While people in western countries are tightening their belts to survive the economic slump this winter, affluent Beijingers are packing their cases for New Year shopping holidays abroad.

The city's major travel agencies have come up with lavish shopping trip offers to the United States during the Christmas holiday and told METRO they are already selling well.

The Asia and Pacific Travel and Tourist Co Ltd (APTT) is working with 11 travel agencies and airlines for 1,000 Chinese citizens, of which 400 are local Beijingers, to spend their Chinese New Year in New York.

"It is the biggest group we have ever arranged," said Shao Guoliang, president of APTT.

"This promotion has not been finalized but we are optimistic about our American market," he said.

The China International Travel Service Co Ltd is also promoting a similar product to organize people to go on a shopping trip to the US.

"This is the first time we have promoted a shopping trip to America. We started pushing our Las Vegas Sunshine Christmas and Shopping trip at the beginning of December, and all the seats have already been sold," said Zhang Wei, general manager of the outbound department of China International Travel Service Co Ltd. Zhang also said because the trip was so popular, they are now creating additional trips to other parts of the country.

Tourism visa applications have increased compared to earlier in the year, the US embassy in Beijing reported.

A recent US Department of Commerce report estimated that Chinese tourists spend, on average, $7,200 per trip to the US.

According to a report released by the China Tourist Academy (CTA), 75 percent of Beijing travelers spent more than $20,000 each for overseas trips last year, with shopping as the main event.

Experts from the CTA predicted a 9 percent growth in Chinese overseas travel this year.

The US is expected to become the most popular outbound tourism destination for Beijing residents in 2010.

"The number of Chinese tourists is increasing this year," Zhu Jun, the Chinese representative of New York Travel Bureau, said on Monday.

"Over 400,000 Chinese visited the US last year, and about 60 percent of them were here for business.

"But this year we expect 60 percent of the Chinese visitors will come to the US for holidays, and will enjoy the biggest shopping season of the year."

Zhu is confident that the US will become one of the most popular outbound destinations in 2010 for Chinese tourists, because Chinese people from more cities are able to apply for American tourist visas.

The US was ranked as the fifth most popular overseas destination on an annual top 10 list of outbound trips drawn up by famous Chinese travel agencies on Nov 26. It was unranked in 2008.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page25)

Pyongyang's first revamp of its currency, the won, in 17 years has become a cash bonanza for collectors of old won notes.

Commemorative albums that contain nine notes from 1 to 5,000 won now sell for about 100 yuan, up 25 percent, at the stamp and coins market in Madian in northern Beijing, the Mirror Evening News reported yesterday.

The collectors market has been abuzz this month with expectation that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will revalue its currency. The exchange rate between the old and new bills was set at 100 to 1, the newspaper reported.

Collectors said that the old won notes had not been a popular item because of their low face value. However, they are now hot among collectors who see potential investment value.

Wu Guohua, who specializes in the trade of foreign commemorative coins and currencies, said traders are now willing to pay a premium to buy the notes.

Zhang Licheng, a local collector, said he wanted to buy more old won notes as he believed they would appreciate in value in the future.

However, Li Jun, secretary general of the Beijing Collectors' Association, said he didn't expect a big increase in the value of the notes, because there had not been many won collectors and the market demand is small.

Li said collectors' interest was triggered whenever a nation revamped its currency.

However, only notes from popular currencies would appreciate in value after being withdrawn from circulation, Li told the Mirror Evening News.

Earlier, an anonymous Chinese trader in Hunchun, Jilin province, told China Daily that he has been collecting expired DPRK notes.

"I have no idea about the purchasing power of the new notes. I'm afraid the notes I have will become valueless paper," he said. Hunchun is a trade hub bordering China and the DPRK.

Xinhua News Agency reported that the exchange rate between the new won and foreign currencies has still not been determined.

METRO

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page25)

Renowned director Zhang Yimou will receive 450,000 yuan in compensation and a public apology from a writer and a publishing house for a violation of his rights, a local court ruled yesterday.

Huaxia Press and Huang Xiaoyang, author of the book Impression China: Zhang Yimou's Biography, were charged with violating Zhang's image, name and reputation at the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

Zhang, 58, is a leading film director in China. He was the general director of the Beijing Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies in 2008, and the general director of the 60th anniversary of the National Day on Oct 1.

The court said that Huaxia press and Huang should also publish an official apology in a national newspaper.

The book first appeared at the Shanghai Book Fair in August 2008. Zhang's personal image and signature constituted the cover page, and most of its contents were related to Zhang's marriage, family life, personal feeling and career achievements.

Tong Jie, Zhang's lawyer, said Huang and Huaxia Press used Zhang's personal portrait without permission. He added that the signature had been forged.

Tong also said the book's details were mostly unconfirmed hearsay and fabrication.

Some paragraphs of the book directly described Zhang's marital life and emotional entanglement, written in a way as to suggest Zhang had authenticated the information.

After the book went public, national websites ran the content as stories and a large number of web users flooded the web with comments.

Most were criticisms of Zhang's personal emotional life.

Zhang Feng, a lawyer representing Huaxia Press, said they didn't violate Zhang's rights. He added that after Zhang objected, they got hold of the unsold books and asked bookstores to take what they had left off the shelves.

Huang Xiaoyang said he admitted using Zhang's image and signature without his consent, and that some of the content was unverified.

"But I never used any insulting or defamatory words in the book. I employed a spontaneous flow of praise," he said.

The court said that compared with the general public, celebrities have a responsibility to bear criticism.

But since most of the book lacked a genuine source of information, the ensuing misunderstanding among readers created an excessively negative evaluation of Zhang.

Zhang had originally demanded compensation of 1.5 million yuan.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page25)

Four-million-car mark looms

The number of vehicles in Beijing is expected to surpass 4 million by next week, the city's traffic management authority said yesterday.

By Monday, the number of vehicles in Beijing had topped 3.98 million and on average, about 10,000 vehicles are registered every week.

The increasing number of vehicles hitting the roads is putting growing pressure on the traffic management.

Olympic furniture on auction

More than 1,000 pieces of furniture used during the Beijing Games will go under the hammer at the end of this year.

Most of the furniture was used in VIP guest rooms during the Games last August, according to the Beijing Jiahe Auction House, which will be in charge of the auction.

The auction house advises the public to visit www.jhgp.cn for more information.

Family dies from poisoning

A family of four died on Monday afternoon in Wangsiying, Chaoyang district, possibly due to carbon monoxide poisoning from stove heating, the Beijing Times reported.

The family, including a couple, their eight-month old baby, and the wife's sister, died at around 6 pm. They were from Henan province and ran a small business in Beijing.

Many families nearby also lack public heating and use stoves instead.

US tourist sent home

An elderly American tourist suspected of suffering from Alzheimer's disease was sent home with the help from the Beijing exit and entry administration and the US embassy on Dec 2, police said yesterday.

The woman, in her 70s, was staying in a hotel in Haidian district after arriving in Beijing. Hotel workers said the woman stayed in the room all day, and just ordered food from phone calls. Her visa then expired.

The police called the embassy for help and both sides worked together to help the women return home, police said.

Funeral home sued

A man, who was denied the right to claim his father's ashes from the funeral house after losing his receipt, is suing the funeral house at Shijingshan district court, the court said yesterday.

The man surnamed Zhu said he deposited his father's ashes three years ago.

From September 2008, he attempted to have the funeral house return the ashes seven times but was repeatedly denied.

Zhu has asked the court to order the funeral home to return the ashes and pay 6,000 yuan in compensation. The case continues.

Beijing fights illegal fireworks

Qualified firecracker stall owners who sell illegal fireworks will have their licenses revoked and be forbidden from connection with the business for three years, the Beijing News reported yesterday, quoting the Beijing municipal work safety authority.

Officials said all legal firecrackers sold in Beijing carry electronic codes and it takes only seconds to spot illegal goods.

Beijing normally bans firecrackers within the Fifth Ring Road, but will allow firecrackers in the city center during Spring Festival.

Millions of vaccines left

There are still 3 million vaccines for A/H1N1 flu available, Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

About 2.16 million people had received the H1N1 vaccine by the end of last week.

But among them, the elderly people are in the minority, according to Wu Jiang, head of Institute of Immunization and Prevention of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

He called on more people to have the injection as another wave of flu is coming during the end of December and around the New Year.

Fake drug paralyses patient

A leukemia patient, who became paralyzed after taking fake methotrexate, will sue the hospital and the drug manufacturer at Xicheng district court later this week, the Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday.

The drug she took at the hospital, whose name was not disclosed, was determined to be fake.

The girl patient asked for compensation of 9.57 million yuan.

Reckless driver gets jail

An illegal motorized rickshaw driver who ran over a police officer was sentenced to one year in prison by Xicheng district court, the court said yesterday.

The man surnamed Wen was waiting for customers at Xinjiekou, Xicheng district on Aug 9 when two police officers came over to inspect him.

Wen started his vehicle's engine and attempted to escape, but knocked down an officer in the process.

PhD peddler offered job

Sun Aiwu, a post-doctorate researcher who returned from the US and became a peddler in Wudaokou, was given 20,000 yuan in aid from a company in his home province of Shandong to help treat his mental condition, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

The company also offered a 500,000-yuan annual salary to hire the chemist who was once published in Science magazine, Sun's brother-in-law Liu Quansheng said.

Liu said Sun's condition has now stabilized at hospital.

Construction noise reduced

New technology has been implemented to reduce noise from the construction of Beijing's new subway lines, including the second phase of Line 10.

The noise will be controlled to less than 40 decibels, which is quieter than the noise of a refrigerator, said spokesman Wan Xuehong.

The second phase construction of Subway Line 10 will be completed at the end of 2012.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page26)

A former securities company branch chief was executed for embezzling almost 70 million yuan and misappropriating another 25 million yuan, the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court said.

Yang Yanming, 51, who was the former general manager of a Galaxy Securities branch in Wangjing, Chaoyang district before he was arrested in 2004, became the first person employed in the securities industry to be executed in China yesterday.

After the Supreme People's Court reviewed and upheld by the intermediate court's ruling, Yang was executed in Beijing. However, the whereabouts of more than 60 million yuan are still unknown.

Yang, who recently suffered a heart attack, appeared at the Beijing court yesterday morning to listen to the final verdict, the Beijing Evening News reported.

"Someone has to be responsible for this. If I did not commit suicide, I might not have been found," Yang, dressed in the prison uniform of a gray shirt, blue pants, and a pair of cloth shoes, told the court, according to the newspaper.

His two sisters visited him for the last time yesterday, but his former wife, whom he divorced before he was arrested, did not.

Yang was found to have embezzled 65.36 million yuan from his company between June 1998 and August 2003.

Between January and April 2002, Yang sold securities and funds owned by his branch and pocketed 3.76 million yuan from the sale.

He also transferred 24.8 million yuan to his personal account between August and December 2000. Police only recovered 12.7 million yuan.

In addition, when he was removed from his general manager position in November 2003, he stole another 600,000 yuan from the company account. He destroyed documents to cover his crimes in February 2004 and divorced his wife in the same month, the Mirror Evening News reported.

On April 23, 2004, after Yang was transferred to Galaxy Securities headquarters, he tried to commit suicide but survived.

During the investigation and trial, Yang denied all charges and said he did not know where the money was.

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court sentenced Yang to death in December 2005, but he appealed.

The high court ordered a retrial in the intermediate court in May 2007 on the grounds that the whereabouts of the money was important. The intermediate court maintained the original sentence and said that even if the whereabouts of the money is unknown, it was not a reason to change the sentence.

Yang appealed again. When he was tried at the Beijing High Court, Yang said he spent the money to bribe some people, but refused to say where the money went.

Before the final verdict was delivered yesterday, a judge visited Yang and asked him to reveal the names of people he bribed, but Yang refused, the Mirror Evening News reported.

METRO

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page26)

Family members of five people killed in a one of the year's worst traffic collisions say they want the court to show no mercy on the driver.

In a compensation hearing more than four months after the crash, the families asked for more than 4.4 million yuan from 24-year-old driver Liu Ping and Shandong-based employer Luxiang Logistics Company.

Liu's speeding truck collided with four cars and left a total of seven people dead in east Beijing on Jul 28. Family members of the other two victims will launch a separate compensation claim.

Four vehicles, including the truck, were destroyed, and the crash clogged traffic disruptions for hours on the East Fifth Ring Road.

Among the victims were five men, aged 25-37, who were colleagues at the State-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation Third Division. The group were returning to Beijing after a project in Tianjin when the crash happened.

"Our family has been completely changed by the sudden tragedy," Wang Li, who lost her 37-year-old husband Chen Zhengfu, said after the hearing at Chaoyang district court yesterday.

"I hope the court shows no lenience because the driver and his company killed my man."

Wang, who lives in Beijing, said she has become the sole income source of the family and needs to support her 12-year-old daughter's schooling and her elderly parents. She wants 765,000 yuan in compensation.

Guo Jiaqi, the 22-year-old son of Guo Qingguang, a local businessman who was killed when his sedan was destroyed by the truck, said his family lives on loans from relatives and his 800-yuan internship salary from working in a hotel in Beijing.

"I've seen the driver myself. He is almost the same age as me. I hate him and I pity him," Guo told reporters outside court.

Yesterday, Liu and his employer said they would not accept the compensation amount.

Shi Zili, a lawyer representing the Luxiang Logistics Company, said the company would only pay compensation according to its driver's "job obligations". Shi said the company blamed the driver for misconduct.

However, Wang Zhixin, the driver's lawyer, said Liu was not completely responsible because he was following a company order to speed that day.

"The kid is very young and he didn't understand Beijing's traffic rules," said the lawyer. "He barely knows a thing."

Liu, from Shandong province, has been charged with a traffic offense. His criminal trial will be held at Chaoyang district court at a later date. The offense carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page26)

A court in Beijing is helping couples to fight infidelity by making it easier for a spouse to press charges against their partner.

The Haidian court will allocate more time to investigate cases of infidelity if the complainant can provide pictures, e-mails or text messages of their partner in intimate relations with another person, said judge Zhang Xuan.

Previously the court would only continue a case if it had strong evidence such as documents to prove cohabitation or sexual intercourse, Zhang said.

When a partner tries to prove his or her innocence, it's possible for them to undergo a medical examination to prove if sex took place outside of their marriage, Zhang said.

But doctors at Peking hospital say the exam must be performed within 48 hours of sexual activity to be valid.

Doctors take a sperm sample and check activity to determine if the man has ejaculated recently. The case of women is much stronger because the hospital will check any sperm remaining in her vagina against her husband's by using DNA techniques.

In April, a 43-year-old woman surnamed Hu sued her husband, surnamed Xue, at Haidian district court for infidelity. She also applied for divorce.

Hu presented photos of her husband with a young woman, as well as e-mails and short messages, to the court and demanded 180,000 yuan in compensation for mental damages.

Xue denied he had an affair, saying the compensation was unreasonable, and Xue refused to divorce Hu.

Hu made a court request for Xue to undergo a medical examination to prove that he was guilty. Xue agreed.

The medical examination report said: "Xue has had no sexual relationship within 48 hours, based on his sperm activity level."

Zhang said the court strongly valued the medical examination and this prompted the couple to withdraw the case with fears of damaging their personal reputations.

From January to October, the court dealt with 2,764 divorce cases, of which 995 were triggered by extramarital affairs, according to court statistics.

Zhang said collecting relevant evidence of extramarital affairs is often difficult because the court does not accept photos obtained without permission.

"In order to protect women's rights, we prefer the idea of stating in court that there has been 'cold domestic violence' as a way to support divorce request lawsuits," she said.

Zhang said that in previous divorce lawsuits, the court always made its decision based on whether or not the couple's emotional connection had broken down.

However, this is usually difficult to prove. Some women sue their husbands in court and apply for divorce by claiming that their husbands are showing affectionate apathy towards them, but again it is hard to prove, Zhang said.

The court said about 60 percent of citizens involved in divorce proceedings hold at least a bachelor's degree, and men more than twice as likely to have an affair than women.

This phenomenon is largely due to men generally having higher degrees than their wives, and holding managerial positions in well-paid industries such as finance or technology.

Women play supporting roles at home and this creates an imbalance of power. According to the court, affairs frequently occur in relationships when the couples both work and travel as a result of highly paid jobs.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page25)

Parking expenses top the list of concerns for community homeowners according to the results of a three-week online inquiry posted on the local government's website on Monday.

The survey was conducted in light of a new draft regulation on property management administration.

Comments on the draft specifically targeted the current parking fee system and price standards.

A resident with the online name Wang Xuejun commented that management companies should set parking fees following negotiations with residents. Management companies currently make this decision alone.

Zhang Zhuo, a 28-year-old resident in Chaoyang district, said she normally pays 2 yuan per sq m for the management of her apartment every month, but she is asked to pay another 38 yuan per sq m for her underground parking space.

"It's too expensive. Some of the residents park their cars in community public areas to avoid paying the parking fee. It messes the whole community's environment and increases the risk for children playing outside," said Zhang.

Zhang Daxian, director of the property owner and management office of the China Association of Social Workers, told METRO the parking fee usually includes a management fee and a space rental fee.

Zhang added the management fee usually accounts for 25 percent of the total parking fee, according to his investigations of more than 100 economically diverse communities in Beijing.

"We found that the average underground parking fee might be 400 yuan per month, and this provides a significant profit," said Zhang.

Zheng Hua, a professor of economics at Renmin University of China, said it costs 70,000 to 80,000 yuan to develop an underground parking space with 20 sq m.

Developers can recover this cost within roughly 10 years if they charge 400 yuan for a single space each month.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page26)

Fire toll up to 118

Five people died in Russian hospitals overnight, bringing the death toll from last weekend's nightclub fire to 118, an emergency official said Tuesday.About 30 of the 120 hospitalized remain in critical condition after Saturday morning's blaze in Perm. The town's fire chief was fired yesterday and authorities said the club's fire records appeared to have been falsified.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

Millions in drugs destroyed

Authorities in eastern Myanmar yesterday destroyed more than $93 million worth of methamphetamine tablets and other illicit drugs seized over the last six months.

Reporters saw nearly 7 million methamphetamine tablets, 819 kg of heroin, 10 kg of crystal methamphetamine and other drugs set ablaze at a ceremony in Keng Tung.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

US base talks grind to halt

Talks on the relocation of a major US military base have been suspended, deepening a deadlock between the United States and Japan.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said yesterday a high-level working group convened to discuss the move has been suspended and no date for a restart had been set, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Many on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa want the US base closed and its functions moved off the island altogether.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

Medics at Woods house

Fire department medics responded early yesterday to a 911 call in the same block as Tiger Woods' Orlando-area home and took an adult patient to the hospital.

A spokeswoman for Orange County Fire Rescue would not confirm local news reports that the 2:36 am call came from Woods' home or that the patient they saw was a woman. Spokeswoman Genevieve Latham said that an adult patient was taken to the hospital. The patient's condition wasn't immediately known.

Pop star will support child

Elton John's partner says the musician was devastated that he wasn't allowed to adopt an HIV-positive Ukrainian toddler, but plans to support the boy anyway. The 62-year-old pop star met 14-month-old Lev at a home for HIV-positive children in September. But he was refused permission to adopt the boy because he was too old and not married.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

TEHERAN: Iran will "show no mercy" towards opposition protesters seen as threatening national security, a judiciary official said yesterday, a day after thousands of students staged anti-government rallies.

A nationwide rally on Monday to mark the killing of three students under the Shah turned violent when students clashed with security forces armed with batons and tear gas in the largest anti-government protests in months.

Tehran's police chief says 204 protesters were arrested in widespread anti-government marches by university students. Gen. Azizullah Rajabzadeh says the protesters - including 39 women - were detained in the capital during Monday's rallies for violating public order," according to the state news agency IRNA. He says they will be handed over to the judiciary after police investigation.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in more than a dozen universities across the country and in the streets of the capital. Inside the walled campus of Teheran University on Monday, fistfights broke out between protesters and conservative students loyal to the government.

A government crackdown ended gigantic protests by hundreds of thousands that erupted immediately after June's disputed presidential elections, which the opposition says Ahmadinejad won by fraud. Since the summer, the opposition has been able to hold only about one protest a month, all far smaller than the ones in June and July.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

WASHINGTON: One of the most systematic looks yet at the H1N1 flu pandemic confirms that it is at worst only a little more serious than an average flu season and could well be a good deal milder, researchers said on Monday.

They analyzed data from Milwaukee and New York, two US cities that have kept detailed tabs on outbreaks of H1N1, to calculate a likely mortality rate of 0.048 percent.

"That is, about 1 in 2,000 people who had symptoms of pandemic H1N1 infection died," Dr Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University and colleagues wrote.

Probably 1.44 percent of patients with H1N1 who were sick enough to have symptoms were hospitalized, and 0.24 percent required intensive care, they added.

The findings, published in PLoS Medicine, a Public Library of Science journal, should be reassuring to public health officials and policymakers who worry that a flu pandemic could kill millions and worsen the global recession.

No guarantees

They do not, however, guarantee that H1N1 will not worsen, or that some other, stronger, strain of flu will not emerge.

"We have estimated ... that approximately 1.44 percent of symptomatic pandemic H1N1 patients during the spring in the United States were hospitalized; 0.239 percent required intensive care or mechanical ventilation; and 0.048 percent died," Lipsitch and colleagues wrote.

Health experts agree it is impossible to count precisely how many people have been sickened by H1N1, which was declared a pandemic in June.

Few people are tested, tests are inaccurate and many people only have mild illness. So careful projections give a more accurate picture of a pandemic than actual counts of confirmed illnesses and deaths.

Lipsitch specializes in these sorts of calculations and a global estimate he did in September gave similar projections.

How many cases?

One open question is how many people have actually been infected. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in November that number was 22 million Americans.

Lipsitch's team calculated a potential range of 7,800 to 29,000 deaths.

This compares to seasonal flu, which kills 36,000 people a year and puts 200,000 into the hospital.

"To date, symptomatic attack rates seem to be far lower than 25 percent in both the completed Southern Hemisphere winter epidemic and the autumn epidemic in progress in the United States," the researchers added in their report

In other H1N1 developments:

Israel treats Gazans

Israel says it's treating five suspected swine flu cases from Gaza in hopes of containing an outbreak of the virus in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

The move is a rare loosening of the tight blockade Israel imposed on Gaza after Hamas militants seized the coastal area in June 2007.

Germany sells vaccine

Germany plans to sell more than two million H1N1 vaccinations abroad due to weak domestic demand, the country's health ministry said yesterday.

Only about five percent of the public has been vaccinated, according to Health Minister Philip Roesler. He said he was checking with other countries to see if they needed any of the medicines and that Ukraine had already signalled interest.

The 2.2 million vaccinations are due to be delivered in late December. German states ordered 50 million vaccinations that are due for delivery in several phases until the spring of 2010.

Only about 15 percent of medical professionals in Germany have been vaccinated. Regional states in Germany started the vaccination programme on Oct. 26.

Swine flu deaths so far stand at 86 in Germany.

Vaccine offered to DPRK

The Republic of Korea's president offered yesterday to send swine flu medication to Pyongyang amid reports that the virus killed dozens of people and is spreading fast in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Seoul-based aid group Good Friends said in newsletters on Monday that swine flu broke out in the DPRK last month, and that it had already claimed the lives of about 40 people in the border city of Sinuiju, near China, and seven in the capital, Pyongyang.

The North's state media outlets have remained silent on the reported outbreak.

Yesterday, ROK President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet to verify the reports and study ways to send swine flu medication to the DPRK without any conditions.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

SYDNEY: Australia was accused of censorship yesterday after it denied visas to Democratic People's Republic of Korea artists invited to a rare international exhibition of their work, saying their studio is a propaganda tool of their country's government.

The co-curator of the exhibition said the works were nonpolitical, and that letting them be displayed while banning their creators from entering the country so they could talk about them did not make sense.

Five artists from the Mansudae Art Studio were invited to the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in the eastern city of Brisbane to talk about their paintings and drawings that are part of the exhibition, which includes work from more than 100 artists from 25 countries in the region.

The DPRK remains one of the most isolated countries in the world, with the average citizen prohibited from accessing the Internet as well as outside phone networks, radio and TV.

In recent years, cultural and sporting events have provided the best opportunity for "soft diplomacy." The New York Philharmonic performed in Pyongyang in 2008, while DPRK athletes, from gymnasts to football players, have served as international ambassadors.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith rejected the artists' applications for an exception to the government's visa ban on the DPRK, part of targeted sanctions in response to the country's efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Smith said in a statement that issuing visas for Mansudae studio artists would have sent the wrong message.

"The studio reportedly produces almost all of the official artworks in North Korea (DPRK), including works that clearly constitute propaganda," the statement said.

Some of Mansudae's approximately 1,000 artists devote their time completely to painting portraits of Kim Il Sung, the late founder of the state who handed power to his son.

Nick Bonner, a Beijing-based British businessman and art dealer who helped curate the exhibition, said all art studios in the DPRK - like most other things in the state - were government organizations, but that did not mean every work was political.

One large mosaic depicting a scene in a steel mill is from the socialist realism that is often associated with the country, Bonner said. The rest, including portraits and landscapes in ink or oil paint, were the artists' individual works.

"There's no way on earth that any of the pieces we commissioned for the inks and oils can in any way resemble propaganda," Bonner said. "It's fine art we are talking about.'"

The artists were extremely disappointed in Australia's decision, after spending weeks getting DPRK authorities to approve passports, he said.

"For an artist to produce a body of work and not be able to speak about it, that is censorship," Bonner said.

Australia, one of the United States' closest allies in the Asia-Pacific region, has diplomatic ties with the DPRK, but they are prickly. Canberra froze relations in 2002 and imposed limited sanctions and the visa ban in 2006 in response to the DPRK's attempts to go nuclear. The DPRK closed its embassy in Canberra last year, citing financial reasons.

AP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page12)

China's legendary female speed skater Ye Qiaobo says she is very lucky her passion for ice and snow continues to offer a fulfilling life long after she retired from competition.

Among the many commitments to winter sports that continue to guide her lifestyle was helping develop China's only indoor ski area, which opened in 2001.

After finding an investor, Ye used her fame to attract skiers to her namesake Qiaobo Snow World resort 15 km from Beijing Capital International Airport in the city's Shunyi district.

The 40,000-sq-m snow dome houses a comprehensive facility for skiing, dining and accommodation, which together offer not only recreation, but also a leisure holiday away from the bustle of city life.

"It is very interesting as you can ski here all year round," she said, noting she often visits with friends just like any other ski enthusiast.

Now a second indoor ski facility named after her, the first in south China, opened in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province in September.

"It is extremely popular with children and provides one more choice for recreation in the city," she said. "And a third one is going to open soon in Nanjing."

It is rare for children in south China to see snow - so playing in the refreshing substance is no longer a luxurious fantasy.

But Ye has not spent her years since retirement solely developing recreation facilities.

After serving as a torch relay consultant to the Beijing Olympics, she will leave in January for Canada. She is one of two Chinese athletes invited by the Organizing Committee of Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Canadian Tourism Commission to join that competition's torch relay.

Although she has traveled to many countries, it was usually for training or competition.

Without the anxiety of racing, Ye said she is looking forward to her upcoming journey.

"It is exciting to enjoy the pure happiness brought by ice and snow," said Ye, who was the first Chinese athlete to win medals in the Winter Games.

In the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, she took home silver medals in the 500m and 1,000m events.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page28)

To most Chinese, Switzerland probably represents luxury watches, banks and fine chocolate. For a small but growing number of mainland skiers, it is heaven.

Every December, Zhang Le, a 45-year-old businessman in Beijing, handles his business correspondence at great speed as he eagerly prepares to ski in the Alps.

"The Alps are a gift from the gods for ski enthusiasts," said Zhang, who booked hotel rooms one month ago and invited some of his business partners to Switzerland for the ski trip in January.

While Zhang was working in a State-owned company in 1995, he went to Switzerland where he tried skiing for the first time. The young sportster immediately fell in love with the exciting winter recreation.

"I watched some ski competitions on TV in China before, but never thought it could be so popular as it is in Switzerland, where I was so surprised to see many kids and elderly people ski like professionals," said Zhang.

In the years that followed, Zhang was not only successful in business, he became a skillful skier.

He went to Switzerland almost every winter and skied as many of the 200 resorts scattered across the country as he could.

In the winter of 2007, he rented a helicopter with his friends and landed on the top of a mountain in the Alps and experienced the ultimate adventure of steep, untracked snow.

As winter sports like skiing and snowboarding attract more Chinese, Zhang is not alone in going abroad to experience the best natural resorts in Switzerland, Japan, France and the North America.

Xu Xinwen, the marketing director of Nanshan ski village, who has been skiing for nine years, goes abroad every winter. "Skiing is a traditional outdoor sport with over 100 years of history in countries like Switzerland, France and Austria," said Xu.

"The countries with large ski population have well-managed resorts with advanced facilities and best quality of snow and slopes."

With the overseas tourism market booming, skiing abroad is no longer a luxury for only the rich.

It is estimated that there are 20,000 to 30,000 Beijingers going abroad to ski every winter.

Most travel agencies in Beijing have skiing packages. A six-day winter holiday in Hokkaido, Japan only costs about 11,000 yuan a person.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page28)

Five skiing resorts that experienced skiers can't afford to miss:

St. Moritz, Switzerland

Known as the birthplace of premier skiing and winter sports, St. Moritz hosted the second Winter Olympics. The area also offers ski-touring - skiing while pulled by horses.

Niceko, Hokkaido, Japan

Made up of three ski resorts, Niceko is popular for its deep snow powder and a long ski season from the end of November to May. Hotels with natural hot springs are another attraction.

Vail, Colorado, USA

The largest ski area in the world, Vail and its sister resort Beaver Creek are known for setting the standard for snow grooming and lift capacity. About 1 million skiers visit the areas each year.

Whistler, Vancouver, Canada

Host of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Feb 12-28, Whistler is one of the top ski areas in North America noted for its expansive terrain and overall ski experience.

Lyon, France

Lying at the foot of the Alps, the grand resort has as its backdrop one of the most famous mountains in the world - Mont Blanc.

METRO

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page28)

Balance

On slippery snow, you will fall a lot. Trying to balance while sliding down the mountain is not easy. Being able to steer and stop is key.

Safety

Hire a ski coach. Skiing could be dangerous for beginners.Don't try the advanced trails before learning all the basic skills. Wear protective gear.

Dress code

Stay warm. Check the weather report before heading to the slopes. A thermal layer and a pair of goggles and gloves are necessary.

Make sure your outer layer of clothes is waterproof, especially your pants.

Resort

It is important to choose a ski resort with a good beginner's area.

Booking a ticket online usually comes with a discount.

METRO

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page28)

Related video: Winter wonderland

All 13 ski resorts in the capital are now open for business to skiers and snowboarders and industry experts expect the market in Beijing to pick up speed soon.

Thanks to the snowfall in early November, ski resorts opened on a trial basis a week earlier than usual and offered up a 90 percent discount to entice skiers.

"The big snowfalls were a good reminder for Beijingers that a good ski season has arrived," said Dai Liangchao, manager of Yuyang ski resort in Pinggu county, which offered a full day of free skiing during its trial period that ended last Friday.

Advanced snow slopes are not available yet at most ski resorts but long queues of skiers can be seen every day at ski lifts to reach the top of slopes.

Popular ski resorts such as Yuyang, Jundushan and Nanshan are opening to keen skiers. Snowmaking machines are working in full swing to pave the man-made snow after the temperature drops to -2 C. Skiing peaks around the Spring Festival holiday in February.

According to the Beijing Skiing Association, the amount of time a person in Beijing spends skiing has climbed 20 percent up in recent years. The association said that nearly 5 percent of the total population of Beijing will be skiing soon.

With a growing consciousness on health, people in the ski industry in Beijing believe that the sport will become more popular this year, especially since it is one of the few winter outdoor activities.

Nanshan ski village in Miyun county, 62 km from downtown Beijing, began its trial opening from Nov 27 to Dec 5 with a 90 percent discount off the ticket price. The entrance fee after the discount is a mere 36 yuan.

Now one day's cost for entrance and skiing is 360 yuan at the door, or 210 for booking by phone in advance.

Nanshan accepted up to 2,000 visitors per day during the trial opening, according to Xu Xinwen, marketing director of Nanshan. Xu said that it has 6,000 customers a day during the peak ski season, with all the 21 slopes available.

Xu said the sport will grow in the capital if the resorts offer high-quality snow trails and advanced facilities. She said that compared to the mature ski industries in Europe, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the ski market in China is promising but has a long way to go.

Since nearly all of the resorts are scattered around the suburbs without a direct public transportation route from Beijing's downtown, about half of Beijingers take cars. All of the resorts provide bus services.

A veteran skier surnamed Cao, 36, who drives an hour and a half from downtown to Nanshan every weekend, said that the ski resort was also a perfect place for socializing.

"I have made many friends here and my company colleagues often come together for fun," Cao said.

Relaxing, hanging out with friends and keeping fit are major motivations for Beijingers, according to the latest research from Jointhorp EHA, a professional tourism industry consulting company in China.

The research also shows that 80 percent of Beijing's ski population are young people in their 30s, who hold bachelor degrees. Nearly half of them are unmarried. Many of them said they are concerned about a ski resort's sanitation, comfort and safety.

Though not equipped with natural snow, most ski resorts in Beijing are up to international standards.

Johann, 26, from Switzerland, came to Beijing 9 months ago and said he found the Nanshan skiing village a nice place for his "addiction," though the resort was much smaller compared with his favorite skiing resorts in his homeland.

"Skiing in Switzerland is a popular outdoor activity for all age groups," said Johann who started skiing at 3.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page28)

Haydn trio

Founded in 1992, the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt of Austria comprises Harald Kosik, violinist Verena Stourzh and cellist Hannes Gradwohl. Its repertoire covers all the piano trios composed by Haydn, besides classical trios by other famous composers. The group's harmonic cohesion makes for an energetic and lively performance.

7:30 pm, Dec 10. 80-380 yuan. National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square. 6655-0000

国家大剧院, 天安门广场西

Puppet show

The China Puppet Theater presents the bilingual puppet show Nutcracker, about a little girl and her magical dream on Christmas Eve.

10:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday until Dec 20. 60-150 yuan. China Puppet Theater, A1 Anhuali, Chaoyang district. 6424-3697 ext 8004

中国木偶剧院, 朝阳区安华里甲一号

Exhibitions

Intriguing installation

Mao Tongqiang's installation series, Title Deed for Land, is full of experimental elements. Composed of more than 1,400 title deeds for land of different periods he collected, the work distils Mao's understanding of society, history and land.

9 am-8 pm, until Dec 14. Wall Art Museum, 34 Third Ring Road Zhonglu, Chaoyang district. 6564-8232

墙美术馆, 朝阳区东三环中路34号

Painting history

Artist Zhou Sicong (1939-1996) is best remembered for her realistic portrayal of historical figures, including that of late Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enali, as well as ordinary people.

Twelve of her representative ink paintings and 66 sketches, created before the 1980s, are now on show.

9 am-5 pm, until Dec 15 except Monday. Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy, 1 Liulitun Beili, Chaoyang district. 6507-1285

北京画院美术馆, 朝阳区六里屯北里1号

Events

Chinese roots

Nick Admussen is a Phd candidate at Princeton University. He received a Master of Fine Arts in poetry writing at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was awarded the position of writer-in-residence in 2003. Admussen will explain some of the Chinese roots of modern and contemporary English poetry in the work of Ezra Pound, Gary Snyder, Frank Bidart, and others, as well as the influence of translation in his own poetry.

7:30 pm, Dec 9. 20-30 yuan. The Bookworm, Building 4 The Village at Sanlitun, Courtyard 19, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang district. 6586-9507

朝阳区三里屯路19号院三里屯Village 4号楼

Live music

Stunning jazz show

Trumpeter Ryan Kisor and drummer Willie Jones III from Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra are both artists of consummate skill, known for their rare musical and technical abilities. They have been well received by jazz musicians and audiences worldwide.

They will share the stage with Xia Jia, one of the finest keyboard players in China. The audience is in for a treat, given their unparalleled technical brilliance and stylistic authenticity.

9 pm, Dec 9, 30-50 yuan. D-22, 242 Chengfulu, Haidian district. 6265-3177

海淀区成府路242

The master mixer

Richard Quitevis, known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Grandmixer Qbert, is a Filipino-American turntablist and composer. He is often referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of the turntables, known to make them sing in complex and subtle ways. He invented the first musical annotation system for scratching, battling and composing on vinyl.

With 25 years behind the decks, DJ Qbert will put together an unforgettable live show.

10 pm, Dec 9. 50 yuan. Bling, Solana 5-1, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuanlu, Chaoyang district. 5905-6999

朝阳区朝阳公园路6号Solana蓝色港湾国际商区5－1

Rock meets southwest folk

Shanren literally means mountain people. The Shanren band is made up of members from Yunnan and Guizhou, two provinces located in the remote southwest of China.

The band members are from different Chinese ethnic minorities. Qu Zihan and Xiao Ou from Han, Ai Yong from Wa and Xiao Budian from Buyi. They are proud of their roots and derive their musical genre from local music.

They use both Chinese traditional instruments and electric instruments, and are high on humor. Last month the band performed overseas for the first time, presenting Chinese traditional and folk music. Before their upcoming tour of Korea, Shanren will have a concert at Yugong Yishan.

9 pm, Dec 9. 40-50 yuan. Yugong Yishan. East Courtyard, site of Duanqirui Government, Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng district, 6404-2711

东城区张自忠路3-2号段祺瑞执政府旧址西院

Bars

Fine fusion

The decor here is a fusion of geometrical designs and antiquated European styles of adornment. A full range of wine is available.

Liangma Lounge, Third floor of Liangma Bogong. 53 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang district.

朝阳区麦子店街53号

TV

CCTV-9

09:30 Nature & Science

09:55 Chinese Civilization

10:00 CCTV News

10:15 Sports Scene

10:30 New Frontiers

11:00 Biz China

1130: Around China

12:00 News Hour

13:00 Dialogue

13:30 Travelogue

14:00 Biz China

14:30 Culture Express

15:00 CCTV News

15:15 Learn to Speak Chinese

15:30 Nature and Science

15:55 Chinese Civilization

16:00 CCTV News

16:15 Sports Scene

16:30 New Frontiers

17:00 CCTV News

17:30 Documentary

18:00 Biz China

HBO

7:00 Good Luck Chuck

8:30 Shrek The Third

10:00 Jawbreaker

11:30 Jesse Stone: Sea Change

13:00 Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

14:25 You've Got Mail

16:20 Short Cuts

19:00 Shrek The Third

21:00 No Reservations

22:40 Tmz 122

23:00 Sex And The City S111: The Drought

23:25 Sex And The City S112: Oh Come All Ye Faithful

23:50 Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

ESPN STAR sports

09:30 Repeat World Of International Pairs

10:00 First Air Sportscenter Right Now 2009

10:01 First Air US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

11:00 First Air US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

11:59 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

12:00 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United

14:00 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

14:01 Repeat Fina Aquatics World

14:30 First Air PBA Shark Championship

16:00 Repeat World Of International Pairs

16:30 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

16:31 Repeat US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

17:30 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Juventus vs. Bayern Munich

19:30 Live Sportscenter Asia

20:00 First Air Global Football

20:30 First Air Tiger World Of Football

21:00 First Air UEFA Champions League 2009/10 Weekly Highlights

21:30 Repeat Planet Speed 2009/10

22:00 Repeat Sportscenter Asia

22:30 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United

Radio

CRI highlight

As a cultural metropolis, Beijing is a city overflowing with theaters. You can be dazzled by the grand spectacles in some of these, such as the National Center for Performing Arts, or be inspired by the experimental plays, happening in small theaters. But if traditional Chinese culture is what you like, you should not miss the Huguang Guild Hall, or Hu Guang Hui Guan in Chinese -- one of the "four great theaters" in all of Beijing.

Easter eggs are very familiar in western countries. The colored eggs, with various patterns on them, are rather eye-catching. The craft of carving eggs is getting popular in China.

For these stories and more, please tune into In the Spotlight on Wednesday at 23:30.

07:00-07:30 News & Reports

07:30-08:00 People In the Know

08:00-11:00 EZ Morning

11:00-12:00 China Drive

12:00-14:00 Third Wheel

14:00-17:00 EZ Cafe

17:00-19:00 China Drive

19:00-20:00 Sunset Blvd.

20:00-22:00 The Pulse

22:00-23:00 All That Jazz

23:30-24:00 In the Spotlight + Chinese Studio

00:00-03:00 China Now

Films

A special gift

Gremlin is an American horror film with comic overtones, directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. The story begins with inventor Rand Peltzer trying to find a quick gift for his son Billy before returning home from a New York trip. He settles on a unique pet in a Chinatown curio shop -- a cute, furry creature known as a Mogwai. The shopkeeper warns him that several rules must be obeyed by a Mogwai owner.

8 pm, Dec 9. Free. Club Obiwan, 4 Xihai Xiyan, Houhai, Xicheng district. 8322-1231

西城区西海西沿4号

Films showing at cinemas

G-Force (English)

Twilight (English)

2012 (English)

District 9 (English)

Hua Mulan (Chinese with English subtitles)

Megabox

G1, Sanlitun Village, Sanlitun, Chaoyang district. 6417-6118

朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village地下二层

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page27)

Recently, the public has been concerned about how Internet vigilantes are dealt with by the government.

Following online allegations that Ms Liu Lijie, a chief prosecutor from Inner Mongolia, used an expensive SUV and built a luxury office building, the investigation results from the local Party disciplinary committee show that she had borrowed the car from a company and there was nothing unusual about the new office building. Her office has determined the online exposure as "libel". Meanwhile, it was alleged online that a senior Party law official in Fuxin city used drugs and engaged in sexual orgies. Police have detained Shangguan Hongxiang, a delegate to the local People's Congress, who blew the whistle, on charges of slander and framing.

But I doubt if the cases were handled properly. For example, if Liu borrowed the car, who did she borrow from? Was such borrowing legal? Was the exposure of such behavior "libel"? Then was it correct to let the Fuxin police investigate their chief? Was the police investigation independent and objective?

Instead, people were told the prosecutor had earned "a full mark in work appraisal" from authorities concerned, while the senior law official was said to be "strict with himself" and wouldn't have gone so low.

No doubt, civil servants are also entitled to citizens' rights, including the rights of reputation. However, they are in a more powerful position in comparison with ordinary people. As such, investigations into online allegations should be just and transparent. If such probes are conducted in a secretive way, or the government responded to the allegations with too simple answers, people may become more suspicious.

In a modern country with a rule of law, officials must tolerate criticism from citizens, even if they are wrong. The fast growth of the Internet has caused quite a lot of embarrassment to law enforcement. But law departments are also expected to be able to differentiate between reportage, slander and libel. This may also help people to know their rights and responsibilities when they make allegations on the Internet.

Statistics show that in recent years, in the government drive against corruption, the public has reported more than 80 percent of the cases. And Internet vigilantism has become a powerful weapon against corruption. As such, Internet vigilantes should be encouraged.

(Excerpts of a commentary that appeared on xinhuanet.com on Dec 8)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page27)

Environmental protection officials in Beijing have had an easy time since the Olympics last summer.

The city recorded fewer polluted days following its smog-cleaning campaign for the Olympics, and authorities last month announced that the city's air quality has reached the highest level in decades after meeting its annual target for "blue sky" days one month ahead of schedule, for two consecutive years.

But the fact that Beijing's air is now clean is bad news for reporters.

Feeling a need to challenge authorities with more probing questions on air pollution, I suggest the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau correct flawed monitoring standards that have been used for more than a decade.

Both Chinese and foreign experts have said that the current air pollution index in Beijing, and across the country, is far from perfect. They point out that the current index excludes ozone, a key pollutant from car emissions. Chinese authorities instead monitor pollutant particles with sizes smaller than 10 micrometers, while European and North American countries focus on a more specific range of particles under 2.5 micrometers, and include ozone particles.

In short, the Chinese system creates an unfairly low index compared with other countries.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (also known as PM10) pose a health concern because they can accumulate in the respiratory system.

But particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (known as PM2.5), referred to as "fine" particles, are believed to pose the greatest health risks. Because of their small size (about 1/30th the average width of a human hair), these fine particles can lodge deep into the lungs.

The distinction also partly explains that while yesterday's air quality was recorded as "very unhealthy" at the local environmental bureau's 28 monitor stations citywide, the independent monitor set by the US Embassy in Beijing's car-populated business area said it was "hazardous".

I suggest Beijing authorities get active and take the opportunity to tackle air pollution now, just as they did before the Olympics.

Readers are welcome to contribute their thoughts to METRO. Articles about your life and work in Beijing should be fewer than 700 words. Send to metro_opinion@chinadaily.com.cn. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of METRO.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page27)

"Oh my god, your breath stinks," my girlfriend said to me as she turned her head away from my advances for an after-dinner kiss.

I had just finished eating a few cloves of garlic because supposedly, according to many of my Chinese friends, it helps fight off A/H1N1.

I put my hand to my mouth just to check and sure enough it reeked of garlic. But my breath is not the only thing garlic is fouling up.

In a classic case of supply vs. demand, some places in China have seen garlic prices shoot up by as much as 50-fold since this time last year. Demand has increased due to millions of Chinese wanting to ease their fears with grandma's home health remedy. Supply has decreased because many Chinese garlic farmers gave up on the pungent crop last year when low garlic prices limited their profits.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened next. Everyone from jobless young men to coal mine bosses started snapping up all the garlic in sight. Some made hundreds of thousands, some made millions. There were new cars in the garage and cheek to cheek grins; but they were the lucky ones.

I hate to put a damper on the fun but any economics textbook tells us that too much liquidity in the market ripens the chance for speculation. And speculation is exactly what the garlic market reeks of right now.

Speculators with the bank's money or their own have driven garlic to an unreasonable price. To better understand, consider if this 50-fold increase happened with something we use every day like drinking water. Last year I ordered an 18.9 liter bottle of drinking water for 10 yuan. This year that same bottle of water would cost me 500 yuan. Who in their right mind is going to pay 500 yuan for 18.9 liters of water?

The only way a person could continue to feed this pricing frenzy is if they were so focused on making money that they turned off all cognitive functions in their brain. Hmm, sounds like a good definition of speculators.

Garlic prices are riding a bubble that is going to pop. I don't know where, or when, but it will.

My gut reaction upon hearing of garlic's rise was to get off my butt and go buy as much as I could. But then I had to sober myself with the reality of how outrageous the price of garlic already is. The fact of the matter is that it is too late in the game for the odds to be in the speculator's favor. Maybe a few months ago it was a different story, but not now.

It's time to take a lesson from physics...what goes up must come down. Don't get caught up in this foul mess because money has never smelled so bad. In the meantime, in every restaurant I go to I am going to eat as much garlic as I can to get the most bang for my buck. I might have stinky breath, but at least when I open my wallet my money will still be there.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page27)

China Daily is conducting a survey of Chinese people's awareness of global climate change and low carbon emissions in association with the Environmental Defense Fund during the ongoing UN climate summit in Copenhagen. The survey is aimed to raise people's awareness of environmental protection and improve our living condition. Respondents have a chance to win the bilingual book Evolution of Green China published by New World Press and China Daily Press or a set of CDs entitled China Addresses Climate Change co-produced by the Department of Addressing Climate Change with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Environmental Defense Fund.

You can find the survey at http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/survey/vs.php?id=17 - we will publish the results at the end of the Copenhagen conference.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page10)

KABUL: Afghan authorities said yesterday the mayor of Kabul had been sentenced to a four-year prison term for abuse of power in what they described as a major corruption probe, but the mayor's office said he was at work as usual yesterday.

The move comes amid mounting pressure from Afghanistan's Western allies, especially Washington, on President Hamid Karzai to tackle the issue of graft and appoint professional ministers and officials in his next cabinet.

Deputy Attorney General Enayat Kamal said a court had handed down the four-year sentence against Kabul Mayor Abdul Ahad Sayebi after an extensive investigation by prosecutors.

"The Kabul mayor has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for misusing his authority ... and due to illegal activities, and an order for his arrest has been issued," Kamal said.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

Cabinet picks near

KABUL: Two members of the Afghan parliament say President Hamid Karzai will propose a full new Cabinet to lawmakers on Saturday in what will be the first test of his commitment to clean up graft in his government.

Karzai, who is under intense international pressure to clean up corruption, previously said he would present a partial list of his picks for the Cabinet, but Afghan lawmakers demanded a complete list.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

ATLANTA: Colon cancer deaths could drop dramatically in the US during the next decade because of better screening and treatment, according to an optimistic new prediction by top researchers.

The estimate was made in an annual report that shows that, overall, the US cancer death rate is continuing to decline, as it has since the 1990s.

The report released on Monday focuses largely on cancers of the colon and rectum, which together are the third leading cancer killer in the US. An estimated 50,000 people will die from it this year.

The battle against colorectal cancer has been a success story: The death rate dropped roughly 20 percent in the last 10 years, according to American Cancer Society figures.

The new report - by researchers at the advocacy group and other organizations - predicts that death rate will drop even more over the next decade. By 2020, the rate could be half what it was in 2000, they said.

The prediction assumes colon cancer screening and improved chemotherapy treatment will become more and more common, and colon cancer contributors like smoking and red meat consumption will decline.

The prediction is "optimistic but realistic," said the ACS's Elizabeth Ward.

But some other experts said such a large drop could require far-reaching changes in how many people eat a healthier diet, have health insurance and can get good medical care.

AP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

KABUL, Afghanistan: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived yesterday in Afghanistan with plans to assure officials and American troops there that the United States is committed to winning the war despite plans to begin pulling forces out in 2011.

"We are in this thing to win," Gates told reporters while traveling to Kabul, where he plans to meet privately with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and later with troops bearing the brunt of combat.

The secretary's trip to Afghanistan is the first by a Cabinet member since President Barack Obama's announcement last week that he will deploy 30,000 more troops with the intention of starting to bring them home in July 2011.

As Gates took his message abroad, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the overall military commander in Afghanistan, told a skeptical Congress yesterday that more troops are needed to fight a growing enemy insurgency. More than 920 US troops have died in the 8-year-old war.

McChrystal's appearance before the House Armed Services Committee started the first of three days of congressional Afghanistan hearings that are expected to draw hard questions from both anti-war Democrats and conservative Republicans about Obama's stated intention to begin paring down the US role in July 2011.

Gates and other US officials have described the 2011 date as just the beginning, with the process likely take at least two or three years to complete.

Gates, in a midair briefing en route to Kabul, said he believes the US mistakenly abandoned Afghanistan in 1989 as it fought the Soviets and understands Afghan concerns that they will be left alone against the Taliban.

Gates says he will try to assure Karzai and his advisers "that we are not going to repeat the situation in 1989" and that "we intend to be their partner for a long time to come."

He also says he will press Karzai and Afghanistan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak on efforts to recruit and train more Afghan soldiers and police officers. McChrystal has set the goal of building the Afghan security force to 400,000 by 2013. There are roughly 94,000 Afghan police officers and 97,000 soldiers today.

Gates' trip came as the Pentagon issued deployment orders for more than 16,000 troops to Afghanistan, the first major installment of the 30,000 reinforcements expected to be in place by next fall.

An infantry battalion of 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune will be among the first to arrive later this month, followed by another 6,200 Marines from the North Carolina base and 800 Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., deployed next spring.

AP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

BANGKOK: Thailand's government should change its tack and pursue dialogue with ethnic Malay rebels to find a political solution and end a deadly conflict in its Muslim south, a report said yesterday.

Almost six years since a separatist rebellion re-emerged in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, the government has made no progress in tackling the insurgency and needs to urgently shift its approach, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said.

More than 3,700 people have been killed in the violence, according to independent monitors Deep South Watch.

"There are plenty of ideas about political solutions compatible with a Thai unitary state that should be more openly discussed," said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG's Southeast Asia project director.

"If the government is serious about curbing the insurgency, it has to change course. This new direction could include dialogue."

The report said attempts to solve the problem with economic stimulus measures were futile and the government's $1.63 billion budget for development projects over three years could be counter-productive, creating scope for rampant corruption and eroding the state's legitimacy.

Analysts say the conflict is largely ethno-nationalist and despite frequent rumors of outside involvement, there is no evidence suggesting it is part of a wider jihadi movement.

Successive governments have insisted they will not enter into dialogue with the insurgents.

The release of the report coincides with a planned visit to Narathiwat by Abhisit and Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, who is an advocate of decentralization for the region.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

MULTAN, Pakistan: Militants armed with rocket-propelled and hand grenades and a car bomb attacked an office of Pakistan's main security agency in the city of Multan yesterday killing 12 people, officials said.

The bomb attack in the eastern city was the third in Pakistan in two days and underscored the relentless security troubles facing the US ally whose help is vital in efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.

The violence coincides with rising political tension with the Supreme Court hearing challenges to an amnesty order that could heap pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari.

Al-Qaida-linked militants have demonstrated time and again they can penetrate security on the approaches to sensitive buildings.

Top Multan city official Mohammad Ali Gardezi said body parts of two of the nine dead, believed to have been suicide attackers, were strewn over a road outside the office of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

"Our security agencies were on alert and they didn't let the attackers reach their target," Gardezi told reporters, adding 47 people had been wounded.

Between two and four attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a checkpost outside the ISI office, then threw hand grenades and set off their car bomb, police said.

The fronts of several homes by the checkpost were destroyed.

Pakistan's military, once a staunch supporter of Afghan militants in their fight against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, now faces brazen Taliban insurgents on its own soil.

Northwestern Peshawar has suffered the most from retaliatory bombings that have killed hundreds of people since October, when the army launched an offensive in South Waziristan on the Afghan border, part of a region seen as a global militant hub.

But two bombs went off in a market in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday evening, killing 49 people and wounding more than 100.

The attack in Multan will compound fears that the militants are pushing their campaign out of the northwest.

Many of the militant attacks have been on the security forces, including the army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi.

A suicide car-bomber killed 10 people in an attack on an ISI office in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Nov. 13.

Pakistan's priority is defeating the Taliban at home, but the task has been complicated by U.S. pressure to root out fighters who cross the border to Afghanistan to attack U.S. troops.

President Barack Obama sent a clear message to Pakistan last week in his speech outlining plans to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Pakistan, he said, must not allow its territory to be used as a sanctuary for militants.

In Islamabad, the Supreme Court continued a hearing into challenges to an amnesty decree which, if struck down, could spark a political crisis for embattled President Zardari.

The amnesty was introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf under a plan to bring Bhutto back from self-imposed exile under a power-sharing pact. Bhutto returned in October 2007, but she was assassinated just weeks later.

Zardari, the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, cannot be prosecuted whatever the outcome of the case because of presidential immunity.

But criminal cases could be reopened against government officials, including the interior and defence ministers, if the court strikes down the decree.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

China and the United States are discussing a possible bilateral meeting between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and US president Barack Obama at the sidelines of UN climate summit in Copenhagen, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday.

"Premier Wen has accepted invitation from Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen to attend the Copenhagen summit, but the detailed visiting schedule is still being planned, including a bilateral meeting with US president Barack Obama," Jiang said.

But the bilateral meeting, if it occurs, will not bring out new agreements between the two countries, said Pang Zhongying, professor on American Studies with Renmin University of China.

"There have been extensive coordination on stances from the two sides before the summit, which also signed a joint declaration on climate change during president Obama's visit to China," he said.

If there is a bilateral meeting, it will be more like a gesture, showing how serious the world's largest two greenhouse gas emitters are in saving the climate, Pang added.

"It is not likely for two countries to agree on some new plans, as Copenhagen will not end up with a full-fledged global deal as previously expected," Pang said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that a legally binding treaty on climate change will be reached in 2010.

"Our target, our goal, is to have a legally binding treaty as soon as possible in 2010," Ban said. "But before that, we must have a strong political agreement in Copenhagen.

In a separate move, a renowned Chinese think-tank yesterday proposed a middle-ground south-north cooperation mechanism that can mobilize more technology transfer and financial support from rich countries to developing countries.

Established under the principal of "common but differentiated responsibilities", the Inter-Country Joint Mitigation Plan (ICP) will incorporate technology transfer, financial flow and carbon emission reduction, said Fan Gang, a renowned economist who leads the Beijing-based Chinese Economists 50 Forum.

The mechanism allows developing countries to reach self-imposed mitigation targets with help from a partner country - an industrialized country, which is requested to provide financial resources and technologies to meet the targets.

"The ICP will help developing countries to really decouple its economic development and carbon emission," said Li Lailai, a researcher for the project said.

"With such a mechanism, we can at least start to do something to mitigate the impacts of climate change, if Copenhagen summit cannot come up with any global deal," Li said.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page10)

COPENHAGEN: China is showing its utmost commitment and unprecedented political will to take actions to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, China's climate change envoy said yesterday.

Negotiators from around the world are meeting in Copenhagen for a UN conference to extend and expand the Kyoto Protocol, the UN-backed pact governing countries' actions against climate change up to end of 2012.

"Without any financial and technological support from rich countries, most of China's efforts have been made to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions," said Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister of National Development and Reform Commission.

China declared its ambitious carbon-intensity reduction target a week before the conference started. Beijing decided to reduce the carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent in 2020 from the baseline of 2005. The move will help the country cut emission of approximate 4 trillion tons of CO2, equal to one fourth of the global CO2 emission cut.

"China has not only a quantified target, but also mapping out the supplementary supports of science and technology, legislation, investment and governmental accountability measurement system," Xie said.

However, after China and other developing countries, made so many efforts to continue the Kyoto Protocol, he said, some rich countries are trying to kill it or to combine the two tracks of UNFCCC - the 1992 framework convention adopted by 192 countries in 1992 to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations - and Kyoto Protocol into a single one.

"Turning two tracks into a single one means the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibility' does not play a role anymore, which will hurt the interests of developing countries and is strictly opposed by Group 77 and China," he said.

"Group 77 and China hope the UN negotiations will follow the Bali Roadmap under the framework of UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol," he said.

The developing countries have urged rich countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent, and to deliver a solid promise on finance and technology, he said.

"The current promise of $10 billion by rich countries is far from the $300 billion - which is about 1 percent of the rich countries' annual GDP - the developing countries require," Xie said.

Unlike the Danish government, China does not have a Climate Ministry. Therefore, Xie plays the role of Chinese climate minister in the UN climate change conference.

He squeezed about half an hour from his extremely full schedule between meetings with the EU delegates and UNFCCC officials to hold a news briefing for the Chinese journalists in the afternoon of the opening day of two-week climate talks.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page10)

Peace talks restart

The Philippine government and a Muslim separatist group yesterday resumed peace talks that collapsed 16 months ago, restoring formal efforts to end a decades-long rebellion that has claimed at least 120,000 lives.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting for Muslim self-rule for decades in Mindanao, the southern homeland of minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic Philippines. It is the biggest of at least four Muslim rebel groups that have waged a bloody rebellion in the volatile south.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

Pirates attack fishermen

Sixteen fishermen remained missing Tuesday off Bangladesh's southern coast after pirates attacked their vessel last week, survivors and the boat's owner said.

Eighteen fishermen were assaulted in the Bay of Bengal by a band of 25-30 pirates Friday, said fishermen Shahidullah and Abdur Rahim. Shahidullah like many Bangladeshis uses only one name.

The survivors said the pirates severely beat them and slashed some of the fishermen with knives before throwing them all overboard.

Shahidullah and Rahim were rescued by another fishing boat, but the other fishermen remain missing in waters off Cox's Bazar, a coastal town 185 miles (296 kilometers) south of the capital, Dhaka.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

E Timor deaths re-examined

A former Indonesian army colonel has told a magazine that soldiers deliberately killed five Western journalists in East Timor in 1975 - contradicting the government's longstanding assertion that the deaths were accidental.

The explosive claim in the weekly Tempo magazine, published on Monday, further fueled tensions between Indonesia and Australia created in September when Australian federal police launched a war crimes investigation into the deaths in the East Timorese border town of Balibo in the weeks before Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony.

It comes amid renewed public interest in the case spurred by the release this year of the Australian movie Balibo, which depicts the events that lead to the journalists' deaths. The film was banned in Indonesia.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page11)

Thousands of delegates, government officials and environmental activists are converging on the Danish capital city for the UN's 15th climate conference, which opened on Monday and continues through Dec 18. The country's largest city is spread over two islands, Zealand and Amager, and has been connected to the Swedish city of Malmo since the transnational Oresund Bridge was finished in 2000. It's the most-visited Nordic city, hosting 1.3 million tourists in 2007.

What's copenhagen got?

STYLE: Opening a fashion show in China last month, Denmark's Princess Marie told Beijingers that her country has "made an art of simplicity", from furniture design to toys like Lego to clothing from designer labels to ready-to-wear. Danish design items such as Bang and Olufsen stereos, Royal Copenhagen porcelain and Georg Jensen silverware are world famous and available in the Danish capital's shopping district.

Food: The Danish kolde bord ("the cold buffet"), a cousin of Sweden's smorgasbord, may be a lunchtime cold buffet with many and varied items being brought to the dining table and passed around family-style. Continental influences have elevated restaurant fare in recent years as chefs take advantage of Denmark's plentiful fish and serve them up with the same simple elegance that underlies Danish fashion and design. Herring is often served with schnappes, the story goes, to help the fish swim to the stomach.

LifeSTYLE:

ROYALTY: You may have seen the popular royal family in the news lately. Queen Margrethe II and her husband, Prince Henrik, recently made a state visit to Vietnam with Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. Prince Frederik often appears in news pages as an enthusiastic and competitive sailor. Prince Joachim and Princess Marie recently spent a week in Hong Kong and Beijing. Visitors to Copenhagen can enjoy the queen's 17 tapestries that are hung in the Great Hall of Christiansborg and depict Denmark's and the World's history from the time of the Vikings.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page10)

Powell: Bolt is not invincible

SINGAPORE: Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt is no "superman" and can be beaten, his compatriot and rival Asafa Powell insisted on Tuesday.

"Well anybody can be beaten but in the 100 meters right now Usain is running very fast ... so you really have to be at your best on that day to win the race," said Powell, ousted by Bolt as the world's fastest man last year.

"It's pretty much the best man wins on that day and there's no real superman or anybody that is invincible," he said in a forum with Singaporean students, part of promotions for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in this city-state.

"So anybody can be beaten."

Soccer

Real,Barca sweep FIFA nominees

PARIS: Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have swept the list of five nominees for the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Barcelona are represented by Spanish midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi along with Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi, the strong favorite for the award to be handed out on Dec 21.

Real Madrid are present thanks to the inclusion of Brazilian Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal international who won the award last year when in Manchester United colors.

The quintet have emerged from an initial 23-strong shortlist with voting restricted to the coaches and captains of national sides.

Golf

Asia Pacific Golf Classic launched

KUALA LUMPUR: The US PGA Tour has struck a deal with the Asian Tour to stage a new event, the Asia Pacific Golf Classic, with the inaugural tournament to be held in Malaysia next year.

The event, with a $6 million purse including $1 million for the winner, will be held at The Mines Resort & Golf Club south of capital Kuala Lumpur, the tours said in a statement on Monday.

In a 40-man field, the top 25 players from the PGA Tour's final FedEx Cup standings will automatically qualify for the event, as will the top 10 available players from the Asian Tour's Order of Merit.

Miscellaneous

Chongqing to host aerobic event

The finals of the Hosa Cup National Sports Aerobics Championships will be held in Yongzhou, Chongqing, next week.

It will mark the fourth time Hosa Sports, China's No 1 gym brand, and the national gymnastics association have hosted the competition.

The preliminaries of the championships started in Qinghai province in June and ended in Hubei province last month and there were more than 6,700 participants, the largest entry ever for the event.

About 1,500 have qualified for the five-day finals and they will battle for the top prizes in 10 age groups.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

BERLIN: Newly-appointed VfB Stuttgart coach Christian Gross is hoping to hit the ground running when his team takes on Romania's Unirea Urziceni on Wednesday for a spot in the Champions League knockout stage.

Gross (pictured) was named as the new coach 18 minutes after Stuttgart sacked Markus Babbel on Sunday and, with the club under fire for a dismal Bundesliga season, the 55-year-old Swiss has his work cut out.

"On Wednesday I want to win. That is where the focus lies. I want to make an early impression," Gross said late on Sunday, before going for an evening training session with his new players, minutes after taking over.

"I want that we battle for every centimeter in every match. That is what I demand from my team."

Reuters/AFP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

Golf

World rankings

NEW YORK: World rankings on Monday (US unless stated, last week's positions in brackets):

1. (1) Tiger Woods 15.46 average points

2. (2) Phil Mickelson 8.68

3. (3) Steve Stricker 7.00

4. (4) Lee Westwood (GBR) 6.85

5. (5) Padraig Harrington (IRE) 5.85

6. (11) Jim Furyk 5.79

7. (7) Henrik Stenson (SWE) 5.65

8. (6) Paul Casey (GBR) 5.64

9. (9) Kenny Perry 5.00

10. (8) Sergio Garcia (ESP) 4.98

11. (10) Rory McIlroy (GBR) 4.93

12. (14) Ian Poulter (GBR) 4.81

13. (12) Martin Kaymer (GER) 4.72

14. (13) Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 4.63

15. (15) Stewart Cink 4.47

16. (16) Sean O'Hair 4.44

17. (17) Ernie Els (RSA) 4.31

18. (20) Ross Fisher (GBR) 4.12

19. (18) Retief Goosen (RSA) 4.05

20. (19) Lucas Glover 4.01

NBA

NEWYORK: NBA results on Morday (home team in CAPS):

Denver 93 PHILADELPHIA 83

NEW YORK 93 Portland 84

OKLAHOMA CITY 104 Golden State 88

UTAH 104 San Antonio 101

Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L PCT GB

Boston 16 4 .800 --

Toronto 9 13 .409 8

NY Knicks 7 15 .318 10

Philadelphia 5 16 .238 11 1/2

New Jersey 1 19 .050 15

Central Division

Cleveland 15 5 .750 --

Milwaukee 9 10 .474 5 1/2

Detroit 8 12 .400 7

Chicago 7 11 .389 7

Indiana 6 12 .333 8

Southeast Division

Orlando 16 4 .800 --

Atlanta 14 6 .700 2

Miami 11 9 .550 5

Charlotte 8 11 .421 7 1/2

Washington 7 12 .368 8 1/2

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Denver 16 5 .762 --

Utah 12 8 .600 3 1/2

Portland 13 9 .591 3 1/2

Oklahoma City 11 9 .550 4 1/2

Minnesota 3 17 .150 12 1/2

Pacific Division

LA Lakers 16 3 .842 --

Phoenix 15 6 .714 2

Sacramento 9 10 .474 7

LA Clippers 9 11 .450 7 1/2

Golden State 6 14 .300 10 1/2

Southwest Division

Dallas 14 7 .667 --

Houston 11 9 .550 2 1/2

San Antonio 9 9 .500 3 1/2

New Orleans 8 11 .421 5

Memphis 8 12 .400 5 1/2

Tuesday's games

Denver at Charlotte

Minnesota at Toronto

Milwaukee at Boston

Cleveland at Memphis

New Jersey at Chicago

Sacramento at New Orleans

Phoenix at Dallas

Orlando at LA Clippers

Wednesday's games

Portland at Indiana

Chicago at Atlanta

Detroit at Philadelphia

Golden State at New Jersey

Toronto at Milwaukee

New Orleans at Minnesota

Cleveland at Houston

Sacramento at San Antonio

Utah at LA Lakers

NBA leaders through Dec 6

Scoring

G FG FT PTS AVG

Anthony, DEN 20 209 172 608 30.4

Bryant, LAL 19 205 121 549 28.9

Durant, OKC 19 183 146 534 28.1

James, CLE 20 188 142 545 27.3

Wade, MIA 20 176 171 541 27.1

Nowitzki, DAL 21 196 153 561 26.7

Bosh, TOR 22 181 169 537 24.4

Ellis, GOL 19 181 90 463 24.4

Granger, IND 17 130 102 414 24.4

Johnson, ATL 20 167 69 429 21.5

Jennings, MIL 19 150 62 405 21.3

Boozer, UTA 19 160 78 398 20.9

Gay, MEM 19 150 76 390 20.5

Arenas, WAS 19 135 86 388 20.4

Roy, POR 21 146 109 428 20.4

Harrington, NYK 21 152 86 423 20.1

Evans, SAC 18 129 90 359 19.9

Williams, UTA 17 126 51 324 19.1

Stoudemire, PHX 21 150 100 400 19.0

Iguodala, PHL 20 135 84 379 19.0

FG Percentage

FG FGA PCT

Howard, ORL 122 189 .646

Perkins, BOS 92 143 .643

Gasol, MEM 105 171 .614

Oden, POR 92 152 .605

Hilario, DEN 110 184 .598

Paul, NOR 91 156 .583

Bynum, LAL 123 213 .577

Lee, NYK 157 274 .573

Horford, ATL 111 195 .569

Landry, HOU 123 217 .567

Rebounds

G OFF DEF TOT AVG

Wallace, CHA 19 42 189 231 12.2

Bosh, TOR 22 88 179 267 12.1

Howard, ORL 20 76 166 242 12.1

Noah, CHI 18 73 139 212 11.8

Boozer, UTA 19 39 172 211 11.1

Camby, LAC 20 53 166 219 11.0

Haywood, WAS 19 86 120 206 10.8

Duncan, SAN 15 47 115 162 10.8

Okafor, NOR 19 61 132 193 10.2

Lee, NYK 21 49 161 210 10.0

Assists

G AST AVG

Nash, PHX 21 234 11.1

Williams, UTA 17 169 9.9

Paul, NOR 11 107 9.7

Rondo, BOS 20 180 9.0

Kidd, DAL 21 185 8.8

James, CLE 20 167 8.4

Westbrook, OKC 19 134 7.1

B. Davis, LAC 20 137 6.9

Arenas, WAS 19 124 6.5

Calderon, TOR 22 140 6.4

NFL

NEWYORK: NFL result on Morday (home team in CAPS):

GREEN BAY 27 Baltimore 14

Standings

American Conference

AFC East

W L T PF PA PCT

New England 7 5 0 328 224 .583

Miami 6 6 0 278 296 .500

NY Jets 6 6 0 249 208 .500

Buffalo 4 8 0 199 261 .333

AFC North

Cincinnati 9 3 0 254 187 .750

Baltimore 6 6 0 271 215 .500

Pittsburgh 6 6 0 272 231 .500

Cleveland 1 11 0 145 309 .083

AFC South

Indianapolis 12 0 0 331 201 1.000

Jacksonville 7 5 0 225 273 .583

Tennessee 5 7 0 246 316 .417

Houston 5 7 0 277 266 .417

AFC West

San Diego 9 3 0 342 242 .750

Denver 8 4 0 240 202 .667

Oakland 4 8 0 142 282 .333

Kansas City 3 9 0 196 326 .250

National Conference

NFC East

Dallas 8 4 0 279 213 .667

Philadelphia 8 4 0 327 235 .667

NY Giants 7 5 0 303 285 .583

Washington 3 9 0 200 238 .250

NFC North

Minnesota 10 2 0 359 233 .833

Green Bay 8 4 0 323 229 .667

Chicago 5 7 0 233 270 .417

Detroit 2 10 0 206 358 .167

NFC South

New Orleans 12 0 0 440 251 1.000

Atlanta 6 6 0 279 279 .500

Carolina 5 7 0 215 262 .417

Tampa Bay 1 11 0 187 330 .083

NFC West

Arizona 8 4 0 297 234 .667

San Francisco 5 7 0 245 233 .417

Seattle 5 7 0 243 267 .417

St. Louis 1 11 0 139 314 .083

Thursday, Dec. 10

Pittsburgh at Cleveland

Sunday, Dec. 13

Seattle at Houston

Green Bay at Chicago

Detroit at Baltimore

New Orleans at Atlanta

Buffalo at Kansas City

Denver at Indianapolis

Carolina at New England

NY Jets at Tampa Bay

Miami at Jacksonville

Cincinnati at Minnesota

St. Louis at Tennessee

Washington at Oakland

San Diego at Dallas

Philadelphia at NY Giants

Monday, Dec. 14

Arizona at San Francisco

NHL

NEWYORK: NHL results on Morday (home team in CAPS):

New Jersey 4 BUFFALO 0

TORONTO 5 Atlanta 2

MONTREAL 3 Philadelphia 1

Carolina 3 PITTSBURGH 2

Washington 3 TAMPA BAY 0

Edmonton 3 FLORIDA 2 (S.O.)

Colorado 4 ST LOUIS 0

PHOENIX 2 Minnesota 0

LOS ANGELES 2 Calgary 1

Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

W L OT Pts GF GA

New Jersey 20 7 1 41 81 61

Pittsburgh 20 10 1 41 99 83

NY Rangers 14 14 1 29 83 88

NY Islanders 11 11 7 29 76 89

Philadelphia 13 13 1 27 80 79

Northeast Division

Boston 15 9 5 35 76 72

Buffalo 16 9 2 34 73 62

Ottawa 14 10 4 32 83 87

Montreal 14 14 2 30 76 87

Toronto 9 13 7 25 83 104

Southeast Division

Washington 19 5 6 44 111 82

Atlanta 15 9 3 33 89 78

Tampa Bay 11 10 8 30 74 85

Florida 11 13 6 28 82 103

Carolina 7 17 5 19 70 105

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

Chicago 18 7 3 39 85 64

Nashville 16 11 2 34 73 80

Detroit 14 10 5 33 83 82

Columbus 13 11 5 31 89 105

St. Louis 12 11 5 29 70 77

Northwest Division

Colorado 17 9 6 40 98 95

Calgary 18 8 3 39 87 71

Vancouver 16 13 0 32 91 75

Edmonton 13 13 4 30 90 95

Minnesota 13 13 3 29 78 88

Pacific Division

San Jose 19 7 5 43 104 82

Los Angeles 18 10 3 39 95 93

Phoenix 18 11 1 37 75 68

Dallas 13 8 8 34 85 85

Anaheim 10 13 6 26 82 96

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Tuesday's games

NY Islanders at Philadelphia

Montreal at Ottawa

Vancouver at Nashville

Dallas at Anaheim

Wednesday's games

Carolina at New Jersey

Florida at Columbus

N.Y. Islanders at Toronto

Washington at Buffalo

St. Louis at Detroit

Edmonton at Tampa Bay

N.Y. Rangers at Chicago

Minnesota at Colorado

Atlanta at Calgary

Los Angeles at San Jose

NHL scoring leaders through Dec 6

GP G A PTS

Joe Thornton, SJ 31 7 33 40

Marian Gaborik, NYR 27 21 17 38

Sidney Crosby, Pit 29 19 17 36

Corey Perry, Anh 29 15 21 36

Anze Kopitar, LA 30 14 21 35

Ryan Getzlaf, Anh 29 6 29 35

Henrik Sedin, Van 29 14 20 34

Dany Heatley, SJ 31 19 14 33

Patrick Marleau, SJ 31 19 14 33

Nicklas Backstrom, Was 29 8 25 33

Brad Richards, Dal 27 7 26 33

Zach Parise, NJ 27 15 16 31

Paul Stastny, Col 31 7 24 31

Alex Ovechkin, Was 21 18 12 30

Jarome Iginla, Cgy 28 17 13 30

Soccer

English Championship

LONDON: English Football League Championship result on Monday:

Watford 3 (Doyley 43, Cowie 56, Cleverley 90+4) QPR 1 (Agyemang 33)

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Newcastle 13 3 3 31 10 42

West Bromwich 11 5 3 41 17 38

Nottingham Forest 8 8 3 28 18 32

Leicester 8 7 4 22 20 31

Cardiff 9 3 7 35 22 30

Watford 8 6 6 30 32 30

Middlesbrough 8 5 6 30 21 29

Swansea 7 8 4 17 17 29

Blackpool 7 7 5 29 22 28

QPR 7 7 6 33 29 28

Sheffield Utd 7 6 6 30 30 27

Bristol City 6 9 4 22 22 27

Crystal Palace 6 8 5 20 21 26

Preston 6 7 6 24 25 25

Barnsley 7 3 8 23 29 24

Doncaster 4 9 6 25 26 21

Derby 6 3 10 23 31 21

Scunthorpe 6 3 10 22 36 21

Reading 5 5 9 20 28 20

Coventry 4 7 8 21 29 19

Sheffield Wed 4 6 9 23 31 18

Ipswich 2 11 6 19 29 17

Plymouth 4 3 11 16 29 15

Peterborough 2 7 10 23 33 13

Tennis

Men's world rankings

NEW YORK: Men's tennis world rankings on Monday (previous week's rankings in brackets):

1. (1) Roger Federer (SUI) 10550 points

2. (2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) 9205

3. (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) 8310

4. (4) Andy Murray (GBR) 7030

5. (5) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 6785

6. (6) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 4930

7. (7) Andy Roddick (USA) 4410

8. (8) Robin Soderling (SWE) 3410

9. (9) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 3300

10. (10) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 2875

11. (11) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 2870

12. (12) Radek Stepanek (CZE) 2625

13. (13) Gael Monfils (FRA) 2610

14. (14) Marin Cilic (CRO) 2430

15. (15) Gilles Simon (FRA) 2275

16. (16) Tommy Robredo (ESP) 2175

17. (18) David Ferrer (ESP) 1870

18. (17) Tommy Haas (GER) 1855

19. (19) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 1690

20. (20) Tomas Berdych (CZE) 1655

Women's world rankings

MIAMI: Women's tennis world rankings on Monday (previous week's rankings in brackets):

1. (1) Serena Williams (USA) 9075 points

2. (2) Dinara Safina (RUS) 7800

3. (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 6141

4. (4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 5875

5. (5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 5585

6. (6) Venus Williams (USA) 5126

7. (7) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 4820

8. (8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 3965

9. (9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 3560

10. (10) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 3450

11. (11) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 3415

12. (12) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 3150

13. (13) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 3045

14. (14) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 2820

15. (15) Li Na (CHN) 2541

16. (16) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 2385

17. (17) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 2375

18. (18) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 2340

19. (19) Virginie Razzano (FRA) 2300

20. (20) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 2220

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool's final Champions League game of the season against Fiorentina on Wednesday might now be meaningless but at least Rafa Benitez's side goes into the contest boosted by the news that Javier Mascherano (pictured) is poised to pledge his long-term future to the club.

It promises to be a subdued atmosphere at Anfield to say the least considering Liverpool have failed to qualify for the knock-out stages following some woeful form throughout their Group E campaign.

Yet the mood will be lifted slightly in the wake of Mascherano's decision to discuss a new and improved contract with the Premier League club.

The Argentina midfielder had been hoping to secure a 30 million-pound ($49 million) switch to Barcelona in the transfer window after becoming disillusioned at Anfield.

But Benitez has held long talks with the former West Ham United player and has revealed he wants to now stay at the club and sign an extension to his current deal, which runs out in 2011.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

KIEV: Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev are targeting a win and nothing else in their last Champions League Group F match with reigning European champions Barcelona.

Dynamo are bottom of the table and need nothing less than a win over the Spanish champions to move into the knockout phase of European club football's most prestigious competition.

"The match with Barcelona will be the match of the year for us," Dynamo manager Valery Gazzaev said.

"We are set to play the match at our best. We are going to give all we have to win it and continue playing in the European Cup. A win is the only suitable result for us."

Dynamo striker Andrei Yarmolenko said: "We are all preparing for Wednesday's match as if it was our last match.

"We all understand how important the win is in this showdown."

But worringly for Dynamo, Pep Guardiola's Barca side has slipped into top form in recent weeks, defeating Inter Milan 2-0 in their last Champions League match and edging domestic rivals Real in the first 'Clasico' of the season.

"This is the biggest game of our season so far and it will define the rest of our season," said Guardiola after his side's 3-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

MILAN, Italy: It may seem unlikely given Jose Mourinho won the Serie A title in his first season in Italy and Inter lead the standings by four points but Wednesday's Champions League clash at home to Rubin Kazan could be the Portuguese coach's last in the competition for the Italians.

If press rumors are to be believed, Inter must qualify for the competition's knockout stages or the former Porto and Chelsea boss will not be given another crack at this competition.

Inter are in pole position to qualify, sitting second in Group F and playing at home in the San Siro.

However, the situation is precarious for both teams, not least because only a victory would guarantee either a place in the last 16.

They are level on six points, two behind Barcelona and one ahead of Dynamo Kiev, having drawn 1-1 when they met in Tatarstan earlier in the competition.

If Dynamo beat Barcelona at home then only a victory could see either Inter or Rubin qualify but if Dynamo fail to win there are several permutations.

A draw of at least 2-2 would then see Rubin through on the away goals rule while 0-0 would see Inter favored for the same reason.

But a 1-1 draw would mean Inter qualify on goals scored - both teams have the same goal difference but the Italians have found the net once more than the Russians.

It means it is risky business for both and should ensure an attacking game in which two teams come to win.

Anything other than a victory could spell the end for Mourinho, according to Inter legend Sandro Mazzola, a striker for the club from 1960-1977.

"If Inter are knocked out after the match against Rubin Kazan, Jose Mourinho will go at the end of the year," he told Italian radio.

"If the Inter coach doesn't win the Champions League and goes out in this way, he himself will go and get a mutual resolution to his contract.

"It would be different, though, if they were to not win it by losing the final to Manchester United or Barcelona."

Mourniho was brought to the club at the beginning of last season after Roberto Mancini was sacked despite winning three Serie A titles in a row.

He paid for his failure in Europe and Mourinho's first campaign ended in the second round.

A failure to even reach that stage would be a disaster.

And it is not just Inter's lack of progress which is a problem for Mourinho, so too are their general results.

They have won only three out of 13 Champions League matches under his guidance and have not won at home in the competition in four matches, dating back to a 1-0 success against Cypriot minnows Anorthosis Famagusta in October last year.

Coming off the back of their 2-1 defeat to Juventus in Turin on Saturday, a second major disappointment in a row might be too much for the Inter hierarchy to bear.

And Rubin are no strangers to getting results against Europe's powerhouses.

They have already won 2-1 in the Camp Nou, a stadium where Inter were outplayed and beaten 2-0.

Rubin have also remained unbeaten at home in this competition and speaking to the official Champions League magazine the club's players revealed their Catalonia success was planned down to the last detail by enigmatic coach Kurban Berdyev, a deeply-religious Turkmenistan-born Muslim who relentlessly fiddles with his prayer beads during matches.

They arrived in Barcelona with the express intention of shooting from distance to exploit Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes's propensity to stand off his line and to hit their hosts on the counter-attack.

The first tactic served up the opening goal and the second produced their winner.

Berdyev no doubt already has a plan in mind to bring down Inter, which inadvertently might see him also bring down the curtain on Mourinho's stay in Milan.

AFP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page23)

CAPE TOWN: The World Cup draw has handed varied fortunes to the top teams, not only in the strength of their opponents, but in how many games they have to play at energy sapping high altitude in South Africa.

Many of the 2010 World Cup venues are in thinner air, especially in the high veldt around Johannesburg and Pretoria, where coaches are concerned their teams will be at a disadvantage unless they are properly acclimatized in pre-tournament training.

From this standpoint, Argentina seem to have fared the worst of the top seeds, playing all three of their group stage games at high altitude in Johannesburg and Polokwane, in the north. In contrast, England, Germany and the Netherlands have two games each on the coast and only one at altitude in the group stage.

The bookies' favorites, Spain and Brazil, both have two games at altitude and one on the coast, as do former champions France, considered the most dangerous floaters. But Portugal, who could also upset the seeds, have drawn the best altitude card, with their first-round matches in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Durban, meaning they will not face the altitude until the second round, if they go through.

Champions Italy, who got what is considered one of the easiest groups, have one match on the coast and one in Johannesburg at high altitude.

Their third match is at Nelspruit, at 600 meters in the low veldt, giving them another advantage.

Italy did not make it out of the group stage in last June's Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, and coach Marcello Lippi said they were not properly acclimatized for the high-altitude games.

"Altitude is not a problem. Last summer, it was, because we were not prepared but this time we will be prepared," he said.

World Cup coaches are expected to put their teams through extensive training at altitude ahead of the tournament, including friendly matches in high countries. Many are also expected to pick training camps in the high veldt once they arrive in South Africa.

AFP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page22)

The nine South African cities hosting the World Cup often have two names ?one reflecting the diversity of the nation's African languages, the other inherited from its white-dominated history. Even more confusing, stadiums can have names completely different from the host cities. Here's a guide to the nation's varied signposts:

PORT ELIZABETH/NELSON MANDELA BAY

Port Elizabeth was named for the British wife of the man who founded the southern city. Nelson Mandela Bay is the name of the metro area that includes the city known popularly as PE.

The change was made in 2000, to honor South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela.

The stadium is called Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

DURBAN/eTHEKWINI

The eastern city of Durban, Africa's busiest port, was named after a British colonial governor. The metro area is called eThekwini, which means "near the harbor" in Zulu, according to local authorities. But in 2007 the mayor said the name means "bull testicle" - intended to describe the shape of the city's harbor.

The Moses Mabhida Stadium is named after a former secretary general of the South African Communist Party.

POLOKWANE/PIETERSBURG

Polokwane is a Sotho word meaning "Place of safety", which in 2003 replaced the previous name of Pietersburg. The northern city had been named after Piet Joubert, an Afrikaaner general who battled the British.

Peter Mokaba Stadium bears the name of an anti-apartheid activist.

NELSPRUIT/MBOMBELA

In Swati, Mbombela means "a lot of people together in a small space". The metro area was dubbed Mbombela in 2000 and the city followed suit in August.

The stadium has also taken the name but to avoid too much confusion over the change the city is still being called Nelspruit through the World Cup. In Afrikaans, Nelspruit means "Nel's stream", after a white family that settled in the region.

PRETORIA/TSHWANE

The capital Pretoria became part of the Tshwane metro area in 2000. The new name is a Tswana word with multiple translations. Local authorities want the city of Pretoria, named after the Afrikaans General Andries Pretorius, to also make the switch.

The Loftus Versfeld Stadium honors Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, who developed the city's sports facilities.

BLOEMFONTEIN/MANGAUNG

Bloemfontein, "Fountain of flowers" in Afrikaans, is the city, but since 2000 the metro area has been Mangaung, or "Land of cheetahs" in Sotho.

The Free State Stadium refers to the former Afrikaner Orange Free State. Bloemfontein is capital of the central Free State province.

RUSTENBURG

Rustenburg, located north-west of Johannesburg, means "Town of rest" in Afrikaans.

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium sits on land within the Bafokeng nation, a traditional kingdom that manages several of South Africa's platinum mines.

CAPE TOWN

Cape Town lies on a peninsula reaching into the Atlantic Ocean at the Cape of Good Hope.

Green Point Stadium draws its name from the surrounding neighborhood, between the sea and the mountains.

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa's economic capital was probably named for a man called Johannes, whose identity was lost in the gold rush that gave birth to the city in the late 1800s.

The new Soccer City stadium is the biggest in South Africa, with nearly 95,000 seats. The complex also hosts the headquarters of the South African Football Association.

Ellis Park Stadium hosted the Rugby World Cup final in 1995, an event Nelson Mandela used to unite whites and blacks behind a sport once the domain of the country's apartheid rulers.

AFP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page22)

CAPE TOWN: An estimated one million World Cup tickets were made available on Saturday in the latest phase of sales for the 2010 finals amid fears not enough tickets were being bought by the South African hosts because of the cost.

About 90 percent of the previously available tickets have been sold but FIFA and local organizers are having to implement an aggressive marketing campaign to entice more sales to locals.

South African residents have bought just over half of the 674,403 tickets already sold in the first two phases of sales, soccer's governing body said.

The slower pace of sales in South Africa contrasts with the demand for the last finals in Germany, where an average of six applications were received for each available ticket.

South Africa 2010 chief executive officer Danny Jordaan said his compatriots had a habit of buying tickets for sports events at the last minute, though prices have been set much higher than those normally paid by South African fans.

The cheapest World Cup ticket is US$20 while to attend local premier league matches costs about US$3.

The tickets released on Saturday would be made available through a random ballot with international fans applying though the Internet, while locals could make applications at bank branches. Applications close on Jan 22.

There are two further phases of ticket sales in early 2010.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page22)

Though China's national team failed to qualify for 2010 World Cup finals, fans have still been blessed with top-class tickets for the grand soccer gala in South Africa next summer, according to local ticket agents.

Apart from supporters applying for the tickets on FIFA's official website, China's authorized agents have already booked more than 1,500 tickets. They include 700 VIP seats for all 23 matches in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban - including the final, and 800 tickets for matches involving soccer heavyweights such as Italy, Germany, Spain and Argentina. They are planning to apply for more to meet growing demand.

"They (fans) have kept calling after Friday's draw. We talked to FIFA and it has promised to allocate (China) more VIP tickets in those three stadiums as well as in other cities," said Feng Tao, general director of Hejun Sports Management, the exclusive agent for VIP tickets in the mainland.

Feng said he expected about 30 Chinese, on average, to appear in the box seats or top-class seats for each game held in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban

"Chinese fans are not used to booking tickets in advance but we have confidence in the market," Feng told China Daily yesterday.

Those fans searching for cheaper tickets can go for the 800 on sale for group and elimination games. Those games will not only involve soccer mega-sides such as defending champions Italy, three-time winners Germany, two-time winners Argentina, FIFA's No 1-ranked team Spain and two-time finalists the Netherlands but also China's neighbors - the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, according to Wang Kuang, the program manager for World Cup tickets at China Sports Event Management Group (CSEMG), another ticket agent.

Wang said his company would also apply for more tickets involving teams such as Brazil and England.

"Actually, we have been allocated 4,000 tickets by FIFA. For the rest of the quota we are going to apply for tickets for Brazil and England as they have a lot of supporters here," Wang said. "A lot of fans have called to ask if we have tickets for any of Brazil's matches and say they are willing to buy them no matter what the price.

"As a country which does not have its own team at the finals, it is already a big quota we have been alloted. I am sure China's growing market has not escaped FIFA's notice. "

CSEMG says one or more tickets will be included in an eight-day travel package.

The price for the trip with one group match ticket is expected to be about 40,000 yuan ($5,800) while a package including tickets to the Cup final on July 11 costs 56,000 yuan ($8,100).

Only a few hundred Chinese fans went to Germany in 2006 to watch those World Cup finals while more than 10,000 fans went to the ROK and Japan finals in 2002 to witness China's only appearance at the Cup.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page22)

PHILADELPHIA: The AI Show took center stage again in Philly.

And the early returns have Philadelphia 76ers fans in love with the revival as much as the original.

All Allen Iverson needs to do now is help the Sixers win. Iverson scored 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting and had six assists in Philadelphia's 10th straight loss, 93-83 to Denver on Monday night.

"I had chill-bumps running all through my body the whole game," Iverson said. "It just felt good to be back."

Iverson took a familiar route to the Wachovia Center for his first game since returning to the Sixers last week. He pulled into the players' parking lot at 5:55 pm, waving to fans who waited in the cold for a glimpse of one of the most polarizing athletes in Philadelphia's deep sports history.

He hit the court for warmups to the sound of fans screaming his name and holding "Welcome Home" signs. He took passes from his former 76ers backcourt teammate Aaron McKie, now an assistant coach.

He sank shot after shot to the delight of the crowd and broke out in a wide smile as they erupted in cheers. "That was the best part of the night, just hearing these people's voices all over again," Iverson said.

Iverson was edited out of highlights and banished from the team in the week leading up to his acrimonious 2006 trade to Denver. Moreover, he got his own greatest hits montage on Monday and a sellout crowd of 20,664 stood and roared in approval.

There was an NBA finals electricity in the arena for a team that hasn't won a playoff series since 2003 and was 29th in attendance. The Sixers averaged a measly 11,965 fans in their first eight home games.

But Iverson received a standing ovation when he left in the fourth quarter.

He was introduced fourth, bowed and kissed the logo at midcourt, then joined his teammates for a little dance. Iverson gave a friendly point to former coach George Karl and hugged ex-teammate Carmelo Anthony.

He missed his first shot, a layup early in the first quarter.

"I did the best I could," Iverson said. "My heart said yes but my body said no. My legs were weak, my arms were weak."

Iverson has time to work his way back into shape. Coach Eddie Jordan said Iverson may start the rest of the season for the struggling Sixers.

"I feel like I am home," Iverson said. "Just seeing people I'm accustomed to seeing, seeing the reporters, seeing some of the fans when I go out to eat. Just the smell of Philadelphia when I go outside."

Iverson's not sure how many minutes he can play because of his limited basketball activity over the past year. His stint in Detroit was cut short because of a back injury and he played only three games for Memphis this season.

Iverson played 37 minutes but has some concerns about playing in game condition.

"If I can't get my scoring on like I want to, I just want to do other things on the basketball court that will help us win," Iverson said.

AP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page24)

GREEN BAY, Wis: A month ago, the Green Bay Packers were worried their season was slipping away.

Now they've won four straight after beating the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

Yes, Monday's 27-14 win was monumentally ugly. But that didn't matter afterward, because the Packers are suddenly sitting pretty in the playoff race.

"It wasn't pretty out there but a win is a win," Packers wide receiver Donald Driver said. "We had to get this one to stay ahead in the playoff race."

While the Packers (8-4) are in good position to earn an NFC wild-card berth, Monday's win showed they still have some work to do to be taken seriously once they make it to the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, including two to tight end Jermichael Finley. Moreover, Rodgers also had a pair of interceptions, two of the combined seven turnovers in the game.

The teams also commited 23 penalties for 310 yards, tying for the second-highest yardage total in an NFL game.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy called the penalties "unbelievable for both sides" but said he was happy with the way his team responded to trying circumstances - something it hadn't done well early in the season.

"I'll say this about our football team: I was very proud and excited by the way they overcame the adversity," McCarthy said.

The Ravens (6-6) struggled in coverage without star safety Ed Reed, who sat out with hip and ankle injuries.

But Ravens coach John Harbaugh insisted his team is "still breathing" in the playoff race.

AP

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page24)

Dutch soccer legend Ruud Gullit said he would consider a coaching job in China.

"It is a possibility. I will keep that open," said Gullit, the former World Player of the Year, during a visit to China on Monday.

The 47-year-old was in Shanghai as an ambassador for Harbin Beer, a brewery based in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, which is now part of the world's largest brewing company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the official beer partner of the 2010 World Cup.

Before his current visit, the Dutchman was reportedly linked to coaching a Chinese team - possibly in Shanghai.

However, he dismissed the reports.

"I have never been approached to coach in China," said Gullit. "I have not been asked before, so I cannot tell you what I should or what I could do. You can only react when you have some offers in front of you and you think about them."

Amid cheers from fans during Monday's visit, Gullit, who says he is still in good shape, said: "To be an 'ambassador' gives me a close feeling with Chinese fans. I know there are lots of them who love me and the Dutch team.

"My first visit to China was in 1995 when I played for Sampdoria against the Chinese team. There were so many crazy fans in China and we lost the game."

Gullit boasts a great number of Chinese fans thanks to his glittering career alongside compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard at AC Milan in the late 1980s. He was considered one the greatest players of that decade and the early '90s as he helped AC Milan win three Italian Serie A titles and two Champions League trophies. He was also a key player in the Netherlands' 1988 European Championships victory.

When asked who among that famous Dutch trio could drink the most, Gullit laughed and said: "Marco can eat a lot and also drink a lot and, most importantly, he is able to keep skinny. I really envy him," said Gullit. "I cannot. If I drink two bottles of beer my stomach becomes fat and I cannot even do up the buttons on my shirt."

Gullit said his life is destined to always be intertwined with soccer.

"I have always been involved in the game. Like now, what I am doing in China is about soccer. I am also helping to promote Holland's bid for 2018 or 2022 World Cup. That is soccer. I was also the TV host for Sky. That is also soccer. So everything in my life has something to do with soccer ... and I'm very grateful for it.

"And maybe I will come back (to the game) as a coach again some day."

Gullit last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in US Major League Soccer. He took over that job in Nov 2007 and resigned last year.

Strong hope

As for the coming World Cup finals, Gullit is expecting a final showdown between his home side and five-time champions Brazil after the draw was made on Friday.

The Netherlands face Japan, Cameroon and Denmark in Group E. Their opening match is on June 14 against Denmark in Johannesburg. If they advance to the second round, they will face a team from Group F, which features reigning champions Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.

"We are a small country but we have won the European Championships and we have also made it to the final of the World Cup twice. That's a very good achievement," said the former national captain. "Hopefully, we can be in the final in South Africa and play against Brazil.

"It's something that you hope for. You know I don't have a crystal ball but the thing is you hope that one day you will win the World Cup. They have already done very well at previous World Cups and that always gives us hope ... I am very proud of my country."

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page24)

Wang Guohong stands on an 8-m-long bamboo pole as it floats down the river.

He clutches another shorter pole, about 5-m-long, with both hands.

The 42-year-old lifts one foot and thrusts forward. For a moment, his body is parallel to the floating bamboo, and he looks like "a swallow slightly touching the water's surface", as the move is termed.

Wang's friends, who watch from an islet in the river, taunt him: "You're too old. You can't hold the position for three seconds."

The middle-aged man may not have the agile body of a teenager. But he has the best balance of the bunch.

As coach of this unique sport called "single-bamboo-pole rafting", he leads a ragtag team of fishermen, construction workers and teachers in preserving a tradition that's almost 300 years old.

Chishui River has been a transportation route for 2,000 years. Bamboo was used to make rafts or was sent drifting downstream for sale.

The 500-km-long river originates in Yunnan province, but it's not suitable for shipping until the tri-province area of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. The waterway empties into the Yangtze River.

In the old days, boatmen had to maneuver the treacherous bends and rapids.

When poles drifted away from the bundle, they had to pull them back or they would pay for the loss. In this line of work, they developed the nimbleness needed to stand on a single pole, using it like a canoe.

This tradition was lost until the 1960s-70s, when it found a most unusual source of revival.

The local government, for the nominal purposes of celebrating Chairman Mao Zedong's swimming of the Yangtze River and preparing to "liberate Taiwan", encouraged the activity as a sport.

It has since been preserved, but fewer than 100 people have mastered it. That's because modern roads have replaced the watercourse as a transport route for bamboo.

And "single-pole-rafting" has yet to receive central government recognition as either a sport or an acrobatic performance. But that hasn't deterred Wang Guohong and his friends from practicing.

Over a stretch of water in Chishui city, which is named after the river, they execute formations like a marching band, with beautiful Chen Xuemei in the lead and all the men following in two columns, or forming a conga line.

They also perform several stunts, such as doing the splits and jumping onto one another's poles. The fun is contagious. There are always big laughs when someone falls off a pole and into the current.

Each practice session lasts 10 to 15 minutes, Wang says, because it strains both your upper body and your legs.

"It's almost like working on a balancing beam while it moves," he says.

But there's a secret: Big poles, which range from 15 to 24 cm in diameter, usually have a slight curve. Finding the lowest point in the middle makes it easy to keep balance.

Unlike the beam or the tightrope, a bamboo pole can roll, which requires constant adjustment of the feet.

Fun is what Wang and his teammates crave. There is no money to be made from the activity, even though a local team won a gold prize at a 1999 national ethnic minority tournament.

But bamboo has been good for the people of Chishui. About half of the city's wooded area, or 70,000 hectares, are covered with the plant.

Because bamboo is a highly renewable resource - one of the species grows 1 m a day - an annual harvest of 4 million poles has made it a major industry.

"Some families rent 150 to 200 hectares and earn more than 100,000 yuan ($14,630) a year," city official Zeng Qiang says.

Xinyu Bamboo Company employs 300 people and brings in annual revenues totaling some 100 million yuan.

Its bamboo products include the mundane (chopsticks and cutting boards), the unusual (floor panels and furniture) and the fancy (bamboo books that recall the pre-paper era of Confucius and ancient classics).

And guess what? Bamboo can now be processed into paper.

"Don't worry about cracking or rotting. Our products are sold all across the country and even to India, Poland, South Korea and Japan. We have squeezed all liquid and sugar from the bamboo," manager Li Xianhong explains.

According to Li, Xinyu has six product lines featuring 250 products. It uses 0.8 million to 1 million bamboo poles a year, putting a total of 12 million yuan into farmers' pockets.

That's something Li Litai could have been proud of.

Li was a Fujian native who went to Guizhou in 1755 as a migrant worker. He made some money, bought a house and some land, married and settled down.

In 1769, he went back to his hometown to persuade his mother to move with him to mountainous Guizhou. But she didn't want to leave.

As a souvenir, Li dug up four local bamboo seedlings and carried them with him on his way back - a way of remembering each of his siblings.

Three of the seedlings survived the 4,000-km odyssey. He planted them in his backyard, and pretty soon his house was surrounded by bamboo groves.

Realizing the benefits offered by this species, called nanzhu, villagers came for seedlings, which Li generously gave away. Decades later, whole mountains were covered with nanzhu bamboo. Today, 20,000 hectares of this giant bamboo grows where Li used to live.

Chishui, as a city, is the second largest grower of bamboo, right after all of Fujian province, Li's hometown. Today, Chishui people consider Li "the father of nanzhu bamboo".

Back at the river, Wang Guohong is walking back and forth on a pole as if it were a dancing rope. Sometimes he is ankle-deep or knee-deep in water, but the poles (the smaller one in his hands) are like his magic wand. They enable him to wow a la "bathing beauty".

Chinese call a wide expanse of bamboo "the bamboo sea". It sways in the wind, evoking an infinite variety of poetic moods. Even submerged in water, bamboo can sway and hold you steady.

It has an outward pliancy and a hidden tenacity that reflects the people who grow it and are now supported by it.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page19)

Zhang defines her 'good man'

Zhang Ziyi (pictured) showed up at the Pure Attraction, People of the Year Award Ceremony, last Friday, at the National Indoor Stadium, and gave the "People of the Year" prize to actor Sun Honglei.

"I think a good man means being a good husband at home, being a good worker in the office, being a good father, and being a good leader in the company. That is enough," Zhang said after presenting the prize.

She was astonished when the host Chen Chen asked her: "Does your man meet your requirements?"

But Zhang quickly kicked the question back: "Which one do you mean?"

The awards ceremony was held by male fashion magazine, Bazaar Men's Style. It chose business leaders who were also stylish.

Chen, host of Shanghai Dragon TV, compared the attendees to those who received an Ark ticket in the blockbuster 2012. "They could either pay the 1 billion ticket, or were elites," she joked.

Besides Sun Honglei, the awards also went to Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, presidents of Huayi Brothers; Shi Yuzhu, billionaire software engineer; and Fan Di'an, head of National Ar t Museum of China.

Cruz keeps feet on ground

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz almost "passed out" with shock at the Oscars and has no recollection of what happened at the prestigious award ceremony.

The Spanish actress - who won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award earlier this year for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona - has revealed she has no recollection of the evening because she felt faint with tension.

She explained: "I feel frustrated that I can't remember, because it was beautiful how your family and your people can feel so happy for you. I felt I was on the border of passing out from tension. That I can remember very well."

However, the brunette beauty can recall tucking into 300 canapes, crying for half an hour and being confused about what was going on.

She explained to Britaint's The Times newspaper: "I remember thinking, 'What am I doing here? How did this happen?'"

Despite her glowing movie career, the 35-year-old starlet still has problems with her self-esteem.

She explained: "I don't want to like myself too much in my work, because if the camera sees that, it's the thing it will hate the most, seeing an actor that likes himself too much.

"I have always been very self-critical. It's one of those things I don't feel I should try to change. I think you need that to keep growing and improving."

Spears back in control

Britney Spears (pictured) is set to regain control of her affairs from her father Jamie now her Circus tour has ended.

The 28-year-old singer's father Jamie Spears - who was made co-conservator of her personal and professional affairs after her public breakdown in 2008 - has met with lawyers and wants a judge to review the conditions of the agreement now Britney's Circus tour has ended.

According to gossip website TMZ, there have been "several lengthy meetings recently between the lawyers and the court commissioner in the commissioner's chambers".

Although they've met with the judge, Jamie and Britney's lawyers cannot decide whether or not the conservatorship ends.

Instead, a "capacity expert" - a court-appointed psychiatrist - will evaluate Britney and submit his results to the court commissioner.

While Britney could soon be in control of her personal life, her business interests are likely to be protected for longer.

TMZ reported: "There are actually two conservatorships - one over Britney, the person, and the other over Britney's business affairs. We're told the business conservatorship will likely continue. The issue on the table is whether to end the conservatorship over Britney, the person. Again, no decisions have been made, but it's all moving in that direction."

China Daily/Agencies

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page18)

"Mrs M" didn't expect to have an affair when she was temporarily transferred to another office. But the married office worker in her late 30s fell in love with her supervisor, who is in his 40s and also married. She wanted a long-term relationship, without divorcing her husband, while her lover insisted on ending the affair.

Ms M called marriage counselor Wang Ling, who helped her understand the risks of divorce and its impact on her children. Wang proposed she regard the relationship as a sweet memory and keep her family, but said it was her choice.

China has seen a rise in divorces and extramarital affairs. Beijing Haidian District Court registered more than 2,700 divorce cases, from January to October. Three fifths of these couples have a university education, a decent job and income. More than half of them are divorcing because of marital infidelity, and about 70 percent of the guilty parties are men.

Chongqing municipality records show that 1,000 divorces in the third quarter of this year - nearly 43 percent of the total registered cases - were the result of affairs. Local civil affairs officials said it is a high ratio, since there are usually just a few hundred cases.

Discussion about affairs has been fueled by the hit TV series Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju) that revolves around the Guo sisters striving for a better life in a metropolis, resembling Shanghai. Elder sister Haiping takes three part-time jobs to raise the down payment for an apartment. Haizao, the younger one, steps in to help by borrowing money from Song Siming, a married official in the city mayor's office. In return, she becomes his mistress and falls in love with him.

Netizens have mixed opinions on women having a liaison with a powerful, senior man. On xinhuanet.com's forum, for instance, a netizen named "Shiwenwen" expresses sympathy for Haizao sacrificing her own happiness for her sister's house dream. Other comments accuse women of being gold diggers.

Pan Xulin, from Beijing, says the drama also puts the spotlight on marital crises among middle-aged couples.

Pan has a friend who is having an extramarital affair with a married woman. This friend speculates his wife knows of his betrayal and is also having an affair. Neither of them are considering a divorce and are content with the situation.

"If it happened 10 years ago, they would have been subject to severe moral criticism. But today, it's hard to tell whether their affair is right or wrong. Many people seem to take such things for granted," he says.

Pan adds the older generation believes in faithfulness, while youths are more likely to cheat on each other.

Wang Ling has been working at Beijing Maple Women's Psychological Counseling Center for 10 years. She says the center is receiving more calls about extramarital affairs than a decade ago.

"People today do not recognize marital transgressions as a major moral violation. They show more tolerance of affairs because social values are more diversified. People are bolder about expressing their love and desire," she says.

She attributed the phenomenon of more "xiao san" ("small third person") relationships, or marital affairs, to the increased need for instant self-satisfaction, caused by the market-driven economy.

"As for people in their 40s and 50s, they are easily tempted by an exciting extramarital relationship to compensate for their empty married life, and to prove they are still attractive," she says.

But this attitude can cause problems, sociologists and legal experts say.

Liu Jinyang, a psychological counselor from Henan provincial women's association, says extramarital affairs can lead to domestic violence, particularly mental abuse, and have a deleterious effect on children. They may have distorted family values and encounter the same marital problems as their parents'.

She says it is important for Chinese youths to understand the truth about marriage and family, rather than learn about it from TV shows and online.

"Married couples should realize that it's natural to have marital problems. They need to seek psychological support first, rather than have an extramarital affair," she says. "Only after that, can they upgrade their marriage and love to a new level."

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page18)

A popular TV series that focuses on rising property prices has been controversially taken off air.

Beijing Television stopped broadcasting Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju) from Nov 22, though other TV stations, such as Dragon TV based in Shanghai did not.

According to a report in the Oriental Morning Post, Jin Wenxiong, an official from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), said the government had not ordered the show to be stopped.

"I know the TV series raised lots of discussion online. But no detailed regulations have been issued by SARFT," Jin was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Meanwhile, Ma Ke, the producer of the show, said: "It is inconvenient to give any information and comments about the show".

"All the sensitive topics presented in the show are real and understandable," says a fan of the show Zhao Ye, a 52-year-old Shenyang native. According to youku.com, a popular video sharing website in China, the daily number of clicks for the TV series reached 15 million - and the number keeps on rising.

Adapted from best-selling writer Liu Liu's novel of the same name, the TV series started airing in July and has had sky-high ratings.

Before watching the show, Zhao Ye read the novel and says the writer, who also scripted the show, makes sharp observations about issues close to readers' lives.

Fans say the television series captures the frustrations and unhappiness they face trying to buy a home.

Li Shibo, a 28-year-old office worker and a fan of the show, says he loves Dwelling Narrowness because of its plots - cruel, gloomy but true to life.

"Audiences love the series, even though it is controversial, either because of the style of the scripts or the sensitive topic of rocketing property prices, corruption and mistresses," says the Beijing native.

He also points out soaring property prices have given rise to other social problems in fast-changing China, especially the gap between the rich and the poor. The high housing prices have even triggered the discussion of moral standards, as one of the series' characters, the younger sister Haizao, has an affair with a corrupt official who can buy a house easily.

"I have heard and witnessed many similar stories in real life," Li says, "such as young engaged couples who are forced to separate because they don't have money to buy a home; couples fighting over the house because they don't have enough money; and young women leaving their poor boyfriends for rich married men."

Several years ago, mainland Internet users adopted the term "mortgage slave" to describe young couples who are forced to spend most of their income on paying off their hefty mortgage. Now, within a short time, most young people in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou cannot even afford to become mortgage slaves.

"Dwelling Narrowness caters to different social strata of house buyers and reflects the reality," says Shao Qi, a professor from the Television and Film Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "Audiences share the same anxieties, dilemmas and thoughts about the moral issues involved."

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page18)

LONDON: Reviled by the public and spurned in private, bankers have been looking for solace in adultery, according to a dating website for people seeking affairs.

IllicitEncounters.com said it has seen a huge increase in the number of financial workers signing up to have affairs after the collapse of the markets in October last year, and that "finance" continued to be one of the most represented professional areas on the site.

The website said in a statement that it has over 380,000 members across Britain of which more than 20,000 work in "financial services" and said it surveyed over 600 men and women bankers to compile a top 10 list of reasons why they embarked on extramarital affairs.

The list shows that public revulsion for bankers combined with a lack of affection in private, were the top reasons for having an affair, followed closely by the excitement of doing something risky, escaping boredom, feeding the ego and one-upping the boys with a trophy mistress.

"We were surprised at the honesty of some responses," IllicitEncounters representative Sara Hartley said of the replies, which also showed that long work hours and commuting left many bankers with very little time at home for romance.

"The more time they spend away from home, the less time they have to rekindle that spark."

A common reply from male respondents had to do with boosting egos and giving in to the peer pressure of having a mistress for the sake of status.

"Where I work, many of the tops (sic) dogs are open about their affairs," the website quoted "member 23*56" as saying in its statement. "Having a mistress is like having a flash car."

A list of the top 10 reasons bankers gave for having affairs follows:

1. To feel loved

2. For the thrill

3. Unstable home life

4. To escape the mundane

5. Ego boost

6. To avoid costly divorce

7. To lavish attention on someone

8. Because they feel entitled

9. Because they can/opportunity

10. Peer pressure

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page18)

A recently-concluded 33-episode TV series titled Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju, which literally means "snail home") has become the talk of the town. The hit TV series centers on two sisters' struggles in a fictional metropolis modeled on Shanghai. Guo Haiping is obsessed with buying a house of her own, and her younger sister Haizao tries to help her by becoming a government official's mistress.

It strikes a chord with viewers by putting several sensitive issues under the spotlight. Of these, soaring housing prices triggers the most passion. Many sympathize with Guo Haiping's monologue:

"Each night I sit at the window and stare into the street lights. I cannot help but marvel at the various lives people live in this wonderful metropolis.

"I don't know about others. But for me, every morning when I wake up, a cluster of numbers pops up in my mind: 6,000 yuan ($880) for mortgage, 2,500 yuan for daily expenses, 1,500 yuan for my daughter's kindergarten, 600 yuan for socializing, 580 yuan for transportation, 300 yuan for property management, and 200 yuan for water, electricity and gas.

"The numbers force me to battle on and leave me no time to think about the future. Actually, I have no future. My future is the present. "

Scriptwriter Liu Liu says anyone like Guo Haiping, who occupies a small office cubicle, gobbles inexpensive lunches, relies on public transportation, and tightens her belt to pay the mortgage, will find traces of her life reflected in the TV series.

The multitude of online comments confirms how resonant this situation is. For instance, a netizen writes in the Tianya online forum: "I have heard and seen too many similar stories in real life: Young lovers break up because they cannot afford an apartment; married couples quarrel and fight over their limited daily expenses; and young women leave their poor boyfriends for rich married men."

An ongoing survey by portal Sina.com shows that 73 percent of the 27,602 people polled see the series as an accurate reflection of reality, and 61 percent find the portrayal of "house slaves" to be authentic.

"House slaves" (fang nu) refer to those who lead an extremely frugal life in order to pay off their mortgage, as in Guo Haiping's case, surviving on boiled noodles seasoned only with salt.

According to a survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the top three reasons the Chinese save are: to pay for their children's education, to prepare for their retirement, and to buy a house.

The desire to own a house is deeply rooted in the Chinese psyche. For many, living in a rented house doesn't give the same sense of security and happiness.

But skyrocketing house prices have been hitting urban dwellers hard, especially in big cities. A small apartment can quickly drain the savings of a dual-income family and, sometimes, even those of their parents.

Says director Teng Huatao: "A house represents all the material temptations for which people come to big cities".

"In the series, I wanted to establish a fundamental value, that the betterment of life can be realized only through arduous efforts."

Businessman Han Gang owns a house in downtown Shanghai, but never calls it his home. "I have paid too much for it," he says. "[It has come] at the cost of my love."

Five years ago, Han graduated from college and landed a job at the same company as his girlfriend Dong Jun. They concealed the fact they were lovers, because company rules did not permit the employment of a couple.

To make more money, Han immersed himself in work and spent little time with Dong. In the meantime, Dong sensed the boss's affections for her.

She told Han about it and suggested they tell the boss about their relationship. Han said something to her then that he still regrets, although he is convinced he wasn't wrong.

"I work so hard, just to make enough money for a house and then marry you. Now that things are on the right track, why can't you be more patient?" he told Dong.

He didn't realize he had hurt her. She thought that all he cared about was money and the house. "But for me, marriage and house were inseparable," he explains. "I couldn't see myself marrying my loved one in a rented house."

Han became even busier with work, while Dong, disappointed with Han, fell in love with the boss. When Han finally had enough money for the down payment, Dong said yes to the boss's proposal.

Han left the company, started his own business, and bought his own house. All is smooth sailing now, except that he never feels at home, alone in his house.

Zhang Xiang and Li Wenjun, on the other hand, are quite happy to live in a rented house. In fact, they have been living in a rented one since they got married a year ago.

"Home is where love is; that is the most important thing," they say.

Zhang and Li got together when they were at college. When they decided to marry, they couldn't think of buying a house given their combined monthly income of 5,000 yuan.

They chose not to turn to their parents. "We felt that insisting on something that was beyond our abilities could not bring us any happiness," explains Zhang.

They say they may be poor but are content, and derive pleasure from their simple, everyday routines: going to work together in the morning, cooking together after work, taking a walk after dinner, cleaning up over the weekend and doing up their home themselves.

Li says she doesn't believe a woman's sense of security rests on owning a house. "It's definitely good if we have our own house. Since we don't, we see it as our goal and find happiness in its pursuit," she says.

"We made the choice of renting a house instead of buying one, because between a mere house and a substantial home, we prefer the latter," Zhang says.

Qin Lifang, 35, used to tell her friends, "If you believe you can be happy getting married in a rented house, then stick to it." That was until seven years ago when her landlady asked the couple to leave before the lease expired, despite knowing that Qin was pregnant.

In the beginning, Qin did not care much about owning a house, as long as she could live with the one she loved. That's why she got married and happily moved in with her husband into a 30 sq m unfurnished rented room.

But the incident seven years ago made her realize how important owning a house is, especially with a child on the way.

After weighing their options, the couple settled on an incomplete apartment. They expected to move in soon after the baby was born, but only made it three years later because the developer ran into money problems. The only saving grace was that the house price tripled during those three years.

Now Qin's son is a first-grader and her husband's business is developing steadily. She dreams of a bigger house, with a more spacious bedroom and a sun-drenched balcony.

She knows there is still a long way to go before paying off the mortgage. "But I hate this rootless feeling," she says. "For a comfortable haven in a city teeming with strangers and competitions, I am happy to be a house slave."

Xinmin Weekly and Commercial Times contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page20)

Recent reports about "ant people" - graduates who throng the suburbs of Beijing to eke out a living - has caught the attention of many and aroused much sympathy. The TV series Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju) is also a heated topic for discussion.

I sympathize deeply with these young people, though I believe parents who spend all their savings to buy apartments for their children are spoiling them. Each generation must go through hardship and make its own life.

Some 15 years ago, when I was doing post-graduate studies and my boyfriend was earning a monthly salary of just a few hundred yuan, the issue of finding a corner that belonged to us always hung like a leaden cloud over our hearts.

There was no privacy in the crowded dormitories, either on campus or in the State-run unit where he worked. I often had to beg his friendly female colleagues to shelter me for a night.

When we got married, we joined the endless queue of people waiting for an apartment from our units (dan wei), just like our parents had done decades ago.

We were hopelessly behind thousands of couples who had worked longer. Luckily, when a roommate moved out of my husband's dormitory, he left us the key to his 10 sq m room.

The joy of settling down in that tiny nest is beyond description. We happily bought a bed and a desk, then tucked the bookshelf and refrigerator in the balcony. We treated our friends with dishes cooked in the pulic kitchen. When I woke up at midnight and found a cockroah staring at me, and that only seemed to make our life more interesting.

From the day we first set foot in the nation's capital as students, we both knew that a huge meaty pie was never going to fall upon us out of the blue. For years we worked frantically into the night, doing translations and any odd jobs that came our way. From Bugs Bunny cartoons to Discovery documentaries, we racked our brains to find the most appropriate Chinese term, spending lavishly only on dictionaries at a time the Internet was still in its infancy.

A sudden disaster forced us to take a break. My husband fell ill and could hardly breathe. Tuberculosis filled his chest with some 2 liters of fluid.

In the three months that he stayed in hospital, he still did translations when his arm wasn't on an IV drip. After the initial panic subsided, I began to grow fond of the countryside view on the two-hour bus ride to the hospital.

Swallows nested below the eves and magpies called from their nests high up in the poplar trees. Where would we make our home? Should we toil all our lives for a snail's shell inside the city, I wondered.

Even before my husband fully recovered, we began hunting in the mushrooming real estate market. The cheapest projects then were priced at around 2,000 yuan per sq m, about one fifth that of the most expensive ones.

Our dream came true about eight years ago. Now we call an apartment in the southeastern suburbs our dear home. It is far from where either of us works, but we could afford it with a bank loan.

Today's "ant people" might not be so lucky, given the fierce competition in the job market, the end of the welfare housing policy in 1998, plus soaring housing prices.

But I believe, if one works hard, there will be a way out. And I salute those who don't rely on others to realize their dreams.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page20)

A first for comics

Fang Cheng, a veteran comics artist from Beijing, has recently donated five of his signature works to the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Bureau. The 91-year-old artist suggested Shanghai should build a museum for original comics and cartoon works, in 2007.

"Shanghai is the cradle of modern Chinese comics art. I am happy to become the first comics artist to donate works to the museum, the first of its kind in China," Fang said.

The Shanghai municipal government calls on society to denote more items to the Shanghai Museum of Comics and Cartoons, which will open next May in Pudong New District, coinciding with the Shanghai 2009 World Expo, said Zhang Zhijing, a cultural official in charge of the museum project.

Influenced by Western countries, modern Chinese comics and cartoon art began in the late 19th century in Shanghai, where the first comics magazines, newspapers and comics artists societies were created, said comics historian Zheng Huagai.

Conan comes back

The Raven Chaser, a movie based on popular Japanese detective manga series Detective Conan, will premiere in China in early February. It will be the first Conan movie to be screened in China, where the manga series and its TV cartoon adaptations have many fans.

Conan, a young detective inadvertently transformed into a child by poison, confronts a mysterious institution named the Black Organization, which puts him and everyone around him in danger.

The film will have two versions for theatrical release, in Japanese and Chinese. The film has raked in $39 million in two months since its premiere in Japan in April, making it the highest grossing film in the series. There are altogether 13 films based on the series. The films have been released in April every year since 1997.

Feast for the ears

French conductor Manfred Neuman and the China Youth Symphony Orchestra will open the 9th Central Conservatory Music Festival at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, on Friday.

In 10 days, the festival will present 22 concerts by Chinese and international musicians, including cellist Zhu Yibing, Hong Kong Wind Kamerata, Italian trumpeter Marco Pierobon, and the Texas Christian University Chamber Orchestra.

The concerts will be held in the conservatory and other venues such as the Beijing Concert Hall and Beijing Tianqiao Theater, where the festival will close on Dec 20 with the opera Eugen Onegin, performed by artists from both the Central Conservatory of Music and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

The Central Conservatory Music Festival was founded in 2001 and has been held annually since then.

Summer daze

China's largest private media group, Huayi Brothers, has joined forces with Fox International Productions (FIP) and Star Television Asia Limited (STAR) to release the romantic comedy Hot Summer Days (Quancheng Relian), which will premiere on Friday.

Set in Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the film consists of six intertwined love stories starring A-listers such as Daniel Wu and Vivian Hsu.

Veteran film maker Paul Cheng and fashion photographer Wing Shya co-direct the film. Huayi Brothers will distribute the film in the Chinese mainland and FIP outside it. STAR holds pay-TV rights throughout Asia, except for China.

China's film market is growing fast, with an annual 20 percent box office revenue increase over the past five years, which is making Hollywood conglomerates such as FOX and Disney speed up their cooperation with local companies. Huayi announced it would cooperate with Disney and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) to make a Chinese version of High School Musical last month.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page20)

Any restaurant in Guizhou, big or small, has a saltshaker on each table - just like in the rest of the country.

But a century ago, this was unthinkable. Salt was a precious commodity. It was not consumed in refined grains, but rather, in pebble-sized lumps. One would dip it into a dish and quickly withdraw, leaving a faint taste of brackishness.

The inland province of Guizhou does not produce any salt. Historical records show that even horses fell sick from a deficiency of salt. So, shipping salt to Guizhou was a big business, with much of the supplies coming from neighboring Sichuan. As Guizhou was landlocked, the Chishui River was a major route of transport.

Hauling this most basic of human essentials upstream - against the falling rapids and treacherous bends - were an army of boatmen known for their stark naked bodies, severely suntanned, and their vigorous and haunting chants.

"It's true the trackers who pulled the towropes did not wear any clothes," says Yuan Qiao, a local historian. "They had to constantly get into the water. It was not practical to wear anything."

By the 1980s, when this line of work was totally eliminated by steamboats, only a few photographers caught a glimpse of some who worked along China's mighty rivers. Some self-conscious ones posed with their clothes on. A few years ago, Yuan tried to recreate such a scene but he found to his chagrin that the young boatmen of this generation were so removed from the old lifestyle that they simply did not embody any of the authenticity he was looking for.

"Boatmen of the old generations were not just au naturel but totally natural about it. They would not evade women who happened to be doing the laundry at the riverside. Nor would the women turn away. Instead, they would add elements of love songs in their chants. It was the most beautiful sight, something we could not possibly recreate nowadays," says Yuan.

Life for the boatmen was hard. They had to be away from home a month at a time. They ate and slept on the boat. There were a lot of superstitions: Any word that sounded like "sink", "fall", or "drown" had to be avoided. Women were not allowed to walk over a rope. No dead body could be carried onboard. If someone got ill on boat, it was considered unlucky, so he had to hide it instead of seeking care on shore. If he died, he would be buried nearby and not be carried back home. It was believed that dead people would leave ghosts behind, who would haunt and bring disaster to the living.

A ritual at the launch of a new boat, or the start of a long voyage, was to sacrifice a pig or a rooster and splatter its blood on the bow, stern, keel and mast. That was to appease the gods of the river and the boats.

Rats were revered. If the boatmen saw rats jumping into the river, it was considered a bad omen. They would light candles, burn incense and offer food. After a few days, believing bad luck had been averted, they would continue the journey, gnawed by angst.

An important position, right after the helmsman, was that of the lead chanter. Chanting was not for diversion; it was a coordinated and instantaneous way of giving and receiving instructions, explains Yuan. The lead chanter had to know the terrain, especially the shoals - and there were 70 of them that could capsize boats.

Not until a boat reached a straight and peaceful section could the chants turn to frolicking, bantering and even amorous longing. "The Chishui chant is a variant of the better-known Sichuan boatmen's chant," notes Yuan.

"It has not been as well-preserved and recorded, though." But Yuan has been making amends. He has sought out many of the surviving boatmen, now all in their 80s or 90s, and chronicled every word and note. He also reproduces it vocally as he is a trained musician.

The most amazing story about Chishui boatmen concerns one special lead chanter named Hu, who was a woman. "She was so good her piercing pitch could raise the bow up the shoal, so every operator wanted to hire her. Just imagine a single woman, a widow, working among a bunch of naked men. She was one tough cookie, hurling the strongest language, even lashes, at the lazy ones. She is still held in awe, even remembered as a kind of goddess."

In a sense, boatmen of that age are like coalminers today. They were placed low on the social ladder, but were paid more than other jobs they could find. Echoes from the past, including photos and chants, have elevated them to a legendary status. Their sufferings have turned mythic. Their strenuousness, frozen poses of artistic beauty.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page19)

The world is looking at the Copenhagen climate change conference with high hopes. So world leaders meeting in the capital of Denmark, the land of fairy tales, should try their best to ensure that a "Copenhagen Protocol" doesn't become a new fairy tale, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpt:

All human beings have to cope with global warming. Such a complicated problem cannot be addressed through a meeting without binding force.

Though they share the same table, all countries have their own considerations. Before the conference, countries such as China and India announced their emission reduction targets. But despite these promises, there is a major dispute over writing into a protocol how much emission which country will reduce.

Another issue to be debated hotly at the conference is who should pay for the solutions such as developing and using more green energy, constructing bunds to prevent floods and relocating people living on islands that could be flooded because of rising sea levels.

China realized the threats of global warming long ago but the Copenhagen conference will familiarize it with the problems being faced by other countries.

We should go beyond the meeting and realize the importance of developing eco-friendly energy to move toward a green economy, especially because we have become the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter and are facing increasing pressure from outside to cut our emission.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page9)

To fulfill its target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, China must change the mode of its economic growth, for which it has to adjust industrial structure, says an article in Shanghai Securities News. Excerpts:

Just days before the Copenhagen climate change conference, China announced that it would cut its carbon intensity per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020, taking 2005 as the base year. This commitment reflects China's high sense of responsibility in the fight against climate change.

But to achieve that target, China must change its economic growth model, for which it has to accelerate the pace of its industrial restructuring.

China's existing growth model lays emphasis on industrial development, especially heavy industries, and consumes a great deal of energy and resources. This mode of economic growth is apparently not sustainable.

To move toward to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, China has to sacrifice short-term interests for long-term benefits. In the short run, reducing GHG emissions and adjusting the industrial structure would have a negative impact on China's economic growth. But they will ultimately change China's development mode to a healthier one and ensure the quality and efficiency of economic growth in the future.

Therefore, to some extent, the objectives and directions of emission cuts and change in industrial structure are consistent.

To restructure its industry, China should first head for sectors that consume relatively low energy, and gradually change to an industrial structure in which tertiary sectors are dominant.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page9)

The history of wars shows it is an established strategy to intensify military action before achieving a decent withdrawal. Hence, there is nothing new in US President Barack Obama's Afghan plan to deploy 30,000 additional soldiers by next summer. What is new and has created doubts in the US as well as elsewhere in the world is how effective will the strategy prove.

Obama's plan, discussed and drawn over months, is a product of conflicting opinions and interests within the US, says Zhang Xiaodong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It reflects not only the situation on the battlefields in the Hindu Kush, but also the struggles in US domestic politics.

Mounting Taliban attacks prompted the Pentagon to ask for more troops, to which the president agreed. But to placate the American public, frustrated and demoralized by eight years of a fruitless war, he had to announce that the US would begin withdrawing its troops in July 2011.

By issuing a date for scaling down its military presence in Afghanistan Obama has risked undermining the effectiveness of the surge in troops. Realizing that the maximum deployment of US forces, to reach 100,000 after the reinforcements, will at best last a year, the Taliban could adopt a hit-and-run strategy, avoid direct showdown with the Americans.

The fact that Taliban fighters can cross the Afghan-Pakistani border freely makes the situation even more complex, says Ma Xiaolin, a commentator on international affairs and the president of www.blshe.com. Taliban fighters could sneak into Pakistan and wait for the US withdrawal before launching a major attack against the Afghan government forces. So without a synchronized cooperation from Pakistan, the surge in US troops could be in vain.

Though Obama has promised a strategy that "works on both sides of the border" and closer coordination with Pakistan, his planned date of pullback may make Pakistan hedge its bets on fighting the Taliban. Afghan and Pakistani officials have already expressed concern over the US withdrawal, which means the prospects of cooperation may not be very promising.

To reassure US allies as well as opposition at home, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that July 2011 would be the "beginning, not the end" of the withdrawal, saying that only "some small number will begin to withdraw at that time". But his words could make Obama's plan look more ambiguous, and perplex US allies in Kabul and Islamabad.

The stabilization of security in Afghanistan would eventually depend on a political solution, Zhang and Ma say. Military actions alone won't work. The Taliban movement is rooted in the tribal areas and partly represents the political clouts and interests of the Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. Talking with the Taliban, at least its relatively moderate wings, is crucial for a sustainable political solution.

Obama seems to have realized that it would be difficult for the US to eliminate the Taliban, and hence seeks to confine its goals to "disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al-Qaida and its extremist allies". It indicates that the US is going to fight the Taliban hardliners who are closely linked to Al-Qaida, while keeping open the option of negotiating with its moderate wings.

Ma believes military actions will help reach a political solution. With the substantial reinforcement, the US is seeking to crush the belligerent elements in the Taliban on the battlefield, divide the group, force the moderate wings to talk and then use its victories to pressure them at the negotiation table.

But the new US strategy is fraught with risks because even Taliban hardliners could pretend to be moderates and try to negotiate a political agreement, only to regain political control once the American troops withdraw.

The strategy incorporates schemes to bolster the civilian and the military apparatus of the Hamid Karzai government, such as pairing similar number of Afghan army personnel with US troops to prepare them for the challenge ahead. Though the schemes sound good, people have reason to doubt whether the US could achieve its goal and hand over the responsibility to the Afghan government, which has been marred by corruption, cronyism and incompetence. We should know that not a single central government has effectively ruled over the entire territory of Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion three decades ago.

Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, says it will be a long and daunting task for the Afghan government to build a competent national army to keep the Taliban at bay and take over security from US forces. Hence, even after July 2011, we cannot expect large contingents of US forces to withdraw from Afghanistan. The majority may stay back and fight for a long time.

But that will be a heavy burden on the US government, which is likely to have a $1.8-trillion budget deficit next year and public debts that are almost equal to its GDP.

Obama has to do something on Afghanistan's economic front, too. Zhang says it is an urgent task to lessen the Afghan economy's dependence, especially in the outlying regions, on poppy cultivation. Jobs have to be created. Only if there is an improvement in welfare will the Karzai government win the popular support of the people, which is a prerequisite for the US handover.

Economic development in the tribal areas could dent the support for the Taliban there. Ma says many youths have joined the Taliban mainly for money. Otherwise they would have no means to feed themselves. Sometimes, Taliban fighters get a higher pay than even Afghan army personnel, he says. If decent and stable jobs were available, many of them would not have joined the Taliban.

It is still unclear, however, whether the US will be able to foot the bills for Afghanistan's economic reconstruction and development.

The surge in troops may cost $30 billion next year alone, and hence it will be a big problem for the US to raise its spending.

Though Obama is an excellent orator, the effectiveness of his plan is in doubt. As a patchwork seeking to please every stakeholder, both at home and abroad, it might prove futile and end up satisfying nobody, expect the Taliban.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page9)

The windfall from the lethal swing of a hammer swept 3-year-old Hei Dou through a loophole in China's legal system - one that urgently needs to be closed. The toddler's mother used the hand tool to bludgeon his savagely abusive father when he tried to sell the boy's 5-year-old sister to pay off his gambling debts.

Police took the father to the morgue and their mother to prison but left the children at the crime scene. Because the youngsters were not technically orphans, they were ineligible to receive government assistance, even though they no longer had any caretakers. Rather than being sold, Hei Dou's sister went to live with the village chief, while he was given to an abusive man with mental disabilities.

When police stumbled across the boy herding sheep two years later, he was wearing hardly any clothes and a patchwork of bruises. This time, they took him to a center run by Morning Tears, a nonprofit organization (NPO) caring for convicts' children forsaken by the legal system.

Little Hei Dou was somewhat luckier than many such youth. He eventually ended up receiving good care and was never forced out into the streets.

Because convicts' children are not legally entitled to the food, shelter, clothing, healthcare and education guaranteed to those with orphan status, many must become "urchins". They account for many of the roughly 100,000 children eking out existences on China's streets, Ministry of Civil Affairs figures show.

Xiao Yue, age 7, and her brother are typical examples of this. For more than a year after their parents were arrested for theft, they roved with a gang of homeless, parentless youth, who taught them how to steal and swindle to survive. But unlike most children in their situations, they eventually ended up at a Morning Tears care facility.

Such organizations, which run about 20 centers nationwide, can only help a few hundred convicts' children.

But the Administrative Bureau of Justice says that more than half of the country's roughly 600,000 kids of convicts are "in dire need of assistance".

NPOs say that in more than half of the cases, a terrified mother kills a ferociously violent father. Usually, nobody will take in the kids after her arrest because of stigma. With no family or government help, these innocent children of convicts are often sentenced to despairing lives on the streets.

Legislation is needed to create standard procedures for temporarily placing such children under court custody from their parents' arrests until new caretakers are found.

Currently, it is up to local police to decide what to do with the children in the immediate aftermath of their guardians' incarcerations.

Many are left in empty homes, often the scenes of their fathers' slayings. Law enforcement officers have few other options. There are only a handful of care facilities for such children nationwide, and none of them are run or assisted by the government.

The most relevant legal document addressing the issue is a recent set of guidelines - not a binding law - that permits NGOs and NPOs to run facilities for convicts' children if they register with city child protection centers under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

But it does not go far enough. It places no obligation on any government body to provide for these children's welfare; it only allows for certain NPOs and NGOs to do so.

And despite the registration requirement, there is lax supervision of, and no concrete standards for, these nongovernmental operations. Government attention is needed to prevent child abuse and ensure standards of quality care.

The need is immediate for the adoption and effective enforcement of legislation assisting convicts' children without caretakers. This must provide them with benefits equivalent to those that orphans receive.

It is time this moral and social obligation became a legal obligation.

Until that happens, the system will continue to lock the innocent children of convicts in prisons of abandonment.

E-mail: erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page9)

The UN General Assembly and the G20 in Pittsburgh marked a new era. At both meetings, President Hu Jintao presented China's climate policy and put it in a global context with a clear and much-needed message that global collaboration is necessary.

Over the last weeks trade has emerged as a major challenge in global climate negotiations. Countries like the US and France have started discussing ways to impose tax on imported products that have been made using a lot of CO2. Even though not explicit, it shows that China is one of their main targets.

This trend is dangerous and can easily result in protectionism and trade wars. It is therefore important to explore possible ways forward that link trade and reduced CO2 emissions in a way that they support each other. China has a great opportunity to turn this potential conflict into increased cooperation. Building on the collaboration message, China has an opportunity to present concrete suggestions for low-carbon development.

The biggest problem with the current discussion is probably not the possibility of a trade war in itself, even if that would be a serious problem, it is the fact that the current discussions have focused on conflicts and problems. What is needed instead is collaboration and focus on solutions.

The current approach of countries such as the US and France is based on two assumptions. First, that the focus should be on reducing emissions from the big polluting companies that are creating the problem. Second, that countries should try to reduce their own emissions as little as possible and get others to reduce as much as possible without collaboration. Both should be challenged, and the government and companies in China can play an important role here.

The problem approach with focus on the big emitters has dominated global climate negotiations since the Kyoto Protocol. It is time to move away from a situation where all counties are trying to protect their dirty industries.

China could help to shift the focus from big emitters to also include the new solutions providers. With companies such as Suntech, Himin Group, China Mobile and Broad, China is well positioned to make the case for policies that support solutions, not just try to reduce the problems. Instead of a focus on how to deal with carbon intensive trade we could have a discussion on how export of low-carbon solutions should be encouraged.

A solution initiative could include incentives to support global trade that would enable the world's cities to build buildings that are net producers of renewable energy, and support an accelerated uptake of electric cars that in turn are supported by renewable energy and other solutions, which help reduce the need for fossil fuels. A special focus should be given to transformative solutions that can help reduce emissions by 90 percent or more, such as teleworking, smart grids, smart buildings and e-paper.

China could propose initiatives to encourage trade and investment in low-carbon solutions. China could also suggest that a system is created where solutions-providing companies can report their contribution to reduced emission through their products and services. Today, the focus is on how much polluting companies are emitting, but in the future the focus should shift to how much the solutions-providing companies are helping reduce emissions.

The second assumption is that negotiations should continue to only focus on individual countries and how they can reduce their emissions. This approach is problematic from two perspectives. First, because it undermines smart collaboration and second because it ignores the fact that the most important question is how we can provide low-carbon lifestyles. The solutions that are needed must be developed through international collaboration, and countries, companies, universities and cities must come together to solve the climate crisis.

It is important to remember that the main problem is the high-carbon lifestyles in Western counties. What the world needs is solutions that can provide a high quality of life with low emissions. Instead of focusing on where the emissions happen today, China can help shift the focus to the need for low-carbon lifestyles.

China could initiate key collaborations in areas such as the creation of a global virtual meeting infrastructure, an initiative for buildings that are net producers of renewable energy, and software for smart city planning. China could collect a number of such ideas and present a global low-carbon city development initiative. This would focus on collaboration between countries and cities around the world and allow solutions-based companies to implement their best ideas.

The world really needs China to step forward and turn the current problem into an opportunity and the emerging conflict into increased collaboration. By putting forward solutions- and collaboration-based proposals the Chinese government would not only avoid a difficult situation, but also get solutions-providing companies, both in China and abroad, the kind of recognition that they deserve.

The author is adviser to various companies, governments and NGOs.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page9)

TOKYO: Hitachi Ltd, the unprofitable Japanese company with 927 business units, may need more funds to finance a revamp after selling a record 350.7 billion yen ($3.9 billion) in stock and bonds, analysts said.

The unprofitable company should spend more money to finance factory closures and job cuts to focus on growing businesses such as trains and medical systems, said Amir Anvarzadeh, senior Asian equity salesman at BGC International in London. Hideyuki Suzuki, a Tokyo-based analyst at SBI Securities Co, also said Hitachi needs extra funds to reorganize.

Hitachi aims to reverse a multi-decade strategy of expanding into everything from televisions to vacuum cleaners and nuclear reactors after reporting a record loss for a Japanese manufacturer last fiscal year. The company plans to reduce about 200 units, merge its unprofitable chip subsidiary with a rival and relocate workers in its plasma-display and automotive units to cut 260 billion yen in costs this year.

"Hitachi has been a very sleepy giant, who hasn't been on the forefront of restructuring," Anvarzadeh said. "They will absolutely have to raise more money, because the way the group is situated results in so much overlap."

Hitachi, Japan's fourth-largest company by revenue, fell 0.8 percent to close at 236 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, extending its drop to 32 percent this year. On Monday, the company said it sold 250.7 billion yen in stock and 100 billion yen in convertible bonds to fund new businesses and pay off debt.

Hitachi isn't currently planning additional share sales, spokesman Masanao Sato said. Monday's offering will help bolster capital to about 13.5 percent of assets from 10.9 percent, Sato said. That's short of the 20 percent target Chief Financial Officer Takashi Miyoshi said in July the company should aim for in a "few years".

Japanese financial institutions and investors track the capital ratio as a key measure of viability that influences companies' ability to raise money, said Fumihito Gotoh, head of Japan credit research for UBS AG in Tokyo. Panasonic Corp, Mitsubishi Electric Corp and Sony Corp have ratios exceeding 20 percent, according to their latest financial reports.

Hitachi is forecasting a fourth straight annual loss after the global recession drove the company to a record 787.3 billion yen in the 12 months ended March 31. The reorganization may help Hitachi post profit next fiscal year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

"The company still has unresolved issues and a lot of work ahead," said Takeo Miyamoto, a Deutsche Bank AG analyst who has a "hold" rating on Hitachi. "The share sale will help bolster the company's prospects short term, but the move is really aimed at the credit ratings agencies as a show of good faith."

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page16)

PARIS: PSA Peugeot Citroen, the French automaker weighing an investment in Mitsubishi Motors Corp, may find it difficult to raise money for a stake purchase and to make a case for what analysts say would be an expensive deal.

Buying a 50 percent holding may stretch the finances of Europe's second-largest automaker, which had 2 billion euros ($3 billion) in net debt in the manufacturing and sales divisions as of June 30 and bonds rated below investment grade by Standard & Poor's. The companies have similar market valuations of about $8.5 billion, while Peugeot sells three times as many vehicles and garners four times as much revenue.

"Peugeot doesn't have the liquidity to take a major Mitsubishi stake in cash," said Jens Schattner, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Sal. Oppenheim with a "reduce" rating on the French manufacturer's shares. He predicted that the companies will abandon talks about an equity deal and instead develop further cooperation on building cars.

Peugeot said on Dec 3 it's holding exploratory discussions that could lead to the purchase of a Mitsubishi stake. The Japanese carmaker's shares have soared more than 14 percent since the announcement, while the Paris-based manufacturer's stock has declined 1.8 percent.

"Raising the finance would not be a walk in the park," said Eric-Alain Michelis, an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris. Depending on bank support, Peugeot may have to issue new shares to pay for a large stake, he said. "It's a tough, tough one."

Peugeot will consider an investment only if it brings financial and strategic gains while preserving control for the Paris-based company's family owners, who hold 30 percent of the shares, spokesman Hugues Dufour said. "These are the three conditions we've always set."

Standard & Poor's has had a junk rating on Peugeot debt since August, while Moody's Investors Service cut its classification by one step in February to the lowest investment grade.

Peugeot would have to pay about $3.7 billion for a 50 percent holding in Mitsubishi based on closing share prices on Dec 2. The Nikkei newspaper reported that day that Peugeot may buy a stake of 30 percent to 50 percent. If the French company issued new shares to cover 1 billion euros of that sum, it would cut the family's investment to 25 percent.

"In the short term it's going to be painful - there's no way around that," said Societe Generale's Michelis, who nevertheless says a deal may take place because building global networks makes sense in the long term.

Automakers are pursuing consolidation in response to declining demand spurred by the global recession. Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, who advocates mergers to enable carmakers to add sales while reducing production capacity, has bought a 20 percent stake in Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler Group LLC.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page16)

BERLIN: Volkswagen AG plans to double the number of workers at its new factory in India to 2,500 by the end of next year as Europe's biggest carmaker aims to take on Suzuki Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co.

The plant, located in Chakan, near the western city of Pune, employs about 1,200 people, Ulrich Proske, finance chief of VW's Indian unit, said in an interview. The 580 million euro ($860 million) factory started building the Skoda unit's Fabia hatchback in May and will begin making VW's Polo this week.

"We're taking advantage of the momentum in India," Proske said. The Indian automotive market will grow to 2.2 million cars and sport-utility vehicles by 2014 from 1.4 million this year, he predicted.

Volkswagen, already the largest overseas carmaker in China, is boosting its presence in India after auto sales in the world's two most populous nations withstood the global recession. The Polo subcompact will compete with models built by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, maker of half the cars sold in the nation, as well as models from Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and Nissan.

Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen, which sold about 16,000 vehicles in India from January through October, is targeting more than 100,000 deliveries a year in the "long term", said Proske, declining to specify a timeframe. VW plans to expand its Indian distribution network to 120 dealers by 2012 from 14 last year.

"There's a huge appetite for mobility, especially among the growing number of middle-class people," the executive said. "There's still a long way for us to go."

Volkswagen is introducing a hatchback Polo first at the Chakan plant and will add a version with a trunk in mid-2010. Hatchbacks account for more than 70 percent of all cars delivered in India. Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, started selling the Jazz hatchback in India in June.

Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan plans to introduce a small car in India by the middle of next year and is setting up a factory with initial capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year in Chennai. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said in September that it will sell its first small car for India, the Figo, in 2010.

Asia will be key to a 10-year goal of increasing Volkswagen-brand deliveries by 80 percent to 6.6 million vehicles in 2018, Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said in April. Volkswagen has a goal of overtaking Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest carmaker, in global deliveries and profit margins by 2018.

Up! city car

The German company is also considering making the Up! city car at Chakan, Proske said. A final decision hasn't been made, he said. Volkswagen plans to build the Up! at its plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, starting in 2011.

Volkswagen also assembles Jettas, Passats and Audi A4 and A6 models at a Skoda factory in Aurangabad in western India, where it employs 1,000 people.

Foreign investors including VW will face "difficulties" expanding in India unless the government takes steps to improve infrastructure, as airports and harbors operate at capacity while roads and the electricity grid must be overhauled, Proske said. Transport and power-supply restrictions probably cost India at least 1 percentage point in gross domestic product growth each year, Proske said.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page16)

Economic chaos? The dollar crumbling? Central banks printing money like crazy? Probably the only real surprise about the surge in gold prices over the last few months is that it took so long to arrive.

Last week gold touched an all-time high of $1,227.50. Back in September it was still less than $1,000. Chalk that up as a victory for the gold bugs.

This week, the price is heading down, dropping below $1,200. Chalk that up as a victory for the gold skeptics, who regularly point out that the metal's value is just a sentimental memory from a long-buried era.

In reality, while investors are right to be nervous about inflation, maybe they are catching on that it's wrong to see gold as the best hedge against a general rise in prices.

There are plenty of alternatives: equities, property, oil, luxuries or private-equity funds should prove just as effective a way of shielding yourself.

It isn't hard to figure out why investors had been getting interested in gold again. Central banks are pumping freshly minted money into the system.

A few hundred years of economic history says that eventually this will lead to inflation. It might be next year, or the year after. It doesn't make much difference - it will arrive sooner or later, and you'll need to get your portfolio in shape before it does.

But gold? Whether it's a hedge against inflation depends on where you want to start drawing the graph. Back in 2002, gold was less than $300. If you bought it then, you'd certainly have protected yourself against rising prices - and made a fat profit as well. The 1990s were a different story. Gold started that decade at around $400, and ended it below $300. Not so great. As for the 1980s, forget it: gold lost almost half its value during that decade.

In reality, gold has a mixed record. Nor should you be surprised about that. A few industrial uses, and jewelry, aside, gold is valuable only insofar as other investors think it is valuable. By itself it isn't necessarily worth anything.

Nor does it generate interest or dividends. If the price doesn't rise, you don't get anything.

There isn't much chance, either, of the world's central banks making their currencies convertible into gold once again.

They would bankrupt their governments in the process. It may secure itself a greater role as a reserve asset. But the gold standard isn't about to be re-imposed.

In truth, while gold may have a role in protecting against inflation, there are plenty of alternatives. Here are five you should be thinking about, particularly when you bear in mind that gold is already close to an all-time high.

One, property. The price of real estate won't always move exactly in line with inflation. And you might want to steer clear of the markets where there has yet to be much of a retreat from the exuberant prices of 2006 and 2007. Even so, if there is more money chasing a static amount of land and buildings, prices are going to rise.

Two, oil. They used to call it black gold and maybe they should again.

It has already stopped being just stuff we put in our cars, and use to heat houses, and become an investment asset in itself. How else can we explain the fact that oil has ticked up past $70 a barrel even while we're living through the worst global recession since World War II?

Oil is already, in effect, an alternative to gold. The one difference is that you can put it in your car and drive somewhere - making it far more useful than stuff good for little more than dental fillings and trinkets to wear around your neck.

Three, equities. Moderate, persistent inflation in the 3 percent range is good for the kind of big, blue-chip companies that dominate the major global stock markets.

They can edge up prices along with everyone else. And they can usually get away with increasing wages just a bit less than inflation, so cutting labor costs as well - particularly as unions are far less powerful than they used to be.

In those circumstances, the shareholders should do fine - and their equities will more than keep up with rising prices.

Four, luxury goods and collectibles. Once inflation takes off, it is only real assets that will hold their value - everything else is just paper, and that will be of dwindling use. Assets don't get much more real than historic art, valuable antiques, vintage automobiles or fine wines.

They should start to soar in price as the mega-rich realize they are among the few ways to protect wealth.

And, heck, if you get it wrong, you can always hang them on the wall, or drink them.

Five, private-equity funds. This one might not be obvious. But a leveraged buyout firm buys well-established companies, in basic industries, and then loads them up with lots of debt, while hanging on to a little bit of equity. Inflation will effectively wipe out all that debt. The result? The equity that is left over will be worth far more.

Of course, none of these will necessarily work in the long-term. The only real way to control inflation once it gets started is to raise interest rates high enough to create a deep recession, and so choke off rising prices.

That's what central bankers did in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and may do again sometime around 2015 or 2020. Once that happens, you'll need to think again - you might not want to be in property or equities.

That, however, is some way off. As we move into the early stages of an inflationary era, those five assets should do at least as well as gold, if not better.

Matthew Lynn is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page16)

TOKYO: The Japanese government unveiled a 7.2 trillion yen ($81 billion) economic stimulus package amid signs the recovery and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's popularity are waning.

Hatoyama's first stimulus plan includes 3.5 trillion yen to help regions, 600 billion yen for employment and 800 billion yen on environmental initiatives, the Cabinet said yesterday in a statement in Tokyo. The measures had been delayed because of haggling within the coalition government.

The package came a week after the Bank of Japan released a 10-trillion-yen credit program in response to government calls for it to counter deflation and a surging yen. Analysts said yesterday's measures may provide at least a temporary boost for the world's second-largest economy, which emerged from its worst postwar recession in the second quarter.

"I give it 50 points out of 100," said Masaaki Kanno, chief economist in Tokyo at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co and a former central bank official. The package "will be effective in easing strains on an economy struggling with deflation and a lack of demand, but it won't boost growth potential in the medium to long term."

The yen has weakened since climbing to a 14-year high of 84.83 against the dollar on Nov 27. The Japanese currency traded at 88.83 at 2:20 pm in Tokyo from 88.99 before the announcement.

"Risk factors include a deterioration in employment conditions, sluggish demand because of deflationary pressure, a rise in long-term interest rates and movements in the currency markets," the statement said. Abrupt foreign-exchange moves may have a "considerable adverse impact on the economic recovery".

Japanese policymakers are adding stimulus measures just as their counterparts around the world consider withdrawing them. Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that the central bank's Dec 1 credit easing had a "considerable impact" on weakening the yen.

Japan has compiled four stimulus plans since September 2008 totaling more than 29 trillion yen ($326 billion). That compares with the US' $787 billion and China's $586 billion.

Kamei's call

The People's New Party, a junior coalition member headed by Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, blocked the stimulus last week, calling for a larger package to defeat deflation. Coalition parties agreed to boost the size of the measures by 100 billion yen to accommodate the request.

Yesterday's package includes 3 trillion yen in tax grants to local governments to make up for a revenue shortfall. The government will pay for the tax breaks by selling deficit- covering bonds.

Some 1.2 trillion yen will be used to expand emergency credit for small and midsized businesses, provide safety-net loans and reduce interest rates on lending.

The package extends a program initiated by the previous administration giving consumers incentives to purchase eco- friendly cars and home appliances. It also introduced incentives to install energy-saving equipment in homes.

The employment measures will make it easier for companies to obtain subsidies to keep workers when cutting production.

"The scale of the stimulus package itself isn't that impressive, but it shows that the Japanese government is willing to take action, relieving recent worries that it will just sit there," said Takeshi Osawa, a senior fund manager in Tokyo at Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management Co.

About 2.7 trillion yen of the package will be paid for with funds frozen from the previous administration's extra budget. The government wants to avoid selling new bonds "as much as possible", the statement said.

Japan has the world's largest public debt, with liabilities that are approaching twice the size of the economy.

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said bond sales for the current fiscal year will exceed tax revenue for the first time in 63 years. The government will sell 53.5 trillion yen in bonds, more than the 44 trillion yen budgeted in April, he said. Tax revenue will slump to 36.9 trillion yen, less than the 46 trillion yen projected.

The premier's sliding popularity may hurt his party's momentum ahead of upper house elections in July 2010. His approval rating fell below 60 percent for the first time, declining to 59 percent from last month's 63 percent, the Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday.

Japan's exports fell at the slowest pace in a year in October as worldwide government spending spurred demand for the nation's products, a Finance Ministry report showed yesterday. That helped the trade surplus expand 42.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 trillion yen. Corporate bankruptcies fell 11.4 percent in November to their lowest level in almost two years, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd said.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page17)

NEW YORK: Debt restructuring by Dubai state-run companies may almost double to $46.7 billion as more of the emirate's businesses could need help making payments, Morgan Stanley said.

Dubai Holding LLC, Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC, Borse Dubai Ltd and Dubai Sukuk Center Ltd may join Dubai World in restructuring debt, Morgan Stanley analysts Mohamed W. Jaber and Paolo Batori wrote in a report. Government-controlled Dubai World said last week that it's in talks to renegotiate $26 billion.

It's likely that other state companies will "announce debt restructuring plans over the near term," Jaber and Batori wrote. "We believe that a haircut on the external debt at risk in the area of 40-50 percent is necessary to have a notable long-term favorable impact on public debt dynamics."

Islamic bonds issued by Nakheel PJSC, Dubai World's property unit, that mature on Dec 14 fell 1 cent on Monday to 53 cents on the dollar, the lowest closing price on record, according to Citigroup Inc prices.

Holders of the $3.5 billion of bonds, which touched an intraday low of 42 cents on Nov 27, may win the right to seize a strip of barren waterfront land the size of Manhattan if the company defaults, according to the offering's prospectus. The property forms part of the mostly empty Dubai Waterfront project.

Dubai World may sell assets in the United Arab Emirates and abroad to repay its borrowings, a government official said on Dec 6. Asset sales are normal to shore up finances in such circumstances, Abdulrahman Al Saleh, director general of Dubai's Department of Finance and head of the government fund that's leading the Dubai World renegotiation, said on Dec 6 in an interview with Al Jazeera television.

'Much-needed cash'

"There are a lot of assets that could be liquidated at Dubai World to raise much-needed cash," said Fahd Iqbal, a Dubai-based Persian Gulf equities strategist at Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes Holding SAE. "The priority would be to dispose of some of the international assets."

Dubai's government has no intention of selling assets to help Dubai World, Al Saleh said, according to Reuters. He said there was "confusion in the media" that the government intends a sale of its assets, Reuters reported.

New York-based Morgan Stanley outlined three scenarios for Dubai companies' debt restructurings. The first includes only Dubai World's $26 billion of debt. The second climbs to $34.8 billion by adding debt from Dubai Holding while the third totals $46.7 billion by including obligations from other companies.

Dubai's five-year credit default swaps may decline to as low as 300 basis points from about 500 basis points, the analysts wrote. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point and is equivalent to $1,000 a year on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.

The contracts, which fall as perceptions of credit quality improve, pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a borrower fail to adhere to its debt agreements.

The country's benchmark stock index is down 17 percent since Dubai said on Nov 25 that Dubai World would seek a standstill agreement on its debt.

Dubai World said on Dec 1 that assets held by its Infinity World Holding, Istithmar World and Ports and Free Zone World divisions wouldn't be included in the restructuring. Those companies, including P&O Ferries, are on a "stable financial footing", Dubai World said.

"You cannot rule out asset sales for those entities outside the restructuring process" as Dubai World tries to reduce its debt, Iqbal said. "All options are available."

Dubai World owns 80 percent of DP World Ltd, the world's fourth-biggest port operator and the Jebel Ali Free Zone, a business park adjoining its flagship Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

Its Istithmar division bought New York luxury retailer Barneys in 2007 for $942.3 million, while Dubai World itself acquired a $5.1 billion stake in US casino company MGM Mirage in 2008.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page17)

LONDON: Tesco Plc, the world's No 3 retailer, posted quarterly sales growth towards the bottom end of forecasts, held back by a drop in food price inflation, but said a gradual consumer recovery remained on track.

"We are seeing improving customer confidence and encouraging trends in both the UK and our international businesses, although recessionary conditions still exist in a number of markets," Tesco Chief Executive Terry Leahy said.

The supermarket group, which makes about three quarters of its profit in Britain, said sales at British stores open at least a year rose 2.8 percent, excluding petrol and VAT sales tax, in the 13 weeks to Nov 28 - its fiscal third quarter.

That was down from 3.1 percent in the second quarter and just shy of the average forecast of 3 percent in a Reuters poll.

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at brokerage Hargreaves Lansdown, said he detected "a tinge of disappointment in this update, set against the high expectations which Tesco attracts".

Britain is taking longer to emerge from recession than other major economies and a retail survey earlier yesterday signaled only a gradual recovery. The government will also need to raise taxes to tackle its huge deficit and is expected to confirm today it is reversing a cut in VAT sales tax which was introduced last year in the depths of the recession.

Tesco Finance Director Laurie McIlwee said he did not expect the reversal to derail recovery, though he warned against raising the rate above its former 17.5 percent level.

"I don't think that the impact (of VAT rising to its former rate) will reverse the trend in customer confidence," he said.

"If the VAT goes above that it could be more negative. Just as consumers are getting more confident, to start indirectly taxing people (more) will be a strain on their budgets."

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page17)

MELBOURNE: Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners approved development of a $15 billion Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas venture, the country's biggest resource project, to supply the cleaner-burning fuel to China and Japan.

Construction will start in 2010 after the companies complete agreements with their customers and financing arrangements with lenders, Irving, Texas-based Exxon, the largest US oil company, said in a statement yesterday. Fuel exports are due to begin by late 2013 or 2014.

Papua New Guinea's economy may double in size, according to Oil Search Ltd, a partner in the venture along with Santos Ltd. The plant is one of more than 12 planned in Australia and the neighboring South Pacific nation to meet growing Asian demand for less-polluting alternatives to coal and oil.

"We are seeing a move to gas," said Peter Arden, a Melbourne- based senior mining analyst at Ord Minnett Ltd, an affiliate of JPMorgan Chase & Co. "China can't meet its energy needs. Countries are also trying to diversify away from coal."

LNG sales from the project will likely exceed $100 billion over 20 years, Tri-Zen International Ltd. consultant Tony Regan said. The partners haven't given financial terms of supply agreements.

Oil Search declined 1 percent to A$5.84 in Sydney yesterday, compared with a 0.1 percent drop for the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index. Santos fell 0.5 percent at A$14.68.

Asian demand for LNG is driving the development of projects in the region. Chevron Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Dec 5 that the Japanese utility had agreed to buy LNG for 20 years from the proposed Wheatstone project in Western Australia.

Wheatstone is among those that could make Australia "the Saudi Arabia" of the gas world, Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said yesterday. The Tokyo Electric agreement may be worth A$90 billion ($82 billion), he said.

Chevron and partners Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell Plc approved construction of their A$43 billion Gorgon venture, also in Western Australia, in September.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page17)

Audi sales rise 8.9%

German carmaker Audi AG said yesterday its global sales improved 8.9 percent in November as the recession eased and demand rose strongly in developing markets.

Audi, a unit of Europe's largest auto group, Volkswagen AG, said it sold 82,750 cars for the month, compared with 75,965 in November of 2008. For the first 11 months of the year, however, Audi's sales declined 5.4 percent to 870,600 vehicles from 920,689 in the January-November period of 2008. The gains last month were attributed especially to the Asia-Pacific and Americas markets.

Xstrata takes charges

Mining group Xstrata is taking a $1.9 billion charge for restructuring its nickel business after metal prices fell, and is taking further charges of $545 million for copper smeltering operations in Canada and Chile, it said yesterday.

"The impairments announced today reflect the structural changes made to our nickel business during 2009, together with the very significant impact of short and medium term currency movements, which have resulted in an exceptional impairment charge against Xstrata's nickel assets," Chief Executive Mick Davis said. The impairment charge for nickel resulted from various closures and delays in projects as the nickel market was hit by the global downturn and weak prices.

German output falls

German industrial output unexpectedly fell for the first time in three months in October, led by a drop in production of energy and of investment goods such as machinery.

Output decreased 1.8 percent from September, when it advanced 3.1 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said yesterday. Economists forecast a 1 percent gain, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. From a year earlier, production declined 12.4 percent when adjusted for the number of work days.

UK manufacturing stalls

UK manufacturing unexpectedly stalled in October, a sign the economy is struggling to shake off the longest recession on record.

Factory output was unchanged after gaining 1.5 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday in London. Economists predicted a 0.4 percent increase, according to the median of 21 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

AP-Reuters-Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page17)

The annual Central Economic Work Conference that concluded on Monday reaffirmed the need to maintain economic growth as the country's main goal next year.

To reach the target against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown, the highest-level economic decision-making conference vowed to boost domestic demand, consumer-led demand in particular, and improve people's livelihoods as one of the main means of stimulating economic development.

Amidst the gloomy external economic environment, the Chinese government made economic growth the top priority and launched a raft of economic stimulus packages, which lifted consumer confidence, stabilized market expectations and promoted much-needed growth. They also played a positive role in helping the country press ahead with proactive fiscal and moderately loose monetary polices.

Nevertheless, such emergency measures during a major crisis have also left the country's long-term economic development faced with enormous risks and precarious factors.

Theoretically, the main aim of a country's economic development should be to improve the living conditions and welfare of its people. Or else, the country's economic activities would be largely founded on a short-sighted perception and result in an exhaustive use of its limited resources and low-efficiency economic operations, which would certainly be unfavorable to the long-term economic development and social stability.

Take the real estate market as an example. The aim of the sector's development, for any government, should be to improve people's housing conditions. However, in China, housing has turned speculative. Should homes be used as a tool to make money instead of being places to live in, the nature of the real estate market as a means to improve people's livelihood would fundamentally change.

Once it becomes a target of investment and speculation, house prices will be pushed sky high by profiteering capital. It is, indeed, true that the rapid rise in house prices help boost the profits of real estate developers, local revenues and the scale of credit by commercial banks. Due to its propulsive role, a lot of other industries will also get a big boost. Consequently, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will expand. However, such a housing market boom runs counter to the country's original aspiration to develop the real estate market in order to improve people's standard of living. Also, economic growth mainly driven by a speculative real estate market is not expected to last long.

At a recent Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau meeting, the Party authorities vowed to raise the quality and efficiency of the country's economic growth and focus on improving people's livelihood, and maintaining social harmony and stability. An explicit message from the meeting is that the authorities have realized that GDP and lending expansion should not be taken as the only measurement of the country's economic growth, and that the government should take into account the improvement of ordinary people's living conditions and balanced development between the country's short- and long-term goals when assessing national economic growth. The authorities clearly signaled that the country would work harder to adjust its long-standing GDP-oriented economic structure and try to strike a balance between investment, consumption and exports, and between different industries. An economic development model that does not fully appreciate quality would fail to grow healthily, and worse, waste resources and cause environmental pollution. The commitment to improve people's livelihood means that the government will do more in areas closely related with people's livelihood, such as education, labor, healthcare, pension and housing.

The government has increased a lot of input in the country's long-derided educational, medical care and housing systems in recent years, especially following the launch of the $586-billion stimulus package late last year. However, that is still short of people's expectations, largely because of the ever-widening income gap between the rich and poor, as reflected not only in the sluggish income growth of middle- and low-income people, but also in the low ratio of workers' income in the country's wealth distribution. Such kind of wealth composition has been the main reason behind the country's failure to stimulate domestic demand although a series of policies and measures have been adopted.

When it comes to the housing market, which is most closely linked to ordinary people's livelihood, the soaring prices have shut out many common salary earners, especially low- and middle-income groups. More and more people have come to realize that the country's economic growth, no matter how fast, is meaningless if it is achieved at the expense of the interests of the overwhelming majority of people.

That could explain why both the recent CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting and the just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference put the emphasis on improving people's livelihood and boosting the demand of ordinary people.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page8)

Efforts to boost income growth are certainly needed as China tries hard to make domestic consumption a new growth engine. But no less important are redistribution efforts to enhance the purchasing power of the many low-income families.

The decision that Chinese authorities made at the recent Central Economic Work Conference to strengthen income redistribution next year has obviously struck a chord in the hearts of the public.

Even the worst global recession in several decades has not stopped the continuous income growth that Chinese people have been enjoying over the past three decades.

Official statistics show that real urban household disposable income expanded by 10.5 percent in the first three quarters of this year while real rural household cash income rose 8.5 percent during the period.

Such income growth must have contributed considerably to the country's broad-based pickup in consumer spending. Retail sales increased by 17 percent in real terms, pushing up the country's gross domestic product growth by 4 percentage points.

However, in spite of the greater role domestic consumption played in stoking economic growth, consumer-led demand is still nowhere near enough to make up for declining exports this year, not to mention picking up the potential slack if the country reduces its dependence on investment for growth.

Since everyone knows that one cannot make bricks without straw, it is easy for Chinese policymakers to reach a consensus on the need to increase household incomes.

But the country's fairly high savings ratio indicates that boosting domestic consumption is not all about keeping raising incomes.

In addition to an inadequate social welfare net that has long depressed consumption, the widening income gap has emerged as an increasingly big consumption restraint.

The meeting, which is held once a year in Beijing to set the tone for economic development for the next year, emphasized that a good balance should be kept in maintaining a relatively fast and stable economic growth, economic restructuring and dealing with predicted inflation next year.

The message from top Chinese officials is encouraging. They have not only recognized the urgency of income redistribution, but also decided to address the problem.

To lower the country's savings ratio to help ease global imbalances, policymakers should take measures to distribute more corporate earnings, which are the main driver of the nation's increased savings, to individuals.

To narrow the income gap, the country may need to fine tune its tax and fiscal policies in favor of low-income households.

The government is yet to give details on how it plans to encourage consumer-led growth via income redistribution. Whatever they are, the earlier they come, the better they will serve the people and the economy.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page8)

We feel deeply sorry for the death of eight students in a stampede on Monday night at a middle school in the city of Xiangxiang, Central China's Hunan province. There is nothing we can do to bring back the lost lives, but there is something we can and must do to prevent similar disasters.

There is, of course, a gnawing feeling of what-ifs: What if the staircase of the school building were built much wider? The building does have three other staircases but the students swarmed through this one simply because it was raining outside and it was the nearest to their dorms. What if teachers had paid enough attention to the safety of students and supervised the evacuation when it was raining hard? What if the students had received enough training for evacuating a building in an emergency?

In the design of school buildings, particular attention must be paid to the safe evacuation of students in an emergency. In the several school stampedes that have taken place in the past couple of years, narrow staircases were seen as the direct culprit. An investigation is needed to find out whether staircases in all school buildings are safe enough for the evacuation of students.

If classes are organized in the evening for students to study on their own in school buildings, their evacuation from the building must be well organized by teachers on duty. If only students in this school had been prepared to leave the building in an orderly manner, such a tragedy could have never occurred.

An investigation into this disaster should find out whether any teacher was meant to be on duty. If so, where was the teacher when the accident took place? If the teacher was not there, the responsible leader must be punished for dereliction of duty.

They could learn from a school headmaster in Sichuan province who ensured that students were trained to evacuate the school building in a safe and efficient manner in an emergency. The regular training paid off. Not a single student in the school was even injured in the deadly earthquake that shook the province in May last year.

Last but not the least, teachers and parents have the obligation to teach their students and children survival skills during an emergency. Education in this regard needs to be made compulsory for primary and middle school students.

Hopefully, this tragedy will be a lesson that other schools can learn from and do what they need to make their schools safe.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page8)

What do corrupt officials do when they end up behind bars? Maybe write books if the conditions are right. Quite a number of them have had their books published even while serving their terms.

Zhang Erjiang, former Party secretary of the city of Tianmen in Hubei province, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for embezzling public money and accepting bribes in 2002, has had four books published since then. Zhou Jiugeng, a former bureau chief who was notorious for smoking cigarettes of a prohibitively expensive brand and was sentenced to 11 years, is reported to be progressing well with his novel in jail.

Apart from one former official who has written a book about how high the cost is for being corrupt, none has written anything to suggest they repent of the crimes they committed in their positions. The four books by Zhang Erjiang are about ancient Chinese literature; some have written novels and others on a subject they are familiar with.

The message is that almost all of them are well-educated. This reminds me of the connection between knowledge and power: In the late 1970s, Francis Bacon's quote "knowledge is power" was very popular when national college entrance examinations were restarted after being suspended for a decade. And placing well-educated people in top positions was a priority and it was taken for granted at the time that power in the hands of knowledgeable people would be used to better the interests of the people and the country.

There is nothing wrong with the hypothesis. But knowledge can be a double-edged sword when it comes to the use of power. We have numerous lessons from ancient dynasties, when officials were selected through imperial examinations. There were hardly any court or local officials who were not familiar with classics such as The Analects by Confucius. Yet, corrupt officials were everywhere in every ancient dynasty. Some of the notoriously corrupt officials in history were at the same time well-known calligraphers.

Bacon is right that knowledge is power. But such power can be abused. If that is the case, an illiterate person with enough common sense might cause much less damage to the interests of the public than a well-educated person in the same official position.

Of course, I do not mean that we should place barely literate people in public positions. But it would be disastrous to only over-emphasize the level of education a person has without giving enough consideration to his or her moral character while recruiting officials. Even if knowledgeable people of integrity are placed in public positions, they may turn out to be corrupt if they are not under effective supervision.

That only one of the corrupt officials who have written books behind bars has ever repented of the crimes he has committed by writing a book sends a dangerous message: Very few of them harbor a guilty conscience, or at least, give that impression. Maybe they believe that they were caught simply because they were unlucky. Maybe they know that many more "lucky" ones are still grabbing as much money as they can by abusing their power. So why should they repent of what they have done?

Most of them spend their own money having their books published. This suggests that they do find it an opportunity to convince the public of their capability. By doing so, they are also paving the way for new careers after being released from prison. Xu Enxing, who used to be Party secretary of Henan Financial College and was sentenced to six years for accepting bribes in 2004, has published four books on finance and economics. And it is reported that he has already been invited to work for securities companies after being released.

For one thing, receiving a good education and being knowledgeable has little to do with being an honest and upright official. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whether an official is corrupt or not depends on how much opportunity there is for him or her to do so. So, how knowledgeable an official is should not be a criterion linked to the quality of governance.

E-mail: zhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page8)

Betting and begging

As the Copenhagen summit opens, the chat about climate change is intensifying. Should humankind voluntarily withdraw to the 18th century's level of development of productive forces, or should we limit ourselves only in investing more money in charity, that is, in trying to fight disease and reducing malnutrition? Should we bet on the much-touted "End of the World"?

The international conference wants governments to debate and agree on common solutions to problems indicated by the UN panel on climate change.

For sure, science has already abundantly proven that saving energy is the best way to save human labor and sustain development. Moreover, reducing pollution is a huge help in improving humankind's health.

In this regard, Beijing's recent promise to reduce energy consumption and pollution on such a large scale is an extraordinary example of bona fide and a great encouragement to all countries, rich and poor, to contribute to the solutions to human problems.

If the example of China is understood and followed, i.e. the Americans and the Europeans stop protectionism, lift bans on selling hi-tech products to developing countries, and directly invest in favorable conditions more of their capital destined for renewable energies in the destitute areas of the planet, their trade imbalance will improve, and all international relations will be more serene.

The Copenhagen meeting will then assume historical importance, because all countries will find common ground based on the rationale that ecological problems cannot be separated from the most outstanding economic and political problems of the world, that is, peace and development. It is easy to understand that without addressing the conundrum of peace and development, there will be no future for humankind, regardless of any climate change.

On the way to Copenhagen, there's a big question left. It is not related to the more or less successful bargaining on single issues between rich and poor countries. It mostly depends on the general mindset that will prevail at the conference. If we keep preaching charity instead of real cooperation as the principal means of solving international problems, not to speak of preaching an absurd retrogression of history's clock to the ancient universal pastoral way of living, we'll never exit the impasse.

Cervini

via e-mail

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page8)

SHANGHAI: China's November imports of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products are expected to be flat, or fall slightly from the previous month, limited by strong London Metal Exchange (LME) prices and abundant domestic supplies.

Imports of refined copper, the most popular type of copper in international and Chinese markets, dived 40 percent to 169,374 tons in October from the previous month, much lower than the 230,000 tons expected by traders and analysts, thanks to delays in contracted shipments.

"Imports are unlikely to recover in November, given poor margins throughout the month," said Zhu Yanzhong, an analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of top smelter Jiangxi Copper.

Traders said most delayed shipments would arrive between December and February next year.

November's inflows of refined copper are seen at the 160,000-ton level, or falling to just above 150,000 tons, traders estimated.

Refined copper imports took up 64.4 percent of October's inflows of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products. Based on that ratio and estimated refined copper imports of 160,000 tons, the data to be released on Friday may show imports of copper and products of 248,447 tons.

A sales manager at another large trading house said few delayed shipments had arrived in November, limiting imports since the arbitrage window for buying from the LME and selling to the Chinese market was still closed.

"Only some small-term cargoes arrived to us in November. Our feeling is that imports were less than October," a warehouse source in Shanghai said.

Reduced imports and increased exports, which jumped to above 18,000 tons in October, more than a third of the year-to-date total, have reduced stocks in bonded warehouses in Shanghai, traders said.

Some 200,000-250,000 tons of imported refined copper cathode were estimated to lie in Shanghai's bonded warehouses versus more than 250,000 tons a month earlier.

That stock level was still high as owners were unwilling to sell the metal on to the domestic spot market in which copper has traded below the cost of imports for much of the past three months.

Copper prices were steady yesterday. Three-month LME copper rose $23 to $7,022 a ton in early trade. The benchmark third-month copper futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed to close at 55,600 yuan a ton.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page15)

The continuation of the macro economic policy set at China's annual Central Economic Work Conference cleared doubts about a tighter monetary policy and boosted market confidence in a mid- to long-term upward trend, according to analysts.

"The government's consistent stance on the macro economic policy has cleared market worries about a potentially tightened policy and the market is likely to see a steady uptrend in the mid- to long-term prospect," said Li Jianfeng, an analyst with Shanghai Securities.

The three-day Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on Monday, reiterated the government's stance on maintaining a proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy for the next year.

However, Li pointed out that the expectation on the policy continuity has already been priced into the market so its impact will be gradually reduced in coming days.

During the past two weeks, the Shanghai Composite Index has responded strongly to the expectation about the result of the meeting, witnessing a V-shape movement.

The benchmark index declined 3.5 percent, the largest drop in three months on Nov 24 amid concerns over a possible tightened monetary policy. But the market has seen a strong rally since the central government said in a previous statement that it would stick to the loose monetary stance confirmed by the economic meeting.

The conference also laid out specific measures to facilitate the structural adjustment toward a consumption-driven economy, including policy support for first-time home buyers and those who purchase properties to upgrade them.

Analysts noted that such policy support would give a boost to the real estate market that is likely to be the main economic driver next year.

"This suggests that the government is not ready to take tough measures to cool off the real estate market before export growth recovers to a comfortable level," said Jun Ma, Deutsche Bank's chief economist for Greater China, in a research report.

The property sector yesterday outperformed the benchmark Shanghai index with Zhejiang Guangsha Co Ltd jumping to the 10 percent daily trading limit.

Ma noted that the policy support for the relaxation of the hukou system in second- and third-tier cities bodes well for property demand and should help accelerate the pace of urbanization in these cities over the medium term.

Consumer sectors, particularly the auto and electronic sectors, are also likely to benefit from the government's clear signal to support domestic consumption.

Shares in SAIC Motor, China's top vehicle producer, edged up 0.27 percent to 25.76 yuan after it said it sold 252,190 vehicles in November, up 91 percent from a year earlier, helped by government stimulus schemes that boosted consumption of domestic products including cars.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page15)

Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, yesterday said it signed orders worth 2 billion yuan and other agreements with Chinese partners this week, most of which are for environmentally friendly products and solutions.

The orders cover a wide range of the company's portfolio in China, including energy, transportation and healthcare, the company said in a statement.

These orders show that growth of the market for environmental technology is strongest in emerging countries such as China, said Peter Loescher, president and CEO of Siemens.

China now accounts for 6 to 7 percent of Siemens' global business.

In fiscal 2009, Siemens earned revenue of approximately 230 billion yuan from the products and solutions under its environmental portfolio, with emerging countries' share of the green revenue steadily increasing. "Our green products and solutions have stabilized our businesses during this unprecedented global economic recession, and we will continue to base further growth on orders for these technologies," said Loescher.

China has pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. This goal requires strong cooperation between the government and innovative enterprises, he said.

Over 50 percent of the future growth of Siemens in China would be related to green technology, said Richard Hausmann, president and CEO of Siemens China.

The company's environmental portfolio in the country includes solutions for sectors like power generation, transmission and consumption, buildings, lighting, transportation and industry, as well as environmental technologies such as water purification and air pollution controls, according to Hausmann.

Siemens entered China's wind power industry in 2009 by constructing a 581-million-yuan wind power equipment plant in Shanghai.

The plant is expected to come on stream in the second half of 2010, with the first turbine blades and nacelles scheduled to leave the plant during the World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

To meet the rapidly growing demand of China's wind energy market, the company will further invest over 500 million yuan in its two operating companies in Tianjin over the next three to five years. Part of this investment will be used to expand the production capacity of wind turbine gearboxes, the company said.

Siemens earlier announced that it expected to get orders totaling 20 billion yuan from China's 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus package. Among these orders, half would go toward energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page14)

Chinese comb maker Carpenter Tan is planning an initial public offering of its shares on the Hong Kong bourse, said a senior company official.

"Carpenter Tan has got approval to offer shares on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange," Zhou Pei, spokesperson of Carpenter Tan Holdings Ltd, told China Daily yesterday.

According to Chinese media reports, the company plans to raise HK$100 million from its IPO by the end of this month. The reports also said Hong Kong-based First Shanghai Securities might underwrite the offering. Zhou, however, refused to divulge any details, citing corporate policy.

"The funds raised from the float would be mainly used to expand the company's network both at home and abroad, and also for developing wooden furniture and ornaments," said Zhou.

But what makes Carpenter Tan stand out amongst others is its remarkable success amid great odds.

Carpenter Tan began its journey 15 years ago when Tan Chuanhua, a physically handicapped man with a baldpate decided to enter the comb making business in Chongqing in southwestern China.

Born into a poor carpenter family and saddled with debt, of nearly 300,000 yuan, Tan had many a mile to go before he tasted success.

Tan left his job as a primary school teacher due to discrimination from colleagues on his disability. He then tried his luck in a host of other professions, before venturing into his real expertise as a carpenter.

In 1993, Tan set up a company for making wooden combs and named it Tan Carpenter. Relying on exquisite skills, the brand gained popularity within a year.

By 2008 it had expanded into a company with a sales network of over 700 chain stores, including five overseas outlets. It also reported annual sales in excess of 200 million yuan during 2007.

In 2006, the company diversified into wooden products beyond combs and also started collaborating with renowned European artists. But, "the comb business is and will be the main focus of Carpenter Tan, as it accounts for nearly 80 percent of the sales," said Zhou.

"Domestic market will be main focus of our expansion," he said.

Chinese consumers are now more concerned about the quality, design and brand of their daily necessities and that includes combs too. Wang Xiaofei, a sales girl at a Carpenter Tan shop in Chaoyang district of Beijing, told China Daily that the best selling combs are the ones priced at 200 yuan.

"People are buying combs as gifts for friends or families," said Wang.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page14)

SHANGHAI: Tianjin Bohai Commodity Exchange, the country's first spot commodity bourse backed by the local government, is slated to debut trading of crude oil and coke as its first two products, aiming to boost domestic firms' bargaining power in the pricing of the two items in the global market.

The exchange, which is set to launch in Tianjin on Dec 18, also plans to facilitate spot trading in products of non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, and agricultural products in the future, said Yan Dongsheng, chairman of the bourse, during a road show in Shanghai yesterday. He did not disclose a timetable for the expansion.

"We're going to develop a comprehensive spot market in the country so that all commodities traded on our exchange will be brought under spot exchanging," Yan said.

China is the world's second largest country for base oil consumption, using 7.3 million barrels per day, but currently domestic oil importers still have to trade in prices set by the world's two major international petroleum exchanges - New York Mercantile Exchange and the International Petroleum Exchange in London.

"The ultimate goal for our bourse is to set up a trading platform to provide transparent prices for commodities, and breed a system that will make the pricing of those products to be traded globally based on local pricing in the long term," Yan said.

Over 90 merchants and investment firms have been attracted to the Bohai bourse's road show in Shanghai, seeking an alternative investment measure.

"There's no such organized commodities bourse for spot trading in China that we believe will be of interest to many investors," said Zhao Jun, CEO of Shanghai Youngsun Investment Co, which is among the exchange's 100 authorized agents providing trading services for investors.

"For oil refiners, the exchange will help us to hedge against price fluctuations during our daily operations," said Li Yang, a representative from PetroChina International (East China) Co Ltd.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page13)

NEW YORK/DETROIT: General Motors Co is talking to BAIC, China's fifth largest car maker, about a partial sale of assets associated with its Saab brand, including tooling and technology, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Group has made it clear that it has no interest in acquiring Saab's production hub in Trollhattan, Sweden, according to the people who could not be named because the talks remain private.

Under the proposed deal, BAIC, which lacks its own car brand, would set up production in China based on an older generation of Saab vehicles, including the 9-5 and 9-3 models.

The partial sale of Saab technology to BAIC would likely clear the way for a liquidation of other assets held by the brand, including its headquarters and could threaten more than 3,000 Saab jobs in Sweden.

At the same time that GM is talking with BAIC, it is also vetting several other bidders that have expressed an interest in buying all of Saab.

BAIC has said it remains interested in Saab, part of a push by Chinese carmakers to upgrade their technology and expand production. A BAIC representative could not be reached immediately for comment.

GM declined to comment. The automaker, which came through a bankruptcy funded by the US government in July, said it would not discuss negotiations because of confidentiality agreements with potential bidders. GM's board of directors wants to see that any potential bidder has financing lined up by the end of December and will set a strict time limit for any deal, the sources said.

Although the Swedish government could still intervene to tip the balance, those tough conditions and the fast timetable make it more likely that a partial sale of Saab to BAIC will be the only viable option for GM, one of the sources said.

It was not immediately clear if any Saab-derived models built by BAIC would be sold in a way that showed their association with the historic brand, one of the people said.

GM's board has said it will take until the end of December to consider whether it can conclude a deal to sell Saab.

BAIC had been in discussions to provide financing to Koenigsegg, a tiny Swedish car builder that pulled out of a tentative deal to buy Saab last month.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page14)

TAIPEI: Taiwan Stock Exchange Chairman Schive Chi said mainland companies may list on the island as early as next year as the two sides move ahead with plans for closer financial ties.

The plan depends on completion of an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in the cross-Straits talks scheduled to start this month and would be a "good opportunity" for mainland companies, Schive said in a telephone interview in Taipei yesterday.

The mainland and Taiwan last month agreed to boost access to each other's banks, insurers and brokerages.

The Taiwan exchange would advance its ambition of becoming an international fund-raising center while widening options for the island's investors. Mainland companies would gain access to a $612 billion stock market to help finance expansion in the island of 23 million people.

"When the ECFA is signed with the mainland next year, it will be a good opportunity for mainland firms to list in Taiwan and we aim for that to happen in the next year," Schive said.

Cross-Straits relations have warmed since Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008.

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex stock index rose the most since 1991 on April 30 after the island allowed mainland investments for the first time. The measure has risen 69 percent this year, heading for its best annual performance in 16 years. It fell 0.1 percent yesterday to 7768.71.

"There will be more choices for Taiwan investors and this will also be beneficial for Taiwan to develop as a financial center," said Parker Wu, who helps oversee the equivalent of $44 million at the Agriculture Bank of Taiwan.

"Investors can take their pick of shares in Taiwan without needing to go to other markets and the Taiex will become more appealing."

The island aims to sign a trade accord with the mainland by May to boost economic growth, the island's "economics affairs minister" Shih Yen-shiang said on Sept 16. The island intends to sign deals with the mainland on tariff reduction and cross-Straits investments, the Straits Exchange Foundation said on Oct 14.

Taiwan estimates the accord would create 273,000 jobs and bolster exports. It may boost economic growth by between 1.65 percent and 1.72 percent, Yiin Chii-ming, the island's former "economic affairs minister", said in July.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page15)

Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) said yesterday it would launch a customized version of the BlackBerry that supports China's home-grown 3G standard, as part of its latest efforts to expand in the world's largest mobile phone population.

The world's second largest smartphone vendor signed an agreement with China Mobile to deliver a BlackBerry model that supports China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network.

The new handset, which would start shipping "soon", will be targeted at Chinese small companies and individual consumers, according to RIM.

"We view China as a strategic market. And China Mobile is by far the largest mobile carrier in the world," said Jim Balsillie, the company's co-chief executive.

Balsillie said the new BlackBerry handset would support China Mobile's wireless services such as the China Mobile's App Store and the instant messaging service Fetion. RIM is also planning to bring its own App Store, "App World", to China next year, Balsillie said.

The partnership with China Mobile came shortly after RIM reached agreement on Monday with one of the country's largest IT products distributor, Digital China, to sell phones in China.

Previously, BlackBerries were only officially available in China for corporate users through China Mobile's sales channels. Balsillie said yesterday that the company plans to expand to tap individual consumers and small businesses.

The Chinese government issued the 3G license earlier this year to major Chinese telecom operators, attracting cellphone makers such as Apple Inc, RIM and Nokia.

China Unicom last month introduced the Apple iPhone in China, but its high price proved to be prohibitive. Some experts said this would provide an opportunity for companies such as RIM.

Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile, said yesterday that the company would release a cheaper package for the new BlackBerry model to attract individual consumers. He said China Mobile currently has more than 4 million 3G users and the number is expected to reach 5 million by the end of the year.

China Mobile is the only carrier to adopt the TD-SCDMA around the world, making it reliant on the support of major handset makers. The company announced earlier this year it would give 600 million yuan in subsidies to cellphone makers to develop TD-SCDMA handsets.

In 2006, RIM signed a partnership with China Mobile to launch BlackBerries for corporate clients, especially multinationals, in China. However, the deal has not been productive because China Mobile failed to introduce any new models over the following three years.

China Mobile current only provides one old BlackBerry model, with service packages ranging from 398 to 598 yuan per month.

Balsillie said yesterday that RIM was investing in manufacturing and research and development in China. He said the company procured $2 billion worth of goods in China for its global operations this year.

RIM and China Mobile also announced yesterday they would join hands in developing BlackBerry models that support TD-LTE, China's home grown fourth generation (4G) technology.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page13)

PetroChina aims to more than double the output at domestic oil and gas fields that it operates with foreign companies.

The company plans to increase the output to the equivalent of at least 15 million metric tons a year by 2015, compared with 6.57 million tons in 2008, parent China National Petroleum Corp said yesterday.

Kirin raises JV stakes

Japanese beverage firm Kirin Holdings said yesterday it would raise its stake in a Chinese soft drinks joint venture to 93.04 percent from 57.66 percent. Kirin said it would pay at least 125 million yuan for 35.38 percent in the venture, Shanghai Jinjiang Kirin Beverage & Food, from its partner Jinjiang International Holdings in an auction.

Benz record sales

Mercedes-Benz said yesterday it sold nearly 8,500 vehicles in China last month, a record year-on-year growth of 224 percent. The automaker's total sales in the first 11 months reached about 59,200 units, 68 percent up from a year earlier. Mercedes expected 65 percent growth for the whole year with 65,000 models to be sold.

Rusal HK float postponed

United Co Rusal, the world's biggest aluminum company, failed to get approval for an initial public offering of as much as $3 billion in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.

The stock exchange's listing committee needed more time to study the $16.8 billion debt restructuring accord that Rusal completed last week, the report said, citing unnamed sources. The decision will delay the IPO until next year.

China Daily - Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page13)

The negotiations, which are likely to start by the end of December, also assume significance against the backdrop of Rio and BHP further consolidating their mining operations over the weekend.

This year's iron ore price negotiations reached an impasse in June after China's chief negotiator CISA insisted on a 45 percent discount over last year's prices, after a 33 percent cut in benchmark iron ore prices had been reached by the "Big Three" with other Asian steel mills.

Chinese steel mills have since then started sourcing ore supplies from the spot market or signed individual contracts with the "Big Three", for a 33 to 28 percent cut, without revealing details.

Baosteel, the country's largest steel mill, was always at the forefront of the iron ore pricing talks since 2003, but was replaced by CISA this year as prices continued to increase.

The bitter and protracted row over the ore talks raised doubts in industry circles on whether the association was the right candidate to spearhead the negotiations.

"Next year's iron ore talks could see results, as Baosteel has several years of experience in iron ore talks. They are also capable of formulating decisions that can best encompass the prevailing market trends," said Yu Liangui, a steel analyst with Mysteel Research Institute.

During the 2007 negotiations Baosteel achieved the first price agreement of that year with Vale of Brazil, only 9.5 percent up from the previous year. Achieving the first agreement of the year was crucial, as it prevented the levels of other international agreements pushing the price up for China. This meant that in 2007, China's steelmakers achieved record profits on the back of stable and relatively low production costs.

"It would suit Baosteel better if it is able to reach a first price agreement with Vale as it is a long-term price advocator. Such a move would also be a blow to BHP, which always prefers to use the spot price to follow the long-term price," said Yu.

However, he warned that inordinate delays in fixing a price would be detrimental for Chinese steelmakers as prices may go up once the global economy starts recovering.

Baosteel is planning to replace its present chief negotiator Ding Shouhu in next year's talks, while Rio Tinto may also have a new representative, according to sina.com.

The real challenge in next year's talks would be to achieve a price that is in the best interests of all concerned. That seems to be a tough task as international analysts have predicted a 20 to 30 percent increase in iron ore prices for 2010.

The decision of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to merge their Australian iron ore resources is also not good news for Chinese steelmakers.

The two mining giants signed a binding agreement last week to consolidate their iron ore operations in Western Australia. Plans for the joint venture were originally announced in June and are awaiting regulatory approval.

"China will face a more serious threat if the Rio and BHP joint venture gains ground as their resource monopoly will help them in controlling capacities and prices," said Zhang Ye, vice-general manager of China National Minerals, a wholly owned subsidiary of metals trader China Minmetals.

Zhang said Chinese steel mills should look at diversifying their iron ore supplies further and also improve the negotiation tactics at the talks.

Yang Siming, chairman of Nanjing Iron & Steel Group, said benchmark iron ore prices might rise 5 to 10 percent next year. But the bigger worry for Chinese mills would be the skyrocketing ocean freight charges.

Analysts also feel that the joint moves by BHP and Rio would propel Chinese steelmakers to the industry consolidation mode.

The Chinese government has for long wanted to consolidate the fragmented industry as domestic steel firms are disadvantaged in annual international iron ore negotiations due to the low industry concentration.

The nation's iron ore imports rose 36.8 percent to 45.5 million tons in the first 10 months from a year earlier, Customs said on Nov 12.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page14)

SHANGHAI: Mainland stocks fell, dragging the Shanghai Composite Index from a two-week high, as raw-material producers and brokerages dropped after commodity prices slid and a shareholder sold a stake in Haitong Securities Co.

The benchmark index fell 35.23, or 1.06 percent, to 3296.66 at the close, after reaching its highest level since Nov 23 on Monday.

The CSI 300 Index dropped 1.22 percent to 3624.02.

"Current earnings growth for commodity stocks doesn't justify their high stock prices and valuations," said Zhang Ling, who helps oversee about $7.21 billion at ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co. "Some investors are taking profit from the market now."

Indexes tracking energy and materials producers on the CSI 300 have rallied more than 125 percent in 2009, making them two of the top three performers among the 10 industry groups.

Zijin Mining Group Co, the nation's biggest producer of gold, dropped 1 percent to 10.52 yuan. Jiangxi Copper Co, China's biggest copper producer, fell 1.1 percent to 42.62 yuan. China Shenhua Energy Co, the nation's largest coal producer, dropped 2.6 percent to 35.65 yuan.

The London Metals Index, a measure of six metals including lead and aluminum, retreated 0.8 percent to the lowest this month. Crude oil for January delivery slid 2 percent to $73.93 a barrel in New York on Monday and gold lost 0.5 percent.

Haitong Securities, the country's second-largest listed brokerage by market value, fell 1.9 percent to 17.79 yuan after Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development Co said it sold 3.19 million shares in the company. Other brokerages also declined, with CITIC Securities Co slumping 2.9 percent to 30.81 yuan.

Insurers declined on concern recent gains had outpaced prospects for earnings growth. China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co slid 2.6 percent to 26.41 yuan. China Life Insurance Co lost 1.4 percent to 32.7 yuan.

Hang Seng falls

Hong Kong stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index to the lowest close this month, after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US economy faces "formidable headwinds", heightening concern that demand for companies relying on overseas sales will slow.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.18 percent to 22060.52, its lowest close since Nov 30. The gauge has surged 94 percent from this year's low on March 9.

Shares on the gauge are priced at an average 17.4 times estimated profit, up from 10.6 times at the start of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.5 percent to 13152.1.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page15)

COPENHAGEN: Unlike most of us who try to understand climate change issues through the media, Wang Shi looks for traces of global warming when climbing the world's highest peaks.

From 1997 until now, Wang, a mountain climbing enthusiast and the head of one of the most well known real estate developers in China, has made it to the top of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, seven times.

He said he could clearly see that the snowline was receding each time he went back up there.

"To sustain my adventurous lifestyle, it is imperative that I do something about global warming," he said.

As the head of Vanke Co, China's largest real estate developer, Wang Shi perhaps has a better understanding of climate change than most others. According to him, 70 percent of the world's illegal lumber is sent to China and nearly 70 percent of it is used in construction projects.

"At least I can do my bit to reduce the use of wood in our construction process," he said, adding that the illegal logging of rainforest was a big contributor to global warming.

In addition, Wang said he would also increase the use of renewable energy in the residential community he develops.

Vanke's new headquarters has made wide use of solar panels, which can contribute 15 percent to the building's total energy consumption. Wang is now pushing for the adoption of solar, wind and bio-fuel facilities in other new building projects.

"By 2013, we may have a renewable energy generation capacity of 10 million kwh," he said.

However, Wang said the wide adoption of renewable energy facilities in residential areas was not cost-effective in China. "When we retrofit buildings in China, the expensive solutions, like renewable energy and double layer glass windows, might not be the best," he said.

Some easier and cheaper alternatives, such as making the building walls a little bit thicker and making the windows and doors fit better into the wall, can achieve the same result, he said. Both these initiatives can keep the room warm in winter and cool in summer.

"It won't cost much, but it works well and, more importantly, it will improve the quality of the building," he said.

Wang Shi is now in Copenhagen on behalf of a bunch of successful business entrepreneurs in China to voice the industry's commitment to carbon emission reduction. He is also closely monitoring what the Chinese government will pledge to subsidize green projects.

The billionaire has rented a bicycle to commute between his hotel and the conference venue.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page7)

Just minutes before the curtains went up on the United Nations' Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on Monday, a green activist from Maldives staged an unusual protest.

In front of the Bella Center where negotiators from all over the globe have gathered to press for a historic deal on climate change, the activist, submerged in a 3-meter-high Perspex tank filled with water, enacted a scenario that showed the tiny island nation as being deluged by floods.

It may have been a strange way to protest, but the activist was clearly sending out a message - that rising sea levels due to global warming could make the Maldives uninhabitable within the century, forcing the country's 360,000 citizens to flee.

Wang Binbin, a 30-year-old press officer from Oxfam's Beijing office, who was watching the protest, was a key mover behind this novel demonstration.

In fact, Wang is the only mainland Chinese in the 60-member-strong Oxfam team at Copenhagen; her daily duties include helping reporters from Asia, especially those from China, keep track of the latest developments at the conference.

"I have been given this task mainly because the international community recognizes the importance of China's presence at Copenhagen," Wang said. "I am quite proud of my contribution."

Wang's role is not unique.

Apart from the government delegation led by Premier Wen Jiabao, China's civil society has become an influential force at the meeting, which is aimed at supplanting the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

Although exact figures are unavailable, many Chinese citizens have already landed in Copenhagen in their various individual capacities. But, many more, including journalists, are at home, unable to attend due to the restrictions on the number of invitees.

China's growing economic clout has led to it being more interested in engaging with the rest of the world. This trend has been reflected in the strategies it has adopted to tackle both the financial and climate crises.

For instance, China has clearly articulated its desire to obtain more decision-making power in international organizations by injecting capital to support these financial institutions.

The same ground rules are being applied to climate change issues as well. In fact, China's role in climate change talks has been on the up recently.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama have discussed climate change issues nearly 10 times, be it at international summits, bilaterally or through hotlines, so far this year.

In addition, their climate change envoys, Xie Zhenhua and Todd Stern, have held wide-ranging discussions on the topic at least on 20 occasions.

"China has brought new energy and dynamism into the global governance system," said Dennis Pamlin, a Sweden-based visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

This is not only true of consensus building at post-Kyoto climate change negotiations, but also on other international efforts such as the World Trade Organization. China was among the earliest to press for the need to define sustainable trade in a sophisticated manner, and not just as another tool to export more goods like how the EU and the US did, Pamlin said.

China's role as a team player is vital and this will hopefully be developed further, he said.

In an era of transparency and engagement with different strata of civil society both within and outside China, a lot more is expected of the country in the coming years, Pamlin said.

It would be a great beginning, for instance, if China were to invite more foreigners to team up on low-carbon projects, and wherever possible, make that information available in English, Pamlin said.

Clear action plans, multilateral collaboration in emerging areas such as nano-technology, support for multi-stakeholder participation, and helping Chinese companies take the lead in global initiatives would strengthen climate change efforts, Pamlin pointed out.

Already, Chinese businesses have started taking the first steps on the global stage. "At Copenhagen, the Chinese are very active and now these businessmen too have joined in," Pamlin said.

In fact, even as Wang Binbin was organizing the unique protest for the start of the meet, more than 400 climate change negotiators, business leaders, environmental activists and journalists boarded the CO2-free Climate Express train on December 5 to the Copenhagen conference.

In the train, Chinese real estate tycoons Feng Lun and Wang Shi shared a ride with Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director-General of the International Union of Railways (UIC) and the initiator of this special train concept.

Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme and James P. Leape, director-general of the WWF, were also on the Express.

"This has great symbolic meaning - China's global engagement and dialogue in the climate change era are open," Pamlin said.

During the past several years, China's determination to cope with environmental woes and global warming has won global plaudits.

Ian Johnson, chairman of the London-based IDEAcarbon and former vice-president for sustainable development at the World Bank, said China was very serious when it came to implementing its decisions.

Since 1991, Johnson had played a major role in negotiating for the establishment of the Global Environment Facility and had managed its day-to-day operations for six years. He had witnessed China's increasing global role in sustainable development.

"I remember well the logging ban (triggered by the large death toll during unprecedented floods in 1998) that was introduced years ago and how effectively that was implemented," said Johnson.

"So, I think the first thing to say is that China is a serious player and always has been, and takes these issues seriously, even in those cases where it may disagree with the West on issues."

Daniel Dudek, chief economist with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a US-based green campaigner, said China had made very significant progress in its efforts to participate in the global environment governance system, but that there was still a long way to go.

"China has recognized the necessity and benefits of actively engaging in the process of building the system," said Dudek, who has been flying frequently between Beijing and Washington since the 1990s to strengthen Sino-US cooperation on environment.

As a close observer of China's internal environment and climate management regime, Dudek believes the nation is still a little wary about taking the lead globally, but he said the country should work hard to devise a sophisticated green campaign.

"China needs to embrace the minimum elements necessary for success, articulate clearly the relationship between its positions and protection of the global climate, and work to be sure that the evolving governance system is up to the task," he said.

Dudek pointed out that the Copenhagen conference was just the right time to make sure that there was sufficient responsibility and accountability within the system to drive much-needed private investment.

Otherwise, short-term economic interests would overshadow larger concerns and lead to failure in building mutually-agreed frameworks for a safer environment in the long run, he said.

"Hopefully, China will judge its own performance at Copenhagen by the latter metric rather than the former," Dudek said.

The world has changed fundamentally since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was convened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Differences between local, regional, and national economies have all but vanished in the wake of globalization. These differences were gradually smoothed away under the common framework of the WTO.

This tight global economic linkage, however, has resulted in issues of political resonance, such as competitiveness and employment, being readily transmitted from one nation to the other, Dudek said.

Therefore, it was a tough task for the world to unite on environmental governance, since there was no common framework for management, only a differentiated structure, he said.

"As long as differences between major carbon emitters persist, it will be difficult to achieve in the climate arena the extraordinary benefits that the world has reaped in the economic sphere," Dudek pointed out.

Despite such pessimism, Johnson believes China can help bring about a change. "We have to recognize the scale of China so one has to recognize that China is a powerful economic player and a lot of the decisions that are taken in China will reverberate around the world and will affect other countries," he said.

China has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its willingness to adopt next generation technologies and to adapt to tough climate change goals, he said.

"It has tremendous opportunity to do so because it is a country that is listened to very carefully, particularly by the developing world, and will be watched closely for lessons," Johnson said.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page7)

Guard gets thief who threatened him arrested

A security guard of a courtyard in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, handed over a thief to the police after the suspect threatened to take revenge upon his release last week.

Yang, the security guard at a courtyard office, caught the suspect red-handed stealing cell phones from one of the cabins. The suspect agreed to return the cell phones if he was allowed to walk away free.

He then told Yang he would take revenge on his release if he phones the cops.

Yang called the police immediately.

(Yangtze Evening News)

Five arrested for kidnapping man

Police in Xinyu, Zhejiang province, arrested five suspects who allegedly kidnapped a man using a toy gun recently.

The jobless youth trailed and abducted Huang when he parked his luxury near his residence on Nov 29. They forced him into a van threatening to shoot him if he protested. They later revealed the gun was made of plastic.

The suspects phoned Huang's family demanding 700,000 yuan ($102,437) for his release. They collected the ransom amount the next day and bought a whole lot of jewelry.

They were arrested within minutes of the purchase.

(Information Daily)

Hospital compensates scalded man after 43 years

A Shanghai hospital agreed to pay 120,000 yuan ($17,561) as compensation to a man who was badly scalded during treatment 43 years ago.

Xiao Jie was only 26 days old when a nurse at the hospital dropped boiling water on his left hand.

Xiao sued the hospital in June this year, saying he had been divorced four times because of his scarred hand.

As the time limit for anyone to seek compensation is 20 years, the court asked the plaintiff to settle the matter with the hospital, which promised to pay him 120,000 yuan to put an end to the issue once and for all.

(Shanghai Evening Post)

Couple hides 90,000 yuan in dustbin, loses all of it

A man in Jinan, Shandong province, threw away a rubbish bag that contained 90,000 yuan ($13,200) in cash recently.

Zhang Si and his wife Zhang Ying run a successful timber business in the city.

Late last month, Zhang Si brought home 90,000 yuan in cash after making a sale. Fearing the amount may get robbed, Zhang Ying put the cash in the dustbin.

The next day, before leaving for work, Zhang Si collected the rubbish bag and chucked it into a roadside bin.

The couple realized their blunder an hour later and rushed to the garbage dump, but failed to find the cash.

(www.qingdaonews.com)

Woman may start own kindergarten for her kid

Upset at the city's education system, a woman in Shanghai is planning to set up her own kindergarten for her 3-year-old old child.

The woman said she had visited a number of kindergartens when kids were forced to be obedient to the teachers.

"Such a system suppresses the nature of preschool kids," she said.

(Shanghai Morning Post)

Woman leaves newborn on bed and flees hospital

A newborn girl had to be sent to an orphanage after her mother left her and fled the hospital in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, last week.

According to the staff at the Shiqiao Hospital, the pregnant woman came with a man and a little boy on the morning of Dec 1.

"Since she was in labor, we did not ask them to show their ID cards," the staff said.

The woman gave birth minutes later.

However, when a nurse visited her room after a while, the woman was gone. The newborn baby was alone on the bed crying.

A surveillance camera installed in the corridors of the hospital show that the woman had fled with the drip bottle in one hand without paying the medical fees of about 1,300 yuan.

(Yangtze Evening News)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page6)

Man paid for injury sustained 30 years ago

A Beijing court ordered a village committee to pay a resident who was injured by a horse some 30 years ago 98,900 yuan ($14,473) as compensation last week.

Zhang, 50, a resident of Sanxingzhuang village in the capital, was working in his fields on Sept 30, 1979, when a horse attacked him.

Zhang recently dragged the village management to court, saying the injuries had troubled him for the last three decades and demanded 200,000 yuan as compensation.

(Beijing Evening News)

Man makes infant sleep on street 'to punish wife'

A resident of Ningjin county in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, slept on the streets with his 1-year-old son in the biting cold after a quarrel with his wife last Tuesday.

The man, surnamed Zhu, 40, said he deliberately took his son with him to make his wife "feel guilty about the harsh things she says without thinking".

(Yanzhao Evening News)

Man, 32, helps police arrest four robbers

A resident of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, helped police nab four robbers who had attacked him last Monday.

Zhao, 32, was walking back home when four armed assailants attacked him and escaped with all his money.

Zhao told police the license plate number of the car the assailants sped off in.

The suspects were arrested three days later.

(Yanzhao Metropolis Daily)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page6)

Victim forgives kidnappers after they return IOU

A man who was kidnapped and forced to write an IOU worth 100,000 yuan ($14,634) forgave his abductors when they returned the IOU and begged for pardon in Kaili, Guizhou province, last week.

The man, surnamed Pan, received a phone call from a stranger who said he wanted to do business with him. When Pan went to meet the man he was abducted by five people.

Pan assured them he had no money to pay them and was released only when he wrote them an IOU.

"I was just about to call the police when I received another phone call from my abductors, who were ready to return the IOU on the condition that I forgive them," Pan said.

(Guizhou Metropolis Daily)

Ill woman donates kidney to save dying brother

A woman who suffers from ovarian cysts donated one of her kidneys to her elder brother in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, last week.

Wu Chuanrong, a resident of Baiyin, Gansu province, donated her kidney to her brother, who was in urgent need of the organ.

The operation was performed last Monday.

Doctors said the woman and her brother were recovering well.

(Lanzhou Morning News)

Man to pay for friend's death due to drinking

A court in Ningqiang county, Shaanxi province, ordered a man to pay 24,000 yuan ($3,512) as compensation to the family of a man who died of excess drinking in his house.

The villager, surnamed Zhang, invited his friend Zhou over to his house for a meal on Oct 7.

Zhou died that night. Doctors said excessive alcohol consumption killed him.

Zhou's relatives dragged Zhang to court, which ordered him to bear the responsibility for his friend's death.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Woman hopes to find daughter-in-law in tenant

A woman in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, published an ad to rent her house in a local newspaper, hoping the tenant would one day become her daughter-in-law.

The woman, surnamed Zhao, said she was desperate to find a wife for his 34-year-old son, a software engineer.

Zhao said in the ad that only single women between the ages of 25 to 28 would be accepted as tenants.

"I do want to rent out my house. I am just hoping the tenant could fall in love with my son and marry him," Zhao said.

(Guizhou Commercial Daily)

Farmer arrested for buying woman, her son for brother

A farmer in Zhen'an county, Shaanxi province, who bought a mentally challenged woman and her 2-year-old son from a trafficker was arrested last Wednesday.

The accused, surnamed Ye, said he bought the woman and her child for 6,000 yuan ($878) for his younger brother two months ago.

Police have returned the woman and her son to her family.

(Huashang Daily)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page6)

Fake cop gets 13 years in jail for illegal fund raising

A court in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, sentenced a woman to 13 years in prison for illegally raising 2.1 million yuan ($307,310) in the pretense of a cop.

Lu Li purchased a fake police uniform and raised the money from two contractors after presenting counterfeit contracts for construction projects in 2007.

Lu was arrested last July. She had repaid only 550,000 yuan to her victims when she was held.

(www.chinanews.com.cn)

Deaf and dumb woman, 22, delivers girl on train

A deaf and dumb woman gave birth to a baby girl in a train in Dongguan, Guangdong province, last Wednesday.

Railway police and train attendants made a makeshift delivery room in the dining car when 22-year-old Xiao Li suddenly went into labor.

Xiao, who was over nine months pregnant, had just boarded the train to her hometown in Anhui province when she experienced labor pains.

Xiao and her newborn baby were sent to a hospital at the next station. Both of them are healthy, doctors said.

(Guangzhou Daily)

Hotel to compensate for drunken guest's suicide

A court in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, has ordered a hotel to pay 145,000 yuan ($21,219) as compensation to the family of a drunken guest who bit a masseuse and jumped off the building's fourth floor to his death in August.

The deceased, surnamed Ou, arrived at the hotel, located in the city's Hetang area, visibly drunk and asked for a massage.

Minutes later, he jumped off the fourth floor of the hotel and died. The masseuse said she had a quarrel with the guest, who bit her nose before jumping out of the window.

The Jiangmen intermediate people's court said the hotel would have to bear the responsibility of the death of its guest.

(Jiangmen Daily)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page6)

Disabled garbage collector, 81, helps poor students

An 81-year-old disabled man who collects garbage to make a living has financially supported the education of a number of underprivileged students in Yichuan county, Henan province.

Hu Fasheng said he could not possibly count how many students he had supported in the past decades, but hopes to continue the noble act as long as he is alive.

In addition to helping poor students with their tuition fees, Hu buys them books, pens and other stationery every year on Children's Day.

(Dahe News)

Students, parents on trial for hiding pupil's death

Three high school students and their parents who concealed the death of a fellow student stood trial in a court in Wuhan, Hubei province, last Tuesday.

The parents of the deceased, surnamed Lu, sued three of his classmates and their parents, saying they knew Lu had drowned but did not inform anybody.

The parents said the boys did not even make an effort to save Lu when he was screaming for help in the water in May.

The city's Qingshan district people's court has not passed a verdict yet.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily)

Cancer patient, 70, a godsend for the poor

A 70-year-old patient of lung cancer has supported 17 poor students in the past decade in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

Zhang Cheng, an army veteran, has paid more than 120,000 yuan ($17,561) worth of tuition fees on behalf of the underprivileged students so far.

According to Zhang, none of the students know he has had 10 surgeries to cure him of the disease in as many years.

Zhang and his wife live in a shabby house, which "starts leaking during the rains".

Zhang has also signed a contract to donate his body for scientific research after his death.

(Wuhan Evening News)

Woman who tried to extort sex partner jailed

A court in Gongyi, Henan province, sentenced a 21-year-old woman to nine months in jail for trying to extort money from a man she had a one-night stand with.

The accused, surnamed Niu, agreed to meet her Internet friend, surnamed Yao, 30, at a hotel for a casual encounter in June.

The next day, Niu, along with her boyfriend, surnamed Zhao, and two other male friends, asked Yao for "youth devaluation payment" of 8,000 yuan ($1,171).

When Yao refused, the three men beat him up. Hotel staff heard a ruckus and phoned the police, who arrested the suspects.

(Dongfang Jinbao News)

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page6)

Victim's family paid

The parents of Lin Jueyun, a suspect who died in detention six years ago, received 70,000 yuan of compensation from the public security bureau of Wanning, Hainan province, the hinews.cn reported Tuesday.

Lin was taken back to a police office of public security bureau of Wanning on Nov 19, 2003, suspected of stealing a motorcycle. He was found dead in a river three days later with scars on his body. Authorities said Lin died while escaping from police custody.

However, Lin's parents accused local police in the death of their son, but the verdicts in court went against their claim.

After years of petitioning, the parents decided to accept intermediation of the Hainan Higher People's Court and made a final settlement with Wanning police.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page4)

A man hacked to death three members of his ex-wife's family, including two children, and injured another two after his former wife refused to resume relations with him in Chengde, Hebei province.

The 39-year-old accused, surnamed Shi, a former taxi driver, killed his former wife's mother and two nephews, both younger than 10 at a rented apartment in the Shaanxiying residential community in downtown Chengde, at about 5 pm on Monday, a witness, surnamed Chen, told China Daily yesterday.

Shi then broke into a ward of the Chengde Central Hospital, where two of his wife's sisters were lodged, and attacked them with a kitchen knife, injuring them seriously, Chen said.

Police finally cornered Shi on the fifth floor of the hospital, even as he "repeatedly tried to injure himself with the weapon".

The suspect and the two injured are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

According to the police, the suspect is a resident of Zhoutaizi village in Luanping county.

"Shi seemed like a good man. We never thought he could murder anyone," an official of the Zhoutaizi village committee said.

Shi worked as a taxi driver in Chengde for several years. His wife had recently divorced him.

All efforts to get a comment from the police and staff at the hospital failed.

The incident follows a number of similar cases of mass killings in the country recently.

On Nov 23, Beijinger Li Lei hacked his parents, two children, wife and sister to death at their Daxing district home. Li later told police the killings were a result of long-time family conflicts.

On Nov 15, a man broke into his girlfriend's home in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and killed five people and seriously injured two others as the family disapproved his relationship with their daughter.

"I think all the suspects in these cases suffer from psychological problems and their paranoia took them to such violent extremes," said Julie Ge, a senior counselor and CEO of the marriage counseling website Juedui100.com.

Some suspects might undergo certain experiences, which later generate hatred, she said.

Ge added: "Westerners pay as much attention to their mental health as to their physical health. But in China very few people seek psychological counseling. That's probably because of the stigma attached to seeing a psychological counselor," she said.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page4)

Five scholars from Peking University have recommended to the country's top legislature that an existing law defining the government's ability to seize urban housing should be abolished or revised to protect property owners.

In a letter to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Monday, scholars said the current "Housing Demolition and Relocation Management Regulation" is a breach of the country's constitution and property law.

The letter has fired up public attention across the nation, especially after the death of a resident who set herself on fire to prevent local authorities in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province, from seizing and demolishing her home.

In the letter, law professors Shen Kui, Jiang Ming'an, Wang Xixin, Qian Mingxing, and Chen Duanhong suggested that the NPC Standing Committee urge the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, the organ that issued the existing regulation, to revise or abolish the law.

According to the nation's constitution and property law, a citizen's private property is inviolable - governments can only confiscate a citizen's housing for public welfare construction. Compensation must be paid before relocation, Jiang said.

But in the housing management regulation, the rights of property owners are not specified.

The regulation also stipulates that residents have to move out once the government issues a relocation permit, with a maximum period of a year and a half for residents to relocate and negotiate compensation.

But what most often happens, experts said, is that local governments give construction clearance to estate developers or enterprises that pay off officials. It is then up to developers to negotiate with residents. If residents refuse to move, they will be forced out.

"Such twisted relations between urban development and personal property has resulted in many social conflicts," Shen told China Daily yesterday.

The top legislature would not make any comments yesterday.

However, South Metro News reported yesterday that insiders with the legislature said the State Council Legislative Affairs Office and relative government departments are indeed researching possible changes.

Shen said they felt it an obligation to push for changes after recent bloody incidents involving residents who were forced out from homes.

"It's time we rethink about the unfairness caused by, and price for urbanization and development, especially after the death of Tang Fuzhen," he said.

Tang shocked the nation by setting herself on fire to protest the demolition of her former husband's garment processing unit on Nov 13. She died of severe burning 16 days later at a local hospital, and the building was pulled down.

However, the local Chengdu government said Tang and her family were actually confronting law enforcement in a violent way. The government referred to the Housing Demolition and Relocation Management Regulation for seizing the garment building.

After Tang's death, many people angrily criticized the local authorities for the violent way in which the regulation was enforced.

"It's funny that those who conduct housing demolition support themselves with a regulation that disagrees with higher laws," said Jiang Ming'an, one of the five scholars.

"It is obvious that the regulation favors the demolishers and infringe upon the rights of residents," said Cai Dingjian, a law professor from China University of Political Science and Law.

The regulation also stipulates that even if residents file a lawsuit, local governments still have the right to force relocation before a court verdict.

"Residents tend not to sue as their houses are already demolished, and courts would be in a quandary to handle such cases," Cai said.

"The regulation has become a tool by local governments and estate developers to make money by exploiting people's land and housing," said He Weifang, a former law professor with Peking University.

He said in compensation negotiations, the residents have no say as the prices are decided by local governments.

"With land and housing prices going up so fast these years, forced relocations occur more and more often", said Li Jin, a lawyer from Beijing.

Shen said the five scholars are not against urban development and progress, but asked "If the price is people's basic rights and sense of security, can we afford that?"

However, Shen said there would be difficulties in making changes as the interest of local governments will be violated, and "that will be a great pressure for the top legislature".

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page3)

CHONGQING: The first gang case connected to arrested former municipal justice bureau director Wen Qiang was made public yesterday at the trial for Wang Tianlun, a billionaire and accused gang boss.

Wen testified that Wang, who allegedly monopolized the hog slaughtering and pork distribution markets, had bribed him 200,000 yuan to help cover up the killing of a man by the gang.

Wang yesterday stood trial with 22 alleged associates of his mafia-style gang in Chongqing's No 5 Intermediate People's Court. The gang, consisting of many family members of the 44-year-old Wang, is facing nine charges including leading or participating in mafia-style gangs, intentionally causing injury on others, racketeering, illegally detaining others, forcing trades, and bribery.

The gang is accused of killing one man and injuring two. Police say the gang beat and hacked those attempting to interfere with its business that generated more than 100 million yuan in profits since 1999, the prosecutor said.

Among all high-profile trials on organized gangs following the city's crackdown on gangs since June, Wang's case is the first one connected to Wen, ex-deputy director of the Chongqing municipal public security bureau and ex-director of the city's justice bureau.

Wen, 54, is the most senior level official formally arrested in September for protecting a string of local organized gangs. Wen's confession is quoted in the indictment to prove that gang boss Wang once offered him 200,000 yuan through a middleman in a restaurant in September 2007, after gang members beat a man to death.

Wen's testimony in court could later be used to convict himself, when he is tried of accepting bribes and protecting mafia-style gangs.

Yesterday prosecutors said Wang's brother, Wang Dongming, assigned two other gangsters in mid-December 2003 to "teach a lesson" to a local pig farmer who did not send his hogs to the slaughtering company operated by the gang. The man died after the assault. Having accepted the money, Wen, then a police head, exerted influence on senior officials of the municipal crime investigation department and incumbent case team. He later arranged the case to be solved by another team under official Huang Daiqiang's lead, according to prosecutors.

Hundreds of citizens reportedly crowded outside the court to "stay close to the trial".

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page4)

The country's first trial for civil compensation targeting tainted-milk producer Sanlu will not go ahead as scheduled today.

Ma Xuexin, whose 20-month-old son suffered from a kidney stone because of the melamine-tainted milk, has accused bankrupt Sanlu Group and the Longhua supermarket in Beijing where he bought the formula of being responsible.

"The trial was postponed because the defendants requested further investigation into the connection between the baby's illness and the tainted formula. We haven't heard anything on when the trial will be reopened," said Lin Zheng, the administrative coordinator for the case.

A public hearing on Nov 27 ended without a verdict and the matter had been rescheduled for trial today.

Ma was informed yesterday the case would not go ahead as planned, but he said he would persist until a satisfactory verdict is reached.

"I have the formula receipts from the supermarket. The tainted formula made my son sick. This is the truth. They are just quibbling," Ma said.

"What I want most is to make sure my son's care will be secure until he's at least 18 years old," He said.

The parents of other sick children from around the country share Ma's concerns.

Zhou Xiong from Hubei and Guo Caihong from Henan both sent their babies to hospital for kidney stones allegedly caused by Sanlu milk formula. The two families were each offered 2,000 yuan ($290), according to the compensation plan that came out last year, but both of them turned the money down.

"It doesn't even make up to the money spent on the formula, let alone what we've spent on medication," said Guo.

She said her 2-year-old daughter still shows symptoms like fever and swollen lymph nodes. Similarly, Zhou said his 23-month-old son is still suffering from kidney stones and renal atrophy after he left the hospital. But when he took his son back to the local hospital, they wouldn't admit the child again.

"The doctors asked my son to go home and drink more water. But we're worried his condition will get worse. We just hope the government can come up with a treatment plan for children like my son. You can't wait for things to get worse to look for solutions," Zhou said.

Last month, the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court concluded bankruptcy procedures for Sanlu, leaving no money for the payment of settlements. This made compensation for sick children's parents impossible even if they win civil compensation lawsuits.

But Ma's lawyer, Peng Jian, has thought of a possible way out.

After learning the trial was postponed, Peng decided to add five more defendants to Ma's trial, all of them local dairy companies. He said the reason is that part of those companies' profits in 2007 came from Sanlu's selling of tainted milk formula, which also makes them responsible for the case. Also added to the trial is a third party, the China Dairy Industry Association.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page3)

Billionaire Wang Wenxiang stood trial yesterday in Harbin for hiring two people to murder a former business partner.

Authorities said Wang, from Heilongjiang province, contracted the killing to his personal secretary and a migrant worker.

The pair, secretary Bai Peng and young migrant worker Yu Yi, were caught on videotape strangling the man and putting him in a trunk on May 18.

The victim, Zhong Yishi, ran a construction company that began doing business with Wang 10 years ago.

The two had a falling out over defaulted payments for a project that ended up in court in 2004.

In December last year, Zhong brought another lawsuit against Wang on other issues related to the construction properties, which motivated Wang to plan the kidnapping and murder.

Wang, 49, graduated from Tsinghua University, a top university in China, and was the political consultative conference member of Heilongjiang province. His Xinheng Corporation was involved in a range of industries including real estate, power, wholesale and retail. According to its website, the fixed assets of the company reached over 1 billion yuan ($146 million).

According to Zhong's wife, the motivation for the murder was caused by the business conflicts between the victim and the prime suspect.

She said Wang held a grudge against her husband after being ordered by the People's Superior Court of Heilongjiang to pay Zhong 10 million yuan in compensation.

Court heard yesterday that Bai hired Yu to assist him in the killing, while Wang was responsible for covering the fees.

A surveillance camera in an underground car garage near where Zhong lived recorded the killing on the night of May 18. Yu put a rope around Zhong's neck while Bai sealed Zhong's mouth and tied up his hands with tape.

They put the victim into the trunk of the car and drove to an abandoned brick kiln where they burned the body and took 4,000 yuan they found on the body.

Both Bai and Yu admitted after being arrested that they killed the victim purely for money. However, they had only received around 3,000 yuan when they were apprehended by police.

The Intermediate People's Court in Harbin will announce the verdict at a later date.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

SHANGHAI: A traffic cop who skipped work to get a foot massage ended up rubbing his superiors the wrong way.

The troubles for the officer, surnamed Zhang, began when someone posted an article and four photos online showing him walking out of a foot massage parlor, getting into his police car and changing into his uniform on Dec 1.

What is more, Zhang, from Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, illegally parked the police car on the wrong side of the road for an hour and a half.

Monday's article titled "Traffic policeman drives his police car for a foot massage during work hours" was posted on the country's major online forum Tianya, which sparked hot discussion and soon spread to other websites.

Zhang was relieved of his post on Monday.

The Discipline Inspection Commission of the Jiaxin Public Security Bureau admitted the man in the pictures was Zhang.

"Zhang has been working as leader of the traffic police group for four or five years, mainly responsible for investigating traffic accidents. He did a good job. We didn't expect such a thing would happen to him," another police officer who worked with Zhang for many years was quoted by Hangzhou Daily.

This is not the first time netizens have supervised the police service. Also in Zhejiang province, a policeman was caught using his police car to walk his dog earlier this year. Netizens said the officer took his dog for a walk as he drove only a little faster than walking speed.

After an investigation, the policeman was confirmed as the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Wenzhou Public Security Bureau. He was given a warning and deposed from his deputy head post.

Zhejiang Public Security Bureau officials said that citizens could call 110 to complain about the personal use of police cars by policemen.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

SHENZHEN: Local police said late last night that they have cracked three student kidnapping cases that happened in the past two months, and also arrested six suspects.

The information was released after widespread rumors that a number of middle-school and primary-school students had been kidnapped and killed, triggering panic among many parents, who flocked to schools to pick up their children after work.

In a press release from the city's public security bureau, police said the three kidnapping cases occurred on Oct 20, Nov 3 and Nov 7.

A primary school student and a teenager were killed in two of the cases, and the third victim has been rescued, police said.

In the Oct 20 case, an 11-year-old boy surnamed Yi in a primary school in Nanshan district went missing after school. His parent was asked for a ransom of $500,000.

Police seized the suspect on Nov 12, who confessed that the boy was actually killed before he asked for the ransom, police said.

In the Nov 3 case, a 13-year-old student surnamed Mai went missing after night study at school. The student was rescued by police on Nov 6 in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province.

In the last case, a fifth-grade student was abducted outside of a school in Futian district and was killed.

Despite the police press release last night, many local residents expressed anger towards the local government, which they said failed to clarify the situation in time, as the rumor started to spread at least 15 days ago.

"We got all information through the Internet or other parents and could not tell what was true," Wu Sheng, a father of a 12-year-old boy, said yesterday afternoon. "The more rumors I heard, the more anxious I became about the safety of my son."

The public has the right to know about serious crimes as quickly as possible, said Hu Xingdou, a professor with Beijing University of Technology.

"Timely disclosure of the cases helps calm down the public and also might help solve the case," he said.

Police also said last night that they have stepped up their efforts to ensure safe campuses, especially at year-end, a time that often sees rising crimes.

Thanks to tips from students, police have also cracked four criminal groups that planned to rob students, police said, adding that they have seized 15 suspects.

The city's public security bureau officials said they have launched an 80-day campaign that started Nov 23 to strengthen patrols around the schools and set up a reporting system between the schools and police. Police also said they will begin releasing any news about campus safety and crimes to the surrounding communities regularly and quickly.

Two guidelines compiled by the local police on precautionary measures and self-protection will soon be sent to the students and their parents to improve their awareness of safety and legal know-how.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

Fifteen people were infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) during hemodialysis treatments at a hospital in Anhui province since November.

Zhu Yunwu, deputy director of the hospital, said 15 of the 70 people contracted the virus during the treatments. Some 24 of the 70 tested positive for Hepatitis C, but nine of the 70 were not infected during the treatment, and must have contracted it elsewhere, Zhu said.

An uraemia patient Chu Chenqiang discovered that he was infected with Hepatitis C after he had more than 100 hemodialysis treatments in Huoshan County Hospital.

Zhu told the Beijing Times yesterday that the longer the patient was taking hemodialysis treatment, the more the risk of getting the virus. The infection rate is about 30 percent in China.

About 70 percent of the patients with the HVC can effectively rid their body of the virus after medical treatment, Zhu said.

With eight hemodialysis machines, the hospital has treated 201 patients with uraemia. The causes of the infection of HCV are still under investigation.

Wang Fangyun, director of the hospital quality management department, told the Beijing Times that the hemodialysis office has been reconfigured, separating patients with HCV from those without. The new hemodialysis treatment office, with four new machines, is in place to eliminate the infection rate. The incident is not an isolated case in hospitals across the country. In March, 20 patients were infected with Hepatitis C during hemodialysis treatments at two hospitals in Shanxi province.

The infected patients are among 47 people who received hemodialysis at the Taiyuan Public Transportation Company's hospital and the Shanxi Coalmine Central Hospital between December and January. The hospital leaders were sacked after the incident was exposed.

The same month, at least 64 people were infected with HCV after receiving blood transfusions in a county hospital in Guizhou province.

The problem was discovered after an unnamed patient was given a blood transfusion during an operation in the People's Hospital of Pingtang County in March 2001.

Hospital staff traced the blood to donor Li Cailing, 43, a native of Jiangsu province, who had kept donating up to 20,000 ml of blood for money to the hospital from October 1998 to June 2002.

The latest Ministry of Health's circular urged medical institutions and hospitals at all levels to strengthen safety awareness and take effective measures for safety in hemodialysis.

Beijing News contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

GUANGZHOU: A 5-year-old girl is undergoing a series of cosmetic surgeries at a local hospital after her face was seriously deformed due to years of domestic violence in her adopted family.

Lai Liyun, from a small village in the Chaoyang district of Shantou in Guangdong province, was abandoned by her parents some 20 days after birth in 2003. Her misfortune continued after she was adopted by villager Chen Fengyin two years later.

"The girl was seriously abused by Chen, who claimed Lai was a wayward child," Lai Xiuzhen, the girl's aunt, told China Daily yesterday.

The aunt, who took care of the girl after she was abandoned, was accompanying her during the surgical treatment, which began on Monday at the My Like Cosmetic Surgery Hospital in Guangzhou, the provincial capital.

Her aunt first visited Chen's family last year and was surprised to see that the girl's face was seriously deformed.

"So we took her back from Chen," Lai said.

Chen was later sentenced to three years in jail by the Chaoyang district court in March this year for his abuse of the child.

Prior to the sentence, the families of Chen and Lai also reached an agreement in November last year, with Chen paying up to 400,000 yuan ($58,578) to Lai for compensation.

Doctors from the hospital had been to Lai's hometown several times since early this year, to visit the girl and to make a diagnosis, said Xiong Minggen, president of the hospital.

"We want to help her by providing free surgeries," Xiong said.

The girl's face has been seriously deformed, with a collapsed nose, deformed lips and ears and scarred forehead, Xiong said.

Cases of family violence against children have increased by about 20 percent across the province over the past two decades, with many victims seriously injured due to a lack of protective shelters, according to the Guangdong Provincial Women and Children Federation.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page4)

Deaths not vaccine-related

The four deaths among H1N1 flu vaccine recipients reported in China are not associated with the vaccine, said Yan Jiangying, spokeswoman for the State Food and Drug Administration yesterday.

Last week, the Ministry of Health said preliminary autopsies showed the deaths had nothing to do with the vaccine. As of yesterday, China has vaccinated about 30 million people against the H1N1 flu on the mainland.

Fight against fake tickets

Starting tomorrow, train tickets sold across the country will be upgraded with better anti-counterfeiting measures, Ministry of Railways officials confirmed yesterday.

A code bar on the ticket will be replaced by a two-dimensional image, thus making it more difficult to print fake tickets, the ministry said.

However, the ministry said old tickets could be used together with the new ones until Jan 1, 2010.

Fire season approaching

China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Tuesday warned the nation's firefighting forces that they are entering the peak season for fires.

Ministry figures show 70 fatal fire accidents occurred in November, killing 106 people and injuring 35.

Winter is a high-risk season as the use of electricity, gas, and other fuels surges, police said. According to the MPS, 46 percent of fires occur from November to February in most of the country over the past 30 years.

Friends of China named

Ten foreigners were named "Top 10 International Friends of China" yesterday after being voted on by more than 56 million Chinese Internet users.

The accolade recipients include Canadian Norman Bethune, German John H. D. Rabe, Spanish Juan Antonio Samaranch, American Edgar Snow, American Joseph Needham, New Zealander Rewi Alley, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Japanese Morihiko Hiramatsu and Chinese Israel Epstein.

The Internet poll was jointly conducted by China Radio International, Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

China Daily-Xinhua-Beijing News

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page4)

Love Korean kimchi pickles? Why not try some Sichuan pickles with the same taste?

The message was sent by officials in the southwestern province of Sichuan, which has launched an aggressive promotion of its pickles -- a spicy vegetable mixture -- in a bid to counterattack challenges posed by the growing popularity of kimchi among Chinese.

Its latest step was to introduce the pickles to the menus of top leaders including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao attending the three-day Central Economic Conference, which ended on Monday in Beijing's Jingxi Hotel.

"We are promoting the pickles to the hotels, to the military camps, to university canteens, and to more supermarkets and restaurants," said Ren Yongchang, director of the Sichuan Provincial Agriculture Department.

Kimchi is a common side dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings from South Korea. Even a large number of Sichuan natives have been attracted by it.

"I like Korean TV, which often mentions kimchi ... so I bought some in a supermarket, and I love it," said a woman surnamed Zhang, a native of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

The history of Sichuan pickles dates back to 1,500 years ago. Exports of Sichuan pickles reached $2.8 million last year, accounting for about 0.1 percent of the $2.4 billion exports of South Korea's kimchi.

Sichuan province officials unveiled a five-year development plan for pickles in August, aimed at catching up with the Korean kimchi and realizing an output of more than 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) by 2012.

The agriculture department said the pickle output in the province has already increased by 20 percent over the past year.

Huang Zhiling contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

China's top drug authority yesterday vowed to tighten control over the production and sale of medicines containing ephedrine, an ingredient used to process the stimulant drug methamphetamine.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) made the announcement as 85 suspects involved in what is being referred to as one of the country's largest drug cases went on trial.

Police had busted five drug-manufacturing gangs and smashed eight illegal drug-processing factories nationwide, confiscating 415 kg of ephedrine.

The suspects illegally obtained medicines containing ephedrine in large quantities through registered pharmaceutical companies with the sole purpose of producing methamphetamine, a banned drug commonly known as ice.

"Whether companies that produce the medicines were involved with the gangs or not is still under investigation," SFDA spokeswoman Yan Jiangying told reporters.

"If they (medicine manufacturers) are found guilty, their licenses will be revoked," she said.

The SFDA would "cap the total annual output of such medicines, closely track each purchase, impose limits on purchases at one time, and prohibit transactions in cash," she said.

"SFDA will work closely with the police to ensure medicines with ephedrine do not get into the hands of those who would use the substance to produce banned drugs."

Ephedrine is mostly found in medicines for cough and cold, most of which are sold over the counter without prescriptions.

It was listed as a drug precursor chemical, subject to strict control, in 2005.

Driven by skyrocketing demand of new type of drugs, particularly ice, in China, drug traffickers started purchasing medicines that contain ephedrine to manufacture the banned substance, said Yang Maobin, director of the Yunnan Daytop Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center.

"At times, even drug users purchase medicines containing ephedrine from the pharmacies to get high," he said, adding ephedrine could seriously affect a human's nervous system.

Giovanni Nicotera, project manager with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said certain "new drugs including ice", increasingly spreading throughout the developing world.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page5)

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's main opposition leader, is likely to shift from the party's usually transparent anti-mainland stance and propose an historical cross-Straits strategy during her visit to Japan next week, mainland experts have said.

Despite the likelihood of Tsai's new strategy, the Foreign Ministry yesterday said it was in clear opposition to Tsai's visit to Japan.

"China has all along resolutely opposed activities of Taiwan separatists such as Tsai Ing-wen to countries having diplomatic ties with China," said ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

The move is part of the DPP's efforts to replace the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT) in the 2012 election, Jiang said.

Tsai, the chairwoman of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), announced on Tuesday that she would visit Japan next week.

DPP spokesman Tsai Chi-chang has said Tsai Ing-wen will raise issues ranging from cross-Straits relations, the economy, social welfare and environment protection during her visit from Dec 13-16.

The visit comes on the heels of the recent wrapup of Taiwan's local elections. According to local newspaper United Daily News, Tsai's popularity grew dramatically by 18 percentage points to 43 percent with her party gaining key victories by a slight margin.

The island's leader Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the ruling KMT, stood at 33 percent, a major drop from his 52 percent approval rating in May.

The DPP's election victories pave the way for Tsai to challenge Ma in 2012.

Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the International Studies School at Renmin University of China, said Tsai is likely to express her cross-Straits relations ideas for the first time during the Japan visit.

Tsai took office as the DPP chairperson on May 20 of last year, the same day that Ma was inaugurated as Taiwan's leader.

"We can tell from the changes in Taiwan's political scene since 2008 that, like people in other parts of the world, the Taiwan people want a responsible and competing leader. Even if Tsai replaces Ma in 2012, I don't think she will follow the disruptive and irrational way of Chen Shui-bian in mainland policies," Jin said.

"This is a irreversible trend. And as the DPP said Tsai will raise the (cross-Straits) issue in Japan, she will highly likely do so this time."

Tsai's visit is not to push for relations with the mainland but for brighter political prospects for her and the DPP, especially after relations with Washington soured, Jin said.

"The DPP was quite unsatisfied with the joint statement the US issued with China during Obama's tour to China. Tsai quarreled with American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt, unofficial US envoy to Taiwan," he said.

Jin said that the DPP attaches more importance to Japan, a longtime supporter of Taiwan separatists.

But Jin also noted that Tokyo would receive Tsai in its traditional low-profile fashion to avoid irritating Beijing, especially after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recently and repeatedly emphasized the importance of China.

Chen Xiancai, a researcher at the Taiwan Studies Center in Xiamen University, said Tsai also wants the visit to show Taiwanese people that she has the ability to mend Taiwan's ties with Japan that soured after the resignation of Masaki Saito, Japan's former unofficial representative to Taiwan. Saito irritated the KMT in May for comments on Taiwan's status.

Japan has designated a new de facto envoy, a former ambassador to Israel and Malaysia, to Taiwan. But China Times said the new envoy's inexperience in dealing with cross-Straits affairs as well as his lack of language skills could be a sign of Japan's displeasure at Saito's forced departure.

Wu Nengyuan, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences, said Tsai's visit at this time is to seek Japan's support.

Despite the mounting pressure from the DPP, Jin Canrong said Ma Ying-jeou is unlikely to change his mainland-friendly policy.

"In Ma's one and half years in position as the Taiwan leader, improved ties with Beijing is the only point that glorifies him. I don't think he will reshape the policy as he has no other cards to play," Jin said.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page2)

China is Australia's biggest source of immigrants, with a record 6,350 people from the mainland setting in the land down under from July to October this year.

The nations surpassed both the UK and New Zealand by over 500 and 1,000, respectively, according to figures released recently from the Australian government.

Last year China was also New South Wales' biggest source of immigrants. It is the Australia's mostly populated state with Sydney as its capital.

Since the end of the last century, 40-60 percent of the total migrants to Australia each year have come from China, according to Wang Qunwei, Immigration Supervisor with Well Trend Immigration Total Solution System Provider based in Beijing.

"Australia is attractive for its social security network and it's open and friendly to people from other countries," said Pan Yuekai, who has studied in Queensland University of Technology in Australia for two years but gave up applying for immigration this year for personal reasons.

The surge in Chinese migrants comes despite a number of setbacks this year between the two nations, namely Australia's permission for Uygur separatist leader Rebiya Kadeer to visit in August despite China's strong objections.

Since then, Beijing and Canberra have worked to improve bilateral relations.

Business elites constitute the majority of the new round of China's migration tide, said Zhang Shengjun, deputy dean of Institute of Political Science and International Studies of the Beijing Normal University.

China's migrants have contributed to the social and economic development in Australia, Zhang said.

"The increase of migrants shows China's closer ties with the world and enhances bilateral exchanges,' said Zhang, "which should not be viewed as threat to the locals."

"But the migration is largely out of business needs, which is not affected by political frictions."

The financial crisis led to a decrease in migration from traditional top source countries such as the UK and New Zealand, which were down by 28 percent and 47 percent respectively, compared to China's annual growth at 15 percent, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday.

New Zealanders would rather hang on their current jobs than move to take chances in another country in the financial downturn, said Graeme Hugo, an Adelaide University demographer.

To protect its own employment market, Australia cut off 18,500 quotas for skilled migration programs for 2009-10, which has significantly reduced British migrants, most of whom are skilled workers, said Wang Qunwei.

"But investment migration is still welcomed." Wang said.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page2)

China yesterday executed the former manager of a securities company who embezzled millions of dollars - the first execution of an executive from the country's financial sector, Xinhua said.

Some wanted Yang Yanming to be kept alive so he would explain where the 65 million yuan ($9.5 million) went, news reports said.

Yang, 51, served as general manager of the Beijing securities trading department of China Great Wall Trust and Investment Corp from 1997 to 2003. He was sentenced to death in Dec, 2005.

The Beijing Evening News said Yang was the first person from a Chinese securities company to be executed.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page1)

A US media tracker has listed "the rise of China" as the most read news story of this decade, a development that Chinese experts say is the latest attempt by the Western media to tout China for their own good.

The ascent of China as an economic superpower has attracted the widest coverage since 2000, surpassing the Iraq War and Sept 11 attack on the US, according to an analysis by the Global Language Monitor.

"It is with little surprise that its (China's) ongoing transformation has topped all other news stories in a decade bespotted by war, economic catastrophe and natural disasters," Reuters quoted Paul JJ Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor, as having said.

Payack said the ranking was based on the number of citations on the Internet and the blogosphere, including social media, as well as the top 50,000 print and electronic media sites.

But Pang Zhongying, a professor of international studies at Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said the move was partly aimed at trumpeting the so-called China threat.

"The list is the latest sign of the US media's change from China bashing to China flattery," he said.

Late last month, US broadcasting giant ABC ranked Premier Wen Jiabao as one of the 10 most influential people on the US economy in the past decade.

Although the moves show the US media has come to accept China's economic success, they put China in a disadvantageous position, said Fan Ying, a professor at Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University.

The recent rise in the level of "China flattery" appears to push the world's third largest economy - but which has 16 million poor people - to shoulder greater responsibility amid the global financial crisis and climate change talks, she said.

"The West is now keen to picture China as an economic giant so that it could ask Beijing to do a lot more than it has committed, such as rolling out a fresh stimulus package, revaluating its currency, reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions further and continuing to buy US bonds," she said.

China is one of the very few major economies that has kept growing during the global economic recession, prompting the West to urge it to pull the world out of the worst economic crisis in seven decades.

Many countries, including large historic GHG emitters, have urged China to commit to deeper emission cuts in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate conference, where 192 countries and regions are discussing a new deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

The US media hype on China's growth could fan the worries of some Americans, said Wang Yizhou, a researcher on world economic and political studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

US President Barack Obama said during his maiden visit to Asia last month that Washington doesn't seek to contain Beijing. But "many US people still think a strong China poses a threat, in particular, when China grows", Wang said.

A survey expert said yesterday the Global Language Monitor analysis signals the concern of Westerners, Americans in particular.

"The rise of China is a trend that has evolved and will keep evolving for a long time," Yuan Yue, president of Horizon Research Consultancy, said. "The ranking shows China's rise has tinkled the nerves of the West."

The Global Language Monitor was not available for comment.

Peng Kuang contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page1)

BAGHDAD: Car bombs killed at least 112 people in Baghdad yesterday, police said, leaving pools of blood, charred buses and scattered body parts in a brutal reminder of the threat from Iraq's stubborn insurgency.

The blasts, most of them detonated by suicide bombers, ripped through crowded areas close to government buildings, which should have been under tight security after previous devastating attacks in the capital in recent months.

The bombings undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's claims to have brought security to the country before a national election scheduled for March 6, and could rattle foreign oil chiefs due in Iraq this weekend for a major contract auction.

"We had entered a shop seconds before the blast, the ceiling caved in on us, and we lost consciousness. Then I heard screams and sirens all around," said Mohammed Abdul Ridha, one of the 425 wounded in the series of at least four blasts.

Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi gave a lower death toll of 63. It was not possible to explain the discrepancy with the numbers provided by police sources. The Health Ministry said it was difficult to determine the exact number because many bodies had been blown to pieces.

Smoke billowed and sirens wailed as emergency workers removed the dead in black body bags. Pools of blood had formed next to burnt-out minibuses, police vehicles and dozens of crumpled cars at one bomb site, the blast leaving a huge crater.

"What these gangs are doing are criminal acts which express their bankruptcy and disappointment," Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi saidt.

Analysts said the attacks, similar to spectacular bombings in the Iraqi capital in October and August, were meant to shake faith in Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim-led government.

The earlier blasts were blamed on Sunni Islamist insurgents and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.

"It's the same style and the same vital targets. There is one political motive - to show that the government has failed to provide security," said analyst Hazim al-Nuaimi.

In one attack, a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle in the car park of a courthouse, after getting through a checkpoint, police said.

Another blast, this time a parked car bomb and not a suicide bomber, struck a temporary building used by the Finance Ministry after its main premises were devastated in the August bombing.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page1)

Wu Liwei, a postgraduate major in journalism from Renmin University of China, has been trying to find a job for some time. And though the 24-year-old is yet to get a satisfactory offer, Wu said yesterday that she still felt lucky and hopeful.

"Next year looks better than even this year," Wu said. "A friend who majored in the same subject last year said many big companies had stopped recruiting then."

But this year, staff from a lot more companies, including big names, visited her university for campus recruitment. "I have attended about 10 such recruitment fairs, and many of my classmates have got offers. I am waiting for the right one," she said.

Most university graduates like Wu feel the same. And it's true that China's recruitment prospects are better now than last year or early this year.

Buoyed up by the ongoing economic recovery and domestic consumption, the willingness of potential employers to hire people in 2010 will be stronger than this year, with companies in second-tier cities showing greater interest, a Manpower survey released yesterday said.

According to the survey, conducted by the world's leading employment service provider, 19 percent of the potential employers said they would hire people in the first quarter of next year - 2 percentage points higher than in the fourth quarter of 2008, and also the highest since late last year.

Those who aim to cease recruitment in the next quarter add up to only 5 percent of the total, 1 percentage point lower than in the previous quarter and the lowest in a year.

Manpower has done such quarterly recruitment studies in China for five years. This time, it interviewed 4,317 enterprises from home and abroad for the survey.

"Actually, the recovery helped improve China's labor market from the second quarter of this year," said Danny Yuan, managing director for Manpower China. "Now, employers are more confident of hiring people next year,"

Xu Zhixue, senior consultant with Beijing-based Zuoyou Consulting Group, a leading local human resource service provider, corroborated Yuan.

Zuoyou's clients are usually big State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in telecom, aerospace and mining sectors, such as Beijing Mobile. "They (SOEs) were worried over the economic trend and most of them had scaled back their recruitment," Xu said.

"But since the last quarter, they have recovered their confidence. Now, we are much busier than before," he said.

China's economy began showing strong signals of recovery in the third quarter of this year, with GDP growth reaching 8.9 percent. Decline in exports began easing off, too, and the sector is expected to have taken to the growth trajectory in late 2009.

According to Manpower, employers in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors could be the biggest recruiters next year, with the mining and construction industries registering the fastest growth in the past quarter.

The survey also shows employers in cities like Chongqing, Xi'an, Qingdao, Wuhan, and Suzhou expect to see a stronger hiring environment than their counterparts in major cities.

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page1)

The classes were unusually quiet as a pall of gloom hung over Yucai High School in Xiangxiang yesterday morning as teachers and students mourned the deaths of eight students in a stampede on Monday night.

The only sound that could be heard even scores of meters away was that of raindrops, which incidentally played a crucial role in the tragedy.

Seven boys and one girl were killed and 26 other students were injured, five of them seriously, when about 400 of them made a dash for the staircase that led to the exit closest to their dormitories to avoid getting drenched in the rain, which has been falling since Monday evening.

The eight students were crushed or were suffocated to death.

The school, regarded as one of the best in Xiangxiang in southern Hunan province, was set up in 1997, and had 3,626 students.

Higher authorities reacted to the tragedy by sacking Zhu Qinghua, the county-level city's education chief.

Chen Xinwei, a school official, told Xinhua: "It's like a nightmare It's hard to believe those children are dead."

Students and teachers started their classes yesterday by observing a minute's silence in memory of the stampede victims. Children, tears flowing down the cheeks of some, also prayed for the quick recovery of the injured.

The Xiangxiang local government is working on a compensation scheme. It has promised that the families of the victims would get the maximum possible compensation, Xinhua said.

Though normal classes were held yesterday, there was an overriding sense of sorrow among the students and teachers. Students exchanged worried glances and parents gathered in front of the school gate to find out whether their wards were safe, Xinhua said.

Xiangxiang's publicity department said the stampede took place just after 9:10 pm when students were rushing back to their dormitories after finishing their evening study session.

About 400 students dashed for one staircase, though there are three others, in the main building because it led to the exit closest to their dorms. It was raining heavily and they did not want to get drenched.

"At 9:30 pm, the lights go off. We had only 20 minutes to return to the dorms and prepare for bed," said 14-year-old Xiao Hong (not her real name), who was lying on a bed in the People's Hospital of Xiangxiang with bruises on her face. "So we had to hurry."

One of the girls lost her footing on the staircase between the second and first floors because rain had made the less than 1.5- m-wide steps slippery, is what most of the witnesses said.

As soon as she slipped, the students behind her came tumbling down and ended up on the landing of about 5 sq m.

"There was no light (on the landing)," said Xiao Li (not her real name), 14, from her hospital bed. "Once the students in front fell, the rest crash-landed on them We could only hear cries and screams."

Staircases have been overcrowded before, Xiao Li said, but nobody was even injured.

Two of the seriously injured students regained consciousness after more than 12 hours, Central China Television (CCTV) said yesterday afternoon. Three others, who suffered minor injuries, were discharged from hospital after treatment.

A section of the staircase has been cordoned off for further investigation to determine the cause of the stampede, and blood stains could still be seen on the landing yesterday.

Police have detained the school principal surnamed Ye. And city officials have told the school's other board directors to cooperate with police in the investigation.

The school's bank accounts have been frozen, and the city's education bureau has taken over the school's management for the time being.

Zou Qing contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/09/2009 page1)

New apartments for white-collar workers are to be built in Tangjialing next year to enhance village security, it was reported recently.

Plans issued by the local authority show residents will move out from existing complex houses to make way for the new development, which will comprise apartments of 25 to 45 sq m, the Beijing Times reported.

The local government was not available to comment at the time of press.

Tangjialing has hundreds of apartment buildings, most four to five stories high, but the population of the village has increased dramatically in the last five years, due to influx of young people.

The crowded residential areas pose problems for emergency services, with ambulances and fire trucks struggling to navigate narrow streets, and a high risk of fast-spreading fires, the newspaper reported.

"We are worrying about the plan because we believe it will take at least three to five years to finish," said Liu Xiuhua, a local resident in her 40s. She has a five-storey building with more than 50 rooms for rent.

"I heard the negotiations have not been finalized. Many owners added more floors in order to add extra space or get more compensation. We won't give up our buildings easily."

Young tenants are also concerned. "The rent must be very expensive in these new buildings, but who knows?" said Wang Yan, a young professional who has lived in Tangjialing for six months, said: I think I will moved away in three years. I hope the plan won't affect me."

However, Lian Si, the author of The Ant Tribe, which offers a complex study of young graduates and their living situations, said he had got a different impression from the people he interviewed for his book.

"Many young graduates say they are planning to move even further, past the North Sixth Ring Road, where the rent could be the same as if they have to pay extra money for a new building," he said.

"After my book was published, Tangjialing has become a hot topic for apartment rebuilding in north Beijing. They said they don't know whether they should thank me or hate me for publishing my book."

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page28)

Lian Si, 29, is a post-doctoral fellow at Peking University who has attracted much attention for his new book, The Ant Tribe, which focuses on college graduates in Beijing who are intelligent but less powerful and poorly paid. China has an "infestation" of them. It took Lian and his team two years to conduct research in the seven communities in Haidian and Changping districts, including Tangjialing, Shahezhen and Xiaoyuehe, where poor university graduates live.

What got you interested in this subject?

I read an article about a newly graduated college student's life in Beijing in the China Weekly News in the summer of 2007 and I was shocked by his experience after school. I was worried for young people like him. They have big dreams and ambitious plans, but have limited chances to realize them.

Like the student I read about, I was born in the 1980s. I could not imagine how people my age were living. What kind of life they are having in the capital city? What are they looking for? I had so many questions about this group. This is a group that has been forgotten by society, despite the fact the they are the ones who need the most care.

Who are the 'ants'?

There are more than 100,000 young graduates in Beijing who fall into this category. They were born in the 1980s and now live in Beijing. About 85 percent of my interviewees were from other areas, particularly the countryside, and many started their college life in 1999, when Chinese universities increased their enrollment numbers.

More than 80 percent of those I talked to have a job, and their average salary is around 2,200 yuan ($320) a month. But their daily expense is relatively low.

For instance, their average monthly rent is only 377 yuan, while most spend about 530 yuan on food. It seems hard for them to settle down because they frequently change jobs.

More than 90 percent we talked to are unmarried, half of these are in a relationship and half are single. They live on the Internet. They meet friends, play games, read news and learn things online.

So what's your perspective?

I was born in this city and grew up here. My team and I spent two years interviewing these young people, we ate with them, lived with them, took the same buses every day, but we still felt a distance between us.

One Chinese New Year's Eve, we were in Tangjialing making dumplings with young graduates who could not go home. They all seemed fine at the very beginning, but once the dumplings were cooked and we were ready for the festival dinner, the young graduates started crying.

At that moment, I felt we were celebrating the coming year while they were struggling in their hearts. On the happiest night of the year, we saw them at their saddest point. That is the distance that is hard to overcome.

What does the 'ant tribe' need the most?

I think young students going to study at colleges should relate their study with their intended career path. Many in the "ant tribe" study majors that will not help them find a job back home, especially if they are not from big cities.

Also, I think they need train in practical skills, such as communication. Many young graduates who I met can't express themselves, so it is hard for them to win a better position from a company.

They work so hard in order to stay in this city, but sometimes the opportunities are not there for them. They are arguably the most ambitious group but I could see the deep inferiority in their hearts. The thing I worry about most is what will happen once their dreams are shattered.

How will your research continue?

In my first book, I just reflect the life of these graduates. There is much data and many stories. I never thought my book would have such a strong response and the "ant tribe" would get so much attention from society.

But there are many people who have criticized me for not talking about the solutions. So, my second book will focus on what kind of training programs they should take after graduation, how to develop their career path and how to develop their social lives.

I may reform my research team to draw us closer to the "ant tribe". It may help us to understand them better.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page28)

Wang Yan recently quit her first job, where she worked as a Web designer in a private company in Zhongguancun in Beijing.

Walking along the muddy street in Tangjialing, a village outside the North Fifth Ring Road where many college graduates live, the 23-year-old looks distinctly unhappy. Her steps seem heavier in the freezing morning.

For many recent university graduates, Beijing's winter seems even more frigid this year, with its grey skies and howling wind possible portents of a bleak future.

Wang quit her job because her boss suddenly stopped the program her team was working on. She believed she and her colleagues would eventually be sent back home. She could not really see a future working there.

"It is not easy to find a job in Beijing nowadays," Wang said.

"But I still believe that I will find something soon with a wage no less than 2,000 yuan per month. And it would be even better if they will sign a contract with me."

Wang is from Langfang in Hebei province. She moved to Tangjialing right after graduation from college in Hebei this June. She is one of more than 50,000 people from outside of Beijing living in the village.

In their 20s, they have come to Beijing to pursue their dreams. They are called "ant tribe" by Lian Si, who has written a book with the same name based on his interviews of these people.

Wang came to settle down in Beijing because she thought it's hard to find a job as a Web designer back home. She believed the capital city, which is the biggest and nearest city to her hometown, offers more opportunities.

Wang is staying with her friend Song Rui in a cramped and dreary 9-sq-m room. The heater is on, but doesn't seem to provide enough relief from the biting cold. Wang and Song stay huddled in bed to fight the cold that seeps in from the only window in the room.

Song came to Beijing in August to stay with Wang after she tried a couple of jobs in Hebei. She began working for the same company as Wang - but is now planning to return home after a four-month struggle.

"I thought there would be more opportunities and I could learn things in Beijing," Song said.

"But it is not that easy at all. I have received four calls in a day from companies I never heard of or applied to. But after the interviews, I found they were the same as the company I am working for now, which can fire you anytime."

Wang and Song can each make about 2,000 yuan per month. It costs 300 yuan a month each for rent, about 500 yuan each for food and 200 yuan for transportation. They don't go out much because they are so worried about money.

"There are some small clothes shops and record stores in Tangjialing, but we try to not visit them - just in case we want to spend money," Song said.

Wang isn't too worried about the rent after Song leaves. Song said one of her friend is considering coming to Beijing soon and could share the room with Wang. "That is Tangjialing - a place where people always come and go."

Zhao Xiqing, 22, is from Kiamusze in Heilongjiang province. He has been working for a year at a Lenovo after-sales service office in the Zhongguancun area.

Even though he signed a contract with the Chinese IT giant after graduation from a college in Changping district, he is not completely optimistic about his future in Beijing.

"It is hard to say if I can stay in Beijing for good," he said. "But if I go back home, my parents would be disappointed in me because they think because I studied here I should be capable of living here.

"My goal for the next three to five years is to make enough money to move out of Tangjialing and buy to an apartment for myself in Beijing."

Shang Pengrong moved to Tangjialing because some of his friends, including Zhao, lived there.

Before Zhao helped him find a job at Lenovo, Shang interviewed no fewer than 50 times and tried working at more than 10 companies last year.

"I have worked as a product promoter, at an estate agency, in logistics and so on," he said.

"The shortest work I did was working as a house agent for a week."

He feels nothing he tried before is as good as his present job, where at least he has a signed contract.

"It's a great job and I will work here for a few years," he said.

"But I don't plan to stay for long. I will go home and have my own business eventually. My ideal life is to open a Beijing restaurant in Kiamusze and be the boss rather than work for others."

It is now the winter of discontent for millions of young graduates.

But just as spring will inevitably bring color and renewal, their dreams await a more benevolent climate.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page28)

Every time I take out the trash, I am made more aware of the city's growing rubbish crisis.

The two rubbish bins - one marked with the Chinese characters "recyclable" and the other "non-recyclable" - are usually brimming with all sorts of rubbish. It appears that not everybody knows the difference between the two containers.

I wonder if hazardous waste items like batteries, paint and herbicides are also disposed in the bins. There are no household hazardous waste collection facilities in Chinese communities.

There has been much talk about the worsening trash crisis in Beijing. According to media reports, Beijing generates as much as 18,000 tons of trash every day, with 90 percent of trash going to the city's 13 landfill plants which have a capacity of 11,000 tons. Even worse, it's reported that two plants have already met their maximum capacity and will soon stop operation.

The outlook is not rosy at all as the amount of the city's waste grows by 8 percent every year. The total output is forecast to reach 12 million tons by 2015.

The public has long been encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle trash to help ease the burden on the environment. Separating recyclable waste from non-recyclable garbage is the first decisive step to achieve this goal.

However, on the streets and in residential areas, non-recyclable rubbish bins can be found filled with paper, plastic bottles and cigarette butts, while food leftovers are dumped into the recyclable bins .

I don't think people are unwilling to separate their garbage to help the environment. It's just that some people are not aware about which trash can be recycled and which cannot. The solution is an easy, simple and cheap one: Put signs near the bins which help people decide in which bin to place their trash. Additional bins for specific waste, like paper, would also be useful.

I believe that everybody, not just our rural friends, needs to be better educated about recycling. Do you know if a broken mug or facial tissues are recyclable?

Readers are welcome to contribute their thoughts to METRO. Articles about your life and work in Beijing should be fewer than 700 words. Send to metro_opinion@chinadaily.com.cn. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of METRO.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page27)

Last month, Nanluoguxiang was moved to my endangered bar street list after an announcement by local officials revealed plans to slowly transform the bar street into a center for "popular culture" by gradually replacing the bars and cafes with theaters and other entertainment venues.

For those who don't know, Nanluoguxiang is a side alley bar street located a stone's throw from the Drum and Bell Towers in Xicheng district.

This news hit hard as Nanluoguxiang was one of the first places in Beijing to cast its charm over me when I first arrived in Beijing in early 2008.

The cafes, bars and shops situated down the secluded little hutong side street captivated my craving for local Chinese culture while satiating my need for cheap drinks. It's a place where the youth blends peacefully with the traditional hutong habitants, bridging not only a generation of people but also a time period in Beijing's evolution.

The result is an atmosphere unique to Beijing, one that cannot be found anywhere else. It's the type of place where foreign visitors wanting to escape the tourist showiness can go to feel as though they are getting a genuine taste of Beijing.

Sadly, in the coming year this cornerstone of Beijing expat drinking culture may go the way of the passenger pigeon.

In the official statement, it was said that the reason behind the change is so that businesses that "play up the cultural background of the area" could be brought in. What I find saddening is that in an attempt to embrace one culture, another is being destroyed. They are, in a sense, tossing the champagne out with the cork. Another of the quoted reasons for wanting to do away with what is an otherwise profitable (to the bar owners) business area is due to low taxes paid by the 120 businesses occupying the street.

I can better understand this reasoning and suspect it might be one of the bigger motivators. It makes sense that city officials are concerned with boosting the earning potential of prime real estate, but isn't there an alternate solution? Personally, I wouldn't mind paying an additional 5-10 yuan per drink to keep the bar street around.

Unfortunately, Nanluoguxiang isn't the first bar street to be put on my rapidly expanding list of endangered bar streets. Sanlitun, another popular expat bar street, has been slowly disappearing over the past few years as new skyscrapers erupt from the streets surrounding it.

To be honest, having observed the way this area is developing, I always thought that North Sanlitun bar street would be the first place to go. Sadly, I was wrong.

But the list goes on.

Long ago put on the list of extinction were both the super bar street, which was torn down earlier this year, and the former South Sanlitun bar street, which, after being destroyed in 2004, was one of the first causalities in Beijing's fight to modernize.

Even without these streets there is no shortage of venues serving alcohol in Beijing, but few emanate the kind of humble, come-and-go attitude surrounding back alley watering holes like Sanlitun and Nanluoguxiang. It's truly a sad time for expats who can't afford the swank glamour of high-rise bar culture. For now, I guess I will just have to plan ahead for the days when Houhai and Wudoukou are the only locations in Beijing where backstreet bar goers can find refuge.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page27)

With the end of the year fast approaching, many young people are tying the knot. However, some keen observers have noted from those happy and boisterous weddings that "shotgun marriages" are quite common among the newlyweds.

However, more surprising are the views of cultural experts and officials on the phenomenon. Mr Li, a specialist on Chinese traditions, believes "shotgun marriages" are posing a threat to the Chinese traditional value of virginity.

A civil affairs official wonders why those pregnant brides don't feel embarrassed. And there is also a Mr Chen who believes "shotgun marriages" represent an open challenge from people born after 1980, to a fundamental principle of traditional Chinese ethics.

All these comments are made on the basis of moral reasoning. They believe "shotgun marriages" are immoral. But do their arguments make sense?

The Chinese traditional value of virginity used to be a tremendous burden on women, but it has since long ago ceased to be a mainstream criterion in modern society.

"Shotgun marriages" are just a result of people living together. People will get married when they are pregnant. This has nothing to do with the traditional value of virginity.

People might find it strange to question why that official believes brides should be embarrassed.

When "shotgun marriages" become a common phenomenon, the people involved may no longer feel awkward. Young people should have the courage to accept "shotgun marriages" because they are more humane than abortions.

It's even more absurd to allege that young people are challenging a fundamental principle of traditional Chinese ethics. Different societies have different ethical standards, and some ethical values will be contradicted as society evolves. Mr Chen was out of touch with reality because he evaluated a current phenomenon with archaic ethical standards.

It's my opinion that "shotgun marriages" are more a reality than an ethical issue. "Shotgun marriages" will continue to occur as people live together. Yes, it was not ethical for people to live together and have forced marriages in ancient times, but it is also not ethical to advocate the traditional value of virginity for women in modern times.

(Excerpts of a commentary that appeared on xinhuanet.com on Dec 7)

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page27)

Modern ballet

The National Ballet of China will present Peony Pavilion, a classic love story and part of the repertoire of traditional Chinese operas, including Kunqu and Peking Opera. The ballet version has been adapted by Li Liuyi, drama director of the Beijing People's Art Theater, and this explains the experimental flavor of the play. The dance employs body language to interpret the emotions and inner struggles of the characters.

7:30 pm, Dec 8, 9. 120-500 yuan. National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square. 6655-0000

国家大剧院, 天安门广场西

Bach bonanza

Accomplished Chinese pianist Sheng Yuan continues his solo concert series Bach Cycle with etudes. Sheng is considered one of the best interpreters of Bach's works in China. He entered the New York Conservatory of Music in 1991 and has studied under Rosalyn Tureck, best known for her performance of Bach's works. Sheng's performance is characterized by a fluency and strength that highlight the change of tunes.

7:30 pm, Dec 11. 90-380 yuan. Forbidden City Concert Hall in Zhongshan Park, Northwest of Tian'anmen Square. 6559-8285

中山音乐堂，中山公园内

Exhibitions

A master's brushstrokes

Coming with Moral Celebrities is an exhibition of the works by master painter Fan Zeng, 71, and his students and friends. It features painting, calligraphy, poetry and literature.

9:30 am-5 pm, until Dec 26. Oriental Element Art Museum, Tuofangying Nanli, Jiuxianqiao, Chaoyang district. 8430-5986

北京东风艺术区东方元素美术馆, 朝阳区酒仙桥驼房营南里

Works of integrity

Way to Integrity and Development displays more than 60 works of Chinese paintings, oil on canvas and calligraphy created by such artists as Jin Shangyi, Yang Yanwen and Xu Linlu.

A series of exhibitions under the theme will be held in different cities across the country next year.

9:30 am-5 pm, until Dec 8. Beijing Times Art Museum, southwestern of Guomao Bridge, Chaoyang district. 6525-8611

中环世贸B座35层时代美术馆, 朝阳区国贸桥西南角

Events

Sip the finest

AmCham-China, in cooperation with the Canada China Business Council, and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, offers a Winter Holiday Inter-Chamber Wine Tasting Evening, where you can indulge in your passion for fine wines this month, by sampling a free flow from the vineyards of Italy, Australia, the US, and Spain.

Do not miss this great opportunity to extend your professional network, exchange information, and talk business in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.

6:30 pm, Dec 8. M Bar, 100-250 yuan. Wanda Plaza (next to Wanda International Cineplex), 93 Jianguo Lu,Chaoyang district. 8599-6666

朝阳区建国路93号万达广场(万达国际影城旁)

Green networking

This popular monthly networking event draws those with an interest in all things green. Professionals from across the board mingle and network in an informal atmosphere in an evening dedicated to education and learning about China's environmental movement. This is the third year of such networking.

7 pm, Dec 8. Free. The Bookworm, Building 4 The Village at Sanlitun, Courtyard 19, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang district. 6586-9507

朝阳区三里屯路19号院三里屯Village 4号楼

Chinese knots

Learn to make the auspicious Chinese knots from a folk artist at the China Culture Center and work out your own knots, make butterfly or lily shoes, and other crafts, and hang them on your neck or your handbag.

1 pm, Dec 8. 120-150 yuan. China Culture Center, Room 101, Kent Center, 29 Anjialou, Liangmaqiaolu, Chaoyang district. 6432-9341

朝阳区亮马桥路29号安家楼肯特中心

Rustle up Indian dishes

Learn to make an authentic three-course Indian meal from scratch, typically consisting of an appetizer, curry, rice dish and salad. This comes with a crash course on the spices and ingredients that go into the cooking and how to use them to achieve the most authentic flavors!

7:15 pm, Dec 8. The Hutong, 1 Zhongxiang Hutong, Jiudaowan, Dongcheng district. 136-9352-6256

东城区九道弯中巷胡同1号

Live music

Jam session

Musicians jamming together is what livens up the atmosphere at this bar. The in-house jazz trio promises to bring pleasant surprises to the audience.

9:30 pm, Dec 8. Free. Jianghu Bar, 7 Dongmianhua Hutong, Jiaodaokou Nandajie. Dongcheng district. 6401-4611

东城区交道口南大街东棉花胡同7号

Global flavor

Bad Apples is Beijing's premier rock 'n' roll band. Started by Michael Dallin and Kris Liu, they offer a very unique combination of rock 'n' roll, reggae and blues sound. Bad Apples has been playing music all around the world, including Canada, Brazil, Italy, England, France, and now China.

Originally from Los Angeles, California, Michael and Kris came to Beijing in 2008, where they currently reside. They found Wang Yung, drums, and Xiao Mu, bass, to join their group. The current Bad Apples plays a variety of great rock covers along with their original music.

8:30 pm, Dec 8. Free. Ginkgo Restaurant & Bar, 199 Andingmen Neidajie,Dongcheng district. 6402-7532

安定门内大街199号

Folk rock from Hong Kong

The Offset: Spectacles is the name of a Hong Kong rock band, consisting Li Wentai, Wu Zhuoji and Ou Jian.

The trio moved to Beijing with their equipment and two cats, hoping to make the most of its vibrant music scene. Like other aspiring musicians in Beijing, each band member maintains a day job. Li Wentai is a freelance translator, while Wu Zhuoji teaches animation and Ou Jian sells her handcrafted items and moonlights as an indie musician.

They have performed in D-22 and other major venues around the city.

9 pm, Dec 8. 30 yuan.D-22, 242 Chengfulu, Haidian district. 6265-3177

TV

CCTV-9

09:30 Nature & Science

09:55 Chinese Civilization

10:00 CCTV News

10:15 Sports Scene

10:30 New Frontiers

11:00 Biz China

1130: Around China

12:00 News Hour

13:00 Dialogue

13:30 Travelogue

14:00 Biz China

14:30 Culture Express

15:00 CCTV News

15:15 Learn to Speak Chinese

15:30 Nature and Science

15:55 Chinese Civilization

16:00 CCTV News

16:15 Sports Scene

16:30 New Frontiers

17:00 CCTV News

17:30 Documentary

18:00 Biz China

HBO

7:00 Good Luck Chuck

8:30 Shrek The Third

10:00 Jawbreaker

11:30 Jesse Stone: Sea Change

13:00 Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

14:25 You've Got Mail

16:20 Short Cuts

19:00 Shrek The Third

21:00 No Reservations

22:40 Tmz 122

23:00 Sex And The City S111: The Drought

23:25 Sex And The City S112: Oh Come All Ye Faithful

23:50 Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

ESPN STAR sports

07:30 UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Juventus vs. Bayern Munich

09:30 Repeat World Of International Pairs

10:00 First Air Sportscenter Right Now 2009

10:01 First Air US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

11:00 First Air US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

11:59 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

12:00 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United

14:00 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

14:01 Repeat Fina Aquatics World

14:30 First Air PBA Shark Championship

16:00 Repeat World Of International Pairs

16:30 Repeat Sportscenter Right Now 2009

16:31 Repeat US Open 9-Ball Championship 2009

17:30 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Juventus vs. Bayern Munich

19:30 Live Sportscenter Asia

20:00 First Air Global Football

20:30 First Air Tiger World Of Football

21:00 First Air UEFA Champions League 2009/10 Weekly Highlights

21:30 Repeat Planet Speed 2009/10

22:00 Repeat Sportscenter Asia

22:30 Repeat UEFA Champions League 2009/10

Match: Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United

Radio

CRI highlight

At the beginning of the year Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said 2009 was going to be the most difficult year for the country's economy since the turn of the new century. But China's quick recovery surprised the world, and it may well be able to achieve its target of 8 percent economic growth this year. Now that the year is on its way out, how effective has the Chinese government's stimulus package been? And what's the country's potential for growth next year? Please tune into Biz China at 23:30 on Tuesday to find out.

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(China Daily 12/08/2009 page27)

CHARLEROI, Belgium: Belgium's former world No 1 Justine Henin began her return to tennis after an 18-month absence with victory over Italy's Flavia Pennetta in the Women Tennis Trophy on Sunday.

And the 27-year-old is already dreaming of winning an elusive women's crown at Wimbledon.

"It is another Justine Henin who will try and go out there and achieve her dream of finally winning Wimbledon," Henin said.

"I don't know if it's possible but that just makes it an even more passionate challenge for me."

Having beaten compatriot Kirsten Flipkens in the semifinals of this exhibition event on Saturday, Henin defeated Pennetta, currently 12th in the WTA rankings, 6-4, 6-4 to win the trophy.

Although not part of the official circuit, the victory will have given Henin the belief she can once more compete at the top level.

The 27-year-old Belgian announced her retirement from top-level tennis in May 2008 after winning seven Grand Slam titles and spending a total of 117 weeks at the top of the women's rankings.

Only months earlier, fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters made a stunning return to the sport by winning the US Open after a two-year absence to start a family.

Henin is due to make her official return to the WTA circuit in the Brisbane tournament that starts on Jan 3 next year, 15 days before the Australian Open in Melbourne.

She said: "To be honest, I don't have any big expectations in regards to results in Australia.

"But I will be delighted just to return to the country again, I love it there, and to the official circuit.

"I've never regretted my decision to stop playing but now I'm really excited about the prospect of starting a second career that probably won't look anything like the first, at least in my mind."

Before heading Down Under, Henin will compete in another exhibition tournament in Cairo on Dec 12, when she will face Russia's 20th ranked Nadia Petrova.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page23)

ATLANTA: Michael Vick helped jump-start the Eagles' latest playoff surge.

Vick scored a pair of touchdowns - one running, the other passing, both of them his first since 2006 - to help lead Philadelphia to a 34-7 victory on Sunday.

"It couldn't have happened at a better time," Vick said. "I want to become one of the top quarterbacks in this league again."

Vick ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter, his first since Oct 15, 2006. With the game out of hand, he threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Brent Celek early in the fourth, his first TD throw since that final season with the Falcons. He was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Falcons and one of the most dynamic players in the NFL before his stunning downfall for dogfighting. After serving prison time and losing two seasons in the prime of his career, he's trying to rebuild it all as a backup in Philadelphia.

"It was as loud as it gets in the Dome," said Vick, who teared up on the bus ride over to the stadium. "I heard the chants all through the stadium and it sent chills down my spine. They were just letting me know that people still appreciate what I've done."

The Eagles certainly did as Vick helped them move into a tie for first place in the NFC East. Philadelphia (8-4) strengthened its playoff case with its third straight win, leaving the Eagles in a first-place tie with Dallas.

Quarterback Donovan McNabb said the playoff surge is what the Eagles expect.

"Absolutely. It's something that has been happening to us for years now," McNabb said.

"This is the time that people remember," he said. "You never remember September and October. You remember November, December and January. You want to hit the playoffs rolling if you have that opportunity. We know what is at stake and we have to play like it is the last game."

McNabb completed 14 of 25 passes for 238 yards, including a 4-yard scoring pass to fullback Leonard Weaver for the only touchdown of the first half.

The Falcons (6-6) have lost three of four, and five of seven after a 4-1 start. They play undefeated New Orleans next week.

Injuries left the Falcons with little more than a second-string offense. The Falcons were without five starters on offense: quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Michael Turner, receiver Michael Jenkins, left tackle Sam Baker and right guard Harvey Dahl.

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page23)

PARIS: The first four Champions League groups conclude on Tuesday (tomorrow morning, Beijing time) with a host of major clubs including Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich still unsure of a place in the knockout phase.

Real are practically assured of qualification and can afford to lose their Group C clash at Marseille by three goals while Milan will progress from the same group with victory at FC Zurich.

Brazilian playmaker Kaka has been ruled out for Real due to a groin injury but Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start despite being sent off in his side's 4-2 La Liga win over Almeria on Saturday.

Karim Benzema was on target against Almeria, converting a rebound in the 83rd minute to put his side 3-2 up after Ronaldo had seen a penalty saved and the former Lyon striker is likely to receive a hostile reception from the Marseille fans.

"It's always a pleasure to return to France. We expect the match in Marseille to be tough," Benzema said.

German giants Bayern Munich travel to Juventus in Group A knowing only a win will prolong their Champions League campaign.

Juve lost 2-0 at Bordeaux in their last match in the competition, handing the French champions top spot in the group but they warmed up for the visit of Bayern with a rousing 2-1 win at home to Serie A leaders Inter and need just a draw against Bayern to join Bordeaux in the last 16.

"This can be very useful going into the Bayern game if we are smart, humble, focused and realize we can play with this aggression against everyone," said Juventus's veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero after the win over Inter.

"If we forget that, then we run the same old risks."

Bayern will still be without tendinitis victim Franck Ribery for the trip to Turin but Dutch winger Arjen Robben and Belgian centerback Daniel van Buyten have both overcome injuries to be included in the squad.

The four-time European champions endured a poor start to the season but their 2-1 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday extended their unbeaten return in the league to eight matches and took them up to third in the Bundesliga standings.

"We have three games left until the winter break," said goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt. "We have to win them all, and we can win them all."

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg can join Manchester United in the knockout round if their result at home to the English champions in Group B is better than what CSKA Moscow achieve at Besiktas.

United will tie up top spot, and subsequently a favorable draw in the last 16 with a draw at Wolfsburg but coach Sir Alex Ferguson will be forced to field a makeshift defense due to a mounting injury crisis at the club.

"I don't know where I'm going to get a back four for Tuesday," Ferguson said after his side ended the 4-0 Premier League win at West Ham on Saturday with midfielders Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs playing in defense.

"The injuries in defense are becoming a bit of a headache to us. Michael Carrick stepped in and did very well."

Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has hinted the Premier League champions could make a move to sign Dzeko. The 23-year-old has 14 goals in 23 appearances for his country, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Chelsea and Porto are already sure of a place in the next round, Chelsea as winners of Group D, but Atletico Madrid will seal a consolation berth in the Europa League if APOEL Nicosia fail to win at Chelsea.

Defending champions Barcelona travel to Dynamo Kiev in Group F on Wednesday and can afford to lose by any two-goal scoreline apart from 2-0 and still go through due to their head-to-head record. In the same group, Inter Milan face a winner-takes-all home meeting with Russian champions Rubin Kazan.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page23)

MADRID: World Cup favorites Spain are due to choose Rustenburg, the mining city situated at altitude north east of Johannesburg, for their World Cup base, according to reports.

The European champions, FIFA's top-ranked team, were pitted against fellow Hispanic nations Honduras and Chile in Group H, along with Switzerland.

Media reaction here to the draw was favorable but the possibility of facing Brazil, Portugal or Cote d'Ivoire in the next round was described as "diabolical".

Spain's first match will be at Durban against the Swiss, followed by the Hondurans in Johannesburg and Chile in nearby Pretoria.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "We can't complain or be happy. But each team has its qualities - Honduras is a good team, Chile is a great team and Switzerland will be a difficult rival."

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

CAPE TOWN: Didier Drogba had a wish not to face England in the first round of the 2010 World Cup granted here on Friday, but that is where his happiness ended.

Cote d'Ivoire, considered the African nation capable of going furthest, drew Brazil, DPR Korea and Portugal in Group G and the Chelsea striker must be wondering what his country has done to offend the soccer gods.

When the west African "Elephants" qualified for their first World Cup in Germany three years ago, they got Argentina, the Netherlands and Serbia and a raw team at the highest level made an inevitable first-round departure.

Now a similar fate awaits the Ivorians with Brazil and Portugal favored to advance and the Africans possibly left with a third-place finish ahead of the mysterious men from the East, DPRK.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

WELLINGTON: Soccer minnows New Zealand, drawn against defending champions Italy, expressed a measure of confidence in their World Cup prospects - taking satisfaction from who they are not playing.

New Zealand, who will play all three of their Group F games at high altitude in the northeast of South Africa, have been drawn against Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay. The way the draw was set up meant France, Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire were the teams most countries did not want in their groups, and fortune favored New Zealand.

"We would have wanted to avoid France and Portugal as the non-seeded teams," coach Ricki Herbert said.

"Italy however speak for themselves but Slovakia and Paraguay are two new sides to us. They are two big obstacles but we go in with some confidence."

The New Zealand All Whites have never played Slovakia before and faced Paraguay only once, in 1995, losing 2-3 in Santiago de Chile.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

CAPE TOWN: A red-hot qualifying campaign earned the Netherlands a seeding for the World Cup and coach Bert van Marwijk is happy with the way the draw panned out for his talented team.

The in-form Oranje go into next year's tournament against fellow Europeans Denmark, dangerous African opponents Cameroon and a Japan side that insists it can make the semifinals.

But Van Marwijk's star-sprinkled team is a clear favorite to top the group and he said he was satisfied with the draw, despite also warning that it should not take its opponents lightly despite winning all eight of its qualifying games.

"A lot of people will probably think that we will make it to the next round without too much trouble. However, our opponents shouldn't be underestimated," he said.

"We are drawn in a very interesting group. I'm glad that we start with a match in Johannesburg, close to where we will stay."

The Dutch will be making their ninth World Cup appearance, with runner-up spots during their heyday in the 1974 and 1978 tournaments the highlight so far.

Van Marwijk must be careful of Denmark, who finished ahead of Portugal, Sweden and Hungary in qualifying, while Japan are tenacious and have made the round of 16 before.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

CAPE TOWN: Despite an unbeaten qualifying campaign, Germany coach Joachim Loew insists his side can take nothing for granted as they front up to Australia, Ghana and Serbia in World Cup Group D.

Germany have never lost to any of their three future opponents in previous meetings but Loew insists he is taking nothing for granted.

"I wouldn't say we were too lucky with the draw," said Loew, who succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach after the 2006 World Cup.

"It's not going to be an easy section but it's certainly not beyond us. What strikes me is that it's a very balanced group."

Germany open against Australia in Pretoria on June 13, then play Serbia in Rustenburg on June 19 before the pool stage final game against Ghana at Johannesburg's Soccer City on June 23.

Led by Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack (pictured), Germany face a potential banana skin in their opening game against the Australians, who reached the last 16 at the 2006 World Cup.

After Australia's 32-year absence from the world stage, it took a penalty deep into injury-time for eventual champions Italy to overcome the Socceroos in 2006 and continue their run to the crown.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

NEW YORK: Injured New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian is expected to miss at least another week after needing 50 stitches to close a cut upper lip.

Yi was hoping to return on Sunday after missing 15 games with a sprained right knee before he was inadvertently elbowed by teammate Sean Williams while playing 3-on-3 after practice on Saturday.

"Sometimes these things work out for the best," coach Kiki Vandeweghe said before the Nets' game against the Knicks.

"He really wanted to get back, was very anxious to get back, so maybe he was hurrying himself a little bit and he'll be fully recovered when he gets back."

Yi has been sidelined since injuring his knee in a game against Charlotte early last month. He was averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.

On Sunday, Larry Hughes scored 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and the New York Knicks sent the Nets back to their losing ways with a 106-97 victory.

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page24)

SEOUL: South Korea put on a brave face on their draw for next year's World Cup finals despite the prospect of facing formidable sides Argentina and Nigeria.

"This is not the best scenario but definitely not the worst," Yonhap news agency said after the Republic of Korea (ROK) were drawn in a group that also includes Greece. "The path for South Korea toward the last 16 will not be smooth but we still can hold out hope."

Former ROK coach Dick Advocaat said his former charges had no luck in the draw.

"This is a tough group. Argentina and Nigeria are too strong for South Korea," he said, adding the two countries were likely to advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea, semifinalists on home soil in 2002, overcame a sluggish start under new coach Huh Jung-moo but eventually qualified with two games to spare to reach their eighth finals - an Asian record.

"We were drawn in the so-called Group of Death in Asian qualifying and we made it through," said Huh.

"We believe we can do the job again in South Africa. I will go back to South Korea and start working on our strategy."

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said the host nation was not afraid of any of the teams it drew in Group A of the 2010 World Cup.

"We are going to play the ball on the ground," Parreira (pictured) said after. "We are going to prepare ourselves, we are not afraid. Mexico are a good side, France have got players in the Champions League and they are good side."

Hosts South Africa, who will play Mexico on June 11 in the tournament opener, were also drawn against two-time champions Uruguay.

Parreira, who guided his native Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title, said his mission was to guide South Africa to the last 16.

South Africa are set to stage training camps in Brazil and Germany as part of their preparations for the finals.

If South Africa fail to make it past the first round, it will become the first host nation not to reach the second round since the World Cup was first staged 79 years ago.

Parreira said the draw indicated there was no easy group.

"It is the only World Cup we cannot say who is the Group of Death. There is no easy group. It is the best balanced World Cup in history. We are the only group that has two former world champions in France and Uruguay.

Parreira, who rejoined Bafana in November when his countryman Joel Santana quit after a disappointing 17-month reign, said: "This is the hand we have been dealt and what we will have to face.

"We have to prepare ourselves in a positive way to make sure we go past the first round.

"I do not look at the first game. If we get a good result against Mexico and lose against Uruguay and France it will not matter.

"We have to look at the group as a whole and not focus on the first game. The bottom line is that we face three difficult games and face them in a positive way."

Former South Africa captain Neil Tovey said they had been drawn in a tough group, but believed France were beatable. Tovey was the skipper of the 1996 African Nations Cup-winning team and now coaches local Premiership side AmaZulu.

"It's a very, very tough group, but as the host nation we have to qualify for the next round," Tovey said.

"The opening match will be great. France had a tough campaign in the qualifiers but they have great players who can rise to the occasion."

The opening match will be played at the 90,000-seat Soccer City in Johannesburg on June 11.

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

Every man and his dog probably saw at least snippets of the glitzy World Cup draw on Friday in Cape Town.

Actress Charlize Theron provided the eye candy, African dancers and singers the entertainment, former president Nelson Mandela the sage words and England's David Beckham the worst hairstyle but that was all just window dressing.

The real show starts next June when the big boys come out to play for the world's greatest sporting prize and the southern African nation gets its chance to truly strut its stuff.

SA president Jacob Zuma said his country is ready to host the Cup and even proclaimed the famous trophy would be staying in Africa after the event (I assume suggesting one of the African nations will win it rather than it being stolen).

However, despite the president's hyperbole, the fact remains that since winning the right to host the Cup in 2004, the massive project has been hit by rising stadium construction costs and building delays, transportation problems and a huge crime rate which shows few signs of abating.

The country is expecting about 500,000 people from all parts of the globe to attend the June 11-July 11 footballfest and to reap $850 million from those guests; however to get to that point, the government has had to spend billions of rand on improving the country's infrastructure.

The new roads and stadia will be a great legacy well after the last team has packed up and gone home but an even greater one will be a well-run tournament during which post-apartheid South Africa can show the world the past is the past and this sleeping giant of a country is full of promise and vitality.

If the republic somehow gets it wrong, there will be major repercussions not just for SA but the entire continent. If it gets it right and puts on a brilliant show, which I expect, the image of SA - and the rest of that stunning continent - will change dramatically.

Despite producing so many great rugby and cricket players in its history, South Africa is still a relative fledgling on the world sports stage - having only emerged from the insidious shadow of apartheid a mere 15 years ago. Still, people of all colors in that country will cheer their side, Bafana Bafana, next June and pray for a World Cup miracle.

I'll save my cheers for the people of that country when they pull off an unforgettable World Cup.

Tym Glaser is a sports copy editor who likes nothing more than a braai with Yaapies. Reach him at tymglaser@hotmail.com

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup giant slalom

BEAVER CREEK, Colorado: Results here on Sunday from a men's alpine World Cup giant slalom race:

1. Carlo Janka (SUI) 2:29.44 (1:15.18 + 1:14.26)

2. Benjamin Raich (AUT) 2:29.91 (1:15.43 + 1:14.48)

3. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) 2:30.37 (1:16.36 + 1:14.01)

4. Ted Ligety (USA) 2:30.58 (1:16.26 + 1:14.32)

5. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) 2:30.61 (1:16.78 + 1:13.83)

6. Hannes Reichelt (AUT) 2:30.77 (1:16.55 + 1:14.22)

7. Didier Cuche (SUI) 2:30.81 (1:16.55 + 1:14.26)

8. Didier Defago (SUI) 2:30.87 (1:15.95 + 1:14.92)

9. Davide Simoncelli (ITA) 2:31.31 (1:16.29 + 1:15.02)

10. Philipp Schoerghofer (AUT) 2:31.35 (1:16.35 + 1:15.00)

World Cup overall standings (after 7 of 34 races)

1. Carlo Janka (SUI) 460 pts, 2. Didier Cuche (SUI) 355, 3. Benjamin Raich (AUT) 281, 4. Didier Defago (SUI) 185, 5. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) 178, 6. Ted Ligety (USA) 175, 7. Michael Walchhofer (AUT) 155, 8. Werner Heel (ITA) 152, 9. Jean-Baptiste Grange (FRA) 146, 10. Ivica Kostelic (CRO) 135

World Cup giant slalom standings (after 2 races)

1. Carlo Janka (SUI) 160 pts, 2. Didier Cuche (SUI) 136, 3. Ted Ligety (USA) 130, 4. Benjamin Raich (AUT) 125, 5. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) 85

Women's World Cup Super-G

LAKE LOUISE, Canada:` Results and standings here on Sunday from a women's alpine World Cup Super-G race:

1. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 1:21.91, 2. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 1:21.94, 3. Ingrid Jacquemod (FRA) 1:22.53, 4. Anna Fenninger (AUT) 1:22.57, 5. Maria Riesch (GER) 1:22.60, 6. Fabienne Suter (SUI) 1:22.76, 7. Nadia Styger (SUI) 1:22.95, 8. Andrea Dettling (SUI) 1:23.12, 9. Maria Holaus (AUT) 1:23.13, 10. Marie Marchand-Arvier (FRA) 1:23.14

World Cup standings

Overall (after seven events)

1. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 389, 2. Maria Riesch (GER) 361, 3. Kathrin Zettel (AUT) 220, 4. Tina Maze (SLO) 173, 5. Anja Paerson (SWE) 172, 6. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 172, 7. Tanja Poutiainen (FIN) 165, 8. Emily Brydon (CAN) 154, 9. Kathrin Hoelzl (GER) 136, 10. Sarka Zahrobska (CZE) 132

Super-G

1. Elisabeth Goergl (AUT) 100 points, 2. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 80, 3. Ingrid Jacquemod (FRA) 60, 4. Anna Fenninger (AUT) 50, 5. Maria Riesch (GER) 45

Cricket

Sri Lanka v India final test scoreboard

Scoreboard after India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs on the final day of the third and final test at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, India on Sunday.

India won the series 2-0.

Sri Lanka first innings: 393 (T. Paranavitana 53, T. Dilshan 109, A. Mathews 99, H. Singh 4-112)

India first innings: 726-9 dec (M. Vijay 87, V. Sehwag 293, R. Dravid 74, S. Tendulkar 53, V. Laxman 62, M. Dhoni 100 not out, R. Herath 3-240, M. Muralitharan 4-195)

Sri Lanka second innings (274-6 overnight)

T. Paranavitana lbw b Sreesanth 54

T. Dilshan lbw b Harbhajan 16

K. Sangakkara c Dhoni b Zaheer 137

M. Jayawardene c Dhoni b Zaheer 12

T. Samaraweera c Laxman b Zaheer 0

A. Mathews c Dhoni b Ojha 5

P. Jayawardene lbw b Ojha 32

N. Kulasekara c Laxman b Zaheer 19

R. Herath c Ojha b Zaheer 3

M. Muralitharan c Dhoni b Harbhajan 14

C. Welegedara not out 0

Extras (b-12, lb-1, w-1, nb-3) 17

Total (all out; 100.4 overs) 309

Fall of wickets: 1-29 2-119 3-135 4-137 5-144 6-208 7-278 8-282 9-307

Bowling: Harbhajan 34.4-5-80-2, Ojha 23-4-84-2, Zaheer 21-5-72-5 (nb-1), Sreesanth 13-4-36-1 (nb-2, w-1), Sehwag 9-2-24-0

Golf

Chevron World Challenge

THOUSAND OAKS, California: Scores here on Sunday in the final round of the $5.75 million Chevron World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods postseason golf tournament (USA unless stated):

275 - Jim Furyk 70-71-67-67

276 - Graeme McDowell (NIR) 71-69-66-70

277 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-67-69-70, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 69-68-70-70

279 - Zach Johnson 68-70-74-67, Stewart Cink 70-73-68-68, Sean O'Hair 71-67-71-70, Ian Poulter (ENG) 68-69-71-71

280 - Yang Yong-Eun (KOR) 70-65-71-74

281 - Steve Stricker 71-74-71-65

282 - Paul Casey (ENG) 75-69-74-64, Kenny Perry 72-65-72-73

286 - Lucas Glover 74-67-70-76

288 - Anthony Kim 71-74-70-78, Martin Kaymer (GER) 73-72-72-71, Mike Weir (CAN) 73-70-73-72, Camilo Villegas (COL) 73-69-74-72

291 - Justin Leonard 72-74-72-73

Sun City Challenge

JOHANNESBURG: Scores after final round of Sun City Challenge at par-72, 7,162m Gary Player Country Club Sunday:

277 - Robert Allenby (AUS) 68-70-68-71, Hendrik Stenson (SWE) 70-68-70-69

Allenby won on third hole of sudden-death play-off

278 - Tim Clark (RSA) 69-72-68-69, Ross Fisher (ENG) 73-69-66-70

279 - Retief Goosen (RSA) 69-68-67-75

281 - Angel Cabrera (ARG) 71-67-68-75

282 - Nick Watney (USA) 73-73-63-73

283 - Luke Donald (ENG) 72-71-68-72

284 - Robert Karlsson (SWE) 70-72-71-71

286 - Hunter Mahan (USA) 70-71-72-73

292 - Richard Sterne (RSA) 72-75-70-75

Note: Rory McIlroy (NIR) retired ill after second round

Australian Open

SYDNEY: Final round scores from the $1.36 million Australian Open at New South Wales Golf Club (par-72) on Sunday (Australian unless stated):

273 - Adam Scott 68-66-67-72

278 - Stuart Appleby 66-66-71-75

282 - Bryce Molder (USA) 70-72-72-68, Michael Long (NZL) 69-75-68-70, Nick O'Hern 69-68-71-74

283 - Michael Sim 71-70-71-71

284 - Cameron Percy 74-75-66-69, Rod Pampling 74-71-70-69, Jarrod Lyle 69-68-74-73

285 - Peter O'Malley 69-74-70-72, David Oh (USA) 68-73-69-75

286 - Terry Pilkadaris 71-70-76-69, Chris Campbell 71-69-73-73, Tim Wilkinson (NZL) 73-67-72-74, Scott Strange 72-70-68-76, Richard Green 73-71-67-75, James Nitties 67-72-70-77

287 - Henry Epstein 76-72-72-67, Leigh McKechnie 70-72-74-71, Craig Parry 80-67-69-71

288 - Michael Brennan 69-73-75-71, Brad Kennedy 75-70-70-73, Greg Chalmers 70-72-72-74

NBA

NEW YORK: NBA results on Sunday (home team in CAPS):

NEW YORK 106 New Jersey 97

Cleveland 101 MILWAUKEE 86

DETROIT 98 Washington 94

Miami 115 SACRAMENTO 102

LA LAKERS 108 Phoenix 88

NFL

NEW YORK: NFL results on Sunday (home team in CAPS):

Philadelphia 34 ATLANTA 7

CHICAGO 17 St. Louis 9

CINCINNATI 23 Detroit 13

INDIANAPOLIS 27 Tennessee 17

Denver 44 KANSAS CITY 13

New Orleans 33 WASHINGTON 30 (OT)

CAROLINA 16 Tampa Bay 6

JACKSONVILLE 23 Houston 18

Oakland 27 PITTSBURGH 24

MIAMI 22 New England 21

San Diego 30 CLEVELAND 23

SEATTLE 20 San Francisco 17

NY GIANTS 31 Dallas 24

ARIZONA 30 Minnesota 17

NHL

NEW YORK: NHL results on Sunday (home team in CAPS):

Detroit 3 NY RANGERS 1

Ottawa 4 ANAHEIM 3 (S.O.)

SOCCER

Argentine championship

Argentine championship results and standings on Sunday:

Lanus 2 Gimnasia-La Plata 0

Newell's Old Boys 1 Arsenal 2

Velez Sarsfield River Plate 1

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Banfield 11 5 1 24 9 38

Newell's Old Boys 11 3 3 24 13 36

Velez Sarsfield 10 3 4 28 19 33

Independiente 10 2 5 29 19 32

Colon (Santa Fe) 9 4 5 26 16 31

Estudiantes 9 4 6 28 19 31

San Lorenzo 8 5 4 26 19 29

Rosario Central 7 7 4 19 13 28

Argentinos Juniors 7 7 3 23 18 28

Lanus 7 6 4 25 17 27

Boca Juniors 6 5 6 26 24 23

Arsenal 6 5 6 18 24 23

Atletico Tucuman 5 4 8 23 30 19

Racing Club 4 5 8 17 22 17

River Plate 3 6 8 19 26 15

Godoy Cruz 3 6 8 18 27 15

Chacarita Juniors 4 3 10 16 25 15

Gimnasia-La Plata 3 4 10 16 26 13

Huracan 2 4 11 11 29 10

Tigre 2 2 13 18 39 8

Brazilian championship

Brazilian championship results and standings on Sunday:

Barueri 0 Atletico Paranaense 0

Botafogo 2 Palmeiras 1

Coritiba 1 Fluminense 1

Flamengo 2 Gremio 1

Internacional 4 Santo Andre 1

Santos 1 Cruzeiro 2

Sao Paulo 4 Sport 0

Vitoria 2 Goias 2

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Flamengo 19 10 9 58 44 67

Internacional 19 8 11 65 44 65

Sao Paulo 18 11 9 57 42 65

Cruzeiro 18 8 12 58 53 62

-------------------------

Palmeiras 17 11 10 58 45 62

Avai 15 12 11 61 52 57

Atletico Mineiro 16 8 14 55 56 56

Gremio 15 10 13 67 46 55

Goias 15 10 13 64 65 55

Corinthians 14 10 14 50 54 52

Barueri 12 13 13 59 52 49

Santos 12 13 13 58 58 49

-------------------------

Vitoria 13 9 16 51 57 48

Atletico Paranaense 13 9 16 42 49 48

Botafogo 11 14 13 52 58 47

Fluminense 11 13 14 49 56 46

-------------------------

Coritiba 12 9 17 48 60 45

Santo Andre 11 8 19 46 61 41

Nautico 10 8 20 48 71 38

Sport 7 10 21 48 71 31

1-4: Copa Libertadores

5-12: Copa Sudamericana

17-20: Relegation

Belgian league

BRUSSELS: Belgian league result on Sunday:

Lokeren 0 FC Bruges 1;

CS Bruges 1 Anderlecht 3

Dutch league

THE HAGUE: Dutch league results on Sunday:

FC Utrecht 2 Ajax 0;

Feyenoord 3 FC Groningen 1

RKC Waalwijk 0 PSV Eindhoven 2

NEC Nijmegen 3 FC Twente 4

Heracles Almelo 1 SC Heerenveen 0

English Premier League

LONDON: English Premier League results on Sunday:

Everton 2 (Saha 78, Cahill 86) Tottenham 2 (Defoe 47, Dawson 59)

Fulham 1 (Zamora 7) Sunderland 0

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Chelsea 12 0 3 37 10 36

Man Utd 11 1 3 34 13 34

Arsenal 9 1 4 38 18 28

Tottenham 8 3 4 35 21 27

Aston Villa 7 5 3 25 14 26

Man City 6 7 1 26 18 25

Liverpool 7 3 5 31 20 24

Fulham 6 4 5 19 16 22

Birmingham 6 3 6 15 16 21

Sunderland 6 2 7 21 21 20

Stoke 5 5 5 13 17 20

Blackburn 5 3 7 16 28 18

Burnley 5 2 8 19 33 17

Wigan 5 2 8 17 34 17

Everton 4 4 7 19 27 16

Hull 4 4 8 17 34 16

West Ham 3 5 7 24 30 14

Wolverhampton 3 4 8 14 28 13

Bolton 3 3 8 17 29 12

Portsmouth 3 1 11 13 23 10

English Championship

LONDON: English Football League Championship result on Sunday:

Scunthorpe 1 Coventry 0

Played Saturday

Blackpool 1 Barnsley 2

Bristol City 0 Ipswich 0

Cardiff 1 Preston 0

Crystal Palace 0 Doncaster 3

Derby 2 West Bromwich 2

Newcastle 2 Watford 0

Nottingham Forest 5 Leicester 1

Peterborough 2 Swansea 2

Plymouth 0 Sheffield Utd 1

QPR 1 Middlesbrough 5

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Reading 2

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Newcastle 13 3 3 31 10 42

West Bromwich 11 5 3 41 17 38

Nottingham Forest 8 8 3 28 18 32

Leicester 8 7 4 22 20 31

Cardiff 9 3 7 35 22 30

Middlesbrough 8 5 6 30 21 29

Swansea 7 8 4 17 17 29

Blackpool 7 7 5 29 22 28

QPR 7 7 5 32 26 28

Sheffield Utd 7 6 6 30 30 27

Bristol City 6 9 4 22 22 27

Watford 7 6 6 27 31 27

Crystal Palace 6 8 5 20 21 26

Preston 6 7 6 24 25 25

Barnsley 7 3 8 23 29 24

Doncaster 4 9 6 25 26 21

Derby 6 3 10 23 31 21

Scunthorpe 6 3 10 22 36 21

Reading 5 5 9 20 28 20

Coventry 4 7 8 21 29 19

Sheffield Wednesday 4 6 9 23 31 18

Ipswich 2 11 6 19 29 17

Plymouth 4 3 11 16 29 15

Peterborough 2 7 10 23 33 13

French league

PARIS: French league results on Sunday:

Grenoble 1 (Dieuze 81) Toulouse 0

Boulogne 2 (Karuru 40, Perrinelle 45) Lens 1 (Dembele 21-og)

Auxerre 1 (Birsa 35) Nancy 3 (Andre Luiz Silva 26, Ouaddou 51, Hadji 87)

Lille 4 (Frau 24, Gervinho 52, 90+2, Cabaye 70-pen) Lyon 3 (Lisandro 2, 22-pen, 35)

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Bordeaux 10 1 4 24 10 31

Montpellier 8 3 3 23 17 27

Valenciennes 8 2 5 27 21 26

Lyon 7 5 3 27 22 26

Auxerre 8 2 5 16 14 26

Lorient 7 4 4 24 14 25

Marseille 7 4 3 26 17 25

Rennes 6 5 4 21 14 23

PSG 6 4 5 23 16 22

Lille 6 4 5 22 19 22

Monaco 7 1 6 17 16 22

Toulouse 6 3 6 15 12 21

Nancy 6 2 7 21 23 20

Nice 6 2 7 17 25 20

Sochaux 6 1 7 14 19 19

Lens 5 3 7 15 23 18

Saint Etienne 4 3 8 11 18 15

Boulogne 3 3 9 13 29 12

Le Mans 2 3 10 13 23 9

Grenoble 1 3 11 9 26 6

German league

BERLIN: German league results on Sunday:

Cologne 0 Werder Bremen 0

Schalke 04 2 (Kuranyi 59, Rafinha 90+2) Hertha Berlin 0

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Bayer Leverkusen 8 7 0 30 9 31

Werder Bremen 7 7 1 31 12 28

Schalke 04 8 4 3 23 13 28

Bayern Munich 7 6 2 24 12 27

Hamburg 6 7 2 28 18 25

Hoffenheim 7 3 5 25 13 24

Borussia Dortmund 6 6 3 19 16 24

VfL Wolfsburg 6 5 4 29 27 23

Mainz 05 6 5 4 20 20 23

Eintracht Frankfurt 6 4 5 19 21 22

Borussia M'gladbach 5 3 7 17 23 18

Hanover 96 4 5 6 16 19 17

Freiburg 5 2 8 19 32 17

Cologne 3 5 7 7 15 14

VfL Bochum 3 4 8 14 26 13

VfB Stuttgart 2 6 7 12 21 12

Nuremberg 3 3 9 12 25 12

Hertha Berlin 1 2 12 9 32 5

Italian Serie A

ROME: Italian Serie A results on Sunday:

Bologna 2 (Adailton 27, Di Vaio 66-pen) Udinese 1 (Di Natale 45)

Fiorentina 2 (Vargas 26, Gilardino 89) Atalanta 0

Genoa 2 (Palacio 14, Palladino 66) Parma 2 (Biabiany 36, 59)

Livorno 0 Chievo 2 (Rigoni 12, Bentivoglio 66)

Napoli 3 (Quagliarella 54, 88, Maggio 72) Bari 2 (Barreto 49, Ranocchia 63)

Palermo 2 (Budan 55, Kjaer 65) Cagliari 1 (Matri 24)

Siena 3 (Calaio 51, Terzi 56, Paolucci 62) Catania 2 (Martinez 13, 55)

AS Roma 1 (Cassetti 79) Lazio 0

Saturday

AC Milan 3 (Borriello 2, Seedorf 22, Pato 23) Sampdoria 0

Juventus 2 (Felipe Melo 20, Marchisio 58) Inter Milan 1 (Eto'o 26)

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Inter Milan 11 2 2 34 13 35

AC Milan 9 4 2 23 15 31

Juventus 9 3 3 28 16 30

Parma 7 4 4 20 19 25

Fiorentina 7 3 5 17 13 24

AS Roma 7 3 5 25 22 24

Genoa 7 3 5 28 26 24

Sampdoria 7 3 5 20 22 24

Napoli 6 5 4 21 21 23

Cagliari 7 1 7 22 18 22

Chievo 6 3 6 18 16 21

Bari 5 6 4 16 14 21

Palermo 5 5 5 19 20 20

Udinese 5 3 7 18 19 18

Bologna 4 4 7 16 22 16

Lazio 2 7 6 9 15 13

Atalanta 3 3 9 14 24 12

Livorno 3 3 9 6 18 12

Catania 1 6 8 14 24 9

Siena 2 3 10 15 26 9

Portuguese league

LISBON: Portuguese league results on Sunday:

Maritimo Funchal 5 (Campos 13, Bruno 48, Alonso 67-pen, Baba 75, 80) Olhanense 2 (Djalmir 45, Tengarrinha 51)

Benfica 4 (Cardozo 6, 55, 69, Saviola 32) Academica Coimbra 0

Scottish Premier League

GLASGOW: Scottish Premier League result on Sunday:

Hamilton 2 (McArthur 5, Mensing 24) Hearts 1 (Jonsson 39)

Spanish league

MADRID: Spanish league results on Sunday:

Tenerife 2 (Ricardo 55, Nino 66) Sporting Gijon 1 (Castro 4)

Espanyol 0 Racing Santander 4 (Henrique 47, Canales 52, 72, Tchite 68-pen)

Real Mallorca 4 (Aduriz 37, 67, Suarez 74, Keita 82) Real Zaragoza 1 (Ander 86)

Malaga 1 (Apono 83) Osasuna 1 (Masoud 47)

Villarreal 3 (Capdevila 17, 87, Cazorla 67) Getafe 2 (Pedro Leon 3, Soldado 52-pen)

Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 58) Valencia 2 (Villa 61, Mathieu 83)

Saturday

Sevilla 1 (Fabiano 45-pen) Valladolid 1 (Manucho 33)

Xerez 0 Atletico Madrid 2 (Forlan 28, Aguero 65)

Real Madrid 4 (Ramos 31, Higuain 74, Benzema 81, Ronaldo 84) Almeria 2 (Soriano 58, Uche 62)

Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Adrian 38) Barcelona 3 (Messi 26, 80, Ibrahimovic 88)

Standings

W D L Gf Ga Pts

Barcelona 11 3 0 35 9 36

Real Madrid 10 1 2 31 11 31

Valencia 8 4 1 25 13 28

Sevilla 8 3 2 24 11 27

Deportivo Coruna 8 1 4 18 15 25

Real Mallorca 7 3 3 26 16 24

Sporting Gijon 5 5 3 14 12 20

Athletic Bilbao 6 2 5 17 17 20

Getafe 6 0 7 21 20 18

Osasuna 4 4 5 14 16 16

Villarreal 4 3 6 20 18 15

Tenerife 4 2 7 13 25 14

Atletico Madrid 3 4 6 19 24 13

Espanyol 3 4 6 8 20 13

Real Valladolid 2 6 5 19 24 12

Almeria 3 3 7 14 23 12

Real Zaragoza 3 3 7 16 27 12

Racing Santander 2 4 7 14 21 10

Malaga 1 5 7 14 19 8

Xerez 1 4 9 4 25 7

Tennis

Davis Cup

BARCELONA, Spain: Davis Cup final results here on Sunday:

Spain 5 Czech Republic 0

Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt Jan Hajek (CZE) 6-3, 6-4; David Ferrer (ESP) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE) 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6

Saturday

Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Radek Stepanek/Tomas Berdych (CZE) 7-6 (9-7), 7-5, 6-2

Friday

Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt Tomas Berdych (CZE) 7-5, 6-0, 6-2; David Ferrer (ESP) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE) 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page23)

China's leading figure skating pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo scored a record 214 points on its way to a sixth ISU Figure Skating Final title in Tokyo on Saturday. In a warning to its rivals, the veteran husband and wife team believes it can perform even better.

"It was our sixth Grand Prix Final championship so it was just like a common competition for us. Our ultimate goal is the Winter Olympics next year," said Zhao after the pair returned to Beijing last night.

"We will work on our choreography and technique in lifts and death spirals. With those improvements, I believe we will do even better."

After more than two years in retirement, the three-time world champion pair burst back on to the skating scene this year in a bid to claim Olympic gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games next February.

The pair has won all three competitions it has participated in this season and upped its personal best scores each time.

At the GP Finals in Tokyo, Shen and Zhao won gold with a record 214.25 points. Compatriots Pang Qing and Tong Jian, the 2006 world champions, settled for silver, followed by reigning world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.

The other Chinese pair, Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, which won silver at the Turin Olympics, finished sixth.

"The score of 214 was awesome and a surprise," said 36-year-old Zhao. "We give ourselves eight out of 10 at present. We are doing better and better each competition and I hope we can show further improvement at the Olympics."

Shen said enjoying skating was more important than the scores right now.

"What is important to us is not improving our scores but enjoying the experience two months before the Games," said Shen, who turned 31 last month. "We love figure skating and these two months will be special for us and we want to relish them."

The final in Tokyo was the Chinese pair's first opportunity to face two-time world champions Savchenko/Szolkowy, who are considered their biggest rivals for Olympic gold in Vancouver.

Although they comfortably beat the Germans by about 14 points, Shen and Zhao were cautious about declaring any great psychological advantage.

"They made a mistake in the free skating but they will be working hard to improve in the two months before the Olympics," said Zhao. "We predict a tough battle at the Games if both teams finish cleanly and successfully."

To perfect their routines, Shen and Zhao, two-time Olympic bronze medalists, will go to the US for advise from their choreographer, Lori Nichol, at the end of this week. In more good news for the couple, the champion pair at the GP Finals before the previous two Olympics has won the Games title.

"We never realized that but it's a good news for us," said Zhao. "The Olympic gold medal has always been our dream and we will strive for it step by step."

For China's national figure skating coach, Olympic gold is within reach.

"It's difficult to think about the Olympic gold medal as the German pair has performed so well in recent years but now we can say we are much closer to the title. The Olympic dream is not that far away," said Yao Bin.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page24)

LOS ANGELES: Ron Artest kicked off the Lakers' decisive rally by harassing Amare Stoudemire to the limits of legality until Phoenix's big man coughed up the ball in the backcourt. Kobe Bryant then drove the lane and Stoudemire moved over an instant too late to draw a charge.

Although the Los Angeles Lakers always seemed to be a bit quicker and slicker in a 108-88 victory over the Suns on Sunday night, the defending NBA champions realize their nine-game winning streak almost carries an asterisk, what with the unfair advantages of their home-heavy early-season schedule.

Bryant scored 26 points and Artest added 15 points and five steals as the Lakers raced away from Phoenix in the second half. Eight of their nine wins in a row have been at Staples Center, where the Lakers play 17 of their first 21 overall.

More than 40 percent of the Lakers' home games for the season will be finished by Friday. That's why nobody in purple and gold is getting too excited about the first quarter of the season, even after a second impressive win over the Lakers' closest competitors in the Pacific Division.

"No partying at all," said Pau Gasol, who scored 14 points. "We understand we have so many home games together. I want to see us do this on the road in tougher situations against teams that are ready to play. Right now we're in good shape but we've still got a long way to go."

Two nights after Bryant banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a one-point win over Miami, the Lakers didn't need another lucky shot. They made a 15-1 run late in the third quarter keyed by Artest's defense, holding Phoenix without a field goal for 3 1/2 minutes while jumping to a 23-point lead.

The well-rested Lakers improved to an NBA-best 16-3 with their second home win in 24 days over road-weary Phoenix, who got 18 points and eight rebounds from Stoudemire in their lowest-scoring game of the season.

The result was almost predictable for a club playing its sixth game in six cities over the past 10 days but Phoenix refused to make excuses after their third straight road loss by an average of more than 21 points.

"They're a little bit better than us right now," said Steve Nash, who had 12 points and 10 assists while playing just 29 minutes and sitting out the fourth quarter along with Stoudemire and Grant Hill.

"They've been playing together a little longer, and they're bigger," Nash said.

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page24)

WASHINGTON: Sixty years after the United States stunned England 1-0 in the first round of the World Cup, the Americans will meet the British stars once again on football's biggest stage in 2010 at South Africa.

And just hours after the World Cup draw at Cape Town set up the emotional match-up, the Americans were warning the English that they play best when the challenge is greatest.

"It gives us a great opportunity to challenge ourselves in the first game," US coach Bob Bradley said. "We believe in playing our game, playing our tempo. We have the kind of players that can be dangerous against very good teams."

The US-England game at Rustenburg comes on June 12, the second day of the 32-team event, with England a favorite after a 2-0 home friendly win over the Americans last May took their all-time record against the US to 7-2.

"Are we as talented as England? Probably not," US playmaker Landon Donovan said. "But we feel that on a given day we have a chance to beat them."

US captain Carlos Bocanegra said his squad will learn from a poor showing against England in May last year and become even more familiar with a side they know well.

"Technically, yeah, maybe we're not as great as England but technique is not a thing that wins games," Bocanegra said.

"We've played them a few times. We're familiar with their players already. We will get more familiar with them, their tendencies and Bob and the coaching staff will have us prepared. Hopefully we get started off on the right foot."

AFP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page22)

Film's future

Chairmen of film associations from Asia and Europe got together to mull the future of films last week in Beijing, at the annual conference of the World Cinema Alliance.

Among the subjects the two-day conference discussed were cultural diversity, copyright and the Internet, and cooperation between film associations from China and Europe. Most agreed that cinema remains a major means of cultural expression and called for a wider international circulation of films from all countries. Jacek Bromski, president of World Cinema Alliance and chairman of the Poland Film Associations, announced the Beijing Declaration 2009, which reaffirmed the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and international cooperation in cinema.

Rare albums

The Taiwanese record label, Rock Records, is re-releasing a series of its best-selling albums to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding. They include 12 albums by four leading songwriter/singers, Lo Ta-yu, Jonathan Lee Chung-shan, Emil Chau Wakin and Chang Cheng-yue. Of these, three of Lo's albums - Zhi Hu Zhe Ye (1982) Lover-Comrade (1988) and Queen's Road East (1991) - have never been released in the Chinese mainland.

The four formed Super Band last year and immediately drew millions of fans nationwide, but they've announced that they will split and are planning farewell gigs in Taipei in January. Rock Records has picked the three most popular albums of each, including their debut albums. Most of these were originally released as cassette tapes in the 1980s and 1990s.

Brotherly love

Well-known lyricist Wang Pingjiu and singer/songwriter Chang Shilei have released a new song, Brother.

Wang, who directed the cultural activities of the Beijing Olympic Games and has authored a number of popular songs such as Hard to Say Goodbye and Guojia, was so touched by his brother's support for him during the Games, that he has used one of his text messages to his brother as the lyrics of the new song. hang, a member of the composition team for the Opening Ceremony of the Games, has composed and sung the song.

Duan Rongxin, director of the 2010 Spring Festival Gala Show of Beijing TV station, said that she hoped to present the song and the story behind it at the gala show.

Riverdance returns

Riverdance, a spectacular show of Irish music, song and dance, returns to China for a 13-city tour that begins in Shenzhen today and wraps up in Beijing in February. This is the third time the show is coming to China as part of a world tour to celebrate the company's 15th anniversary.

As a special treat for local audiences, Riverdance will include Chinese music, interpreted through Irish musical instruments and dances. The company will choose from five well-known pieces: My Motherland, You and Me, Song of Yangtze River, Rising Higher Step by Step and Love Song of Kangding. People can vote on www.chinadaily.com.cn to decide which piece they want to see on show.

According to Zhang Ligang, director of the Beijing Exhibition Center Performing Arts Co Ltd and sponsor of Riverdance's China tour, one of the shows at the Beijing Exhibition Center will be made into a DVD and released worldwide.

Ever since Michael Flatley choreographed the 7-minute Irish tap dance show and came under the spotlight at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance has thrilled over 21 million people worldwide.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page20)

"Little Wild Man" truly lives up to his name.

My wife and I chose this Mandarin moniker (Xiao Yeren) for the feisty feline addition to our family because he lived as a stray before we took him in.

It's based on the appellation of Bigfoot's Chinese cousin, the hairy hominid that some believe lurks in the alpine woodlands of Hubei province's Shennongjia.

Surely, our fuzzy little guy's life in the capital's concrete jungle was just as wild as that of the wholly ape-man rumored to roam Central China's primitive forests. Or at least it was, until he found refuge in a warm flat with doting caretakers.

When Xiao Yeren first arrived, the other translation of his name - "Little Savage" - proved very fitting. Anything that moved - and many things that didn't - in our apartment would detonate an explosion of tiny claws and fangs. This led me to quickly realize my wife and I are the least stationary things in our house. I also discovered I shift around a lot in my sleep.

While taming Little Wild Man has proven a tricky business, we've had better luck in training him.

He's already learned to sit pretty and give high-fives. But he only responds to "zhan qi lai" or "ji zhang" when we are waving a bag of food over his head.

Once the nosh is dispensed, he practically refuses to eat unless we pet him while he gorges himself. If we fail to do so, he follows us around, bleating like an emergency siren until we capitulate.

Recently he has discovered how to open every door, including those to the cabinets. This enables him to launch ambushes on us, after which he immediately flees.

Because of the tabby's propensity for effective strike-and-retreat guerilla warfare strategy, foreign friends who can't pronounce his Chinese name instead call him Chairman Meow.

We jest that the Chairman is the vanguard of Mao Lun (Cat Theory) in our home.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who developed the theory, meant that any economic system that provides for the people is good when he said: "Black cat, white cat - if it catches mice, it's a good cat."

Xiao Yeren's version goes: "That human, that other human - if it pets me while I eat, it's a good human."

This shows the softer side of the Little Savage.

As his adolescent angst subsides, other, more idiosyncratic, personality traits have begun emerging.

Among these is a fascination with running water.

At the sound of the toilet flushing, Xiao Yeren bounds into the room, and hops up on his back legs with his front paws, clutching the seat to gaze into the whirlpool of water. His head swivels as he follows the swirling eddy with his eyes.

As soon as the shower starts, he dashes into the bathroom, leaps on the toilet and lets loose a barrage of high-decibel meows until the faucet is turned off. Only he knows why.

While we don't understand his utterances, the cat seems to comprehend a handful of ours, such as his name and "no!"

My wife and I are looking at raising the kitty as practice for bringing up children, and one of the concerns we share for both is bilingualism.

While we try to speak as much Chinese as we can to the little fur ball, he seems to understand English best.

Fortunately, my Chinese tutor has also taken a liking to Xiao Yeren, and part of my daily lesson involves her cooing to the critter in Mandarin. He seems very responsive to her - almost more so than I am during our lessons.

Xiao Yeren is the eighth cat I've owned but the first I've had in China. And raising him in Beijing has contributed greatly to our intercultural, interspecies experiences in the city.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page20)

While the Tibetan Mastiff and the wolf have been waging a head-on battle for survival for millions of years on the vast pastoral lands, two bestsellers based on these species have been dividing Chinese readers.

Wolf Totem (Lang Tuteng) by Jiang Rong (2004) and the trilogy Tibetan Mastiff (Zang'ao) by Yang Zhijun (2005), both became an instant hit amid a publicity blitzkrieg.

The wolf has traditionally been seen as cruel, blood-thirsty and selfish by the Chinese. Yet, Jiang brings a new perspective, praising the animal for its team work and iron will.

Meanwhile, in Yang's book, the mastiff is praised for its loyalty and spirit of sacrifice for its master.

Zhang Ruimin, chairman of the Hai'er Group, belongs to the pro-wolf camp. He says the wolf's team spirit and instinct for survival is what is needed in today competitive culture.

However, Ma Junren, vice-president of the China Tibetan Mastiff Association, feels Chinese companies would do well to follow the Tibetan Mastiff's qualities of loyalty and responsibility.

Pro-wolf readers say the wolf's spirit exemplifies the qualities needed in a survival-of-the-fittest society, whereas the mastiff's qualities are too idealistic.

The pro-mastiff camp argues that it is precisely the unremitting pursuit of profit that makes the mastiff's qualities so attractive.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page20)

Ma Junren, a controversial Chinese track coach, is committed to building his new "Ma Jia Jun" (Ma Family Army). His team comprises some dogged members - Tibetan Mastiffs.

Ma captured worldwide attention when his team broke national and world records 66 times in the middle and long distance women's track events. But six of his athletes failed drug tests at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, spelling the end of Ma's sports career.

Nowadays, he is training a team to compete in a very different field. Ma's dog base in Liangxiang in the northern suburbs of Beijing houses some 60 carefully selected adult Tibetan Mastiffs, while a new base is under construction in Dalian, Liaoning province. He has applied his years of experience training athletes to training his dogs.

His ambitions include earning the title "National Dog of China" for his mastiffs and sending them to the competition held by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), an international federation of kennel clubs founded in 1911 in Thuin, Belgium.

Speaking in a strong northeastern dialect, Ma is upset that the Chinese flag is still absent from the hall of the FCI.

"We should earn world recognition for the Tibetan Mastiff, the only large breed from China," he says.

Ma first came across the breed in France in 1986. He learned that it originated in China but was on the verge of extinction and few Chinese knew about it. He decided to do everything he could to save the mastiff.

That year, Ma bought his first dog, for 6,000 yuan ($880), a fancy price in the dog market at that time. By the late 1990s he had enough numbers to establish China's first Tibetan Mastiff breeding center in Liangxiang.

"Many rich Chinese spend millions of yuan on foreign dogs. Why not pay attention to one of our own?" says Ma, now vice-chief of the China National Kennel Club and vice-president of the China Tibetan Mastiff Association.

In 2003, he organized the first small exhibition of Tibetan Mastiffs in Beijing. It attracted unprecedented attention to this unfriendly-looking, large dog.

In Ma's eyes, raising Tibetan Mastiffs is an act of patriotism. He had even hoped they could be trained as patrol dogs for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"I'm not [in this] for the money, I just hope this endangered breed will not disappear in our generation," says Ma.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page20)

Yingzi, a pure-white, 9-month-old Tibetan Mastiff, jumps at her owner and rests her front paws on his shoulder. Sometimes, Yingzi even tears at his trousers to show her affection.

"I can't recall how many clothes Yingzi has bitten to pieces," says her master, Li Jianzhong. Not that the damage concerns him particularly. After all, Yingzi, meaning "Heroine", along with Li's 14 other mastiffs, were valued at a whopping 3.9 million yuan ($571,200) recently.

Owning Tibetan Mastiffs has become the latest status symbol for China's new rich. With no more than 100 pure breeds recognized by experts, it is ranked the most expensive dog in the world.

Li is cautious with Yingzi, his favorite, as she is also the most aggressive of his mastiffs. His 25-hectare estate in the suburbs of Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, houses his collection of five rare stalactites, each of which could easily fetch millions of yuan.

Tibetan Mastiffs are known as ferocious fighters and Yingzi and the other dogs are fenced in on different locations on the sprawling estate. Whenever Li walks around, Yingzi rushes to the fence, and squeezes her head out to lick his hand.

Li is not the only rich Chinese with an adoration of this breed.

A month ago, a 27-year-old millionairess held a dramatic reception for her mastiff, Yangtze River No 2, with a convoy of 30 Mercedes-Benz at the airport in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The woman, surnamed Wang claimed that the dog had cost her 4 million yuan ($586,000), setting a new record in the dog market.

The Tibetan Mastiff, or Zang'ao in Chinese, is an ancient breed originating on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is believed to be one of the oldest canine species, with little human interference in its evolution.

Traditionally raised by Tibetan herdsmen, the dogs are known to fight till their last breath to protect their masters. Even the ferocious coyote and snow leopard are said to recoil from a mastiff's fatal attack.

The fame of the Tibetan Mastiff soared in 2003, when the first exhibition of the dog was held in Beijing.

Liu Chao, co-organizer of the exhibition, says the number of clicks on his pets' website doubled after the exhibition.

This prompted him to set up a new website just for the mastiff in 2004, named Tibetan Mastiff Online (www.aiao.cn), which has emerged as the most influential Chinese website for the breed.

In the past decade, the mastiff's qualities of extreme loyalty and vigilance have been attracting the attention of the moneyed class.

"The year 2004 marked a milestone for business in this breed," recalls Liu. "Besides mastiff lovers, many private entrepreneurs favor the dog to guard their villas or other properties, which are often located in the suburbs."

While the expensive mastiffs have become a new way of showing off wealth, people like Li also like the fact that they are effective guard dogs.

Li says he has fired three batches of guards, suspecting them of "sticky fingers".

"The mastiffs make us feel safer," says Li, whose villa is installed with some 40 infrared light cameras.

Of his 15 dogs, Li has given four to friends and two were dead. The nine healthy ones are between 5 and 9 months old and each costs 170 yuan ($25) per day to maintain, and this is not counting their snacks and the salary of their professional trainers.

"My mother-in-law and wife once thought I was crazy to spend a sum that could buy a Mercedes-Benz on a pack of dogs. But they are quite fond of these pretty and lovely puppies now," says Li.

Recently, news that the bidding price of another mastiff, Hong Li, was put at $6 million, stunned the public. Its owner, Han Lianming, is one of the first professional mastiff breeders in China, and the famed dog has not found a buyer yet.

Tibetan Mastiff breeding centers have mushroomed across the country. Each spring, customers from home and abroad swarm to such bases, looking for pups that can be sold later for a sizeable profit.

Zhang Liangxian, who started a breeding base in 2006 in Suqian, Jiangsu province, says hardly any pups are left at the end of each year's dealing season.

However, some have warned that this red hot market for the breed will not last.

Chen Yong, a veteran breeder who runs a small base in Liangxiang in the northern suburbs of Beijing, says some buyers do not even know what a genuine Tibetan Mastiff looks like.

Chen has been trying to tell people that the mastiff is not worth such a large sum of money.

"The price for a mature pedigree Tibetan Mastiff should be around 1 million yuan," says Chen.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page20)

With increasing globalization, literature translation and communication will play a vital role in enhancing understanding between different countries and cultures, said Tie Ning, chairperson of the Chinese Writers' Association, at Peking University on Sunday.

She was speaking at the ceremony announcing the much-anticipated first Fu Lei Translation and Publication Award, which went to anthropologist and ethnologist Claude Levi-Strauss's The Way of the Masks (La Voie des Masques) and philosopher Michel de Montaigne's The Essays (Les Essais).

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, who won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature, and Herve Ladsous, French Ambassador to China, together presented the award to translators Zhang Zujian and Ma Zhencheng, who will share the 8,000 euros ($11,886) with their publishers - China Renmin University Press and Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House.

Named after pre-eminent Chinese translator Fu Lei (1908-66), the annual award aims to promote the translation and publication of French books in China.

Also present at the awards ceremony were deputy president of Peking University, Wu Zhipan, the jury panel and nominating translators and publishers.

Tie recounted her connection with French literature, saying Fu Lei's translation of Romain Rolland, Prosper Merimee, and Honore de Balzac occupied an important position in her own reading experience.

"Literature brings people compartmentalized by prejudice into empathy. Thousands of miles apart, they enjoy the richness and beauty of the same world through literature, though from different perspectives, " she said.

Tie hoped the award would further expand Chinese-French translation and communication and mentioned the first Chinese-French Literature Forum held last month in Paris as an important step in this direction.

"We met in Paris to share our ideas about the world, about human hearts, and about literature," she said. "Each of our speeches and even arguments brought us closer and deepened our understanding of literature."

Seven Chinese and eight French writers participated in the two-day forum, and discussed such topics as the role of literature in social progress, women in contemporary literature and literary translation skills.

According to Dong Qiang, chairman of the jury panel, the older generation of Chinese writers, like Ba Jin (1904-2005), Lao She (1899-1966) and Lu Xun (1881-1936), inspired French readers' interest in China, and remain their favorite Chinese writers. Contemporary ones such as Mo Yan, Su Tong and Yu Hua also have a certain readership, while Wang Anyi and Bi Feiyu have attracted some attention in recent years.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page19)

At the first Fu Lei award for translations ceremony held at Peking University on Sunday, the guest of honor, French author and the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2008 laureate JMG Le Clezio, shared an anecdote. It was about an international translation seminar in Oklahoma, where an American-Indian lady put a question to him: "Is the translator putting the translation at the feet of the author?"

Put another way: Was the writer-translator relationship essentially a power equation, in which the translator did the author's bidding? It wasn't a question that could be easily answered or put away.

Le Clezio, whose awesome range of writing - from essays on cinema and expressionist novels on war and ecological imbalance, to literature for children -includes a substantial body of translations, finally gave an answer. "Now I think translation is a respectable work. It's a true sharing and communication between the translator and the writer," he said.

That would, of course, be the situation in an ideal, egalitarian world, but not the sort that Le Clezio often writes about. His fictional worlds are frequently about chaos, anarchy and ennui. His debut novel, Le Procs-Verbal, 1963; (The Interrogation, 1964), which won him the prestigious prix Renaudot, at the tender age of 23, for example, is about a man who does not remember if he has run away from the army or a psychiatric ward. When he tries coping with his state - sometimes identifying with a dog, a rat or a rock - by giving a potentially debilitating speech, he is picked up by the police for an interrogation.

The existentialist crisis phase - his writing has often been compared to Albert Camus - continued with the short story collection La Fivre, 1965; (Fever, 1966) and Le Dluge, 1966; (The Flood, 1967). How physical anguish and suffering can obviate thought and turn a human being's world inside out was the theme of the first. The second was mostly a monologue by a man as he watches the city drowning in incessant rain.

The angst never really left Le Clezio. In the series of novels that followed - Terra Amata (1967); Le Livre des Fuites, 1969; (The Book of Flights, 1971), La guerre, 1970; (War, 1973) and Les Gants, 1973; (The Giants, 1975) - how planet earth is wrung dry by human abuse was the central theme. But the specter of death and devastation, often man-made, still formed the backdrop. It was as if there was no respite from the never-ending killing fields that Bea B, Le Clezio's protagonist in War, travels across, covering 10,000 years of human history.

Finally, in Desert (1980), which won him the French Academy award, Le Clezio had a more defined plotline and a story. The free-spirited Algerian orphan girl Lalla, a descendent of the Tuaregs - driven out of their ancestral lands in the north African desert by the French colonial army - is shown as the living embodiment of romantic beauty, nullifying the damage that European colonialist impulses have done to the land.

His engagement with the history of Mexico led to translations of major works in the American-Indian tradition. And fiction like Ourania (2005), about an imaginary Utopian community on the Pacific coast of Mexico, where formal schooling, organized religion and exchange of money is frowned upon, but children are encouraged to learn life lessons directly from nature.

The material collected from islands of the Indian Ocean - his father was from Mauritius- went into Le Chercheur d'Or, 1985; (The Prospector, 1993), and Raga: Approche du Continent Invisible (2006).

The Holocaust is also a recurrent theme in his recent works. In Estrella Errante (1992), Wandering Star (2004), Esther, a Jewish girl hiding in the south of France with her family around the beginning of World War II, meets Nejma, a Palestinian girl, on the run, since the founding of the state of Israel. In Ritournelle de la Faim, (Same Old Story about Hunger, 2008), Le Clezio follows the journey of 12-year-old Ethel and her unhappy parents through the hardships of the occupation.

"The translator must forget about himself, go deep into the work, and make great efforts in putting the work into a different cultural context," said Le Clezio, at the awards ceremony.

A traveler across continents since early childhood - he has lived in Boston and Bangkok, Nigeria and Nice, Albuquerque and Austin - that's precisely what Le Clezio has been doing. He has been reaching and interpreting cultures that are not necessarily under focus in the literary establishment.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page19)

Ole Schell first visited China in 1987 as a teenager and recalls riding a bike through the hutong of Beijing. When he returned in 2007 he was shocked by the enormous changes.

"The Chinese cities, where people once wore Mao suits, suddenly look more like cities in the United States than cities in North Korea," said the 35-year-old during a screening of his documentary about the sweeping cultural and business shifts in the country. The film was shown last Wednesday at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington.

Schell said he is fascinated by the pop culture of China, Beijing's modern music scene and the rapid pace of urban development.

However, one thing particularly captivated the New York University film school graduate. It was an Apprentice-style reality show on China's national CCTV.

That was the inspiration of his latest documentary, Win in China, which explores the explosion of entrepreneurship and cultural changes in China by centering on the Chinese reality TV show of the same name.

Schell interpreted the reality show as the country's attempt to educate young Chinese about entrepreneurship. The massively popular CCTV program drew more than 120,000 young businessmen around the country to compete for a pool of $5 million, with the winner receiving $1.5 million to invest in a new business.

Schell and his crew were given unprecedented access to the CCTV show's creator, contestants and judges. The latter group included top Chinese business leaders such as Ma Yun (Jack Ma), the founder of the Alibaba Group.

While most of the contestants are in their 30s and have little first-hand experience of life in China before the country's reform and opening-up drive launched in 1978, Schell has woven the context of modern Chinese history since 1949 into the film.

Besides the rapid cultural changes in China and surge of Chinese entrepreneurship, the 60-minute film also gives viewers a taste of the nuances of Chinese business practices, ambitions and competitive behavior.

"Today, entrepreneurs are the biggest heroes in our society," said Wang Lifen, CCTV host and creator of the Win in China TV program.

James Fallows, correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, who lived in China two years ago and is a narrator of the documentary, said he was also surprised to learn about such a show on Chinese national TV.

"There is a kind of youthfulness and optimism in China like the US in the 1950s that has been captured in the film," Fallows said.

"China is in a period when things are changing and changing for the better for most people."

"Most Westerners' views of China are wildly out of date," said the film's executive producer, Robert Compton, a venture capitalist who has invested in many Chinese-related businesses.

"In three decades, China has risen from an impoverished Third World country into the third-largest economy on Earth. Americans need to wake up and realize just how talented, creative, competitive and ambitious the people of this nation are."

The movie documentary (www.wininchinamovie.com) is currently being shown at universities and think tanks across the US. It was recently screened for business leaders and organizations in India.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page18)

"Children's literature is not limited to children," says Qin Wenjun, author of more than 40 books for children and teens, that have won her not just dozens of domestic awards but also nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 2002 and the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

When Qin read two stories from her new book Dancing Sunflowers (Hui Tiaowu de Xiangrikui) in Chinese at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, she drew a crowd of more than 200 foreigners of different ages.

"Adults too are drawn to such stories as there are some issues that cut across age, education and nationality," says the 55-year-old.

It's when night falls and everything quietens down, that Qin creates her stories. She starts by stopping the clock, rolling up the calendar and displaying the presents sent to her by young fans from around the world.

"Night helps me switch from adult to child," says the honorary editor-in-chief of Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, member of the Chinese Writers' Association and vice-chairman of the Shanghai Writers' Association.

"For a writer of children's literature, the ability to handle double identities is a basic requirement," Qin says. "We need to see the hardships of real life, yet write in a light and colorful language.

"I believe children are born optimistic. There is sympathy and affection in children's heart. If it is not nurtured, it will perish," she adds.

Like many other writers, Qin draws inspiration from her early life. Dancing Sunflowers comes from a childhood experience of feeling thrilled seeing sunflowers swaying under the sun.

"As children, we may not be able to express our subtle feelings. Sadly, when we grow up, most of us can't recall those feelings. Children's literature bridges the gap," says Qin, who has been entertaining readers for the past 27 years.

But her stories are not always joyous; she also writes about sorrow. From readers' letters and her interactions with children and teens, Qin knows about their study pressures, grievances over family changes and anxiety over society's dark side.

Her best-known protagonist is Jia Li, a junior high school student of the book, Schoolboy Jia Li. The book has sold 1.2 million copies in 10 years, which continues to increase by tens of thousands each year.

In Dancing Sunflowers, one of the characters falls down a building and becomes partially paralyzed. Qin reveals it is the true story of her best friend.

"Children also have their own thoughts and ideas about life. We should be frank in telling our children that the world is not perfect," Qin says.

Born and raised in Shanghai, 17 year-old Qin joined thousands of other "urban youth" for their re-education in the countryside in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. She was assigned to a primary school and put in charge of 50 students.

Forced to keep their attention, she quickly overcame her shock and desolation.

She told them stories and their happiness and laugher motivated her to observe each of her students carefully.

When she came back to Shanghai eight years later, she compiled her notes and stories into Shining Fireflies, and that kicked off her career as a children's writer.

"When I look back, the experience of being a teacher in the countryside was a great gift," she says.

The 63 stories in Dancing Sunflowers are all centered on Xiang Cao, a primary school student, through whom Qin explores issues of love, growth and education.

The German version of Dancing Sunflowers is now underway. Ten of her works such as Schoolboy Jia Li, Schoolgirl Jia Mei, No 3 Heaven Street and 16-year-old Girl have already been translated into other languages.

She vividly remembers a meeting with some Swedish teenagers who asked about 16-year-old Girl, which tells the story of an urban youth in the countryside during the "culture revolution" (1966-76).

"I was impressed that they know that period well, but their knowledge of a more contemporary China is limited. As a writer, I want to present the Chinese society of a modern era," Qin says.

Qin's daughter Dai Yingniao also writes and has already published three books on campus life.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page19)

Eleven years ago James Cameron's Titanic premiered in China and was the country's highest-grossing film, until Transformers 2 this summer.

Now, a month before his 3-D extravaganza Avatar debuts in theaters here, the director is talking up his latest creation.

"The Chinese economy is growing so rapidly (and) is beginning to face the same problems that we've had in America and Europe, such as the degradation of our natural environment and resources," says Cameron in a telephone interview.

"I think that for anybody that loves nature, for anybody that feels that their life is being changed by living in a technological society or civilization, Avatar has something to say.

"The theme is going to have relevance for Chinese people the same way it has in all the places that is dealing with this issue about industrialization."

In the $230 million fantasy film, Cameron creates a new alien world named Pandora, where Avatars, or hybrid creatures that are a mix of the DNA of humans and the local species Na'vi, fight with pure Na'vi - tall, blue aliens - for a precious mineral on the planet.

Cameron's other smash hit, The Terminator, is widely known as being inspired by a feverish dream in 1981, in which he saw a chrome, metallic and skeletal robot came out of a fire.

Avatar, he says, was inspired by all his dreams.

"I call it my dream project, or pinch-me project. It pinches me and lets me know I am actually awake now," he says.

Cameron, whose parents were an electrical engineer and an artist, was keen on futurology even as a kid. He read science fiction during the day and painted the subjects at night.

The University of Toronto dropout did various jobs, such as truck driver and machinist, while writing and illustrating science fiction stories. In 1977 he decided to start his film career after seeing Star Wars, which stunned him and made him obsessed about how George Lucas had done it.

"For me, Avatar is the opportunity to do the kind of movie I've always dreamed of making, in which you create an environment, plants, landscapes and creatures," he says. "I guess I've been working toward it for all this time."

To make the flick, which according to Wired Magazine could change the way people watch films, Cameron has worked hard in the 12 years since making Titanic, even though he directed no feature films.

He partnered underwater camera specialist Vincent Pace and deep-sea explorer Andrew Wight to make four documentaries on the deep ocean, two in 3-D, while perfecting what he visions as "the holy grail of cameras" - a high-definition rig that is maneuverable, digital, high-resolution, 3-D and will not give viewers a headache.

He let other directors, such as Robert Rodriguez, test his system to demonstrate demand for more 3-D movies, while talking directly to theater owners to persuade them digital 3-D is the new trend in cinema and they should invest in new-generation projection systems right away.

In 2002, when Peter Jackson's Weta Digital in New Zealand created the stunningly believable computer-generated character Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films, Cameron found the special effects technology was ready, too.

After four years of production, Avatar turned from being an idea in his mind for 15 years to be the first action movie shot entirely in digital 3-D. The characters and objects appear to leap from the screen. Around two-thirds of the film is computer-generated, one-third real. Cameron deliberately blurs the distinction between the two so it is hard to tell where reality ends and fantasy begins. The film features more than 3,000 effects shots, and Cameron has redone many of them up to 20 times.

"We have accomplished a lot," he says. "We figured out how to create a photo-realistic world, plants and characters. But what we didn't figure out is how to do it faster, so my next goal is to figure out how to do a film like Avatar, maybe in two years instead of four."

Known as a genius for the way he seamlessly combines technology and storyline, Cameron is alert to the epic's emotional appeal.

The hero Jake Sully, an Avatar played by Sam Worthington, falls in love with Neytiri, a Na'vi princess played by Zoe Saldana. Their emotional bond, as Cameron elaborates, is at the center of the film.

"I learned the lesson on The Terminator 2 that if a movie doesn't have heart, doesn't make you feel the emotion, it has no purpose," he says.

"The film is a little bit overwhelming from a technical stand point, but I think the audience cares more about what they see on the screen, they care about the people, the relationship."

In Titanic, Cameron found the balance between technology and emotion was one of the biggest challenges for a filmmaker. Fortunately he made it, by putting the visual effects, giant sets and thousands of actors, in balance with small intimate moments, to make the film really resonate for the audience.

"You will see the same balance and blend in Avatar," he promises. "It costs a million dollars a minute to do computer-generated characters in Avatar, so it's a very difficult thing to stop for those extra few seconds, the extra bit of time to let the characters have an intimate moment together, maybe just a look, a glimpse, or just a line of dialogue, but you have to do it, that's really critical."

In a time when blockbusters need to be "pre-sold", by comic books (Batman), bestsellers (Harry Potter) or toys (Transformers), Avatar does not have these advantages and is a brand new thing to audiences, globally and in China alike. Yet Cameron, who proclaimed, "I am the king of the world", at the 1998 Academy Award ceremony, which he swept with 11 wins, sees it as a legitimate concern.

"It is not a limitation that I ever believed in because Titanic was not pre-sold, True Lies was not pre-sold, and when I made the first Terminator film, nobody ever heard of that," he says.

"I don't think Hollywood should accept that limitation, Hollywood should have the courage to make films. I am sure in the Chinese film industry you have the same issue. People need to have the courage to make new things, even at a blockbuster level of budget."

Blockbusters with a mega budget have become a norm for Cameron. The 55-year-old earned a record $1.8 billion globally for Titanic, which cost $200 million, at the time the most expensive film ever made. When he made The Abyss in 1989, it was also dubbed the most expensive movie ever made, though that was not true. The Terminator 2 was also the most expensive movie made, at the time.

"I do like to make big, expensive and visually spectacular films," he says. "I think the way people should look at this is, you spend the same amount for a ticket, no matter what the movie costs. So if a film costs more and brings more pleasure, more visual enjoyment, more spectacle, that's the best entertainment bargain you can get. As long as my films make money, people should feel good about what they cost."

The film is expected for a theatrical release on Dec 18 in North America and around Jan 2 in China, in both 2-D and 3-D.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page18)

NEW YORK: The US Treasury Department aims to hold off on selling its 34 percent stake in Citigroup Inc until the bank and regulators agree on a broader plan to repay all obligations remaining from last year's $45 billion government bailout, a person close to the department said.

Treasury officials are concerned that a sale now of its 7.7 billion shares in the New York-based bank may weaken investor demand should Citigroup subsequently be required to raise capital as a condition of exiting the bailout program, said the person, who declined to be identified because the government hasn't publicly discussed the plans.

Citigroup executives have pressed the Treasury for at least three months to sell the stake as a first step toward leaving the bailout program, according to people familiar with the matter. They want to escape government-imposed pay limits that may make the company vulnerable to employee-poaching by unfettered rivals. Bank of America Corp, the only other large US bank under pay limits, last week announced a plan to exit the program.

"This should be well thought-out for the benefit of all constituencies, and in this case that includes shareholders, the government and the taxpayers," said Dennis Santiago, chief executive officer of analysis firm Institutional Risk Analytics in Torrance, California. "Just because Bank of America goes doesn't mean you have to rush Citigroup."

The Kuwait Investment Authority, the Gulf nation's sovereign-wealth fund, said on Sunday it sold its stake in Citigroup for $4.1 billion, earning a $1.1 billion profit.

Citigroup shares fell to $4 in European trading yesterday, down 1.5 percent from their $4.06 close in New York trading on Dec 4. The shares have tumbled 47 percent this year, paring Citigroup's market value to about $92 billion.

The government is trying to wind down bailout programs extended as financial markets convulsed late last year. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a Dec 4 interview that most taxpayer money injected into banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program will eventually be recovered.

While holding off on a sale of its Citigroup stake, the Treasury has pushed regulators behind the scenes to accelerate discussions with all large banks about their plans to exit TARP, the person close to the department said.

Mounting defaults on commercial property may keep regional lenders from repaying bailout funds until at least 2011. Unpaid loans on malls, hotels, apartments and home developments stood at a 16-year high of 3.4 percent in the third quarter and may reach 5.3 percent in two years, according to Real Estate Econometrics LLC, a property research firm in New York.

That's a bigger threat to regional banks, which are almost four times more concentrated in commercial property loans than the nation's biggest lenders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on bailout recipients. The concentration makes regulators less likely to let regional lenders like Synovus Financial Corp and Zions Bancorporation leave the Troubled Asset Relief Program, analysts said.

In November, the Federal Reserve asked nine of the biggest US banks to submit plans to repay the government's capital injections. In testimony last week before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Bank of America got approval to exit TARP only after regulators "felt it was safe and reasonable and appropriate".

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, the biggest US lender, agreed to raise at least $18.8 billion of capital, according to a Dec. 2 press release. It said later that it had raised $19.3 billion.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, all based in New York, repaid their bailout funds in June. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co, which still has $25 billion of TARP money, isn't subject to pay limits because it never needed a second helping of bailout funds, as Citigroup and Bank of America did.

In October, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, 52, said he was "focused on repaying TARP as soon as possible". He said, "We're going to do so in consultation with the government and our regulators." At least twice since September, he has said the Treasury is free to sell its shares at any time.

The Treasury got the shares in September, when $25 billion of the bailout funds were converted into common stock. The shares are now worth $31.2 billion, based on the closing price on Dec 4, giving Treasury a paper profit of more than $6 billion.

The Kuwait investment fund that got about 900 million shares in a related preferred-stock conversion last year yesterday converted them before selling the stock. In September, a Singapore government fund that got about 2.1 billion shares in the conversion said it had used open-market sales to reduce the stake to less than 1.14 billion shares.

The US government doesn't want to be viewed as trying to time the market, so part of Citigroup's TARP exit plan would include a formal process for disposing of the common stake, the person said. Even if Treasury sold now at a profit, it might be second-guessed later if the shares rose further, the person close to the department said.

"We don't comment on individual banks but are committed to maximizing returns on bank investments and restoring stability at the least possible cost to taxpayer," Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams said.

Citigroup spokesman Jon Diat declined to comment on the Treasury's plans or the bank's timeline for repaying TARP funds.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page17)

Engineering chief Mark Reuss, 46, was promoted to president of GM's North American operations and Susan Docherty, 47, one of three women promoted, added marketing to her sales duties. Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz, 77, ceded those responsibilities and will be an advisor to Whitacre.

"It's a signal they are serious about getting younger people in and running the place right," said Thomas Stallkamp, 63, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC and a member of the team that helped restructure Chrysler Corp in the 1990s. "This is a culture that was so inbred, so genteel, people were afraid to speak up."

Whitacre, 68, has said in media interviews and in meetings with staffers that employees need to shed GM's culture and hasten efforts to cut costs and regain market share. The former chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc reiterated the pledge this week as his board ousted Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson and Whitacre became interim CEO.

"Most of what has occurred this week at General Motors is about speeding things up and making people more accountable for the decisions they make," John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at consultant IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, told Bloomberg Television.

Nick Reilly, 59, will lead GM's European business, the Detroit-based automaker said yesterday in a statement on its website. Tim Lee, 58, replaces Reilly as president of international operations. Whitacre also will use director Stephen Girsky, 47, as an advisor, people familiar with the plans said.

Reuss served as president and managing director of Holden in Australia prior to being appointed head of global engineering in July. He will give an update on GM's business on today, the company said. Whitacre, who was originally slated to deliver the briefing, had a scheduling change, said Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman.

"I know this leadership team can count on you to step up and be responsible, do the right thing and together we can move forward," Whitacre said yesterday in a broadcast to employees. "We can have a good time doing it."

Whitacre, who took the chairman's job as GM left Chapter 11 in July, has said he wants to start repaying federal loans early. The US government is owed $6.7 billion and owns a 61 percent stake in the biggest domestic automaker, which still expects an initial public offering in 2010's second half.

More women

Docherty, promoted to chief of sales in October from the head of the Buick GMC division, was appointed vice-president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. She takes some of the duties Lutz had handled since July.

Tom Stephens, 61, remains vice-chairman of global product operations and will add global purchasing to his duties.

Diana Tremblay, 50, becomes vice-president of manufacturing and labor relations. Denise C. Johnson, 43, most recently vehicle line director and chief engineer for global small cars, was named vice-president of labor relations.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page16)

TOKYO: Japan Airlines Corp may get a government loan guarantee of as much as 700 billion yen ($7.8 billion), according to a state official.

The guarantee will probably be included in the second extra budget for the current fiscal year, said the official, who declined to be identified before a public announcement. The state spending package may be released today, according to Hirofumi Hirano, the government's chief spokesman.

JAL jumped the most in seven weeks in Tokyo trading as the guarantee may pare borrowing costs for the unprofitable airline. The carrier has sought government backing and financing from a state-affiliated fund to support restructuring plans after posting losses in three of the past four years.

"The report on the government guarantee is helping to push up the shares," said Satoshi Yuzaki, a section manager at Takagi Securities in Tokyo. "We're likely to see rapid swings in JAL's shares as short-term traders look to take profits."

The Tokyo-based carrier rose 7 percent to 107 yen as of the close of trading in Tokyo yesterday, a third day of gains. The carrier has lost 50 percent this year, the worst performance in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano told reporters in Tokyo that he had no information about a loan guarantee. Sze Hunn Yap, a Japan Air spokeswoman, declined to comment on the report. The Yomiuri newspaper reported the guarantee on Dec 5.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page16)

LONDON: European stock markets fell yesterday as the dollar jumped to a five week high against the euro amid improved expectations about the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 41.84 points, or 0.8 percent, at 5,280.52 while Germany's DAX fell 43.94 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,773.71. The CAC-40 in France was 27.60 points, or 0.7 percent, lower at 3,819.02.

The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.4797, having earlier fallen to $1.4757, its lowest level since early November. Before Friday's news that US employers shed a much lower than anticipated 11,000 jobs in November and the unemployment unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, the euro was trading near its 16-month high of $1.5144.

One of the main impacts from the dollar's rally has been to send commodity prices down, most notably gold, which has fallen sharply from near-record highs - a stronger US currency typically causes commodity markets, priced in dollars, to fall. An ounce of gold was down a further 2.2 percent at $1,143.60, way lower than last week's record high above $1,225.

As a result, commodity stocks were hit hard - in London, Eurasian Natural PLC, Xstrata PLC and Fresnillo PLC were three of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100.

"A firmer dollar points to a temporary correction in commodities and equities," said Neil Mackinnon, global strategist at VTB Capital.

Meanwhile, mounting optimism about the US economic recovery was tempered by a growing perception that the US Federal Reserve may start to withdraw some of its extraordinary policy measures sooner than anticipated - US Treasury yields increased sharply in the wake of the jobs data. And with the year-end looming, analysts said investors may be looking to wind down their trading positions and book some profits, especially as this time last year most faced hefty losses.

"Concerns surround the fact that with equities still looking inflated as we approach the year end, anything that sends jitters through the market could initiate a quick wave of selling and as volumes start to thin in the coming weeks, the consequences here could prove especially marked," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets.

Earlier in Asia, Japanese stocks were buoyed by the weaker yen, which makes the country's exports into the United States cheaper. Investors were getting increasingly concerned over the last few weeks that the rise in the yen to 14-year dollar highs was threatening to hit the country's exports.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average rose for a sixth straight session, climbing 145.01 points, or 1.5 percent, to 10,167.6, the highest close since late October.

Since Japanese markets closed, the yen has recouped some ground against the dollar, which was trading down 0.3 percent at 90 yen. Nevertheless, the dollar is still way up on where it was just ten or so days ago, when it slid to 84.81 yen, its lowest level since mid-1995.

In Australia the main index slipped 25.7 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,676.5.

South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5 percent and Singapore's benchmark climbed 0.4 percent.

Oil prices hovered slipped to near $75 a barrel after several OPEC ministers said they don't expect their group to change production levels at a meeting later this month.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 66 cents to $74.81 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 99 cents to settle at $75.47 on Friday.

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page17)

Last week's jobs report shocked just about everybody with a PhD in economics. On average, economists expected that the economy would shed more than 100,000 jobs. The actual number was only 11,000, and the unemployment rate declined, to 10 percent.

Economists were almost unanimously incorrect about the start of the recession, fundamentally clueless about the depth of the recession, and now it's looking like they will get the end of the recession wrong, too.

Data surprise all the time, of course, but the divergence between consensus and reality in this case was unusually large. It calls into question other elements of the consensus view.

That view holds that unemployment will continue to worsen well into next year, perhaps reaching 11 percent, because job creation typically trails the rest of the recovery. An unabated decline is seen as so much of a sure thing that both parties held jobs events last week to discuss policies to address the looming labor-market nightmare.

A look at the history of job creation over the business cycle suggests that this prevailing view needs to be given a big fat asterisk.

Since 1950, there have been 10 recessions in the US, the most recent one beginning in December 2007 and most likely ending, given the preponderance of the data, last July.

If the recession did end in July, then the November decline in unemployment began in the fourth month after the recession's trough. A four-month delay is a negative surprise. In the nine previous recessions, the average wait from the end of the recession to the first decline in unemployment was only 2.4 months. So this time it took a little longer.

Why, then, did so many experts expect the lag to last still longer this time? The biggest reason is the widespread acceptance of a false narrative regarding the relationship between jobs and recessions, a narrative warped by the two most recent recessions before this one.

It is true that job creation often lags behind the economic cycle. While unemployment can blip down in the beginning of a recovery, the improvement rarely sticks; in seven of the previous nine recessions, the initial decline was reversed in subsequent months.

In the last two recessions - July 1990 to March 1991, and March to November 2001 - unemployment had a life of its own, continuing to surge for more than a year after the trough. Those back-to-back experiences seem to have influenced how experts viewed what would happen in the current recovery. But the last two recessions are probably not the best guide. On the way down, recall, they were so mild that economists had begun to accept the view that the world had undergone a "Great Moderation".

A more apt model - and certainly a more optimistic one - would be what happened at the ends of recessions in 1975 and 1982.

In those cases, the first decline in the unemployment rate signaled the good news that a sustained jobs recovery had begun.

In 1975, the unemployment rate peaked two months after the end of the recession at 9 percent, and then began a steady decline that lasted almost five years. In 1982, the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent one month after the end of the recession, and plummeted from there at a rate of about 1.5 percentage points per year. Those two recessions are the only ones since World War II that rival the current one in severity.

An explanation for this connection comes from academic work on why the economy tends to snap back more quickly after a steep drop.

This behavior, first observed by Milton Friedman, is analogous to that of a string on a guitar. The harder you pluck the string, the quicker it snaps back.

Or think of it in these human terms: Recovery is faster after a panic, because unlike more gradual forces such as a decline in manufacturing, panic is 100 percent gone when it stops.

Given the enormous doubts that persist about the health of the real-estate market, massive government deficits and probable tax increases, it would be imprudent to count on a rapid jobs recovery.

We have, after all, only a couple of precedents that rival this recession in severity. Moreover, the unemployment rate is so high that it would be callous and irresponsible to reject out of hand policies to accelerate job creation.

But if history is a guide, November's good job news signaled that the worst may be behind us, and the unemployment rate will improve from here. If the unemployment rate drops again in December, don't be surprised.

Kevin Hassett is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page17)

Cadbury to reply soon

Cadbury PLC said yesterday it plans to publish its formal response to a 9.8 billion pound ($16.3 billion) hostile takeover offer from Kraft Foods Inc on Dec 14.

Kraft, the maker of Oreo cookies, Nabisco crackers and its namesake cheese, took the offer straight to shareholders of the British candy company on Friday. In doing so, it bypassed the Cadbury board, which had already rejected an almost identical offer last month as "derisory".

Daimler Nov sales rise

German carmaker Daimler AG said yesterday that global sales for its Mercedes-Benz Cars division increased 16 percent in November, to 98,400 vehicles from 84,500 in the same month last year.

The division includes the Mercedes-Benz and the compact Smart brands. The Mercedes-Benz brand posted 19 percent growth for the month with 88,600 cars sold from 74,400 in November a year ago, while the Smart brand declined by 3.8 percent to 9,800 cars from 10,100.

Possible Shanks buyout

British waste management firm Shanks Group Plc revealed a 536 million pound ($889 million) buyout approach, sending its shares soaring, but said its board and key shareholders were looking for at least 10 percent more.

Shanks did not name the company behind the approach but a person familiar with the matter said it was the Carlyle Group, the well-connected US investor that is one of the world's biggest private equity firms.

Dubai World may sell assets

Dubai World, the indebted conglomerate at the heart of this sheikdom's credit problems, may sell off assets it acquired during a multiyear building and buying spree to raise cash, according to a senior government official.

Dubai Finance Department Director-General Abdul Rahman al-Saleh did not say which pieces of the company are for sale in an interview posted on al-Jazeera's website yesterday. However, he emphasized that the assets in question would be the company's, and not those held by the government of Dubai. The finance chief said the primary aim of restructuring the state-backed company is to ensure it remains viable for years to come.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page17)

MILAN: Fiat SpA will not be able to reach an operating margin of 7-7.7 percent targeted by US sister car maker Chrysler because Europe has not cut capacity, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News magazine.

Marchionne, who also heads Chrysler, said in the interview published yesterday he expected the two carmakers to reach 5.5 million car sales a year "certainly before 2014", with half from Chrysler, in which Fiat currently has a 20 percent stake. "I do think a decent business on the car side which is run efficiently can produce 7 to 7.7 percent in the United States. Is that number possible in the European market place? The answer is no," he said in the interview, which was conducted on Nov 21.

"In Europe, structural overcapacity has not been addressed. The Obama administration has forced a restructuring on this industry where emerging companies, post-bankruptcy, are going to be much better suited to drive returns on capital," he said.

Marchionne confirmed A-segment city cars and their engines for the US market would be produced in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) area. Fiat expects to produce its Cinquecento city car in the United States by 2011.

Marchionne launched a detailed presentation of plans for Chrysler's brands - Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep - in Detroit on Nov 4 and has said he will make a presentation for Fiat in the first quarter of 2010.

The two companies will share architectures for some car production and Fiat has promised the US government it will provide its technology for building smaller, less-polluting cars to Chrysler.

Marchionne told Automotive News that a cross-shareholding model for the two companies, like that of Renault and Nissan, was valid "only to a point", and that another option was "one that allows for a much deeper level of integration which does not require cross-shareholding".

He did not elaborate further.

For the Chrysler marque and Fiat's Lancia product line, Marchionne said the two would function as one brand in the future, with Chrysler strong in the United States.

"Brand rationalization continues to be the key driver here. It takes a huge amount of money to maintain a brand," Marchionne said. Lancia is strong in some European countries, he added. Lancia head Olivier Francois is also in charge of Chrysler.

Marchionne said he was "available at any time" to meet Chrysler dealers but added the only question was "whether it's effective or whether it's needed".

On the Jeep brand, which is Chrysler's most internationally recognized line-up, Marchionne said the new fuel-efficient V-6 Pentastar engine would be available on the Grand Cherokee model in May 2010.

He also said Jeep Commander models could eventually be produced in China or Russia.

"I need to find an alternative to the production site," he said, once existing shared sites are converted to the new Grand Cherokee.

"China and Russia are possibilities," he said.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page16)

SEOUL: Nick Reilly took over at Adam Opel GmbH in Germany five days after 10,000 people demonstrated against General Motors Co's ownership of the unit. It wasn't the first time GM had asked him to win over protesters.

Reilly (pictured above), 59, became acting head of Opel on Nov 10 after GM scrapped a sale of the Ruesselsheim, Germany-based unit to Magna International Inc. Unions had backed the deal as workers would get a 10 percent stake. GM's acting Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre made the appointment permanent on Dec 4.

To turn Opel around, Reilly, a 34-year GM veteran, has to persuade workers to give up 265 million euros ($394 million) in annual pay and get seven European Union countries to provide 2.7 billion euros of support. He also has to stem a 9.6 percent slump in sales of Astra and Corsa cars as the automaker is set to run out of cash by March.

Fixing the carmaker is "all about regenerating team spirit and a determination to win", Reilly said. Opel has "a very robust product portfolio".

Reilly, who previously managed all of GM's international operations from Shanghai, oversaw the carmaker's 2002 purchase of South Korean plants in a deal also opposed by unions. As head of GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co, he more than tripled annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles by the end of 2006. The unit, built from a formally bankrupt carmaker, now accounts for about 20 percent of GM's global production.

"GM counts on Reilly to be one of the leaders to turn around the whole company," said Michael Dunne, president of consultant Dunne & Co and ex-head of JD Power & Associates in China. "His appointment to make sure the Opel deal works is an indication of how much confidence GM has in him."

At Opel, Reilly expects to cut about 8,300 jobs under an almost-completed turnaround plan, he said in a Dec 5 conference call. Success will require developing a new "mini" car, as well as hybrid and gas-powered vehicles, he said.

The unit has been losing market share since the mid-1990s, "due to cheap manufacturing and cheap parts, hurting its reputation", said Christoph Stuermer, an analyst with research firm IHS Global Insight in Frankfurt. If Reilly thinks "it's a problem of scale - selling more cars and saving a bit more - then he doesn't understand the structural problems".

This year, Opel's sales have contracted at almost double the pace of the 5 percent decline in the overall market this year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. The carmaker has lost market share to Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co and Fiat SpA even as government incentives in Germany, the UK, France and Italy boosted demand for its bread-and-butter small cars.

UK-born Reilly will have to win backing for a 3.3 billion euro turnaround from countries including Germany, the UK and Spain, which house plants making Opel or Vauxhall cars. Detroit-based GM is putting in 600 million euros.

"Reilly seems refreshingly pragmatic," said Hendrik Hering, economy minister of the German state of Rhineland- Palatinate, where Opel employs 3,200 staff. "He has gathered experience in turning companies around and what also helps is that he's European."

Reilly was GM's European vice-president for sales and marketing, based in Zurich, before moving to South Korea. He also ran Vauxhall in the UK and worked in the US, Mexico and Belgium.

To win support from Opel's 50,000 workers, GM may give staff a stake and agree to profit-sharing, Reilly told reporters on Dec 4. Reilly took over at Opel from Carl-Peter Forster after GM canceled a sale of the unit to Aurora, Ontario-based parts-maker Magna and Russia's OAO Sberbank.

"GM realized that things need to be straightened out," said Klaus Franz, a union leader, who met Reilly on his first day at Opel over coffee at the unit's headquarters.

"He seems like a person that can stand up for his own opinion, even within GM."

Reilly's move to Opel, after serving as Asia-Pacific chief from 2006, and head of all operations outside of North America from July, has led to speculation he could be a candidate to succeed Fritz Henderson and Whitacre as GM's CEO.

"He'd have to be among the people being looked at," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc, an industry consultant in Tustin, California. "He was groomed for the position with the role he had in Asia."

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page16)

China's leading liquor maker Kweichou Moutai said yesterday it will raise its average product price by 13 percent from Jan 1, a move expected to spark a wave of price hikes in China's high-end liquor industry.

Moutai referred to "rising raw material costs, the current liquor market situation and corporate strategy requirements", as the main reasons for the price increase in a statement released yesterday.

Analysts said they had expected such a rise months ago.

"Moutai led the way and many others will probably follow suit, later this year or early next year," said Huang Wei, an analyst with China Jianyin Investment Securities.

Tong Xun, a beverage analyst at Shanghai-based Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, agreed, saying that "a 13 to 16 percent price increase may boost earnings by 20 to 24 percent, and more companies will take the measure".

Industrial analysts attributed the surge to two other issues: Growing pressure following a recent increase in consumption tax on liquor sales by the Chinese government, which has squeezed profits, and predicted growth potential for the local high-end spirits market, also the most profitable, in years ahead.

Among high-end liquor producers, Moutai has the most scope to raise the product price. The company's gap between the product price and sale price is the largest among all the manufacturers. Since 2006, the company has raised its product price once every year. The most recent price hike of 20 percent took place in January 2008.

Guizhou-based Kweichou Moutai, Sichuan-based Wuliangye Group and Luzhoulaojiao Group are the nation's top three high-end liquor makers.

"There is a high possibility that Luzhoulaojiao will raise its product price soon, following a market test of an increase," said Teng Wenfei, a food and beverage analyst at Shanghai Securities.

Wuliangye, the second largest player, will also do the same, in a bid to catch up with its archrival Moutai for more profits, predicted Teng.

Moutai's price hike ignited investor confidence in liquor manufacturers yesterday. Moutai shares rose for the first time in four days yesterday, gaining 3.29 percent to 176.53 yuan.

Wuliangye closed at 29.65 yuan, up by 2.35 percent. Luzhoulaojiao grew by 1.88 percent to 38 yuan.

It is estimated a rise in the product prices from 2 to 10 percent could help liquor makers to boost profitability. "The 13 percentage points will translate into good profits for Moutai," said an insider.

Despite the fact that the financial crisis hurt the high-end liquor makers, China's economic stimulus package, recovering economic growth, and the rich liquor culture are boosting the market and encouraging the makers to raise prices.

"By 2020 when China's urbanization ratio will be higher, consumption of liquor, especially high-end liquor, will grow fast," said Huang.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page13)

China's passenger vehicle production and sales in November both more than doubled from a year earlier, continuing the robust growth and causing China's auto market to lead the global industry for the whole year.

It's also the first time the domestic monthly production and sales broke the 1 million units barrier.

Sales of passenger vehicles, including cars, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), sports-utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans, reached 1.01 million last month, surging 103.7 percent year-on-year, and increased 9.5 percent from October, Rao Da, secretary-general of China Passenger Car Association, said yesterday.

The total output of the sector hit 1.08 million units, 101 percent higher than that of November 2008.

"It is strong evidence of how hot automobile sales are in China, despite the oil price hike and bad snow which had an impact on logistics in November," said Rao.

He predicted that the market performance of the passenger vehicle segment would continue to hit record highs in December, with production and sales figures 80,000 to 10,000 units more than those in November.

"And the sales peak is coming in January," he added.

"It will be unprecedented in any country's auto industry that the monthly sales continued to break records for seven months in a year," said Rao.

China's total vehicles sales exceeded 12 million in the first 11 months, retaining its lead as the world's top auto market since January, reported Xinhua News Agency, citing the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The association is going to release the details this week.

Boosted by government stimulus measures such as tax cuts and subsidies for trade-ins, sales of all automobiles for the whole year are set to break the 13 million barrier, compared with 9.38 million units last year.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page13)

Chinese banks are set to cut back lending in 2010 but the number and size of loans will still be instrumental in supporting the nation's economic growth and industrial restructuring drive, senior experts and industry insiders said.

Despite the government's pledge to maintain a moderately loose monetary policy next year, the credit flood this year could not be repeated, a top executive at Bank of China told China Daily on condition of anonymity.

"The regulator has ordered banks to control the pace of lending next year, and credit growth is likely to be maintained at about an annualized 17 percent," he said.

During the three-day Central Economic Work Conference, the annual gathering to lay out economic policy for the coming year, that ended yesterday, the government promised to "maintain the continuity and stability of the economic policy".

Experts said it did not indicate a continued galloping credit expansion in 2010.

"Credit growth is supposed to be tightened moderately next year, but it will not derail the nation from the road of economic restructuring," said Li Jianwei, a senior economist at the Development Research Center, a think tank affiliated to the State Council.

Research conducted by his team said credit growth of some 17 percent and 20 percent would be sufficient to support the economy growing beyond 9 percent next year.

In response to a government call to spur domestic consumer demand and restructure the industrial landscape, Bank of China, the nation's third largest lender, said it would adjust its loan portfolio to support the nation's economic restructuring drive and enhance personal financing services.

"The bank will continue to fund the key projects on the top of the government's agenda, such as energy saving and low-cost housing projects, as well as give loans to small- and medium-sized companies," it said.

"As for those projects that do not comply with the country's industrial and environmental policy, the bank will cut lending and seek an exit from these projects," the bank said in a statement on its website.

Chinese banks had advanced 8.9 trillion yuan in new loans as of the end of October with an annualized loan expansion rate of above 30 percent in an effort to shore up the slowing economy.

The total new loans are likely to hit 10 trillion yuan this year, nearly tripling the amount extended by Chinese banks in 2008.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page13)

Coal price rises

The Qinhuangdao coal price, a domestic benchmark, advanced 4.4 percent, the biggest gain in almost a year, on increased winter demand for fuel. The price of coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kg climbed to between 710 yuan and 730 yuan a metric ton as of yesterday compared with a week earlier, data from the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association showed.

Felix takeover

Felix Resources Ltd said Yanzhou Coal Mining Co's A$3.5 billion ($3.2 billion) takeover of the Australian fuel producer is close to winning final approval from Chinese authorities.

Brisbane-based Felix expects consent from the China Securities Regulatory Commission "will occur shortly", it said in a statement yesterday. The National Development and Reform Commission has cleared the purchase, Yanzhou said on Dec 4. Felix shareholders will meet today to vote on the proposal.

Geely raises targets

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd plans to boost vehicle sales to 400,000 next year from an expected 300,000 this year, Reuters said, citing executive director Lawrence Ang.

The carmaker, whose parent is bidding for Ford Motor Co's Volvo Car unit, may also pursue acquisitions in Europe and the United States, the report said, citing Ang.

BoCom eyes Taiwan

Bank of Communications (BoCom) said yesterday it hopes to have a presence in Taiwan by setting up a branch on the island.

"We hope to set up a branch in Taiwan as soon as possible," Reuters reported, citing Peng Chun, vice-president of the bank. However, it had no plans to buy stakes in local banks, the report said.

Global ETFs ready to go

The Shanghai Stock Exchange has approved the development of global exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by Chinese fund houses to track six overseas indexes including the Dow Jones industrial average, the Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday, citing Xu Ming, vice-general manager of the exchange.

Plans for the global ETFs have been submitted to securities regulators for approval and the Shanghai Stock Exchange has made all the technical and system preparations required for their launch, the report said.

Vanke November sales up

China Vanke Co said November property sales rose 46.5 percent from a year earlier to 5.23 billion yuan, according to a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange yesterday. Sales in the first 11 months rose 36.2 percent to 57.9 billion yuan, according to the statement.

Sinopec project speeds up

Sinopec, the nation's biggest refiner, will speed up the construction of an 800,000 metric-ton-a-year ethylene plant in central China as local demand for chemicals increases.

Sinopec and the government of Wuhan city, where the plant will be built, signed an agreement on Dec 4 to expedite the project, parent China Petrochemical Corp said yesterday.

BlackBerry deal

Digital China, a Hong Kong-listed information technology company, is to distribute Research In Motion's BlackBerry handsets, accelerating the company's efforts to expand into the mainland.

The agreement will "help RIM further expand its business in China" by giving it access to Digital China's national distribution network, the two companies said yesterday.

Agencies

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page13)

French power company EDF said it is looking into China's hydro, nuclear and wind power sectors for investment opportunities, in line with the rapid growth of these industries in the country.

The company is also looking at opportunities in clean technologies in the power industry like carbon capture and storage (CCS), Herve Machenaud, president of EDF Asia Pacific Branch, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

EDF will form a joint venture with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group to operate the Taishan nuclear power project in southern Guangdong province, said Machenaud, who is also executive vice-president of EDF.

The Paris-based EDF is also talking with several major power producers in China on possible wind power and nuclear power projects, he said.

China and France in 2007 signed an 8-billion-euro agreement for the supply of the two reactors of the Taishan project. The reactors will use the European pressurized reactor technology from France and have a capacity of 1,700 mW each.

Industry sources said that the first reactor of the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013, while the second one is likely to be finished in mid-2014.

"Over 80 percent of electricity generated by EDF in France is from nuclear power plants. We want to share our long-time expertise in the industry with Chinese partners," said Machenaud.

EDF now has stakes in three coal-fired power projects in China. To make the business more diversified is beneficial for the company's future growth in the country, said analysts.

"The use of more green technology in the power industry fits extremely well with China's efforts to build an environmentally friendly economy. I do believe these technologies will flourish in the next few years," said Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of leading energy website China5e.com.

The three thermal power projects EDF has stakes in are located in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Shandong and Henan provinces. The latest round of power tariff increases has made little impact on the profit of these projects, said Machenaud.

After the price hike last month, the on-grid price of the Guangxi and Shandong projects remain unchanged, while the price of the Henan project has been reduced by 0.003 yuan per kWh.

"After suffering a difficult year in 2008 due to coal and economic crises, we expect our projects in China will restore the profitability back to a reasonable market level this year," said Machenaud.

Generally speaking, the profitability of the Guangxi project will remain stable, and the Shandong project will be better than last year, but the Henan project will still suffer, he said.

Facing surging coal prices in China, Machenaud said EDF had to increase the efficiency of its power plants to reduce costs.

Rising coal prices have long been a headache for China's power producers. Government controls on power prices prevented power generators from passing on the rising costs to power users.

Although EDF is also facing the problem of rising fuel costs in China, the company wants to be a "long-term industry partner in the country", said Machenaud.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page14)

ZHANJIANG, Guangdong: CNOOC Ltd, China's biggest offshore oil explorer, may double its crude oil and natural gas production in the western part of the South China Sea to meet rising energy demand in the country.

China's third-largest oil company may expand its output in the area to 20 million cu m by 2015 from 10 million cu m, or 38.97 million barrels, last year, Ke Luxiong, deputy general manager of CNOOC's Zhanjiang division, said after a media tour of the unit's operations in the southern city.

Increased energy demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy is prompting CNOOC to intensify exploration in the area. A number of overseas companies have shown "immense" interest in joining CNOOC's bid to develop deepwater blocks in the region, Xie Luhong, head of the CNOOC unit, told reporters in Zhanjiang in Guangdong province on Dec 4.

"The deepwater areas are said to hold a significant amount of resources," Qiu Xiaofeng, a Shanghai-based analyst with China Merchants Securities Co, said. "CNOOC may need to enlist help from overseas partners in the beginning due to potential technical difficulties."

CNOOC plans to work with overseas partners to drill the first deepwater wells in the area next year, Xie said, without naming the companies. "The water depth might be between 1,500 m and 1,800 m," he said.

The company currently drills at a water depth of as much as 180 m in the region, according to Xie. "There is huge potential in the deepwater blocks in the South China Sea, most of which are expected to hold natural gas resources," Xie said.

CNOOC and its partners may spend about 200 billion yuan through 2020 to develop energy reserves in the South China Sea in the country's biggest push to tap oil and gas resources off its coast, Luo Donghong, chief development engineer at CNOOC's Shenzhen unit, said in November last year.

The western part of the South China Sea is CNOOC's "most important" natural-gas producing area, the company said on its website. Exploration partners include BG Group Plc, Devon Energy Corp and Roc Oil Co, Xie said.

As of the end of last year, CNOOC had proven reserves of oil and gas of 614.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in the region, data on its website show. That's 24.4 percent of the company's total.

CNOOC had targeted to increase production in the area by about 13 percent to 44.069 million barrels this year, Xie said. "The goal can be met under normal conditions," he said, without elaborating.

CNOOC, which gets more than 70 percent of its output from domestic offshore fields, is boosting production to benefit from a rebound in fuel demand as China's economic growth accelerates. The company said in January it aims to produce 225 million to 231 million barrels of oil equivalent this year.

The South China Sea, spanning 3.5 million sq km, stretches from Singapore to the Taiwan Straits.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page14)

The Chinese government's recent efforts to encourage sales of high-end electronic products in rural markets may encourage computer makers from home and aboard to increase their presence in Chinese counties and villages.

Wang Zhong, general manager, Desk Computer Marketing, Lenovo Group, said though demand for high-end computers is high amongst rural consumers, sales have been limited by the current price cap in the rural electronic subsidy program.

"According to our estimates, nearly 62 percent of the rural consumers in China want to purchase computers priced above 4,000 yuan," he said. "If the price caps are lifted, I think rural consumers will have more choices."

The Chinese government launched the program earlier this year by offering 13 percent subsidy to electronics buyers in rural areas to stimulate the economy. But the subsidy was offered only for purchase of computers priced below 3,500 yuan.

According to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, sales of rural computers through the government's subsidy program reached 792,766 units from January to October this year, compared with the 40 million annual PC shipments in the country each year. Lenovo had a 40 percent share of the market while foreign players like Hewlett-Packard and Dell had less than 3 percent market share.

Some critics say the price cap has severely limited the effects of the subsidy program.

Last month, Zhao Bo, a deputy director of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at an industry seminar in Wuhan that the government is working on new measures to consummate its consumer electronics subsidy program.

The measures, which will be published by this month, will lift the current product price cap in the program and encourage sales of high-end electronic products in rural areas.

"China has a huge geographic diversity and some rural consumers in southern and eastern provinces actually have a very strong purchasing power," said Simon Ye, analyst from research firm Gartner Inc. "I think the lifting of the price cap will boost China's PC market, which has already started showing signs of recovery."

According to figures from research firm Gartner, the PC market in China is estimated to have grown 39 percent during the third quarter of this year, compared with a worldwide average growth of 0.5 percent in the same period.

The recovery, according to Ye, was largely due to the increasing demand for laptops in urban areas as well as the desktop sales surge in rural market.

Weekee Yeo, director of the HP's consumer PC business in China, said the company is planning to introduce more high-end products in rural areas.

"Last year, we have expanded our network to over 2,000 Chinese counties," he said, noting that the lifting of price cap in the subsidy program will further stimulate the rural market.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page14)

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co and the country's pension fund plan to raise as much as HK$25.93 billion ($3.3 billion) in a Hong Kong share sale that may be the city's second-biggest this year, four people familiar with the plan said.

The nation's third-largest insurer and the National Social Security Fund are offering 861.3 million shares at HK$26.8 to HK$30.1 apiece, said the people, declining to be identified. The sale is made up of 90.9 percent new shares from the company, with the rest offered by the fund.

The offer values China Pacific at a discount of at least 27 percent to its two bigger competitors, based on estimates of embedded value by banks involved in the sale, two of the people said. The insurer, partly owned by Carlyle Group, will replenish capital after the company and rivals accelerated sales of lower-margin policies to boost market share.

"That's a reasonable price range," said Qiu Peng, a Shanghai-based investment manager at Western Securities Co. "China Pacific's premium growth should pick up in 2010 after the company has almost completed structural adjustments. The stock market should also do well, boosting investment returns."

The company made a 1.7 billion yuan profit in the third quarter, reversing a loss a year earlier as the domestic stock rally boosted returns.

The 861.3 million shares being sold represent a 10.2 percent stake in the company. The share sale values China Pacific at 1.7 times to 1.9 times next year's embedded value as estimated by banks involved in the sale, said two people familiar with the sale.

China Life Insurance Co, the nation's biggest insurer, trades at about 2.8 times and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, the second largest, at 2.6 times.

Embedded value estimates a company's net worth excluding new business.

"The market demand is fairly good now," said Olive Xia, an analyst at Core Pacific Yamaichi.

Shanghai-based China Pacific rose by its 10 percent daily limit in Shanghai on Friday, possibly reflecting investor expectations that demand for the Hong Kong offering will be strong, according to Xia.

The insurer plans to price the shares around Dec 16, said people familiar with the plan. Corporate investor including Allianz SE will take a combined $395 million of the shares. The sale may be expanded to 990 million shares to meet demand, the three people said.

The stock is scheduled to start trading on Dec 23. Allianz, Europe's largest insurer, alone will be buying $150 million of the shares, according to two people.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page14)

LONDON: Signs this year's emerging equity bull run may extend into 2010 are prompting investors who missed the rally to seek out so-called laggard trades - stocks that are still relatively cheap but may outperform in future.

Emerging equities rebounded over 5 percent last week after hefty falls fueled by fears a debt crisis in Dubai would paralyze the world financial system again. Many investors see the weakness as a chance to buy into the resurgent sector.

But to those who want to share in the emerging markets story but balk at current elevated valuations, central European and frontier stocks, as well as Western firms with exposure to developing nations, are recommended as laggards.

Emerging equities are up 75 percent in 2009, having pulled in over $50 billion this year. That makes valuations seen just earlier this year a distant memory - the MSCI emerging index trades now at 13.5 times forward earnings - almost double last October's 6.5 times, ThomsonReuters data shows.

"People are looking for catch-up trades," said Robert Ruttman, emerging equities strategist at Credit Suisse.

"For people who missed the first entry points, the question is: where are we going to see further upside? Laggard countries like South Africa, the Czech Republic and Hungary have underperformed and will probably outperform in the coming year."

The past months' rally has pushed Latin American stocks to 13.6 times one-year forward earnings versus a five-year average of 10, while non-Japan Asia trades 14.7 times 2010 earnings.

Emerging Europe, seen so far as the most vulnerable of the emerging regions, has seen stocks rise 60 percent this year compared with 105 percent in Latin America. And most of these gains were in Russia, which in recent months has drawn investors betting on higher oil demand.

Czech and Polish stocks are up 30 percent in 2009 and in dollar terms they lag further - the MSCI Czech index for instance is up only 13 percent. Many hope these markets will gain from recovery in Western Europe, especially Germany.

Czech stocks for instance, trade at under 11 times forward earnings compared with their five-year average over 13 and analysts expect a re-rating if there is a recovery in the euro zone, the destination of 85 percent of its exports.

Oliver Bell, senior investment officer at Pictet, has gone overweight on central Europe, including Hungary and Czech, for the first time in years, having trimmed back Asia and Latin America.

"Central Europe looked close to disaster a year ago but now valuations have become much more interesting and there is more confidence that if the world economy recovers these countries will be okay," Bell said.

Daniel Tubbs, fund manager at Blackrock, agrees.

"In (Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic) where we had zero exposure until recently, we now have substantial exposure. Those are few of the countries which offer considerable upside from here," Tubbs said.

His top pick is Russia where shares, despite a 120 percent rally, remain half as cheap as Asia. Russian stocks are also the top 10 2010 trades for Goldman Sachs which says it has lagged its peers in recouping last year's losses on most assets.

Other laggards may be found in the Gulf despite the debt crisis embroiling the United Arab Emirates. Tubbs highlights energy-rich Qatar, trading at 9.5 times 2010 earnings but with high oil and gas prices offering potential for gains next year.

Ruttman of Credit Suisse says one way to play the emerging markets growth story now is via firms based and listed in developed markets but with large exposure to developing nations.

A recent CS study using a basket of 30 developed stocks deriving over half their profits from emerging markets found these stocks to have performed on par with the MSCI EM in recent years but with better transparency and liquidity, Ruttman said.

The basket includes brewer Anheuser Busch, cosmetics firms Oriflame and Avon and cement firm Lafarge - expected to benefit from urbanization in the developing world.

"There are opportunities within EM ... for instance the biggest laggard market in recent months was China," said Julian Mayo, fund manager at Charlemagne Capital.

"We saw the recent pullback as an opportunity to pick up some domestic demand names," he said, noting Shanghai's 20 percent fall off August peaks before a gradually recovering.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page15)

Do we need to worry about a bubble, or is the market activity just the normal excitement in the market? After the collapse in Dubai, many people are asking this question. Some analysts are warning of a bubble in several of the world markets. A market bubble is defined in several ways, but we prefer to use chart analysis to decide if a bubble is developing.

The bubble conditions are clearly revealed on a chart of price activity. The price activity is a reflection of human behavior in the market. The way that price behaves on a price chart leads to two measures or indications of the emotional behavior of the market. These give us a warning of when a bubble is being created. They also show the difference between the normal enthusiasm and excitement of the crowd and an excess of excitement, which leads to a bubble.

Chart analysis is used to understand the behavior of people in the market. Technical analysis is used to understand the behavior of the two most powerful groups of the market. When people act in small groups their behavior is different from when they act in large groups.

The behavior of the market is a reflection of the behavior of people. When people join crowds they behave differently so we use different analysis methods to analyze this behavior.

We use technical analysis to follow the behavior of large groups in the markets. The large groups are not bulls and bears. This only describes the way we feel about the market. The largest groups are traders and investors. Traders look for short-term opportunity. Investors look for longer term sustainable trends. Investor activity is necessary to support the continuation of any up trend.

We prefer to use a Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) indicator to understand the behavior of traders and investors. The long-term group of averages shows the behavior of investors. When this group is well separated it shows the trend is well supported. The lower edge of the long-term average groups shows where the support level is located.

The short-term group of averages shows the behavior of traders. When this group is well separated it shows a high level of trading activity.

The key feature that indicates a bubble is when the separation between the short-term group of averages and the long-term group of averages increases. We can see this very clearly on the Gold price chart. The degree of separation between the two groups of averages is increasing. This shows a strong uptrend that is developing a bubble.

This separation creates a situation where the price can fall from near 1,220 to near 1,080 which is the support level at the lower edge of the long term GMMA. This is a large fall. When the price falls this distance it is difficult to stop the fall, and the result is often a continuation of the market fall. This is a bubble collapse.

The group of people interested in an individual stock is smaller than all the people who are interested in the market. Chart analysis is suitable for understanding this behavior. With an individual stock there are several common chart patterns, which show the behavior of these small groups. These chart patterns include up sloping triangle patterns, flag patterns, typhoon flag patterns and cup chart patterns. The names of the patterns are a convenient way to describe the shape of the price activity. These patterns appear when people become increasingly excited about the future of an individual stock.

Traders who recognize these patterns can identify high probability trading situations. They buy because they know there is a higher probability the price activity will behave in the same way as it has in the past when the same price pattern occurred.

The gold chart shows the market conditions that developed in a bubble. The chart shows the behavior of the two main groups in the market. When we see bubble conditions developing then it is a signal to apply different analysis methods to identify the time when the bubble begins to collapse. This allows traders and investors to collect profits. It is difficult to anticipate the exact situation, which will cause the bubble collapse. Good chart analysis shows when a bubble is developing so investors can be prepared to act quickly.

The author is an international financial technical analysis expert, an equity and derivatives trader and author of many books on trading techniques. He appears regularly on CNBCAsia and is known as "The Chart Man".

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page15)

SHANGHAI: Mainland stocks rose to a two-week high, led by developers and consumer-staple producers, after the government pledged to maintain a "moderately" loose monetary policy and Kweichow Moutai Co raised product prices.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 14.85, or 0.45 percent, to 3331.9 at the close, the highest since Nov 23. The gauge swung between gains and losses at least 15 times. The CSI 300 Index added 0.7 percent to 3668.83.

China Vanke Co, the nation's biggest listed property developer, climbed 2.7 percent to 12.29 yuan. Poly Real Estate, the No 2, advanced 2.2 percent to 26.09 yuan.

The government will ensure policy continuity, boost consumer spending and adjust growth models, said the annual central economic work conference between Dec 5 and yesterday in Beijing.

Kweichow Moutai Co, the nation's biggest maker of baijiu liquor by market value, gained 3.3 percent to 176.53 yuan. The company said it will raise the average product prices by about 13 percent starting from Jan 1.

Wuliangye Yibin Co, the second largest, climbed 2.4 percent to 29.65 yuan. Sichuan Swellfun Co, the Chinese liquor maker that's a partner of Diageo Plc, added 1.8 percent to 20.19 yuan.

"We like consumer stocks because the industry will get government support and deliver stable growth over the next few years," said Zhao Zifeng, who helps oversee about $10.2 billion at China International Fund Management Co in Shanghai.

Hang Seng falls

Hong Kong stocks fell, led by commodity producers on lower metal prices, while companies relying on exports declined after the Hong Kong SAR government said sales overseas were "very weak".

Hong Kong isn't likely to see a "V-shaped" rebound in exports, the government's chief economist Helen Chan said.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.77 percent to close at 22324.96.

The gauge has surged 97 percent from this year's low on March 9.

It rose to an intra-day high for the year of 23099.57 on Nov 18. Shares on the gauge are priced at an average 17.6 times estimated profit, up from 10.6 times at the start of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page15)

Beijing citizens looking to travel abroad during the holiday season are being warned by local government to be cautious of timeshare vacation offers.

The advice was provided by an official from the Chaoyang district administration of industry and commerce yesterday.

"Consumers might be cheated by lucrative promotions like 'traveling around the world' or 'buying timeshare services as an investment'", Liu Dazhong, head of the consumer rights protection department of the administration, told METRO.

"In fact, there are still quite a few countries that remain closed to Chinese travelers. Any promotion that says it can send you around the world is a lie," he said.

"Sometimes timeshare companies boast that consumers can purchase the rights to use a hotel resort for 20 years, but then disappear with the cash," he added. Liu said he wants to slow the growing number of consumers being cheated by scams, with elderly people emerging as the largest target group.

As many as 260 notice boards were set up in busy shopping malls like SOHO Shangdu and The Place, as well as in local communities in Chaoyang district to echo the administration's month-long campaign to warn consumers about timeshare scams that was launched last weekend.

The idea of buying timeshares was first invented by a ski resort developer in France in the 1960s. It is a form of ownership in which the hotel or resort is shared with other parties. Each party, after paying a certain amount of money, is granted a period of time in which they may use the property.

The concept was quickly adopted by developers worldwide. The timeshare industry in countries like US is now mature but the Chinese market continues to lack regulation.

Liu said domestic timeshare companies usually hold promotions in famous hotels and with free travel to the location, push consumers to act quickly before they lose the chance, attach unfair clauses to contracts, and exaggerate the possible investment returns.

He said no companies in China are qualified to carry out timeshare services. And because Chinese law lacks sufficient detail to protect the rights of consumers in timeshare cases, winning a case is extremely difficult.

Wanghai Online, a non-profit organization dealing with consumer rights protection, has already received over 200 complaints from across the country this year. Most cases took place in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, Zhao Wenbin, manager of its complaint department, said.

"Consumers often fail to review the contracts clearly when they sign with the service providers," Zhao told METRO yesterday. "Although the law is not yet strong enough, administrations like the industrial and commercial bureau can prohibit exaggeration of services or the use of coercive persuasion," he suggested.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page26)

Beijingers and expats are buying up properties this month before the possible end of a citywide stimulus housing policy.

The policy includes lower loan interest rates, reduced property taxes, and an opportunity for non-mainland citizens to buy apartments. It is due to expire at the end of the year although it might be renewed.

In January 2009, the Beijing municipal commission of housing and urban-rural development launched a one-year stimulus package to revive the real estate market. Its 15 policies included loosening restrictions on foreigners buying properties in the city.

Before the stimulus package, expats were only allowed to buy a single property, provided they had worked in Beijing for the full year.

"The stimulus policies will be extended but will definitely see some adjustments. It is hard to predict about restrictions on foreigners," said Zhang Dawei, director of the marketing analysis department at Midland Real Estate Agency in Beijing.

He believed investors from Hong Kong will buy up numerous apartments in Beijing this month after the Hong Kong government tightened its own policies to prevent potential real estate bubbles.

In 2009, expats and citizens from Hong Kong and Macao working in Beijing, became a strong buying force in the apartment market.

Foreign investment in Beijing's high-end second-hand apartment took up 3.6 percent of the market in 2008, but jumped to 8.2 percent by the end of October 2009. In November it rocketed to 16.5 percent, the Beijing Evening News reported.

Peter Wang, an American financial consultant who has worked in Beijing for four years, wants a home for his family.

He was considering buying a three-bedroom second-hand apartment near his company on the East Third Ring Road.

"I will now have to revaluate the housing market. The skyrocketing housing price in Beijing is no longer a bargain for me," said Wang, who referred to possible housing bubbles.

He also said that the maximum 70-year term of property ownership is yet another barrier for expats in Beijing.

A public relations manager from Hong Kong surnamed Lee, however, believes housing prices in Beijing can still climb. He bought two apartments in Chaoyang district in May and wants another.

"The price of a similar apartment in downtown Hong Kong is 150,000 yuan per sq m. There is still a good investment value in Beijing," he said, adding that he would secure his third purchase before the end of the month.

In the first 11 months, the number of second-hand apartments sold in Beijing was 236,000 units, less than 22,000 units a month on average. In November, the transaction hit a record of 30,000 units.

The number of expats registered to buy properties in Beijing increased 20 percent in November, according to a report from Beijing Evening News.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page25)

Bird's Nest thieves jailed

Two men who stole ticket machines worth 1.94 million yuan from the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, were sentenced to 14 years in prison with a fine of 14,000 yuan each in the Chaoyang district court, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The two men and their accomplices used self-made keys to open the gates of the underground garage at the stadium and stole more than 57 different kinds of machines used for ticketing systems at the stadium. The other suspects are still at large.

More peak-hour buses

Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd has added more than 100 buses to routes in Tiantongyuan, Huilongguan and Tongzhou districts, where there are many commuters in the morning.

Almost 70 buses were put into operation in Tiantongyuan, the biggest residential community in northern Beijing.

The company also deployed traffic monitors at platforms on subway lines 4, 5, 10 and the Bawangfen-Tongzhou lines, so that they can respond to traffic increases.

Slingshot vandals arrested

Three men have been arrested after allegedly using slingshots and iron balls to shoot at shop and vehicle windows for fun, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

The Miyun county police set up checkpoints on the road after a report that many shop and vehicle windows had been smashed at midnight. They arrested a suspect who had more than 100 iron balls in his car.

Police arrested the other two suspects later.

The men caused an estimated 100,000 yuan in damage.

Cyclist killed in hit-and-run

A cyclist was killed on Sunday when he was knocked down by a passing car on Shifoying road, Chaoyang district, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.

A driver in a red Volkswagen Jetta hit the cyclist at about 7 pm, but the driver did not stop.

The cyclist died on the way to the hospital.

Traffic police said they have collected video footage from a nearby surveillance camera and called on the public to help identify the driver.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page25)

The per capita GDP of Beijing is forecast to exceed $10,000 this year, meaning the capital will be a developed international metropolis, leading economists said yesterday.

A report written by three economists with the research office of the Party's Beijing municipal committee said the city's economy would grow by more than 10 percent this year, beating the city's target of 9 percent, to 1.1 trillion yuan.

Based on the report published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the per capita GDP in Beijing is up from $9,075 in 2008.

"Based on international experience, we can see Beijing is growing from a medium-developed city to an international metropolis," Hu Xuefeng, deputy director of the research office of the Party's Beijing municipal committee, said.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report in November, Beijing ranked 38th among world cities, behind Istanbul (34th) but ahead of Manila (40th). Tokyo and New York topped the list with more than $15,000 per capita GDP. Shanghai, the best performing Chinese city on the mainland, ranked 25th.

It predicted Beijing would rise to 17th by 2025, while Shanghai would rise to ninth.

However, Hu said that according to a theory by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, when a city's per capita GDP is below $10,000, the growth is mainly resource-driven, but when it reaches $10,000, the city's growth relies more on knowledge and innovation.

In 2009, Beijing's economic growth has been largely driven by consumption, especially by apartment, car, and electronic appliance sales.

Retail sales in Beijing reached 432.9 billion yuan in the first 10 months of 2009, growing 17 percent year-on-year and continuing to lead the nation, the Beijing municipal commission of commerce said.

Consumer spending contributed to almost a half of Beijing's GDP, the commission said. Beijing beat Shanghai to become the largest retail market in China last year, the commission said.

In the first half, more than 131 overseas-invested retail shops opened in Beijing, one third of the total retail stores approved by the government, Beijing Daily reported.

Metro

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page25)

The first campus union against domestic violence was set up by eight universities in Beijing on Sunday to deal with violent relationship breakups.

Nine student societies from eight universities formed the union with help from the Anti-Domestic Violence Network of the China Law Society (ADVN), an NGO founded in 2000 to protect women's rights.

Liu Xiaojuan, an official from ADVN, told METRO it is now necessary to raise public attention levels about the number of violence cases against female students during and after a relationship.

"We have noticed that when a man dumps a woman, she usually remains quiet and deals with her own pain. But when a man is dumped by a woman, violent revenge is a possibility ," Liu said.

According to a report released by ADVN in May this year, 90 percent of domestic violence is caused by men.

"We hope this union will attract more universities to offer better gender education to college students and reduce the number of potential domestic violence cases in the future," she added.

"A quarter of my student clients come to me with post-breakup concerns," Wang Jing, a psychological counselor at the China Women University, said yesterday.

Wang has worked as a psychological counselor at CWU for six years and says she receives around 70 female student clients every term. She added that women are still the weaker of the two sexes in China.

"Though they are not necessarily hurt physically, the emotion damage they suffer has a huge impact on their daily lives," she said.

Wang also pointed out that increasingly more university students are under pressure to accept premarital sex despite traditional Chinese culture that teaches the opposite.

Song Jingjing, vice-director of the psychological education center at China Agriculture University, said she hasn't seen any big changes regarding gender violence among university couples.

"It's always there, but it has only drawn public attention in the last two or three years," she said.

When it comes to relationships, university students are facing more complicated issues than before such as premarital sex and rising worries about virginity, Song said.

"Society is becoming more complicated. University students are just not mature enough to handle it well," Song added.

All 30 male university students who attended the opening ceremony of the union pledged to control masculine violence.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page25)

Despite popular belief, neither garlic nor chili is an effective weapon against A/H1N1 influenza, health officials said yesterday.

The price of garlic - a popular flu remedy in traditional Chinese medicine - has skyrocketed by more than 500 percent this winter amid public fear about the spread of the potentially deadly virus. Recent media reports said that the demand for chili is also increasing.

But Wu Jiang, head of the immunity division under the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said garlic and chili are not a cure for H1N1.

"There is no scientific proof that either garlic or chili is effective against the flu," Wu said during a live web cast on Qianlong.com, the municipal government-run news portal.

"The two ingredients may work for people to improve their digestive functions and stay healthy, but they are definitely not useful for curing the flu," said the official.

Yesterday, the price of garlic remained high at 7.40 yuan per 500 g at the Xinfadi market, the largest vegetable market in Beijing.

It cost less than 1 yuan per 500 g before the H1N1 outbreak. Chili cost about 7.50 yuan per 500 g, compared to 4 yuan earlier this year.

Liu Tong, head of Xinfadi's market department, said there are signs that the price of garlic will soon drop, the Beijing Times reported.

"It is pure rumor that red pepper farmers and sellers are stocking up on the ingredient and waiting for the prices to soar like garlic," Liu said.

"The price is rising because it needs to recover from a major drop earlier this year amid the economic slowdown."

"Pet owners should pay attention when playing with them. I would suggest people not to kiss their puppies during this particular period," Wu said during the web cast.

But the official denied that the virus was spreading among pets, including dogs.

She also said that 2.16 million people in Beijing had received H1N1 vaccinations by Sunday and 621 people, or three out of 10,000 cases, reported side effects.

Deng Xiaohong, vice-director and spokeswoman of the Beijing municipal bureau of health, said the number of flu victims is expected to peak during the upcoming New Year holiday.

More than 3 million vaccines are still available to residents in Beijing.

Local and foreign residents can apply by Dec 15 to receive the vaccine.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page26)

Robbery suspects charged

Three men have been charged with robbing a number of air conditioner mechanics, the Beijing Times reported.

Changping district prosecutors said the men robbed mechanics after finding their phone numbers on advertisements.

In May, they called a mechanic with claims they wanted to have an air conditioner installed. When the worker came, they robbed the man of 300 yuan and beat him.

The suspects said they committed another two robberies in Daxing district, prosecutors said.

McDonald's worker jailed

An employee at a McDonald's restaurant in Shunyi district was sentenced to eight months in prison with one year of probation after beating his manager in July, the official website of Beijing courts said yesterday.

The man surnamed Luo had a quarrel with the manager and punched the man on the nose on July 31, causing minor injuries.

Luo paid 20,000 yuan in compensation to the manager to cover the medical fee.

Special traffic lights

Eight hundred counting traffic lights have been installed at 100 major crossroads in the city's four districts - Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen and Xuanwu, the Beijing traffic management bureau announced yesterday.

The lights have a screen counting down the seconds before they change color, and also use a special sound to help blind people.

Students become inspectors

More than 300 Chaoyang residents and 200 students from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine have been employed by the district's food and drug administration as inspectors for unlicensed clinics.

They will inspect clinics on all the streets in the district and submit reports on their findings, the administration said.

Man jailed for car attacks

A Fengtai resident has been jailed for eight months for vandalizing 20 cars and injuring a man in the process, according to qianlong.com, the official website of the municipal government yesterday.

The man surnamed Lu was reportedly drunk when he caused more than 65,000 yuan of damage, the court heard.

Men nabbed for robbery

Four men, who robbed a supermarket last Thursday in Daxing district, gave themselves up after police cornered them three hours after the crime, local police said yesterday.

The four suspects were said to have used tear gas to subdue the supermarket owner before stealing more than 2,000 yuan.

Singer appeals jail term

Renowned singer Zang Tianshuo is appealing his six-year sentence in Beijing for organizing a gang fight last September that killed one person and injured several others.

He wrote his application for acquittal in his detention center, the Beijing Evening News quoted his lawyer as saying.

Walking on thin ice

Parks in the city are warning citizens to stay off the frozen lakes.

The ice in Beihai, Yuyuantan, Taoranting and Zizhuyuan parks has been measured at only 5 cm thick, far from thick enough to carry people.

Thin ice is a result of continuous warm weather and less snow this year.

Stem cells donors

More than 50 university students have joined a program initiated by the New Sunshine Charity Foundation to donate stem cells.

Liu Zhengchen, head of the foundation, said the foundation's stem cell bank is the second largest on the mainland.

People who want to donate can contact the foundation on 88111612 or register online at www.isun.org.

Work to start on new lines

Construction of new subway lines 7 and 14 in Beijing will begin this year, Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

That will make 11 subway lines under construction in the capital, the Beijing municipal commission of housing and urban-rural development said.

The total length of subway lines in Beijing is expected to reach 561 km by 2015, making it the longest in the country.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page26)

Water supply has returned to 42 residents in a Chaoyang district artist community scheduled for demolition.

Water and electricity were switched off at the Chuangyi Zhengyang Art Center on Saturday, just nine days after residents were first informed about demolition plans.

Several residents protested the sudden cut to supplies outside a government building in Jinzhan town on Saturday and Sunday.

A Jinzhan official surnamed Yang told METRO yesterday that water supply resumed on Sunday, but the demolition will go ahead as planned.

The government of Jinzhan town approved the demolition in early July.

Residents received a notice from the local demolition office on Nov 26.

It said the area was scheduled for demolition and residents were to move out by Saturday, when power and water supplies were cut.

Shen Yi, a photographer living in the art center, wrote on her blog: "We fully respect the government's decision, but it is unfair to ask us to move out within a week."

Despite the government ordering the demolition, Yang said it was a "commercial dispute" between the artists and Hanshiyizhou Culture and Art Company, which owns the center.

Yang said the government is mediating between the two sides.

Artists living in the center said they had unsuccessfully tried to contact the center managers and were planning to launch legal action.

An unnamed artist told the Beijing News that residents would ask the Beijing municipal government to intervene.

The newspaper reported that some demolition work was carried out on Saturday, and Hanshiyizhou Culture and Art Company staff left last Thursday.

Without power supply, residents said they suffered in the cold weather and could not prepare meals.

The director of the management company surnamed Zhang told the Beijing News that it received a notice about the demolition from the government on Nov 25 and Dec 2.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page26)

Compensation for Afghans

Germany is negotiating to reach a compensation agreement with Afghan families whose loved ones were among the at-least 140 killed in a September airstrike near Kunduz.

Defense Ministry spokesman Christian Dienst told reporters yesterday that the government is in talks with a lawyer representing the Afghan families in hopes of reaching an out-of-court settlement.

Dienst gave no details on the amount of compensation or how the government would determine who among those killed were civilians and who was collaborating with the Taliban, but insisted there "will be a solution."

A German commander called in the Sept. 4 NATO air strike against two tanker trucks that had been seized by Taliban insurgents.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

EPA finding expected

The US Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday it would make a "significant climate announcement" early today (Beijing time).

The EPA has been expected to issue a final ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health. That finding would allow the agency to issue rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, even if Congress fails to pass legislation to cut U.S. emissions of the heat-trapping gases that scientists say cause global warming.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

No issues over murder case

Italy's foreign minister says there has been no adverse relations between Rome and Washington over the murder conviction of American student Amanda Knox in Italy.

Knox got 26 years in prison for murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said yesterday that no criticism had come from the US State Department. He said it would be "normal" for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to look into the case after questions were raised by an American senator. Clinton said on Sunday she had not had time to examine the case but would meet with anyone expressing concerns. Clinton said she had not expressed any concerns to Italy.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

7 kids killed by bomb

Seven children were killed and 42 wounded in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad on Monday when a bomb exploded outside a school, police said. The explosion occurred in Baghdad's Sadr City slum as primary school pupils aged between 6 and 12 were leaving at the end of the school day, an army officer said.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

TOKYO: Support for Japan's government has fallen below 60 percent for the first time since taking office in September, a survey showed yesterday, as it struggles to craft an economic package and resolve a security feud with Washington.

Support for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government, which came to power after trouncing the long-dominant Liberal Democrats in an August election, stood at 59 percent, down 4 points from last month's survey and off initial highs of more than 70 percent, a Yomiuri newspaper survey showed.

Among those who said they do not back the cabinet, 27 percent cited Hatoyama's lack of leadership, up 13 points from the previous survey, the daily said, a potentially ominous sign ahead of an upper house election in mid-2010.

Voter dissatisfaction with Hatoyama's explanations of a political funding scandal also appear to be eating into his support, the newspaper said.

On Friday the government was forced to delay an agreement on an economic stimulus package, with a small party in the ruling coalition seeking more spending to keep a recovery in the world's second-largest economy on track.

Hatoyama said yesterday the government would decide on the stimulus package that day but Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said formal approval would be today.

The government wants to avoid a return to recession ahead of the upper house election.

The economy, mired in deflation and hit by a rising yen, is only just out of its worst recession since World War II.

The ruling Democratic Party, also concerned about inflating a massive public debt that is already headed for 200 percent of GDP and faced with falling tax revenues, is seeking total fiscal spending of 7.1 trillion yen ($79 billion). That would comprise 4 trillion yen in immediate spending and 3 trillion yen in tax grants to local governments.

But outspoken banking minister Shizuka Kamei, who heads the small People's New Party, rejected the proposal, forcing the cabinet to postpone a meeting to sign off on the package.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

WASHINGTON: US National security adviser James Jones says Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden still spends some time inside Afghanistan.

Most recent US estimates have placed bin Laden inside Pakistan. But Jones, a retired general, told CNN the Al-Qaida leader is "sometimes on the Pakistani side of the border, sometimes on the Afghan side of the border."

Jones says the US military and its allies in Afghanistan are "going to have to get after that" to ensure bin Laden is "once again on the run or captured or killed."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made similar comments on another Sunday morning talk show.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in one of three talk-show appearances that the US hasn't had any good intelligence for years on bin Laden's whereabouts.

Gates said he couldn't confirm recent reports that bin Laden had been seen recently in Afghanistan.

The defense chief also said Americans should expect a significant US military presence in Afghanistan for another two to four years.

Gates says the initial US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in July 2011 might involve only a small number of troops.

Gates says that just as in Iraq, the US will turn over provinces to homegrown security forces, allowing the United States to bring the number of troops down steadily.

He noted that Afghan President Hamid Karzai talked in his inaugural address about taking over security control in all of Afghanistan in five years.

Gates rejected any suggestion that setting a transition date for withdrawing US forces in Afghanistan will embolden the Taliban.

He said the Taliban read the newspapers and are able to determine public opinion in the United States and Europe.

He doesn't believe the Taliban will become more aggressive and he would welcome it if they lay low until July 2011 - President Barack Obama's target date for the beginning of a withdrawal.

Gates said that would give coalition troops opportunities to make great progress in stabilizing Afghanistan.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

US envoy Stephen Bosworth's trip to Pyongyang will help bring the DPRK back to the Six-Party Talks, temporarily easing months of tension on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese analysts said.

The three-day visit, which starts today, will be the first direct government talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Barack Obama administration. The two countries last met one-on-one on the sidelines of now-stalled six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing in December 2008.

"The possibility for the DPRK to rejoin Six-Party Talks is higher than a few weeks ago," said Shen Shishun, a senior researcher at China Institute of International Studies. "Bosworth's visit could offer a good timing for the US and the DPRK to shake hands again."

In Pyongyang, Bosworth is expected to meet with the DPRK's Vice-Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju, the country's top nuclear strategist and leader Kim Jong-il's chief foreign policy advisor, according to the Republic of Korea's Yonhap news agency.

The recent currency revamp in the DPRK, which reportedly has triggered domestic outcry, will prompt the country to soften its foreign policies, Shen said.

The DPRK is revaluing its currency, the won, to tame inflation, which foreign analysts said could hit up to 30 percent.

But residents complained about the move, which asked them to swap a limited number of old bills at 100:1, wiping out their savings. DPRK soldiers are on standby and ready to quell any protests, the ROK's Choson Ilbo reported yesterday.

"When Pyongyang experiences trouble domestically, it is not likely to stay tough," Shen said.

In April, the DPRK launched a rocket and walked away from the negotiating table in an attempt to press the US to adjust its hard-line policies toward the DPRK. After months of international lobbying, the DPRK told visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in October it was ready to return to the Six-Party Talks - if the two-way discussions with the US prove satisfactory.

"Now that the US re-approaches the DPRK, the latter has partly achieved its goal and therefore may announce the return," said Fan Ying, professor at Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University. "That will ease the months-long row somewhat."

The Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun last week cited a Tokyo foreign ministry official as saying that Pyongyang will reveal the timetable to return to the Six-Party Talks during Bosworth's visit.

But Fan said it is unclear when the DPRK will make such an announcement, because Washington and Pyongyang are just beginning to test the waters.

"It depends on the results of their talks," she said.

Bosworth played down the hopes of major progress.

"I don't expect much from the first visit," he was quoted as telling Yonhap news agency last week.

After arriving in Seoul on Sunday, Bosworth stressed unity with the ROK.

He said the decision to start his mission in Seoul was "not an accident". The ROK's chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac said the fact that Bosworth starting its trip from Seoul sent a clear signal that the two countries were consulting closely on strategy.

After his DPRK trip, Bosworth is expected to brief other participants of the Six-Party Talks. He will fly to Seoul on Thursday, Beijing on Friday, Tokyo on Saturday and Moscow on Sunday.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

Navy thwarts pirates

The Indian navy said yesterday it thwarted a pirate attack on a Norwegian tanker in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. An Indian warship patrolling the seas responded to a distress call from the tanker belonging to the Nordic American Tanker Company after it was fired upon by pirates, the navy said in New Delhi.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

Police clash with gunmen

Gunmen loyal to a powerful clan accused in the Philippines' worst political massacre clashed with police in the first reported violence since martial law was imposed in the southern region.

No casualties were reported and government negotiators were trying to persuade about 2,400 gunmen to surrender peacefully to avoid bloodshed, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

Zardari amnesty hearing

Pakistan's Supreme Court began hearing petitions yesterday against an expired amnesty that had protected President Asif Ali Zardari and key allies from graft charges, a case that could lead to legal challenges to his rule.

A ruling against Zardari risks political turmoil just as the Obama administration and other Western allies want Pakistan to redouble its fight against Al-Qaida and the Taliban near the Afghan border.

The hearing in Islamabad came as a suicide bomber struck outside a court building in the main northwest city of Peshawar, killing 10 people and wounding 45 in a fiery reminder of the threat militants pose to the country.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

Entertainers honored at Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON: Luminaries from the worlds of music and film were feted by President Barack Obama and a black-tie audience of artists and political heavyweights on Sunday night at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors.

Comic writer/producer Mel Brooks (pictured from left in photo), jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, opera star Grace Bumbry, actor Robert DeNiro and rock songsmith Bruce Springsteen were this year's honorees at the annual awards for lifetime achievement.

At a White House reception attended by the political elite, including Vice President Joe Biden and former President John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Obama said the five were a living reminder that "the arts are not somehow apart from our national life."

The president drew his biggest laughs when he praised funnyman Brooks, saying the trials of Jews throughout history were leavened by men like him. "For every ten Jews, God designed one to be crazy and amuse the others," he quoted the Jewish entertainer.

"I was telling him that I went to see Blazing Saddles - when I was 10. And he pointed out that, according to the ratings, I should not have been allowed in the theater. I think that's true. I got a fake ID," Obama said. "I think the statute of limitations has passed."

Obama noted Sunday was Brubeck's 89th birthday. The president said Brubeck told him his service in World War II had forced him "to work the war out of his system by playing some pretty vicious piano."

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

LA PAZ: Bolivia's President Evo Morales wants to launch state-run paper and cement ventures and develop lithium, petrochemical and iron projects in his second term but a lack of foreign investment and know-how could hamper his ambitious plans.

In his first term, Morales nationalized the natural gas industry, the country's top export earner, forcing foreign firms such as Spain's Repsol and Brazil's Petrobras to hand a larger share of revenues to the Bolivian state.

He also took over mining and telecommunication companies and launched a government-run airline and a daily newspaper.

The government has said it now controls 28 percent of the economy, up from about 8 percent before Morales took office, and is eyeing a 40 percent role in the near future.

Morales is negotiating the acquisition of a majority stake in three power generation companies, two of which are controlled by Britain's Rurelec PLC and France's GDF Suez.

He has vowed to use his five-year second term to build large hydroelectric dams; launch cement, paper, dairy, sugar and drug companies; and develop petrochemical, iron and lithium industries to allow Bolivia to export value-added products.

Although the landlocked country has the second-largest deposits of natural gas in South America after Venezuela and massive reserves of lithium and iron, it has failed to develop a strong economy from its natural wealth and most consumer goods are imported.

Finance Minister Luis Alberto Arce acknowledges the government cannot develop large-scale projects without outside help.

"Foreign investors have two advantages, they could bring the know-how and the cash ... (they would be welcomed) to invest in strategic sectors if they have an expertise that we don't have," he said on Friday.

"We'd like to do it on our own, but we can't," he said.

Morales, an Aymara Indian who herded llamas as a boy, has said large-scale projects would allow him to boost social welfare programs. Cash handouts to encourage school attendance, to the elderly and to young mothers have reached 2.5 million Bolivians, about a quarter of the population, this year.

Although critics have accused Morales of buying voter support with subsidies, Arce insisted they are spurring economic growth.

Analysts say Morales' moves to give the state a bigger role in the economy have deterred foreign investors, preventing Bolivia from honoring pledges to increase natural gas output.

"They told us that the natural gas sector was going to fuel revenue growth, but instead we are losing markets ... It remains to be seen whether there will be resources to finance these huge projects," said analyst Gonzalo Chavez.

Between 2006 and 2008, foreign companies invested an average of $383 million a year in Bolivia, less than half what they invested between 1998 and 2000. Arce said sales of natural gas to Brazil, which buys the bulk of Bolivia's energy production, fell this year by 22 percent to 24 million cubic meters a day.

However, Bolivia hopes to boost natural gas exports to Argentina, thanks in part a consortium led by oil major Repsol, which has pledged to invest $1.5 billion in Bolivia.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

LA PAZ, Bolivia: President Evo Morales easily won re-election, according to unofficial results, getting an overwhelming mandate for further revolutionary change on behalf of Bolivia's long-suppressed indigenous majority.

Morales' allies also won a convincing majority in both houses of Congress in Sunday's election.

Opponents say they fear the coca-growers' union leader union will use his consolidated power not just to continue reversing racially based inequalities but also to trample human rights and deepen state influence over the economy.

Unofficial counts of 98 percent of the vote by two polling firms said Bolivia's first indigenous president won with 63 percent of the ballots - 36 points ahead of his closest challenger in a field of nine candidates.

Jubilant supporters waving Bolivian flags jumped up and down in La Paz's central Murillo square after polls closed, chanting "Evo! Evo!"

Manfred Reyes, a center-right former state governor and military officer, conceded soon after. He won 27 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial tallies.

In a booming victory speech punctuated by fireworks from the balcony of the presidential palace, Morales called on all sectors of society - including the opposition - to unite behind him.

"We have the enormous responsibility to deepen and accelerate this process of change," he said, insisting final results will give him two-thirds of both chambers of Congress.

The lopsided results signaled an opposition in disarray.

"Evo Morales has a mandate unlike any other president in the hemisphere, including Barack Obama," said analyst Jim Shultz of the nonprofit Democracy Center in Cochabamba. "This is the fifth national election in four years and his margin of victory has only increased each and every time."

AP

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

Twenty-two Uygurs now seeking political asylum in Cambodia are separatists who are subject to Chinese law, a Chinese diplomat told Cambodian media yesterday.

Qian Hai, the spokesman for the embassy in Phnom Penh, underlined Beijing's "fundamental" policy that all of those involved in violating Chinese law should be brought to justice.

"For the July affair in Xinjiang, there were many violent criminal acts. It was planned by a very small number of people who want to separate from China, who want to split China," he said, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

"Those people who have taken part in violent, criminal activities should be prosecuted according to Chinese law. They offended Chinese law and public security."

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the 22 Uygurs, who allegedly participated the riot in China's far-western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on July 5, were seeking asylum in Cambodia. The riot left 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured.

On Friday, a court there condemned to death a Uygur man and woman on charges of murder during riot, as well as a Han Chinese man for killing three people during the counter-attacks two days later, bringing to 17 the number of people sentenced to death.

In Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond by China Daily's press time to say whether China would request Cambodia to return the Uygurs. The two countries signed an extradition treaty in 1999.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said earlier that his government would consider carefully any repatriation request from China. He said Cambodia has the right to deny such a request if the people are considered political asylum seekers.

"But if they are purely criminal people and there is a request, we may deport them back," he said.

Toshi Kawauchi, head of the Cambodia office of UNHCR, told China Daily that his agency is working with the Cambodian government to deal with the Uygurs' asylum request.

He said his office works closely with the government to ensure the fulfilment of its obligations under the 1951 convention. Cambodia is one of only two Southeast Asians that have signed it.

Experts are divided on whether those Uygurs should return to China.

Li Wei, director of the center for counterterrorism studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said it's up to Cambodia to decide whether the Uygurs are eligible to seek "political asylum".

"But the international community can't tolerate any criminals, who seek a shield in some other country after crimes," Li said.

Sara Colm, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Cambodia has an obligation to protect the Uygur asylum seekers under the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention.

Colm said the Cambodian government had in the past shown its willingness to resist the wishes of its close allies in order to protect would-be refugees, citing the wave of Vietnamese Montagnards who sought asylum in the early 2000s.

As at January this year, 164 refugees and 61 asylum seekers were residing in Cambodia, while no refugee returned to the country of origin, according to the UNHCR.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

PERM, Russia: Four people were ordered to remain in jail late on Sunday pending an investigation into a nightclub fire that killed at least 112 people in Russia's worst blaze in decades, investigators said.

About 130 remained hospitalized, many in critical condition, with injuries from Saturday's pre-dawn blaze, which witnesses said was sparked by onstage fireworks that shot into the decorative twig ceiling of the Lame Horse club in the Ural Mountains industrial city of Perm. Shocked and grieving relatives on Sunday began to bury the victims of the disaster.

The federal Investigative Committee said the suspects - the club's owner, the executive director, the artistic director and a businessman hired to install pyrotechnics on the night of the blaze - were ordered taken into custody on Sunday by Leninsky District Court.

Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the club managers had been fined twice in the past for breaking fire safety regulations, which he did not specify.

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

President wins re-election

Romanian President Traian Basescu narrowly won re-election, final results showed yesterday, but the leftist opposition said it had proof of fraud and would contest the official tally.

Results with 95 percent of ballots counted showed Basescu had won 50.43 percent, versus 49.57 for Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana. Basescu must name a new government that can restart talks over a stalled 20-billion-euro rescue loan deal.

The victory is a surprise comeback for Basescu, who trailed Geoana by 8 percentage points in the last two opinion polls before the vote.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

Barrier climber shot dead

Israeli guards yesterday shot dead a man who tried to scale a border fence and enter the Gaza Strip at the main border crossing between Israel and the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Israeli military said. The statement added that the man was an Israeli citizen and was "alleged to be mentally ill". It said he died of his wounds in hospital.

Israel bans all its citizens from going to Gaza.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page12)

Russia may become the second important nuclear material supplier for India, following the US, which may bring further disorder on world mechanisms for nuclear nonproliferation as India is still a non-signer of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Chinese experts said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Moscow on Sunday for talks on a landmark deal that could significantly widen nuclear fuel imports from Russia.

The talks on a civilian nuclear deal to widen uranium fuel deliveries - and signing deals for aircraft and other military hardware - will be center stage during the three-day visit which ends today, Indian officials said.

"After the US and India signed the nuclear deal and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) cancelled the embargo on India, an 'international nuclear supermarket' has opened to India, " said Hu Shisheng, scholar with South Asia Studies from China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

India and the US signed the agreement in 2005 to work toward civil nuclear cooperation.

"The agreement between India and the US is against the US's own nonproliferation policy," said Teng Jianqun, deputy secretary-general of China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, "a bad precedent."

But after that deal, Russia rushed ahead of the US to provide nuclear materials to India in 2006.

"India and Russia are tradional partners in arms trades, so Russia wants to expand its interests in India," Teng said, "Russia's economy is not good, so they are using hard currencies on these trades."

Singh's visit also included the signing of weapons orders of $1 billion for 80 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and contracts for fitting Brahmos missiles onto Russian-made Sukhoi fighter planes, Indian officials have said.

Russia and India agreed in October the outlines of a 10-year weapons deal that could be worth at least $10 billion.

India has been upset in recent years by long delays in the delivery of a refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier under a $1.6 billion contract.

But the nuclear materials bought from international society will not be used for military purposes, experts said.

"All these material must be under the surveillance of International Atomic Energy Agency, all waste and unused materials must be sent back to original country," Hu said.

"India has plan to build 14 more nuclear power plants and six of them will be imported from other countries," Hu said, "most from the US."

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page11)

Obviously Danish officials have been very focused on the summit, and you have watched expectations go up and down and now up again after APEC. How do you feel now that the summit is beginning?

We have been fairly optimistic all along. At the same time we realized that in the process up to the meeting there would be a phase with many different announcements, many different points of view, maybe also some confusion.

As my prime minister explained at APEC in Singapore, we were heading for one agreement, two purposes. The first purpose: to lock in the political commitment that is already there and at the time was emerging, in terms of targets, actions and finance. And we got to lock in that commitment to serve as a basis for immediate action even before we had a ratified text.

The second purpose should be to provide detailed, clear guidelines for the continued work on a legal text. Some got the impression that this was reducing Copenhagen to a stepping stone to something else that was more important. We've never seen it like this.

In our view, Copenhagen is the place to do the deal. That is where everything needs to be on the table, all the figures from all the countries, all the elements from the Bali roadmap, we cannot do a partial deal, we need to do a deal encompassing all the aspects. As time has gone on, we see that is clearly what is emerging.

Many countries since the APEC meeting have taken up the challenge, including China, and put forward their own offer.

Can you talk a little about the Danish role for the summit?

Denmark is hosting this summit and it is a UN summit, and of course the UN process is the basis for everything that we're doing. At the same time, it has been necessary for Denmark as the host country to try to create this convergence of expectations which is necessary to land a deal.

That is why, in Singapore, my prime minister stepped up and put forward his ideas on how he would see a deal. We had known, of course, that this would draw fire. But that was the intention - to draw fire to get the negotiations going, and we believe that is what has happened.

What has hosting the summit meant for Denmark?

First and foremost, it has been the clear focus of what our government has been doing internationally for the last two years. Hosting such an important event is also a challenge - it's a big event logistically. We're very honored that the international community decided in Bali that we should try to land this deal in Copenhagen.

How will the EU's new executive structure affect climate negotiations?

Climate change has been clearly anchored with the European Commission, and with the Council for the Environment, and that continues to be the case.

But I would like to underline that on this issue the EU going all the way back to Kyoto has taken a leading role. You might say that last time, in Kyoto, the lead was so strong that not so much of the world followed. And that is part of the problem. Because Europe cannot solve this problem alone, no country can solve this problem alone, no group of countries can solve this problem alone. This is a global problem and can only be solved if we all contribute. That is also why we talk about common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Maybe I should say that Europe has taken the lead again to reduce emissions compared to the 1990 level: by 30 percent in the context of a global agreement, and in any event by 20 percent.

Greenland, a Danish territory, is feeling a lot of effects of climate change. How is Denmark helping Greenland to cope, and does the prospect of ice-free shipping lanes mean there are some positives for Greenland as well as negatives?

First of all, on your last point, it's important to say that climate change is first and foremost a risk. It involves a lot of changes that are difficult to foresee, impossible to control and which affect an awful lot of people - not least in the Third World, where their livelihood is being threatened.

Greenland is gradually taking more and more responsibility for various policy areas. Denmark of course is supporting Greenland financially in this process: Greenland is rather poor, Greenland is developing and Greenland needs our assistance.

The Danish government stands by its commitment to support development in Greenland, and that also includes support for Greenland dealing with climate change. Greenland is coming from a different point of departure than most of Denmark.

You have a climate officer here at the embassy. Can you tell us about that work?

The task of our embassy in this run-up over the last couple of years has been to report on developments in China and facilitate close cooperation with China on climate change. We have a program that supports development of renewable energy in China. But we've been focusing on consulting with the Chinese negotiators and we're very happy to see how diligently and responsibly these people have been working toward the same aim we have been working toward, and that is to land an ambitious deal in Copenhagen.

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page10)

The climate summit kicked off yesterday in the Danish capital, but a majority of participants failed to get access to the opening ceremony due to limited capacity at the event venue.

An hour after the opening ceremony started at Bella Center, there was still a crowd of people stranded outside, standing on their toes, stretching their necks, trying to get a peek at what's happening inside.

Roger Muchuba Buhereko, a non-governmental organizations (NGO) representative from Congo representing the Rainforest Foundation Norway, told China Daily that he really wanted to have just one look at what was going on inside.

"I traveled a long way from Congo, but I could not get in. I understand the situation, but everybody wanted to get a ticket to get in," he said.

Government officials, representatives from NGOs and journalists overcrowded the Bella Center, which has a maximum capacity of 15,000 people.

But more than double that number, 34,000 people on Sunday, asked to physically attend the meeting, forcing the organizer to issue a media alert and apply limits on the number of journalists and NGO representatives.

"Due to these constraints, NGO delegates will be allowed access to the building according to a quota system," which only a prearranged percentage of each organization's representatives can get inside during peak times, the conference's secretariat and the Danish government said in a joint statement.

"Also due to the space constraints, a maximum of 3,500 journalists will be allowed access to the Bella Center," the statement said.

For fear that even more people will come for the official opening ceremony on Monday morning, the organizer simply barred media and NGO representatives who arrived late from picking up their badges to enter.

Only a handful of journalists are allowed into the conference's three-hour official opening.

The huge number of participants showed how the whole world is concerned about the results of the climate change conference, which is the largest-ever event hosted by Denmark. Nearly all hotels in Copenhagen had been fully booked, with some participants advised to stay in Malmo, a Swedish town near the border.

It was reported that the Danish government mobilized 60,000 policemen, nearly half of the country's total, to ensure security in Copenhagen during the conference.

Li Jing and Xinhua contributed to the story

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page10)

PORTO VELHO, Brazil: At an experimental government farm in the western Amazon's Rondonia state, researchers analyze grass seeds under microscopes, shake soil samples in test tubes, and measure the milk production of a new breed of cows.

While high-profile police raids targeting illegal ranchers and loggers in the Amazon grab more headlines, these scientists may produce a more important solution in the long fight to save the greatest rainforest.

Their aim is to reduce the pressure for forest destruction by raising the productivity of pastures through fertilization, better choice of grass, and planting trees.

Brazil's ability to meet its ambitious 2020 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels depends largely on the ability of its agriculture sector, and particularly its huge cattle industry, to meet growing world demand without destroying more forest.

The cattle industry is the main culprit of deforestation, which accounts for around 75 percent of carbon emissions in Brazil, one of the top global emitters.

"Brazil's emissions targets hinge significantly on its cattle industry," said Paulo Barreto, senior researcher with Imazon, an environmental institute in the Amazon city Belem.

At stake is not only Brazil's role in climate change but also the competitiveness of its agriculture in a global market increasingly demanding eco-friendly products. Its beef exports account for $5.3 billion each year. Major importers of Brazilian beef products include Russia, China, Iran and the United States.

Environment group Greenpeace said in a June report that consumers around the world were unwittingly fueling destruction of the Amazon by buying hamburgers and shoes linked to illegal deforestation. That spurred a wave of pledges by big meat processors aimed at reducing deforestation by farmers who supply them.

"Our producers know if they try to expand their land, they won't have a market anymore. They'll have to use the area they have better," Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes said.

Near the town of Ji-Parana in southern Rondonia, farmers on their own initiative have planted trees on pasture land, giving cattle and pasture shade from the scorching sun and introducing nitrogen into the ground through the trees' roots.

The richer pasture and healthier cattle will allow the cooperative to raise 5.2 animals per hectare, nearly triple its previous rate.

Brazil's 200 million head of cattle, more than a third in the Amazon, occupy an area nearly three times the size of Texas, or on average 1 per hectare.

"We have the land and technology today that allows us to expand cattle ranching without chopping down a single tree," said researcher Luiz Carlos Balbino. He said Brazil can double or triple beef production without deforesting by boosting the productivity of existing pastures, recovering degraded grass lands, and developing as much as 50 million hectares of unforested savannah.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/08/2009 page10)