Real China

HK shares end at 18-month low following regional markets

2008-09-11T08:09:00.001-07:00

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang SengIndex plunged 3.06 percent to a near 18-month low below a key support level Thursday, following Asian stock markets.

The Hang Seng Index fell 611.06 points or 3.06 percent to 19, 388.72, its lowest close since March 20, 2007. The index traded between 19,220.28 and 19,854.82 during the session. Turnover rose to 69.60 billion HK dollars from Wednesday's 65.31 billion HK dollars .

Hong Kong followed the decline in Asian stock markets in the aftermath of a disappointing Lehman Brothers turnaround plan, which failed to quell worries about the health of mainstay financial services players.

The China Enterprises Index, which tracks the movement of China- registered companies traded in Hong Kong, fell 4.2 percent to 10, 052.03, after Chinese mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 3.3 percent on institutional sales for client redemptions.

The Hang Seng Properties Index fell 4.1 percent to 22,165.09. Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 1.6 percent to 91.30 HK dollars, ahead of its full-year results. Sun Hung Kai, Hong Kong's biggest developer by market capitalization, said after market close that its net profit in its last fiscal year was 27.60 billion HK dollars, up from 21.23 billion HK dollars in the previous fiscal year.

Cheung Kong Holdings, one of the biggest housing companies controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, tumbled 4.0 percent to 99.70 HK dollars. Sino Land fell 7.6 percent to 11 HK dollars, and Hang Lung Properties dropped 5.5 percent to 20.80 HK dollars.

Several Chinese metals producers also fell sharply. Jiangxi Copper fell 7.6 percent to 8.63 HK dollars. Chalco fell 3.6 percent to 5.40 HK dollars.

China Mobile, the largest mobile phone operator in the country and the market's largest stock measured by capitalization, fell 5.29 percent to 77 HK dollars on the rumors that operator portability was to be put in place on the Chinese mainland.

Other Chinese telecom stocks also tumbled, with China Unicom down 4.81 percent, China Telecom down 5.07 percent and Netcom down4.54 percent.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the sole market operator, was down 2.95 percent to 93.85 HK dollars.

Source:Xinhua

President Hu addressed three top concerns in field tour

2008-09-11T08:08:00.007-07:00

In the run-up to the opening of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee to be convened next month in Beijing, and in the days from Sep.8 to 10, China's President Hu Jintao made his field tour to Henan Province, one of the most prominent grain producing provinces in China. On his tour of conducting grassroots investigation, President Hu discussed with the local authorities on wide arrays of issues concerning China's rural reforms under new circumstances.

Grain safety

The first stop of President Hu's investigation tour was Jiaozuo, township at the northern top of Henan Province, where he headed for a test field of corn, a pilot project for corn harvest covering around 10 thousand acres. He talked to the farmers from time to time while touring the field. When asked what they expected most from the preferential policies on farmers already carried out by the State, a farmer told the President they hoped the grain prices would be further raised, subsidies for grain production a little higher, and prices of farming materials more stable. President Hu smiled and promised, ‘I will bring back what concerns you for detailed discussion.'

He reiterated in this inspection trip that grain production should be paid close attention to. To develop grain production, he added, we will have to rely on policies, and science and technology.

President Hu also encouraged the scientific and technical staff to contribute more ideas to high and stable yields of crops. When mentioning grain safety, he addressed the importance of grain reserves and urged all the relevant departments to be bent on the task.

Cooperation along specialized lines

In Jiaozuo, the President also drove for a cooperative economy for grape yards. After a light conversation with several farmers, President Hu said practice has proved that, in a backdrop of persisting contracted responsibility system on the household basis, it is a practical and accessible way to organize farmers to develop massive-scale economy through cooperation along specialized lines. He encouraged local authorities to further explore more favorable ways benefiting more farmers.

President Hu took interest in the countryside enterprises and production bases, and praised the way they pointed to the future of the rural reforms, saying farming-related industries act as the ‘dragon-head' leading and pushing ahead with the industrialization management of farming, and will enlarge the business scope of farming by creating more specialized farming projects. He said this is an effective method to offer farmers more chances to get rich.

Rural reform in compliance with the farmers' aspiration

Towards the end of his three-day investigation tour, President Hu summoned local leaders from Henan Province and the township of Jiaozuo holding an informal discussion centering round rural reforms and development.

He pointed out that China's rural reforms and development are standing on a fresh historical starting point. The reforms to be carried out in rural areas must conform to the new situations brought about by economic and social development in the vast rural areas, comply with the farmers' aspiration for a better-off life, and adhere to propelling the construction of new socialist countryside.

On top of this, the President also stressed that it is equally important to adhere to the route of rural modernization with Chinese characteristics, speed up forming a new layout of the integration involving both urban and rural economic and social development, further promote rural development, and open up a new vista for rural reforms and development.

By People's Daily Online

Dong music and buildings artistic wonders

2008-09-11T08:08:00.005-07:00

You cannot leave a village of the Dong minority without being impressed with their songs and buildings.

Many of their songs are a reflection of their lives - about nature, labor, love and friendship.

While relaxing and useful for communication, singing has long played another important role.

Without a written language for more than 2,500 years, the Dong people passed on their history and customs from generation to generation through oral literature and art. Songs are key to their oral tradition.

Not surprisingly teachers of songs are respected as the most knowledgeable in a Dong village.

In particular, their a cappella harmonies with a lead singer and no conductor - which can imitate sounds of nature like streams and insects and inspire listeners' imagination - are considered a gift from the Dong people to the world.

Their art hit the headlines in 1986, when a Dong chorus performed in Paris, changing the idea that harmonies exist only in Western music and cannot be found in Chinese music.

Harmonies have long been valued by the Dong people. They only perform them at special occasions like important holidays, group dates and reception of distinguished guests.

In most cases the harmonies are performed in the drum tower of the village, so they are also known as "drum tower chorus".

Another Dong art form - architecture - is also impressive. Wood and stones are used instead of iron and steel as construction materials.

Dong people's skill in building houses and bridges with stones and wood without a nail or rivet marvel visitors.

The drum tower is a typical example of Dong architecture and a landmark in their villages. Without a drum tower, it cannot be counted as Dong.

As one of the highest and most spectacular buildings in the village, the tower is used for holiday parties and other entertainment.

In important matters or emergencies, the drum is beaten and villagers will gather at the tower for a meeting.

In fact it is so closely related to their lives that the Dong culture is also known as Drum Tower culture.

The Fengyu - wind and rain - Bridge, a common sight in almost every Dong village, is also a demonstration of their advanced building skills.

Entirely made of wood and stones, the covered bridges provide shelter for travelers if needed.

As the style of the bridge is also beautiful, it is known as Flower Bridge, or huaqiao, in Chinese.

Today the 2.6 million Dong people live mostly in Guizhou and Hunan provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Liping county in Guizhou has the highest concentration with a population of 350,000 Dong people.

The county has 320 drum towers and 290 flower bridges, thus winning the reputation of a Dong architectural museum.

With a land area of 180,000 sq m and a population of more than 4,000, Zhaoxing village in the county has one of the biggest groups of Dong in southeastern Guizhou. It has five districts - and so five drum towers and five flower bridges

The drum tower cluster has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Source: China Daily

Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, Jackie Chan fail to make shortlist for Chinese audience film awards

2008-09-11T08:08:00.003-07:00

Chinese film veterans Zhang Yimou, Gong Li and Jackie Chan failed to make the shortlist for film awards given by the audience at an annual domestic film festival which opened in China's northeast seaport of Dalian on Wednesday.

Directors Feng Xiaogang, Yin Li, Stephen Chow, Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu will contend for the Best Director of the 29th Full Blossom awards, with their "The Assembly," "Yun Shui Yao," "Crazy Stone," "A Hope," and "Tokyo Trial", respectively.

They were selected and then nominated during a general election campaign organized by China Film Association from April 16 to July 31.

Zhang Yimou, director of "Curse of the Golden Flower," has missed the shortlist, together with Peter Chan and Benny Chan, other two candidates announced by the CFA earlier.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" received heated and mixed reaction after its release in China in December 2006.

Zhang is also the general director of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies.

Gong Li was on the longlist for her leading role in "Curse of the Golden Flower" together with Xu Jinglei and Lin Hsilei, but lost out on a shortlist spot to Li Bingbing, Tang Yan, Gao Yuanyuan, Hsu Vivian, Leung Wing Kei, who were nominated for the Best Leading Actress award.

Kung fu star Jet Li will contend for the Best Leading Actor after beating off strong opponents including Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Louis Koo.

He was nominated with Zhang Hanyu for Feng Xiaogang's "The Assembly", Guo Tao for 2006's black horse "Crazy Stone," Chen Kun for love story "Yun Shui Yao," and Liu Songren for "Tokyo Trial."

Li was acclaimed by audience for "The Warlords", depicting a struggle of three blood brothers and their love entanglements with a woman during a time of war and political upheaval in the Qing Dynasty .

He won the Best Leading Actor at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards on April 13, also for the movie, which was directed by Hong Kong director Peter Chan.

"Yun Shui Yao," "The Assembly," "Crazy Stone," "Tokyo Trial," "Invisible Wings" will vie for the Best Feature Film award.

All the awards will be given out at the closing ceremony of the17th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival on Saturday evening.

Programs of the festival include promotion of dozens of films, projection of more than 80 domestic and foreign movies, a film forum and several press conferences.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese language center draws crowds

2008-09-11T08:08:00.001-07:00

People from other parts of the world always are fascinated by China's 5,000 year old cultural tradition. At the Paralympics Village in Beijing, the Chinese Language Center has proven one of the hotspots.

The Chinese Language Center has three sections.

The middle section is known as the Learn-it-Quickly Zone. It is the most popular among foreigners. With the aid of specially designed computer software, it becomes easy and fun to master the pronunciation of Chinese sounds. Most visitors leave the language lab with increased confidence and the motivation to learn more Chinese.

The other two sections offer hands-on experience of China's cultural tradition. Visitors can take up a brush and write the Chinese characters they have just learned. Most will carry away their self created calligraphy as mementos.

There are traditional arts and crafts to experience, including opera masks, folk music, and traditional paintings.

Source: CCTV.com

More babies across China suffer from kidney stones, fake milk powder suspected

2008-09-11T08:07:00.007-07:00

An unknown number of infants in at least seven provinces and regions across China have suffered from kidney stones while doctors and parents suspected it could bea result of drinking milk powder of the same brand, according to media reports on Thursday.

The new findings were reported after Xinhua broke out the news Wednesday that 14 cases of the same kind appeared in northwestern Gansu Province.

The Modern Express, a newspaper based in the eastern Jiangsu Province and affiliated with Xinhua, said similar cases were found in Jiangsu and the northwestern Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu, while the Oriental Morning Post based in Shanghai said that infants in the eastern Shandong and Anhui provinces and Hunan in central China were also inflicted.

No official figures are available at this moment on how many babies in the country have been affected.

A spokesman of the Gansu Provincial Health Department said on Thursday that they had received 59 cases of kidney stones in infants so far this year and one baby died. There were no such cases in 2007 or 2006.

It is not clear if the infant drank milk formula being investigated.

Authorities are trying to figure out if there is a link between the milk powder and the kidney stones. Samples of the milk powder have been sent to a state-run lab for analysis.

Sanlu Group, a leading dairy products company in the country, said the milk powder branded Sanlu could be mislabeled. It claims someone might be counterfeiting their product and has sent people to Gansu to conduct its own investigation.

Parents of the affected babies, mostly located in remote and poor rural areas, have bought the milk powder at much cheaper prices than usual.

The No.1 Hospital of The People's Liberation Army , in Gansu provincial capital Lanzhou, received the first case on June 28, which was followed by another 13 cases later on.

However, at least three other hospitals in Lanzhou confirmed they had received similar cases in the past two months.

Doctors of these hospitals had urged local authorities to step up investigations and take possible measures to prevent similar cases.

Source:Xinhua

Baby dies of kidney stones in NW China, fake milk powder suspected

2008-09-11T08:07:00.005-07:00

One baby has died of kidney stones in northwest China's Gansu Province, said health officials Thursday.

It is not clear if this infant drank milk formula being investigated for causing at least 14 babies to develop kidney stones.

All of them drank milk labeled with the Sanlu brand.

The company says the milk powder could be mislabeled. It claims someone might be counterfeiting their product.

Health officials are trying to figure out if there is a link between the milk powder and the kidney stones.

So far this year, the Gansu Province had received reports of 59 cases of kidney stones in infants. There were no cases in 2007 or 2006.

Source:Xinhua

Boss' gender can affect workers' stress

2008-09-11T08:07:00.003-07:00

Bosses in general can be a pain in the ... well, you know, but a new study finds that your boss' gender can affect just how much pain he or she seems to inflict.

Researchers at the University of Toronto used data from a 2005 national telephone survey of working adults in the United States and compared the stress levels and physical health problems of men and women working in one of three situations: for a lone male supervisor, a lone female supervisor, or for both a male and female supervisor.

The study found that:

* Women who had only one female boss reported more psychological distress and physical symptoms than women who worked for one male boss.

* Women who reported to a mixed-gender pair of supervisors also reported more of these symptoms than their peers who worked for a single male boss.

* Men who worked for a single supervisor, regardless of the supervisor's gender, had similar levels of distress. Men who worked for a mixed-gender pair had fewer mental and physical symptoms than those working for a lone male supervisor.

The analysis, detailed in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, controlled for occupation, job sector and other workplace conditions, meaning the results were independent of these factors.

The findings, specifically those of female subordinates with females bosses, contradict theories suggested by previous studies that demographic similarities between a boss and their subordinate would promote harmony in the work place, while demographic differences would create problems.

The researchers speculated that these contradictions may stem from the stereotype that it is more "normal" for men to be leaders and display the typical leadership characteristics. So while female subordinates may expect more "aggressive" traits from a male leader, they could expect more support from a supervisor who is also female than they actually get, said study co-author Scott Schieman.

Women leaders who "act like men" in terms of society's unconscious expectations may be viewed more negatively, Schieman said. He and other sociologists suspect this was a situation faced by Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary races.

Despite the fact that the researchers tried to control for a worker's occupation, another possibility that could account for the finding is that "something about the nature of the work itself is influencing these health differences," Schieman said. For example, women working with a woman supervisor might tend to be found mostly in the "caring sector or in jobs that tend to be under-resourced, under-funded and under-valued," such as social work or education, creating stress both for the workers themselves and stress for the boss that might trickle down to her subordinates.

But just what is causing these differences isn't know for sure. As Schieman said, "these are speculative points that need to be investigated further."

Source: China Daily/Agencies

Public health incidents claim 34 lives in August

2008-09-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

Emergent public health incidents killed 34 people on the Chinese mainland in August with 82 incidents recorded and 1,551 people involved, the country's Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

Emergent public health incidents refers to major epidemics, diseases of unknown origin, major food or occupational poisoning cases, and other incidents like bird flu.

The number of such incidents dropped by 28.07 percent compared with that of July, while the people affected and the fatalities down 43.85 percent and 10.53 percent respectively, the ministry said in a report posted on its website.

Year on year, the figures of fatalities caused by emergent public health incidents dropped by 37.04 percent. The number of such incidents and people involved also dropped by 38.81 percent and 79.73 percent respectively.

The Health Ministry attributed the big drop to "a series of disease prevention work carried out across the country ahead of the Beijing Olympics," it said in the report.

The two-month summer vacation at schools across the country through August also contributed to the drop, the ministry said.

The ministry warned that public health incidents such as cholera, intestinal infectious diseases and food poisoning still have a relatively high incidence rate in September.

Source:Xinhua

"Dark Knight" plans re-release for Oscar push

2008-09-11T08:06:00.011-07:00

Batman wants an Oscar.

To be precise, Warner Bros. wants a statuette -- or 10 -- for "The Dark Knight." So the studio plans to re-release its blockbuster Batman sequel in January, the height of Academy Awards voting season.

"It's just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people," a studio insider explained.

Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with Imax execs over the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some giant-screen venues in January. It's uncertain if "Dark Knight" also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film's huge commercial and critical success has spurred talk of possible Oscar nominations for its director, producers and cast -- most specifically Bale's co-star, Health Ledger, for the late actor's edgy performance as the Joker.

To date, "Dark Knight" has rung up about 512 million U.S. dollars domestically and 440 million dollars internationally, including more than 55 million dollars in Imax grosses. A pre-Oscars re-release would help assure its topping 1 billion dollars worldwide.

But with the title set to hit DVD in December, it's now apparent anyone hoping the Batman sequel would soar to "Titanic" heights will be disappointed. "Dark Knight" already ranks as the second-highest-grossing movie ever, after "Titanic's" phenomenal 1.84 billion dollars -- a mix of 600.8 million dolalrs in domestic box office and 1.24 billion dollars in foreign coin registered in 1997 and 1998.

Source: China Daily/Agencies

I want more sleep, Brad Pitt moans

2008-09-11T08:06:00.009-07:00

Hollywood star Brad Pitt is "longing for" sleep following the birth of his and Angelina Jolie's twins in July.

The "Burn After Reading" star - whose babies Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline are his fifth and sixth children with Jolie - admitted while he is happy with the new additions to his family, he wishes he could spend more time in bed.

Asked how the twins were doing, Brad replied: "They are all good - everyone's healthy, and everyone's great. Sleep is something we long for, but that's alright, we'll get it soon!"

When the 44-year-old actor was questioned about what makes him laugh, he replied: "My kids!"

Brad appears alongside close friend George Clooney in "Burn After Reading."

In the movie, from legendary directors the Coen brothers, Brad plays Chad Feldheimer - a gym employee who finds a disc full of personal financial files and uses it to blackmail Osbourne Cox, played by John Malkovich.

The film is released worldwide later this year.

Source: China Daily/Agencies)

Hathaway spends a week in shock after ex arrested

2008-09-11T08:06:00.007-07:00

Anne Hathaway "spent a week in shock" after her then-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri was arrested.

The "Get Smart" actress - who had been dating the Italian businessman for four years, but ended the relationship following him being taken into custody on charges of federal wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering - admits the incident shock her world.

She told W magazine: "As soon as I found out about the arrest, I had to get on a plane to Mexico to do a promotional tour for 'Get Smart'. And then I spent a week in shock at a friend's house. "It's a situation where the rug was pulled out from under me all of a sudden.

But just as suddenly, my friends threw another rug back under me. One said, 'Go stay at my house.' "And Steve Carell, my 'Get Smart' co-star, stepped up for me during an interview when someone asked a question about it.

He said, 'At some point you're going to have to talk about this time in your life. You don't have to do it this week. I'll take care of anything that comes your way.' "

Rafaello - who has been detained since his June arrest because he has been unable to raise the 21-million-U.S.-dollar bail money - is said to be set to strike a deal with lawyers at the Manhattan District court today to ensure he only spends five years in federal prison.

Source: China Daily/Agencies

China readies sea search, rescue for launch of Shenzhou-7 spacecraft

2008-09-11T08:06:00.005-07:00

The sea search and rescue teams have prepared for the launch of Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, vice minister of transport Xu Zuyuan said after a drill concluded on Wednesday.

The drill, carried out in the Yangtze River mouth on Wednesday afternoon, aimed to rescue the astronauts in case the re-entry capsule fell into sea after any accidents happened during the launch, said Zhang Jianqi, a senior official with the country's space program.

During the drill, a fixed-wing aircraft was sent to locate the re-entry capsule. Then a helicopter flew to the presumed location, released an orange smock signal and landed rescuers to check the situation of the "astronauts". Finally the "astronauts" were transported to a rescue ship for medical check-up.

The drill aimed to further enhance the search and rescue capability to ensure the safety of the astronauts, said Song Jiahui, an official with the Ministry of Transport.

The manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 would be launched at an appropriate time between Sept. 25 and 30 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese researchers successfully clone pigs with swine fever-resistant gene

2008-09-11T08:06:00.003-07:00

Three cloned piglets with a generesistant to swine fever virus , a fatal disease for the livestock, have been born in northeast China's Jilin Province, Chinese researchers said.

The piglets, weighing 1,050 grams, 1,100 grams and 550 grams, were born Wednesday afternoon in a pig farm of the Agriculture Department, Jilin University.

Experts said the piglets were the first with the gene against swine fever in the world.

Source: Xinhua

U.S. physicists discover new particle

2008-09-11T08:06:00.001-07:00

Physicists at U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a new particle made of three quarks, the Omega b baryon, the lab's leading scientist Qian Jianming told Xinhua Wednesday.

The particle contains two strange quarks and a bottom quark. It is an exotic relative of the much more common proton and weighs about six times the proton mass.

Qian, originally graduated from University of Science and Technology of China and now a professor at University of Michigan, played a leading role in the discovery of this new particle. It was detected for the first time in a particle accelerator at Fermilab in Illinois.

The heavy particle is scarce today, but scientists believe it was abundant soon after the Big Bang.

"This discovery helps us understand how matter was formed in the universe. It shows the critical success of the quark model and gives us new insight into the strong force, which binds quarks together to form larger particles," said Qian.

Qian is among 600 physicists from 90 institutions involved in DZero, the international experiment at Fermilab that produced these results.

Qian said detecting the Omega b baryon was like finding a needle in a haystack. They developed algorithms that allowed them to analyze almost 100 trillion particle collisions to find 18 events with the distinctive characteristics expected from the decay of the Omega b baryon.

In the collisions in the experiment, protons and anti-protons traveling near the speed of light hit head on, occasionally producing exotic heavy particles such as the Omega b baryon. The baryon travels about 1 millimeter before it decays into other particles.

Baryons are particles that make up the visible matter in the universe today. Protons and neutrons are the lightest baryons. Allbaryons are made of different combinations of three quarks. Quarksare smaller particles that come in six "flavors:" up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom. Scientists organize these flavors into three families.

Protons and neutrons are made of the quarks in the first family: up and down quarks. This new particle is the first baryon ever detected that is made only of quarks from the other two families. The Omega b baryon has two strange quarks and one bottom quark.

The discovery of the doubly strange particle brings scientists a step closer to understanding exactly how quarks form matter and to completing the "periodic table of baryons."

Source: Xinhua

First test-tube monkeys given birth in China

2008-09-11T08:05:00.006-07:00

Chinese scientists have given birth to the country's first test-tube monkeys, which is believed to be the first step to engineer gene-modified monkeys.

Dr. Sun Qiang of the East China Normal University led the primate research group to create the seven macaques, a type of monkeys that are fond of eating crabs. Their experiments were published by the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Closest among animals to physique, genetic nature and behavior of human beings, primate models are usually used for studying medical treatment for human diseases.

Under the state-financed program that focuses on the primate reproductive research and bio-engineering, Dr. Sun said, "Our next step is to bring about more test-tube monkeys and eventually make gene-modified monkeys benefiting for medical research."

Chinese scientists are now catching up with leading scientists in developed countries in engineering transgenic monkeys. American researchers have already produced the world's first gene-modified monkey, Andi. The scientific community has tried to use such monkeys to find new ways to treat diabetes, the Alzheimer's, AIDS and breast cancer.

Test-tube technology is the best available way to breed transgenic monkeys, experts said.

Sun's team capitalized on a few new technologies on stimulating more eggs from female monkeys and collecting semen and mammalian oocyte, as well as new ways of in vitro fertilization and embryo transplantation.

The new technologies "can significantly improve the pregnancy rate and live birth of healthy baby monkeys," the scientist said.

Their technique was regarded as an efficient method in constructing various transgenic primate disease models.

All the seven new born monkeys are healthy, Sun said, with the oldest Lele, or Happiness, being aged at one and half years.

Source: Xinhua

Xiamen to be the first wireless network-covered city

2008-09-11T08:05:00.005-07:00

Recently Xiamen Municipal and China Mobile's Fujian branch signed a cooperation memorandum named "wireless city", marking the beginning of construction of wireless network in Xiamen, which is based on TD-SCDMA/HSDPA technology.

Broadband wireless LAN of a city, known as "wireless city", with high-speed broadband wireless network covering administrative districts, provides information to public via wireless technology or terminals. TD-SCDMA, a Chinese home-grown standard for third-generation communication, owns the independent intellectual right.

Now the wireless network covers an area of over 800 square km in Xiamen, including main streets, most suburban area and major public buildings. Basic infrastructures and auxiliary facilities are both fully equipped. Before the end of this year, people in Xiamen will enjoy the convenience of living in a wireless city, surfing on Internet, consulting information, sending and receiving emails whenever and wherever there is a cell phone or a laptop.

By People's Daily Online

Over half of Airbus aircraft use made-in-China parts

2008-09-11T08:05:00.003-07:00

Marc Bertiaux, vice president of Airbus China Corporations in charge of cooperation with China, revealed that more than half of Airbus aircraft use made-in-China parts.

He also said that Airbus had a purchase of over 70 million US dollars in China in 2007, exceeding the original target of 60 million. This figure is expected to reach 200 million in 2010 and 450 million in 2015.

According to Marc Bertiaux, Airbus has promised to transfer manufacturing technology of A320 wings to China, and is honoring the commitment. Airbus had never carried out such cooperation with other countries before.

In November of 2007 in Beijing, Airbus and National Development and Reform Commission of China signed an understanding memorandum to enhance industrial cooperation of A350XWB wide-body aircraft project. According to the memorandum, China will undertake 5% of the structuring work.

In Tianjin Airport Industrial Park, Tianjin Assembly Line Project of Airbus A320 Series Airplane has succeeded in trial operation, making full preparations for the assembly of the first aircraft.

By People's Daily Online

Chinese hybrid rice introduced to more than 40 countries and regions

2008-09-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

Over 40 countries and regions have introduced hybrid rice from China, Ma Shuping, a senior official of Ministry of Agriculture revealed on Sept 10.

Some countries in Southeast Asia have seen sharp increase in rice production after introduction of hybrid rice. In this aspect China played an important role in securing global food supply, Ma said.

Currently in China the area of hybrid rice is 15 million hectares, accounting for 59% of total rice-planting area. Average annual production of hybrid rice amounts to 7200 kilograms per hectare.

President of China Seed Industrial Association Wan Baoguo said seed export reached 29,000 tons in 2007.

By People's Daily Online

Optimal conditions set for spacewalk

2008-09-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

Bringing forward the launch date of China's third manned spacecraft by one month will maximize conditions for the country's highly anticipated inaugural spacewalk, experts have said.

The Shenzhou VII spacecraft was first scheduled for take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province at the end of October.

The spacecraft was later rescheduled for take off between Sept 25 and 30.

Compared with the initial launching window in October, the position of the sun during the new period would enable astronauts to walk out of the space module in sunlight and avoid returning in "total darkness", the Beijing Evening News recently quoted an expert as saying.

The exact launch date at the end of this month will be decided by the weather conditions at the launch center, said Jiao Weixin, professor with the School of Earth and Space Science at Peking University.
The launch could be postponed because of strong gales that could cause the rocket to veer off from its set course, he said.

The best climate for launching the manned spacecraft include zero rainfall, a ground wind speed of less than 8 m per second, a minimum horizontal visibility of 20 km, and no lightning in nine hours before and after the launch, Jiao said.

Drizzles and the temperature will usually pose no hindrance to the launch, he added.

As for the sandstorm that hit western Gansu province on Sunday, meteorologists said it is unlikely the conditions will interfere with the launch.
The sandstorm had started to wane on Monday and moved to Lanzhou in the south, posing no threat to the launch, meteorologists were quoted by the Beijing News as saying.
Earlier reports had said that the Shenzhou VII spacecraft will be launched on a Long March 2F rocket.

On its return, the spacecraft will reportedly land within Wulanchabu, a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

So far, engineers have installed the propellant in the spacecraft, a spokesman of the mission said earlier this week.

The much-awaited mission is the second stage of the country's three-staged manned space program, which seeks to launch a manned spacecraft, set up a space laboratory, and build a space station before 2020.

China became the third country to send a person into space on its own in 2003. In 2005, the country sent two more astronauts on a five-day flight on Shenzhou VI.

On Shenzhou VII, there will be three astronauts, and one of them is expected to conduct a spacewalk.

The astronauts will use a Chinese-designed and Chinese-made airlock module for extra vehicular activity - work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of a spacecraft. The spacesuit is reportedly designed for such missions of up to seven hours.

Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Field records all refreshed in Bird's Nest at Paralympics

2008-09-11T08:03:00.005-07:00

The National Stadium experienced one of the busiest sessions of the Beijing Paralympic Games on Wednesday with 17 gold medals come out all in the evening.

China had been the most gold medalist as three athletes were trophied in two field events and one track event.

Zhang Lixin blazed the tracks in men's 400m T54 with a result of 45.07 seconds to win gold and take the world record.

This has been Zhang's second Paralympic gold medal in Beijing after he won the men's 4x100m relay on Tuesday evening.

In men's javelin F11/12 , there was probably no better way for Zhu Pengkai to begin his competition than to break the F12 world record on his first attempt. His third attempt of 63.07m secured him the gold medal and the new world record title.

Former world record holder Miroslaw Pych from Poland won the bronze with 56.01m, while Croatia's Branimir Budetic took the silver with his best throw of 57.11m.

In women's Javelin F35-38 , China's Wu Qing's throw of 28.84m earned her the F36 world record title and the gold medal. Brazilian Shirlene created a new F37 world record with 35.95m, but it only gave her 1513 points to win a silver medal based on the multi-classification event point system. Poland's Renata Chilewska also set a world record in the F35 class which secured her the bronze.

This was not the end, since there were new world records in all the field events, with some having more than one due to the multi-classification competition format.

In the tracks, Kenyans had proved that they really have a gene in distance running for Abraham Cheruiyot Tarbei paced himself and took a steady route in the Men's 1500m Men's 1500m T46 to win the gold, landing himself the world record title with 3:52.50.

Though competing for the first time in Paralympics, Ireland's 18-year-old Michael McKillop won himself a gold medal and created a world record in the men's 800m - T37. Brad Scott from Australia and Djamel Mastouri of France trailed behind to take silver and bronze respectively.

Another three classifications of men's 400m had also been run on Wednesday evening in which Cuban Luis Manuel Galano and his teammate Freddy Durruthy in T13 took their place on the first and second steps of the medal podium and made their anthem heard in the stadium.

Tunisia also had a double joy when Farhat Chida and Abbes Saidi finished first and second to take gold and silver in the T38, giving Chida the second gold medal in the tournament.

Ukraine's Roman Pavlyk beat Russian Artem Arefyev's world record to clock his own record time of 54.13 seconds to win gold. This is Pavlyk's second gold in addition to the one he won on Tuesday in the Men's 100m T36.

Source: Xinhua

Olympic table tennis champion Zhang leads Chinese team to China Open

2008-09-11T08:03:00.003-07:00

Newly crowned dual Olympic champion Zhang Yining is to lead a star-studded Chinese team to compete in the China Open table tennis tournament that starts on Thursday.

Zhang, team and singles gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, is set to be a top draw in the Sept. 11-14 tourney.

China will send eight women and eight men to the 106-player event. Guo Yue, bronze medalist in women's singles at the Olympics, will also play, while Wang Nan, the silver medalist in Beijing, has retired.

Leading the Chinese men's team are Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Wang Liqin, who combined to win the men's team gold and then finished 1-2-3 in singles in the Olympics.

Source: Xinhua

Rugby team glad to have 'coach mom'

2008-09-11T08:03:00.001-07:00

When China's wheelchair rugby team faces its first opponent - the US - tomorrow, no one will be watching more closely than "coach mom" Wen Yan.

"Unlike coaching able-bodied athletes, working with us requires great patience, and more importantly, it requires great love," team leader Cheng Shuangmiao said.

That is apparently what Wen Yan offers to this team that is participating in the Paralympics for the first time.

Sporting a ponytail, the Beijing native looks much younger than her 57 years, and loves to address her team of paraplegic players as her "children".

"Everyday I am touched and inspired by their persistence. They teach me life lessons," she said, keeping a close eye on the athletes who were doing warm-up exercise at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.

The rugby team was established last year and placed 19th in international competition.

"One thing is for sure. We have improved greatly in a short period of time," Wen said.

"The Paralympics is providing a great opportunity for us to learn from others. "

It was not an easy start. Rugby has been played in the West for decades, but was introduced to China only three years ago, Wen said.

When she first took up the job of coaching rugby, the only information she had was a book of rules and some DVDs of matches, she said.

"The accidents which caused their disabilities only lasted a few minutes, but have changed their entire lives," she said.

"They don't want to look back; they look to the future."

At the beginning, many of the players could not hold things in their hands, Wen said.

Training has enhanced upper body strength and endurance, Wen said.

"I think we are pushing the limits of medical science and they can do a lot of things that they couldn't do in the past. This is the power of sports," she said.

A former soldier, Wen coached basketball in the Beijing military region until 2005, when she began to instruct the Beijing disabled people's wheelchair rugby team.

Source: China Daily

Roundup: China table tennis team wins 4 Paralympic golds

2008-09-11T08:01:00.006-07:00

Chinese won four out of five table tennis gold medals at the Beijing Paralympic Games on Wednesday.

The Paralympic table tennis tournament is divided into 10 classes depending on various disabilities. The smaller the number is, the more severe the disability is.

Chinese Liu Jing in women's class 1-2 won the first gold after defeating Italian Pamela Pezzutto 3-1.

"After winning the first set easily, I became more confident. My rival was more nervous than I was," Liu said after the match.

"Table tennis makes me a confident and strong person," she added.

In the following gold match in women's class 3, Chinese Li Qian beat Slovakian Alena Kanova 3-0.

The two golds were China's first ever in these classes.

"The Paralympics just proved that we were capable to compete in all different levels. This is a dream team," said Chinese coach Xiong Wei.

Zhou Ying in women's class 4 added a third gold for China after beating Serbian Borislava Peric 3-0.

Peric seemed content with the silver. "This is my first Paralympics, and this is big for me," the 36-year-old Serbian said. She used to play basketball, but an accident in the furniture factory where she worked deprived her of walking ability.

Yet the optimistic woman never succumbed to misfortune. "I have many good friends, my family and my boyfriend to support me, and I am going to play in the next Paralympics, and the one after the next," she said.

In women's class 5, the Chinese team had secured the gold on the previous day, after Ren Guixiang and Gu Gai defeated their semifinal opponents.

The two-time Paralympic gold medalist Ren eventually edged Gui 11-5, 11-9, 15-13.

In women's class 10, however, Chinese Fan Lei was downed by Polish Natalia Partyka 3-0.

Partyka is the only table tennis player who participated in the Beijing Olympic table tennis tourney.

"I don't feel any extra pressure to play against an Olympian," Fan said.

"I played a defensive game at the beginning, and then it became very difficult for me to adjust my tactics," she said.

Partyka is already looking to the 2012 Olympics.

"I am going to play in the European Championships in Russia, and I want to practice more, because I want to take part in the London Olympics," she said.

In Wednesday morning competitions, Chinese Zhang Xiaoling, a five-time Paralympic champion, surprisingly lost to Swedish Josefin Abrahamsson 3-2.

"I believe she threw all she had at me today," Zhang said. "My returns were good enough, but she moved even faster and took all those balls."

German Rainer Schmidt, a seven-time Paralympian, also suffered a semifinal loss to his Danish rival Peter Rosenmeier 3-2 in class 6.

Three finals slated for Thursday will be all-Chinese affairs, while Chinese Feng Panfeng, Ye Chaoqun and Chen Gang have made it to the men's class 3, 7, and 8 final respectively.

Source: Xinhua

Czech Prime Minister receives Bejing Olympic medalists

2008-09-11T08:01:00.005-07:00

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek received Czech athletes who won medals at the Beijing Olympic Games and gave them symbolical brooches and buttons with the Czech lion, the Czech news agency CTK said on Wednesday.

In a brief speech before their dinner, Topolanek thanked them for representing the Czech Republic and indicated that in the following conversation he would like to hear some advice on how to help Czech sport in the future.

"You, the heroes of the Olympics and idols of the youth, should have followers," Topolanek said.

"You should be followed by others who will also have the incredible feeling of touching the gold, silver or the bronze Olympic medal," he added.

The women received brooches, the men shirt buttons. Topolanek gave the gifts to silver sculls rower Ondrej Synek, winner of the javelin throw Barbora Spotakova, silver slalom canoeists Jaroslav Volf and Ondrej Stepanek and golden shooter Katerina Emmons.

The Czech Olympic delegation got three gold medals and three silvers in the Beijing Olympics.

Source: Xinhua