News » China » China refutes U.S. official's criticism of human rights situation

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• China refutes U.S. official's criticism of human rights situation
• Free surgery for Tibetan children with clefts
• Rain-triggered disasters kills 5 in N China
• Death map pinpoints 'unusually profound lessons'
• Snapshots of China's dinosaur hometown
• Tax-free shopping hot on Chinese resort island
• <font color="red">Live webcast:</font> London Olympic opening ceremony
• China expresses "grave concern" on Japanese PM's remarks on Diaoyu Islands
• China Voice: Hu's speech hints China will stick to its own path
• China: 'grave concern' over Diaoyu remarks
• China to tighten security ahead of Party congress
• China's free cancer screening program to benefit more rural women
• Olympic opening ceremony will be full of surprises
• German media accuse Dalai Lama of hyprocrisy
• German media accuse Dalai Lama of hyprocrisy
• Beijing city leaders mourn flood victims
• Beijing reflects on emergency management after rain disaster
• Xinhua photos on China exhibited in Budapest
• Hu meets astronauts, scientists of manned space docking
• Two die in Yunnan rainstorm

China refutes U.S. official's criticism of human rights situation Posted: 27 Jul 2012 10:49 AM PDT China on Friday refuted criticism on its human rights situation from a U.S. State Department official, urging the country to focus more on its own human rights improvement.

Free surgery for Tibetan children with clefts Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:39 AM PDT Updated: 2012-07-27 21:59 ( Xinhua) LHASA - A US-based non-profit organization has teamed up with Chinese local health bureaus to provide free cleft lip and palate surgeries to 100 Tibetan children every year from 2012, health officials said. The children will take a train from Tibet autonomous region to central province of Hunan for the surgery. The costs of screening in Tibet, surgery in Hunan and transporting the children and their parents are all covered in the program initiated by New York-based Smile Train, officials with Tibet's health bureau said. The first group of 17 Tibetan children born with clefts left for Hunan Pediatric Hospital by train on Friday, the officials said, adding that few such patients in Tibet had been treated before due to the region's rough environment, poor medical conditions and the lack of health knowledge among parents in some remote areas. Cleft lips and palates are a major problem in developing countries. People born with such issues mostly cannot eat or speak properly. They face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. Their clefts usually go untreated because they are poor, Smile Train says on its website. Related Stories Free healthcare for China's rural children 2012-07-19 11:30 Air China glitch offers free tickets 2012-07-13 11:32 Free lunch program to shift plans 2012-07-12 21:49 Guangzhou doctors offer free surgeries 2012-07-12 07:32

Rain-triggered disasters kills 5 in N China Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:39 AM PDT Updated: 2012-07-27 21:57 ( Xinhua) TAIYUAN - Five people are dead and another three remain missing following a rainstorm that battered a county in north China's Shanxi province from Thursday to Friday, local authorities said. Thirteen townships in Linxian county in the city of Luliang have been affected by the heavy rains as of Thursday. Five of the townships were seriously affected, with maximum precipitation reaching 197 mm, according to the county's publicity office. The nearby Hukou Waterfall scenic areas has been closed to visitors in anticipation of the largest flood peak to hit the Yellow River since 1989, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said. Rainstorms also pelted neighboring Hebei province on Thursday, leaving one person dead and another three missing in the city of Wu'an, according to the city's civil affairs department. Related Stories 32 dead, 20 missing in Hebei after rainstorms 2012-07-26 17:35 Rain damages Beijing's cultural heritage 2012-07-26 17:20 Rain cuts off Beijing-Baotou rail traffic 2012-07-26 10:15 Man who rescued 170 relives horror night 2012-07-26 07:35 Netizens brainstorm on rainstorm survival skills 2012-07-25 22:05 Death toll rises to 31 in Hebei after rainstorms 2012-07-25 19:37

Death map pinpoints 'unusually profound lessons' Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:39 AM PDT BEIJING - A map pinpointing the locations of the 77 people who died in Beijing's worst downpours in six decades has brought the Beijing municipal government into the spotlight, rekindling public concerns over the flaws eclipsed by the country's decades of explosive economic growth. The map, posted by the municipal government on its official Sina Weibo account, Beijing Release, on Thursday night, shows that most of the victims were from suburban Fangshan district, located about 30 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing. Of the 61 victims whose identities have been confirmed, 38 were from Fangshan district, six from Chaoyang district and five from Fengtai and Shijingshan districts, respectively. The other seven victims were from five other districts, according to the map. The post had been forwarded over 10,000 times by Friday evening. Dubbed the "death map," it has become an ironic kind of guide for grieving netizens and the media and offers insights into how the disaster could have caused so many deaths. Fangshan received the most rainfall, with precipitation in one township reaching 470 mm, compared to the average of 170 mm recorded across Beijing. Moreover, the downpours triggered flooding and landslides in mountainous areas of the district, leveling more than 8,000 houses and inflicting direct economic losses of about 6.1 billion yuan ($968 million), according the city's flood control office. Urban/rural gap The map reveals another bleak reality. Despite being a short distance from the downtown Beijing, Fangshan district has long been overshadowed by the glamorous development taking off in Beijing. The tremendous gap in economic development between Beijing's downtown and suburban areas is a microcosm of China's unbalanced development between the country's prosperous eastern regions and western hinterlands. While much investment has been injected into skyscrapers, theaters and other shining facilities downtown, infrastructure in agriculture-oriented Fangshan has been left largely unattended. More importantly, flood discharge facilities like rivers and reservoirs in the district have not usually been protected and have, therefore, not retained their designed capacities. At Nanhanji village in Fangshan district, sludge as thick as 20 cm  remained inside many homes nearly a week after the downpours. Sun Guo, the village governor, told Xinhua that a nearby quarry often dumps debris to the Jiakuo River, which is meant to be used as a flood discharge channel. "The blocking of the river by debris and garbage aggravated flooding in our village," Sun said. Four villagers failed to escape and drowned in waters as much as four meters deep on the night of the downpours, Sun said. Also on that night, about 350 students were trapped inside a training school in the district. The students were eventually brought to safety by firefighters, but an investigation revealed that the school was built on what had once been a flood discharge channel. Guo Jinlong, Beijing's Party chief, and other top officials on Friday mourned the victims during a field trip to Fangshan district. Guo said the disaster taught "usually profound lessons" and exposed many loopholes in urban planning, construction, infrastructure and emergency management. "We must seriously reflect on the lessons and always bear them in mind," Guo said. Outmoded drainage network downtown The rainstorm also left a dozen dead, mostly due to drowning, in the more developed downtown areas, the map shows. The capital city's drainage networks have received most of the blame for the flooding that inundated many of the city's roads, with water in some lower sections as deep as six meters. "The victims would have probably never imagined that rain could claim their lives in the capital city," Weibo user "xiaricha" wrote. "Could the disaster lead to an improvement on China's drainage networks?" "xiaricha" wondered. Fast urbanization resulting in vast networks of cement roads and the elimination of greenbelts has crippled the city's ability to cope with heavy rains that could otherwise be absorbed underground. Wang Hao, an expert with the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, said more than 80 percent of Beijing's roads are covered in impermeable materials such as concrete and asphalt, hindering the absorption of rainwater. Meanwhile, the upgrading and expansion of drainage networks lags far behind the development of above-ground construction, experts say. In July 2004, a heavy downpour triggered similar flooding, submerging buses at the Lianhuaqiao overpass. Eight years later, no improvements appear to have been made at the location, as it was severely affected by rising water. "More than six decades after the People's Republic of China was founded, many of Beijing's sewers remain unchanged and some can even be traced back to the Ming and Qing dynasties," said Li Yuhong, an expert with the Association of Beijing Water Resources. Li said Beijing's drainage networks are in urgent need of renovation. "Can't we upgrade the networks in the manner that we build sprawling subway systems?" In May this year, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning laid out a plan to beef up design standards for rainwater pipelines in order to cope with heavy rainfalls. This year, the city government will upgrade drainage systems, including building underground reservoirs and installing pumps, in 50 locations prone to deluges, according to a government plan.

Snapshots of China's dinosaur hometown Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:39 AM PDT The picture shows the monument of the Dinosaur National Geology Park in Jiayin county, Northeast of China's Heilongjiang province, on July 27. This is the first place where dinosaur fossils were found in China. Jiayin county is called China's dinosaur hometown. [Photo by Wang Hui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Tax-free shopping hot on Chinese resort island Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:39 AM PDT Updated: 2012-07-27 21:41 ( Xinhua) HAIKOU - Stores established on South China's tropical island province of Hainan as part of a pilot duty-free program saw business continue to boom this year. More than 585,000 people shopped at the province's two duty-free stores in the first half of this year, taking home goods worth 1.19 billion yuan ($189 million), the customs office of the provincial capital of Haikou said in a Friday statement. Sales increased by 55.5 percent and the number of customers went up by 54.8 percent compared with the latter half of last year, the statement said. Sales at the duty-free store in Haikou stood at 190 million yuan, while the second store, located in the city of Sanya, raked in 996 million yuan, it said. Cosmetics, watches, bags and perfume accounted for 80.5 percent of total sales revenues, the statement said. China launched a pilot program in April to allow tourists and locals in Hainan to enjoy duty exemptions and tax refunds on certain imported products worth less than 5,000 yuan before flying to other destinations in China. The move is part of efforts to lure more people to the tropical island and build it into an international tourism destination by 2020. Related Stories More duty-free stores planned in Hainan 2012-04-03 08:08

<font color="red">Live webcast:</font> London Olympic opening ceremony Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:50 AM PDT London Olympic Games is unveiled at  9 p.m. and China.org.cn provides a minute-by-minute coverage of the opening ceremony. • Live video: Olympic opening ceremony • Forecast: China's gold standard bearers • Backgrounder: Schedule | Team China  • Full coverage: London Olympic Games | Photo gallery

China expresses "grave concern" on Japanese PM's remarks on Diaoyu Islands Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:33 AM PDT BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday expressed China's "grave concern" and "strong displeasure" over the "highly irresponsible remarks" made by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda regarding the Diaoyu Islands.

China Voice: Hu's speech hints China will stick to its own path Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:33 AM PDT Over the past hundred odd years, the road the Chinese people have taken has resulted in the independence and rejuvenation of the nation as well as the liberation of the people.

China: 'grave concern' over Diaoyu remarks Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:20 AM PDT A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday expressed China's "grave concern" and "strong displeasure" over the "highly irresponsible remarks" made by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda regarding the Diaoyu Islands.

China to tighten security ahead of Party congress Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:47 AM PDT China will "tamper down and consolidate" a security belt in Beijing before the city hosts a crucial Communist Party of China congress during which a new generation of leaders will be elected.

China's free cancer screening program to benefit more rural women Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:33 AM PDT A program that includes free cervical and breast cancer screenings will be offered to more rural women over the next three years, according to a statement issued Friday after a national conference concerning the program.

Olympic opening ceremony will be full of surprises Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:22 AM PDT The best kept secret of the London Olympic Games at the moment is what the opening ceremony will be like. Please stay with us for our live coverage of the opening ceremony. • China's gold standard bearers • Full coverage: London Olympic Games

German media accuse Dalai Lama of hyprocrisy Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:22 AM PDT The German media cast increasing doubts and queries over the so-called "neutral altitude" by the Dalai Lama towards the frenetic self-immolation by fire, accusing him of actually giving acquiescence to those inhumane extremist behaviors and ignore their lives.

German media accuse Dalai Lama of hyprocrisy Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:08 AM PDT The German media cast increasing doubts and queries over the so-called "neutral altitude" by the Dalai Lama towards the frenetic self-immolation by fire, accusing him of actually giving acquiescence to those inhumane extremist behaviors and ignore their lives.

Beijing city leaders mourn flood victims Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:32 AM PDT Beijing city leaders led by Party chief Guo Jinlong and acting mayor Wang Anshun mourned victims killed in the July 21 downpour, when inspecting the disaster relief work in Fangshan District Friday morning.

Beijing reflects on emergency management after rain disaster Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:05 AM PDT Beijing's top official said Friday the disastrous rainstorm exposed many loopholes in urban planning, construction, infrastructure and emergency management.

Xinhua photos on China exhibited in Budapest Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:19 PM PDT A "Xinhua Gallery" photo exhibition, organized by China's Xinhua News Agency, opened here on Thursday to give Hungarians a closer look at China.

Hu meets astronauts, scientists of manned space docking Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:19 PM PDT BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met Friday morning with astronauts, space scientists and engineers of the manned space docking mission, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Two die in Yunnan rainstorm Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:24 AM PDT Updated: 2012-07-27 16:12 ( Xinhua) KUNMING - Two people were confirmed dead after downpours battered a plateau region in Southwest China's Yunnan province, the local flood control authority said Friday. The flood control office in Deqin county, sitting 3,300 meters above sea level, confirmed that one person was killed after his home was toppled by a landslide and another was killed by a falling bridge after it was hit by a flash flood. A spokesman with the office said the rain had damaged homes of 542 villagers and brought traffic to a halt. Police and soldiers have been sent to assist in the rescue work. The county is located 800 km from the provincial capital of Kunming. The local observatory forecast that thundershowers and hail will continue in the region over the weekend. Related Stories Downpour bypasses Beijing, batters Tianjin 2012-07-26 15:37 Netizens, municipality make maps of flooding 2012-07-26 08:00 More funding urged to fight floods, droughts 2012-07-25 13:57 Beijing expressway resumed after floods 2012-07-24 16:33

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