News » China » Wen elaborates on regional situation, China's position on South China Sea

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• Wen elaborates on regional situation, China's position on South China Sea
• World leaders, parties, organizations congratulate Xi on election as CPC chief
• Chinese premier arrives in Thailand for official visit
• Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza
• Smart solutions for better city, better life
• Sustainable development
• Fishermen refuse to abandon boat and lose their lives
• 'Big feet' boy may get chance to wear shoes
• Making mother's milk
• Hello? There's a World Hello Day?
• Han Zheng appointed Shanghai's Party chief
• China, Australia should support cooperation in energy, mining: Wen
• Tibetans in Chamdo say farewell to ropeways
• China's fast development is due to CPC leadership: Malaysia's ex-PM
• Premier Wen meets Obama
• China's FDI inflow declines
• Money supply approaches 100 trillion yuan in 2012
• Fruits and vegetables seek market
• China's trouble to meet foreign trade growth target
• Nanjing to build museum for wartime sex slaves

Wen elaborates on regional situation, China's position on South China Sea Posted: 20 Nov 2012 11:52 AM PST Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday elaborated on China's position on regional situation and the South China Sea issue.

World leaders, parties, organizations congratulate Xi on election as CPC chief Posted: 20 Nov 2012 08:52 AM PST Congratulations continued to flow in from countries, political parties and friendship organizations around the world to Xi Jinping on his election as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Chinese premier arrives in Thailand for official visit Posted: 20 Nov 2012 08:49 AM PST Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived here Tuesday night for an official visit to Thailand.

Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:11 AM PST An Israeli soldier was hit by a mortar shrapnel and sustained severe wounds on Tuesday morning, an army source confirmed to Xinhua, as fighting between Israel and Gaza-based militants continue on the seventh day. • Death toll rises to 114 • Israel prefers diplomacy solution • China urges immediate ceasefire in Gaza • All sides should stop fire: UN chief

Smart solutions for better city, better life Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST No 1: Car sharing Beijing and Guangzhou have introduced a lottery system to grant car plate licenses to prevent rapid increase in car population. But the move has been criticized by some experts as "not that wise" to ease traffic congestion. Instead, they suggest offering more efficient public transportation and borrowing innovative means from other countries. At the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation recently, Michael Glotz-Richter, a senior project manager of Sustainable Mobility for the City of Bremen, Germany, presented the city's car-sharing project. Under the creative system introduced since 2002, car-sharing members are issued a PIN and they can book a vehicle at any time of the day by phone, smartphone app or through the Internet. It costs 2 euros ($2.6) per hour and 20 euros a day. "It costs me around 70 percent less each month by joining the project compared to having my own car because it makes me take public transport or ride a bicycle more often if the place I will go is not that far away," says Glotz-Richter. "And I do not have to pay for car maintenance." Fuel and insurance costs are included in the rates. Users can collect a car and return it at any of the 48 stations throughout the city where there are exclusively reserved parking spots. The city plans to build another 40 stations by the end of 2013, according to Glotz-Richter. Glotz-Richter says the project is so effective that among the current 8,000 users, 70 percent who owned a car in their household in the past have given up using their private cars. No 2: Rainfall collection Australia's Melbourne showcased a project called the Darling Street Stormwater Harvesting. The project collects rainfall into a tank built underground and irrigates neighboring parks and trees along the streets with the treated stored water. The project provides an alternative water source for irrigation, according to Ralf Pfleiderer, a water-sensitive urban design coordinator. "Melbourne rains a lot in winter but is very dry in summer so the project can help store water in winter and offset the water shortage in summer," he says. From 2000 to 2010, the city saw much less rainfall than usual and a lot of trees suffered from the drought, prompting the city to initiate the project in 2009 and began operation in 2011. The cost of reusing the rainwater is up to 75 percent less than using tap water and the project also brings other benefits such as reduced demand on the city's water storage for irrigation, improved water supply to parks and gardens, and reduced flow of run-off into waterways, according to Pfleiderer. It is also a good means to mitigate floods, he says. "We can empty the tank as quickly as possible before heavy rains come." The capacity of the current tank is 450 cubic meters and the city plans to build another tank with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters under a park and a third one with the capacity of 2,500 cubic meters under a building. "Similar rainfall storage projects could be introduced to cities such as Beijing, which has water shortage," says Pfleiderer. As a city with a population of more than 20 million, Beijing is using every means it could to offset water shortage. They include excessive exploitation of groundwater and water transfer from neighboring provinces. No 3: Garbage reduction Vancouver, a city in Canada, launched the Greenest City Initiative in 2009 with the aim of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020. Garbage sorting is part of the program. "The holes we dig for burying garbage are getting full, so a big debate in Vancouver now is whether to burn or continue to bury garbage. We take a very innovative approach that is to encourage citizens to make zero waste, which means you cannot waste any more," says Kerry Jang, deputy mayor of Vancouver. Elaborating on the initiative, Jang says the government encourages residents to separate garbage into three types namely food, plastics and paper. In his city, waste paper and plastics are recycled and food waste is used as fertilizer. "Residents are against garbage burning because it will pollute the air so we must burn very little and we are adopting technologies to efficiently reduce toxics during the burning process," he says. "But our ultimate goal is garbage reduction."

Sustainable development Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST China is trying to build green cities, provide good, cost-effective public transport and set a good example for other Asian countries, according to Peter Woods, emissary of Asia Pacific Regional Section of United Cities and Local Governments. He says the world's second largest economy is also showcasing its determination to tackle the uneven distribution of wealth and overcrowded big cities. Woods, the retired secretary-general of the agency, was in Guangzhou recently to attend a series of events under The Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, an award established this year and co-organized by Guangzhou government, World Association of the Major Metropolises and UCLG. In Woods' opinion, Asian economies are still growing strongly, while Europe, the US and many other economies are in a very difficult situation. But he pointed out that even as Asian countries get stronger economically, there won't be an equitable distribution of wealth unless they are very careful. "In some Asian countries, the rich are getting richer while the poor are finding difficulties with inflation and not keeping up with the standard of living that is expected with an improved economy," says Woods. He describes this phenomenon as common in places like India, Indonesia, Vietnam and other economies in Asia. China is concerned with a similar problem but the government of China and the Party have made it "clear and public" that they want to work strongly to overcome the difficulties, he says. "The national CPC meeting in Beijing very recently shows that the government of China has recognized that this is an issue that must be addressed and that there must be mechanisms to ensure the wealth is distributed more evenly," adds Woods, who emphasizes the importance of a tax system that redistributes the wealth from the rich to the poor. Altogether 153 cities from 56 countries and regions entered a total of 255 projects to compete in the Guangzhou award this year. Many of these projects offer new approaches to building green cities. The five winners this year are the project of public education about earthquake in Kocaeli, Turkey; the Lilongwe-Johannesburg cities mentorship program in Lilongwe, Malawi; the project of tackling youth Internet addiction in Seoul, South Korea; the project of building the greenest city by 2020 in Vancouver, Canada; and the project about producing and using renewable energies in Vienna, Austria. Alain Le Saux, secretary general of the Metropolis, believes that sharing innovative projects and experiences is an effective way for worldwide cities to learn from each other and help solve similar problems. "Innovation is a key for a modern city to sustain development," he says. Woods says the biggest mistake he has seen in many countries is when everyone from the countryside pours into a few big cities, causing problems such as unemployment, inadequate infrastructure and environmental degradation. "It is better to have a spread of cities, big and small, throughout the country, with well-developed railway systems to ensure these cities won't be isolated from one to another," Woods advises. According to Liu Yong, a senior researcher from development research center of the State Council, many cities including London, Paris, Johannesburg and New York face concentration of too many functions — economic, traffic, cultural and political — in big cities. "The solution is to develop satellite towns," says Liu at the award event, where mayors of Guangzhou, Cornella, Vilnius and Johannesburg exchanged ideas of handling common problems in urban development including immigration and pollution. Citing Beijing as an example, he says the capital has developed three modes of satellite towns. The first are residential areas, like the Wangjing community. The second are career hubs, like the Yizhuang economic development zone. "And the latest mode is an independent satellite town with its own industrial system, which makes the town more attractive for migrants. This is the way to go for China, to solve the problems of urban development in the future," says Liu. In Woods' opinion, the Chinese government has realized that the continuous growth of big cities is not sustainable. "The government has spent billions of yuan building efficient fast-rail connections, so people don't need to live in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou when there are good cities throughout the country with industries and job opportunities," says Woods. Metropolises in Asia are choked up by not only crowds but also motor vehicles, Woods adds. "When I first came to China, everyone was on a bicycle. There were very few cars. But now you can see what happens in the country's big cities is like what happened in the US － they depend on motor vehicles rather than public transport," says Woods. "It's interesting that because of environmental and health concerns, many advanced countries are going back to bicycles. They realize that this is far better for citizens. And they are improving on public transport." Woods is happy to see that the Chinese government is encouraging the development of good public transport, with innovative fast-rail network and bus rapid transit systems that are "far superior to many Western countries". For example, Guangzhou BRT was recently named by the United Nations Climate Change secretariat as one of the nine "lighthouse activities" this year in developing countries, which either help to curb greenhouse gas emissions or help people adapt to climate change, while at the same time benefit the urban poor. "China should have the initiative to ensure that it doesn't go down on the backward path of many Western countries to load the roads with cars, which will throw a city into environmental disasters," says Woods. Contact the writer at xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn. Chen Xin contributed to this story.

Fishermen refuse to abandon boat and lose their lives Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST Three fishermen were still missing on Nov 20 after their boat sank on Nov 16 in the Bohai Sea near Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province. Sources from the Maritime Search and Rescue Center of Liaoning said the tragedy could have been prevented if the five fishermen onboard agreed to abandon their boat in time. As soon as the center answered the emergency call, they arranged for a boat passing nearby to offer help. But the fishermen refused to leave their boat. About two hours later, when they finally made up their mind to abandon, the boat was overwhelmed and all the five fishermen were swallowed by the sea. Only two were picked up by the rescue team. It was believed that the fishermen refused to abandon their boat because it carried more than 5,000 kg of fresh fish. At least three similar accidents have happened within the past half a month, said the rescue center of Liaoning. They had all refused at first to abandon their boats because of money. The center warned local fishermen not to miss the chance to save their lives.

'Big feet' boy may get chance to wear shoes Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST After years of anguish, the boy with "big feet" finally has a glimmer of hope of wearing shoes. Xiao Meng, 14, from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has suffered from a lesion in his feet since he was born, and his toes have grown bigger and bigger. His family is unable to afford the cost of medical treatment to correct his condition. Since October 2011, Xiao Meng's teachers have sought help for the boy, and many media outlets in China have reported on his plight. So far, Shanghai Children's Hospital has promised to give Xiao Meng free treatment. "We have already successfully completed an operation in a case very similar to Xiao Meng's," said Yang Xiaodong, a doctor at the hospital. "The treatment will be divided into two phases. The first to is cut off the superfluous part. After half a year, the next stage is then to recover the function of his feet," Yang told eastday.com. Xiao Meng's school has collected thousands of yuan for his treatment and living expenses in Shanghai, while Guangxi Branch of China Southern Airlines has provided free tickets for the boy and his family to travel to Shanghai.

Making mother's milk Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST Many young Chinese mothers need help these days to breastfeed their babies, and this need has given rise to a brand-new profession, the lactation expert. Liu Zhihua finds out why these women are having difficulty performing what should come naturally. The World Health Organization has actively encouraged breastfeeding, citing banks of research data that conclude it is good for both mother and child. It is the best source of nourishment for the very young, it reduces the risks of breast and ovarian cancer later in life, it lowers the rate of obesity and helps the mother shed their pregnancy weight gain faster. Young mothers in China, like those anywhere else in the world, realize the value of breastfeeding and many urban females, like their rural cousins, are breastfeeding their newborns. In the process, however, many are also discovering that it is not as easy as they thought. And so, for problems such as distended breasts or shortage of milk, or just ignorance on how to go about feeding their babies properly, they are consulting lactation experts. These are specialists who help new mothers breastfeed their infants better with massage and breastfeeding instructions. But the trend is very new. "If anyone told me five years ago I would become a lactation consultant, I would think it was a joke and laugh it off, because I had never heard of it," says Ma Wei, 35, a lactation consultant in Beijing. When her own daughter was born in 2007, her milk would not flow, and her breasts became engorged. She found out from friends that there were lactation consultants who can massage the breasts so the milk can flow better. In 2011 when her daughter started kindergarten, Ma decided to take a course which included traditional Chinese medicine, work ethics, psychology, massage and nutrition, and she obtained certification from an authorized institute under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Then she started business as a lactation consultant. She began by offering her services to friends and acquaintances, and gave massages, breastfeeding directions and nutrition advice. Her popularity stunned her, and still does. "In just five years, lactation consultants have become common," Ma says. "There are so many who are distributing business cards at the maternity wards and posting advertisements on Internet. Everyone knows about the service now," Ma says. Ma can cater to five clients a day at maximum, and charges 400 to 500 yuan ($64-80) each time for about two hours' service. She now owns a studio, and hires eight lactation consultants. "The demand is very high, and people are willing to pay for it," says Zhang Yushi, a young mother of two children in Chengdu, Sichuan province, who initiated a non-governmental organization providing lactation consultant service to new mothers early this year. "Young mothers need instruction and help to breastfeed their children, because many of them are not prepared or they may have listened to the wrong advice unawares." Zhang says her NGO, Breastfeeding Mothers' Home, has helped hundreds from both Chengdu and nearby cities through providing massage and breastfeeding instructions offline in less than a year, not counting those who seek help from them through the Internet. The reasons behind the demand, Zhang says, are that there is so much misleading information about breastfeeding and infant nutrition in daily life, that young people cannot tell what is correct. Most young mothers in the cities come from a one-child family, and even their mothers are not as experienced in child-rearing. Being more affluent, too, means that people are willing to pay for help, especially when they think such assistance is beneficial to both mother and child, Zhang adds. Jia Tao, mother to a 3-month-old boy, has been visiting a lactation consultant for the last month for breast massages at a cost of 400 yuan each time. Her parents accompany her. "The service is expensive, but we are happy to pay. My daughter feels better after the massage," says her father, adding that going to hospitals is out of the question, because doctors and nurses are often too busy to invest enough care and patience. Jia has been suffering from distended breasts and a low fever since her son was 1 month old. One night, her baby refused to feed, no matter how hard Jia tried. She resorted to using a pump, but her breasts still became engorged and she then developed mastitis and low fever. That finally led her to seek the help of a lactation consultant. "Many mothers give the baby a feeding bottle when it doesn't feed from the breasts. That is totally wrong," says Xu Yang, matron with the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of China-Japan Friendship Hospital at Beijing. Sucking from the bottle is a lot easier than feeding from the mother's breasts, and many babies will turn to the bottle and refuse mother's milk, Xu explains. "A better choice is to encourage the baby to suck from the breasts even though it cries, and use a spoon to feed it milk if it gets too hungry," Xu says. "But in a family where a baby is the apple of the eye of both parents and grandparents, many surrender as soon as the baby cries." Lai Shasha, 29, quarreled with her husband when her milk did not flow and he wanted to feed it milk formula. Her husband won the argument because of support from friends, family and even nurses in the maternity ward. But her baby became confused and later refused to drink her milk, and she had to seek help from a lactation consultant, who helped cure the engorgement and allowed her baby to feed again. More importantly, the consultant convinced her husband breastfeeding is still the best practice. But not every lactation consultant is as helpful. For Wu Shasha, a 28-year-old accountant in Beijing, the first two lactation consultants she went to were nightmares. She gave birth to a baby boy on Sept 17, but her milk did not flow until the next day. Even after that, it was intermittent, and Wu took various foods to encourage better milk production. She also used a milk-pump, but things only got worse as her nipples became infected and her breasts became swollen. She sought help from lactation consultants who massaged her breasts too hard. Although the flow increased, her breasts hurt, and she developed mastitis. She went to a doctor, who said her breasts got infected because the massage was too violent. But he had no advice on how to make her breastfeeding easier. Finally, she located a reputable lactation consultant through recommendations from online forums. Her new lactation consultant makes her feel relaxed and comfortable during the massage sessions and Wu no longer experiences pain. "There is no officially recognized professional standard for lactation consultants, and there are so many irresponsible or unqualified ones out there." For Wu, it was a painful lesson. Her advice to mothers looking for help is: Do your homework, and never hire a lactation consultant carelessly. Contact the writer at liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn.

Hello? There's a World Hello Day? Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:25 AM PST A boy pastes a greeting card on a prayer wall to welcome the World Hello Day on Nov 21 at a primary school in Jiande city, East China's Zhejiang province on Nov 20, 2012. [Photo by Ning Wenwu/Asianewsphoto]

Han Zheng appointed Shanghai's Party chief Posted: 20 Nov 2012 02:21 AM PST Han Zheng has been appointed secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee, replacing Yu Zhengsheng, according to a decision made by the CPC Central Committee.

China, Australia should support cooperation in energy, mining: Wen Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:32 AM PST China and Australia should accelerate bilateral free trade pact negotiations and support cooperation among their enterprises in energy and mining, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday.

Tibetans in Chamdo say farewell to ropeways Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:28 AM PST People in Chamdo Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region?will be able to cross the region's deep ravines and rivers more safely through bridges instead of ropeways.

China's fast development is due to CPC leadership: Malaysia's ex-PM Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:54 PM PST Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attributes China's fast development to the good leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Premier Wen meets Obama Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday met with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the seventh East Asia Summit in Cambodia. • 'Wisdom' will help solve sea disputes • ASEAN-China joint statement on DOC in South China Sea

China's FDI inflow declines Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China dropped 0.24 percent year on year in October to 8.31 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

Money supply approaches 100 trillion yuan in 2012 Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST Recent statistics from the People's Bank of China showed that by the end of October, China's broad money supply had risen to 93.64 trillion yuan,

Fruits and vegetables seek market Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST Harvest season is on its way, but the farmers' enthusiasm is dampened by the huge fruits and vegetables stocks in rural Yantai, Shandong Province.

China's trouble to meet foreign trade growth target Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST Under the current world economy, China may not be able to meet its target of an annual foreign trade growth this year, MOC spokesman Shen Danyang said earlier today.

Nanjing to build museum for wartime sex slaves Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:38 AM PST Plans to build a museum highlighting the plight of sex slaves during World War II are being considered by authorities in east China's Nanjing city.

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