News » China » Su Tseng-chang elected Taiwan opposition party chairman

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• Su Tseng-chang elected Taiwan opposition party chairman
• Dramas for children in one thousand Chinese schools
• 1 dead, 8 missing in boat accident
• Chinese student killed in Malaysian accident
• Defense minister visits Cambodia to boost ties
• Man arrested for killing 11 in SW China
• Wasps are to protect wild fruit forest in Xinjiang
• 1 confirmed dead, 8 missing after boat capsizes in central China
• Chinese defense minister arrives Cambodia to meet ASEAN ministers
• Chinese senior legislator in Cambodia to boost ties
• Premier Wen urges more efforts in poverty alleviation
• Environmental protection urged amid economic slowdown
• Chinese FM to visit Singapore
• 150 reach top of Mt. Qomolangma from Nepali side
• 2 dead,7 injured in Finland shooting incident
• Anti-psychotic drug kills cancer stem cells
• John Woo denies throat cancer
• Confucius Institutes welcome US decision
• All 78 rescued from cable cars in Guangxi
• Official arrested for allegedly raping over 10 girls

Su Tseng-chang elected Taiwan opposition party chairman Posted: 27 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT Su Tseng-chang was re-elected chairman of Taiwan's major opposition Democratic Progressive Party on Sunday.

Dramas for children in one thousand Chinese schools Posted: 27 May 2012 10:55 AM PDT A child-welfare project was initiated Sunday to present drama performances for pupils in one thousand schools in China's rural areas in five years.

1 dead, 8 missing in boat accident Posted: 27 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-27 20:00 ( Xinhua) CHANGSHA - One people has been confirmed dead and eight more missing after a boat sank Sunday in a river in central China's Hunan province, local authorities said. The accident occurred at about 10 am in the section of the Yuanjiang River, a main tributary of Yangtze River, in Luxi county, when the passenger vessel was en route from Luxi to its neighboring Chenxi county, a Luxi county publicity department official and rescuers told Xinhua. At the time of the accident, 21 people, all from Dawan village in Chenxi county, were on board the boat. Twelve people have been saved from the water and one was found dead. More than 500 rescuers with the help of 22 boats are striving to locate the eight missing ones. An investigation into the accident is under way.

Chinese student killed in Malaysian accident Posted: 27 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-27 19:39 ( Xinhua) KUALA LUMPUR - A female Chinese student was killed in a traffic accident late Saturday, officials of the Chinese embassy in Malaysia said Sunday. The 18-year-old student, a freshman of University of Malaya, was from Anhui Province in east China, officials told Xinhua. Police believed that she was on the way back to the dormitory area and hit by a car when crossing a road. The student died before the police arrived and her body was sent to a nearby hospital. The driver turned himself in later the night. Officials of the Chinese embassy said they had urged the police for a thorough investigation, including looking through the surveillance video and search for witness. Meanwhile, the embassy is arranging the relatives of the student to come to Malaysia, in order to deal with the aftermath.

Defense minister visits Cambodia to boost ties Posted: 27 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-27 18:48 ( Xinhua) PHNOM PENH - Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie arrived here on Sunday afternoon for a 4-day official visit to further strengthen ties with Cambodia and the ASEAN. At the Phnom Penh's Military Airbase, Liang was warmly greeted by Moeung Samphan, secretary of state at Cambodia's Defense Ministry, and Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue, and other Cambodian senior defense officials. According to a press release from Cambodia's Defense Ministry, Liang will hold a talk with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh on Monday. They will sign a memorandum of understanding on Cambodia-China cooperation. He will also pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen during the visit. Liang's visit coincided with the 6th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM), which is slated for May 28-30. Speaking in a press briefing about the 6th ADMM at the Defense Ministry on Sunday afternoon, Tea Banh said, "It is the first time Liang Guanglie visiting Cambodia in order to strengthen friendship relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China, especially between the two countries' defense ministries." He said that, on May 29, Liang will also hold a consultative meeting with the ASEAN Defense Ministers to build closer cooperation between China and ASEAN. Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Man arrested for killing 11 in SW China Posted: 27 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT Updated: 2012-05-27 18:37 ( Xinhua) KUNMING - A man has been arrested for allegedly killing 11 people in Southwest China's Yunnan province, police authorities said Sunday. A large amount of physical evidence and DNA comparisons show that Zhang Yongming from Nanmen village, Jinning county, killed the 11 males, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement. The statement did not reveal the range of the victims' ages, but said local police authorities have contacted the victims' families. Following a 20-day-plus investigation launched by the ministry and local police authorities, the 56-year-old suspect was arrested on charges of murder, it said. Zhang was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for murder in 1979. He was freed and returned home in 1997 after receiving a number of sentence reductions. The investigation shows that the alleged serial killer started to attack males who walked alone on the quiet road near his home where he lived alone since 2008. After the murders, Zhang used various means, including dismemberment, burning and burial, to destroy the evidence, it said. The Ministry of Public Security has pledged to work with local authorities to punish any police officers found to be guilty of dereliction of duty.

Wasps are to protect wild fruit forest in Xinjiang Posted: 27 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT URUMQI - Forestry scientists have released 800,000 wasps into Asia's largest wild fruit forest this summer, hoping they will kill many of the beetles threatening it. "It's the fourth time we have released parasitic wasps to destroy the insects eating the apple trees. The measure has so far proved very effective," said Wang Zhiyong, researcher at Chinese Academy of Forestry. The wild fruit forest, covering 144,000 mu (9,600 hectares), is located on Mount Tianshan along the Ili River valley in the country's far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Having a wide variety of apple trees, it is also one of the world's largest wild apple gene pools. The forest has been suffering fruit yield declines since the 1990s, when apple seedlings from east Shandong province that carried Agrilus mali, a type of jewel beetle that feeds on the trunks of apple trees, were planted in the area. Pruning and spraying pesticides failed to dent the population of Agrilus mali who had no natural enemies in the area. More than 54,000 mu of fruit trees had been damaged, and more would wither if the pest continued to reproduce, according the forestry bureau of Kazak autonomous prefecture of Ili. In June 2010, experts introduced parasitic wasps for the first time. So far, 2.2 million wasps have been released into the forest. The wasps lay eggs on the beetles after killing them, and their larva can later feed on the dead bodies, according to experts. They said although at the testing stage, the measure has already yielded positive results. "We are very surprised to find that the wasps have survived two freezing winters in the forest. This means the high-altitude forest can be a new habitat for them," said Wang. China's forestry scientists have used parasitic wasps to curb the spread of the pests. The forestry bureau of the autonomous prefecture has also used wasps successfully to solve a beetle problem on the south bank of the Ili River. "We will continue to test the measure for three more years. If the measure can successfully solve the pest problem in the wild fruit forest, it can be adopted in other parts of the region," said Wang.

1 confirmed dead, 8 missing after boat capsizes in central China Posted: 27 May 2012 05:26 AM PDT One people has been confirmed dead and eight more missing after a boat sank Sunday in a river in central China's Hunan province, local authorities said.

Chinese defense minister arrives Cambodia to meet ASEAN ministers Posted: 27 May 2012 03:58 AM PDT Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie arrived here on Sunday afternoon for a 4-day official visit to further strengthen ties with Cambodia and the ASEAN.

Chinese senior legislator in Cambodia to boost ties Posted: 27 May 2012 02:42 AM PDT Lu Yongxiang, Vice-Chairman of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee of China, arrived here on Sunday afternoon after spending his first day visiting the Angkor Archeological Park, one of the world heritage sides, in Cambodia's Siem Reap province.

Premier Wen urges more efforts in poverty alleviation Posted: 27 May 2012 02:32 AM PDT Wen made an inspection tour to Xiangxi from May 25 to 27, conducting a survey on poverty alleviation and development work in poverty-stricken areas.

Environmental protection urged amid economic slowdown Posted: 27 May 2012 02:11 AM PDT Governments and enterprises should hold on to emission reduction efforts despite cooling economy and resist the temptation of spurring economy through energy-inefficient industrial projects, officials and experts said Saturday.

Chinese FM to visit Singapore Posted: 27 May 2012 12:23 AM PDT Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will pay an official visit to Singapore from May 28 to 29, at the invitation of Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam.

150 reach top of Mt. Qomolangma from Nepali side Posted: 27 May 2012 01:36 AM PDT A near-record number of climbers reached the summit of Mt. Qomolangma from Nepali side as the season ended Saturday without a repeat of last week's deadly accidents.

2 dead,7 injured in Finland shooting incident Posted: 27 May 2012 01:36 AM PDT An overnight shooting incident in Hyvinkaa, a small town in southern Finland, on Saturday morning has left two dead and seven injured.

Anti-psychotic drug kills cancer stem cells Posted: 27 May 2012 01:16 AM PDT VANCOUVER - A team of Canadian scientists have discovered that thioridazine, a drug used to treat psychotic disorder, could successfully kill cancer stem cells in humans without the toxic side-effects on normal cells. The research, published Thursday in the science journal CELL, may pave the way for the development of anticancer drugs for treatment of various cancers. Conventional cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, work in a way that is toxic to cells, which may also lead to side-effects such as hair loss, nausea and anemia, according to the researchers from McMaster University. Stem cells have long been believed to be the source of many cancers. In 1997, Canadian researchers first identified cancer stem cells in certain types of leukemia. Cancer stem cells have since been identified in blood, breast, brain, lung, gastrointestinal, prostate and ovarian cancer. "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way it kills cancer stem cells, by differentiating them and changing them into cells that are non-cancerous," said Mick Bhatia, the principal investigator for the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute. "We think this lack of toxicity is why it doesn't have effects on the normal cells, which would be beneficial to the patients," Bhatia said. Bhatia said their next step was to test thioridazine in clinical trials, focusing on patients with acute myeloid leukemia whose disease has relapsed after chemotherapy. He wants to find out if the drug can put their cancer into remission, and prevent the cancer from coming back by targeting the root of the cancer (cancer stem cells). Bhatia's team also found that thioridazine works through the dopamine receptor on the surface of the cancer cells in both leukemia and breast cancer patients. The finding means it may be possible to use thioridazine as a biomarker that would allow early detection and treatment of breast cancer and early signs of leukemia progression, he said. The research team would also look into the effectiveness of the drug in other types of cancer. Bhatia said they will collaborate with academic groups as well as industry to move forward. "The goal for all of the partners is the same - to find unique drugs to change the way we tackle and treat cancer," he said.

John Woo denies throat cancer Posted: 27 May 2012 12:49 AM PDT John Woo's longtime partner and friend Terence Chang on Sunday released a statement to reveal that the Hong Kongg director has a tonsil tumor, while dismissing a rumor that he was afflicted with throat cancer.

Confucius Institutes welcome US decision Posted: 27 May 2012 12:49 AM PDT Confucius Institute Headquarters on Saturday welcomed a decision made by the US government to allow all Confucius Institutes in the country to continue with their courses.

All 78 rescued from cable cars in Guangxi Posted: 27 May 2012 12:49 AM PDT 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.

Official arrested for allegedly raping over 10 girls Posted: 26 May 2012 11:19 PM PDT Updated: 2012-05-27 13:22 ( Xinhua) ZHENGZHOU - An official in Central China's Henan province has been detained after allegedly raping over 10 underage girls, local authorities said Sunday. Li Xingong, former deputy director of the general office of the Yongcheng city committee of the Communist Party of China, confessed to having raped more than 10 girls during police interrogation, the city's publicity department said in a statement. The local authorities has ordered swift and severe punishment on the suspect in accordance with relevant laws. The case, which has triggered wide public outrage on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like micro blog service in China, is still under investigation. The authorities did not reveal the range of the victims' ages, but pledged to release further details timely along with the investigation progress.