Digest

10% fall in number of Japanese in China

The number of Japanese people living in China for more than three months or permanently residing fell by more than 10 percent year-on-year from October 2012 to October 2013, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Experts said the drop was a consequence of the increasingly strained diplomatic ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

However they expect the number to gradually stabilize because the countries are interdependent in today's globalized world.

The report said 135,000 Japanese were living in China for the specific time periods, a 10.2 percent drop. In the same period, the overall number of Japanese living overseas increased by 0.7 percent to a record high of 1.258 million.

China is second on the list of countries with the largest numbers of Japanese expatriates.

APEC sets ball rolling for free trade area

Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have agreed to begin moves to form a free trade area for the region, a senior official said on Aug 15.

It was widely agreed to continue to promote regional economic integration and begin the process of forming a Free Trade Area for Asia-Pacific, said Zhang Jun, director of the department of international economic affairs at the Foreign Ministry.

It was also agreed to further promote economic structural reform, facilitate innovation, and strengthen regional links to sustain economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, Zhang said.

The topics will be discussed in November at the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Beijing.

China began preparations for APEC meetings in December. The third senior officials' meeting and related meetings are ongoing in the capital.

China, Vatican vow to improve relations

China will work with the Vatican on a constructive dialogue and promote the improvement of bilateral relations, a spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry said on Aug 15 after Pope Francis sent a message to President Xi Jinping while flying over China on his way to Seoul, South Korea.

Currently, China and the Vatican have no formal relations.

"We have noticed the remarks of Pope Francis. China has always been sincere about improving relations with the Vatican and has been making positive efforts to do that," Hua Chunying, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, said.

According to Reuters, the pope's radio message as he flew over China said: "Upon entering Chinese air space, I extend best wishes to your Excellency and your fellow citizens, and I invoke the divine blessing of peace and well-being upon the nation."

NBA stars join ALS 'Ice Bucket' battle

Former NBA star Yao Ming announced he is to take the ALS 'Ice Bucket Challenge' to help raise money and improve awareness of the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

He becomes the latest celebrity to join the global phenomenon, which has spread to China and flooded social media for the past week.

Yao, who accepted the challenge from friends, will pour a bucket of ice water over himself on Aug 23 at the NBA Yao School.

The challenge requires that he then post a video of it on social media while nominating three other people to do the same.

China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 08/22/2014 page3)