新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2014/04/22

 
 
The Beijing Hour
 
Evening Edition
 
 
Weather
 
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 13 degrees Celsius. Cloudy also tomorrow with a high of 25 degrees.　
Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 12, sunny tomorrow, with a high of 21.
Chongqing will be rainy, 16 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 26.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny with a high of 32.
Kabul, sunny, 23.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, high of 26.
Canberra, sunny, 23.
Brisbane, sunny, 28.
And finally, Perth will be overcast with a high of 26.
 
 
Top News
 
Death toll surges to 108 in S. Korean ferry sinking accident
 
The South Korean coast guard has now managed to extract 113 bodies from the sunken South Korean ferry.
Divers have been working today to access different parts of the ship.
Koh Myung-seok is with the South Korean coast guard.
"There is a wall between the lounge and the dining hall, and it is quite difficult for us to break it down."
It's believed that close to 190 bodies are still trapped inside the ship.
However, the exact numbers are still unclear at this point, as the passanger manifests for the ferry are not precise.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities have confirmed that two of the bodies retrieved from the ship on Monday are Chinese nationals.
A third body, also believed to be a Chinese citizen, has not yet been officially identified.
As the recovery continues, the parents of many of the teenaged passengers have issued a letter, appealing with authorities to speed up the process.
The ferry, with close to 500 people on it, capsized last Wednesday while on a trip from Incheon to Jeju Island.
The exact cause of the capsizing hasn't been made clear, though survivors say the ship made a sudden turn before beginning to list.
The capitan and a number of crew members are facing a series of charges.
 
Bluefin 21 completes more than 80 pct of focused underwater search area
 
The joint coordination team leading the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 says its underwater submersable search as now covered some 80-percent of its current focused search area.l
Nothing connected to the missing flight has been found to date.
Still, authorities say current search area is the best lead they have at the moment.
Meanwhile, the air and sea search has been put on-hold today because of a tropical cyclone in the region.
The delays and the extended duration of the search is said to be creating growing frustration among Malaysians.
"Actually we must know all the evidence that says that it actually landed in the Indian Ocean. There's no prove and nothing been shown and even the debris is not shown at all. So I think it's a very very disappointing matter."
"Quite late because now we're talking about living in the 21st century and so much science has progressed and all these things. But it's been almost two months and there is no trace. So really, I don't know what to say."
The authorities have turned up no conclusive evidence of the aircraft's ultimate location but believe sonar signals, or "pings", detected in the Indian Ocean search area several weeks ago may have emanated from the plane's "black box" recorder.
Aviation industry observers have been warning the search for the missing flight's black-box recorders is likely to take a long time.
It took close to 2-years to discover the flight data recorders for Air France flight 447 after it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.
 
 
Regional naval symposium opens in China
 
Anchor:
This year's Western Pacific Naval Symposium has kicked off today in Qingdao.
Naval officials attending the two-day event have inked an agreement meant to head-off accidents or miscommunication on the sea.
CRI's Xiong Siqi has more.
-----
Reporter:
The Code For Unplanned Encounters at Sea has been approved unanimously at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, also known as WPNS.
The agreement outlines how warships should communicate and manoeuvre when they come into contact in heavily trafficked sea lanes surrounding China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Chinese Naval Commander Wu Shengli.
"We hope that we can increase understanding and trust among naval forces across the region, and further promote pragmatic maritime cooperation, and achieve expected goals through discussions at this year's symposium."
Participants have also agreed to accept Pakistan as a WPNS observer at the symposium.
Delegates at the event are set to review the work of WPNS-sponsored seminars and other activities for the past year, and deliberate maritime regulations in the region.
Chinese Naval Commander Wu Shengli has also taken time to acknowledge two recent tragedies in the region.
"On behalf of the Chinese Navy, I would like to express our condolences to victims of missing flight MH370 and the Korean ferry accident. We would like to express our sympathy for those who lost their loved ones and gratitude for those countries that provided humanitarian assistance to the rescue operations. I would like to propose that we should have specific discussions on how to organize more efficient international maritime rescue operations during meetings at this year's symposium."
The WPNS was launched by the United States and its allies in 1987, with the goal of promoting cooperation among the navies of countries bordering the Pacific Ocean.
It is the first time China, as one of its 12 founding members, has hosted the biennial symposium.
The organization now has 21 member countries and four observers.
For CRI, this is Xiong Siqi.
 
 
Yasukuni Shrine a "negative asset" for Japan's leaders: FM spokesman
 
The Chinese government has released a new statement, criticizing the latest visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese officials.
Around 150 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine today in Tokyo.
The mass visit comes a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the offering to the controversial Shrine on the first day of the three-day spring festival in Japan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang.
"The Yasukuni Shrine is a negative asset for Japan. If Japan's leaders insist on carrying it, this negative asset will get heavier and heavier. Unfortunately, it became heavier in just one night."
The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Japanese war criminals and is considered as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
Frequent visits to the shrine by Japanese officials have triggered strong oppostiion from countries in the region invaded during Japan's military expansion at the start of the 20th century.
 
 
Chinese foreign minister meets Venezuelan counterpart, President Maduro
 
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for talks at the Presidential palace.
"China and Venezuela are united by traditional ties of friendship. This current year 2014 marks an important year for bilateral relations, because this year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations."
For his part, Nicholas Maduro says his talks with Wang Yi have gone off well.
"It's been a long, intense, fruitful and productive conversation and top's off a day's work for the foreign minister of our sister Chinese People's Republic, in our country."
Speaking at a joint news conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Elias Jaua, Wang Yi has also outlined the Chinese position when it comes to the recent unrest in Venezuela.
"We trust that the different parts of Venezuela can share in the fundamental and integral interests of this nation and persevere with a solution to their existing disagreements through political dialogue."
Caracas is the second stop in a regional tour for the Chinese Foreign Minister.
Wang Yi started out his current Latin American trip in Cuba, and is also set to travel to Argentina and Brazil later in the week.
 
 
Biden visits Ukraine, meets country's acting president Oleksander
 
US Vice-President Joe Biden has met with Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov as part of a two-day visit to Ukraine.
Biden is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the crisis with Russia erupted months ago.
He's due to announce a package of technical assistance focused mostly on energy and economic aid distribution.
Meanwhile, the White House says the US government is still trying to determine who is responsible for a recent shootout in eastern Ukraine that left at least three dead.
White House spokesperson Jay Carney.
"We're still unable independently to confirm who is responsible for what happened there. But there is no question that there's been a great deal of destabilizing activity and that Russia has influence over the groups that have engaged in that activity, who have seized buildings and we continue to call on Russia to use that influence to pressure those groups to disarm and to return the buildings to authorities."
Russian and Ukrainian officials have blamed each other for the attack.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"The Geneva agreement is not only not being implemented, but also steps are being taken - primarily by those who have seized power in Kiev - that is a crude violation of the agreements reach in Geneva. Claims are being advanced with regards to the south eastern regions that they are reportedly not vacating seized buildings and are not removing roadblocks. The authorities in Kiev aren't doing anything."
Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States signed an agreement in Geneva last week to de-escalate the tensions in Ukraine.
However, pro-Russia militants in eastern Ukraine have refused to heed the deal.
The White House is on-record saying Russia could face additional sanctions if it fails to help ease the tensions in Ukraine, even though the Geneva agreement has temporarily pulled additional sanctions off-the-table.
 
 
S. Korea warns of surprise DPRK nuke test ahead of Obama's visit
 
The South Korean defense ministry says there are signs North Korea may be preparing to conduct another nuclear test in the short-term.
Citing intelligence gathered near the site of a previous nuclear test, the South Korean side says its working on a theory the North may be planning the test to coincide with US President Barack Obama's time in the region.
South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok.
"Our military is currently detecting various activities within the Punggye-ri nuclear test site near Gilju region of Northern Hamgyong Province."
Obama is due to spend two days in South Korea starting Friday, following a stay this week in Japan.
The South Korean side also says its been hearing an increasing amount of rhetoric coming from North Korea in recent days, including a statement saying -quote- "a great thing will happen before April 30th."
North Korea has conducted three previous nuclear tests.
 
 
Top UN officials warn against Syrian presidential elections
 
Top United Nations officials are warning Syria's newly-announced presidential election may undermine the work taking place to try to achieve a political solution to the country's three-year civil war.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Syrian mediator Lakhdar Brahimi have issued the warning after the Syrian parliament announced the presidential election will be held on June 3rd.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
"Such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva communique. We will nonetheless continue to search and build upon any opening for a solution to the tragedy in Syria."
The registration window for people to run for the President of Syria is now open.
Voting for Syrians outside the country will take place at Syrian embassies on May 28th.
President Bashar al-Assad has not publicly said if he will run.
However, he's widely expected to run, and has been tapped as almost assured of another seven-year term.
 
 
Manila mayor arrives in Hong Kong to mend ties
 
Manila mayor Joseph Estrada has arrived in Hong Kong with a high-powered delegation.
He is in the city to try to mend relations with Hong Kong, which have been strained ever since the 2010 Manila hostage crisis.
　　
Joseph Estrada is due to meet with officials from the Hong Kong government, as well as hostage victims and their families.
He's also expected to extend an apology and offer compensation.
　　
He is being accompanied by a top aide to President Benigno Aquino III and the national police chief.
　　
Eight Hong Kong tourists were killed in Manila in August 2010 after they were taken hostage by a sacked police officer.
President Benigno Aquino III has ruled out issuing a formal apology, despite strong demands from the victims' relatives in Hong Kong, which has soured ties.
　　
In February, Hong Kong scrapped its visa-free access for all Philippine diplomatic and passport holders.
Hong Kong has been a popular destination for Filipino workers hoping to make money abroad to send back to their families.
 
 
Philippine court orders arrest of coast guard men for killing Taiwan fisherman
 
A court in the Philippines has ordered the detention of eight Philippine Coast Guard personnel who face homicide charges for the fatal shooting of a fisherman from Taiwan last May.
After months of investigation, the Philippine Department of Justice has dismissed the claim of the accused that they were merely performing their lawful duties.
65-year-old Hung Shih-Cheng was shot dead on May 9th in an area south of Taiwan.
The Philippine Coast Guard ship opened fire on Hung's boat after claiming his vessel was trying to ram the Coast Guard ship.
The incident led to a sharp deterioration of ties between authorities on Taiwan and the Philippines.
 
 
Draft law ups punishment for environmental wrongdoing
 
ANCHOR:
A new draft amendment to China's Environmental Protection Law has been submitted to lawmakers.
It calls for heavier punishments.
CRI's Xie Zhao has more.
Reporter:
In recent years, environmental issues, such as smog and drinking water problems, have become some of the biggest public concerns in China.
Controls connected to air pollution have been included in the latest draft of China's Environmental Protection Law.
Chai Hefa, deputy director with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, says air pollution is a regional problem.
"There are some basic points in preventing air pollution: first, we should have unified planning for better regional economic progress. Secondly, we should have unified standards to curb emissions over regional areas. For instance, no matter whether a factory is located in Beijing, in Hebei or Tianjin, the same standard should be used in evaluating the emissions. What we are promoting now is a special emission limit index, and it is very effective."
When it comes to enforcement, Chai Hefa says the latest draft will allow environmental regulators more powers.
Companies will also face heavier punishment if they break the law.
"Firstly, we need to ensure the new environment laws are not just slogans, but actually enforced. Secondly, we need to strengthen the punishments for polluters, including daily punishments. Daily punishments are an efficient way in solving problems in dealing with companies which don't fix their mistakes. Thirdly, we need a dual punishment scheme, where it's not just companies that face fines, but individuals as well."
Another issue is the options available for the public to bring in private enviornmental suits.
Under the old rules, there were only a couple of options available for public suits.
Under the new draft, organizations registered in prefecture-level cities will be eligible to litigate on behalf of the public.
Ma Jun, director at the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, says a lot of comments about the draft have been offered for lawmakers to consider.
"Previously, the threshold for public litigation was very high. During the process of revising the law, public opinions have been solicited twice. Now the threshold has been relaxed to the prefecture-level.　　
Ma Jun suggests the laws and regulations surrounding environmental protection should help when it comes to monitoring companies.
China's Environmental Protection Law has not been revised since it took effect in 1989.
It is rare in China for a law or amendment to go through three readings and not be passed.
As such, observers suggest this shows the importance of the draft when it comes to sustainable development here in China.
For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Stocks
 
Reporter:
Asian markets traded mostly higher on Tuesday, tracking positive cues overnight from Wall Street.
Here in China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3 percent.
The Shenzhen Component gained 0.5 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1 percent.
In the Australian market, energy, consumer staples, financial, industrial and healthcare stocks all ended higher, while mining and consumer discretionary stocks traded mixed.
The benchmark ASX 200 finished up 0.4 percent.
The Japanese stock market gained ground today on the back of a slightly weaker yen.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 percent.
South Korean shares ended in positive territory, with the benchmark KOSPI up 0.25 percent.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore and Malaysia traded higher, while New Zealand ended flat.
 
 
China to Let Local Governments Issue Debt
 
Authorities here in China appear poised to give a formal green light to allow bond offers by local authorities.
Xinhua is reporting the most recent draft of the budget law now includes a provision for local governments to issue bonds directly to fund essential projects.
The draft still needs legislative approval.
If the provision makes it into the final version of the law, it should eliminate legal hurdles to give more financing channels to local governments.
The report is suggesting only governments at provincial, autonomous region and municipal levels that gain central government approval will be able to issue bonds.
Quotas will reportedly be set on a case-by-case basis.
Most local governments continue to be barred from directly issuing debt due to concerns over rising debt levels.
The finance ministry issues bonds on behalf of local authorities.
However, certian local governments with stronger financial track records, including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Shenzhen, have been allowed to issue bonds on their own.
In an audit released late last year, local government liabilities have totaled almost 18-trillion yuan as of the end of June, up from 10.7 trillion yuan at the end of 2010.
 
 
Eighteen Additional IPO Applicants Pre-disclose Prospectuses
 
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has released a list of 18 additional IPO applicants that have put together prospectuses.
Among the 18 applicants, 7 are planning to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and 6 will list on the SME board.
The remaining 5 are hoping to list on the ChiNext board.
This now brings the total number of companies which have completed the pre-disclosure process here in China to 46.
There are over 600 companies here in China currently in the IPO pipeline.
There has been wide-spread speculation the revelations are a signal the CSRC is preparing to allow IPO's to once-again take place here in China.
IPO's have been on-hold for over a year as the authorities work to streamline and toughen-up the process to weed out undesirable companies.
 
 
China Details Cut in Rural Banks' Reserve Requirements
 
China's central bank has now provided details of the reserve requirement cuts its going to allow for rural commercial banks.
A statement released by the People's Bank of China says the reserve requirements for rural commercial banks at the county level will be cut by 2-percent.
Reserve requirements for county-level rural cooperative banks will be trimmed by 0.5 percent.
The statement by the PBOC doesn't say what the new levels will be.
Major banks here in China need to keep 20-percent of their deposits on reserve with the central bank.
The new policy will be effective on Friday.
The move is meant to try to stimulate more lending in this country's rural areas to foster more economic development.
 
 
China allows gold imports via Beijing, sources say, amid reserves buying talk
 
Reporter:
New reports are suggesting Beijing is set to become the 3rd city in China, behind Shanghai and Shenzhen, to be a permitted destination for gold bullion imports.
Authorities here in Beijing have not commented on the report, as the Central authorities don't discuss issues connected to China's gold reserves.
The main information on the Chinese bullion markets comes from the monthly release of export data from Hong Kong, where official data indicates the city has supplied more than 50-billion US dollars worth of gold to the mainland.
Along with the nearly 12-hundred tonnes of gold imported from Hong Kong last year, the mainland itself produces over 400 tonnes.
For more on all this, CRI's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures.
Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures, speaking with CRI's Shane Bigham.
 
 
Boeing gets $4.6bn order from China's Shandong Airlines
 
Shandong Airlines has placed an order for 50 Boeing 737 aircraft in a deal worth 4.6-billion US dollars.
The order still needs to be approved by the Chinese government.
The narrow-body aircraft market is forecast to generate some 20-trillion US dollars worth of sales for plane makers over the next 20 years.
The sector is currently dominated by the Airbus's A320 and Boeing's 737 aircraft.
 
 
CIRC: Insurance Premium Income CNY 699.98 Bn for Jan-March
 
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission is reporting insurance premium incomes have come in at just under 700-billion yuan through the first quarter of this year.
This represents an increase of nearly 40-percent.
185.5-billion yuan has been generated from the property and casualty insurance business.
This is an increase of 17-percent year on year.
More than 514-billion yuan has been generated from the life insurance sector, up 44 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
As of the end of March, total insurance industry assets have amounted to 8.9-trillion yuan.
Insurance funds deposited in banks total 2.5 trillion, while the balance of insurance funds available for payouts and other operations stands at 8.2-trillion.
 
 
Novartis and GSK to exchange assets and launch joint venture
 
Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, two of the world's leading drugmakers, have agreed to exchange assets and combine their consumer healthcare units.
Novartis will acquire GSK's cancer drug business for 16-billion US dollars and sell its vaccines division, excluding the flu unit, to GSK for 7.1-billion US dollars.
In a separate deal, Novartis has agreed to sell its animal health division to Lilly for nearly 5.4-billion US dollars.
The deals are a part of Novartis' review of its business as it continues to face sluggish growth.
 
 
Italy's two Largest Banks to Unload Bad Loans
 
Italy's two largest banks, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, are being allowed to unload some of their bad loans.
The two lenders have signed a memorandum of understanding with US private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to make that happen.
Negotiations connected to the deal are still on-going.
Last month, Intesa Sanpaolo posted a huge fourth-quarter loss, hit by large write-downs on bad loans and the value of past acquisitions.
Italian banks have been trying to clean up their balance sheets ahead of a planned stress-test for the euro zone's largest lenders later this year.
 
 
Netflix profits rise and price hike plan announced
 
Netflix is reporting a first-quarter profit of 53-million US dollars.
The internet video streamer says it added 2.25-million new members during the period, bringing its total global membership to around 48-million.
At the same time, Netflix is preparing a potential "one or two dollar increase" in monthly rates for new members later this year.
Netflix shares have soared more than 6-percent in after-hours trading.
Chief executive Reed Hastings says the success of Netflix's original programming is behind its membership increase.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Death toll surges to 108 in S. Korean ferry sinking accident
 
The South Korean coast guard has now managed to extract 113 bodies from the sunken South Korean ferry.
Two of them have been comfirmed as Chinese nationals.
It's believed some 190 bodies are still trapped inside the ship.
However, the exact numbers are still unclear at this point, as the passanger manifests for the ferry are not precise.
 
 
Bluefin 21 completes more than 80 pct of focused underwater search area
 
Searchers for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 says its underwater submersable search as now covered some 80-percent of its current focused search area.l
Nothing connected to the missing flight has been found to date.
Still, authorities say current search area is the best lead they have at the moment.
Meanwhile, the air and sea search has been put on-hold today because of a tropical cyclone in the region.
 
 
Regional naval symposium opens in China
 
This year's Western Pacific Naval Symposium has kicked off today in Qingdao.
Naval officials attending the two-day event have inked an agreement meant to head-off accidents or miscommunication on the sea.
The Code For Unplanned Encounters at Sea outlines how warships should communicate and manoeuvre when they come into contact in heavily trafficked sea lanes surrounding China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Participants have also agreed to accept Pakistan as a WPNS observer at the symposium.
The organization now has 21 member countries and 4 observers.
 
 
Yasukuni Shrine a "negative asset" for Japan's leaders: FM spokesman
 
The Chinese government has released a new statement, criticizing the latest visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese officials.
Around 150 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine today in Tokyo.
The mass visit comes a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the offering to the controversial Shrine on the first day of the three-day spring festival in Japan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang denounces the shrine as a negative asset for Japan.
The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Japanese war criminals and is considered as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
 
 
Biden visits Ukraine, meets country's acting president Oleksander
 
US Vice-President Joe Biden has met with Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov as part of a two-day visit to Ukraine.
Biden is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the crisis with Russia erupted months ago.
He is in Kiev to show Washinton's support to the interim government with a package of technical assistance focused mostly on energy and economic aid distribution.
Meanwhile, the White House says the US government is still trying to determine who is responsible for a recent shootout in eastern Ukraine that left at least three dead.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have blamed each other for the attack.
 
 
Blast kills 4, injures 33 in NW Pakistan
 
At least 4 people are dead and over 30 others hurt in a bombing in Pakistan's restive northwest.
The bombing appears to have targeted a police vehicle.
It went off in a busy market area, and appears to have been set off remotely.
So far there's been no claim of responsibility.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
China Daily
Penalty enhanced for killing, eating endangered species
Anyone who eats an endangered species at restaurants could receive criminal punishment, according to a judicial draft that is being reviewed this week by China's top legislature.
If a person buys rare or endangered wild animals to eat or for other illegal purposes and is aware of the animal's protected status, they will be punished in line with the Criminal Law, according to the draft.
The new law is scheduled to be reviewed from Monday to Thursday by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
It's the first time concrete rules have been proposed to prohibit the eating of endangered wildlife. In some parts of China, eating wildlife is a centuries-old tradition.
The current Criminal Law stipulates that those who capture, kill, buy, transport or sell rare and endangered species and products made from the animals can be sentenced to no less than 10 years in prison in serious cases.
It also specifies that the sale of dishes containing protected wildlife at restaurants is illegal.
The draft interpretation is aimed at lowering market demand for endangered wildlife and raising public awareness of protecting rare wild species, he said.
The Chinese government has put 420 animal species, including the panda and the armadillo-resembling pangolin, on a national protection list, making it illegal to hunt, slaughter or sell animals on the list.
Many of China's wildlife species, including some kinds of turtles and deer, are on the verge of extinction due to the eating of wild animals, he said.
Xinhua
Chinese adults read more books, fewer papers
Reading books is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese adults, but newspapers and magazines are falling out of favor, according to survey results released on Monday.
A poll of over 40,000 adults in 29 provincial-level regions found that the number of paper books read per year is 4.77 paper books and 2.48 for digital books; that's up 0.38 and 0.13 respectively.
But newspaper and magazine reading are both down, falling from 70.85 newspapers and 5.51 magazines a year down 6.35 and 1.05 year on year.
"Despite occasional dips, Chinese people in general have been reading more in recent years," said Xu Shengguo, a senior researcher with the academy.
Xu attributed the phenomenon to increasing awareness of self-improvement through reading and soaring cultural demands driven by social and economic development.
"Still, we have to admit that our reading volume is far less than in countries such as France, Japan and the Republic of Korea, " Xu said.
Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of digital readers said they wouldn't buy what they have read digitally in paper format -- a figure that has been climbing for four consecutive years and which, the researchers suggest, marks a graver challenge to the paper book market.
Telegraph
Children 'no longer care' about winning or losing in sport
Research by the MCC and the Chance to Shine cricketing charity suggests that large numbers of schoolchildren no longer care if the competitive element is taken out of sport
Most children would not be bothered if the competitive element was taken out of school sport, according to research by the MCC.
Britain risks losing its competitive edge because a generation of children is no longer interested in winning on the sporting field, according to research.
Figures show the majority of children are not bothered if the competitive element is removed from football, cricket, rugby and hockey fixtures, saying playing for fun or being with friends is more important.
It emerged that mothers and fathers place a considerably greater focus on winning or losing, with some even admitting they would not watch their children play sport if there was no final result.
The disclosure, in a study by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and cricketing charity Chance to Shine, will fuel concerns that a "prizes for all" culture in schools over the last few decades has eroded children's competitive spirit.
It follows a report from Ofsted last year that found a third of primary schools were failing to provide effective PE for pupils, with children not being given proper warm ups, able athletes ignored and a failure to focus on strenuous exercise.
According to the latest study, 64 per cent of children admitted that they would be "relieved or not bothered" if the competitive element was removed from sport.
Girls were slightly more likely than boys to agree with the statement.
The findings prompted claims that competition was "frowned upon" in too many state schools.
Chris McGovern, a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Children are instinctively competitive but there's a culture in a large number of state-maintained schools that takes this away to make sure everyone gets a fair crack.
"It's sinister and will result in many children not realising their full potential. That's not the case in our private schools which is why the Olympics squad and the cricket team are full of people who were privately-educated."
Wasim Khan, the charity's chief executive, said: "It is worrying to see that so many children would be relieved to see competition removed from sport. We want to teach children the importance of playing sport competitively and fairly and for them to see the benefits that it can bring to their lives."
The study was based on a survey of 1,000 children aged eight to 16 and 1,000 parents.
Children were asked how they would feel "if winning and losing was removed from sport".
Answers included the view that it would be fine "as long as I got to play", while some answered with, "it wouldn't bother me", "it would make me less anxious" and "it would make me happier".
When asked to list the "best thing about sport", some pupils responded with phrases such as "time off lessons", "fun" and "being with my pals".
The Government has pledged to restore competitive sport to the heart of the timetable following the success of the 2012 London Olympics.
Sports such as football, cricket, rugby and hockey also have been given more prominence in the curriculum and an Olympic-style tournament - featuring local, regional and national events - has been introduced to create more competition.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Beijing Autoshow: What is with these French cars?
 
Anchor:
This year's Beijing Auto Show is underway, with French automakers looking to take advantage of this year being the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and France.
CRI's Ding Lulu has more.
Reporter:
This is just a part of the hustle from the noisy Beijing Auto show, held at the China International Exhibition Center. In fact, more than 100 carmakers and 1134 vehicles from around the world are vying for attention.
Some automakers have brought some big-name celebrities with them to help draw attention, including the likes of David Beckham, Sophie Marceau, and South Korea's latest upstart celebrity Kim Soo-Hyun.
The latter's brief appearance, lasting barely a minute, was cut short, allegedly to avoid causing a stampede.
Carmakers are targeting younger buyers.
DS General Manager Arnaud Ribault.
"For DS 5LS in particular, we target young people, 30-35 years old, looking for new experience, and we call them, the T-generation. The T-generation is those who have taste, talented, the generation of touch, technology and transformers."
DS is a French brand and, because 2014 marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between France and China, the automaker has taken out some extra space at the Beijing Auto Show.
"Maybe you've seen at the main entrance of the motor show today, that we have a second booth. In fact it is a booth for the 50 anniversary between France and China. There we exhibit the original DS19, from General de Gaulle. He was the first president of western countries to establish relations with the republic of China. So I think DS is a good symbol of this time and a good symbol of our relation."
And DS is not the only French brand to take advantage of the anniversary.
Qu Gang speaks for Dongfeng Peugeot-Citro?n.
"As China and France celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and cultural exchange, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citro?n is also doing its bit. We've signed an agreement with the French embassy to sponsor the 2014 Croisements Festival and a gala on science and technology exchanges."
And it seems the connection to French culture is waking up some stereotypes among potential buyers.
Ms. Liu is forty-ish and in the international courier service industry.
"I think French cars look noble and graceful, that's why I am here to have a look at them."
Another noticeable trend at this year's Beijing auto show is the surge of new SUV models.
It is only natural because middle and high-end SUV sales have maintained growth of nearly 28 percent in the previous quarter, compared to growth of automobiles in general at less than 15 percent.
For CRI and China.com, I'm Ding Lulu.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Manchester United sack David Moyes after 10 months
 
In football,
Manchester United has sacked manager David Moyes a mere 10 months after he took over for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rumors had been circulating that Moyes wouldn't last through the end of the season. Man U currently sit seventh in the table with four games remaining. The club will record their lowest ever points tally in the premier league, having lost six league games at home. They were also beaten in the FA Cup and lost the Capital One cup semifinals to Sunderland of all teams.
Ferguson handpicked Moyes as the man to succeed him when he retired last summer, and the Scot was embraced by supporters as something of a Chosen One when Man U defeated Aston Villa earlier.
But no more love for Moyes. Although the club did publish a statement saying it "would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.
Player coach Ryan Giggs is expected to assume the role of caretaker in United's Saturday home matchup against Norwich.
Earlier in premier league play, Manchester City kept their title hopes alive after defeating West Brom 3-1.
 
Over in the Asian Champions League,
Title holders Guangzhou Evergrande are hosting Yokohama Marinos tonight in the last round of their group matches.
After losing the last two games, Marcello Lippi's side needs this win if they're to advance to the knockout stage. Guangzhou has fallen from the lead to share seven points with four other teams.
Chinese side Guizhou Renhe are also playing tonight against Western Sydney. But unfortunately for Guizhou, they've already lost their chance at advancing.
 
 
First-round of Barcelona Open gets underway
 
In tennis,
The 62nd edition of the Barcelona Open kicked off earlier.
There were first round wins for Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov, Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, and Albert Montanes.
Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer came straight over from the Monte Carlo Open and are resting up with first round byes.
Ferrer sent Rafa packing in the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo, but remained humble saying Rafa is still the better player.
"Every match is different. Now we are in a new tournament, in Barcelona, I have to play a match with another player. also Rafael (Nadal), no? I think of course Rafael is better than me, no? The results are there. You know, now I am here in Barcelona and I'll try to do my best for... being in the final as well."　
Ferrer finished runner-up to Nadal at Barcelona back in 2011.
 
 
32,000 runners turned out for the 2014 Boston Marathon
 
Nearly 32,000 runners turned out to participate in the 2014 Boston Marathon yesterday.
For many who were affected by the bombings at last year's event, it was an emotional day. Carol Downing returned to the place where her two daughters were seriously injured as they waited for their mom to cross the finish line.
"I'm just glad that we finally got to this point. The year's at an end. You know, it's been a really tough year. So we can go home with a different memory this year."
Security was understandably heavier than ever, with surveillance cameras, rooftop police officers, and ground patrols. But as one runner pointed out, there also seemed to be more fans than ever before.
"It's an amazing event. Last year was an amazing event but this year it seemed like there were twice as many people cheering you on and it was so amazing to see all the Boston Strong. Everyone coming together for this one race on this one big day."
Olympic medalist Meb Keflizighi became the first American to win the men's race since 1983 when he crossed the line with a time of two hours, 8 minutes, and 37 seconds. The 38 year old wrote the names of last year's bombing victims on the corners of his race bib.
"Those four victims we can't get 'em back and the people that have been injured by the same time I said you know I'm gonna use their energy to win it and it was my dream to win Boston it was my dream especially last year to make it just like the Red Sox did and try to do the same thing for the people and happy to announce that I did it."
For the women, Rita Jeptoo of Kenya returned and successfully defended her title with a course-record 2 hours, 18 minutes and 57 seconds.
 
 
Wins for Memphis and LA Clippers in opening-round playoff series
 
In NBA playoff action, two games went down in the western conference today.
The Memphis Grizzlies leveled their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder 1-1 after winning 111-105 in overtime.
Kevin Durant had 36 points and 11 boards for the Thunder, including a sweet four point-play with just 13.8 seconds on the clock. But it wasn't enough to lift his team over the Grizzlies.
Also in the west,
The LA Clippers absolutely ripped the Golden State Warriors to shreds in game 2 of their opening-round series. Blake Griffin scored a career playoff-high 35 points to help his team soar to a 138-98 win.
It was a turnaround performance for the Clippers, who lost game 1 109-105.
The Clippers ran a double-team on Stephen Curry, holding him to just four points in the first half, although Curry still managed to score a team-high 24. Golden State also ran into some foul trouble, racking up 33 fouls to the Clippers 22.
 
 
Wins for Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Chicago, and Dallas in SCP action
 
In Stanley Cup Playoff action, opening-round series play continues.
The Pittsburgh Penguins took game 3 from the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3, to take a 2-1 lead in their series. The Blue Jackets shot out to an early 2-0 lead, and led 3-1 in the third. But three quick scores from Brandon Sutter, Lee Stempniak, and Olli Maatta in the third earned Pittsburgh the win.
Over in the western conference,
The Minnesota Wild earned their first series win after defeating the visiting Colorado Avalanche 1-0. The winning goal came from Mikael Granlund, who scored five minutes into overtime. Colorado leads the series 2-1.
The defending champion Chicago Blackhawks finally beat the St. Louis Blues 2-0 in game 3, but still trail 2-1 in the series. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville switched things up by putting Jonathan Towevs, Patrick Kane, and David Bickell on the same line for the start of the third game, and the move seems to have done the trick. Also Blackhawks Corey Crawford made 34 saves for his third career post-season shutout.
And the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 in their first home playoff game in six years. The Stars trail 2-1 in their series after losing twice in Anaheim.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Stars of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' to Come to BJ
 
Here's a piece of exciting news for fans of the X-Men franchise.
The cast of the upcoming American superhero film "X-Men: Days of Future Past" will soon be attending premieres at cities around the world, including Beijing.
The stars delivered the news in a promotional video released today.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Hugh Jackman from 'X-Men.' I'm James McAvoy. And I'm Michael Fassbender. We have some really exciting news that we are going to share with you. The cast of 'X-Men' will be creating a X-Men experience around the world. The three of us, along with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Fan Bingbing, Nicholas Hoult and last but not least, Ellen Page, we will be going all over the world. Obviously we can't be at the same place at the same time. So after the global premiere in New York, we'll go to cities all over the world in a week. We're going to be visiting premieres in London, Moscow, Singapore, San Paolo, Beijing and Melbourne."
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
The 3D film serves as a sequel to 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand" and 2011's "X-Men: First Class", as well as a follow-up to 2013's "The Wolverine".
The film will hit American screens on May 23rd and is likely to be introduced to China soon.
 
 
Katie Holmes premieres new film 'Miss Meadows' at Tribeca film festival
 
Indie film "Miss Meadows" starring Katie Holmes has premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Holmes plays a buttoned-up substitute teacher by day and a vigilante at night, going after those who hurt others, particularly children.
Homles says she enjoyed filming the movie in Ohio where she grew up.
"It was wonderful and it was a chance to work with a film community in Cleveland and it was, yeah, it was like being with my people and everyone was really so nice and so thoughtful and kind and I really enjoyed every minute of it. I would love to make more films in Ohio."
"Miss Meadows" is written and directed by Karen Leigh Hopkins.
Her credits include an acting role in the 1987 cult classic "The Runnning Man" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
 
'Terminator 5' starts shooting in New Orleans
 
The 5th installment of the Terminator franchise "Terminator: Genesis" has begun shooting this week in New Orleans.
The film is directed by Alan Taylor.
It is due to feature appearances by the terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as 'Game of Thrones' star Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor.
Korean actor Lee Byung-hun will also join the cast.
But his character and specific details are being kept under wraps.
"Terminator: Genesis" is set to hit theaters in July of next year.
 
 
Lorde postpones Australian tour due to illness
 
Grammy award-winning New Zealand singer Lorde has postponed her Australian tour this week after doctors advised her she needs immediate rest and recuperation.
Lorde has told her 1.5 million followers on Twitter she has a "nasty chest infection and general ill health".
Lorde has been touring North and South America over the past few months.
She played the Coachella Festival in California over the Easter weekend.
She was due to kick off the seven-concert Australian leg of her world tour in Melbourne on Thursday.
Dates for her Australian tour are being rescheduled.
 
 
Pharrell, Gaga to appear at first iHeartRadio Awards
 
The first iHeartRadio Music Awards are set to be held on May 1st in Los Angeles.
Pharrell, Drake and Blake Shelton are among the A-listers set to perform at the awards.
Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lorde and Coldplay's Chris Martin will also make appearances.
Contenders for 'Artist of the Year' include Rihanna, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
The three-hour awards show will air live on NBC.
 
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Frustrated family members are pleading with South Korean authorities to speed up the process of retrieving the bodies of those still missing from last week's ferry disaster.
China's foreign minister has been meeting with leading Venezuelan officials as part of his current Latin American tour.
The mayor of Manila is in Hong Kong to meet and apologise to the victims of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis.
In business, it appears the central authorities are preparing to make it easier for local governments here in China to issue bonds.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.