News » China » Senior CPC official back home from South Asian tour

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• Senior CPC official back home from South Asian tour
• Ex-security officials to try easing tensions
• Security won't hinder daily life, Party official says
• Drone bases will monitor seacoasts
• Cold front brings rain, chill
• Director claims film producers trying to profit from island row
• Marine stations to go on bay-watch duty
• Senior CPC leader meets Bangladeshi PM on ties
• Senior CPC leader vows to deepen ties with Bangladesh
• Chinese rescuers to reach burned Chinese cargo ship
• Chinese vice premier urges structural upgrades via taxation reforms
• Anti-austerity marches take place in London
• Vice Premier urges more taxation reforms
• Top seeds see shock exit from Denmark Open
• Obama, Romney preparing for last presidential debate
• China plans to improve social services for retired officers
• Postgrads double in a decade, triggering quality concerns
• All Chinese crew saved after ship fire near sea off Japan's Okinawa
• 4.6-magnitude earthquake jolts northwest China
• All Chinese crew saved after ship fire off Okinawa

Senior CPC official back home from South Asian tour Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:49 AM PDT Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, flew back to Beijing Sunday night after his official good-will visits to Pakistan, the Maldives and Bangladesh.

Ex-security officials to try easing tensions Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT US group to encourage China-Japan talks over Diaoyu Islands row A group of former national security officials from the United States are expected, in a semi-official visit, to try to defuse tensions between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands. The group, led by former US deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage, started the trip on Saturday and will meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday and Chinese senior officials on Tuesday, Japan's Jiji Press News Agency said. Analysts said the visit may help ease the tensions that have arisen between China and Japan and make it easier for the countries to enter dialogues, adding that the US is expected to "do what it says it would do". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has endorsed the Armitage visit and given it quasi-official status, the New York Times said. The newspaper quoted a member of the group as saying there are no plans to put a specific proposal before the Chinese and Japanese, but that the group is prepared to discuss a variety of possibilities. Japan's Kyodo News Agency said the visit seeks to avoid long-term confrontation between China and Japan, and the US is expected to take steps to warm the countries' relations. Tensions have soared since the Japanese government completed an illegal "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands in mid-September. The US has declined to take a position in the dispute but has said the Diaoyu Islands fall under the US-Japan security treaty, a contention that has drawn objections from China. The US stance on the Diaoyu Islands is related to its "pivot to Asia" strategy and its aim, as China's influence becomes greater, to strike a new balance of regional power in East Asia, said Shen Dingli, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. But the continued tensions, especially with the US posing a greater military threat, will only damage the foundation the US stands on in trying to maintain order in the Asia-Pacific region, Shen said recently. The US and Japan have planned a drill to simulate retaking of a remote island from foreign forces. That action will form part of broader Japan-US maneuvers that are to start in early November. AFP reported on Saturday, though, that the governments are likely to cancel the drill out of a fear that it will provoke more anger in China. China dispatched naval vessels, aircraft and helicopters to the East China Sea on Friday, sending them there for a one-day exercise. Despite its call for a peaceful resolution to the islands row, Japan spared no efforts during Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba's visits to France, Britain and Germany last week to argue in favor of its claim to the islands. But those on the trips only receive a cold response when they brought up the dispute, reported Japanese newspapeMainichi Shimbun, saying that none of the three countries visited has taken a position in the matter. When asked whether support was obtained during the trip, Gemba did not respond directly, only saying that each of the three parties is in a different situation and no details about the matter can be disclosed, Kyodo reported. Kyodo said Gemba had high expectations for the tour but found it hard to obtain support in the countries he visited. Meanwhile, Tokyo has started to turn to Moscow. During a meeting between Japan and Russia in Tokyo on Friday, the Japanese asked that Russia show understanding toward Japan's stance on the Diaoyu Islands. Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun said China's presence in the ocean is expanding and Japan and Russia have a "shared a belief about containing China". In a separate development, 64 Chinese crew members aboard a cargo ship were rescued after their boat caught fire on Saturday evening near waters off Okinawa, an official from the Chinese embassy in Japan told Xinhua on Sunday. Smoke was at first spotted at the stern of the cargo ship on Saturday night. Responding to the emergency, the Japanese coast guard dispatched aircraft and patrol vessels on Saturday night. The Chinese crew members were rescued early on Sunday morning, Kyodo News reported. Three of them were slightly injured. Uichiro Niwa, Japanese ambassador to China, warned on Saturday that the tensions could set the countries' diplomatic relations back before their normalization, which occurred 40 years ago. Contact the writers at chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

Security won't hinder daily life, Party official says Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT Beijing residents will not be adversely affected by heightened security during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, authorities vow. The capital is preparing to be host of the event, which is held every five years, on Nov 8. Agencies involved in security and safety should take residents' feelings and opinions into consideration when they carry out their duties, said Ji Lin, deputy Party chief of Beijing, at a conference on security for the congress last week. Ji heads a team of nine senior officials set up by the city government to guarantee security during the CPC meeting, at which more than 2,000 delegates will elect China's new generation of leaders. Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu said on Tuesday that police have been instructed to build "harmonious relationships" with the public and make sure that residents' lives are not affected by the security measures for the congress. Authorities in Beijing have been cracking down on illegal activities such as unlicensed taxis, bicycle theft, gambling and prostitution since August, and more than 33,000 cases have been processed, he said. Since mid-July, about 485 officials from districts and townships across the capital have been on duty every day to hear residents' complaints and help resolve problems, Legal Daily has reported. In the Haidian district, a pilot project has begun that will improve services for migrant workers and reduce possibilities of social conflict, the report said. The city's Transport Commission said in a statement on Friday that it is going to step up safety checks during the Party congress, including monitoring traffic on main roads and bridges, supervising the transportation of potentially dangerous chemicals, and checking safety devices on buses and in taxis. Beijing's fire rescue authorities stepped up inspections starting on Wednesday to clear away potential fire hazards ahead of the Party congress. The inspections covered venues that will serve the Party congress, the capital's central political area, and venues that typically deal with crowds such as hotels, hospitals, schools, markets, stores, cinemas, clubs and Internet cafes, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Drone bases will monitor seacoasts Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT Two drone bases will be established in Liaoning province to conduct surveillance of coastal waters, local authorities said on Saturday. One of the bases will be built on a land reclamation lot in the coastal city of Yingkou and will monitor the Bohai Sea area. The other will be in Dalian city and will monitor parts of the Yellow Sea that are within the province's jurisdiction, Xinhua News Agency quoted officials from the provincial oceanic and fishing department as saying. The drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, will rely on high-definition remote sensing, especially when responding quickly to emergencies. They can also be used to identify illegal land reclamations and sand dredging, as well as monitor marine environments along the coast and on islets, the report said. About 5.5 million yuan ($879,370) will be spent on the drone bases in the province. Three drones will be used to take aerial photos of important parts of the sea and of emergencies, according to the provincial oceanic and fishing department. In August, the State Oceanic Administration announced plans to deploy the drones along China's coastline. Eleven drone bases run by provincial maritime authorities will be built, Yu Qingsong, an official from the administration, said in August. He said at least one drone will be stationed at each base. No further details about the project, such as the size of the bases or the schedule by which they will be built, were released. A trial phase of the project began at the end of 2011, when the drones took aerial photos of a 980-square-kilometer section of the sea in Liaoning. Another test on a drone-based 3D monitoring system was also conducted earlier this year by the maritime authority in East China's Jiangsu province. According to the State Oceanic Administration, the use of pilotless aircraft in remote-sensing marine surveillance is relatively flexible, inexpensive and efficient compared with satellite remote sensing, aerial remote sensing and field monitoring. jinzhu@chinadaily.com.cn

Cold front brings rain, chill Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT The cold front sweeping North China will extend into central and eastern parts of the country, causing snowfall in the northeast regions, meteorologists said on Sunday. Due to a mass of cold air moving in, central and southern parts of North China, southeastern parts of Northeast China, southern parts of Henan province, northern and central parts of Anhui province and most parts of Jiangsu province will witness a dramatic fall in temperatures on Sunday and Monday. Some places can even expect the mercury to fall by as much as 10 degrees, the National Meteorological Center said on its website. Strong winds and falling temperatures will also spread to areas near the Yellow, Huaihe and Yangtze rivers, along with heavy rainfall in some regions, according to the center. Central and eastern parts of Jilin province and the southeastern part of Heilongjiang province will see heavy snow on Sunday and Monday. The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Qinghai province, along with the Inner Mongolia and Tibet autonomous regions, will witness snowfall and sleet throughout Monday and Tuesday, the center said. On Sunday morning, Beijing was hit by light to moderate rain, which affected the capital late into the night and brought the temperature down by 8 degrees. Winds of up to 38 kilometers per hour are expected to sweep through the city on Monday, bringing the temperature down to 3 C on Monday, according to the meteorological center. "Now I truly understand the old saying, 'each autumn rain brings the chill and 10 autumn rains bring you warm clothes'," said Zhao Dixin, a white-collar worker in Beijing. "I'm almost frozen. It seems winter has come overnight." In the eastern coastal province of Shandong, all 17 major cities saw rain Sunday. The wet weather is expected to continue until Monday morning. Coming with the precipitation is a cold front that will bring frost to some places, according to the provincial meteorological bureau. Henan, a neighboring province, also experienced light rain on Sunday. Cold winds hit most of the province and cooled temperatures there. In Shanxi province, meteorological authorities issued blue warnings on gales and cold on Sunday morning, saying many places would see rains and sleet, and strong winds would continue through to Monday and result in a sharp drop in temperature and frost on Tuesday. Meteorological authorities in China use a four-color weather warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Cold fronts also brought rain to Central China's Hunan province, sweeping away dense fog that covered the province on Sunday morning. The provincial meteorological bureau forecast that more incoming cold air would arrive early on Monday, bringing with it more rainfall. The mercury is expected to fall by 6 to 8 degrees that day. Manufacturers and retailers of electronic heaters and down jackets have welcomed the falling temperatures, having seen a surge in sales since mid-October, when the cold front began to hit most of China. Electronic heaters in home appliance stores in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, have been selling well. Many residents were buying heaters to warm their houses before the central heating service began on Saturday, Heilongjiang Morning News reported. The heating is turned on in Chinese cities at different times from mid-October to mid-November.

Director claims film producers trying to profit from island row Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT The award-winning film director Xie Fei has slammed the decision to pull a Chinese movie from a festival in Japan, accusing its distributors of trying to profit from the nationalist fever generated by the Diaoyu Islands dispute. Beijing Antaeus Films, a production and distribution company, issued a statement on Thursday saying it had withdrawn Feng Shui from the Tokyo International Film Festival in protest of Japan's "stubbornness" and "insincerity" in handling the dispute. However, Xie, one of China's best-known film directors who was the artistic advisor on Feng Shui, has branded the move a publicity stunt aimed at boosting box office revenue. "(Makers of the) other Chinese films that were to be shown at the event protested by simply not sending any actors or the director," the 70-year-old wrote on his blog. "If the protest was not done for commercial reasons, why did it not come in September, when the island dispute was being intensely discussed? "Instead, it was announced two days before the festival when all the tickets had already sold out." Xie aimed much of his ire at Dong Wenjie, deputy general manager of Beijing Antaeus Film, openly accusing her of exploiting anti-Japan sentiment for profit. "The film is a low-budget yet quality film. ... I never expected it to make a lot of money at the box office," he said in an earlier interview with QQ, a Chinese instant messaging service. "But she (Dong) is far more ambitious. She is trying to make the film a blockbuster and expects it to bring in 50 million yuan ($8 million). That is what is behind this unreasonable decision." Xie, a professor at Beijing Film Academy, said that one of the three films producers did not want to hold a news conference to announce the withdrawal, but it went ahead anyway. China Daily was unable to reach Dong on Sunday. Yu Huijuan, a spokeswoman for Antaeus Film, declined to comment on Xie's outburst. Feng Shui, which depicts the life of woman whose husband commits suicide, cost about 4 million yuan to make, Xie said. It was the only Chinese film nominated for the Tokyo festival's grand prize. In a statement on the official website of the festival, the organizing committee said it had received no official notice of the withdrawal from the producers of the film, adding that the screening of Feng Shui will take place as scheduled. Xie's most famous works include Woman Sesame Oil Maker, which won the Golden Bear at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival, and Black Snow. Liu Wei contributed to this story. xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn

Marine stations to go on bay-watch duty Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:26 AM PDT Three marine monitoring stations will be established in Bohai Bay, in a major anti-pollution project following recent oil spills, an official said. The stations, the first will be built next year, will be sited along coastal areas in Tianjin, said Zhang Qiufeng, director of the Tianjin Marine Environmental Monitoring Center at the State Oceanic Administration. "The new stations will monitor the bay collecting data daily on water temperature, pollution and salt content," Zhang said. The stations will greatly improve forecasts and help coordinate emergency response measures, such as for an oil spill, Zhang said. Tianjin currently has only one marine environment monitoring station, in Tanggu at the mouth of the Haihe River, but nearby development means that its ability to monitor the bay area has been diminished. After a recent series of oil spills from offshore drilling platforms, Zhang said measures are urgently needed to protect Bohai Bay. The bay once accounted for 40 percent of the country's fishing output, according to the State Oceanic Administration. The Tianjin Marine Environmental Quality Bulletin said last year that coastal water near Tianjin does not meet standards for marine life or safe human use. Along parts of the shoreline, including Jinzhou Bay, zinc levels have been detected 2,000 times the recommended safety limits, while lead readings were 300 percent above acceptable levels, it said. Excessive factory discharge and land reclamation projects were the main reasons for the pollution, it said. With significant oil and gas reserves in the bay, Tianjin became a key pilot area for economic development in 2006, following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Guangdong province and the Shanghai Pudong New Area. Of the 39 offshore construction projects launched nationwide in August, 20 are located in Bohai Bay, according to the State Oceanic Administration. The bay and the Yellow Sea are home to 128 of the 181 offshore drilling platforms. The single station was clearly not enough to monitor the situation, Zhang said. Land reclamation endangered vast swathes of wetlands and tidal flats, which had once served as nature's filters, said Sun Baocun, a professor of marine affairs at Tianjin University. Large reclamation projects and booming offshore oil and gas exploration were devastating the bay environment, he said. An oil spill at the Penglai 19-3 field in June last year polluted more than 5,500 square kilometers of the bay as more than 700 barrels of oil leaked into the sea, according to ConocoPhillips China, the field's operator. Economic losses caused by marine accidents surged from 300 million yuan ($47 million) on average annually in the 1980s to an annual average of more than 17 billion yuan between 2005 and 2010, according to the State Oceanic Administration. Senior officials from the administration have warned that the country's marine environment is increasingly endangered. Authorities in Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong and Tianjin, the bay's hinterland, have drawn up a marine ecological protection zone in which human activity is strictly controlled. The State Oceanic Administration is also setting up an environmental risk assessment of offshore human activity.

Senior CPC leader meets Bangladeshi PM on ties Posted: 21 Oct 2012 05:48 AM PDT Visiting senior Communist Party of China (CPC) leader Li Changchun met here Sunday with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on bilateral relations.

Senior CPC leader vows to deepen ties with Bangladesh Posted: 21 Oct 2012 05:45 AM PDT China is ready to deepen the good-neighborly and mutually-beneficial cooperative ties with Bangladesh, a senior Communist Party of China (CPC) leader said here on Sunday.

Chinese rescuers to reach burned Chinese cargo ship Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:23 AM PDT The rescue ship East China Rescue 111 is expected to reach a cargo ship that caught fire on Saturday in waters near Okinawa, local authorities said Sunday.

Chinese vice premier urges structural upgrades via taxation reforms Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:17 AM PDT Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has urged more taxation reforms and structural tax cuts to boost industrial upgrading and the transformation of the economic growth pattern.

Anti-austerity marches take place in London Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:06 PM PDT Tens of thousands of people from across Britain gathered in central London on Saturday in protest of the government's austerity policy.

Vice Premier urges more taxation reforms Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:28 AM PDT Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has urged more taxation reforms and structural tax cuts to boost industrial upgrading and the transformation of the economic growth pattern.

Top seeds see shock exit from Denmark Open Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:04 PM PDT Chinese top seeds in the men's and women's singles and doubles draws saw shock exits from the semifinal round of the ongoing Denmark Open 2012 badminton tournament, in Odense on Saturday.

Obama, Romney preparing for last presidential debate Posted: 20 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT Both Obama and Romney have been working hard over the weekend in preparation for their last presidential debate of this election cycle scheduled for Monday night.

China plans to improve social services for retired officers Posted: 20 Oct 2012 08:16 PM PDT The Chinese government planned to improve social services for retired officers, especially senior and disabled ones, said Sunday's The Beijing News.

Postgrads double in a decade, triggering quality concerns Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:58 PM PDT An increasing number of postgraduate students is triggering concerns over the education quality in Chinese universities.

All Chinese crew saved after ship fire near sea off Japan's Okinawa Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:21 PM PDT 21 (Xinhua) -- All 64 Chinese crew members on a cargo ship were rescued after their boat caught fire Saturday evening near sea off Japan's Okinawa, said an official from the Chinese Embassy in Japan on Sunday.

4.6-magnitude earthquake jolts northwest China Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:21 PM PDT BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A 4.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Turpan of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China at 12:09 p.m.The epicenter, with a depth of five km, was determined to be at 43.4degrees north latitude and 89.3 degrees east longitude, the center said.

All Chinese crew saved after ship fire off Okinawa Posted: 20 Oct 2012 10:58 PM PDT All 64 Chinese crew members on a cargo ship were rescued after their boat caught fire Saturday evening near sea off Japan's Okinawa, said an official from the Chinese Embassy in Japan on Sunday.

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