China's State Council, or the Cabinet, has decided to further extend a program that involves special funds for infrastructure and other projects in three particularly arid and poor areas in the country's remote northwest.
While extending the program from 2009 to 2015, the government also decided to raise the annual total funding from 200 million yuan to 300 million yuan, Xinhua learnt Saturday.
The three areas are Dingxi and Hexi prefectures in Gansu Province and Xihaigu prefecture in neighboring Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
From 1983, the three prefectures were the earliest poverty-stricken regions to carry out the national poverty-relief programs. A dedicated agricultural development subsidy fund was set up to help the three regions build infrastructure and develop agricultural production.
The statement said it was the third time the government had extended the program, which would expire at the end of this year.
Over the past 25 years, poverty-relief efforts had achieved remarkable results. Life in the three areas were significantly improved, a government statement said.
Through 2007, those living under absolute poverty in the counties stood at nearly 1.35 million, in comparison to 7.84 million in 1982. Poverty incidence were down from 62 percent in 1982 to 8.3 percent last year.
In Dingxi and Hexi, the annual net income of local farmers jumped to 2,141 yuan per capita through 2007 from 96.3 yuan per capita in 1982. In Xihaigu, farmers' annual net income jumped to 2,214 yuan per capita in 2007 from 126.6 yuan per capita in 1982.
Poverty-relief programs implemented in the three areas had not only helped push forward anti-poverty efforts in Gansu and Ningxia,but had also been forerunners of the country's development-oriented poverty alleviation drive.
Despite notable achievements, the three areas were still at an early stage of economic development and local farmers income levels were far below the national average, according to the statement.
It was still an arduous task for the country to fundamentally change the three regions poor conditions, so the Cabinet decided to extend the program again and step up supporting efforts, it added.
Source:Xinhua
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Former Shanghai Party secretary Xia Zhengnong dies at 105
Xia Zhengnong, former secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and a member of the CPC Central Advisory Committee, died at age 105 Saturday.
An official statement said he died of illness at 11:16 a.m. on Saturday at the Shanghai Huadong Hospital.
It described Han as "an outstanding CPC member and a loyal Communist fighter."
Xia was born in 1903. He is a native of Fengcheng City of eastern Jiangxi Province. He joined the CPC in 1926.
He had been editor-in-chief of Cihai , a comprehensive Chinese encyclopedia, since 1978.
Source:Xinhua
An official statement said he died of illness at 11:16 a.m. on Saturday at the Shanghai Huadong Hospital.
It described Han as "an outstanding CPC member and a loyal Communist fighter."
Xia was born in 1903. He is a native of Fengcheng City of eastern Jiangxi Province. He joined the CPC in 1926.
He had been editor-in-chief of Cihai , a comprehensive Chinese encyclopedia, since 1978.
Source:Xinhua
China denounces U.S. proposed armes sale to Taiwan
China on Saturday denounced the U.S. government's decision to sell arms worth of about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the Chinese government and people firmly opposed this action which seriously damaged China's interests and the Sino-U.S. relations.
The U.S. government, in spite of China's repeated solemn representations, on Friday notified the Congress about its plan to sell arms to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters and other equipment.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei has summoned the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to China to raise strong protest against the U.S. move, according to spokesman.
China firmly opposes to arms sales by the United States to Taiwan, said Liu, noting that this has been a consistent and clear stance of China.
The U.S. government's agreement on arms sale to Taiwan severely violated the principles set in the three joint communiques between China and the United States, especially the communique on the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan signed on Aug. 17, 1982, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security, and disturbed the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Liu stressed.
"It is only natural that this move would stir up strong indignation of the Chinese government and people," he said.
"We sternly warn the United States that there is only one China in the world, and that Taiwan is a part of China," Liu said.
He said nobody could shake the strong will of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to oppose external interference, and nobody could stop the efforts to promote cross Strait exchanges and opening a new chapter of peace in cross Strait relations.
China urged the United States to recognize that it is seriously harmful to sell arms to Taiwan, Liu said, noting that the United States should honor its commitment to stick to one-China policy, abide by the three China-U.S joint communiques, and oppose the so-called "Taiwan independence".
Liu said the United States should immediately take actions to correct its mistakes, cancel the proposed arms sale, stop military links with Taiwan, and stop disturbing the peaceful development of cross Strait relations, so as to prevent further damage to the Sino-U.S. relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
China reserved the right for taking further measures, he noted.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ,China's top legislature, and the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , China's top advisory body, on Saturday also express strong indignation over the U.S. arms sale plan.
The foreign affairs committee of the NPC Standing Committee and that of the CPPCC National Committee each issued a statement, stressing that people of all walks of life in China were firmly opposed to the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.
"We firmly support our government's solemn stances over this issue," the statements said.
The statements said the cross Strait relations have recently witnessed sound momentum, which accords with the interests of both Chinese and U.S. peoples. The U.S. proposed arms sale to Taiwan actually was a move disturbing the improvement of the cross Strait relations.
The statements called for the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoing, and refrain from any further moves that will damage the Sino-U.S. relations and the world peace.
China's Defense Ministry also issued a statement Saturday, condemning the U.S. move.
Defense Ministry spokesman Hu Changming said the U.S. decision has ruined the good atmosphere of cooperation that had existed between the two armed forces over recent years.
The statement also warned China reserves the right of making further reactions.
Source:Xinhua
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the Chinese government and people firmly opposed this action which seriously damaged China's interests and the Sino-U.S. relations.
The U.S. government, in spite of China's repeated solemn representations, on Friday notified the Congress about its plan to sell arms to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters and other equipment.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei has summoned the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to China to raise strong protest against the U.S. move, according to spokesman.
China firmly opposes to arms sales by the United States to Taiwan, said Liu, noting that this has been a consistent and clear stance of China.
The U.S. government's agreement on arms sale to Taiwan severely violated the principles set in the three joint communiques between China and the United States, especially the communique on the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan signed on Aug. 17, 1982, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security, and disturbed the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Liu stressed.
"It is only natural that this move would stir up strong indignation of the Chinese government and people," he said.
"We sternly warn the United States that there is only one China in the world, and that Taiwan is a part of China," Liu said.
He said nobody could shake the strong will of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to oppose external interference, and nobody could stop the efforts to promote cross Strait exchanges and opening a new chapter of peace in cross Strait relations.
China urged the United States to recognize that it is seriously harmful to sell arms to Taiwan, Liu said, noting that the United States should honor its commitment to stick to one-China policy, abide by the three China-U.S joint communiques, and oppose the so-called "Taiwan independence".
Liu said the United States should immediately take actions to correct its mistakes, cancel the proposed arms sale, stop military links with Taiwan, and stop disturbing the peaceful development of cross Strait relations, so as to prevent further damage to the Sino-U.S. relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
China reserved the right for taking further measures, he noted.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ,China's top legislature, and the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , China's top advisory body, on Saturday also express strong indignation over the U.S. arms sale plan.
The foreign affairs committee of the NPC Standing Committee and that of the CPPCC National Committee each issued a statement, stressing that people of all walks of life in China were firmly opposed to the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.
"We firmly support our government's solemn stances over this issue," the statements said.
The statements said the cross Strait relations have recently witnessed sound momentum, which accords with the interests of both Chinese and U.S. peoples. The U.S. proposed arms sale to Taiwan actually was a move disturbing the improvement of the cross Strait relations.
The statements called for the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoing, and refrain from any further moves that will damage the Sino-U.S. relations and the world peace.
China's Defense Ministry also issued a statement Saturday, condemning the U.S. move.
Defense Ministry spokesman Hu Changming said the U.S. decision has ruined the good atmosphere of cooperation that had existed between the two armed forces over recent years.
The statement also warned China reserves the right of making further reactions.
Source:Xinhua
China's defense ministry express strong indignation over U.S. proposed arms sale to Taiwan
China's Defense Ministry on Saturday expressed strong indignation and firm objection to the U.S. government's decision to sell arms worth of about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan.
Hu Changming, Ministry of Defense spokesman, said the relations between the Chinese and U.S. militaries as a whole had enjoyed sound momentum of active growth in recent years, with smooth development in bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various areas and at various levels.
The U.S. decision to sell arms to Taiwan undoubtedly poisoned the good atmosphere of the military relations between the two nations, and caused serious disturbance to the exchanges between the two armed forces, Hu said.
The U.S. government on Friday notified the Congress about its plan to sell arms to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles, Harpoon submarine-launched missiles, and some airplane accessory parts, according to Hu.
This move severely violated the U.S. commitment to China on the Taiwan issue, violated the consensus between the top leaders of the two nations on Sino-U.S. constructive and cooperative relations, and violated the U.S. stances to support the peaceful development of cross Strait relations, Hu said.
This move also grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security, and disturbed the relations between China and the United States and that between the two armed forces, he stressed.
The United States had made explicit promises to China on the Taiwan issue, which were written into the three joint communiques. The joint communique signed on Aug. 17, 1982 provided for a step-by-step solution of the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, paving the way for the final solution of the issue. Hu said the fact proved that the United States had failed to keep its promise.
Hu urged the United States to recognize the situation, abide by the three China-U.S joint communiques, honor its commitment to China on the Taiwan issue, immediately cancel the proposed arms sale, so as to prevent further damage to the Sino-U.S. relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
"We reserve the right for taking further measures," he said.
Source:Xinhua
Hu Changming, Ministry of Defense spokesman, said the relations between the Chinese and U.S. militaries as a whole had enjoyed sound momentum of active growth in recent years, with smooth development in bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various areas and at various levels.
The U.S. decision to sell arms to Taiwan undoubtedly poisoned the good atmosphere of the military relations between the two nations, and caused serious disturbance to the exchanges between the two armed forces, Hu said.
The U.S. government on Friday notified the Congress about its plan to sell arms to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system, E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system, Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles, Harpoon submarine-launched missiles, and some airplane accessory parts, according to Hu.
This move severely violated the U.S. commitment to China on the Taiwan issue, violated the consensus between the top leaders of the two nations on Sino-U.S. constructive and cooperative relations, and violated the U.S. stances to support the peaceful development of cross Strait relations, Hu said.
This move also grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security, and disturbed the relations between China and the United States and that between the two armed forces, he stressed.
The United States had made explicit promises to China on the Taiwan issue, which were written into the three joint communiques. The joint communique signed on Aug. 17, 1982 provided for a step-by-step solution of the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, paving the way for the final solution of the issue. Hu said the fact proved that the United States had failed to keep its promise.
Hu urged the United States to recognize the situation, abide by the three China-U.S joint communiques, honor its commitment to China on the Taiwan issue, immediately cancel the proposed arms sale, so as to prevent further damage to the Sino-U.S. relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
"We reserve the right for taking further measures," he said.
Source:Xinhua
China funds Palestinian foreign ministry to build new office building
China, the Palestinian National Authority and UN Development Program signed an agreement Saturday to construct the Palestinian Foreign Ministry's new office building.
PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas attended the ceremony held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and laid a corner stone for the new building which will be located in the western part of the city.
In his speech, Abbas said that this project "is a symbol of the persistence and dedication we promised two years ago to the development of the Palestinian people."
"I would like to thank the People's Republic of China for its support to the Palestinian people for more than 40 years," he added.
Yang Weiguo, head of the Office of China in Palestinian territories, said the project is just part of China's program to support the development of the Palestinian territories, and it proves the friendship between the Palestinian and Chinese people.
Yang signed the agreement of constructing the new building with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Malki and the UNDP special Representative of the Administrator Jens Toyberg-Frandzen.
According to the agreement, the project will be funded by the Chinese government, and implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
The new office building, which is expected to be completed by the year of 2010, will provide more than 400 officials with daily office functions, meetings and conference facilities.
Source:Xinhua
PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas attended the ceremony held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and laid a corner stone for the new building which will be located in the western part of the city.
In his speech, Abbas said that this project "is a symbol of the persistence and dedication we promised two years ago to the development of the Palestinian people."
"I would like to thank the People's Republic of China for its support to the Palestinian people for more than 40 years," he added.
Yang Weiguo, head of the Office of China in Palestinian territories, said the project is just part of China's program to support the development of the Palestinian territories, and it proves the friendship between the Palestinian and Chinese people.
Yang signed the agreement of constructing the new building with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Malki and the UNDP special Representative of the Administrator Jens Toyberg-Frandzen.
According to the agreement, the project will be funded by the Chinese government, and implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
The new office building, which is expected to be completed by the year of 2010, will provide more than 400 officials with daily office functions, meetings and conference facilities.
Source:Xinhua
Chinese official: Challenges ahead in peaceful use of nuclear energy
The international community has to pay greater attention to the challenges facing the rapidly growing civil nuclear projects, Chen Qiufa, director of Chinese Atomic Energy Agency, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
The Chinese official, who was here for a six-day General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency starting on Sept. 29, said that every country is entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy as long as it honors the obligation of nonproliferation.
Amid spiraling oil prices and global warming, the international community has begun to re-evaluate the strategic role of nuclear power in energy security and take it as an important alternative energy source.
The exploitation of nuclear power, however, poses many challenges, such as the safety of nuclear power plant, reliable supply of nuclear fuel, and safe disposal of nuclear waste, he said.
How to prevent the nuclear technologies falling into the hands of terrorists is another major concern, he added.
The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, plays an irreplaceable role to tackle these challenges, Chen said, adding that the IAEA could provide substantial assistance to member states in nuclear technology application, the training of technical personnel and the supply of nuclear fuel, Chen said.
Despite the general trend of improving nuclear safety in recent years, there were sporadic cases of nuclear leak, which means the agency is still obliged to strengthening its role in promoting nuclear safety standards and boosting the international cooperation in this regard, Chen said.
Chen said that since it came into existence in 1956, the IAEA has been widely acclaimed for its efforts in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power and nonproliferation. Its positive contribution to world energy supply, environmental protection, and international security has also been lauded.
The Chinese official also said that China, as a responsible country, will stick to its promises of nonproliferation and share its experiences in the peaceful use of nuclear power with other member states of the treaty.
Source:Xinhua
The Chinese official, who was here for a six-day General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency starting on Sept. 29, said that every country is entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy as long as it honors the obligation of nonproliferation.
Amid spiraling oil prices and global warming, the international community has begun to re-evaluate the strategic role of nuclear power in energy security and take it as an important alternative energy source.
The exploitation of nuclear power, however, poses many challenges, such as the safety of nuclear power plant, reliable supply of nuclear fuel, and safe disposal of nuclear waste, he said.
How to prevent the nuclear technologies falling into the hands of terrorists is another major concern, he added.
The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, plays an irreplaceable role to tackle these challenges, Chen said, adding that the IAEA could provide substantial assistance to member states in nuclear technology application, the training of technical personnel and the supply of nuclear fuel, Chen said.
Despite the general trend of improving nuclear safety in recent years, there were sporadic cases of nuclear leak, which means the agency is still obliged to strengthening its role in promoting nuclear safety standards and boosting the international cooperation in this regard, Chen said.
Chen said that since it came into existence in 1956, the IAEA has been widely acclaimed for its efforts in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power and nonproliferation. Its positive contribution to world energy supply, environmental protection, and international security has also been lauded.
The Chinese official also said that China, as a responsible country, will stick to its promises of nonproliferation and share its experiences in the peaceful use of nuclear power with other member states of the treaty.
Source:Xinhua
Britain's Communist Party celebrates 59th anniversary of New China
The Communist Party of Great Britain celebrated on Saturday evening the 59th anniversary of the founding of the New China, lending its unswerving support to China's pursuit of socialism.
Reviewing China's development since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, Harpal Brar, chair of the party, hailed China's evolving in the past decades into a "thriving economy."
"China has come a long way since it had been the miserable place under imperialist control. When 13 million children in Africa under the age of 15 die every year, over 400 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty in the last 30 years... China has achieved the basic human rights. It's a living example of socialism," he said.
Although the Chinese people know they still have a long way to go, "so far it has been fantastic," he added.
According to Brar, China has long been supporting countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America in their struggle for independence and development.
The Chinese revolution has inspired the world with great lessons, therefore, celebrating China's National Day, which falls on Oct. 1, is actually "paying back a little to China for what it does for us," he said.
Some 80 party members and representatives from the Indian Workers' Association, Communist Workers & Peasants Party of Pakistan attended the celebration.
Jack Shapiro, a veteran member of the Society for Anglo-China Understanding who had facilitated exchanges between Britain and China on rehabilitation for the disabled, and Kojo Gottfried, former Ghanaian Ambassador to China, also shared their memories of China experience.
A resolution passed at the meeting congratulated China on the success of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics as well as the Shenzhou-7 manned space mission, in particular China's first ever spacewalk.
"Through these epic events, the people of the whole world have been able to see the enormous progress and tremendous achievements of socialist China, which stand in stark and growing contrast to the crisis, chaos and despondency now gripping the capitalist world," said the resolution.
The party also reaffirms its "invariable solidarity with the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government and people in their struggle to build a powerful, modernized and prosperous socialist nation, to reunify the country and to contribute to the building of an independent and peaceful world against imperialist aggression and war."
In July this year, the Communist Party of Great Britain launched a "Hands off China" campaign, supporting China in the waves of China-bashing in western media in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.
Source:Xinhua
Reviewing China's development since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, Harpal Brar, chair of the party, hailed China's evolving in the past decades into a "thriving economy."
"China has come a long way since it had been the miserable place under imperialist control. When 13 million children in Africa under the age of 15 die every year, over 400 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty in the last 30 years... China has achieved the basic human rights. It's a living example of socialism," he said.
Although the Chinese people know they still have a long way to go, "so far it has been fantastic," he added.
According to Brar, China has long been supporting countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America in their struggle for independence and development.
The Chinese revolution has inspired the world with great lessons, therefore, celebrating China's National Day, which falls on Oct. 1, is actually "paying back a little to China for what it does for us," he said.
Some 80 party members and representatives from the Indian Workers' Association, Communist Workers & Peasants Party of Pakistan attended the celebration.
Jack Shapiro, a veteran member of the Society for Anglo-China Understanding who had facilitated exchanges between Britain and China on rehabilitation for the disabled, and Kojo Gottfried, former Ghanaian Ambassador to China, also shared their memories of China experience.
A resolution passed at the meeting congratulated China on the success of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics as well as the Shenzhou-7 manned space mission, in particular China's first ever spacewalk.
"Through these epic events, the people of the whole world have been able to see the enormous progress and tremendous achievements of socialist China, which stand in stark and growing contrast to the crisis, chaos and despondency now gripping the capitalist world," said the resolution.
The party also reaffirms its "invariable solidarity with the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government and people in their struggle to build a powerful, modernized and prosperous socialist nation, to reunify the country and to contribute to the building of an independent and peaceful world against imperialist aggression and war."
In July this year, the Communist Party of Great Britain launched a "Hands off China" campaign, supporting China in the waves of China-bashing in western media in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.
Source:Xinhua
Missing foreign sailors in East China Sea feared dead
Five foreign sailors who have been missing since their vessel sank on Monday in the East China Sea off the eastern Zhejiang Province were feared dead, despite continuing rescue operations on Saturday.
Li Hua, vice director of the Wenzhou Maritime Safety Administration in Zhejiang Province, told Xinhua more than 10 vessels were searching for the missing sailors.
"However, the hope of their survival is very slim at this moment," he said.
The Panama-registered vessel "Helios 3" sank on Monday afternoon off Wenzhou. Nine sailors were rescued and one body was recovered. The dead man was identified as the ship's captain from the Republic of Korea.
The freighter was transporting 6,000 tons of wood from Myanmar to Jiaxing Port in Zhejiang, with a crew from Korea, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Source:Xinhua
Li Hua, vice director of the Wenzhou Maritime Safety Administration in Zhejiang Province, told Xinhua more than 10 vessels were searching for the missing sailors.
"However, the hope of their survival is very slim at this moment," he said.
The Panama-registered vessel "Helios 3" sank on Monday afternoon off Wenzhou. Nine sailors were rescued and one body was recovered. The dead man was identified as the ship's captain from the Republic of Korea.
The freighter was transporting 6,000 tons of wood from Myanmar to Jiaxing Port in Zhejiang, with a crew from Korea, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Source:Xinhua
China central gov't to subsidize dairy farmers after tainted milk scandal
China's Ministry of Agriculture said Saturday it had made an emergency rescue plan with the Ministry of Finance to give special subsidies to the country's dairy farmers, who have suffered from shrinking demand after the tainted milk scandal.
Fewer dairy farmers were dumping raw milk as government support policies to shield them from losses paid off, said the ministry in a statement on its website.
Some dairy farmers started to dump raw milk because of decreased demand as customers lost confidence in local dairy brands after the scandal erupted last month.
The ministry said 14 local governments had already come up with policies to stabilize the dairy industry.
Some local authorities have promised subsidies for dairy farmers to reduce the cost of feeding cows. For instance, north China's Hebei Province has earmarked 316 million yuan as subsidies on the basis of 200 yuan for each cow.
The country had sent more than 150,000 officials to overhaul milk-collecting stations and cow feed supply chains as of Thursday, said the ministry.
Altogether 18,803 milk-collecting stations had been registered and checked by then.
The ministry also investigated 98 dairy producers and farms, banned 151 illegal companies and transferred to the police three manufacturers of feedstuff that contained melamine.
It urged local authorities to reinforce bailout measures and technical guide on cow feeding and epidemic control.
In an effort to encourage dairy producers to buy raw milk, the Ministry of Finance said last month that interest rate for loans to dairy producers' raw milk purchase will be reduced by 3.1 percent, or half of the six-month lending rate, from October to December.
Source:Xinhua
Fewer dairy farmers were dumping raw milk as government support policies to shield them from losses paid off, said the ministry in a statement on its website.
Some dairy farmers started to dump raw milk because of decreased demand as customers lost confidence in local dairy brands after the scandal erupted last month.
The ministry said 14 local governments had already come up with policies to stabilize the dairy industry.
Some local authorities have promised subsidies for dairy farmers to reduce the cost of feeding cows. For instance, north China's Hebei Province has earmarked 316 million yuan as subsidies on the basis of 200 yuan for each cow.
The country had sent more than 150,000 officials to overhaul milk-collecting stations and cow feed supply chains as of Thursday, said the ministry.
Altogether 18,803 milk-collecting stations had been registered and checked by then.
The ministry also investigated 98 dairy producers and farms, banned 151 illegal companies and transferred to the police three manufacturers of feedstuff that contained melamine.
It urged local authorities to reinforce bailout measures and technical guide on cow feeding and epidemic control.
In an effort to encourage dairy producers to buy raw milk, the Ministry of Finance said last month that interest rate for loans to dairy producers' raw milk purchase will be reduced by 3.1 percent, or half of the six-month lending rate, from October to December.
Source:Xinhua
China's newly emerging middle class
Eric Wang pops into a Starbucks near his office in Beijing's central business district. Wearing a neat dark blue suit with a gold-colored tie, he picks up a cup of cappuccino in his roughened hand, and sips.
"It's really a sharp contrast between my present life and that of my parents," says Wang. A certified public accountant in an international accounting firm, he enjoys a life of great vicissitudes.
Born into a rural family in east China's Zhejiang Province, Wang says his parents are traditional peasants who earn a living by planting rice and fishing in the Taihu Lake. Every summer holiday Wang helped his parents on the farm, which left him with a swarthy face and calloused hands.
Wang studied hard in school and was finally admitted to the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Fascinated by the capital's skyscrapers, Wang knew he would not return to the two-storey wooden home where he was born.
Now 29, he earns more than 200,000 yuan a year by working on initial public offerings for the companies which look to list on the stock exchange.
Considering China reported a per-capita GDP of 2,042 U.S. dollars in 2007, it makes Wang fairly well off. But, he asks not to use his Chinese name, as in China, exposing one's wealth is not wise.
His parents live the same as they have for decades. While they knew their son works in a foreign-funded accounting firm, they are unaware of how the firm makes money.
Wang lives with his fiance in a two-bedroom apartment he bought two years ago in downtown Beijing. His mortgage will be paid off in three years. The next goal is a China-made Ford's Mondeo, worth 200,000 yuan.
"I'm lucky, but others have similar stories," says Wang. "It's a trend."
In developed cities, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other major metropolitan areas, Wang and his ilk are making a group that has only existed in China since the country's economic makeover began three decades ago.
Thirty years ago, Wang's parents lived in a people's commune, a commune-like organization in which everything was collectively owned by the member peasants. Workers in factories enjoyed cradle-to-grave welfare. Another group, the intellectuals, including professors in colleges and show folks, were tied in different organizations.
Situations changed as China embraced a policy of opening to the outside world and reform in 1978, when national leader Deng Xiaoping and his supporters decided to end the class struggle and turn to economic development.
Zhang Wanli, deputy researcher with the Sociology Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences , notes that before 1978 China had three classes - peasants, workers, and intellectuals. Private enterprise was strictly prohibited. A peasant who sold eggs in rural free market would be seen as "the tail of capitalism" that had to be cut off.
Restrictions were gradually lifted from 1978. People could run private enterprises and employ workers. Later, foreign capital came. Thanks to those changes, commercial, financial and services sectors grew rapidly. New jobs, white-collar managers in foreign and domestic enterprises, owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, came into existence. So did professionals, like lawyers and accountants.
Without the restraints of the old system, they gained the freedom of mobility that allowed them acquire economic interests, like entrepreneurship and knowledge, in the budding markets.
"They do brainwork, and they use their cultural capital and professional skills to earn their living," says Zhang Wanli.
However, the new class has stirred up controversies. Many people believe "middle class" is a lifestyle. They think a middle class family should own at least one apartment and one car, have a golf club membership, and often travel overseas. In other words, it is a lifestyle of the rich.
"I have no car, and I live in an apartment built as work unit accommodation from the CASS," says Zhang. "But when I was interviewing a millionaire entrepreneur at one time, he said I definitely belong to the middle class." Zhang says social status and professions, rather than incomes, play more important roles in defining social classes.
In 2001, the CASS conducted a nationwide survey, which found the middle class in terms of profession, including people with new jobs and in non-public sectors, and those government officials and intellectuals in the middle levels, accounted for 20 percent of the total population.
In that survey, elite intellectuals, executives, officials of vice-ministerial level and above, billionaires of private-business owners were divided as the upper class, while industrial workers, business people, and farmers and jobless people the lower classes.
Although people in the middle classes keep increasing in the past seven years, Zhang says its proportion of the population remains approximately the same as more rural people come to the cities to seek work. Considering that rural population account almost 64 percent, it is really a large number.
In 2006, the state-run Outlook Weekly reported the newly emerging strata, including non-public sectors and professional people, accounted for 11.5 percent of the population and contributed almost one third of the total taxes. They also held more than half of the total technical patent rights.
"If the middle class can be quantified by money, I belong to it," says Eric Wang, "but it makes no sense - I'm only a high-paid worker."
China's middle class is trying to find a place in the established political system. However, recent years have witnessed the rise of the middle class's political status. Intellectuals discuss public policies in the media. Governments and legislatures consult lawyers and accountants on laws and regulations.
Zhang points out that more private entrepreneurs and professionals became delegates to the most recent National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007. Considering the increasing economic and social influence of the new social stratum, the Party has made efforts to include them in the political mechanisms.
The year of 2007 saw the implementation of the long-awaited property law, which defined the legal status of private assets, giving individuals the same rights over their property as the state and collectives.
At the end 2007, residents of the scenic coastal city of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, protested peacefully against a plan to build an 11-billion-yuan factory producing the industrial chemical paraxylene after a local chemical scientist Zhao Yufen, who is also an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences identified potential risks later made a proposal to the political advisory body, calling for reconsideration.
After the proposal was published, residents and property owners near the project site worried about the environmental impact, expressing opposition to the project through the Internet, text messages and "walks" at the site. The government later suspended the project.
The incident is widely seen as the rising political influence of China's middle class. Popular newspaper Southern Weekly called it a milestone for the rise of a civil society.
As for the middle class, however, politics is still far from their lives. To Eric Wang, politics only means giving opinions to accounting regulators via his boss. When the government regulators want to issue or amend regulations on accounting, "my boss will be consulted," he says.
But Wang himself wants more. "Someday when I earn more economic power, I think the middle class as whole may expect higher political status," he says.
Source:Xinhua
"It's really a sharp contrast between my present life and that of my parents," says Wang. A certified public accountant in an international accounting firm, he enjoys a life of great vicissitudes.
Born into a rural family in east China's Zhejiang Province, Wang says his parents are traditional peasants who earn a living by planting rice and fishing in the Taihu Lake. Every summer holiday Wang helped his parents on the farm, which left him with a swarthy face and calloused hands.
Wang studied hard in school and was finally admitted to the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Fascinated by the capital's skyscrapers, Wang knew he would not return to the two-storey wooden home where he was born.
Now 29, he earns more than 200,000 yuan a year by working on initial public offerings for the companies which look to list on the stock exchange.
Considering China reported a per-capita GDP of 2,042 U.S. dollars in 2007, it makes Wang fairly well off. But, he asks not to use his Chinese name, as in China, exposing one's wealth is not wise.
His parents live the same as they have for decades. While they knew their son works in a foreign-funded accounting firm, they are unaware of how the firm makes money.
Wang lives with his fiance in a two-bedroom apartment he bought two years ago in downtown Beijing. His mortgage will be paid off in three years. The next goal is a China-made Ford's Mondeo, worth 200,000 yuan.
"I'm lucky, but others have similar stories," says Wang. "It's a trend."
In developed cities, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other major metropolitan areas, Wang and his ilk are making a group that has only existed in China since the country's economic makeover began three decades ago.
Thirty years ago, Wang's parents lived in a people's commune, a commune-like organization in which everything was collectively owned by the member peasants. Workers in factories enjoyed cradle-to-grave welfare. Another group, the intellectuals, including professors in colleges and show folks, were tied in different organizations.
Situations changed as China embraced a policy of opening to the outside world and reform in 1978, when national leader Deng Xiaoping and his supporters decided to end the class struggle and turn to economic development.
Zhang Wanli, deputy researcher with the Sociology Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences , notes that before 1978 China had three classes - peasants, workers, and intellectuals. Private enterprise was strictly prohibited. A peasant who sold eggs in rural free market would be seen as "the tail of capitalism" that had to be cut off.
Restrictions were gradually lifted from 1978. People could run private enterprises and employ workers. Later, foreign capital came. Thanks to those changes, commercial, financial and services sectors grew rapidly. New jobs, white-collar managers in foreign and domestic enterprises, owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, came into existence. So did professionals, like lawyers and accountants.
Without the restraints of the old system, they gained the freedom of mobility that allowed them acquire economic interests, like entrepreneurship and knowledge, in the budding markets.
"They do brainwork, and they use their cultural capital and professional skills to earn their living," says Zhang Wanli.
However, the new class has stirred up controversies. Many people believe "middle class" is a lifestyle. They think a middle class family should own at least one apartment and one car, have a golf club membership, and often travel overseas. In other words, it is a lifestyle of the rich.
"I have no car, and I live in an apartment built as work unit accommodation from the CASS," says Zhang. "But when I was interviewing a millionaire entrepreneur at one time, he said I definitely belong to the middle class." Zhang says social status and professions, rather than incomes, play more important roles in defining social classes.
In 2001, the CASS conducted a nationwide survey, which found the middle class in terms of profession, including people with new jobs and in non-public sectors, and those government officials and intellectuals in the middle levels, accounted for 20 percent of the total population.
In that survey, elite intellectuals, executives, officials of vice-ministerial level and above, billionaires of private-business owners were divided as the upper class, while industrial workers, business people, and farmers and jobless people the lower classes.
Although people in the middle classes keep increasing in the past seven years, Zhang says its proportion of the population remains approximately the same as more rural people come to the cities to seek work. Considering that rural population account almost 64 percent, it is really a large number.
In 2006, the state-run Outlook Weekly reported the newly emerging strata, including non-public sectors and professional people, accounted for 11.5 percent of the population and contributed almost one third of the total taxes. They also held more than half of the total technical patent rights.
"If the middle class can be quantified by money, I belong to it," says Eric Wang, "but it makes no sense - I'm only a high-paid worker."
China's middle class is trying to find a place in the established political system. However, recent years have witnessed the rise of the middle class's political status. Intellectuals discuss public policies in the media. Governments and legislatures consult lawyers and accountants on laws and regulations.
Zhang points out that more private entrepreneurs and professionals became delegates to the most recent National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007. Considering the increasing economic and social influence of the new social stratum, the Party has made efforts to include them in the political mechanisms.
The year of 2007 saw the implementation of the long-awaited property law, which defined the legal status of private assets, giving individuals the same rights over their property as the state and collectives.
At the end 2007, residents of the scenic coastal city of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, protested peacefully against a plan to build an 11-billion-yuan factory producing the industrial chemical paraxylene after a local chemical scientist Zhao Yufen, who is also an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences identified potential risks later made a proposal to the political advisory body, calling for reconsideration.
After the proposal was published, residents and property owners near the project site worried about the environmental impact, expressing opposition to the project through the Internet, text messages and "walks" at the site. The government later suspended the project.
The incident is widely seen as the rising political influence of China's middle class. Popular newspaper Southern Weekly called it a milestone for the rise of a civil society.
As for the middle class, however, politics is still far from their lives. To Eric Wang, politics only means giving opinions to accounting regulators via his boss. When the government regulators want to issue or amend regulations on accounting, "my boss will be consulted," he says.
But Wang himself wants more. "Someday when I earn more economic power, I think the middle class as whole may expect higher political status," he says.
Source:Xinhua
Impact of global financial turmoil on China seen as limited
The ongoing global financial turbulence will have a limited impact on China's banks and financial system in the short run, according to officials and experts.
"We feel China's financial system and its banks are, to the chaos developed in the U.S. and other parts of the world, relatively shielded from those problems," said senior economist Louis Kuijs at the World Bank Beijing Office.
U.S. President George W. Bush stands with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, after thanking Treasury workers for their efforts after the House passed the $700 billion financial rescue legislation, outside the Treasury Building in Washington, October 3, 2008.
He told Xinhua one reason was that Chinese banks were less involved in the highly sophisticated financial transactions and products.
"They were lucky not to be so-called developed, because this is very much a developed market crisis."
A few Chinese lenders were subject to losses from investing in foreign assets involved in the Wall Street crisis, but the scope and scale were small and the banks had been prepared for possible risks, Liu Fushou, deputy director of the Banking Supervision Department I of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, told China Central Television .
Chinese banks had only invested 3.7 percent of their total wealth in overseas assets that were prone to international tumult, CCTV reported. The ratio of provisions to possible losses had exceeded 110 percent at large, state owned listed lenders, 120 percent at joint stock commercial banks and 200 percent at foreign banks.
Kuijs noted most of the banks resided in China where capital control made it more difficult to move money in and out. Besides, the country's large foreign reserves prevented the financial system from a lack of liquidity, which was troubling the strained international markets.
"At times like this, one cannot rule out anything," he said. "But still we believe the economic development and economic fundamentals in China are such that it's not easy to foresee a significant direct impact on the financial system."
However, he expected an impact on China's banks coming via the country's real economy, as exports, investment and plans of companies would be affected by the troubled world economy and in turn increase pressure on bad loans.
Wang Xiaoguang, a Beijing-based macro-economist, said the growing risks on global markets would render a negative effect on China in the short term but provided an opportunity for the country to fuel its growth more on domestic demand than on external needs.
He urged while China, the world's fastest expanding economy, should be more cautious of fully opening up its capital account, the government should continue its market reforms on the domestic financial industry without being intimidated.
Chinese banks had strengthened the management of their investments in overseas liquid assets and taken a more prudent strategy in foreign currency-denominated investment products since the U.S.-born financial crisis broke out, CCTV reported.
Source:Xinhua
"We feel China's financial system and its banks are, to the chaos developed in the U.S. and other parts of the world, relatively shielded from those problems," said senior economist Louis Kuijs at the World Bank Beijing Office.
U.S. President George W. Bush stands with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, after thanking Treasury workers for their efforts after the House passed the $700 billion financial rescue legislation, outside the Treasury Building in Washington, October 3, 2008.
He told Xinhua one reason was that Chinese banks were less involved in the highly sophisticated financial transactions and products.
"They were lucky not to be so-called developed, because this is very much a developed market crisis."
A few Chinese lenders were subject to losses from investing in foreign assets involved in the Wall Street crisis, but the scope and scale were small and the banks had been prepared for possible risks, Liu Fushou, deputy director of the Banking Supervision Department I of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, told China Central Television .
Chinese banks had only invested 3.7 percent of their total wealth in overseas assets that were prone to international tumult, CCTV reported. The ratio of provisions to possible losses had exceeded 110 percent at large, state owned listed lenders, 120 percent at joint stock commercial banks and 200 percent at foreign banks.
Kuijs noted most of the banks resided in China where capital control made it more difficult to move money in and out. Besides, the country's large foreign reserves prevented the financial system from a lack of liquidity, which was troubling the strained international markets.
"At times like this, one cannot rule out anything," he said. "But still we believe the economic development and economic fundamentals in China are such that it's not easy to foresee a significant direct impact on the financial system."
However, he expected an impact on China's banks coming via the country's real economy, as exports, investment and plans of companies would be affected by the troubled world economy and in turn increase pressure on bad loans.
Wang Xiaoguang, a Beijing-based macro-economist, said the growing risks on global markets would render a negative effect on China in the short term but provided an opportunity for the country to fuel its growth more on domestic demand than on external needs.
He urged while China, the world's fastest expanding economy, should be more cautious of fully opening up its capital account, the government should continue its market reforms on the domestic financial industry without being intimidated.
Chinese banks had strengthened the management of their investments in overseas liquid assets and taken a more prudent strategy in foreign currency-denominated investment products since the U.S.-born financial crisis broke out, CCTV reported.
Source:Xinhua
Abbas: Palestinians determined to reach two-state solution with Israel
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Saturday that the Palestinians are determined to reach an agreement with Israel on the two-state solution either this year or later.
Abbas' statements were made as he inaugurated the new building of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The construction of the building was funded by China and the United Nations.
"The idea of having two states, a Palestinian one to live side-by-side with the state of Israel is internationally supported. Therefore, we work intensively and remove all obstacles in order to achieve it," said Abbas.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who will step down at the beginning of 2009, had promised the Palestinians that their independent Palestinian state would be established to live side-by-side with Israel this year.
After Annapolis conference, held in November 2007, Israel and the Palestinians launched intensive talks to agree on the outstanding permanent status issues. However, it seems that an agreement won't be reached by the end of this year.
"The efforts, which are exerted by the Palestinian Authority together with the Israeli side under the American sponsorship and the Quartet Committee, aim at achieving this goal," said Abbas.
He added "this depends on our neighbors to ease the peace process... in order to let our people get a flourishing independent state that can live side-by-side with the state of Israel."
Source:Xinhua
Abbas' statements were made as he inaugurated the new building of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The construction of the building was funded by China and the United Nations.
"The idea of having two states, a Palestinian one to live side-by-side with the state of Israel is internationally supported. Therefore, we work intensively and remove all obstacles in order to achieve it," said Abbas.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who will step down at the beginning of 2009, had promised the Palestinians that their independent Palestinian state would be established to live side-by-side with Israel this year.
After Annapolis conference, held in November 2007, Israel and the Palestinians launched intensive talks to agree on the outstanding permanent status issues. However, it seems that an agreement won't be reached by the end of this year.
"The efforts, which are exerted by the Palestinian Authority together with the Israeli side under the American sponsorship and the Quartet Committee, aim at achieving this goal," said Abbas.
He added "this depends on our neighbors to ease the peace process... in order to let our people get a flourishing independent state that can live side-by-side with the state of Israel."
Source:Xinhua
China quality watchdog: New liquid milk supplies melamine free
The latest sample test detected no melamine in newly supplied liquid milk on China's market, the country's quality watchdog said Saturday.
Samples of 609 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities across China were found free of melamine, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine .
Altogether 75 brands were sampled for the test, including top-selling ones such as Yili, Mengniu, Bright Dairy, Sanyuan and Wandashan, according to the AQSIQ.
Reports on testing milk are posted on shelf at a supermarket in Shijiazhuang, capital city of north China's Hebei Province Sept. 27, 2008.
The test was the sixth in China after the tainted milk powder scandal erupted last month. A total of 2,093 batches of liquid milk under 115 brands, among other dairy products, have been checked since then, said the AQSIQ.
A nationwide inspection of baby milk powder was ordered on Sept. 11 after media reports that products from Sanlu and other Chinese brands contained melamine. Testing has been broadened from baby formula to other types of milk products.
In the previous inspection, on Sept. 30, officials tested 265 batches of adult milk powder produced before Sept. 14 by 154 companies, and the tests found 31 batches from 20 companies were tainted with melamine.
Some 13,000 infants nationwide have been hospitalized with kidney problems and at least three have died after drinking baby formula tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical added to raw milk to raise its apparent protein content.
Source:Xinhua
Samples of 609 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities across China were found free of melamine, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine .
Altogether 75 brands were sampled for the test, including top-selling ones such as Yili, Mengniu, Bright Dairy, Sanyuan and Wandashan, according to the AQSIQ.
Reports on testing milk are posted on shelf at a supermarket in Shijiazhuang, capital city of north China's Hebei Province Sept. 27, 2008.
The test was the sixth in China after the tainted milk powder scandal erupted last month. A total of 2,093 batches of liquid milk under 115 brands, among other dairy products, have been checked since then, said the AQSIQ.
A nationwide inspection of baby milk powder was ordered on Sept. 11 after media reports that products from Sanlu and other Chinese brands contained melamine. Testing has been broadened from baby formula to other types of milk products.
In the previous inspection, on Sept. 30, officials tested 265 batches of adult milk powder produced before Sept. 14 by 154 companies, and the tests found 31 batches from 20 companies were tainted with melamine.
Some 13,000 infants nationwide have been hospitalized with kidney problems and at least three have died after drinking baby formula tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical added to raw milk to raise its apparent protein content.
Source:Xinhua
Chinese arts: at the crossroads
In the eyes of Beijing woman Cui Yunshan, 27, and her husband Guan Wei, 26, frequenting cultural activities is "an interesting lifestyle", or even a potential target for market exploration. This young couple sees at least three or four performances each weekend.
But for the 51-year-old director of the National Theatre Company of China , Wang Xiaoying, the impulse to examine the human soul has been his primary driving force since the early 1980s.
China's arts have witnessed a significant change since the country set out on the path of reform and opening up in 1978. Despite the seemingly flourishing garden that "lets one hundred flowers bloom", critics have voiced both doubts and hopes about the future of the arts.
Born into a family of traditional opera performers in 1957, Wang was exposed to the arts at a very young age. After four years with a local performing arts troupe in eastern Anhui Province, he abandoned his admittance to Anhui Institute of Technology in preference for the Central Academy of Drama in 1979. "My intuition told me that my life would be devoted to the arts."
Wang and his 19 classmates, the first batch of directing majors since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, were strictly trained under the drama system adopted from the Soviet Union. "On the whole, it followed the traditional line: the arts are a tool to reflect reality and serve social needs."
In his third year, Wang sensed a change, both in society and on campus. "We had the chance to read Western works, notably the absurd theater led by Samuel Beckett and epic theater led by Bertolt Brecht." The 'spring breeze of reform' was stirring across China's arts world, and artists were experiencing a cultural reawakening that lasted for a full decade.
Later, Wang was able to see for himself foreign performances. The young man was deeply moved by a Japanese drama that told of a frog's adventures on a tree. "It never occurred to me that an adult's outlook on the world could be reflected by animals. My previous concept that realistic drama is the 'unbreakable golden rule' was rudely challenged."
When Wang enrolled in the China National Youth Theater upon graduation in 1984, he was immersed in a movement of experimentation. "It was imperative to go through reform, to prevent the extinction of drama in the face of the mushrooming film and television scene."
Two years later, the 28-year-old director put on his debut production, The Magic Square. Written by a student from East China's Normal University, it was divided into nine sections, each telling its own distinct story. A multitude of artistic forms were exercised, such as the monologue, mime, interview, and even advertising.
"Novel as it was, the theme was easily grasped: the young generation's multi-faceted thinking, or criticizing, of society and the meaning of life," Wang recalls, still excited. "I was enveloped by an urge to confront traditional drama."
The passionate audiences also experienced the urge, and the drama was shown consecutively for more than 80 nights in Beijing and Shanghai, winning acclaim from the avant-garde and brickbats from conservative supervisors.
It was thanks to his controversial experimental dramas that Wang was tagged "the most pioneering director in China".
Nationwide, other drama directors were also experimenting with what they termed "an exploration of both artistic ideas and expression". "I was starting to search the innermost part of the mind. I could see clearly the shortcomings of Teahouse or Thunderstorm models that had been passed on from one generation to the next."
To Wang and his colleagues' profound disappointment, the experimentation movement culminated in 1988 with the drama Recollections of Mulberry Village before fading away in the early 1990s. "With the receding tide, many dramatists paid too much attention to the form instead of the essence of the arts. They claimed to make experimental drama, but what they cared about more was money, which goes against the critical spirit of this form."
Throughout the 1990s, the Chinese arts were confronted by a new master: the market. The number of government-sponsored drama theaters fell from around 200 to less than 100. Wang believes this could be partly attributed to a new policy of "no money, no existence" introduced in 1998. Small theaters with low audience numbers were squarely removed from the list.
But the stubborn Wang has stuck to his quest for "humanity's struggle in a predicament", a central theme dating back to the thriving 1980s. One of his favorite works is British playwright Michael Frayn's Copenhagen, which centers on German nuclear scientist Werner Heisenberg's visit to his teacher Niels Bohr during World War II.
"The drama examines a scientist's position as war approaches. Is it morally acceptable or not to fight for his motherland and commit crimes against humanity by the invention and application of nuclear bombs?" Wang asks.
But for Cui, Guan and their young fellows, the arts no longer carry such heavy concepts.
Since they started to appreciate arts in 2001, the young couple has developed an interest in all the arts, including college theater, installations, independent documentary movies, or rock-and-roll bands.
"We like to experience new and amusing things," says Guan, a marketing specialist with a local IT company.
In 2006, they set up a group named Elvita and V's Scratchpad on www.douban.com, a popular Chinese website dedicated to the sharing of books, DVDs, music and films. They compile listings of all the arts events in Beijing and send out free weekly and monthly e-mails and bulletin board postings to its 8,000 members.
More than eighty percent of the members are college students and young professionals. "It's enjoyable to provide convenience and options to those interested in arts," Guan says.
"In terms of the arts, China is in its prime," he says. "Looking back at the past eight years, it's developed from idealism to realism or industrialization, which is a good thing. Chinese artists have managed to find a balance between the quality of performance and market success. They have come to rely on their senses and gradually matured."
The 798 Art Zone in east Beijing, where modern galleries and art studios sprawl on a former wireless factory, exemplifies this attitude.
Another success story is Xi Yao Tang, the first private drama studio established in Beijing in 2005. Targeting young audiences, the company chooses light topics or comedies such as white collar romance in big cities. How Much Love Can Be Wasted, a small-theater drama, has been shown more than 200 times since its debut in 2005, exceeding most of the NTCC's works.
Guan, who majored in law, also envisions making the scratchpad into a commercial product "if the proper time and resources are there".
More meaningful for the couple is the 'freedom to choose'. "One's happiness has nothing to do with the outside world and the Chinese artists are free to express themselves, without shackles," Cui says.
But for director Wang, the context of 'diversified culture' is still elusive. "Amusement is the focus these days, while the deep meaning of drama is neglected by the majority. The authorities have yet to introduce a flexible mechanism, and differentiate non-profit, serious-themed dramas from commercial shows. "
But the hotbed of cultural renaissance has come into being, observes Liu Jun'ning, a scholar with the Institute of Chinese Culture affiliated with the Ministry of Culture. The market economy, a growing emphasis on personal value and a freer space are all the positive factors for the booming arts, he says.
"The globalization brought about by internet and market economy is pushing forward China's link with the world, thus paving the way for the Chinese going much deeper inside and further outside in terms of their mindset," he says. "A new humanitarian movement is just knocking at the door."
Source:Xinhua
But for the 51-year-old director of the National Theatre Company of China , Wang Xiaoying, the impulse to examine the human soul has been his primary driving force since the early 1980s.
China's arts have witnessed a significant change since the country set out on the path of reform and opening up in 1978. Despite the seemingly flourishing garden that "lets one hundred flowers bloom", critics have voiced both doubts and hopes about the future of the arts.
Born into a family of traditional opera performers in 1957, Wang was exposed to the arts at a very young age. After four years with a local performing arts troupe in eastern Anhui Province, he abandoned his admittance to Anhui Institute of Technology in preference for the Central Academy of Drama in 1979. "My intuition told me that my life would be devoted to the arts."
Wang and his 19 classmates, the first batch of directing majors since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, were strictly trained under the drama system adopted from the Soviet Union. "On the whole, it followed the traditional line: the arts are a tool to reflect reality and serve social needs."
In his third year, Wang sensed a change, both in society and on campus. "We had the chance to read Western works, notably the absurd theater led by Samuel Beckett and epic theater led by Bertolt Brecht." The 'spring breeze of reform' was stirring across China's arts world, and artists were experiencing a cultural reawakening that lasted for a full decade.
Later, Wang was able to see for himself foreign performances. The young man was deeply moved by a Japanese drama that told of a frog's adventures on a tree. "It never occurred to me that an adult's outlook on the world could be reflected by animals. My previous concept that realistic drama is the 'unbreakable golden rule' was rudely challenged."
When Wang enrolled in the China National Youth Theater upon graduation in 1984, he was immersed in a movement of experimentation. "It was imperative to go through reform, to prevent the extinction of drama in the face of the mushrooming film and television scene."
Two years later, the 28-year-old director put on his debut production, The Magic Square. Written by a student from East China's Normal University, it was divided into nine sections, each telling its own distinct story. A multitude of artistic forms were exercised, such as the monologue, mime, interview, and even advertising.
"Novel as it was, the theme was easily grasped: the young generation's multi-faceted thinking, or criticizing, of society and the meaning of life," Wang recalls, still excited. "I was enveloped by an urge to confront traditional drama."
The passionate audiences also experienced the urge, and the drama was shown consecutively for more than 80 nights in Beijing and Shanghai, winning acclaim from the avant-garde and brickbats from conservative supervisors.
It was thanks to his controversial experimental dramas that Wang was tagged "the most pioneering director in China".
Nationwide, other drama directors were also experimenting with what they termed "an exploration of both artistic ideas and expression". "I was starting to search the innermost part of the mind. I could see clearly the shortcomings of Teahouse or Thunderstorm models that had been passed on from one generation to the next."
To Wang and his colleagues' profound disappointment, the experimentation movement culminated in 1988 with the drama Recollections of Mulberry Village before fading away in the early 1990s. "With the receding tide, many dramatists paid too much attention to the form instead of the essence of the arts. They claimed to make experimental drama, but what they cared about more was money, which goes against the critical spirit of this form."
Throughout the 1990s, the Chinese arts were confronted by a new master: the market. The number of government-sponsored drama theaters fell from around 200 to less than 100. Wang believes this could be partly attributed to a new policy of "no money, no existence" introduced in 1998. Small theaters with low audience numbers were squarely removed from the list.
But the stubborn Wang has stuck to his quest for "humanity's struggle in a predicament", a central theme dating back to the thriving 1980s. One of his favorite works is British playwright Michael Frayn's Copenhagen, which centers on German nuclear scientist Werner Heisenberg's visit to his teacher Niels Bohr during World War II.
"The drama examines a scientist's position as war approaches. Is it morally acceptable or not to fight for his motherland and commit crimes against humanity by the invention and application of nuclear bombs?" Wang asks.
But for Cui, Guan and their young fellows, the arts no longer carry such heavy concepts.
Since they started to appreciate arts in 2001, the young couple has developed an interest in all the arts, including college theater, installations, independent documentary movies, or rock-and-roll bands.
"We like to experience new and amusing things," says Guan, a marketing specialist with a local IT company.
In 2006, they set up a group named Elvita and V's Scratchpad on www.douban.com, a popular Chinese website dedicated to the sharing of books, DVDs, music and films. They compile listings of all the arts events in Beijing and send out free weekly and monthly e-mails and bulletin board postings to its 8,000 members.
More than eighty percent of the members are college students and young professionals. "It's enjoyable to provide convenience and options to those interested in arts," Guan says.
"In terms of the arts, China is in its prime," he says. "Looking back at the past eight years, it's developed from idealism to realism or industrialization, which is a good thing. Chinese artists have managed to find a balance between the quality of performance and market success. They have come to rely on their senses and gradually matured."
The 798 Art Zone in east Beijing, where modern galleries and art studios sprawl on a former wireless factory, exemplifies this attitude.
Another success story is Xi Yao Tang, the first private drama studio established in Beijing in 2005. Targeting young audiences, the company chooses light topics or comedies such as white collar romance in big cities. How Much Love Can Be Wasted, a small-theater drama, has been shown more than 200 times since its debut in 2005, exceeding most of the NTCC's works.
Guan, who majored in law, also envisions making the scratchpad into a commercial product "if the proper time and resources are there".
More meaningful for the couple is the 'freedom to choose'. "One's happiness has nothing to do with the outside world and the Chinese artists are free to express themselves, without shackles," Cui says.
But for director Wang, the context of 'diversified culture' is still elusive. "Amusement is the focus these days, while the deep meaning of drama is neglected by the majority. The authorities have yet to introduce a flexible mechanism, and differentiate non-profit, serious-themed dramas from commercial shows. "
But the hotbed of cultural renaissance has come into being, observes Liu Jun'ning, a scholar with the Institute of Chinese Culture affiliated with the Ministry of Culture. The market economy, a growing emphasis on personal value and a freer space are all the positive factors for the booming arts, he says.
"The globalization brought about by internet and market economy is pushing forward China's link with the world, thus paving the way for the Chinese going much deeper inside and further outside in terms of their mindset," he says. "A new humanitarian movement is just knocking at the door."
Source:Xinhua
CFS: All dairy products samples free from melamine in Hong Kong's latest tests
The Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong released the latest batch of results of melamine tests on dairy products on Saturday and said all samples tested were satisfactory.
All 106 samples tested, including cakes, egg tarts, baby food, chocolates, instant drink mixes, milk, cereals, ice-cream, cream and nutrition supplements for hospital use, were satisfactory, according to the CFS.
"So far, we have tested about 140 overseas imported frozen confection samples and they are all satisfactory. We will continue to collect samples of dairy products and products with dairy ingredients for testing," a spokesman for the CFS said.
"Test results for some milk powder, frozen confections, chocolates, milk beverages, cakes, buns and cream soup will be available tomorrow," he added.
Source:Xinhua
All 106 samples tested, including cakes, egg tarts, baby food, chocolates, instant drink mixes, milk, cereals, ice-cream, cream and nutrition supplements for hospital use, were satisfactory, according to the CFS.
"So far, we have tested about 140 overseas imported frozen confection samples and they are all satisfactory. We will continue to collect samples of dairy products and products with dairy ingredients for testing," a spokesman for the CFS said.
"Test results for some milk powder, frozen confections, chocolates, milk beverages, cakes, buns and cream soup will be available tomorrow," he added.
Source:Xinhua
China's Peng upset at WTA Tashkent Open
Top seed Peng Shuai of China was upset by Germany's fourth seed Sabine Lisicki in the semifinal of the 145,000 U.S. dollar WTA Tashkent Open on Saturday.
Lisicki, 19, ranked 64th in the world, won 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in herfirst meeting with Peng in two hours 13 minutes.
Lisicki will next face third seed Sorana Cisrtea of Romania, who beat fifth seed Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarukova in the other semifinal earlier Saturday.
Source:Xinhua
Lisicki, 19, ranked 64th in the world, won 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in herfirst meeting with Peng in two hours 13 minutes.
Lisicki will next face third seed Sorana Cisrtea of Romania, who beat fifth seed Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarukova in the other semifinal earlier Saturday.
Source:Xinhua
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