazed when I heard Xi was visiting. I never expected him to come to Muscatine."

For the local newspaper, the Muscatine Journal, it will be the biggest story of the year. Its editor Chris Steinbach has received dozens of calls from the media at home and abroad inquiring about Xi's trip.

"We will see how people from two different countries get together again after almost 30 years," he said. "It is pretty unusual and I have never heard anything like this happening before. It shows the importance of friendship and being open-minded about learning about other people's countries. I think that's pretty cool."

Sweet memories

Writer Mark Twain, once writing for the Journal, remembers Muscatine for its sunsets, while Xi remembers the town for its people.

Iowa Governor Branstad said Xi has kept the itinerary of the 1985 Iowa trip. "When I met him last September in Beijing, he mentioned many people he had met in Muscatine," Branstad said.

The hospitality of its people and its advanced agricultural industries were the reasons the small city was picked to host the Chinese delegation, Lande said.

"Joan and I had been to China in 1984 with the Sister State program and we were so excited about China, that we wanted them to share our homes and learn about our people," she said.

As the delegation was on a budget of $400 for three days, most of the local programs then were run by volunteer hosts such as the Dvorchaks.

Xi stayed in the bedroom of their two sons who were at college at that time.

"There were two beds with Star Wars wallpapers and Star Trek toys - a typical middle-class children's room," Eleanor said.

After a busy day touring with his delegation, Xi would enjoy some peace and quiet at the Dvorchaks' place. "I would make him a tea and let him unwind a little bit," she said.

Most Chinese visitors did not stay with host families at that time, Lande said.

"But that's one of the things Mr Xi enjoyed so much. He was brought in as part of the family, ate at the breakfast table and stayed in the kids' room. He really got to see a slice of American life," she said.

In addition to the tours to farms and companies, the delegation also enjoyed their social time with the hosts.

They had dinners at family homes, went on a boat trip on the Mississippi, had a farmhouse picnic and watched a local baseball game.

"It was the first delegation from China that we had and we were curious about each other," Axel said. "We talked about the family, business, food, homes, the kids, dogs and so on."

Xi is remembered as a good delegation leader with a warm heart.

"He was organized, curious and professional with a really warm nature," Lande said.

"I remember that he had a really nice smile," Axel said.

According to an article at the time in the Muscatine Journal, Xi said about the 1985 visit: "So far we have learned a lot, seen a lot and achieved a lot. The impression of the US is very good, I think. We have seen a lot of your advanced technology. The people here are very warm and very friendly. They too have left a very deep impression on us."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page1)

Ford sales hit the brakes

Ford Motor said last week that its sales last month of 30,976 vehicles in the country tumbled by 41.9 percent compared with a year ago due to reduced inventory and shortened showroom hours during the Chinese Spring Festival.

Its passenger vehicle joint venture Chang'an Ford Mazda sold 18,324 Ford-branded cars in January, a drop of 43 percent from the same month last year.

Sales by the commercial vehicle venture Jiangling Motors Corp also declined by 43 percent to 12,045 vehicles.

'Good Start' for Volkswagen

Sino-German joint venture Shanghai Volkswagen reported delivery of over 110,000 vehicles last month, which is "a good start for the Year of the Dragon", the company said.

Volkswagen brand vehicles sold 91,508 in January, including over 30,000 Passat family sedans, 20,408 Tiguan SUVs, more than 20,000 Lavida compact cars and over 15,000 Polo small cars.

Sales of Skoda brand cars totaled 18,500 last month, among which 10,616 were the Octavia compacts, in addition to 4,069 Superb mid-sized sedans and 3,815 Fabia small cars.

Tiggo SUVs prove popular

Domestic carmaker, Chery, sold 11,823 vehicles abroad in January, increasing 21 percent from a year earlier and 25 percent compared with last December.

The Tiggo SUV overseas delivery reached 5,185 units and accounted for more than 40 percent of the company's shipment last month.

The Anhui-based manufacturer exported a record 160,000 vehicles last year and maintained its position as the largest car exporter for nine consecutive years.

GM sales run full-throttle

General Motors and its Chinese joint ventures sold 246,654 vehicles in January increasing 25.3 percent over last December to mark the second largest January sales ever. However due to the Spring Festival, monthly sales were 8 percent lower than the same period of 2011.

Passenger vehicle sales of the Shanghai GM reached 124,073 units in the month. Minivans and passenger vehicles of the SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 119,948 units. Light commercial vehicles of the FAW-GM sold 2,433 units.

The Buick brand sold 71,056 units in the month showing a slight increase. Chevrolet sold 54,399 units.

Asia drives BMW market

A January global sales for BMW increase had mainly come from the Chinese market with 26,505 units sold in the month that represents 30.5 percent growth from a year earlier.

Thanks to China and Japan, its Asia sales reached 36,422 units in January with a 25.6 percent growth rate over the same period of 2011.

On the global scale, the auto group sold 112,000 units in the month.

The BMW brand sold 96,000 units. MINI sold 15,768 units, up 11.6 percent from the same period last year.

Motoring

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page18)

The German-based Auto Motor and Sports magazine hosted the "Best Cars 2012" awards ceremony on Feb 8 in Beijing and bestowed several titles on Mercedes-Benz.

Björn Hauber, executive vice-president for sales & marketing at Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd, was honored as the "Executive of the Year", an award that recognizes people who have made outstanding contributions to the auto industry in 2011.

"This award honors the entire team and everyone at Mercedes-Benz China for their hard work and dedication over the past year, and it motivates us to strive for even greater achievements in the future," he said.

Additionally the Best Car awards were given to the smart for two, S-Class, and R-Class cars, and Best Brand awards granted for its "best quality", "highest safety standard" and "best advertising". This follows Mercedes-Benz most successful year ever in the Chinese market enjoying a growth rate of 35 percent with sales approaching 200,000 vehicles.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page18)

Two companies near a merger deal

BEIJING - China Grand Auto, the second-largest domestic car dealer measured by revenues, is eyeing an acquisition that is still under negotiations.

The distributor has been in talks with Sanroad to buy the second-largest auto sales company in Sichuan province for about 1.4 billion yuan, according to local media reports.

The deal hasn't been finalized as both sides are declining to talk publicly about it.

China Grand Auto sold more than 410,000 vehicles last year and reaped over 63 billion yuan in revenues, according to its Website. The dealer operates nearly 400 4S shops (authorized franchises offer sales, spare parts, services and surveys) across the country.

A success story in the energy and real estate sectors, its parent company, Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group Co Ltd based in Urumqi, got into auto sales and services in 2001 and expanded rapidly by acquiring leading local dealerships in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Henan province.

China Grand Auto was registered in Guilin, Guangxi in 2006 and grew into a sizable group by taking over dealerships in various provinces and cities such as Hebei, Anhui, Gansu and Chongqing.

It is seeking an initial public offering to finance future acquisitions and expansions. The company is backed by the US private investment firm, TPG, which owns 42 percent shares while Xinjiang Guanghui is the biggest shareholder.

China Grand Auto has just a small margin of revenues less than the Shanghai-listed Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. If the acquisition of Sanroad succeeds, it could become the top car dealer in the nation.

Domestic auto dealers are fragmented and a trend has developed for successful dealerships to expand through mergers and acquisitions, analysts said.

According to statistics of the China Automobile Dealer Association, the top 100 dealerships in China account for just 21 percent of market share.

A guideline issued by the Ministry of Commerce last December called for more consolidation with a target in 2015 to have three to five large dealerships that hold revenues of over 100 billion yuan and 30 regional dealers with revenues of over 10 billion yuan.

The top-ranked 100 dealers should account for at least 30 percent of the market share by then, the document said.

The luxury car dealership China Zhengtong Auto Services Holding Ltd that ranks just No 20 in the industry, acquired the ninth-biggest domestic auto dealer - SCAS Investment Co Ltd - for 5.5 billion yuan last September, marking the largest acquisition in recent years.

Additionally the Hong Kong-listed Zhengtong had succeeded with three smaller takeovers last year at a combined payment of up to 534 million yuan.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page19)

Car manufacturers boost sales in Chinese market

BEIJING - Brilliant sales in the car market of China last year helped General Motors, Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan Alliance outperform Toyota to become the top three global carmakers.

China has transformed into the single biggest market worldwide for the three auto leaders and is expected to play a decisive role in the years ahead.

US carmaker GM regained its crown as the No 1 automaker after selling over 9 million vehicles last year. Industry observers concede that China sales had contributed significantly to its rising status.

With two joint ventures in China, GM sold approximately 2.55 million vehicles in the country last year, which accounts for more than a fourth of its global tally. About half of the vehicles sold were minivans, a small and cheap vehicle practical for carrying cargo and people and popular in rural regions.

Volkswagen of Germany did benefit from explosive domestic sales as well. Chinese consumers accounted for more than a quarter of its 8.16 million vehicles delivered last year.

The automaker announced last year it would invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.86 billion) into joint ventures in China from 2012 to 2016 to lift production capacity and develop new models. Combined annual capacity at its joint venture plants are expected to surpass 3 million vehicles in the next few years.

The Renault-Nissan alliance reported combined sales of over 8 million last year and about 1.27 million cars were sold to the Chinese. It maintains domestic production of Nissan cars and in talks with a local partner, Dongfeng Motor Corp, to restart manufacturing Renault vehicles in the near future.

Toyota sold just 880,000 vehicles in China, the least amount compared with the previous three companies. Its global sales totaled 7.95 million last year causing it to drop to the fourth position for global sales. Toyota had been the No 1 in the world for three consecutive years before.

The Chinese-language media reported that Toyota plans to move its China business department to the country from Japan so all decisions could be made by local operations with a quicker response.

Toyota plans to boost its sales in China to over 1 million units this year.

The fifth-largest automaker, Hyundai-Kia of South Korea, enjoyed strong sales here with more than 1 million vehicles sold last year. Meanwhile, it sold nearly 6.6 million vehicles worldwide.

Vehicles sales last year in China totaled 18 million units, which maintains its position as the largest market in the world for three consecutive years.

The nation has become a new center of gravity and annual light vehicle sales could well exceed 30 million by 2018, about twice the market size of the US, according to market research firm JD Power and Associates and LMC Automotive.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page18)

BEIJING - In the midst of stiffer competition that placed Chinese homegrown cars in a tight spot, Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group) announced it would launch its first own-brand car next month.

The compact hatchback with the nameplate "Beijing", was expected to hit the market last year but struggled with a delay due to a longer than anticipated process over obtaining government approval.

With the green light from regulators, the automaker, based in the capital city, can sell its cars this year: first a low-priced five-door model in March with engine options of 1.3 and 1.5 liters, and later a medium-sized sedan coming in the latter half the year.

The fifth-largest auto group in China will open approximately 80 nationwide dealerships for the Beijing vehicles by the end of the year along with a separate sales network of 100 shops for Weiwang minivans that were launched a year ago.

Combined sales of Beijing cars and Weiwang minivans are expected to reach 100,000 units this year, the company said.

"The biggest challenge is winning over consumer confidence in regards to homegrown brands," said Dong Haiyang, vice-president of BAIC Motor, a subsidy of the group set up for a planned stock listing.

About 2.9 million domestic-brand cars (excluding minivans) were sold last year, less than a third of the total market volume, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Its market share had dropped by 1.78 percentage points compared with a year earlier as a result of fiercer competition from foreign-brand rivals and the expiration of tax incentives for small cars - a segment that most domestic automakers compete in.

Before the Weiwang minivan hit the market in March last year, BAIC Group did not produce self-developed passenger vehicles and the majority of its earnings were contributed by its partnerships with the German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai Motors of South Korea.

With 1.54 million vehicles sold last year, revenues increased 27 percent to 201 billion yuan and net profits surged 46 percent to 15.8 billion yuan. More than 80 percent of profits originated from its joint ventures.

The group announced a target to achieve a modest increase of 8 percent in net profits this year that indicates a determination to invest heavily in the development of homemade vehicles.

The company seeks to sell 1.8 million vehicles this year, up 17 percent from the previous year with targets of a 14 percent increase in revenues to 230 billion yuan and net profits of 17 billion yuan.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page19)

BEIJING - Government-owned cars would likely be subjected to a central government-proposed traffic volume control regulation that aims for more energy savings and emissions reductions.

According to guidelines drafted by 17 central government departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, cars owned by government institutions should not be used at least for one day during the five-day workweek.

The absent days would be assigned according to the last number of the license plates.

The practice is similar to a Beijing policy.

For example, at present, cars carrying license plates with the last numbers of 4 and 9 are restricted on Mondays, and with 0 and 5 on Tuesdays.

The proposal also called for staff to drive one day less every month, ride a bike when their travel distance is within 1 km and take public transportation within 5 km.

It asks government organizations to renew vehicle purchase plans with changed vehicle purchase standards. Buying medium and small-displacement cars as well as new-energy vehicles has been encouraged when making purchasing budget.

The trial on government-owned vehicle restrictions has been carried out in Jiangsu province since October 2008.

Media reports said, "no one has been heard to be punished due to breach of the restrictions." Other reports quoted interviewers saying that, "it worked well at the beginning, but was gradually neglected later."

According to the Government Offices Administration of the State Council, which has been engaged in drafting the proposal, the restriction will not be compulsory.

Wang Zechu, a Guangdong provincial official, applauded the proposal and said there is no need to make compulsory documents or punishments over its implementation. "Whether it can be carried out or not depends on government departments and officials themselves," he said.

But Li Gongming, a renowned scholar in Guangdong, said the proposal is only logically feasible. He said the most important is that government bodies should make their vehicle purchase budgets transparent.

Han Zhipeng, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from Guangdong, said lack of supervision and implementation measures would be the fatal flaw of the plan.

"The key is whether related governments have the resolution to implement it," he said.

Ordinary people have expressed concerns on BBS and microblogs (Weibo).

"I'm wondering if some regional governments will buy even more vehicles. I wonder if some organizations will purchase several license plates for one car to avoid the restriction," a netizen commented on Weibo.

"It is just a show," another Weibo user named "Jiangweishengbu" said. "It might be our luck to see that a government-owned vehicle only run 5,000 km every month on roads," he mocked.

The Nandu Daily newspaper in Guangzhou, which is known for insightful comments, said, "When it comes to issues relating to energy conservation and emissions reductions, why are the rules so strict on ordinary people, but very loose on officials?"

The article added, "no doubt, only when the government and its staff sacrifice some privileges and give up some personal gains for a greener environment, can public awareness on energy savings and emissions reductions really occur.

Otherwise, no matter how many documents and plans are released, or how definite and loud the slogans sound, it makes no sense to the public good."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page18)

Data from an e-commerce portal shows that searches for the word "chocolate" on its website numbered 1.48 million, a 268 percent month-on-month rise. As part of an attempt to promote brands, some e-shops encourage users to share their love stories and photos in online forums and social networking sites. Ye Hong / for China Daily

Festival has gained a firm foothold on the Web-based retail landscape

SHANGHAI - If we need another sign that the Valentine's Day has become over-commercialized in China, e-commerce sites have now joined in the annual frenzy.

Zhong Junwei, a self-employed online retailer in Shenzhen, never expected to be so busy just two weeks after the Spring Festival, the country's most celebrated holiday.

But with the Valentine's Day around the corner, he soon realized it was a great opportunity to cash in.

Zhong registered his company website, OnlyLove Gift Co Ltd, in Hong Kong five years ago. With the right business acumen, he sensed that the then-fledgling e-commerce was a perfect match for the gift-giving tradition in the Chinese culture.

"We design, manufacture and sell holiday gifts online. Valentine's Day is the one occasion we value most," Zhong told China Daily.

His product line for this Feb 14 stretched from glass trophy cups with sculpted characters that read "Best Boyfriend Award", personalized cushions with a spouse's picture depicted on top and jewelry tailor-made to customers' needs.

Revenue generated on Valentine's Day is on average three times higher than on a normal day. Zhong expects sales to be double those of last year, hitting 2 million yuan ($317,460), a decent gain for a company of 500,000 yuan registered capital.

"The exchange of gifts is important during courtship. It is based in part on establishing one's credentials as a romantic and generous soul," he said.

Zhong's story resembles that of many bigger online markets, where cashing in on romance has started to thrive.

According to data from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, searches for the word "chocolate" on its Taobao marketplace numbered 1.48 million, a 268 percent month-on-month rise. Nearly 100,000 people ordered 790,409 pieces of chocolate through taobao.com.

Juhuasuan.com, the group-buying arm of Alibaba, introduced localized services such as discounted movie tickets, restaurant reservations and wedding photo coupons in 43 cities one week ahead of the holiday.

Rovio Entertainment Ltd, the maker of the popular game Angry Birds, unveiled its Valentine's Day special offers on its Tmall website, Alibaba's business-to-customer branch.

In an e-mail reply to China Daily, the company said Angry Birds-themed cookies are targeted at the upcoming festival. If bought with a couple of T-shirts, there is a 50 percent discount.

Likewise, yihaodian.com, a Chinese online supermarket in which the US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc took a stake, also joined the fray. Its group-buying services tried to strike decent bargains for users. A bunch of 11 teddy bears wrapped in a bouquet sells for just 89 yuan. In main street stores the price can be 300 yuan or more.

Yihaodian also enticed customers by offering deeply discounted candies and chocolate bars and "buy one get one free" discounts on about 50 items. For instance, it offered 15 yuan of Ferrero Rocher chocolates for 7.2 yuan. Healthcare food and massage items are also on the promotion list.

These discounts are intended to serve courting couples but also long-married couples when love has outgrown gift-giving rituals and both want something more substantial, said Zou Pin'e, the public relations manager at the company.

Festival marketing has gained a foothold on the e-commerce landscape, according to Wang Yong, vice-president of kela.cn, a shopping portal that sells jewelry.

The company's marketing slogan was that no price was too high for an engagement ring. It presented six rings with heart-shaped diamonds for the special occasion and more than 20 pendants and pearl ornaments at a 20 to 50 percent discount.

As part of its brand promotion, kela.cn encouraged its users to share their love stories and photos in online forums and social networking sites. Couples who join in are entered in a lucky draw with a top prize of a holiday in the Maldives.

"Holiday marketing has encapsulated all the assets of e-commerce businesses, ranging from price, logistics to quality. It is the versatility of products and after-sales services that help us to prosper," Wang said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page17)

SHANGHAI - For Zhang Youhai, a 33-year-old pomelo grower in Meizhou, Guangdong province, one of his happiest memories of 2011 was having all his produce sold through the government's farmer-supermarket direct purchase program at an early negotiated price. Many other individual growers suffered from a fall in prices.

The Year of the Rabbit was good for pomelo growers in terms of output. The annual output of the citrus fruit in Meizhou was about 400,000 tons, an increase of 20 percent from 2010.

However, farmers' incomes did not rise alongside the growth in output. The increasing market supply and lower demand in the global market triggered competition among growers and the retail price went down significantly.

The price at the end of 2011 was about 2 yuan (32 cents) a kilogram, a drop of 50 percent from August 2011.

"We had good expectations for the market performance in August. We never expected the price to drop so significantly," said Zhang. "The growing cost for a kilo of pomelos is around 2 yuan. The price drop meant some pomelo growers earned nothing for the whole year of 2011."

Zhang, whose family has grown pomelos for more than 20 years, did not suffer from the competition thanks to the farmer-supermarket direct purchase plan, which allowed him to sell 75,000 kilos of pomelos at 3.64 yuan a kilo, much higher than the average prices.

Zhang said some of his pomelos are sold to consumers through global retailing giants' distribution channels including CP Lotus Supermarket, which is a subsidiary of Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Group.

"I signed a contract to sell all my pomelos to a fruit trading company at a fixed price. The company acted as a channel in the direct purchase plan in Meizhou. They buy our pomelos and sell them to supermarkets. My task is to supply enough pomelos at the end of 2011 to fill the orders," said Zhang.

It was the first year Zhang had joined the direct purchase plan. In previous years he said he would have had to join in price wars either to sell his pomelos or lose out in poor market conditions.

"I think I will stick to this direct purchase plan because it provides us with a guarantee in all situations," added Zhang.

The farmer is one of many in Meizhou who have benefited from the farmer-supermarket direct purchase plan, which was set up by the central government in 2008. Initiated by the Ministry of Commerce, the plan is designed to guide farmers, strengthen connections, promote distribution channels and guarantee food safety. It is also a way to help farmers increase their income and reduce intermediaries to stabilize prices at a time of high inflationary pressure.

"Urbanization has increased demand for agriculture products significantly in large cities and the development of agriculture technology and new farming skills have boosted the supply of farm produce.

"Poor information distribution channels and unstable retailing channels led to many agriculture products failing to be delivered to consumers in the most economic and effective way, and that caused significant problems for both consumers and farmers," said Liu Shijia, vice-president of China Agriculture Wholesale Market Association. "It is necessary for farmers to promote their products and develop more ways to boost sales."

Now most retailing giants in China have implemented direct purchase plans either by cooperating with farmers' cooperatives or setting up growing bases.

In June, Carrefour SA China signed a strategic memorandum with the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the existing plan. The French retailing giant is providing training to farmers to improve quality and guarantee food safety. More partnerships are being planned.

Shanghai-based Hualian supermarket said that it would add five production bases to its direct purchase program and increase the direct purchase volume by 1,500 tons of farm produce in 2012. However, the direct purchase model is not perfect and it still needs to be improved, industrial experts said.

At a time when more and more farmers are enjoying the benefits of direct purchase plans, experts say total revenue generated from them only accounts for a tiny part in the whole agriculture marketing system. Many farmers still find their products cannot be sold at good prices. Implementing the process is still challenging.

"Many farmer-supermarket direct purchase programs across the countryside are not carried out in the manner anticipated," said Liu Yutao, the deputy director of the Agriculture Bureau of Meizhou. "Some local governments or institutions simply tried match retailers with farmers. They did not really solve the problems at the heart of the plan."

Liu said it is quite important to have an agent to link the supermarkets and farmers.

"Agriculture production in China involves millions of rural households and their respective production scale is small so there should be an agent between the vast fields and urban supermarkets because I believe sufficient supply is the key to maintaining the long-term success of the plan," said Liu.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page16)

Will you be buying chocolate for your sweetheart? Hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and even flower vendors see this year's Valentine's Day, which is on Tuesday, as a big business opportunity after the Chinese lunar New Year holiday. Yang Yi / for China Daily

Chocolates and flowers said to be high on the list of priorities for young sweethearts

SHANGHAI - Businesses in China are expecting a new boost after the New Year and Chinese Spring Festival spending frenzies thanks to the forthcoming Valentine's Day.

Although Valentine's Day is not a traditional festival in Chinese culture, it has received wide recognition among young people over the past decade. They consider it to be a good opportunity to express their love and some young men even try to persuade girlfriends to become brides in creative ways.

It's good news for retailers because most lovers will exchange small gifts to commemorate the occasion. Florists started to receive orders two weeks before Feb 14 and chocolate makers also increase their supplies to meet booming demand. Hotels also started receiving bookings several days ago.

To better meet demand, businesses are sparing no effort to ensure they have something new to attract attention. For instance, some restaurants in Shanghai are offering big discounts to customers who walk in hand-in-hand.

Godiva, a luxury Belgian chocolate brand with outlets in six cities on the Chinese mainland, said it has cooperated with Spanish designer Jaime Hayon to design special packaging for Valentine's Day.

"Valentine's Day is one of the most important days for chocolate retailers. We need to make sure we can offer something different every year," said Quasar Liang, senior marketing executive of Godiva (Shanghai) Food Trading Co Ltd.

Florists expect to make substantial sales on this Valentine's Day, more than last year's when it came three days ahead of the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival and four days after the Spring Festival holiday. That is a time when many young people prefer to stay with their family rather than sweethearts. Many businesses said sales in 2011 were not as good as expected.

"We expect market demand to double this year because Valentine's Day falls on Tuesday, a working day when we can receive many orders from offices," said Xiong Qin, a manager at Uling Flower. Xiong's shop is close to Middle Huaihai Road in Huangpu district, Shanghai. "We will hire a taxi to deliver flowers in the central business area block by block".

Xiong said she expects to receive about 100 orders before Feb 14 and about 150 orders on the day itself. A bouquet of flowers with 11 roses will cost about 300 yuan ($48) or more. Some imported roses will be priced at 60 yuan each.

Many florists will raise prices significantly for orders made on Feb 14. Customers will be better off sending orders in advance to ensure a better deal and better quality.

"I am sure florists will spend less time on each bunch of flowers on Feb 14 because orders will be flooding in when we start work. We may not do our job as carefully as we normally do," added Xiong.

Some five star hotels are offering Valentine's Day dinner packages and have received bookings in advance.

Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai has introduced a room package priced at 1,992 yuan. It includes a room decorated with rose petals and a bottle of Champagne.

Qunar, a Chinese online travel service provider, said hotel bookings reached a peak about one week before Valentine's Day. The most popular are rooms priced at 200 yuan to 300 yuan a night.

"Young people are paying more attention to protecting their privacy and like to enjoy a moment only for themselves. As it will be a working day after Valentine's Day, many people will spend the night in a hotel," said Wang Jing, senior director of the hotel sector with Qunar.com.

Qunar has introduced a hotel online booking system that allows people to name their own price for a room. Hotels will accept the offer if it is considered reasonable. It is believed to be the first time this kind of business model has been introduced in the industry.

However, not all leisure service providers are optimistic about the market. Several travel agencies report demand for short distance traveling is not good because of cold weather and the fact that Valentine's Day falls on a working day.

Yang Yijun in Shanghai contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page16)

Mini SLRs don't have the bulk of the professional devices, but they do the same job

SHANGHAI / BEIJING - Digital single-lens reflex cameras may be the most powerful gadget for taking photos but are far from the simplest to use. And the simplest pocket ones? They are usually not so powerful.

The dichotomy had long obsessed Qian Jingjing, a photography enthusiast, until camera manufacturers began releasing products that fall between the two - the mini SLR.

Qian likes to go hiking over the weekend and takes pictures along the way, but compact digital cameras simply don't shoot pictures in the way she desires. They are either slow or the color rendition was poor. However, a big SLR was too bulky.

"It's like you are forever stuck with two camera categories: digital ones that take mediocre pictures and heavy black ones that take stunning photos but require a neck strap. But a mini SLR is like a white knight riding to the rescue," Qian said.

Qian bought her first mini SLR, an Olympus E-PL1, in 2010 upon its debut. She said the light weight and good picture quality encapsulated all her needs.

China's digital camera market enjoys thriving growth. Statistics from data provider Euromonitor showed the market size doubled to 20.6 billion yuan ($3.27 billion) in 2010 from five years ago. But there is no further breakdown for mini SLRs, indicating it is a fledgling sector.

As both ends of the product spectrum are already teeming with models, manufacturers are eager to differentiate their products in the hope of gaining a foothold in the new market.

Panasonic Corp, a forerunner in the mini SLR field, unveiled its first such product - the Panasonic G1 - in 2008, in a bid to carve out a potentially lucrative niche for itself in a market crying out for innovation.

With the rise of high-end smartphones, ordinary DCs are losing momentum while SLRs are mostly for professionals, creating an "enormous market opportunity in between", the company said in an e-mail to China Daily. Panasonic now has a product line of 10 mini SLRs.

Sony Corp, also a leading producer of electronics products, released its first mini SLR - the NEX-5C - in June 2010.

The mini SLR was intended to act like a compact DC while offering the quality and versatility of a digital SLR, in an attempt to "convert the millions of pocket camera buyers who are put off SLRs by their bulk, complexity and lack of user-friendliness", Hatano Satoshi, vice-president of the digital department of Sony China, wrote in an e-mailed reply to questions from China Daily.

Other major camera makers also joined the mini SLR fray. Olympus Corp's PEN series hit the market gaining an unprecedentedly strong response, and Nikon Corp, a heavyweight player in the camera industry, unveiled Nikon 1 last year, sending a strong signal that fierce competition is kicking off.

A mini SLR uses a much bigger image sensor that is good enough to act like the mirror in its bigger cousins. It is compatible with various types of lenses, said Ai Lun, a seasoned photographer who lectures in several universities in Beijing.

"Physics explains why you can't take professional-quality pictures with a small camera. Big, bright photos require big sensors and big lenses to shine on the chips," Ai said.

According to Ai, the mechanics of an SLR camera involve light hitting a mirror and then passing through a focusing screen and into a block of glass called a pentaprism. When someone takes a photo, the mirror flips up and a shutter opens that exposes the digital sensor to the light.

Mini SLRs use an image sensor, a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal, thus replacing the mirror and the pentaprism, effectively reducing its size. The chips in mini SLRs are on average 15 times bigger than those in portable DCs, ensuring a high resolution picture with less noise.

The interchangeable lenses allow users to have a lens for each and every occasion.

The mini SLR has become a cost-efficient choice. Research by 360buy.com, a major home appliances online marketplace, shows that prices normally range from 3,500 to 7,000 yuan, which is acceptable to those who crave a device that produces output of a similar quality to that of an SLR, but find themselves financially stretched. It can cost up to 20,000 yuan to buy an SLR, without a fancy lens.

"With all their advantages, mini SLRs will eclipse their counterparts very soon and hold a dominant position in two years," Ai said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page15)

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page17)

SEATTLE, Washington - NorthStar Realty Finance Corp is in talks to seize Chicago's John Hancock Center from owners including Goldman Sachs Group Inc's Whitehall real estate unit, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The New York-based commercial property lender and investor owns junior debt on the building, Chicago's fourth-tallest, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The $182 million mortgage on the property was transferred to a firm that specializes in troubled loans after the borrowers defaulted, according to Fitch Ratings.

The loan, packaged into bonds, was part of about $400 million in debt that Whitehall and Golub & Co used to finance their purchase of the 100-story property in January 2007, near the market's peak. The loans came due on Feb 9.

Buying slices of lower-ranking debt to take ownership of commercial properties has become a common strategy as defaults surge. Borrowers are struggling to refinance loans made during the bubble years of 2005 to 2007, allowing investors to get hold of marquee buildings through junior-debt purchases.

Michael DuVally, a spokesman for New York-based Goldman, and Mary Ellen Smith, director of marketing for Chicago-based Golub, both declined to comment. Joe Calabrese, a spokesman for NorthStar, didn't respond to an e-mail and telephone call seeking comment.

NorthStar will probably prevail over other junior creditors who were considering bids for control of John Hancock Center, said the people familiar with the negotiations. Blackstone Group LP this month bought a junior loan on the building with a face value of about $65 million from a Morgan Stanley unit, according to one of the people.

Peter Rose, a Blackstone spokesman, said he had no comment.

The building is 1,128 feet (344 meters) tall, fourth in height in Chicago after Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower; Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago and the Aon Center, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page14)

During 2011 Standard and Poor's rating agency took the unprecedented step of downgrading US ratings. It was enough to have US President Barack Obama resolutely proclaim that "America will always be a triple-A country". The other US based rating companies kept the US on a triple-A rating despite some mutterings about the possibility of a downgrade. Standard and Poor's was subject to several investigations.

There are several important consequences that have developed from this situation. The rating agencies were widely blamed for some of the 2008 market crash because they rated some debt instruments as investment grade when in fact they turned out to be toxic. This failure was the first blow to the credibility of the ratings agencies.

Some observers suggested that the Standard and Poor's downgrade of US debt in 2011 was a step toward regaining credibility. This seems to have backfired on the entire ratings industry because they found themselves trapped on the horns of a dilemma. There was a time when a ratings downgrade was a signal to go short. That has now changed.

When Standard and Poor's came out with their downgrade the US market, commentators and analysts, and the other rating agencies, said the Standard and Poor's downgrade could be ignored. And that's just what the market did. The downgrade did not cause a lurch in the progress of the Dow index. There was no change in trend. Investment funds ignored the downgrade and continued to trade US debt. The downgrade did not create a significant or lasting change in US debt premiums.

This set an ugly precedent because it cast doubt on the validity of other ratings decisions. Prior to 2011 the ratings from these agencies were critical to setting investment guidelines. Now these ratings appear to be optional. Like political opinion polls, good results are shouted from the rooftops and poor results are simply ignored.

For investors in Europe this new attitude toward the reliability of the ratings agencies has important consequences. The objective measure has been removed. In January, on Black Friday 13, France was stripped of its coveted AAA credit rating by Standard and Poor's. It was seen as a crushing humiliation for President Nicolas Sarkozy but it had little impact on the CAC index. Eight other countries including Spain, Italy and Portugal also had their ratings reduced by between 1 and 2 notches. Investors struggle to pinpoint the market reaction because there is no substantial change in any of these market indexes.

The CAC index found resistance near 4100 during 2010 and 2011. This was part of a rounding top pattern. The downside targets for this pattern were 2900 and these were achieved in 2011. The index dropped below this target and developed consolidation near 2700. The November 2011 rebound from this support has developed a new upward trend moving steadily toward resistance near 3600. The January 13 downgrade caused a small fall in the index that was quickly made up on the next trading day. It was a reaction repeated in the other European indexes affected by the January 13 Standard and Poor's downgrade. The downgrade was essentially ignored.

Some observers suggest that the markets had already factored in the widely discussed downgrades. Others suggest Europe's problems are so widely known that the ratings downgrades did not come as a surprise.

In modern times the flow of information is more rapid and fluid than in the past. Market participants are aware of developing problems so changes by ratings agencies are no longer as significant as they were. The developing problem comes with the tendency to pick and choose between rating changes, accepting some and ignoring others. It's a problem because it removes the objective benchmark that was used to compare relative risk. The muted behavior of market reactions to recent downgrades, and to the US downgrade in 2011, suggest that ratings agencies have lost some of their credibility. Their ratings are no longer the most important determining factor in assessing and quantifying sovereign risk. It's a problem because this optional usage is also now being applied to company ratings. The credibility battered in 2008 has not been restored.

Unfortunately, the assessment of sovereign and company risk has moved into a much more subjective arena in which one person's guess is almost as good as another's. Investors cannot simply pick and choose between ratings based on individual whims. The ratings industry may have been imperfect, but its relegation to an optional sideline player ushers in a new era of risk.

The author is a well-known international financial technical analysis expert.

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page14)

NEW YORK - The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has started an informal inquiry into private equity firms, asking for a broad range of documents on how the funds value assets and who invests in them.

The agency's Los Angeles office last year sent letters to several firms asking for details on fund investments and the valuation of assets, as well as communication with clients, according to the copy of a letter obtained by Bloomberg News. Firms were asked to produce the documents by the end of last year.

Private equity firms have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which forced firms to mark down holdings acquired during a three-year boom that ended in 2008 when the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc froze credit markets. Financial reform measures such as the Dodd-Frank Act have proposed more oversight of the firms' businesses.

An inquiry six years ago into whether firms drove down prices of takeover targets in so-called "club deals" didn't result in government action, although several firms were subsequently accused by private plaintiffs of conspiring to rig the market for leveraged buyouts.

The SEC said its "request should not be construed as an indication by the commission or its staff that any violation of the federal securities law has occurred, nor should it be a reflection upon any person, entity or security", according to the 16-page letter, which is dated Dec 8.

SEC spokesman John Nester didn't immediately respond to an e-mail sent outside normal working hours. The SEC's inquiry was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Private equity firms pool investor money to buy companies, using mostly debt, with the intention of selling them or taking them public later for a profit.

They typically charge an annual management fee of 1.5 percent to 2 percent of committed funds and keep 15 percent to 20 percent of profit from investments.

The SEC in June voted to require private-fund advisers to register with the agency, although publicly traded private equity firms already provide detailed information in quarterly and yearly filings.

The mandate forces 750 advisers to disclose "census-like data" about their investors and employees, the assets they manage, potential conflicts of interest and their activities outside fund advising.

In October 2006, the government launched an informal inquiry into club deals to determine whether firms were colluding to thwart competition and artificially hold down the prices paid for companies.

While no actions were brought by the government, 11 firms including KKR & Co and Blackstone Group LP were sued the following year by plaintiffs including a Detroit police and fire pension fund.

The lawsuit, initially filed in 2007, claims the firms conspired to drive down prices in the largest leveraged buyout deals in violation of federal antitrust laws.

US District Judge Edward F. Harrington said in a ruling on Sept 7 that the plaintiffs, whose suit was initially limited to 17 transactions, can expand their investigation.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page14)

Move by world's biggest miner follows Glencore's bid for Xstrata

MELBOURNE, Australia - BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP), the world's biggest miner, expects to make more acquisitions as Glencore International PLC's $39 billion takeover offer for Xstrata PLC extends takeover activity in the commodities industry.

"I have absolutely no doubt that over time we will do more transactions," Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers told Australian Broadcasting Corp television on Saturday, without specifying any targets. He declined to comment on speculation the Melbourne-based company may target Anglo American PLC.

BHP, which last week reported a 5.5 percent decline in first-half profits, spent $16.9 billion on shale-gas acquisitions in 2011 after failing in bids to buy Rio Tinto Group and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc. Global mining deals swelled last year to $98 billion, the most since 2007, from $76 billion in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The combination of Glencore and Xstrata will create the world's fourth-largest miner, behind BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale SA.

Kloppers said a decline in iron ore prices probably will not affect BHP's plans to spend $80 billion over the next five years to boost output of the commodity along with copper and coal.

The company's projects include the $7.4 billion expansion of its Pilbara operations and an $822 million investment in a new mine near Newman, both in western Australia.

Iron ore for immediate delivery fell 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, last week to $142.70 a metric ton, according to a price index compiled by the Steel Index Ltd on Feb 10. That compares with a price of $188 a year earlier.

"Even if that price comes back a little bit more, we are going to make very good returns on those projects," Kloppers said.

While strikes by some workers are unlikely to affect its expansion program, BHP may cut output at poor performing mines with higher costs.

Workers at its coking-coal mines will strike for seven days from Feb 15 after rejecting the company's latest offer, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union said on Feb 9.

About 3,500 workers at BHP's mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin have staged rolling strikes since June over pay and conditions, before suspending industrial action in December to resume contract talks. Labor unions globally are stepping up demands for higher wages and improved conditions as record commodity prices swell profit at mining companies.

"It would take a fairly big event for us to say we are going to stop, slow down or otherwise cancel a project," Kloppers said. "Where an existing operation doesn't make profit we are more probably likely to say this is not making profit, let's curtail production."

BHP's net income fell to $9.9 billion in the six months that ended December from $10.5 billion a year earlier, the company said Feb 8.

The decline was its first since 2009 as rising costs and lower output and prices cut base-metals earnings.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page14)

TOKYO - Japan Inc is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost.

Sumco Corp, a supplier to Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp, said this month it will cut 1,300 jobs. Auto windshield maker Nippon Sheet Glass Co, which sells to Mazda Motor Corp, said it will cut 3,500 jobs. They join NEC Corp, a Japanese maker of telecom equipment and components, which said last month it would eliminate 10,000 positions.

The yen's 7 percent surge against the dollar in the past 12 months has widened losses at Panasonic Corp, Sony Corp, Mazda Motor Corp and Sharp Corp, which plans to halve TV production at its biggest factory to reduce inventory. Manufacturers have been forced to both relocate production outside Japan and to press their suppliers for cost cuts.

"Once giants like Sony and Sharp fail, the entire supply chain falls into the red," said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co in Tokyo. "The yen is killing Japan's manufacturing base."

Sumco forecasts a full-year loss of 85 billion yen ($1.1 billion) and asked Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd, which owns a 28 percent stake, to buy preferred shares. Sumco will also take a charge of 58.2 billion yen for the restructuring and close two plants in Japan.

Nippon Sheet Glass now expects a loss of 3 billion yen for the year ending March 31, compared with a previous forecast of 14 billion yen in profit, it said in a statement. The Tokyo-based company said the job cuts will cost about 25 billion yen, with an expected benefit of 20 billion yen annually after reforms take effect.

NEC, forecasting its third annual loss in four years, said it would cut 7,000 jobs in Japan and 3,000 abroad, amid slumping demand for its handsets and wireless gear. The cuts equal about 8.6 percent of the Tokyo-based company's workforce.

"No Japanese manufacturing company can make profit at the yen's current level around 75 to the dollar," Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Research Institute, said. "This is the biggest catastrophe for Japanese manufacturers since the war."

Japanese unemployment rose to 4.6 percent in December, compared with the five-year average of 4.4 percent, as job losses were offset by an increase in the number of people leaving the workforce having reached retirement age.

The job cuts announced this earnings season included the heads of both Sony, which lost about 480 billion yen on TVs in the past seven years, and Canon Inc, the world's biggest camera maker. Canon President Tsuneji Uchida will leave his post effective March 29, while Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer will be replaced by Kazuo Hirai on April 1.

Sony more than doubled its annual loss forecast this month to 220 billion yen, underscoring the challenge for Hirai in reviving Japan's biggest consumer-electronics exporter.

The company blamed a stronger yen, cuts in production caused by last year's floods in Thailand and the cost of exiting a display-panel venture with Samsung Electronics Co for causing its estimated annual loss to widen from the 90 billion yen deficit it forecast in November. The loss in the 12 months ending March will be the fourth in a row, a first since the Tokyo-based company was listed in 1958.

Sony, maker of Bravia TVs, has lost ground to South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics Inc, both of which sell TVs profitably. Sony and Japanese television makers Sharp and Panasonic Corp have been crippled by the strengthening yen, which prompted Sharp to predict a record $3.8 billion loss for the year ending March 31.

Hitachi, which already plans to close its remaining television plant in Japan by September, said third-quarter profit dropped a more-than-expected 45 percent.

"Our TV business unit is already slimmed down, but we will cut it even more," Executive Vice-President Takashi Miyoshi said. "Hitachi doesn't expect a profit in the TV segment next fiscal year, and we can only hope to become profitable in TVs in the future."

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page17)

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page14)

Convergence of accounting rules could help firms lose 'fraud' label

BEIJING - Although shares of US-listed Chinese companies have started to rally recently, the end of 2011 saw them under pressure as the result of a series of short sales.

In the last three months of 2011 around 58 Chinese companies were facing the prospect of delisting from the US market, either because their share prices had fallen below the $1 mark for 30 consecutive days or their market capitalization was less than $35 million, according to reports in the Economic Information Daily newspaper.

"If a company's stock price or market cap does not meet the requirements of the US market, it will be sent to the Pink Sheets (the third tier of the over-the-counter market, where companies do not have to report to the US Securities & Exchange Commission or other regulators), where they will be lumped together with a lot of bad companies. Investors cannot tell the good from the bad and so they will not buy any of them," said Hong Hao, an equity strategist at China International Capital Corp Inc.

One of the most high-profile cases of US short-selling of a Chinese company is that of Sino-Forest Corp. Last year, the Hong Kong and Canada-based company was accused of financial irregularities by the US researcher, Muddy Waters LLC. The ongoing furore - which was inflamed after Carson Block, the founder of Muddy Waters, accused the Chinese company of being a 'Ponzi' scheme - saw Sino-Forest's share price plummet and brought the whole issue of short-selling of Chinese stocks to prominence.

"The difference in accounting rules between the two nations (China and the US) is a fundamental reason for the problem," said Chen Yugui, vice-president and secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Chen said that, according to US regulations, if an accounting firm wants to undertake assurance work for a company listed in the US, it should register with the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Although a few Chinese outfits have registered with the PCAOB and are approved by the authority, many more are qualified, but have not been engaged for a variety of reasons.

"So when Chinese companies purchase 'shell' companies, in a process also known as a 'reverse takeover', to obtain a listing, their assurance work is usually conducted by small agencies, including some low-level firms that simply help with the listing procedure and then exit without offering further financial guidance.

Therefore, many Chinese companies list on the US market without being fully aware of their responsibilities or knowing how to compile annual reports under the US rules," said Chen.

He added that a few Chinese companies do have financial problems that should be checked and rectified, but many of them are not governed by the regulations pertaining to either nation.

"US-listed Chinese enterprises need not be examined by Chinese authorities, but the US does not check their financial statements in China because all their accounting work is signed off by US accountants," said Chen.

Zhou Hongyi, chairman and chief executive officer of Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, China's leading Internet company in terms of active user base, wrote on his blog that a limited understanding of Chinese innovative business models is another reason why a short-seller can hurt a Chinese company.

"We (Qihoo 360) created the idea that our software is completely free and our business model based on it is unique. Because our company's business model does not have a parallel in the US and the performance of our stock is very good, this may be the kindest explanation for Citron's short-selling against us," said Zhou.

Since November 1, CitronResearch.com has released four unflattering reports on Qihoo 360. The company responded positively by releasing reports of its own and on December 7, when Qihoo 360 published its third response to the reports, its stock closed higher by 3.35 percent.

Hong said that although a few Chinese concept stock companies - defined by Investopedia.com as "a company whose assets or earnings have significant activities in China" - have financial problems, many of them are of high quality and are welcomed by US investors.

"When the US economy is not good, companies' financial problems are more easily exposed. Other companies should regard it as a warning and take care of their own financial conditions. However, we can see that China concept stocks, such as New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc, Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc and Mindray Medical International Ltd, are very popular among investors.

"It's not a good time for Chinese companies to list on the US market; instead, they can consider delisting because share prices are very low," said Hong.

According to Hong, current conditions in the Chinese stock market are not favorable, so US-listed Chinese companies can take their time delisting from the US market. He added that it usually takes a company one full year to deal with the delisting process.

"No matter whether they are delisting from the US market or continuing to play, Chinese companies should always be strict with their financial statements and improve their competitiveness and financing capability," Hong said.

Yang Ge, the chief representative at the Beijing bureau of NYSE Euronext Group, said that the strong development of the Chinese economy means that US investors have been showing great confidence in Chinese companies and that they welcome Chinese enterprises with good prospects listing in the US market.

"Compared with several months ago, investors are no longer easily influenced by reports released by short sellers. Instead, they have been able to tell the good companies from the bad," Yang said.

"Our best ways of combating short-sellers are good governance, transparency and strong investor relations. We are inviting good investor-relation companies, including Thomson Reuters Corp, to help companies improve their communication with investors," he added.

Zhou Hongyi said after the short selling, Qihoo 360 will deepen communication with overseas investors. In addition, he said the company will continue to focus on offering users high-end experiences and creating long-term value for them to develop Qihoo 360 into an influential company.

According to Chen, Chinese accountants are necessary for Chinese companies looking to list in US. Meanwhile, US accounting firms also hire Chinese partners to deal with assurance work, because they have a limited understanding of China and feel that the work is too difficult to be undertaken without back-up.

"If Chinese accountants can sign their names on the auditing report, which means they can be responsible for the auditing work of Chinese enterprises listed in the US, the auditing processes and standards can be simplified and the regulations will be more strict."

Chen said that to achieve that goal, China and US should work together to promote the convergence of the accounting systems, so that eventually Chinese accountants will be accepted in US market and vice versa.

Chen said China and the European Union have reached an agreement on the convergence of accounting systems, which will mean that Chinese accountants can be directly responsible for Chinese companies going public in the European market.

According to Yang, although only a small number of Chinese companies listed in the US during the last four months of 2011, conditions will improve in 2012. Yang said that NYSE Euronext has about 20 companies in an active pipeline. He believed that there will be a handful of deals that will test the market in the first few months of 2012 and then a larger group will emerge in the first half of the year.

"Companies in sectors such as Internet, electronic commerce and new energy are easily accepted by US investors. And we are encouraging companies with high growth potential to come to the US market because they will have good valuations here," said Yang.

"The US market is not good now and we will follow Vancl and Xunlei and list in the US," said Li Shubin, president of the Chinese online shoe retailer OkBuy.com,

Vancl.com, China's biggest online clothing retailer, and Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology Ltd, a video and music file-sharing company, had both planned to go public in 2011, but delayed their IPO plans until later this year.

Li said the current economic uncertainty in the US, coupled with the behavior of short-sellers with regard to Chinese companies, prevented a number of Chinese companies, including OkBuy.com, from going public in the US in the last few months of 2011.

However, Li said he is not too concerned about the short-sellers because electronic commerce companies face their end users directly and their performance indexes, including the purchasing rate, are publically available.

"Amazon is a good instance of e-commerce companies being widely recognized in the US, so we would like to choose the US market," Li said.

Hu Boyu, an associate at DCM, a global venture-capital company, said the companies his company has invested in are mainly engaged in popular sectors in the US, including technology, media, and telecoms, and have their investment funds in dollars, so the US market will still be their main choice for a public listing.

Hu added that many companies with foreign investment funds are not able to list in the domestic market, and that those companies leaving the US market and listing in China can not be guaranteed a successful listing.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/13/2012 page13)

The Underground River in the Philippines' Puerto Princesa City was recently named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Jofelle P. Tesorio says it has to be explored now, before it becomes another crowded touristy attraction.

It is hard to visualize a deep river flowing beneath an expansive cave network. And mention a Philippine cave and it will instantly conjure a picture from TV's Survivor series, where competitors crawl on slippery stones amidst complete darkness and eerie sounds of bat calls. Fired up by these images, most visitors to the Philippines' Underground River are often confused about what to expect and what to do. It's a lot more complicated than imagining Vietnam's Halong Bay with its junks and coastal villages, or the giant lizards roaming free around Indonesia's Komodo Island.

Thanks to an online poll by a Zurich-based foundation, the mysterious river is no longer underground. With its new standing as one of the 7 New Wonders for Nature, the Underground River is expected to become the jewel in the crown of Philippine tourism.

The other "new wonders" are the Amazon, Halong Bay, the Iguazu Falls on the borders of Argentina and Brazil, Jeju Island in South Korea, Komodo National Park in Indonesia, and Table Mountain in South Africa.

For many years, the Underground River was only popular among local tourists and a few adventurous Westerners.

But thanks to the 7 Wonders contest and vigorous promotion by tourism officials, the Underground River is now the most famous attraction of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan, an island-province southwest of Manila. The river is 24 kilometers long but only about 8.2 km can be navigated by visitors.

Palawan, often described as the country's last ecological frontier, is a tourist magnet because of its pristine beaches, dive sites and rainforests.

As the child of a hardcore first-generation tour guide in Puerto Princesa, I have seen the rare beauty of the Underground River even before boatloads of tourists came to conquer.

Tagging along with my mother, I sailed gigantic waves, traveled the craggy undeveloped third-world roads, overcame fear of darkness, befriended park rangers and even monkeys and monitor lizards around the area.

Now, going to the Underground River is much easier.

For $30, the day tour includes transfers with air-conditioned van, permit to enter the park, packed lunch, drinks, snacks and a licensed guide.

The trip starts at 8 am when guests are picked up from their hotels. Less than two hours of driving down picturesque coastlines, forests and farms (with water buffaloes frolicking in the mud), the van stops at the port of Sabang, where motorized boats are docked at the end of the 5-km-long sandy beach.

There are also high-end hotels as well as affordable huts in Sabang beach for out-of-towners who want to commune with nature.

While waiting to board the boat, stalls selling souvenirs and native products are the usual distraction. Sellers make their usual pitch but not to the point of being annoying. Their products range from the usual 'I've Been Here' shirt to cashew-nut brittle, a famous Palawan delicacy.

Once you're afloat, trust that this will be the best 15-minute boat-ride of your life.

Against the blue sky and calm seas, the stretch of beach lined with native huts and coconut trees gets left behind as you come closer to the rugged limestone cliffs and small lagoons.

The boat then stops at another beach. Monitor lizards and monkeys roam around the area as they carefully mingle with tourists. They are harmless as they are used to humans, but the monkeys are also known to grab everything from you when you least expect it. Cameras and other valuables must be kept close and food must be guarded.

Our tour guide leads us to the small pier at the mouth of the cave.

The boatmen, in their khaki shorts and white shirts, wait attentively, smile and greet visitors good morning.

The small boats can only accommodate 6 to 8 people at once, and officials control overcrowding by requiring visitors to purchase one of the limited number of permits.

The adventure starts as soon as everyone gets an orange life jacket and hard hat.

Sit back, relax and leave everything to the boatman, who will explain the scientific and geological significance of the Underground River in layman's language and entertaining stories. Many tourists forget what they see inside but the boatmen's adlibs often stick.

But what makes this cave different is the river flowing beneath, accessible only by a small paddle boat through a tiny opening, which gets even smaller during high tide.

Its most interesting features are the stalagmites and stalactites formed like vegetable gardens, a church cathedral (with the Holy Family and saints), and a naked woman (referred to as 'Sharon Stone' by boatmen) as if they were carved by sculptors.

Before reaching the towering cathedral, we traverse a few hundred meters of tunnel-like passageway, so narrow that it gives an impression of being inside a long water tank.

Considered one of the largest cave complexes in eastern Asia, the Underground River is just part of the tropical coastal karst, consisting of towers, cones, huge depressions and large caves.

A 2011 scientific report says the karst is a product of a long evolution which can be traced from the Pliocene period to present.

There are more than 800 plant species, 65 bird species (out of 252 identified in Palawan), some 30 mammal species, and 19 species of reptiles within the 22,202-hectare terrestrial reservation where the karst lies.

Because of its unique and outstanding scientific, biological, and geological features, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and a National Geological Monument in 2003.

The official website of the Underground River says "there is no existing document that shows who or when it was first discovered, but it is believed that the island's early inhabitants were the first to know of its existence, but their fear of spirits they believed inhabited the caves prevented them from exploring the depths".

The 45-minute paddle tour inside the cave always seems like eternity. It is always a relief the moment you see light and hear the sound of birds (not bats) from the outside world. But after experiencing the Underground River, you will realize that miracles do happen and nature is the world's best architect.

You may contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's top court on Friday threw out a last-ditch appeal from embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, ordering him to appear in court on Monday to be indicted for contempt.

If convicted, Gilani faces six months in jail and being disqualified from office in a case fanning political instability expected to force elections within months in the country troubled by al-Qaida and Taliban violence.

The Supreme Court is now insistent that Gilani appear for the framing of contempt charges over the government's two-year refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

"The appeal is dismissed," said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Zardari and his late wife, prime minister Benazir Bhutto, were suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about $12 million in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.

Chaudhry had said the court would only drop the summons if Gilani obeyed its order of writing to the Swiss authorities, asking them to re-open the cases.

The judge on Friday again said he wanted a clear answer on whether the prime minister would write the letter, telling his lawyer: "We are ready to give you 10 minutes to talk to the prime minister on the phone and let us know."

"I have no mandate to do that," replied Gilani's lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Ahsan confirmed that the prime minister would now appear in court on Monday.

The Swiss shelved the cases in 2008, when Zardari became head of state, and a prosecutor in Switzerland has said it will be impossible to re-open them as long as he remains head of state and is immune from prosecution.

Gilani insists that Zardari has full immunity.

Members of the government accuse judges of over-stepping their reach and of trying to bring down the prime minister and president, a year before the administration would become the first in Pakistan to complete an elected term.

"No one wants unrest. We are exercising restraint," Chaudhry told the court.

"Tell the prime minister this is not in the interests of the country (to defy the court order)," he told Ahsan.

The Pakistani court in December 2009 overturned a two-year political amnesty that had frozen the allegations against Zardari and other politicians.

Gilani himself appeared before the Supreme Court on Jan 19, citing Zardari's immunity as explanation for his refusal to obey the court's order.

Legal experts say that Gilani can only avoid being charged by lodging a successful appeal, apologizing or promising to write to the Swiss.

The president has already spent 11 years in jail on charges ranging from corruption to murder.

He was never convicted and his supporters say that the charges were politically motivated.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page8)

BEIJING - The US navy admiral nominated to become the next commander of the US Pacific Command (PACOM) said on Thursday that he plans to improve the country's military relationship with China, should Congress approve his nomination.

Samuel Locklear III, who currently serves as commander of the US Naval Forces in Europe, made the statement on Thursday during a confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee. If his nomination is approved, he will succeed Robert Willard as the chief of about 325,000 military personnel.

He said that greater cooperation between the Chinese and US militaries will reduce tensions and give greater clarity and transparency to bilateral relations.

"It would be my plan to - in every way possible - improve our military-to-military relationship, with the recognition that there are things we won't agree on; that greater transparency is for the good of all of us to avoid miscalculation," Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

It was a positive signal since risks, irritants and a lack of strategic trust still exist in the military relationship between the two countries, said Wang Junsheng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He added that the Sino-US military relationship, which is a barometer of bilateral ties, lags behind political relations and is far from where it should be.

The United States knows its national interests in global hotspots could be better maintained with China's assistance, Wang said.

The speech was well-timed, he added. Considering Vice-President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the US.

Since China is the largest economy in Asia and a key player on many issues, Locklear said that a Sino-US partnership would be "cooperative but competitive".

"We have interests in that part of the world. And I believe that the Chinese and other people in that part of the world need to recognize that we do have US national interests there, and we have the interests of strong allies there," he said.

Although the navy commander's comments reflected the newly released US defense strategy of pivoting the country's security priorities to the Asia Pacific, it doesn't clash with China's national interests, said Gong Li, an expert on international relations at the International Strategic Research Center in the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China.

"China is not trying to push the US out of Asia, but rather asking it to play a constructive role in regional affairs, " he said, adding that recent US actions in the South China Sea were not appropriate.

Wang from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences agreed, saying that China diplomatically recognized and will not challenge US national interests in the region. But the US often uses it as an excuse to interfere in the South China Sea, he said.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page7)

NEW DELHI - The European Union looked to push India at a summit on Friday to use its commercial and diplomatic influence to try to bring Iran back to the negotiating table over its disputed nuclear program.

The move came a day after New Delhi announced it would send a large business delegation to Iran to exploit an opportunity to boost bilateral trade at a time when Europe and the United States are trying to isolate the Islamic republic.

India, which was the biggest buyer of Iranian oil worldwide last month according to Dow Jones Newswires, has emerged as a potential problem for Western nations as they look to ratchet up pressure on Teheran.

Speaking ahead of the EU-India summit in New Delhi, European Council President Herman van Rompuy suggested New Delhi's refusal to join the sanctions program could be used constructively.

"I plan to ask Indian leaders to apply their considerable leverage to Iran and help in convincing the Iranian leadership to give up their sensitive nuclear program and return to the negotiating table," Van Rompuy told The Times of India.

Indian foreign policy experts have previously suggested New Delhi could act as an interlocutor with Iran to help the world community engage with the country over its nuclear goals, which Teheran maintains are peaceful.

India's decision to send a business delegation to Iran comes amid reports the two sides are exploring ways to increase trade while sidestepping the EU and US sanctions that target the Iranian central bank and the oil industry.

Iran has reportedly agreed to accept Indian rupees for up to 45 percent of oil exports, while India sees opportunities to sell tea, wheat and rice, as well as iron and steel among others.

India's Economic Times reported on Thursday that New Delhi had proposed paying for crude imports with wheat exports to the Islamic Republic.

"If Europe and the US want to stop exports to Iran, why should I (India) follow suit? Why shouldn't we tap that opportunity?" an unnamed government official was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India on Thursday.

India argues it is bound only by UN sanctions on Iran, not embargoes imposed by other countries.

"We can't determine what Indian companies do," acknowledged EU Ambassador to India Joao Cravinho this week.

During the summit - attended by Van Rompuy, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - the two sides will also focus on bridging differences holding up a long-delayed free-trade pact.

"We hope to bring a package together that will get the political blessing from the EU president and Prime Minister Singh," Cravinho said.

Such a package would allow negotiators to move into the final lap of talks for an accord that could be wrapped up in the second half of 2012, embracing 1.8 billion people or nearly a quarter of the global population, Cravinho said.

Intense negotiations have been under way for weeks with both sides "working on the nature of trade-offs needed to reach a political agreement", he added.

Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said talks were in the "final stage" but a "few gaps" remain to be closed, while a senior Indian government official, who could not be named, said New Delhi hoped for a "significant announcement".

Deadlines for concluding the deal, under discussion since 2007, have been repeatedly missed with the EU pressing India to cut duties on cars, wines and spirits.

In turn, India is seeking greater EU market access for its farm products, textiles and IT services.

The EU is also keen on making new inroads into India's banking and retail sectors, while India wants the EU to allow freer movement of its professionals in the 27-nation bloc.

"The EU-India free-trade agreement is one of the biggest and most ambitious free-trade agreements ever negotiated," said Cravinho.

India has already struck free trade deals with Japan, Malaysia and South Korea, while the EU is in trade liberalization talks with Canada and Japan, among other countries.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page8)

ATHENS, Greece - Thousands took to the streets of Athens on Friday as Greek unions launched a two-day general strike against planned austerity measures on Friday, a day after the country's crucial international bailout was put in limbo by its partners in the 17-nation eurozone.

Police said some 17,000 people were gathering for two separate protests leading to Syntagma Square outside Parliament. They chanted slogans against painful austerity measures, which include reducing the minimum wage by 22 percent and cutting one in five government jobs in a country which is in its fifth year of recession.

Bailout creditors say Greece has not yet met demands for all the cutbacks. Frustrated by days of dithering, they have given political leaders in Athens until the middle of next week to meet the full list of required austerity reforms. Otherwise, the country will lose its rescue loan lifeline, default next month and likely leave the euro.

"We are experiencing tragic moments," Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos told Parliament on Friday. "These days are the last acts of a drama that we all hope will lead to a happy conclusion with a voluntary reduction in our public debt and implementation of a framework by 2015 that will allow the economy to stabilize."

The Greek coalition government, led by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, had hoped some of the heat had been taken out of the crisis after leaders agreed on Thursday to a raft of austerity measures they hoped would pave the way for the 130-billion-euro ($173 billion) bailout package.

However, finance ministers from the other eurozone states put up a roadblock later in the day by insisting that Greece had to save an extra 325 million euros, pass the cuts through a restive parliament and guarantee in writing that they will be implemented even after the April elections.

The new hurdles Greece has to clear to avoid a default that could send shockwaves around the global economy dented sentiment in the markets on Friday. Stocks were down all over Europe, with the benchmark index in Athens 1.8 percent lower in early afternoon trading.

While facing intense pressure abroad, Greece is having to deal with another strike. The country's two biggest labor unions stopped railway, ferry and public transport schedules, and hospitals worked on skeleton staff while most public services were disrupted.

Papademos and heads of the three parties backing his government have already agreed to deep private-sector wage cuts, civil-service layoffs, and significant reductions in health, social security and military spending.

But the party leaders balked at demands for more cuts to already depleted pensions, later issuing nebulous assurances that a solution had been found.

"Unfortunately, the eurogroup did not take a final, positive decision," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said. "Many countries expressed objections, based on the fact that we did not fully complete the list of additional measures required to meet our targets for 2012."

"The choice we face is one of sacrifice or even greater sacrifice - on a scale that cannot be compared," he added.

Associated Press

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page7)

"We were so scared when we were surrounded by their forces. They kept us in our dormitory. We were lacking water, but we helped each other to overcome the difficulties."

Qiu Dong, one of 29 Chinese workers who returned home on Thursday, said after being held by Sudanese anti-government forces for about 10 days

Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said on Thursday after the veto by Beijing and Russia on a UN resolution on Syria was criticized by the United States and some European countries

Former US senator Rick Santorum said as he rejuvenated his presidential hopes on Tuesday with a shocking sweep of the three nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri

Former president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed said on Wednesday after weeks of protests erupted into a police mutiny in the holiday paradise

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page8)

For more than 55 years the World Press Photo contest has encouraged the highest standards in photojournalism. All the prize-winning photographs are assembled into an exhibition that travels to 45 countries over the course of a year and published in a yearbook. Among the winning images was a photo by Li Yang, 32. The photo, which was recommended by China Daily, won the 3rd prize singles in the Spot News genre.

Saving the desperate 'BRIDE': A 22-year-old girl in a wedding gown is grabbed by Guo Zhongfan, a local community officer, as she attempts to kill herself by jumping out of a seven-story residential building on May 17 in Changchun, Jilin province. According to local media, the girl tried to commit suicide after her boyfriend of four years broke up with her, just as they were making plans to get married. Spot News, 3rd prize singles / Li Yang, China

A woman holds a wounded relative in her arms inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen, on Oct 15. World press photo of the Year / Samuel Aranda, Spain

The return of the native: People in Xiangtan, Hunan province, commemorate the birthday of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, on Dec 26. Arts and Entertainment, 3rd prize stories / Kuang Huimin, China

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page6)

Vice-Premier signals hope for more cooperation between two countries

BEIJING - China is ready to increase cooperation with Singapore to promote bilateral relations to new heights, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang told visiting Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam on Friday.

China and Singapore are close and friendly neighbors, and the relationship between the two countries has made great progress in the last 22 years since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, Li said.

The two nations have upheld mutual beneficial cooperation in accordance with each country's unique development strategy and have achieved win-win results, he added.

China is ready to enhance communication and exchanges with Singapore on all levels and fields and advance economic, trade and cultural cooperation to continuously improve the Sino-Singaporean relationship, said Li.

Bilateral trade between China and Singapore rose by 6.4 percent year-on-year to $80.5 billion in 2011, according to the Singaporean daily newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.

Shanmugam arrived in Beijing on Thursday in his first visit to China as Singapore's foreign minister after assuming the post in May.

He said Singapore attaches great importance to its relationship with China and is willing to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation.

As a result of the solid Sino-Singaporean relationship, Shanmugam also said the country is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with China on international and regional issues.

China and Singapore have played active roles for the peace, stability and development of Asia, Li said.

He added that China aims to find more areas of mutual interest while deepening cooperation with Singapore and other countries in the region to promote mutual development and prosperity.

Just before Shanmugam arrived in China for the three-day visit, he warned US politicians not to turn China into a scapegoat during the election campaign, which could spark reactions that affect the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Associated Press.

"Domestic pressures in the US and the demands of elections have resulted in some anti-China rhetoric in domestic debates. We in Singapore understand that this is electioneering," Shanmugam said at a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"But Americans should not underestimate the extent to which such rhetoric can spark reactions that create a new and unintended reality in the region," he said.

The US has recently boosted its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which has sparked wide speculations of increasing competition with China.

Singapore is currently participating in a US-led annual military exercise hosted by Thailand that is set to end on Feb 17.

The exercise comprises troops from 24 nations including Thailand, the US, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to the US Marine Corps.

Shanmugam also met with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu on Friday.

Also, as Singapore's minister of law, Shanmugam will meet with Procurator-General Cao Jianming on Saturday.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page7)

BEIJING - Luxurious hotels, elegant churches and beautiful cottages are common features of many European towns.

Sparked by a growing demand for an upscale experience without having to travel abroad, imitations of classic European structures are becoming more common in China.

The replicas are mostly used for commercial purposes.

There's also a growing interest among Chinese people for wine culture and etiquette, said Leng Tianji, chairman of AFIP Town, a replica European town affiliated with Chateau Changyu AFIP Global.

The town is located in Miyun county in suburban Beijing. It was modeled after a French town near the Palace of Versailles and features the first wine-themed art center in China, a luxury restaurant and guestrooms.

Wine-themed trips to the town have been on the rise ever since it was founded in 2009, and many travel agencies offer tours of the town, Leng said.

The trips offer visitors an opportunity to witness the process of making wine. Guests even have the option of opening a private wine cellar.

Wang Lei, 27, works at a multinational company in Beijing and loves to travel. Wang, who visited AFIP Town, said the scenery was fashionable, and the experience was much more affordable than traveling to France.

European towns and castles feel mystical and honorable, Wang said. But his because of the demand from his job, Wang doesn't have time to take an extended tour of Europe.

"So it was an exhilarating experience for me to go there on the weekends with friends," Wang said. "The sights there might not match original ones, but who cares?"

Some European-style buildings in China have opened as shopping malls. One example is the Beijing Scitech Premium Outlet Mall in Chaoyang district, the first European-style shopping mall in the city.

Ge Yixiao, a 31-year-old office worker, said he enjoys the fountains, squares and European delicacies at the mall. Also, many international brands are discounted by as much as 40 percent.

"It is a good place to relax because of the European style construction - the streets, the houses, the windows and colors," he said.

"And since it's less crowded than large department stores downtown, I often spend the whole day here sightseeing and shopping," he said, adding that parking is free at the mall.

Sales at the outlet mall reached 2 billion yuan ($317 million) in 2011, up 70 percent from the previous year, according to its website.

The market potential for European-style shopping districts is attracting foreign investors. An Italian firm has built a similar mall in Tianjin called Florentia Village. The company is planning to build several villages over the next four years in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, said Ivano Poma, chairman and CEO of Florentia Village.

Unlike the replica shopping malls, the European-style towns in China are mostly real estate projects for mid- to high-income consumers.

Last April, the property development arm of China's largest metals trader began building a replica of Hallstatt, a small village in Austria that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The 6-billion-yuan "exact copy" of the alpine hamlet has stirred controversy, media reported.

Alexander Schultz, head of the village, told the Washington Post that the replica will generate interest in the original village. "Many Chinese people will definitely want to come to look at the original."

But not everyone agrees with the project. "This house is my personal art of crystallization," Monika Wenger, a local village hotel owner, told the Guardian. "People come here to copy my hotel, for me, like a painter's paintings, like copying someone else."

The appearance and existence of counterfeit real estate projects reflect Chinese interest in foreign styles, said Li Kaihe, chief architect with Huaian Modern Garden Construction Engineering Ltd, adding that many of these projects have sold very well.

In 2009, 85 villa units in a European-style town in Guangzhou called the Lake Dragon were sold for a total of 1 billion yuan in a span of just two days.

Song Ding, a researcher with the China Development Institute, said the construction of European-style buildings should be treated with a more tolerant attitude because it's not easy for Chinese people to travel overseas frequently. A replica of exotic sights may inspire people to travel more and broaden their horizons, Song said.

"Chinese real estate developers should use foreign construction experiences as a reference, and make some improvements in practice," he said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page6)

BEIRUT - Two powerful car bombs rocked Syria's second-largest city of Aleppo on Friday, killing 25 people and wounding 175, state TV reported as it aired gory footage of the killing caused by the blasts.

State television said a "suicide bomber in a car packed with explosives" carried out one of the attacks on a police station, flattening a nearby food distribution center.

The second bombing targeted an intelligence base.

The report showed mangled bodies in pools of blood in the street outside rows of shattered buildings.

State television, which said soldiers were among the casualties, blamed the attacks on "armed terrorist gangs".

The channel aired the footage live from the site of the blasts, with bulldozers quickly deployed to clear away shattered concrete strewn across a broad avenue.

Several people who were interviewed denounced Turkey and Qatar for not standing by the government in Syria as it seeks to put down a revolt that broke out last March.

Aleppo has been largely spared the unrest that has rocked Syria for nearly a year, leaving more than 6,000 people dead, according to observers.

Friday's blasts were the biggest since two suicide bombings in Damascus, one of which killed 44 people in December and the second 26 people in January.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad also blamed those attacks on "armed terrorist gangs", but the opposition has blamed the government.

The bombings came ahead of planned protests on Friday by the opposition to denounce Russia's staunch support for the Assad.

Russia said on Friday that Syria's opposition bore full responsibility for the ongoing violence while accusing the West of pushing the opponents into armed conflict.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told ITAR-Tass News Agency the opposition's refusal to enter direct talks with the Syrian government meant it "bears full responsibility for improving the situation".

He accused the West of being "accomplices in the process of inflaming the crisis".

Russian support

Russian lawmakers voiced strong support on Friday for the Kremlin's action to shield Assad from international sanctions over its crackdown on a 11-month old uprising.

Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament debated a statement on the situation in Syria that warned against foreign military intervention and accused the West and the Arab nations of trying to change the regime in Syria.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, said Russia strongly opposes another "operation to promote democracy".

"We are against using humanitarian reasons to change the regime," Pushkov said before the session.

Russia and China used their veto power at the UN Security Council to block a resolution urging Assad to step down.

Russia has vowed not to allow a replay of Libyan strategy, where foreign military airstrikes backed by a UN resolution helped in ousting the longtime leader Muammar Gadhafi. Moscow had abstained from a UN vote that cleared the way for the military intervention.

AFP-AP

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page8)

MALE, Maldives - A UN special envoy arrived on Friday for talks with the new administration in the Maldives, as former president Mohamed Nasheed demanded fresh elections after being ousted in what he called a coup d'etat.

Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco reached the nation's capital of Male on Friday and held an hour-long meeting with new President Mohamed Waheed, who has won crucial backing from the United States.

Three weeks of opposition-led protests were capped on Tuesday by a police mutiny that led to Nasheed's dramatic resignation, which he said was "forced" when armed rebel officers threatened him with violence unless he stepped down.

Waheed said in a statement that his "key priorities included the restoration of public confidence in democratic institutions by upholding the rule of law and uncompromising adherence to the constitution".

The legitimacy of the new administration hinges on whether Nasheed is seen as having resigned of his own will or having been ousted by force.

New video footage distributed by his office apparently shows him pleading with security forces in vain to help quell a police mutiny and violent demonstrations on the morning of his resignation.

There has been growing evidence of police brutality since then, particularly against members of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), amid reports of a crackdown on islands outside the capital.

In Addu City, police said they had arrested 75 people, including two local MDP councilors. The local mayor told AFP by telephone that he was in hiding.

Violence flared on the island on Wednesday during a pro-Nasheed demonstration in which three police offices, 35 police vehicles and a prosecutor's office were torched, superintendent Yoonus Sobah said.

A local criminal court issued a warrant for Nasheed's arrest on Thursday, but he escaped detention after external pressure from foreign diplomatic missions.

The UN's Fernandez-Taranco had been invited by Nasheed when he was still in power to help end a standoff with opposition parties over the arrest and detention of a senior judge.

The envoy made it clear that he was not there to dictate how the political upheaval should be resolved.

"There can be no externally generated solution to something that can be solved by Maldivians themselves," Fernandez-Taranco said as he arrived, adding that the UN was concerned for Nasheed's safety.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page7)

The second edition of Huang Wanli's biography, Lonely Journey Along the River, was published just before Spring Festival. The book's release itself was news because Huang, as professor of hydro-engineering, is well-known for his opposition to the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam and the Three Gorges Dam. His prediction in 1957 that Sanmenxia Dam would be a disaster has unfortunately come true.

History is compared to a mirror that reflects the errors we have committed. Huang's biography should serve as such a mirror for decision-makers. What I feel strongly after reading the book is not just the audacity with which Huang expressed his opinion on the disastrous consequences of the dam. It is also the reservation I have long had about "pooling resources from all sides to accomplish big things", which Deng Xiaoping said while talking about the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The rapid economic growth of the past more than three decades, the grand events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Shanghai 2010 World Expo that China has held, and the country's mega-projects like high-speed railways and the Three Gorges Dam certainly do justice to Deng's remark.

But the great power to pool resources of an entire society can be disastrous if decision-makers make the wrong decision. The positive effect of the advantages is proportionate to the negative effect. That can be seen in the big disasters in the middle of the last century such as the Great Leap Forward, which led to the famine that caused the death of millions of villagers. The failure of Sanmenxia Dam is an even better example.

There is no doubt, though, that Deng referred to big things that should be accomplished in the interest of the people. But there are instances of accomplishing big things just for the sake of big things rather than for the benefit of society as a whole.

Big construction projects have become the major source of corruption because some decision-makers have an eye for big events so that they can profit from them. In this sense, the advantage of pooling resources from all sides to accomplish big things has, to some extent, become the tool of power abuse and corruption especially for some local governments.

That's why governments at all levels need to practice democratic decision-making. No wonder, soliciting public opinion on the Internet or through letters and phone calls nowadays has become a common practice before taking the final decision on big projects or events.

But there is still a long way to go before the entire decision-making process becomes transparent and public opinion is really counted to have a bearing on the future of the country.

In addition, lack of attention or ignorance of small things that have a direct bearing on the quality of people's life is usually seen as a side effect of the government's keenness to accomplish big things. For example, in their rush to build skyscrapers, highways and flyovers, many officials have ignored the importance of the drainage system, which has resulted in the flooding of almost all underpasses during heavy showers in Beijing. Also, an increasing number of sewage treatment plants have been built but very few pipelines have been laid to enable families to flush their toilets with non-potable water.

True, our government can be proud of the advantages of pooling resources of the entire society to build big projects or hold grand events. But it should not forget that the advantages could become disadvantages if opposing views are crowded out of the decision-making process.

If anything, there is need for officials to change their administrative mindset on the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The people-first principle that the central authorities have reiterated time and again has something to do with such change. What this principle requires is the consideration for small things that are of great concern to the quality of people's life.

Of course, the advantages Deng talked about can always be used to accomplish the most arduous tasks in the country, but for that decision-makers also need to open enough channels to seek opinions and advice to make the right decision.

Huang's biography is an excellent read, particularly for government leaders, for this matter.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page5)

Like other holiday seasons, Spring Festival, which ended on Monday, is one of the most expensive times of the year. It is also the time when people shower relatives and friends with gifts. This is not to say that our love affair with gifts is not evident during the rest of the year.

Beijing-based China Gift Industry Research Institute estimates that we spend 800 billion yuan ($127 billion) on gifts every year. It is a lot of money, more than the GDP of some countries, such as Myanmar and Somalia, according to the 2010 statistics of the World Bank.

Chinese people give gifts on many occasions, not all of which are special. Gifts can range from something as simple as fruits to very expensive products. But Chinese avoid gifting items that could embarrass or offend the recipient. For example, they avoid giving clocks because the root of the Chinese word for clock symbolizes death and funerals.

Like most Asian people, Chinese regard giving gifts as part of their culture. It helps develop or strengthen interpersonal relationships. Often, people are invited to dinner and given gifts to build critical relationships and associations.

On the business front, our love for gifts has literally saved many luxury brands. A recent study quotes Bruno Lannes, head of Bain & Company's consumer products and retail practice in Greater China, as saying: "In less than five years, Chinese consumers have transformed from a niche emerging market to a core target for global luxury brands."

But unlike their counterparts in Japan and South Korea, many Chinese buy luxury products to give as gifts. A study of the luxury market by Bain & Company shows that Chinese consumers purchased 212 billion yuan worth of high-end products in 2011. It also shows that more than 30 percent of the luxury goods bought in 2010 and 2011 were meant to be given as gifts.

It is an open secret that building a network of connections is critical to running a successful business. But building networks also requires people to host expensive dinners, entertain guests, and give costly gifts and, sometimes, cash even before starting a business in earnest. Gifts are an important way of earning trust and gaining respect.

Usually, successful people have a network of friends, acquaintances, relatives and associates that are helpful in more ways than one. For such people, giving and getting gifts becomes even more important, all of which leads to a question some companies are not quite sure how to answer: What do you call it then: gift, grease, graft or guanxi?

Businesspeople give high-end products as "business" gifts to show their taste and status. People who receive them feel honored and obliged. No wonder, businesspeople believe gifts are a good way of keeping the wheels moving.

People born in the 1950s and 1960s are the largest group receiving such gifts. They are courted because they occupy most of the important positions in government departments at all levels.

China needs a strict anti-graft and corruption law even though it has rules prohibiting public officials from accepting expensive gifts. And the total value of gifts an official can accept should defined clearly.

It is said that 78 of the 100 bribery cases heard by Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court, Beijing Haidian District People's Court and the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court from 2005 to 2007 were against officials accused of having accepted bribes during the Lunar New Year period.

Moreover, a new type of business is taking shape around the large number of the high-end gifts that officials dispose of for money. In Wuhan, Hubei province, for instance, some stores buy bottles of Moutai, a famous brand of Chinese liquor, for 800 yuan each and resell them for 1,200 yuan. This, by any yardstick, is a very profitable business.

Given that expensive gifts have the potential to influence officials' decisions, the government should ban them from accepting any kind of gift. If you want to express your appreciation and gratitude, a nice card will do, as long as there's nothing inside it but a note.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page5)

China needs to solve the problems of migrant workers and provide them every possible help to become permanent members of cities

According to the 2011 data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's urban population has reached 51.27 percent of the total, thus exceeding the rural population for the first time in history.

This is a critical point for China's urbanization. From now on, China needs to promote both the quality as well as the quantity of urbanization. For that purpose, the emphasis should be put on making rural people true urban residents, not simply introducing them to cities.

The greatest challenge for this is the problems of migrant workers, whose number has reached 242 million and is still growing. It is their labor that has made China's urbanization possible: a recent survey shows that migrant workers contribute 34 percent to the urbanization of Beijing and 30.6 percent to that of Shanghai, providing most of the labor for sectors such as construction.

But, though the cities have been built on the sweat of their labor, these workers are not formal residents of the cities they toil in. This is because their hukou, or permanent residence permits, are not registered there. We have already heard too many sad stories about migrant workers being discriminated against by urban residents and we do not want to hear more.

The following is an incomplete list of basic public services that exclude or partly exclude migrant workers: compulsory education, pension, medical insurance, lowest living standards insurance and public housing.

The result of such discrimination, which widens the gap between migrant workers and urban residents, has already caused mass incidents in provinces like Guangdong. Urban administrators need to help improve migrant workers' lives to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Such discrimination has not only caused social injustice, but also become a bottleneck to urbanization because it seriously restricts domestic needs by limiting migrant workers' consumption power. A 2010 research shows that the average Engel's coefficient - which measures the percentage of a household's expenditure on food to its total spending - of migrant workers is more than 50 percent, which seriously restricts both the willingness and the ability to consume, in turn curbing domestic demand.

Therefore, to further propel urbanization, China needs to solve the problems of migrant workers by helping them become permanent members of the cities in which they live, with equal access to public services and benefits.

The central government addressed the problem in its 2011 Central Economic Work Conference. In its concluding document, the conference claimed it would orderly guide qualified migrant workers to become permanent urban residents, and solve their education, healthcare and housing difficulties. That is a praiseworthy move for it might break the barrier between urban and rural residents.

In fact, many regional governments have already taken measures to include some migrant workers into their public service systems. For example, many counties in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai have already started to let migrant workers enjoy endowment insurance like local residents. Some other cities like Nantong in Jiangsu province have also tried to offer public housing to migrant workers.

But to really address the issue the hukou system, the fundamental mechanism of China's urban-rural division, must be reformed to finally end these inequalities. However, local governments cannot make great progress in this regard, as the power to totally reform the hukou system belongs exclusively to the central government. The central government mentioned the problem in 2009 and reiterated it in 2011, but it needs to do more in the future to provide support for such reforms.

While gradually altering the division, the cities also need to change other discriminative policies to diminish the differences between local residents and migrant workers. And more importantly, they need to provide equal education opportunities for the children of migrant workers, for that will prevent inequality from being inherited by the next generation.

Of course, turning migrant workers into true urban residents is a huge program that involves the interests of tens of millions of people, so we cannot expect it to be done all at once. The problems can only be solved step by step, with priority given to those with the most urgent needs.

Metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai already have extremely large populations, so it is important to guide the population flow into small and medium-sized cities.

But to ensure China's urbanization proceeds smoothly the State needs to take measures to honor its promise of helping turn migrant workers into true urban residents.

The author is a researcher on urban development at the National Development and Reform Commission. The Chinese text first appeared in China Development Observation magazine.

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page5)

Drug firm that makes traditional medicine with bear bile would use funds to keep more animals

FUZHOU - A pharmaceutical company in Fujian province that makes medicines from bear bile has again been targeted by animal rights activists as it makes a second attempt to become publicly listed.

Guizhentang Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2000, extracts bile from captive bears to make traditional Chinese medicines. The company keeps 470 bears and hopes to increase the number to 1,200, according to its website.

Bai Yipeng, founder of China SOS Help, a non-government organization whose activities include advocating for animal rights, said on Wednesday he had formed an alliance with others to buy shares of the drug company in order to stop it from going public.

Guizhentang could raise up to 120 million yuan ($19 million) with the initial public offering, Bai said, more than twice the estimated value of its first IPO attempt - 50 million yuan - last year, according to China Securities Journal.

On Feb 1, the China Securities Regulatory Commission released a list of 220 companies awaiting approval by the Growth Enterprise Board to trade on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Guizhentang was one of them.

"Our social morality has come to a crossroads. Whether the company goes public or not is a matter of life and death for the suffering bears," Bai said on his micro blog on Wednesday. He added that the fundraising would help the company expand its farm where the bears are kept and increase the number of bears in captivity.

Bai said he had sent the tender offer to three big investors in the drug company, and it might be received in one or two days. He hoped those shareholders would make the "right" decision by accepting the offer within 10 days.

"If we succeed in buying enough shares as a large shareholder with a right to veto business decisions, we will strategically make the drug company diversified in its production and abolish bile extraction from bears," he said.

The company said it hasn't got the offering proposal from any individuals or activist groups yet.

"So far we haven't received documentation from Mr Bai about the proposal to buy shares," said an employee surnamed Xu in the company's administrative office.

Xu said he couldn't say whether opponents will stop the company's IPO plan or not, and that he would need permission from the company's senior executives, who can't immediately be reached for comment.

Guizhentang's attempt to go public last year triggered furious protests from animal rights groups and netizens who accused it of cruelty in the captive breeding of bears and method of bile extraction. The company argued that the method was legal and has replaced the traditional method, which was to first kill the bears.

On its website, Guizhentang says it can collect bile in five to eight minutes without causing the bears pain.

The company is expected to use the funds raised by the IPO to expand the size of its farm and the number of its bears to 1,200.

Guizhentang is not the only drug company extracting bear bile for medicines. Another such pharmaceutical company, Kaibao Pharma Co in Shanghai, was listed in January 2010.

"The company's move got the attention of animal activists several months later. There were not so many people concerned about the practice of extracting bear bile at the time," said Zhang Xiaohai, director of external affairs of Animals Asia Foundation's China Office, which is based in Hong Kong.

"But now, we (the foundation) are inspired, because more people are concerned not only about the cruelty, but also related industries," he said.

Bear bile has been used in traditional medicine in China and other Asian countries because it is thought to have benefits, such as detoxification, cleansing the liver and improving vision.

In the 1980s, captive breeding replaced the original method of killing wild black bears to get the bile.

By 2006, China had 68 registered bear farms where about 7,000 black bears were kept for bile extraction, according to the State Forestry Administration.

The number of bear farms increased to 98 in 2011.

Bear farms can now be found in 11 provinces, such as Jilin, Heilongjiang, Sichuan, and Yunnan, according to the foundation.

Medical professionals say bears are subjected to crude surgery that leaves permanent wounds in the abdominal wall and their gall bladders, causing serious diseases and even killing many of the animals.

As parts of its efforts to end bear farming in China, the foundation has rescued 277 black bears from farms in the past 10 years.

As of January, 111 of the rescued bears had later died, and 38 percent of those from liver cancer, according to the foundation.

"The bile extracted from the sick black bears is very likely to carry a cancer cell, which could trigger health risks when ingested by humans," said Wang Shengxian, head of the pathology department at Chengdu Military General Hospital.

"Years of research showed that we can produce drugs with substitutes that have the same properties as the drugs with bear bile," said Jiang Qi, former vice-president of Shenyang Pharmaceutical University.

So far, government authorities have not approved the substitute drugs for sale on the market, Jiang said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page4)

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will introduce daily non-stop flights between Beijing and Zurich.

The new service to the financial center of Switzerland is anticipated to commence on Feb 12, which marks an expansion of services for the burgeoning Chinese market. In May 2008, SWISS already started direct flights to Shanghai.

The first flight to Europe has a special price of 2,680 yuan, which does not include taxes and fuel surcharges.

"I am delighted the airlines of Switzerland can contribute to growing economic ties between the two countries with new daily flights scheduled," says SWISS CEO Harry Hohmeister.

"We are witnessing a growing demand for tourist travel in both directions."

Apart from Shanghai and Hong Kong, Beijing will be the third Chinese destination for SWISS.

The new route marks a return to Beijing for SWISS: The airlines previously flew to the Chinese capital as late as June 2003.

SWISS will initially operate its new daily non-stop Beijing-Zurich flights with an Airbus A340-300 (219 seats) and Airbus A330-300 (236 seats) aircrafts that provide three-class cabins and a state-of-the-art business class.

The modern SWISS business class offers optimum comforts since the seats can be reclined into a two-meter-long bed.

Seating firmness and softness can be adjusted thanks to integrated pneumatic air cushions.

With the introduction of the new SWISS service from Beijing, the Lufthansa Group Airlines may attract more Chinese customers when traveling to Europe.

SWISS, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines already connect to five Chinese cities with Europe and beyond.

This airlines group is the leading European airlines network in the Chinese market.

In the summer of 2011, the Lufthansa Group operated 78 weekly flights from China including Hong Kong to Europe.

The airlines embody the classic values of "Swiss hospitality", "quality in every detail" and "personal attention and care": anyone flying SWISS should feel at home.

SWISS has been committed to a long-term strategy to spare an over-use of natural resources and maintain a cleaner environment as the cornerstone of its corporate culture.

SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group as well as a member of the Star Alliance, the world's biggest airlines grouping.

For more information please call the service line: 400-882-0880

Or visit the web: http://swiss.com/

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page3)

BEIJING - An 11-year-old girl who was burned while trying to put out a mountain fire in North China's Hebei province is receiving treatment and various forms of assistance.

Li Pei, who hails from Baoding, Hebei province, was taken from a local hospital to the Air Force General Hospital in Beijing on Sunday.

Li's mother, Wei Baohua, said the family transferred Li in the hope that three toes hurt in the fire can be saved from amputation.

Eleven-year-old Li's injuries originated in an attempt to put out a fire in the bushes in her village on Jan 15. The girl suffered burns from her feet to her lower waist.

According to Zou Xiaofang, one of the doctors treating Li, 55 percent of her skin was burned.

"I really didn't expect the injuries to be so severe," Wei said.

"My husband, my son and I were then out with a friend when somebody in our village told us, 'Your daughter was hurt in that fire.' When we got back there, we saw that our daughter was sitting still there, although her pants and shoes were gone."

Wei said the flames first set Li's shoelaces ablaze and then moved up to her pants.

"The girl has undergone surgery twice before," Zou said. "Now her condition is still unsteady ... We plan to perform a skin graft in a week."

Despite the quick schedule for that procedure, it will be several months before Li leaves the hospital. And she will have to undergo further operations later in life.

"Bones grow much faster than grafted skin does and that may hinder joint movement."

Zou, who has worked for 11 years as a surgeon treating burns and scalds, said his department receives more than 200 kids with burns or scalds every year.

"Unlike adults, kids tend to be unaware of dangers and are likely to be burned or scalded," Zou said. "Children who are 3 years old or younger are most prone to being hurt in this way."

Wei said her family borrowed more than 120,000 yuan ($19,000) to treat her daughter and spent all of that on the treatment before coming to Beijing.

For Wei, a housewife, and her husband, a migrant worker, the good news is that the Hebei Youth Development Foundation established a bank account to be used for treating children with burns. An endowment drive has been held for Li, raising 470,000 yuan for the account.

The family has also received 340,000 yuan in direct donations.

"I don't know if this is enough money to cover the treatment," Wei said. "(But) I told Wang Xiaodong, head of Baoding Loving Heart Volunteers Union, that if there is money left after the treatment, I will donate it to other people in need."

To take care of Li, she and her husband live in the ward.

Wang Xiaodong, who is also assistant director-general of the Online Volunteers Union of Hebei Province, said he received a call asking for help from the Red Cross on Jan 31. He went to the Internet the next day to seek more assistance.

"We opened the account on Feb 3, and it has drawn a lot of attention," he said. "The donors to it range from enterprises to individuals. Li Pei's family will be able to continue to receive donations.

"If there is any money left after the treatment, and if the kid's parents, the donors and the foundation all agree, we will channel the money to other kids who need help. We are also working on a contract with the media so that they and the public can better supervise the money (in the burn-treatment bank account)."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page3)

KUNMING - Zhang Renquan, a villager in Southwest China's Yunnan province, never expected he would receive a visit and greetings from the top official of the province before the start of Chinese New Year.

"The Party secretary made and ate a dinner with us, chatted and said Happy New Year to us with a toast," recalled the 42-year-old Zhang, who lived in Bixi village in Mojiang Hani autonomous county. "He even stayed at my home for a night and paid me a fee."

Many other villagers gathered at his home after hearing that the top official of the province was paying a visit. "All of us were so glad," Zhang said.

The Party secretary of Yunnan province, Qin Guangrong, asked about how the villagers make their livings and about their dealings with officials, Zhang said.

With the government's help, the village of 47 households was moved in 2010 from a previous location where it had been vulnerable to landslides.

"The new practice - the one that the provincial government started and that encourages direct contact between officials and residents - is really helpful," Zhang told Qin, showing him a card bearing the telephone numbers of prominent county officials.

The cards have helped alleviate various concerns in the villages, Zhang said. In one instance, they played a role in getting a wooden bridge replaced.

"The old wooden bridge was very dangerous and a villager once fell off it ... and was drowned," Zhang said.

Zhang said the head of the village used the card to get in touch with officials. That led to the plan to build a new bridge.

Feng Liyin, head of the village, said the 8-meter bridge cost 120,000 yuan ($19,000), an amount paid by the township government. The project is expected to be finished by April.

"Once the bridge is finished, I'm not going to worry about floods any more," Zhang said.

For all their benefits, the closer relations with villagers have also placed pressure on local officials, said Chen Jiaxing, Party chief of Lianzhu town, which administers Bixi village.

"Each official in our town is responsible for staying in touch with three to four families who can call them for anything they want," he said. "All of us have to keep our mobile phones on 24 hours a day, as some villagers may call at night."

He said officials will work to resolve issues that they can and will enlist the help of higher authorities on those that they can't.

"Although we are now much busier, we are glad to see the villagers are happier," he said.

Qin also applauded the new practices.

"Troubles can be solved a lot more easily if officials are more active," he said. "We should continue with these practices and never forget the folks living out in the countryside."

"We will continue to try to establish the favorable conditions needed to speed up the development of rural areas and improve the lives of our people."

The harmony that exists between Bixi village residents and officials results from the local government's resolve to keep the people's needs in mind, a resolve that only became stronger following a recent period of tension.

In July 2008, a violent clash broke out in Yunnan province's Menglian county. The trouble began when farmers complained that their land rights had been violated by a local rubber company. They asked both the company and the government for redress and, not receiving a response they deemed satisfactory, clashed with police.

The outbreak brought relations between farmers and officials to a nadir, said Yan Bodan, a villager in Menglian county who, during the clash, had led his fellow villagers to smash police cars and use knives to fell trees that were then set up as roadblocks.

"Villagers blocked the road leading to the village to stop government officials from entering, and the ID cards of some of the ones who had entered the village were snatched away," Yan recalled.

After the incident, the Menglian government changed its manner of governing, working harder to protect residents' interests. Several measures were taken to deal better with residents' concerns and maintain closer relations between government officials and residents.

The work has helped to change opinions. "We used to hate officials," said Yan, who has joined the Party and become a village official. "But now we get along as brothers."

"Without the support of the people, it will be impossible for Yunnan to meet its goal for better development," Qin said.

Wang Xiaodong contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page3)

BEIJING - China is vowing to eliminate substandard meat processing in the country within the next few months as part of a campaign to ensure food is safe, officials said on Friday.

"Some small and medium-sized slaughterhouses and processors that have the proper authorization now fail to meet the standards for meat processing, and that has raised great potential risks for the country's meat supply," Jiang Zengwei, deputy minister of commerce, said at a news conference held by nine government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The departments will begin a four-month campaign in March to improve standards at plants where pigs are slaughtered and processed. They will work to ensure the conditions at such places are sanitary, that proper quarantine measures are being taken and that the environment is being protected.

The campaign will look at the 18,150 authorized slaughterhouses and processors in China. Its goal will be to prevent water-injected meat, meat from sick animals or other substandard products from reaching the market, he said.

Jiang called on the ministry's local branches to use the campaign to clean up substandard slaughterhouses and processors, saying "they are the biggest obstacles to ensuring the safety of meat".

Meat slaughtering and processing that has not received official approvals is illegal in China, the only exception being that rural residents are allowed to slaughter their own livestock.

Pork makes up more than 60 percent of the meat the Chinese eat every year, according to official figures.

Many in the public became concerned about meat safety after reports came out alleging that the illegal feed additive clenbuterol had been used by farmers in Henan province in March 2011.

Clenbuterol, better known as "lean meat powder", can cause pigs to build muscle and burn fat faster, resulting in leaner pork.

The drug can cause dizziness and heart palpitations among people who eat meat that has been treated with it, and China prohibits its use as an additive in pigs feed.

The growth of the slaughtering industry, meanwhile, has led to environmental pollution.

To meet the demand for meat in 2011, about 210 million pigs were slaughtered, producing 100 million tons of wastewater along the way, Li Ganjie, deputy minister of environmental protection, said at the conference.

"Starting this year, the ministry will use its website to blacklist slaughterhouses and processors that have been found to be violating the law, and it will also regulate the approval of new slaughterhouses in the future," Jiang said.

Liang Haoyi, a senior researcher at the China Animal Agriculture Association, said on Friday that the pig-farming and meat-slaughtering industries in China must ever contend with greater and greater obstacles as they try to protect the public's health.

"Government authorities should take measures to prevent sick animals from being sold for slaughter," he said. "And there is a need for harsher punishment to be imposed on those who trade sick animals."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page4)

BEIJING

Family planning targets poverty

China will further promote family planning policies in a bid to steady birth rates and alleviate poverty in less affluent counties, according to a new plan on poverty reduction.

Under the plan, China aims to keep population growth rates at 0.8 percent in key poverty-relief counties by 2015, a move that it hopes will improve people's living standards. By 2020, birth rates in these counties should remain low and be steady.

The plan was jointly issued by the National Population and Family Planning Commission and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Food overhaul for schools

China's top food watchdog on Friday ordered a national food safety overhaul of school dining halls in spring 2012, as the country increases its efforts to prevent food poisoning in schools.

The State Food and Drug Administration issued a circular asking provincial-level authorities to check food safety in school canteens, especially in rural primary and middle schools.

The key aspects to be scrutinized include catering licensing, hygiene, food processing, storage, purchase records, sterilization and water use.

China reported 46 food poisoning incidents from October to December last year. Nine of these stemmed from school canteens and sickened 688 people, according to health ministry figures.

HEBEI

Warehouse blast kills 3

An explosion at a warehouse on Friday afternoon in northern Hebei province killed three people, local authorities said.

The explosion occurred at 4 pm while five people were inside the warehouse illegally producing chemical raw materials in rural Zhuozhou, a city just an hour's train ride from Beijing, said an official with the city government's information office.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page2)

GUANGZHOU - The Guangdong provincial government has mapped out a plan to crack down on economic crimes including monopolizing, counterfeiting and commercial bribery, officials said at a conference in the provincial capital on Thursday.

The crackdown, meant to create a favorable market environment and maintain normal market order, is urgent because the province is in a critical period transforming and upgrading its economy, said Wang Yang, Party chief of Guangdong.

"Monopolizing, counterfeiting and commercial bribery are the 'cancer' of the economy," Wang said, adding that the criminal activity damages social stability, threatens people's lives and property and is hated by the public.

The conference also focused on establishing a credit system and a market supervision system.

Enterprises in South China's economic powerhouse Guangdong face challenges from the complex domestic and global economic situations this year. According to Wang, the crackdown on economic crime and establishing the market supervision and credit systems will help enterprises overcome the challenges by reducing the cost of transactions.

Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan advised the government to strike hard on big cases first, to deter others. Zhu also asked all departments of the government and the public to support the crackdown.

Public security agencies in Guangdong launched a campaign against counterfeiting and violations of intellectual property in October 2010.

By October 31, 2011, more than 2,000 cases of counterfeiting had been solved, 2,511 counterfeiting operations destroyed and 70 websites for selling counterfeits shut down. Authorities broke up 618 gangs and arrested 2,429 people across the province.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page2)

BEIJING - Premier Wen Jiabao met on Friday with the 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, in Beijing in Zhongnanhai, the compound containing the offices of both the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

During the meeting, Wen, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee's Political Bureau, offered his well-wishes to the Panchen Lama and all Tibetan compatriots in advance of Tibetan New Year, which will fall on Feb 22.

The premier heard a report by the Panchen Lama on his life and work since he was enthroned 17 years ago. Wen congratulated the Panchen Lama on the marked progress he has made on Buddhist research and cultural aspects, noting that the Panchen Lama has done well as a Living Buddha of the Tibetan Buddhism.

Last year was the 60th anniversary of the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, and over the past six decades, Tibet has undergone enormous changes as a result of leadership by the Party and the government, assistance from peoples of all nationalities and the hard work and continuous efforts made by the different ethnic groups within Tibet, Wen said.

Talking to the Panchen Lama, the premier pledged that ethnic autonomy will continue in the region and that greater efforts will be made to improve the lives of Tibetan compatriots, as well as protect the environment, the region's cultural traditions and the religious freedom of the Tibetan people.

Wen asked the Panchen Lama to deepen his research on academic works on Buddhist doctrines in an effort to ascertain positive thoughts from Tibetan Buddhist doctrines.

He also asked the Panchen Lama to lead Buddhist lamas and followers in loving the country, abiding by laws and abiding by Buddhist commandments.

He also called on the Panchen Lama to play an even greater role in safeguarding national unification and the unity of all ethnic groups.

Present at the meeting was Du Qinglin, a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page2)

GUANGZHOU - A bombing victim's family is planning to take legal action against an express-delivery company and a BMW auto dealership for neglecting to check parcels for dangerous contents and for leaking the victim's private information.

The victim, who is surnamed Li and comes from Tianhe district of Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, received a parcel on Monday from a sender identifying itself as a BMW 4S dealership. 4S stands for sale, spare parts, service and survey.

The contents of the package were marked as being perfume. In truth, though, a home-made bomb lay hidden inside. It exploded when Li opened the parcel, injuring him seriously.

"We will sue the express company and the 4S store for their roles in indirectly causing this injury," said Li's younger brother, who declined to be named.

The brother said on Friday that his family has asked for help from local lawyers.

"The express company should be partly responsible for this atrocity because it did not check the parcel before it was delivered to my brother," he said.

"And the 4S store might have leaked my brother's home address to the suspect because the information on the delivery sheet was completely in accordance with what my brother had given the store."

Both the delivery company and the BMW 4S store declined to comment on the case, saying they will cooperate with police as they investigate it.

The 38-year-old suspect, who is surnamed Zheng and hails from Central China's Henan province, was detained on Wednesday at a rental house in Guangzhou's Panyu district.

Sources with the Guangzhou police said Li had had a romantic relationship with the suspect's ex-girlfriend and that the suspect harbored a grudge against him because of that.

In a telephone interview, Li's brother said the victim, who works as a tutor at a training company, only had a work relationship with the suspect's ex-girlfriend.

The explosion seriously injured Li, rupturing one of his eyeballs. Doctors at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University said they may not be able to restore his eyesight.

Police sources said they will continue investigating the case.

The attack has raised concerns about safety in the delivery industry. Insiders saying parcels must be strictly checked before being delivered.

"Delivery workers seldom ask us to open the parcel, let alone to conduct a security check," said Wang Xiuqing, a Guangzhou resident who runs an online shop.

Even so, some express companies said customers are rarely willing to let their parcels be checked before they are delivered.

"We will often ask customers about what is inside the parcels," said a delivery worker surnamed Chen. "But they are unwilling to let us check the goods because they are concerned about protecting privacy."

There are now no regulations that require delivery companies to use X-ray equipment to conduct checks on parcels that are to be sent out.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page4)

Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi cooperation plan could benefit 90 million people

WUHAN - More than 90 million people will benefit from comprehensive business cooperation jointly launched by Hubei, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, Li Hongzhong, Party chief of Hubei province, said on Friday.

Addressing a conference in Hubei's provincial capital Wuhan, Li said the agreement reached by leaders of the three provinces is a sign that cooperative efforts to establish a new urban hub in Central China have officially begun.

According to Li, the blueprint will strengthen business cooperation between three capital cities - Wuhan, Changsha and Nanchang - which form a natural triangle where more than 90 million people live, nearly 8 percent of China's population.

The zone had a total economic output of 2.5 trillion yuan ($397 billion) and maintained 7.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product in 2010.

More than 129 of the top 500 global companies have either investments or offices in the region, he said.

"The three provinces will work together to build a new urban hub, which will play a significant role in optimizing the region's productive forces," said Lu Xinshe, governor of Jiangxi.

Their cooperation "will greatly promote the economic development of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River", Lu said.

Wang Yuqi, director of the Jiangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said at the conference that the cooperation is expected to build a fourth significant urban hub in China, after the Bohai-Rim Economic Circle (Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan); Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou), and Pearl River Delta (Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai).

"It can be estimated that competition among urban hubs will become more evident," said Wang.

The idea of building an economic zone in Central China was first raised in 2003 by Qin Zunwen, a professor of economics from the Hubei Academy of Social Sciences. "As long as the three provinces work together, a competitive urban hub is well in sight," Qin said.

In 2010, the State Council issued a regulation on the importance of developing urban hubs in the three provinces, providing a foundation for the close cooperation among the provinces.

Hunan and Hubei both contributed more than 1.9 trillion yuan in gross provincial product last year, according to provincial data, both overtaking Shanghai.

Wang Xiang, 29, a real estate project manager in Wuhan, said based on his experience, the investment environment in the city still needs improvement, compared with that in eastern coastal cities.

Wang Yan, 23, a Jiangxi woman who is studying in Wuhan, said that the transport system between the two regions is convenient. "We can travel back and forth within a day."

But some people say the initiative needs further discussion and study.

"Regional development should be in line with national strategy, so we support further discussion (about the cooperation)," said Fan Hengshan, director of the National Development and Reform Commission's regional economy department.

"The central cities are finally getting their chance," said Ye Yonggang, a professor of finance from Wuhan University. "But the success of the plan still depends on different factors."

Ye said effective cooperation is based on more than just an announcement. "The most important job is working out how to have each party get real benefit from the cooperation."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page3)

BEIJING - New buildings in all cities and counties will soon be required to be built to withstand earthquakes, a senior seismologist told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

The expanded requirements will extend earthquake protection to the one-fifth of the mainland previously not mandated to do so, said senior seismologist Gao Mengtan with China Earthquake Administration.

"It is the first time in half a century that China has put prevention of collapse at the core of its national seismic provisions for structures," said Gao, deputy chief of the agency's Institute of Geophysics.

"It is also the first time such a compulsory standard will cover the entire mainland."

The expanded requirements are part of a new national seismic zone map that will become the minimum requirements for the design and construction of buildings, said Du Wei, a division director of the China Earthquake Administration.

China publishes a seismic zone map roughly every decade, and the new one is scheduled for release by June, Du said.

Until the new standard was set, buildings in about 21 percent of China's land area, or 15 percent of all cities above county level, were not required to be designed with earthquakes in mind, Gao said.

They lie mainly in the country's central and eastern areas, such as some districts in Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, where major tremors are considered unlikely to occur.

"There aren't even earthquake agencies in those districts," he said.

But with the accumulation of information gathered from the ever-improving national network of digital earthquake monitoring stations, subterranean exploration and earthquake safety evaluation, authorities have decided to change the situation.

"In the 2012 seismic zone map, there will be no area on the mainland where structural fortification against earthquakes is not required," Gao said.

The seismic map details what levels of seismic intensity different areas are prone to experience. Unlike the Richter scale, which measures the strength of an earthquake, seismic intensity - usually on a scale of 12 - measures the amount of shaking at the Earth's surface.

So, for instance, during a magnitude-7 earthquake, seismic intensity may vary from place to place from 5 to 10 degrees.

On the 2001 map, the area prone to earthquakes of seismic intensity 7 accounts for 49 percent of the mainland's total. That will expand to 58 percent on the 2012 map, according to Gao.

Nearly all Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have been rocked by earthquakes above magnitude 6, according to Gao.

In the 2012 map, 18 percent of the mainland is required to have their structures engineered to resist quakes with seismic intensity above 8. In 2001, the percentage was 12, Gao said.

The new seismic provisions stipulate that a building will be able to be repaired to its full function in the event of moderate ground shaking. It must be reinforced so as not to collapse during very rare, extreme ground shaking, Gao said.

Structural collapses cause most earthquake injuries and deaths, and countries and regions with well-developed building codes can usually reduce casualties to a minimum, he said.

"In Japan and the United States, where structures are better prepared for disasters, an earthquake up to magnitude 6 often wreaks no havoc to society," Gao said. However, a magnitude-5.7 tremor on Nov 26, 2005 in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, led to the death of 13 people, and sent 400,000 residents to the streets, Gao said.

Nearly 60 percent of the 660,000 people killed in earthquakes in China in the last century lived in rural areas, meaning it is extremely important to reinforce residential and public buildings in counties, he said.

Wang Yayong, former director of the Institute of Earthquake Engineering under China Academy of Building Research, said he believed losses from earthquakes will be drastically reduced if the seismic provisions for structures are implemented throughout the country.

"Of course the cost for building a house or high-rise will increase, but the increase will not be that much, especially compared with lives and other damage that will be spared," Wang said.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page1)

Experts say rise shows market has confidence in Chinese economy

BEIJING - The yuan rose to an 18-year-high on Friday, climbing as Vice-President Xi Jinping prepares to step onto a plane for his trip to the United States next week.

The People's Bank of China set the yuan's central parity rate against the US dollar at 6.2937 after the rate rose for two consecutive trading days, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

"The exchange rate will see more fluctuations, although the positive outlook for the Chinese economy has sparked expectations of a strengthening of the currency," said Zhuang Jian, senior economist with the Asian Development Bank.

Zhuang predicted the yuan may rise about 3 percent this year. However, that is slower than the 6 percent against the dollar in real terms last year.

Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said on Thursday that Xi's visit is an important opportunity to enhance mutual trust between China and the US.

Cui also expected the visit would help remove hurdles from Sino-US trade, including restrictions on US exports of certain high-tech products and obstacles to Chinese investment in the US.

Xi is scheduled to visit the US next week, where he will meet President Barack Obama and other high-level leaders.

"The rise largely reflects market supply and demand," said Zhang Jianping, senior economist with the Institute for International Economics Research under the National Development and Reform Commission.

He said the market expects the Chinese currency to rise because the economy remains positive and the government has adopted a rather tight monetary policy.

Il Houng Lee, senior resident representative at the Beijing office of the International Monetary Fund, said the currency will go forward over the medium term but in the short term it will see more ups and downs.

A report released by the IMF's Beijing office on Monday said upward pressures on the currency have diminished recently.

However, as the current account still has a sizable surplus of US dollars, and foreign direct investment remains strong, China is supposed to resume the strong pace of accumulation of foreign-exchange reserves, according to the report.

The country's foreign-exchange reserves increased by $11.7 billion between October and December, regardless of changes in the exchange rate and asset prices, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Friday.

China's capital and financial account suffered a deficit of $47.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, from a surplus of $66.2 billion in the third, indicating net capital outflows. Analysts said the exchange-rate fluctuations are closely connected with the crisis-affected economic scenario overseas and with speculative activities.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page1)

BEIJING / SHANGHAI - First there was video conferencing, then video chat.

Now a restaurant chain is serving up video hotpot.

Instead of making the 1,500-km trip to Shanghai for his friend's birthday, Chen Yufei popped into a Beijing restaurant where a special video room is set up.

His friend in Shanghai did the same in his city.

When Chen sat down at the table, his friend was in front of him on a high-definition screen.

"How fancy is this!" 31-year-old Chen said to China Daily as he was taking photos of the screens with his colleagues from Shanghai.

"I think it's very impressive to have a birthday party like this," he said.

The video feast is on the menu of the famous Haidilao hotpot chain in China's two biggest cities.

"The fresh idea flashed in our boss's mind," said Zhong Weijian, a technical officer in the Beijing branch.

"Customers book the room mainly for family reunions and business negotiations," Zhong said. "We'll call the Shanghai branch when we receive a reservation and make sure customers in both cities can be seated at the same time."

Currently, the chain has two video hotpot rooms, one at the Wangfujing branch in Beijing and one on Shanghai's Changshou Road.

The video rooms have been open since Feb 2.

If successful, the chain hopes to expand the service to other provinces, or even other countries.

In addition to the food, customers pay 200 yuan ($31.75) per hour for using the room.

"The video room has been fully booked in February," said Chen Yu, manager of the Wangfujing branch.

The video room in Beijing is about 30 square meters and large enough for six customers.

"Many customers prefer to use the room for dinners rather than lunch," Zhong said, adding the average age of customers who booked the video hotpot is about 30.

"The whole process is very smooth. The image and the voice transmission are as good as those of video conferencing at work," said one of Chen's colleagues surnamed Luo.

"I have a lot of friends in Beijing, whom I haven't met for a long time because of being busy at work," said a woman surnamed Yu who is having dinner with her husband at Haidilao.

"The new service gives us a chance to have a dinner together without traveling. I would like to give it a try."

The video hotpot also helped establish a friendship between waitresses in the two cities.

Zhao Huanhuan, in her 20s, who is specially trained for serving in the video room in Shanghai, struck up a friendship with a waitress named Lu Ke in the Beijing branch.

"What a fantastic experience!" Zhao said excitedly.

"It was too amazing to believe. I'm so interested in using the special room and enjoy serving people there," she said. "I also talked about some interesting interactive games with Lu before guests come for dinner."

Lu said they provided riddles for a family of seven who had dinner on the eve of the Lantern Festival.

Five members, including a child and his parents, were in the capital, while the child's grandparents were in Shanghai.

"I prepared some jokes with Zhao through the video before they came and our ideas made the family have a good time that night," Lu said.

Although Lu felt a little bit nervous when she first served in front of the screens, she said the new mode of communication also encouraged her to supply better services for customers.

"It's like a service competition. We saw each other through video and I could learn from Zhao's serving," Lu said, adding she will visit Zhao if she goes to Shanghai.

It seems that video hotpot doesn't satisfy everyone's palate, however.

Jiang Yan, a 30-year-old customer who tried the video hotpot, paid nearly 600 yuan for a dinner in the room, including the 200-yuan room expense, and said the price was a little bit high.

"The lamps in the room are too bright, which may not be suitable for enjoying a dinner with friends," he said. "The video can't replace a real close family reunion sitting around the hotpot."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page1)

Houston general manager Daryl Morey admitted Thursday the Rockets made a mistake when they cut Jeremy Lin, whose recent exploits for the Knicks have made him an NBA sensation.

"Did not know he was this good," Morey admitted in a Twitter posting on Thursday. "Anyone who says they knew misleading U".

Lin scored 25 points off the bench to help the Knicks beat the New Jersey Nets on Saturday.

On Monday, in his first career start, he follwed with a career-best 28 points in a Knicks win over Utah that had fans at Madison Square Garden singing his praises.

On Wednesday, he delivered a double-double of 23 points and 10 assists to help the Knicks beat the Wizards in Washington 107-93.

Such was the buzz surrounding Lin that the Wizards' arena was packed with spectators eager to see and cheer him, and the team had to open the arena's ice hockey press box to accommodate Asian media outlets.

"Finally, really happy for (Jeremy Lin)," Morey said. "Very hard working, nice, & humble. He has a great, great future".

AFP

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page16)

Basketball

NBA results on Thursday (home team in CAPS):

LA Lakers 88 BOSTON 87 (OT)

Golden State 109 DENVER 101

Houston 96 PHOENIX 89

SACRAMENTO 106 Oklahoma City 101

Golf

Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

PEBBLE BEACH, California - Leading first-round scores in the $6.4 million Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Thursday on the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links, par-70 Monterey Peninsula Country Club, par-72 Spyglass Hill Country Club (USA unless noted):

9-under

61 - Charlie Wi (KOR)

63 - Dustin Johnson, Danny Lee (NZL)

8-under

64 - Ken Duke, Brian Harman

6-under

64 - Josh Teater

66 - Graham DeLaet (CAN), Kevin Na, Nick Watney

5-under

65 - Richard H. Lee, Hunter Mahan, Daniel Summerhays

67 - Bob Estes, Brendon Todd

4-under

66 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS), Joseph Bramlett, Nathan Green (AUS)

68 - Bae Sang-moon (KOR), Shane Bertsch, Matt Every, Russell Knox (SCO), Sean O'Hair, Joe Ogilvie, Greg Owen (ENG), Vijay Singh (FIJ), Tiger Woods

Dubai Desert Classic

Leading first-round scores in the $2.5 million Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday at the par-72 Majlis Course of Emirates Golf Club:

63 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP)

65 - Marcel Siem (GER), Scott Jamieson (SCO)

66 - Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Richard Sterne (RSA), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Gregory Bourdy (FRA), Romain Wattel (FRA), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Martin Kaymer (GER)

67 - Jeev Milkha Singh (IND), Oscar Floren (SWE), Peter Lawrie (IRE), Ross Fisher (ENG)

68 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Simon Khan (ENG), Shane Lowry (IRE), Gona Tayo (ARG), Nicholas Thompson (USA)

69 - Noh Seung-Yul (KOR), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Johan Edfors (SWE), Fredrik Andersson-Hed (SWE), Joost Luiten (NED), Lee Westwood (ENG), Richard McEvoy (ENG), David Howell (ENG), Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Richie Ramsay (SCO), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Stephen Gallacher (SCO), Mark O'Meara (USA), David Lynn (ENG), George Coetzee (RSA)

Ice Hockey

National Hockey League results on Thursday (home teams in CAPS):

St. Louis 4 NEW JERSEY 3 (SO)

Winnipeg 3 WASHINGTON 2 (SO)

Montreal 4 NY ISLANDERS 2

NY RANGERS 4 Tampa Bay 3 (OT)

PHILADELPHIA 4 Toronto 3

Dallas 4 COLUMBUS 2

OTTAWA 4 Nashville 3

FLORIDA 3 Los Angeles 1

Vancouver 5 MINNESOTA 2

PHOENIX 2 Calgary 1 (OT)

SO=shootout win; OT= overtime victory

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

W L OT Pts GF GA

NY Rangers 34 13 5 73 145 106

Philadelphia 31 16 7 69 177 160

New Jersey 31 19 4 66 153 152

Pittsburgh 30 19 5 65 163 141

NY Islanders 22 23 8 52 128 154

Northeast Division

Boston 33 17 2 68 180 117

Ottawa 28 22 7 63 166 177

Toronto 28 21 6 62 171 161

Montreal 22 24 9 53 144 149

Buffalo 23 24 6 52 132 154

Southeast Division

Florida 25 17 11 61 134 150

Washington 28 21 5 61 151 152

Winnipeg 26 24 6 58 134 153

Tampa Bay 23 24 6 52 151 180

Carolina 20 25 10 50 139 168

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

Detroit 36 17 2 74 176 131

St. Louis 32 14 7 71 133 109

Nashville 32 18 5 69 155 144

Chicago 29 18 7 65 171 163

Columbus 15 33 6 36 125 179

Northwest Division

Vancouver 34 15 5 73 176 135

Minnesota 25 21 8 58 124 141

Calgary 25 22 8 58 131 149

Colorado 27 25 3 57 140 153

Edmonton 21 28 5 47 143 162

Pacific Division

San Jose 29 16 6 64 148 121

Los Angeles 26 19 10 62 119 120

Phoenix 26 21 8 60 145 144

Dallas 28 23 2 58 141 150

Anaheim 21 24 8 50 138 158

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

Friday's games

Dallas at Buffalo

Anaheim at Detroit

Carolina at Colorado

Chicago at San Jose

Soccer

Italian Cup

Result result on Thursday:

Semifinal, first leg

Siena 2 (Reginaldo 42, D'Agostino 66) Napoli 1 (Pesoli 86-og)

Wednesday

AC Milan 1 (El Shaarawy 62) Juventus 2 (Caceres 53, 83)

Second legs on March 21

Italian Serie A

Result on Thursday:

Lazio 3 (Hernanes 52, Lulic 60, Kozak 63) Cesena 2 (Mutu 13, Iaquinta 34-pen)

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Juventus 12 9 0 33 13 45

AC Milan 13 5 4 43 19 44

Lazio 12 6 5 36 25 42

Udinese 12 5 5 33 20 41

Inter Milan 11 3 8 34 29 36

Roma 10 5 7 36 26 35

Napoli 7 10 5 36 24 31

Palermo 9 4 9 32 32 31

Genoa 9 3 9 31 38 30

Fiorentina 7 7 7 23 19 28

Cagliari 6 9 7 20 23 27

Parma 7 6 8 27 34 27

Chievo 6 6 9 19 28 27

Catania 5 9 6 23 29 24

Atalanta 7 8 6 25 27 23

Bologna 5 7 9 18 26 22

Siena 4 8 9 21 22 20

Lecce 4 5 13 22 38 17

Cesena 4 4 14 15 34 16

Novara 2 7 13 19 42 13

Note: Atalanta deducted six points at start of season for match-fixing

Libertadores Cup

Results on Thursday:

Group One

At the Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre: Internacional (Brazil) 2 (Oscar 23, Datolo 89) Juan Aurich (Peru) 0

Group Two: Emelec (Ecuador) 1 Olimpia (Paraguay) 0

Group Three

At the San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago: Universidad Catolica (Chile) 1 (Ovelar 43) Bolivar (Bolivia) 1 (Ferreira 37)

Group Five

At the Dr Nicolas Leoz, Asuncion: Libertad (Paraguay) 4 (Civelli 46, Aquino 66pen, Caballero 78, Ibanez 90og) Alianza Lima (Peru) 1 (Arroe 27)

Tennis

WTA Paris

WTA Paris Open results on Thursday (x denotes seeding):

2nd rd

Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Monica Niculescu (ROM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Mona Barthel (GER) bt Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 6-3, 6-0; Klara Zakopalova (CZE) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 6-0, 6-3; Roberta Vinci (ITA x7) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3; Marion Bartoli (FRA x2) bt Petra Martic (CRO) 7-5, 6-1; Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Christina McHale (USA) 6-2, 7-5.

WTA Pattaya

Thursday's second-round results:

Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) bt Urszula Radwanska (POL) 6-3, 6-2; Hsieh Su-wei (TPE) bt Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) 7-5, 6-0; Sania Mirza (IND) bt Anne Keothavong (GBR) 6-4, 7-5; Vania King (USA x8) bt Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 6-1, 6-3.

Davis Cup

Results on Friday from a Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I first round tie between Australia and China (best of five) at Geelong Lawn Tennis Club:

Australia 2 China 0

Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Wu Di (CHN) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) bt Zhang Ze (CHN) 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page15)

BERLIN - Retired former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has been found guilty of doping in relation to a blood-doping scandal that engulfed his sport six years ago and has been banned for two years, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday.

The ruling comes three days after CAS banned another former Tour winner, Spaniard Alberto Contador, for doping.

The Operation Puerto scandal broke in 2006, when Spanish police launched raids that uncovered more than 200 code-named blood bags, some of which were linked to cyclists.

Ullrich, who retired in 2007 after also winning an Olympic gold and silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Games, became the first German to win the Tour de France in 1997.

The rider, a huge sports name in his home country during his prime, also finished second in the world's top race on five occasions, three times behind seven-time champion Lance Armstrong.

With his name linked to Operation Puerto, Ullrich was barred from starting the Tour de France in 2006 and was then fired by his T-Mobile team although he repeatedly denied he had links with Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor at the heart of the investigation.

CAS, however, ruled that, based on the evidence, Ullrich, who had waited for more than five years for a final ruling, had engaged "at least" in blood doping.

The court also annulled all Ullrich's results from 2005 until his retirement.

Blood doping

"Given the volume, consistency and probative value of the evidence...the Panel came to the conclusion that Jan Ullrich engaged at least in blood doping in violation of Article 15.2 of the UCI (International Cycling Union) anti-doping rules," CAS said.

It said there had been "documentary evidence" that Ullrich, now 38, had been in contact with Fuentes and had paid him 80,000 euros ($106,000) for "services that had not been particularized".

"A DNA analysis confirmed Jan Ullrich's genetic profile matched blood bags ready for use for doping purposes found in the possession of Dr Fuentes," CAS said in its decision.

The UCI said it had already annulled Ullrich's results for the period 2005-2007.

"The UCI acknowledges the decision of CAS to impose a suspension of two years on the rider Jan Ullrich starting retroactively on August 2011, following the UCI's appeal. All results achieved by the athlete on or after 1 May 2005 until his retirement, on February 26, 2007, are annulled," it said in a statement.

"The UCI will now examine in detail the reasoning of the CAS award. In the meantime the UCI will not issue any further comments on the matter."

Reuters

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page15)

XIANGHE, Hebei province - The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced plans to transfer some of the responsibility for running the domestic leagues to a professional league council at the CFA Special Representative Conference in Xianghe, Hebei province on Friday.

The CFA, formerly in charge of nearly every aspect of the Chinese Super League (CSL) and the second division, launched a pilot reform plan. The newly established council will take over direct management of the domestic leagues, while the CFA will retain the power of supervision, club-entry admission and services of the leagues.

The council will be comprised of people directly involved with the sport, including representatives from the CFA, first- and second-tier clubs, and company and industry experts.

The conference held on Friday was in preparation for the approaching CFA Representative Conference, during which a new CFA president will be selected.

The CFA Representative Conference was established in 2003, with a plan to hold it every four years. However, in order to prepare for the 2007 Women's World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2007 conference was postponed to 2008. The reshuffle of CFA leaders and the exposure of the country's soccer bribery scandals in 2008 again delayed the conference.

"The CFA Representative Conference has been interrupted for nine years, and this special meeting is a new start for CFA to carry out its obligation in accordance to the CFA regulations," said CFA deputy president Wei Di. "We have spent more than a year working out this scheme, and have organized many meetings to collect opinions from the clubs through the whole process. We were very confident to have the plan passed before the conference."

Wei said the establishment of the council was the first step toward China running its soccer programs professionally.

"The scheme fully stressed the importance of opinions from the direct participants of the domestic league, which converts the managing body of the leagues from an administrative authority to an organ managed by the main participants," Wei said. "It gives the professionals the right to work in a professional way, and will help CFA to walk in the right direction."

CFA deputy president Yu Hongchen was named the first chairman of the council to ensure a smooth transition. His successors will be selected through elections instead of being appointed by the CFA. All CFA staff will stop to serve in the authority if they take a position in the professional league council, and Yu will focus on work in the council during his tenure.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page15)

FA says England could end up playing at the European Championship with a caretaker manager

England could take part in the European Championship in June with a caretaker coach in charge, English FA chairman David Bernstein said on Thursday. The FA will meet on Friday to begin its search for a new manager following the sudden resignation of Italian Fabio Capello on Wednesday, with Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Redknapp considered the favorite.

Stuart Pearce, England's Under-21 manager who is also boss of the London 2012 British Olympic squad, will take charge for the friendly against the Netherlands at Wembley on Feb 29, but Bernstein said after that they had a totally "open mind" about the future.

When asked at a news conference if England could go to the tournament with a caretaker coach, Bernstein replied: "I would say that is a possibility, all options are open.

"We are not prepared to restrict ourselves at this stage. He might be English, he might be British, he might not be, he might be for the Euros only, he might be long-term.

"We need to look at all the options. It would be pointless, 24 hours or less after we have lost our manager, to start limiting ourselves."

Following the friendly against the Dutch, England plays Norway on May 26 and Belgium on June 2 before the Euros, where it faces France on June 11, Sweden on June 15 and Ukraine on June 19.

While some England players and almost every pundit have called for Redknapp to be installed as Capello's replacement, the 64-year-old said on Thursday that he had not thought about managing England and was totally focused on his job at Spurs and their next match on Saturday against Newcastle United.

Speaking a day after being found not guilty on two charges of evading tax after a 13-day trial in London, Redknapp told reporters: "I don't know anything about the England job. I've not thought about it.

Give Pearce a chance?

"I've got a big job to do, I've got a big game on Saturday with Tottenham, so Tottenham is my focus."

Tottenham is also unlikely to allow Redknapp to leave before the end of the season at the earliest as it continues its push for a probable Champions League spot next season while retaining an outside chance of landing its first League title since 1961.

It is currently third in the Premier League, seven points behind leader Manchester City with 14 matches still to play.

Bernstein, and fellow FA officials Alex Horne, Adrian Bevington and Trevor Brooking, would not be drawn on Redknapp's possible appointment on either a short-term or long-term basis.

However, FA general secretary Horne said they were fully aware of the widespread support for Redknapp.

"Of course we understand the feeling of the nation and the supporters. The England fans are very important when it comes to choosing the right person," he said.

"But we have to sit down and look long-term and give ourselves as many options as are available. We owe it to ourselves to write-up the job brief and we've got an exhaustive list."

Bernstein added that the FA's immediate concern had been to get a manager in place for the Netherlands game, explaining: "We have got a match in three weeks' time. We need a short-term quick answer.

"We have some very good football people within the FA set-up and Stuart is one of them and is a first class available option for the match."

He would not ignore the possibility of Pearce being the long-term successor to Capello.

"We have an open mind beyond that. He is not ruled out," Bernstein said.

Capello quit on Wednesday saying he felt that the FA undermined his authority by stripping John Terry of the captaincy after the player's criminal trial for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand was put back by the court until after the end of Euro 2012.

Capello told Italian TV over the weekend that he did not agree with the FA's decision to remove the center-back from the job.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page15)

PHOENIX - Chase Budinger and the Houston Rockets' reserves roughed up the Phoenix Suns.

Budinger scored 12 points while playing a team-high 31 minutes and starter Luis Scola had 16 points to help the Rockets outlast the Phoenix Suns, 96-89, on Thursday night.

"The first half, we played so well," said Patrick Patterson, who had 14 points in a backup role. "We thought in the second half we could go out there and keep passing the ball, sharing the ball, looking for each other, getting stops on defense and pushing it on transition. We feel that our second unit can go out there and compete with anybody."

Kyle Lowry scored 14 points, joining Scola as the only Houston starters in double figures, and the Rockets used a 57-13 edge in scoring from their backups to win their third straight and fourth in five games. Houston's reserves averaged 51.5 points in the Rockets' two victories against Phoenix this season.

"All of those guys shot over 50 percent," Lowry said. "You can't do any better than that. You can't ask for no more."

The Rockets held Phoenix to five field goals and 13 points in the fourth quarter.

"We definitely tightened down our defense and just tried to make it as tough as possible for them and create chaos for them," Budinger said. "We were able to make some steals, get in the passing lanes and make it tough for them."

Houston also dominated on the glass, pulling down 12 offensive rebounds to Phoenix's five and scoring 22 second-chance points to Phoenix's six.

"These guys are relentless on the board, so you've got to be able to put your body on them," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said after Rockets snapped his team's three-game winning streak. "You have to be able to pursue the ball and go get it. When you have good defensive possessions time after time and they get the ball back time after time, it's a little deflating."

Associated Press

Notes:

The Rockets attempted only six free throws, making four. Houston did not go to the line in the first half. ... Houston guard Goran Dragic matched a season high with 11 assists. ... Markieff Morris had the Suns' other two points off the bench. ... Gortat played 41-plus minutes, one below his career high. ... Suns F Grant Hill was the only starter to come off the floor for Phoenix in the third quarter, giving way to Redd.

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page16)

NBA commissioner Stern says Knicks' guard Lin is a 'phenomenon' - but hold off on Yao comparisons

BEIJING - David Stern's league got a big gift out of nowhere.

The NBA commissioner is already hailing Jeremy Lin - the New York Knicks' new point guard - as a sensation who might mean another boost to the league's appeal in Asia.

"He's really been a phenomenon," Stern told China Daily during a videophone conference on Thursday night. "Having a Chinese-American player who suddenly burst on the scene and did so well is very exciting for us. I think it's more exciting for Knicks fans as well.

"He's started for only three games. But his stats are very impressive, and he has been warmly embraced by the New York City fans. That can only help us in terms of lifting the game's ratings and popularity in China."

Lin, a Harvard graduate, averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 assists in his past three games to lead the Knicks to three straight wins, rising quickly from obscurity to stardom.

Driving the team's offense smoothly during the absence of scorers Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, Lin has won over New York's notoriously picky fans, who have already nicknamed him "Linsanity".

New York had lost 11 of 13 before Lin's emergence.

Even the Phoenix Suns' former MVP guard Steve Nash tweeted about Lin - "if you love sports you have to love what Jeremy Lin is doing. Getting an opportunity and exploding!!"

The 23-year-old, whose parents are from Taiwan, has already become a star in China.

The highlights of his breakout game against the Nets on Sunday had drawn 1.27 million views on Sina.com's NBA page even before his name became the 19th most-searched-for term on China's biggest web search engine, Baidu.com, three days later.

Lin's rocketing popularity has reminded fans of the impact of Yao Ming, whose July retirement left a big void.

Stern said Yao's popularity won't likely be matched, and stressed that Lin still has a long way to go.

"I don't think anybody in the NBA, from the Chinese perspective, will ever become a bigger star than Yao. Yao was the first, the biggest and the most successful. And he will always have a special place in the heart of NBA and Chinese fans," Stern said. "Jeremy has three good games. We have to see how he does in the next 300 before we make any judgments."

Stern says he doesn't want to count on Lin prematurely.

"It's true that fans at least come sometimes initially to the TV set to see someone who is special for them," he said. "And someone with Chinese-American heritage will bring more fans to the sets I think. This will be good for us.

"But how good will it be? He was cut by the Golden State Warriors, by the Houston Rockets and was sent by the Knicks to the (National Basketball Development League). And then he comes up and becomes a star. That was wonderful for our league, but we have to wait and see how he will do. I don't want to overburden him with expectations."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page16)

NEW YORK - Dirk Nowitzki's streak survives, despite one of the worst seasons of his career.

Two other older stars are no longer All-Stars.

Nowitzki was chosen on Thursday to his 11th straight All-Star Game, with coaches overlooking the lowest scoring average since his second NBA season in favor of his long-term excellence.

"It was a tough road back to full health for me, but I am honored that the coaches thought enough of me to make me an All-Star," Nowitzki said in a statement. "It has been a privilege to represent the Mavericks organization over the last decade and I look forward to doing it again in Orlando."

Paul Pierce will join him despite his own slow start caused by a foot injury and was picked for the 10th time.

But Kevin Garnett wasn't chosen after 14 consecutive selections, and Tim Duncan was left out after 13 in a row. Other All-Star regulars such as Ray Allen and Amare Stoudemire will be home, giving way to five first-timers among the reserves: Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol of Memphis, Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, Indiana's Roy Hibbert and Chicago's Luol Deng.

Also headed to the Feb 26 game are NBA assists leader Steve Nash of Phoenix, Tony Parker of San Antonio, Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, Kevin Love of Minnesota, Chris Bosh of Miami, Atlanta's Joe Johnson and Deron Williams of New Jersey.

Already voted to start by fans in the Eastern Conference were Orlando's Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of Miami, Chicago's Derrick Rose and New York's Carmelo Anthony. The West starters are the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin of the Clippers, and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant.

Coaches voted for the reserves, and they had a tough task in this lockout-shortened season, when they were given only about 25 games to evaluate players. That threatened to make it tough for Nowitzki and Pierce, whose bodies weren't ready to go after the lengthy offseason and brief training camps, and have played below their usual standards.

"I think it's too early. I'm sitting on my couch when they announced the rosters and I'm floored. I didn't even know they had started the voting," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

Associated Press

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page16)

Hotel Profile | Shanghai

Hilton remains a top choice for business travelers. Yang Yijun reports.

Hilton Shanghai, the city's first international hotel, has been recognized as a top business hotel in Shanghai for its convenient location and outstanding facilities for more than 20 years.

However, the hotel's newly appointed general manager Gerd Knaust says it is the people that make the hotel successful.

"I believe in the words of company's co-founder Conrad Hilton: 'to fill the Earth with the light and warmth of the hospitality to make sure every guest is cared for, valued and respected'," he says.

More than 380 employees have been working with the hotel for more than 15 years. Some of them have personal relationships with customers.

"It's a people-relations business," Knaust says. "They really tell me about the stories in the last 15 years. It's something very nice to listen to. It's also a lasting memory for the guests."

In fact, over the years, some of the guests have stayed in the hotel 200 or even 300 times.

Knaust, who have been working in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, started his career as a chef in Germany. During his early 30s, Knaust has already moved to the top in the culinary field as director of kitchen of Hyatt Regency Cologne in Germany.

After holding several general manager positions in Mandarin Oriental hotels, Knaust joined Hilton International as cluster general manager to open the Conrad and Doubletree by Hilton at Haitang Bay, Sanya in 2010.

When he was appointed as the general manager of Hilton Shanghai in November, he not only was heavily involved in recruitment, sales and marketing strategies but also he worked closely with the food and beverage team with his profound culinary knowledge to develop the hotel's restaurant concepts and menus.

"I believe that we should offer quality and healthy food and, at the same time provide consistency," he says.

In the hotel's eight restaurants and bars, the guests can find everything from a fantastic Chinese menu in People on the Water and Sichuan Court, to authentic fine Italian gourmet in Leonardo's.

For breakfast alone, the hotel provides three options: a la carte menu and American breakfast buffet in Atrium Cafe, which is Knaust's favorite, continental-style foods in the Lobby Pavilion with a more business environment and grab-and-go comfort food in the Gourmet Corner.

His management philosophy being integrity, teamwork, ownership, generosity and leadership by example, Knaust always tells his team members to treat the hotel like their home. "When you invite guests to your home, you have a totally different approach," he says.

For instance, if the maid observes that a guest has the flu, she will put two more boxes of tissue paper in the room and leave the guest a note.

He believes that a hotel must value the customers' comments on Ctrip, TripAdvisor and other platforms, alike.

"It keeps us more on guard to be 100 percent professional," he says.

He says recently he received a letter from a customer, who gave some advice to improve the service three months ago. This time the customer says that the hotel has done a fantastic job by indicating the employee's name and the department's name.

"Customers are very helpful. From their constructive advice, we see where we can improve," he says.

"Maybe from the Asian perspective, they want newer and better facilities, but people have realized that when you leave a hotel, you don't remember particularly about the layout, the design or the furniture. It is again the people and service that is all about.

"In the end, it's who cares about service that will win the competition."

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page13)

Beijing

High heels dessert

Crown Plaza Park View Wuzhou organizes a Valentine's Day dinner at 1,499 yuan net per couple from Feb 11-14. The package includes a candlelit set dinner with chef's special high heel Valentine's Day dessert, Cafe Asia international buffet, goose liver and seafood salad, lobster and steak main course, free flow of beer, imported wine and sparkling wine, as well as one night's accommodation, plus a buffet breakfast for two people.

010-8498-2288 Ext 7160

Valentine's at Park Hyatt Beijing

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Park Hyatt Beijing is preparing special menu featuring wine pairings from the hotel sommelier Li Meiyu. Immerse yourself in endless romance at the Park. There are a series of special Valentine's boutiques to help you find the ideal gift for that special person at its restaurant IFW.

010-8610-8567 Ext 1838/1840

Aroma Easter Brunch

Aroma at Ritz Carlton Beijing presents a sumptuous brunch for your kids and family, featuring traditional Easter flavors and a series of exciting entertainment. Kids can have fun at the Easter egg hunt. There is an Easter Bunny chocolate for every child. Aroma offers international gourmet experiences, featuring mouth-watering Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Southern Asian and Western dishes from an open kitchen setting. 588 yuan net per person. Free of charge for kids under 12 years old. Available from 11:30 am-3pm, April 8.

010-5908-8161

Women's Day spa lunch

This Women's Day, on March 8, Hilton Beijing Wangfujng offers a spa lunch break special package that includes a 60-minute aromatic massage at The Spa and a sumptuous buffet lunch in the award-winning Vasco's restaurant. Available every Monday-Saturday from 10 am-2 pm, the promotion package costs 580 yuan, plus 15 percent a person.

010-5812-8888 Ext 8560

Love-themed dishes

Starlight Revolving Restaurant at Beijing International Hotel presents a range of love-themed dishes, featuring a fried dish with prawns, roses and red cashews, a French style foie gras, smoked salmon with Alaskan crab, desserts and grilled meats made on spot, besides newly created cocktails. A lucky draw will start at 7:30 pm.

010-6512-6688 Ext 6228

Shanghai

Spring brings bounty of the seas

As the spring breeze brings in sweetness and warmth, the popular Grand Seafood Dinner Buffet is back at L'Atrium at Grand Mercure Hongqiao Shanghai - this time, with more choices. One of the highlights is baby abalone with geese feet, a signature Cantonese creation. The chef uses the original bouillon of dried abalone and adds oyster jus, Chinese ham and other seasonings to make this rich and creamy sauce that perfects the taste and texture. The buffet is priced at 228 yuan, with a 15-percent surcharge per person.

021-5153-3300 Ext 3708

Taste a slice of life at this pizza party

Walk into Amici of the Longemont Shanghai and be transported to the culinary heart of Italy, where you will indulge in authentic Italian cuisine with a modern touch. Calzone pizza, a signature Amici dish, is one of Italy's best-known and beloved delights. Sample an amazing selection of iconic Mediterranean delicacies, baked to perfection in a traditional fire oven, as Amici serves up a full range of delicious pizza varieties finished with the finest cheeses, herb seasonings, toothsome toppings and a choice of meat, seafood, vegetable or margarita options. The pizza is priced at 58 yuan for a medium and 88 yuan for a large.

021-6115-9988 Ext 8230

Roses are red, and you take the cake

There's a lesson in the old adage: "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you." That is that the gift of flowers and cake is the most romantic gesture to express your love and affection. Celebrate your romance at the afternoon tea buffet at the Tea Room of Hyatt on the Bund on Feb 11 and 12 to enjoy Valentine's Day cakes.

021-6393-1234 Ext 6317

Lovely food for lovers to adore

On the Valentine's Day, the California Cafe of the Regal International East Asia Hotel will bring you a special Valentine's journey with romantic repasts, fine wines and sweet treats. The Valentine's dinner buffet, priced at 528 yuan for two, features free flows of red or white wine, and six chocolate roses for women. Highlights include beef tenderloin with red wine jus, lamb curry with condiments, sauteed snail with mushrooms and Japanese roasted eel.

021-6415-5588

Dinners offer a taste of true romance

Romance is in the air at Essence of Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao this Valentine's Day, when the buffet tables take on a pink color-scheme and serve up the most sumptuous and sensuous gourmet delights. With half a bottle of sparkling wine and free flows of soft drinks included, couples can indulge to their hearts' content for 688 yuan net.

021-3323-6666

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2012 page13)