| Typhoon Longwang kills 65, dozens missing
2005-10-05 Xinhuanet
The death toll from Typhoon Longwang in East China's Fujian
Province reached 65 last night. Fifty armed police officers
swept away in a landslide have been confirmed dead, while a
further 36 officers are still missing, the Xinhua News Agency
reported. The officers were in a training school barracks in
Fujian when the violent floods struck on Sunday night. After
40 hours of searching by more than 7,000 soldiers and rescuers,
50 bodies had been found by yesterday afternoon. Of the 15 others
killed by the typhoon, five died in landslides, five were swept
away by floods and the remaining five were drowned. Apart from
the havoc triggered by the typhoon, flooding has struck or is
threatened along major tributaries of the Yellow and Yangtze
rivers after sustained heavy rains since September 24. Around
79,000 people along the Weihe River in Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province and 24,000 people near the Hanjiang River in Central
China's Hubei Province have been evacuated, according to Xinhua.
Flooding, which has already struck along the Weihe River, the
biggest tributary of Yellow River, is said to be the most severe
since 1981. Water levels along the tributary have exceeded danger
levels, according to provincial flood control and drought relief
headquarters. The water level at the Lintong measuring station
was nearly 36 metres, the highest reading since 1961 and 1.58
metres above the danger level. On the Hanjiang River in Hubei
Province, observers at the Danjiangkou Reservoir recorded a
flow of 30,700 cubic metres per second, the highest since 1983.
()
Road accidents kill 133 during National Day holiday
2005-10-05 China Daily
At least 133 people were killed in 71 road accidents in China
during the first four days of the weeklong National Day holiday
beginning Oct. 1, the police said Tuesday. According to the
Ministry of Public Security, 31 traffic accidents and 44 deaths
were reported in the country from 12 a.m. Oct. 1 to 12 a.m.
Oct. 2, and the figures were 32 and 68, and eight and 21 in
the following two days, respectively. The number of people injured
in the accidents is yet to be known. As most of the accidents
took place on roads to tourist destinations, the traffic police
in many places have taken measures to control the number of
private cars heading for major tourist resorts to ensure smooth
traffic flows in the scenic areas.
Flooding forces huge evacuation in Shaanxi
2005-10-07 Xinhuanet
About 286,000 have been evacuated from flood-hit regions in
Shaanxi Province in Northwest China along the banks of tributaries
of the Yangtze River and Yellow River the country's top two
rivers. The provincial civil affairs department said that a
total of 3.16 million people in the province have been affected
by the floods along the Hanjiang River, tributary of the Yangtze
River and Weihe River, tributary of the Yellow River. More than
45 counties in the province have been hit by the flood caused
by continuous rainfall since late September. The flood in the
Weihe River is said to be the most severe since 1981. Meanwhile,
people in East China's Fujian Province have started reconstruction
work following Typhoon Longwang, which claimed 65 lives and
left 36 missing. Longwang, which landed in Fujian Sunday night
and swept over the province for 10 hours, destroyed 5,500 houses,
affected the normal lives of 3.71 million people, forced 186
highways in the province to close and 2,125 enterprises to stop
production. In an effort to speed up the reconstruction work,
the local government held emergency meetings and sent special
working teams to different places to provide disaster relief.
So far, almost all the telecommunication cables and stations
damaged by Longwang have been restored thanks to timely repair
work by local departments. Most of the scenic spots, roads and
railways in the province have reopened. By yesterday, over 200,000
people had been evacuated to safe places and traffic in Fuzhou,
capital of the province, had returned to normal. Walls of almost
50 schools in Fuzhou collapsed during the disaster, and local
educational department organized rescue work to ensure students'
safety. ()
454 officials punished for mining disasters
2005-10-01 Xinhuanet
Five ministerial officials head the list of 454 officials the
Ministry of Supervision has disciplined for their involvement
in 27 catastrophic coal mine disasters, it was announced on
Friday. Since 2001, the ministry has solved 27 of the 36 cases
of severe colliery accidents it has handled, each of which caused
the death of more than 30 miners, said Li Zhilun, head of the
nation's supervision watchdog. Besides the five ministerial
officials, 60 heads of department (under a provincial government
level) and 151 officials at the county level received punishment,
Li said. "An additional 140 have been transferred to judicial
departments for relevant disciplinary action," he added.
Li's remarks appeared amidst a nationwide campaign to crack
down on officials' illegal holding of stocks in coal mines investments
regarded as a major factor in many accidents. Because of these
business connections, blind eyes have often been turned to unsafe
mines. As of Thursday, at least 300 officials in Shanxi and
Shaanxi provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were
confirmed to have withdrawn 33 million yuan (US$4 million) in
investments from collieries. In addition, 497 officials in 27
provinces withdrew their investments by last week, Xinhua reported.
()
Second manned space flight set on October 13
2005-10-06 China Daily
China will launch its second manned space flight at 11:00 am
(0300 GMT) on October 13. We expect (to launch the flight) on
October 13 if weather permits," said Jiang Jingshan, a
member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who was involved
in the first flight. The launch date for Shenzhou VI could change
according to weather conditions, Jiang said on local radio.
He said two astronauts have been selected to orbit Earth for
five days, expanding on the 21-hour flight of Shenzhou V which
circled Earth 14 times in 2003. Jiang did not disclose the names
of the astronauts who are expected to conduct experiments in
the flight module and an orbital vehicle that will remain in
space for months after the astronauts return to earth. The Shanghai
Morning Post reported last month that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng
were the likely candidates to be chosen to pilot the flight.
It also reported the Shenzhou VI would take off from the Jiuquan
launch center in northwest China's Gansu Province and is expected
to land in the vast grassland in Inner Mongolia. The entire
rocket, including the return capsule and an orbiting vehicle,
has reportedly been assembled and is standing at the Jiuquan
launch pad. China's first man in space Yang Liwei, who became
a national hero and received rock star treatment after his Shenzhou
V flight, was named as sole astronaut of the inaugural manned
flight only hours before the launch. China, the third country
to put a man in space following the former Soviet Union and
the United States, hopes to launch a mission to probe the moon
by 2007 and land an unmanned vehicle on it by 2017.
China calls for healthy international arms control
2005-10-06 People's Daily
The international community should strengthen co-operation to
promote the healthy development of international arms control,
disarmament and the non-proliferation process, says a top Chinese
official. All three are at a crucial point, according to Hu
Xiaodi, the Chinese ambassador on disarmament affairs. He was
speaking at the general debate of the First Committee of the
60th Session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. On the one
hand, he said, international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation
still play an important role in safeguarding world peace and
stability. But multilateral arms control and the disarmament
process are also facing difficulties and challenges, he added.
"It is the common and vital task of the international community
to address these new threats and challenges, promote the healthy
development of international arms control, disarmament and the
non-proliferation process and build a new century of peace,
justice, democracy and prosperity," Hu stressed. He called
on the international community to implement new measures. These
include security concepts focusing on equality, trust, mutual
benefits and co-operation, and preserving the regime of international
arms control. Other measures would be disarmament and non-proliferation
treaties and a strengthening of multilateral arms control and
disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. Hu also said efforts
should be made to resolve problems in those areas by political
and diplomatic means within the existing framework of international
law. He added that a multilateralism path should be followed
to achieve common security. Hu stressed that China has always
adopted a responsible attitude regarding international arms
control, disarmament and non-proliferation, and said the nation
promotes them. ()
Protesters demand freedom for leaders
2005-10-07 SCMP
Workers laid off by a steel plant in Chongqing continued a sit-in
outside the municipal government headquarters yesterday to protest
over the detention of eight of their leaders and the closure
of the factory. One woman protester said they would not leave
until their leaders had been released. "Many workers, including
elderly people and women, are now kneeling down in front of
the police office asking them to free the leaders," the
woman worker said last night, adding that she would return and
join the sit-in this morning. "We are protesting peacefully
but the authorities have deployed over 1,000 policemen to drive
us away and take away our leaders." The mass protests began
in August after laid-off workers at the Chongqing Special Steel
Plant claimed they had been told to stand down without compensation.
The steel plant, formerly one of the mainland's top steel producers,
had employed more than 18,000 people at its peak. But in July,
the company declared bankruptcy after incurring debts of more
than 4 billion yuan. On August 12 more than 2,000 laid-off workers
reportedly occupied one of the main roads in the city, paralysing
traffic. The protesters backed off about a week later when Chongqing
officials said they would hold negotiations with the workers.
However, the negotiations failed to yield a result and the workers
resumed the protest last Tuesday. They claimed the factory was
still refusing to pay each worker the 2,000 yuan in severance
payment they were demanding. A 41-year-old woman alleged corrupt
senior managers were to blame for the factory's failure. "These
cadres spent 50 per cent of the company's revenue on their salaries
and welfare," she said, adding that her family had worked
for the factory for more than 50 years. "We all joined
the company when we were kids but now we've got nothing at the
end." ()
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| Snow expected in Beijing for talks
2005-10-06 Xinhuanet
US Treasury Secretary John Snow will be in Asia next week for
high-level talks in Japan and China including a meeting of the
Group of 20 nations, the US Treasury said. Snow's week-long
tour will start in Tokyo next Monday and Tuesday where he will
hold talks with Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Japan's
nascent economic recovery as well as regional economic issues.
Snow will then travel to Shanghai for three days to meet senior
Asian and US banking leaders based in the region. He will also
visit the stock exchange and a new office for foreign exchange
trading in China's financial hub. The US Treasury chief plans
to witness the progress of China's economic reforms away from
its booming coastal cities during a visit to the inland city
of Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province,
before returning to Beijing for the G20. Finance ministers and
central bankers from the G20 club of major developing economies
and rich nations are to hold talks on October 15-16 in Xianghe
County, some 50 kilometres east of the Chinese capital. The
G20 meeting is expected to be joined by US Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan, who is scheduled to travel with Snow back to
Beijing on October 16 for the annual talks of the Sino-US Joint
Economic Commission. ()
US caution urged on textile issue
2005-10-07 People's Daily
A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce Thursday urged
the US Government to take a cautious and appropriate manner
in handling the Sino-US textile trade issues. The statement
was given after the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements (CITA) announced Wednesday it had accepted petitions
from the US textile industry to launch investigations into whether
quotas should be imposed on 21 categories of clothing and textile
imports from China. The spokesman said the move by the US side
is against relevant rules of the World Trade Organization and
expressed China's resolute opposition to it. CITA announced
on Wednesday that it had accepted for review 13 textile and
apparel safeguard petitions covering 21 categories. Nine of
those petitions are reapplications for safeguards that previously
have been implemented by the US Government, but are scheduled
to expire at the end of the year. The other four petitions are
new cases. The spokesman expected the US Government would make
a decision from the perspective of overall bilateral interests.
The final decision will be made by January unless the US Government
asks for further time to complete its investigation. While opposing
the acceptance of new petitions, the spokesman also welcomes
a decision by the United States to delay a finding on whether
to set limits on four kinds of Chinese textile imports. CITA
announced on September 30 that it is extending until November
30, 2005, the period for determination on whether to request
consultations with China regarding imports of cotton and man-made
fibre sweaters, cotton and man-made fibre dressing gowns, and
robes, men's and boys' wool trousers, and knit fabric. "The
US has not hesitated to use the textile safeguard mechanism
as being permitted under China's WTO accession agreement; however,
we are seeking a longer-term solution that will permit the orderly
development of textile and apparel trade," said Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and CITA Chairman James C. Leonard
III in a statement. "We have made progress in our consultations
with the Chinese Government and will meet again soon to continue
those consultations. Today's action demonstrates our intent
to consult in good faith, but we will not accept a bad deal
for the US industry." Negotiators from the United States
and China reported progress last week in their fifth round of
talks on reaching a comprehensive agreement to limit Chinese
textile exports. Further talks are expected this month.
Japan ready to resume talks with China
2005-10-05 China Daily
Japan has proposed to China that working-level talks on undersea
oil and gas deposits in a disputed area of the East China Sea
resume on Oct. 19, Japan's trade minister said Tuesday. Shoichi
Nakagawa gave no other details of the proposed talks, which
would be the fourth round between the two sides in the past
year. A ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said Japan had not yet received a reply from China. The last
round of talks ended inconclusively last week. "Japan wishes
to deal with the issue in a calm way," Nakagawa later told
a parliamentary committee. The two countries have been feuding
over claims to undersea oil and gas deposits in the area and
the delineation of their exclusive economic zones there. The
clash is part of the overall troubled relationship between Japan
and China. While economic ties between the two countries are
extensive, territorial disputes and clashes over Japan's attitude
toward its record during World War II continue to hamper political
and diplomatic relations. Last month, Japan lodged a protest
against China after Tokyo said it had confirmed that Beijing
was extracting natural gas from the Tianwaitian oil field in
the East China Sea. China said that it was within its rights
to continue new gas drilling activity in the area. In the discussions
held last week in Tokyo, Japan urged China to stop developing
the disputed gas fields and called for joint Tokyo-Beijing exploitation
of natural resources in the area. China said it would respond
to Japan's proposals at the next meeting. Nakagawa also hinted
that Tokyo would protect any Japanese companies that begin exploration
in the region from a Chinese threat. "If a private company
were to start activities in the area," Nakagawa said, "then
the Japanese government has a responsibility to make sure it
can carry out its work safely." ()
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