News » China » Flash flood leaves 5 dead, 1 missing in NW China

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• Flash flood leaves 5 dead, 1 missing in NW China
• Chinese mainland Olympic champions wow crowd at HK Stadium
• East China on guard against dual typhoons
• China calls for new-type military relationship with US
• China opposes application of U.S.-Japan security treaty to Diaoyu Islands
• Premier urges efforts to stabilize export growth
• Canadian mayor reaches out to Chinese people via Weibo
• 15 mainland tourists injured in Taiwan remain in hospital
• 37 suspects sent back from Angola to China
• PBOC eyes expanded property tax trial
• Chinese more willing to keep foreign currencies
• Low-altitude airspace to open up across China
• 15 mainland tourists injured in Taiwan remain in hospital
• Child swimmer's death raises concerns over pool safety
• 39,700 fishing boats recalled as SE China braces for dual typhoons
• China willing to promote military ties with U.S.: senior army officer
• Typhoon Bolaven to affect E China
• Watchdog warns problems of counterfeit medicines
• Boats recalled as SE China braces for typhoons
• Mixed response to school dorm plan

Flash flood leaves 5 dead, 1 missing in NW China Posted: 25 Aug 2012 10:17 AM PDT Five people were found dead and one remained missing after a flash flood washed away nine people in Nrthwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region Saturday noon, local authorities said.

Chinese mainland Olympic champions wow crowd at HK Stadium Posted: 25 Aug 2012 10:13 AM PDT Visiting delegation of Chinese mainland London Olympics' gold medalists met the public at Hong Kong Stadium Saturday, heating up the crowd with warm greetings and wonderful performances.

East China on guard against dual typhoons Posted: 25 Aug 2012 10:13 AM PDT East China's Zhejiang Province is on high alert as two typhoons are scheduled to attack starting on Sunday.

China calls for new-type military relationship with US Posted: 25 Aug 2012 09:59 AM PDT A visiting high-ranking Chinese Army officer on Friday stressed the importance of developing a new type of military-to-military relationship with the United States, so to boost pragmatic cooperation in various spheres.

China opposes application of U.S.-Japan security treaty to Diaoyu Islands Posted: 25 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT China strongly opposes any application of the U.S.-Japan security treaty to China's Diaoyu Islands, a visiting senior Chinese military official told his U.S. colleagues here on Friday.

Premier urges efforts to stabilize export growth Posted: 25 Aug 2012 06:57 AM PDT Premier Wen Jiabao said China should carry out targeted efforts to steady export growth so the country can hopefully meet this year's economic and social development goals.

Canadian mayor reaches out to Chinese people via Weibo Posted: 25 Aug 2012 03:06 AM PDT A Canadian mayor who can't read or write Chinese has found an unlikely way to reach out to the Chinese people.

15 mainland tourists injured in Taiwan remain in hospital Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:57 AM PDT Fifteen of the 24 mainland tourists injured in a road accident in the Taiwan city of Chiayi are still under hospital observation, the island's tourism authorities said Saturday.

37 suspects sent back from Angola to China Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:22 AM PDT A total of 37 suspects involved in violent crimes targeting Chinese in Angola of west Africa were sent back to China under police escort Saturday.

PBOC eyes expanded property tax trial Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:26 AM PDT China should expand the trial of a property tax to replace home-purchase curbs as the government continues to battle runaway property prices, the central bank said yesterday.

Chinese more willing to keep foreign currencies Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:26 AM PDT Chinese people were more willing to keep foreign currencies and sell their yuan-denominated assets in July, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has indicated.

Low-altitude airspace to open up across China Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:26 AM PDT China will relax a ban on the use of low-altitude airspace across the country starting 2013, air traffic authorities said Thursday.

15 mainland tourists injured in Taiwan remain in hospital Posted: 25 Aug 2012 01:19 AM PDT Fifteen of the 24 mainland tourists injured in a road accident in the Taiwan city of Chiayi are still under hospital observation, the island's tourism authorities said Saturday.

Child swimmer's death raises concerns over pool safety Posted: 25 Aug 2012 01:39 AM PDT An investigatory team on Friday said that dereliction of duty on the part of swimming class instructors was to blame for the Tuesday drowning death of a boy in Shanghai.

39,700 fishing boats recalled as SE China braces for dual typhoons Posted: 24 Aug 2012 09:54 PM PDT All 39,649 fishing boats in southeast China's Fujian Province have been recalled to ports as local authorities are bracing for two forthcoming typhoons.

China willing to promote military ties with U.S.: senior army officer Posted: 24 Aug 2012 08:50 PM PDT China is willing to work with the United Statesto properly handle their differences and promote stable and sound development of military-to-military ties, says a senior Chinese military officer.

Typhoon Bolaven to affect E China Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:29 AM PDT Updated: 2012-08-25 13:52 ( Xinhua) BEIJING - Typhoon Bolaven is expected to enter the East China Sea on Sunday bringing gales to eastern coastal areas, the meteorological authority forecast Saturday. Bolaven, the 15th tropical storm of the year, was located over the northwest Pacific Ocean at 5 am on Saturday, 1,250 km southeast of coastal Zhejiang province. It was heading northwest at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour, the National Meteorological Center said. The year's 14th typhoon, Tembin, which stayed 200 km southeast of the coastal juncture area between Guangdong and Fujian provinces early Saturday, will move southwest and linger in northeastern areas of the South China Sea over the next two days, the center said. From Sunday to Monday, moderate and heavy rains are likely to hit the central and western parts of regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, as well as southeastern part of North China, with some areas seeing rainstorms, it added. Related Stories Interaction may strengthen typhoons 2012-08-25 07:55 Typhoon alert remains high in east China 2012-08-25 07:08 Typhoon Tembin lands on Taiwan 2012-08-24 18:24 Warnings as dual typhoons close in 2012-08-24 15:32 Two typhoons to hit coastal areas 2012-08-23 08:08

Watchdog warns problems of counterfeit medicines Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:29 AM PDT Updated: 2012-08-25 13:34 ( Xinhua) BEIJING - A senior drug safety supervisor warned that China faces a severe situation of cracking down upon counterfeit medicines. An increasing number of offences have occurred in the production and distribution of traditional Chinese medicines, said Yin Li, director of the State Food and Drug Administration, in a statement issued on the SFDA official website Friday. Also, more and more offenders sell counterfeit medicines through Internet, Yin said. In the latter half of this year, the SFDA will step up joint actions with other law enforcement agencies and government departments to curb counterfeit medicines, he said. Efforts will be made to improve the coordination among drug safety agencies from different regions as well as cooperation between the government and enterprises, he said. In addition, the SFDA will start an inspection on the production of medicines listed as the national essential medicines in the next four months. Related Stories 15 arrested for making, selling fake medicine 2012-08-07 21:19 Major crackdown in fake medicine scam 2012-08-06 10:12 76 officials punished in medicine capsule scandal 2012-08-03 22:17

Boats recalled as SE China braces for typhoons Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:29 AM PDT FUZHOU - All 39,649 fishing boats in Southeast China's Fujian province have been recalled to ports as local authorities are bracing for two forthcoming typhoons. The fishing boats are banned from going out to sea before the typhoon alert is lifted, said the provincial flood control office in a press release Saturday. Meanwhile, 23,659 local aquatic farm workers have been relocated to take shelter from high waves, heavy winds and downpours the typhoons would bring, the office said. Authorities are also sending out inspectors to reservoirs and sea dykes, especially those under construction, to monitor if there are any dangers. Direct passenger ferry services from Fujian's Pingtan and Mawei to Taiwan were suspended for days around the weekends. Tembin, the 14th typhoon of this year, was located at 22.4 north latitude and 118.5 east longitude over the Taiwan Strait at 6 am Saturday, packing winds of up to 36.9 meters per second at its center and moving southwest at 8 km per hour. Tembin struck southern Taiwan Friday, toppling trees, overturning vehicles and dumping rains that swelled rivers and flooded homes and farmlands. Bolaven, the 15th typhoon that upgraded to a strong typhoon Friday, is still gaining force while moving northwest at a speed of 15 km per hour. It is expected to upgrade further to a super typhoon and enter the East China Sea on Sunday night, according to the meteorological center of Zhejiang province. Bolaven was 1,215 km southeast of Xiangshan, Zhejiang, at 8 am Saturday, packing winds of 48 meters per second at its center, the agency said. The typhoon is expected to bring strong gales and heavy downpours to Zhejiang's central and northern coast and Zhoushan Islands from Sunday to Tuesday. The authorities have ordered fishing boats to take shelters at ports and vegetable greenhouses, aquatic farms and construction sites to brace for strong gales. Earlier this month, dual-typhoons "Damrey" and "Saola" left eight people dead and forced the evacuation of about 1.3 million residents in the coastal regions as of Aug 5.

Mixed response to school dorm plan Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:29 AM PDT Principals from rural primary schools and educational experts have expressed mixed opinions on the building of dormitories for students who live far from their schools, at a forum held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. Teacher Chu Xiuzhen asks pupils to go to sleep in a dormitory at Madian Primary School in mountainous Jinzhai county, Anhui province, in April. The school's dormitory accommodates 19 students. [Photo by Liu Junxi/Xinhua] Most of the 54 principals from the poverty-stricken areas in eight provinces, including Yunnan and Guizhou, visited Beijing for the first time. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation sponsored the principals' attendance on a three-day study tour in the capital city. Duan Yingbi, head of the charitable organization, said his foundation had raised about 36.68 million yuan ($5.77 million) to help rural primary schools build new dormitories by the end of July. Duan said the demand for boarding schools has become increasingly urgent in mountainous and remote areas after the educational authorities have been shutting down small village primary schools since the 1990s, forcing many students to walk long distances in order to receive an education. The trend of closing schools in villages is due to shrinking numbers of students in rural areas as large numbers of migrant workers take their children to China's cities, Duan said. About 279,000 primary schools in rural areas had been shut down from 1997 to 2009, China Youth Daily has reported, citing statistics from the Ministry of Education. The foundation also found that although some rural primary schools provided dormitories for students who lived far away from the school, the conditions of the rooms were usually poor and many had potential safety hazards. It is estimated that some 15,600 primary schools in China's vast rural areas are in need of dormitories for their students, according to the statistics released by the foundation on Friday. An Jianrong, an official from the foundation, said the charitable project, Building Nests Action, that launched last year will house about 5,880 pupils in 49 rural primary schools in new dormitories by the end of this year. Long Anzhong, principal of Gaopa Primary School in Rongjiang county in Guizhou, said some of his students take a three hour round trip on bumpy roads to travel from school to home and the situation can be dangerous in bad weather. "Having dormitories will be very good news for our students," said Yao Yanqin, another primary school's principal in Guizhou's Hezhang county, explaining that many of her students will no longer need to wake up at 5 am to rush to school. "In our county, older students to take the younger children from the same village to kindergarten, so what really bothers me is that when those older children live in dormitories, who can send their younger siblings and friends to kindergarten?" she said. Cheng Tiesheng, vice-president of Heren Charity Foundation that donated 10 million yuan to the project, has concerns about how the experience of boarding school will affect pupils' psychological health. "Primary school students are usually aged from six to 14, and for them, receiving love and care from their parents and family is vital for their development, so I am worried about the negative effect on children once they are separated from their families and live at school," he said. Kang Jian, a retired professor from Peking University's Graduation School of Education, echoed Cheng's remarks and added that allowing young students to live in dormitories will increase the workload of teachers and influence the quality of teaching. He also stressed that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It should be flexible and take every child's specific needs into consideration when deciding whether he or she should live in a school dormitory or not, he said. The Ministry of Education adjusted its policies in terms of shutting down schools in rural areas in late July. The new guidance stipulates that local educational authorities should ensure that students in primary and junior high can reach school within 40 minutes either by walking or traveling by school bus. hedan@chinadaily.com.cn

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