News & Reports 2012-07-01

 Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.

 

In This Edition

 

?Chinese President Hu Jintao says Hong Kong will see a bright future with an increasing close ties with the Chinese mainland.

 

?China intensifies its patrols in the South China Sea to detect illegal foreign exploration vessels that invade its territorial waters.

 

?Egypt's ruling military council hands over power to the country's first freely elected leader Mohamed Mursi.

 

?And International mediator Kofi Annan appeals to world powers to reach unity on principles for a political transition in Syria.

 

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

?Hu Jintao Meets HK Officials & Tours Infrastructure Construction Project

Chinese President Hu Jintao says he believes Hong Kong will see a bright future with increasing closer ties to the Chinese mainland.

 

Hu made the remarks during his ongoing visit to Hong Kong to attend a celebration marking the 15th anniversary of the territory's return to China and the swearing-in ceremony of the fourth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

 

Hu has also met with a group of central government officials based in Hong Kong and senior executives of the Hong Kong branches of mainland enterprises and institutions.

 

During his visit, Hu stopped at the site of Hong Kong's Kai Tak Development, or KTD, project. He toured the Kai Tak cruise terminal under construction and viewed models of the terminal and the Kowloon East development zone before heading to the nearby construction site of the Kai Tak public housing scheme to learn about its progress.

 

Hu said he was very pleased to see that much progress had been made in Hong Kong compared with his last trip five years ago.

 

"The project is one of the 10 biggest infrastructure construction projects in Hong Kong, which is designed to meet the demand for boosting Hong Kong's economic development and improving the people's livelihoods and environmental protection. So, it's a very significant project."

 

The project was launched in 2009 and is expected to take about 12 years to complete. Its estimated total investment is 130 billion Hong Kong dollars.

 

?Closer Ties and Mutual Benefits btwn Mainland and Hong Kong

It has been 15 years since Hong Kong was returned to China. As mainlanders and Hong Kongers celebrate the anniversary of the historic event, the governments on both sides have also made efforts to mark the occasion, which means an even closer relationship between the Chinese mainland and the special administrative region. Wei Tong reports.

 

Just two days ahead of the anniversary, the central government announced a plan for the development of a new financial and commercial hub in the Qianhai Bay economic zone near Shenzhen. It will be a pilot-project district for further cooperation with Hong Kong.

 

The new zone, officially known as the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, provides favorable conditions for Hong Kong businesses in the financial, taxation, legal, human resources, education, medical and telecommunications sectors.

 

The conditions are said to be more favorable than those in other special economic zones. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, unveiled the pilot program and said it had been carefully designed to reflect Hong Kong's unique position in the area's development.

 

"To create a good policy environment that is similar to what we have in Hong Kong and also one that meets international standards, we will help Hong Kong businesses thrive in the mainland market and strengthen Hong Kong's position as a center of finance, trade, shipping and logistics."

 

Foreign equity investment funds will be encouraged in Qianhai, while the threshold for Hong Kong financial institutions to enter the district will be lowered under the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.

 

Qianhai will also be an experiment ground for yuan convertibility, and companies there will be encouraged to sell yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong as well as experiment with cross-border loans in renminbi.

 

This will support Hong Kong's effort in developing its own offshore yuan business platform. Reuters columnist Gu Wei observes:

 

"The yuan's internationalization is something that Hong Kong is pushing very hard for. The SAR is in a very good position to help China fulfill its dream of wider use of the yuan around the world. This is also good for Hong Kong as a regional economic center if it gets to play a bigger role in helping to channel all that yuan to the rest of the world, and coming up with financial products and profits with that. So Qianhai's experiment is another step forward in helping Hong Kong, Shenzhen, south China and eventually the rest of China, and in becoming more integrated into the global financial system."

 

Apart from finance-related areas, the Qianhai project will also allow Hong Kong to establish wholly owned schools. Hong Kong medical institutions are also encouraged to establish hospitals in the district. And Gu Wei says this is another indication that Hong Kong is becoming more integrated into China's mainland.

 

"In the future, this will be a zone where Hong Kongers can actually do more businesses and live there, so I would imagine it will promote freer exchanges between people in China and Hong Kong."

 

Now with the launch of the Qianhai project and the signing of the CEPA 9 between the central government and the government of the Hong Kong SAR, both sides have taken a further step towards integration.

 

For CRI, I'm WT.

 

?Hong Kong Garrision has Maintained Hong Kong's Stability and Prosperity

One of the enduring legacies of that handover is the PLA's Hong Kong garrison. CRI's Nate Schlabach reports.

 

On July 1, 1997, 25-year-old Chen Wenxian stepped into Hong Kong for the first time as part of the People's Liberation Army's transfer into the city.

 

Chen, who is now a communication station instructor at the Hong Kong Garrison, says he can still remember that day.

 

"I was very excited at that time, and I felt very honored. Besides the excitement, we still had the task of security. So, we needed to devote ourselves to our responsibilities. "

 

Wang Zengbo is the political commissar for the Hong Kong Garrison.

 

He says their main goal is to protect Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.

 

"Over the past 15 years, we have been continuously improving diversified military capabilities and the mechanisms to maintain social security as well as disaster relief coordination."

 

Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang has high praise for the PLA's garrison in Hong Kong.

 

"The defense of Hong Kong's prosperity is a very important task. Today, I have seen, not only the advanced weaponry, but also the soldiers' high morale. I have seen clearly that the nation is realizing its responsibilities to Hong Kong. "

 

One of the things the Hong Kong garrison has to continually keep in mind is the legal differences between the mainland and Hong Kong.

 

Zhang Shibo is the commander of the Hong Kong Garrison.

 

"Over the past 15 years, we have taken many measures to govern the army according to the law. In military activities, we adhere strictly to the laws in Hong Kong and never violate them."

 

Aside from adhering to Hong Kong laws, Zhang Jie,a brigadier,says they're also doing what they can to win the hearts-and-minds of the people of Hong Kong.

 

"At the very beginning of our stationing, not all the people welcomed us. They thought we were impolite. But after a period of time, a survey of public opinion has shown good results."

 

Since 1998, the Hong Kong Garrison has been organizing camping activities for teenagers and holding various activities with Hong Kong university students.

 

For CRI, I am Nate Schlabach.

 

?China Intensifies Patrols in the South China Sea

China has intensified its patrols in the South China Sea with an emphasis on detecting illegal foreign oil and gas exploration vessels that invade its territorial waters.

 

A patrol team consisting of four Chinese Marine surveillance ships has set sail from the city of Sanya on south China's Hainan island to conduct regular sea patrols.

 

Huang Yong, head of the patrol team's law enforcement group, says the main targets in oil-and-gas-rich sea areas are illegal foreign oil and gas exploration vessels, offshore platforms, and oil and gas drilling rigs put up by other countries.

 

Huang also says the team has expanded the radar search area to 24 nautical miles around their ship formation.

 

"As sea conditions are poor at present with a visibility of less than two nautical miles, we have expanded the radar search areas to 24 nautical miles around our ship formation in this important cruising sea area. We will continue to search for suspicious targets and formations."

 

The Chinese patrol team is equipped with a radar system, global vessel automatic identification system, photoelectric tracking, monitoring and forensics system to find suspicious vessels.

 

?Egypt's Military Hands over Power to Elected President

A few hours after Egypt's new president Mohamed Mursi was sworn in, the ruling military council formally handed over power to the country's first freely elected leader in a military ceremony in Cairo.

 

The military council under Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi has ruled the most populous Arab state since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow in February 2011.

 

Tantawi, who saluted Mursi when he arrived at Heikstep army base just outside Cairo for the televised occasion, said the military council had kept their promise, which they made to the entire country.

 

"On this great day in the lives of our people, after having their say with their own will and choosing Dr. Mohamed Mursi as president of the republic in free and fair elections, we wish him success in his mission of ruling the country."

 

Tantawi's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has guided a chaotic and bloody transition since Mubarak's overthrow, holding elections.

 

A U.S.-trained engineer, Mursi is Egypt's first non-military president since army officers toppled the king in 1952.

 

For the 84-year-old Muslim Brotherhood, who propelled Mursi into power, Mursi's inauguration marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes. The group was banned and repressed under Mubarak.

 

Earlier, Mursi told a jubilant crowd at Cairo University that his government is committed to upholding the country's international agreements.

 

?Annan Appealed to World Powers to Reach Unity on Syria

International mediator Kofi Annan has appealed to world powers to reach unity on a peace plan for Syria, including principles for a Syrian-led political transition.

 

Annan, in opening remarks to a meeting of foreign ministers in Geneva, said the situation could ignite the region and develop into an international crisis if unresolved.

 

"We are determined to work together urgently and intensively to bring about an end to the violence and human rights abuses and the launch of a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them independently and democratically to determine their own future."

 

Annan also said the new government in Syria would be formed of people without "blood on their hands."

 

Foreign ministers from Western powers and Arab countries are attending a meeting convened by Annan in Geneva to try to forge a common strategy to end the 16 month-old conflict in Syria, but differences over the fate of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad may thwart them.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton strongly advocated a new plan that calls for a political transition, saying it would send a clear message to President Bashar al-Assad that he must step down.

 

?Syrian Refugees in Turkey Dissatisfied with Outcome in Geneva Talks

Meanwhile, Syrian refugees in Turkey have expressed dissatisfaction with the conclusions of a meeting of world powers on Syria in Geneva, saying the plan did not go far enough as it does not include the departure of President Bashar al-Assad.

 

"I think this agreement will not be helpful at all because we don't accept President Bashar to stay there, he must leave. This plan does not say he will leave for sure, so this agreement will not help anything."

 

Syrian National Council member Adib Shishakly's comments echoed those of the Syrian refugees.

 

"It's totally unacceptable for the Syrian opposition and for the people on the ground to accept any plan without stating the Assad departure."

 

World powers agreed that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the conflict there but they remained at odds over what part Assad might play in the process.

 

?Union of South American Nations Suspends Paraguay

Argentina's foreign minister, Hector Timerman, has announced that the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, has suspended Paraguay.

 

"The presidents of the member countries of UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) decided to end the presidency of Paraguay, given its suspension in the union that we are talking about. Peru will now assume the UNASUR presidency for the next 12 months."

 

The announcement came after the Mercosur, or Southern Common Market trade bloc, suspended Paraguay's membership on Friday for having impeached and ousted its president.

 

The South American group also announced that Venezuela will become a full member starting on July 31, a move that will link the region's most powerful agricultural and energy markets.

 

Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo was impeached by the country's Congress a week ago in a fast-track trial triggered by a land eviction that killed 17 people in clashes between police and landless locals.

 

Lugo's replacement, former Vice President Federico Franco, claims that the transition of power in Paraguay was carried out according to the law.

 

?China to Build Global Yuan Settlement Center

China's central bank plans to build a global center for cross-border trade settlements in the country's currency, the renminbi or yuan.

 

Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor of China's central bank, said since cross-border yuan business was initiated in 2009, the pace of yuan internationalization has sped up. She added that as an investment currency, the yuan is now playing an increasingly greater role.

 

"Some countries have made renminbi their official reserve currency. Our neighboring countries, some North American and even European developed countries, as well as Middle East countries all show growing interest in making the yuan a currency for preserving value or as investment."

 

Hu Xiaolian says the path and sequence of the internationalization of the yuan depends on the international and domestic situation and the continuous reform of exchange and interest rates. It requires the coordination of reforms in these areas while playing a role as a catalyst in reform.

 

"The most important driving force up to the present is our further reform and opening up, especially the reform in the marketization of interest rates and exchange rates. The second driving force is the orderly progress in the convertibility of the currency in the capital account. The use of yuan outside China no doubt has a big role to play."

 

Data from China's Central Bank indicate that the country's yuan settlement in import and export trade reached 216 billion yuan, or 34 billion U.S. dollars, in May 2012.

 

?6.6-magnitude Earthquake Hits NW China's Xinjiang

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale has jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

 

The quake lasted for more than 20 seconds in Xinyuan County, damaging houses in different degrees.

 

The earthquake was felt strongly by residents in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, who reported that cable TV signals were impaired and furniture shook drastically.

 

"The bookcase (in my home) was banging against the wall, and I had to push the bookcase against the wall."

 

Seventeen people have been injured, one seriously, in the quake. But no death has been reported.

 

Trains were suspended after the quake for safety reasons, and the railway authorities have dispatched personnel to check facilities.

 

Xinhua: Brave Compromise Needed to Disarm Eurozone's Debt Bomb

 

After 18 disappointing summits since the breakout of the European debt crisis in late 2009, various EU leaders have taken surprisingly bold moves to calm financial markets and boost the eurozone's embattled economy.

 

At the most recent two-day summit Friday in Brussels, they decided on a package of measures worth some 120 billion euros to bolster growth.

 

A commentary by Xinhua News Agency suggests that eurozone leaders agreed to create a single supervisory body for its banks by the end of this year as the first step towards the formation of a European banking union.

 

Most importantly, they reached a deal that the bloc's rescue fund would be lent directly to capitalize banks without increasing a country's debt level, which would bring down mounting borrowing costs especially for Italy and Spain.

 

The commentary notes that some experts say although the agreement has paved the way for a higher degree of cross-border integration and greater flexibility in crisis-fighting mechanisms, the fact that weaker countries have had to formalize their requests for help will still expose them to speculation attacks.

 

However, as Cyprus has followed in the footsteps of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to file a request with the EU for bailout money, more than a quarter of the 17-nation monetary union' s members are struggling to breathe.

 

The commentary adds that it is understandable that Germany, as the EU's most robust economic power, remains extremely reluctant to share the debt burdens without seeing substantial structural reforms and strong commitments to fiscal discipline.

 

As for the currency union's debt-ridden members, the options available to them are rapidly diminishing. The commentary says they should exercise fiscal restraint and thoroughly carry out the austerity measures they have promised to take.

 

In conclusion, the commentary notes that under previous agreements, bailouts had to be given to governments, which then shift the money toward their respective banking sectors.

 

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Global Times: Sino-Indian Border Conflict Shrinks into Past

 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the China-India border dispute. History has opened a new chapter after five decades as the memory of that conflict between the two rising Asian powers has faded and been and replaced by a complicated relationship entwined in both competition and cooperation.

 

An opinion piece in the Global Times newspaper says the competition between China and India is as friendly, healthy and cordial as is the cooperation. The friendly competition has been evidenced by the signing of agreements on border peace and tranquility, military confidence-building measures and the creation of special representatives' talks on the border issue.

 

The article points out that although little progress has been made in the 15 meetings regarding the Sino-Indian border problem, the outlook on the issue remains positive, underscoring the success of efforts to disconnect the border issue from other interactions and ensure that it does not come into play in Sino-Indian bilateral, regional and international forums.

 

The article goes on to say it is clearly recognized that in the emerging pattern of bilateral relations, the boundary issue will not be allowed to vitiate the other tracks and forums where India and China come together. In other words, the role and importance of the border issue will only diminish-not increase-as China and India prepare for the Asian Century.

 

The article in the Global Times indicates that the first and foremost factor compelling both nations is their need for a stable international environment and a peaceful periphery for their growth and development, as well as a need to project their hard and soft power on the global stage. Therefore, it is in the interest of both countries not to let other powers drive a wedge between them.