News » Society » Alibaba.com buyout plan approved

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• Alibaba.com buyout plan approved
• Huawei in competition complaint
• Drunken Chinese man gets a full body X-ray after falling asleep on baggage inspection machine at train station
• So why does the Queen never sneeze in public? Mail has a light-heated look at Her Majesty's little secrets
• Billionaire faces bribery charge
• Documenting China's lost history of famine
• Mystery of the lost 'Hump Airmen' solved after 70 years as adventurer hunts down remains of World War Two pilots who crashed in the Himalayas
• European venues for JK Racing Asia Series
• Nigeria frees 80 Chinese held in raids on markets
• Young billionaires are making it by themselves ...
• Her son's death was not in vain
• Confucius Institutes hit with visa ban in US
• Soy sauce producer in cancer scare probe
• 482 held in telecom scam bust
• Yibin names new airport after 'Wuliangye' liquor
• Illegal Vietnamese workers found in Anhui
• Children can't enroll if parents own smaller flat
• No 'anti-foreigner trend'
• VIDEO: Ancient snuff bottles to be auctioned
• FTSE CLOSE: Market boosted by positive comments from Van Rompuy; UK GDP down 0.3%

Alibaba.com buyout plan approved Posted: 24 May 2012 08:46 PM PDT Shareholders of Alibaba.com agree to the company's plan to buy back shares in a bid to take the firm private.

Huawei in competition complaint Posted: 24 May 2012 06:53 PM PDT China's Huawei files a competition complaint against US firm InterDigital with European Union regulators.

Drunken Chinese man gets a full body X-ray after falling asleep on baggage inspection machine at train station Posted: 24 May 2012 06:42 PM PDT The man had entered a train station in the Zhejiang province in China late at night and slightly the worse for wear.

So why does the Queen never sneeze in public? Mail has a light-heated look at Her Majesty's little secrets Posted: 24 May 2012 05:58 PM PDT Also, why is it that when she steps out of an airplane or helicopter, the fierce gusts of wind never blow her hair all over the place?

Billionaire faces bribery charge Posted: 24 May 2012 08:15 AM PDT Billionaire Hong Kong-based property tycoon Joseph Lau faces charges in Macau of bribery and money laundering over a property deal.

Documenting China's lost history of famine Posted: 24 May 2012 06:24 PM PDT Why great famine that devastated China is barely a footnote

Mystery of the lost 'Hump Airmen' solved after 70 years as adventurer hunts down remains of World War Two pilots who crashed in the Himalayas Posted: 24 May 2012 05:26 PM PDT Professional adventurer Clayton Kuhles has spent $100,000 of his own money traveling to the Himalayas to search for pilots who went missing in action during the Second World War.

European venues for JK Racing Asia Series Posted: 24 May 2012 01:02 PM PDT With the second season of the JK Racing Asia Series all set to kick off at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, the organisers on Thursday announced the inclusion of two European venues for the 2012 edition.

Nigeria frees 80 Chinese held in raids on markets Posted: 24 May 2012 10:33 AM PDT Nigeria has released 80 of nearly 100 Chinese nationals it had arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally, the Chinese Consulate-General in the port city of Lagos said yesterday. Most of those held in a crackdown on Tuesday in Lagos and Kano were said to be textile traders working in city markets. Those still in custody face being sent back to China as they have overstayed their permits, Xu Chunman, an official with the consulate, told Xinhua news agency. The issue has been properly solved, Xu said. The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said it had contacted the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Foreign Ministry after the arrests, urging them to protect the rights of Chinese nationals and make sure they were treated properly. The People's Daily reported that in a textile products market in Kano in northern Nigeria alone, the government arrested 45 Chinese dealers, including 34 men and 11 women, for "illegally conducting textile trade." The chief of the immigration department in Kano is said to have accused the Chinese of "intruding into the market" and taking the jobs of local people. The market is the largest textile trade center in Nigeria and the western African region. Similar market raids took place at the same time in several other cities. There was speculation in the Chinese media that the actions were in retaliation for Beijing's announcement last week of a 100-day campaign to catch foreigners illegally staying in the capital, which encouraged the public to pass on details of foreigners who shouldn't be in the country. The Beijing crackdown was launched days after a British man was detained for molesting a Chinese woman in public. Chinese media reports said that some Nigerians in Beijing had been found to have overstayed their visas. Immigration officials in Nigeria, however, denied that their crackdown was targeted specifically at Chinese workers. The People's Daily said trading ties between China and Nigeria had grown steadily since the 1990s and there were 20,000 Chinese living in Nigeria while about 200,000 Africans, including Nigerians, were in China at present. Nigeria imposes strict controls on foreign workers and business activities to protect local jobs and industries.

Young billionaires are making it by themselves ... Posted: 24 May 2012 10:33 AM PDT UP to three-quarters of young billionaires on the Chinese mainland earned their money from investments or in business rather than inheritance, the Richest Chinese Under Forty List for 2012 shows. Of 33 individuals under 40 with at least 1 billion yuan (US$158 million) in personal assets, only eight inherited from their families, according to the list released by the Hurun Research Institute yesterday. Yang Huiyan, 31, second daughter of real estate tycoon Yang Guoqiang and biggest shareholder of her father's company Country Garden, tops the list with a 36 billion yuan fortune. But 25 self-made billionaires made it onto the list, including six of the top 10. "The findings defy the usual assumption that the young rich community in China is largely made up by heirs to old money," said Rupert Hoogewerf, researcher and publisher of the Hurun Report. "There are actually many rags-to-riches stories." Fang Wei, 39, chairman of Beijing-based China Fangda Group, led the self-made billionaires with a 15 billion yuan fortune, ranking 2nd on the list. Founded in 1991, the industrial group specializes in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, steel and iron products. Chen Tianqiao, 39, chairman and CEO of Shenda Interactive Entertainment, was the second richest Chinese mainland entrepreneur with 9 billion yuan. Founded in 1999 with 500,000 yuan, the online game operator has grown into an all-inclusive online entertainment flagship, running video websites, online communities as well as a user-driven literary platform said to be listed in the US soon. The company is expected to launch its self-developed mobile phone this year to diversify into the hardware sector. Jiang Nanchun, 39, chairman and CEO of Focus Media, the biggest digital signage company in China, ranked third in the self-made category with 8 billion yuan. The Nasdaq-listed company made US$200 million in profits last year, which compared to a monthly revenue of less than 1 million yuan after its establishment in 2003. Basketball start Yao Ming ranked last among self-made billionaires with 1 billion yuan. After retiring from the NBA last year, China's tallest superstar launched his own winery exclusively for the Chinese market. The entertainment and information technology industry accounts for 15 percent of both self-made and inherited billionaires, with energy close behind on 13 percent. The manufacturing sector and the finance and investment industry account for 11 percent and 9 percent respectively. Guangdong Province holds the lion's share in the billionaires club, boasting six entries this year, the most of all provinces and municipalities in China. Shanghai is home to five listed individuals, followed by Beijing with four and Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Zhejiang provinces each with three. The average age of the listed individuals is 35.5. There are eight women on the list, including four self-made billionaires.

Her son's death was not in vain Posted: 24 May 2012 10:32 AM PDT A MOTHER who donated her brain-dead son's organs to help five strangers has been praised for her selflessness. Yuan Dezhen, a 40-year-old migrant worker from Shenzhen, has lived in the city's northern Longgang district with her family of five since 2006. Yuan's husband and her youngest son, 11-year-old Tian Gan, were seriously injured in a car accident on January 6 this year. Her husband died in February and her son was declared brain-dead not long after, relying on a respirator and medication to sustain his life. Yuan took the agonizing decision to take her son off life support and donate his organs on May 9. His body was transferred to the provincial capital of Guangzhou, where his liver, pancreas and small intestine were given to Zhang, a 53-year-old diabetic and liver cancer patient. Tian's kidneys were given to two female patients aged 38 and 68, while the boy's corneas brought sight to another two patients. "Previously, life was a gamble for me. I did not expect the surgery to be such a success. There are no words for me to express my gratitude and respect for Yuan," Zhang said. The mother's donation also touched the hearts of millions of Chinese online. "Your selflessness has saved more sufferers. Your son is an angel. May he find peace in heaven," wrote microblogger "3 sheshidu." "In spite of her grief, this mother donated her son's organs to save others. She showed us the greatness of maternity," said "haijiaotianya." Yuan said it pained her greatly to see her son on the respirator. She slept just two or three hours a day while he was in the hospital, praying for a miracle. "But after four months passed, I had to face his fate," she said. "I felt that if his organs could save just one person, his life could be extended." Gao Min, an organ donation coordinator with the Shenzhen Red Cross Society, said: "It is impossible to imagine how hard it would be for a mother to make such a decision." After the transplant operations were carried out in Guangzhou, Tian's body was sent back to Shenzhen. Yuan chose to donate his body as well, giving it to the Medical School of Shenzhen University for educational and research purposes. "Yuan's decision to donate her son's organs is worthy of our respect," said He Xiaoshun, vice president of the No. 1 Hospital affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University. He was in charge of the transplant operations. He said the number of organ donations rarely met demand.

Confucius Institutes hit with visa ban in US Posted: 24 May 2012 10:09 AM PDT Chinese academics with a J-1 visa and teaching at Confucius Institutes in the United States will have to leave the country by June 30 as the State Department has said their visas won't be extended. China's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Chinese authorities are communicating with US officials for a proper solution to the issue. Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news briefing that China hopes programs won't suffer because of the policy. In a policy directive issued on May 17, the State Department said it was reviewing the credentials of Confucius Institutes which are university-based, Chinese-sponsored language and cultural centers, and said that these institutes should gain certification from the US government before carrying out teaching activities in American universities. However, the directive did not say where certification could be obtained. Similar cultural establishments such as Germany's Goethe Institute and France's Alliance Francaise don't have to apply for certification, yesterday's People's Daily reported. Officials at the Confucius Institutes in the University of Maryland and George Mason University said they were bewildered by the decision and were communicating with authorities regarding certification. The Confucius Institute, named after the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551-479 BC), is a nonprofit institution aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture in foreign countries. There are more than 350 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms around the world. These include 81 institutes and 299 classrooms in 48 states of the US. An official at the Confucius Institute headquarters said the directive could harm the Sino-US friendship, Xinhua news agency reported. The official said all of its centers around the world, including those on American campuses, were voluntarily requested by foreign partners, approved by the headquarters and jointly operated with Chinese colleges. The Chinese teachers were carefully selected and trained by both sides in an effort to help American elementary and secondary school students learn Mandarin and understand Chinese culture, the official said. The People's Daily said that presidents of several American universities were upset by the new policy which they felt was a violation of their rights to carry out teaching activities. Several Chinese universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China Normal University and Shanghai Normal University, have collaborated with US colleges to establish Confucius Institutes. "This will affect Chinese language teaching in the United States,'' Liu Jianxin, an official with Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of International Education, told Shanghai Daily. Liu said the university would be calling back all its teachers and student volunteers by the end of next month, a date that coincides with the end of the current semester. The university has established Confucius Institutes with two US universities, one of which has temporarily suspended the admission of teachers from SJTU. Sun Yi, an official at East China Normal University's foreign affairs office, said she learnt the news from the media and would be discussing the situation with university leaders to find a solution. The university has established five Confucius Institutes. No one at Shanghai Normal University was available for comment yesterday.

Soy sauce producer in cancer scare probe Posted: 24 May 2012 10:09 AM PDT A condiment producer in a south China city is being investigated over claims it used illegal industrial salt, which can cause cancer, in its soy sauce to cut costs. The Weiji Food Seasonings Co Ltd in Foshan, Guangdong Province, produced 90 boxes of mushroom soy sauce using industrial salt, with 65 boxes already on the market, authorities said. Each box contains 12 bottles. They said the company had bought 3 tons of industrial salt and mixed it into about 26 tons of water. Some of the water was used to produce the 90 boxes of soy sauce, they said. Industrial salt contains excessive heavy metals and can cause cancer, but Foshan food safety officials said the seized products had been tested and met quality standards. "Perhaps the industrial salt is not a major ingredient, that's why the soy sauce still measured up to standard. But the company's practice is unquestionably illegal," an official said at a press conference on Wednesday. The scare caused problems for one of China's leading manufacturers - Foshan Haday Flavoring & Food Co Ltd - because some of its products are branded "Weiji," which means "superior." At the press conference organized by the Foshan Industrial and Commercial Administration, Haday stressed that it had no connection with the industrial salt investigation. "We never commissioned Weiji to produce any products. All the salt we use in our products is edible and refined," Haday said in a statement yesterday. It began producing its "Weiji" series of products, which include light soy source and mature vinegar, in 1994, a company official said. The Weiji company was registered four years later and wasn't allowed to use the name on its products, he said. He believed the company had chosen its name to trade on Haday's reputation for superior products. The Nanfang Daily reported that the products at the center of the investigation were branded "Weiding" and sold in Yangjiang in Guangdong. Shanghai industrial and commercial authorities said the soy sauce in question was not available locally. "If these sauces are found in Shanghai, they will be removed from shelves," said Zhang Yusong, an official with the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau.

482 held in telecom scam bust Posted: 24 May 2012 10:05 AM PDT A TOTAL of 482 people suspected of being involved in a major transnational telecom scam were seized by law enforcement officials from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on Wednesday with the help of police in six countries. Of the suspects, 177 are from the Chinese mainland and 286 from Taiwan, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday. The other 19 suspects are from Thailand and Myanmar. They are suspected of having stolen more than 73 million yuan (US$11.5 million) in 510 cases of telecom fraud, all of which took place in the Chinese mainland, the ministry said. The suspects were spread throughout the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, as well as six other countries - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Fiji - and had established money-laundering dens in Taiwan and Thailand, it said. The ministry said that 126 suspects from the Chinese mainland were escorted from Thailand and Malaysia to Beijing yesterday for further questioning. Of the 286 Taiwanese suspects, 262 were taken back to Taiwan. The ministry launched its investigation in November 2011 and invited the cooperation of police from Taiwan. Earlier this month, the ministry sent six groups composed of 70 Chinese police officers to the six countries for further investigations. The group was busted on Wednesday with the help of law enforcement agencies in those six countries, the ministry said. "The group mainly squeezed money from individuals or companies by calling them in the name of police or prosecutors and threatening to accuse them of money-laundering crimes," said Liu Ancheng, deputy director of the ministry's Criminal Investigation Bureau. They asked victims to transfer money into the group's accounts and then told accomplices in Taiwan and Thailand to withdraw the money from local ATMs. Liu said the Taiwanese suspects comprised the majority of the group, distinguishing it from most cases in the mainland. "Ringleaders from Taiwan were deterred by mainland police's stern crackdown on telecom scams, so they recruited locals in Taiwan to commit this crime," Liu said. The ministry said it regarded the coordinated crackdown on the telecom scam as a new example of transnational police cooperation, adding that China's law enforcement departments were always confident in, and capable of, safeguarding the security of people's property. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Yibin names new airport after 'Wuliangye' liquor Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT A southwestern Chinese city is going to name its new airport after a premium liquor brand, triggering a controversy about product placement and fees for naming rights. The airport in Yibin, a city in Sichuan Province will be moved to the northwestern part of city and take the name "Wuliangye," one of the two Chinese top distilled liquors, which is made in Yibin. It is the first Chinese airport to be named after an enterprise but not the only one. An airport in neighboring Guizhou Province, where construction also will start this year, will be denominated "Kweichow Moutai," Wuliangye's main rival and China's biggest liquor maker. The Yibin project has been approved by the State Council and will take three years to complete, Xie Jie, deputy mayor of the city, has said. Officials said the agreement would publicize both Yibin and Wuliangye, and boost local economic development. But according to a survey on Weibo, nearly 67 percent agreed that "It is nonsense." Others came up with names linking other airports with local specialties: Shanghai White Rabbit Creamy Candy Airport, Tianjin Goubuli Stuffed Buns Airport, Beijing Quanjude Ducks Airport and Qingdao Beer Airport. Some thought Wuliangye's makers may have paid a large sum to get naming rights, but authorities did not say.

Illegal Vietnamese workers found in Anhui Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT THIRTY-NINE Vietnamese illegally living and working in Anhui Province have been transferred to border defense authorities, local authorities said yesterday. This month, police found the illegal migrants working at Xiecheng Metal Products Co Ltd in the city of Wuhu, said Hu Changyin, in charge of foreign affairs with the city's public security bureau. The 39, including two women, were introduced by a job agent to the company to manufacture molds, Hu said. The public security bureau detained the Vietnamese, most of them born after 1990. They were transferred to the Dongxing port border defense checkpoint in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the Vietnamese border, Hu said, after the case was reported to the Ministry of Public Security. The company's chief executive has been detained by local police, he added. In recent years, agents have drawn labor from neighboring countries to work illegally in China as wages have risen for local workers, said Hu. The illegal labor puts social stability at risk, he said. A month ago, Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning vowed to crack down on foreigners illegally entering, living or working in China. Yang announced the move in a report on the entry-exit administration, residence and employment of foreigners to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislative body. Yang said measures will include improving visa policy, strengthening border control, repatriating illegal aliens and setting up repatriation locations in areas with large numbers of such foreigners. He said illegal workers, often from nearby countries, typically find jobs in language training, housekeeping and other labor-intensive industries. Beijing on May 15 launched a high-profile crackdown on foreigners illegally entering, residing or working in the city in order to maintain public safety, officials said.

Children can't enroll if parents own smaller flat Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT A POLICY at one kindergarten requiring non-local parents to have an apartment of at least 80 square meters before their children are eligible to enroll has stirred controversy in Foshan City of Guangdong Province. Officials at the public kindergarten and local education authorities said the policy is meant to "make sure they can meet the demands of non-locals who can afford 80-square-meter apartments," the Beijing News reported. Liang Yongbo, a man who lives in Foshan but doesn't hold his Hukou, or permanent residency, in the city complained that his son cannot be enrolled at the Huangqi Central Kindergarten because he has an apartment of only 79 square meters. Some non-locals complained that the policy is obviously discriminatory, especially toward those who cannot afford such a big apartment. The headmaster of the kindergarten, Liang Wanyun, said the policy was based on another regulation that says non-locals must purchase an apartment of at least 80 square meters before their children are eligible for free education in the city. Luo Liying, an official with Dali Town Education Bureau, said that the new policy is being used for only the one kindergarten for now as part of a pilot project. It may be applied at all the 83 kindergartens in the city if it proves to be good, Luo said. She said the new policy actually gives non-locals a fair chance of enrolling because otherwise, non-local children might not have any chance to get in. There is not even enough room for local children, she said. Luo denied that the policy was made to stimulate the real estate market in the city, noting that the policy on apartment sizes was issued in Foshan as early as 2008.

No 'anti-foreigner trend' Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT FOREIGN Ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday said there was no "anti-foreigner trend" in China. "The Chinese government welcomes foreigners from all walks of life to come to China, and will offer various conveniences for their living and working, and protect their legitimate rights and interests," Hong said.

VIDEO: Ancient snuff bottles to be auctioned Posted: 24 May 2012 10:49 AM PDT Hundreds of centuries-old snuff bottles are to be auctioned in Hong Kong.

FTSE CLOSE: Market boosted by positive comments from Van Rompuy; UK GDP down 0.3% Posted: 24 May 2012 09:23 AM PDT European shares defied the latest economic gloom today as investors jumped back into the market on the hope of picking up cheap-looking stocks.