News » China » China expresses objection to Austrian Chancellor-Dalai meeting

---

• China expresses objection to Austrian Chancellor-Dalai meeting
• Hu Jintao congratulates Medvedev on becoming Russia's ruling party chief
• Senior Chinese leader stresses human rights
• All 78 rescued from cable cars in Guangxi
• Senior leader stresses human rights protection
• Blind date held in Shanghai
• China, Spain agree to deepen cooperation in trade, green energy
• Dragon Air to bring tourists to Hong Kong
• HK takes back funds it donated in Sichuan
• HK takes back funds it donated in Sichuan
• Ceremony held to present gov't award of students abroad
• Rain forecast for drought-hit SW China
• China adds Georgia as travel destination
• Confucius Institutes in U.S. to continue courses
• Woo reportedly suffers from throat cancer
• First commercial spacecraft docks with space station
• U.S. amends directive on Confucius Institutes to fix mess-up
• Confucius Institutes in U.S. to continue courses
• China adds Georgia as travel destination
• China sees huge gap in future pension payments

China expresses objection to Austrian Chancellor-Dalai meeting Posted: 26 May 2012 06:18 AM PDT China on Saturday objected strongly to a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.

Hu Jintao congratulates Medvedev on becoming Russia's ruling party chief Posted: 26 May 2012 05:11 AM PDT Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulated Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev Saturday on being elected chairman of the ruling United Russia party.

Senior Chinese leader stresses human rights Posted: 26 May 2012 05:06 AM PDT Senior leader Zhou Yongkang has urged police officers and members of the judiciary to raise awareness of protecting human rights while fighting crime in China.

All 78 rescued from cable cars in Guangxi Posted: 26 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-26 20:31 ( Xinhua) NANNING - All of the 78 people trapped in cable cars at a mountain scenic resort in the city of Guilin, Guangxi Zhang Autonomous Region have been rescued. They had all been rescued by 4:30 pm Saturday and there were no casualties, said rescuers with Guilin tourism bureau. Over 200 people were involved in the rescue effort. The local fire brigade received a report at around 11 am Saturday that about dozens of people, including some foreigners, were trapped in the Yaoshan mountain scenic spot in Guilin. The accident was probably caused by power failure although it is still under investigation, said rescuers.

Senior leader stresses human rights protection Posted: 26 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-26 19:58 ( Xinhua) BEIJING - Senior leader Zhou Yongkang has urged police officers and members of the judiciary to raise awareness of protecting human rights while fighting crime in China. Zhou, secretary of the Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the call while presiding over a Symposium on the revised Criminal Procedure Law held on Friday in Beijing. Adopted in March during China's annual legislative session, the revised Law includes the phrase "respecting and protecting human rights" in its first chapter on basic principles. Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said equal importance should be attached to punishing crimes and protecting human rights. He said all convictions must be backed by evidence and all evidence must be proven authentic through legal procedures. The Law says that confessions and other evidence extorted through illegal means such as torture should not be heard during trials. Zhou also stressed efficiency in handling criminal cases and preventing judicial corruption. He requested relevant authorities to draft or modify more rules in accordance with the newly amended Criminal Procedure Law in a bid to ensure effective law enforcement. China's current Criminal Procedure Law was enacted in 1979 and first amended in 1996.

Blind date held in Shanghai Posted: 26 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT A blind date party is held in Shanghai, May 26, 2012. The event, aimed at providing chances for the unmarried under the age of 45, has attracted about 20,000 single people to participate, Xinhua reported.

China, Spain agree to deepen cooperation in trade, green energy Posted: 26 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT China's top legislator Wu Bangguo meets with Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, Spain, May 25, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua] MADRID - China and Spain on Thursday pledged to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and renewable energy in a bid to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The pledge was made during a meeting between China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), said China-Spain relations are at the best time in history. As the world still faces an unbalanced recovery and the European sovereign debt issues remain prominent, it is necessary for China and Spain to enhance pragmatic cooperation to cushion risks and promote growth, Wu said. He made a three-point proposal in this regard. First, the two countries should scale up two-way investment and trade. Active and effective measures are needed to bring into full play the role of cooperation mechanisms, he said. China, Wu said, encourages its enterprises to import competitive and marketable products from Spain, such as wine and olive oil, so as to promote a more balanced trade and facilitate trade and investment. Second, the two countries should tap the potential of cooperation in emerging fields, such as renewable energy. China is making efforts to optimize its energy mix by implementing policies to promote the development of renewable energy, Wu said, adding that Spain is a world leader in developing wind power and solar power. China is willing to learn from Spain's experiences in power generation management and to introduce cutting-edge technologies and equipment, he said. Third, they should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Both China and Spain enjoy ancient civilizations and the two peoples are attracted by each other's history and culture, Wu said. Wu expressed hope that the two countries could strengthen promotional campaigns and create better conditions to cement cooperation in culture, education, sports and tourism. Rajoy, for his party, said Spain attaches great importance to developing friendly ties with China. Spain would remain committed to developing all-round and friendly cooperative relations with China and expanding pragmatic cooperation in trade, investment and renewable energy, he said. Meanwhile, more efforts would be made to enhance friendly exchanges in tourism, education and sports, the prime minister added. During the meeting, Rajoy also briefed Wu on the economic situation in his country and some major measures against the debt crisis. He thanked China for the aids offered to his country when they are in financial straits. Wu said China will, as always, support Europe's effort to overcome the current difficulties and has confidence in Europe's economy and the euro. He also pledged China will not be absent from the international support for Europe to resolve the debt crisis. Wu arrived here Wednesday on a six-day official visit to Spain. Spain is the last leg of his four-European nation tour, which has taken him to the Netherlands, Croatia and Luxembourg.

Dragon Air to bring tourists to Hong Kong Posted: 26 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-26 16:06 ( Xinhua) KOLKATA - Tourist flow to Hong Kong will increase in large numbers as Dragon Air starts its flights from Kolkata, tourist agents said Friday. Talking to Xinhua, Yaseer Ahmed, Dragon Air regional sales manager said that they are trying to design new packages combining with Chinese mainland and Macao to attract tourists to Hong Kong. "With Disneyland and a huge open market for electronic goods, Hong Kong was always a popular choice among the leisure tourists and the regular carrier passengers from the city. However, because of lack of direct of connectivity, the number of passengers was not so high," said Joydeep Mukherjee, state vice president of tourism agents association of India. Dragon Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, has announced the first direct flight from Kolkata to Hong Kong, but has not declared the date till the new terminal at the Kolkata airport is ready.

HK takes back funds it donated in Sichuan Posted: 26 May 2012 02:40 AM PDT The HK government has decided to reclaim the HK$2 million (US$257,600) it donated to an earthquake-devastated city in Sichuan Province.

HK takes back funds it donated in Sichuan Posted: 26 May 2012 02:21 AM PDT The HK government has decided to reclaim the HK$2 million (US$257,600) it donated to an earthquake-devastated city in Sichuan Province.

Ceremony held to present gov't award of students abroad Posted: 26 May 2012 01:44 AM PDT A ceremony was held Friday evening to present the 9th Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad at the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York.

Rain forecast for drought-hit SW China Posted: 26 May 2012 01:01 AM PDT Rain forecast for China's drought-stricken southwest regions will bring some relief, the country's meteorological authority said Saturday.

China adds Georgia as travel destination Posted: 25 May 2012 11:10 PM PDT Georgia has officially become a new travel destination for Chinese citizens, according to an agreement reached between tourism authorities of the two countries.

Confucius Institutes in U.S. to continue courses Posted: 26 May 2012 01:01 AM PDT The U.S. Department of State reissued a statement, saying the Confucius Institutes in the United States will continue with their courses, and the institute's Chinese teachers on American campuses do not have to leave.

Woo reportedly suffers from throat cancer Posted: 26 May 2012 01:01 AM PDT Producers in Cannes have announced John Woo will direct the remake of a Japanese mafia classic. Meanwhile sources claim the famed film director is suffering from throat cancer.

First commercial spacecraft docks with space station Posted: 26 May 2012 01:01 AM PDT SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station on Friday and became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the orbital outpost.

U.S. amends directive on Confucius Institutes to fix mess-up Posted: 25 May 2012 10:59 PM PDT The U.S. Department of State on Friday reassured the U.S. universities in collaboration with Confucius Institutes that it will help fix the visa mess-up for Chinese language teachers in need and make sure nobody is required to leave the country.

Confucius Institutes in U.S. to continue courses Posted: 25 May 2012 08:54 PM PDT The U.S. Department of State reissued a statement, saying the Confucius Institutes in the United States will continue with their courses, and the institute's Chinese teachers on American campuses do not have to leave.

China adds Georgia as travel destination Posted: 25 May 2012 11:16 PM PDT Georgia has officially become a new travel destination for Chinese citizens, according to an agreement reached between tourism authorities of the two countries.

China sees huge gap in future pension payments Posted: 25 May 2012 09:51 PM PDT Updated: 2012-05-26 07:43 ( Xinhua) BEIJING - China's social security fund manager on Friday warned of a "huge capital gap" amid future waves of pension payments to retirees as the country enters a period of rapid aging. "The current size of the social security fund fails to match China's gross economic scale and is far from the level that can fill the gap in the pension fund balance," Dai Xianglong, chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF), said at a forum held in Beijing on Friday. Dai did not reveal the exact capital deficit figure, but his warning came as the country's regulators are considering allowing the fund to invest in the equity market for higher yields. By the end of last year, some 123 million Chinese, or about 9.1 percent of the nation's population, were aged over 65, and the ratio of working-aged Chinese to the country's seniors will drop from 10:1 in 2000 to 2.8:1 in 2050, according to data released by the Health Aging Symposium last month. Founded in 2000, the social security fund managed by the NCSSF is designed to serve as a solution for the country's aging problem as well as a strategic reserve to support future social security expenditures. The assets of the social security fund reached 868.84 billion yuan ($137.91 billion) at the end of last year, compared with the country's 10.8-trillion-yuan gross domestic product. "Facing an accelerating aging process in China, the pension fund is under increasing pressure to make ends meet," Dai said, "and this trend is going to last for a long time." Dai suggested appropriating more state-owned assets into the social security fund and using the fund in more investment sectors to protect its value from inflation. In 2011, the fund's investment income stood at 43.1 billion yuan, with a yield rate of 5.58 percent.