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Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.
In This Edition
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi holds talks with a special envoy1 to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas over the situation in the Middle East.
Life in both Gaza and southern Israel appears to be returning to normal, following the ceasefire agreement.
European leaders meet in Brussels to try to set the spending budget for the EU from 2014-2020.
And Japanese carmakers admit their sales in China have been disrupted by recent violent anti-Japanese protests.
Hot Issue Reports
Palestinian Envoy Holds Talks with Chinese Foreign Minister
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has met with a special envoy to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas here in Beijing.
Yang Jiechi told Basasm al-Salhi that China welcomes the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and is hopeful that both sides will observe the truce2 and avoid future conflicts.
Yang also said China will support the planned Palestinian attempt to gain observer status in the UN.
For his part, Salhi said the Palestinian side is thankful for China's support in ending the violence in the Gaza Strip. And he said he's hopeful the truce will hold.
"Now what is the Israelis' position is the main factor of this. I hope that the Israelis are committed to this, have their commitment, and Egyptians could give a guarantee to continue this truce, but we do not trust the Israelis' behavior."
Ceasefire Holding in Gaza
Life in both Gaza and southern Israel appears to be returning to normal, following the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday.
The deal to end the fighting is allowing people in Gaza to get back to work.
"The agreement is good. Thank God for the first time we have victory and we make the rules. Thank God the resisters won and made us victorious3. I work in the Emirates and I am returning to my place of work."
However, the calm is far from permanent, as both Hamas and Israel are warning of retaliation4 if either breaks the agreement.
The Israeli side is warning of even stronger assaults if Hamas or other militant5 groups in the Gaza Strip resume rocket attacks into Israel.
At the same time, the strong stand by the Israeli side over the course of this past week appears to be boding6 well for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral fortunes.
"Benjamin Netanyahu emerges as a winner, not so much in terms of the international system but in term of the Israeli system, because this was, oddly enough, the first time in his accumulative 5 years as a prime minister, the first time that he actually led Israel into battle."
The latest outburst of violence between Gaza and Israel left more than 160 Palestinians and at least 6 Israelis dead, most of them civilians8.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy Says EU Budget is Future Minded
The head of the European Council has issued a call for European leaders to be "sensible and realistic".
Herman Van Rompuy and the rest of Europe's leaders are meeting in Brussels to try to set the spending budget for the European Union from 2014-2020.
The European Commission has been pushing for more spending, arguing that cross-border initiatives will help create economic growth and jobs.
"Doing more with less money involves political choices. This is painful even when cuts are evenly spread. So we must be sensible and realistic. But we must not forget this budget is a budget for the rest of the decade. So it must be future-oriented."
The leaders of Britain and France have staked out starkly9 different visions of the European Union's future.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to keep British payments into the EU as low as possible.
French President Francois Hollande is calling for sustained subsidies10 for farming and development programmes for poorer nations.
With each of the 27 nations having the power of a veto, expectations are the meeting may drag out through the weekend, and may end without passing the budget.
D-8 Summit Concluded
The so-called "D-8" summit of developing Muslim nations has wrapped up in Islamibad.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has issued a call for the countries involved to work together for the collective development of the roughly one-billion people the 8-countries are home to.
"Today, D-8 is not just eight developing countries. Today, with the grace of Allah Almighty11, we are eight democracies. We always shared common bonds of religion and culture. But, today we are also bound, by the will and spirit of our people. As leaders of the D-8 democracies, we are answerable to one billion people. We owe them a journey towards a better future. This is not going to be easy."
Several proposals for fostering economic cooperation have been put forward during the summit.
The D-8 was established in 1997.
It includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey.
Hostages Freed at a Japanese Bank
Japanese police have freed 5 people taken hostage at a bank in the central prefecture of Aichi.
No one was hurt in the assault, which saw police smash through the bank's front window to free the hostages.
The 32-year old suspect took the hostages at knifepoint on Thursday, reportedly demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government.
"We have apprehended12 the suspect for the hostage situation which took place at the Bank. Suspect: No known residence, unemployed13, name Koji Nagakubo, 32-years-old."
Japan's parliament has already been disolved.
Mexico's President Tries to Change Country's Name
Outgoing Mexican president Felipe Calderon is taking one final crack at trying to change the country's name.
Mexico's formal name is "The United States of Mexico," though few people use it.
Calderon has signed a constitutional reform proposal, suggesting the formal name was adopted in 1824 to imitate the country's northern neighbour, The United States of America.
Calderon is hoping to change the name to simply "Mexico."
"The name of our country doesn't have to emulate15 the name of other nations anymore, like it did in the 19th century." "The use of the term 'United States of Mexico' is now relegated16 to some official documents and some formal events through usage and perhaps by popular wisdom."
The constitutional reform would have to be approved by Congress and a majority of the country's 32 state legislatures.
Calderon will leave office on December 1st.
He first proposed the name change in 2003 when he was a congressman17.
Egypt Hopes to Boost Weakened Tourism Industry
Ceremonies have taken place in Luxor, Egypt to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
The event is part of a broader plan by Egyptian officials to try to revive the local tourism industry, which has been hit hard following the uprising to overthrow18 Hosni Mubarak.
Hotels in Luxor, one of Egypt's ancient capitals, are only at 27-percent capasity, despite November being the peak tourism season.
Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou.
"We will continue to have an agenda, a tourism agenda, a touristic agenda, throughout the coming weeks and months for these parts to help boost the interest and the demand once again to Egypt."
A group of guests, including the U.S. and Kuwaiti ambassadors to Egypt, took part at the event at the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Tutankhamun, known colloquially19 as King Tut, only ruled Egypt for 9-years during the so-called New Dyansty from 1332 to 1323 BCE.
The short-lived king shot to fame through the discovery of his lavish20 tomb by British explorers in 1922.
Light News
Japanese carmakers attending this year's Guangzhou auto22 show admit their sales here in China have been disrupted by violent anti-Japanese protests.
This has cut Japanese automakers market share to 17 percent here in China.
Mazda says it expects its Chinese vehicle sales to fall by more than one-third this month from a year earlier, dragging its fourth-quarter sales down by around 40 percent.
Mazda China chief Noriaki Yamada.
"So far this year Mazda China sales have unfortunately been lower than those of last year due to a sluggish market and the (other) circumstances,"
But at the same time, Ford's October vehicle sales in China jumped 48-percent from a year earlier.
Auto sales in China had been growing in double-digit figures through to 2010.
However, a sluggish economy last year saw vehicle sales growth increase by only 2.5-percent.
This year the market is expected to grow by about 5 percent.
Wenzhou Moving Forward with Financial Reforms
Authorities in Zhejiang are drawing up the details of a financial plan which may eventually allow individuals in the city of Wenzhou to make overseas investments using the yuan.
At this point, Chinese citizens are only allowed to invest abroad in securities or to set up businesses through asset-investment programs run by the state.
Hou Ruoshi is a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
"It will not only promote the internationalization of RMB and RMB to become international reserve currency, but also solve the bottleneck24 problems of China's overseas investment."
Doctor Di Dongsheng, an economist25 with Renmin University, says the new program should help China enter a new economic era.
"Allowing individuals to make direct overseas investments in yuan means private capital's entering capital export sector26. Besides, the investments are made in yuan rather than in US dollar or euro, which is a new way of currency export."
The move by the authorities in Zhejiang follows a string of bankruptcies27 in the city of Wenzhou which eventually prompted the central government to step in.
Private, black-market lending in the entrepenurial hub led to a string of suicides and business owners disappearing to avoid repaying their loans, which in some cases, were being lent with interest as high as 40-percent.
For more on this situation, we spoke28 earlier with Shen Hong, China Bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires.
Charity NGO Calls for Clean Energy in Remote Border Areas
A charity NGO is trying to promote the use of clean energy to provide electricity for people in the border areas of China.
The China Environmental Protection Foundation is trying to promote the idea of combining clean energy, charity and development in underdeveloped areas.
Foundation head Li Wei.
"In fact, local people has a much more profound feeling about being able to use lamps and watch TV. A herdsman told me electricity shortened the distance between us and Beijing and allowed us to know about the outside world. A young pupil told me that electricity is our eyes, we can see future and hope, we can see a bigger and wider world."
China Environmental Protection Foundation has set up a charity project to provide solar-generated power in a nature reserve in Qinghai.
The project - set up 3-years ago - also powers 36 schools, 9 villiages and 3 Buddhist30 temples with portable solar energy lighting31.
Recycling Energy-Saving Bulbs
New Chinese guidelines to promote the use of longer-lasting lightbulbs is starting to create a new issue: namely, disposal. CRI's Lai Ming explains.
Reporter: In 2008 China initiated32 a Green Lights project to encourage the use of energy-saving lights. Such lights are five times more durable33 than regular lights and five times more energy efficient. The project is helpful for energy conservation, but the popularity of energy-saving lights may also pose a threat to the environment.
An energy-saving light salesman, surnamed Zhang, has more:
"People simply toss them away. For longer ones, they break them up and throw them into the rubbish bin29. Sanitary34 workers break them too."
Most citizens are not aware of the risks. Each energy-saving light contains an average of five milligrams mercury. If exposed, such a small amount can pollute 300 cubic meters of air, or 180 tons of water. In 2011, China produced 4.7 billion energy-saving lights, nearly 2 billion of which were used in the domestic market. If these lights are not properly treated, they can create 95 tons of mercury.
Doctor Shi Lin with the South China University of Technology College of Environmental Science and Engineering evaluate the environmental risk.
"The substance can be absorbed by fish in the water and will in turn be taken in by those who eat the fish. Too much mercury in the human body will cause Minamata disease."
Some still remember the disease that plagued Japan in the early half of the 20th century. This is why volunteers are collecting these used bulbs, but they are not organized and do not have enough support.
Some professional recycling companies have considered taking up the task, but since the economic prospects35 are uncertain, they are not willing to take the risk. Recycling manager Yang Jingshan explains.
"Although every household uses energy-saving lights, no system has been fully36 developed to recycle them. We don't know how many bulbs we can actually get back from each household, and that makes it hard to calculate our costs. In this case, we won't dare invest without government subsidies."
In the southern Province of Guangdong, recycling used to be the responsibility of light manufacturers. Companies that refuse to recycle used bulbs are subject to fines of less than 10,000 yuan, but the regulation has never been carried out.
Peng Peng, a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, calls for legal means to curb37 the danger of pollution.
"There must be recycling laws to go with the promotion38 of energy-saving lights. Otherwise, the more people use the lights, the more pollution they will create, and that undermines the effects of conservation."
Other suggestions include subsidies for both individuals and enterprises who contribute to the recycling. But, above all, informing the public about the potential threat is the most urgent necessity.
For CRI, I'm Lai Ming.
[Media Digest]
SHANGHAI DAILY: "Stories of Shanghai Streets Compiled"
Shanghai officials are doing profiles on 64 roads and streets with historic significance, and will publish books about them.
It's part of an effort to preserve the city's cultural and historic flavor amid rapid urban change.
Shanghai Urban Construction Archives said it's doing research on the protected roads and streets, like Zhongshan Road E1, Hengshan Road and Shanyin Road, and the historic buildings and anecdotes39 along the roads.
The protected roads, along which building and real estate development, is strictly40 controlled, are also dubbed41 the "never-widen streets."
Yu Sijia, chief engineer with city urban planning administration, said the roads will never be expanded and that "the building structures and trees along them will be protected."
The roads are among city's total of 144 protected roads, stretching more than 100 kilometers, that encompass42 different cultural styles that trace the city's growth.
The archives will compile maps and historical files concerning the streets.
The whole project may take years to complete.
GLOBAL TIMES: "Man Builds Boat to Weather Apocalypse"
A man from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous43 Region, afraid that his home would be submerged in a doomsday flood in 2012, has poured his life savings44 of 1 million yuan or 160,500 US dollars into building what he hopes will be his own indestructible ark.
It is reported that Lu Zhenghai began building the boat in 2010.
Lu said he was worried that the apocalypse would happen in 2012, so he decided46 to invest all his money into the boat, which he hoped would be a lifesaving refuge.
Other major motivations for building the boat were to receive sightseers alongside the Tarim River, combat floods and provide ferry services.
DAILY MAIL: "Now It's Fine to Eat with Your Fingers"
Etiquette47 experts say eating with hands in a restaurant is now acceptable-so long as you do not lick your fingers clean afterwards.
Debrett's has issued a ten-point guide to modern dining manners designed to help people navigate48 the potentially messy minefield of 'finger food'.
Top tips include cutting food into manageable pieces before picking it up, using a napkin to wipe messy hands and using a fork to pick up any food that spills on to the plate.
It advises taking small bites when eating finger foods such as pizza and reassures49 those who dislike modern eating trends that it is acceptable to use cutlery even if fellow diners choose not to.
The advice comes as the Pizza Express chain introduces calzone ? a folded pizza ? to its menus. Jo Bryant, etiquette adviser50 at Debrett's, said: 'The influence of other cultures and new foods, such as calzone, means eating with our hands is a growing trend.
BBC: "Indian Capital Delhi Bans Plastic Bags"
A blanket ban has been imposed on the sale, storage and use of plastic bags in the Indian capital, Delhi.
The penalty for violation51 of the law is a fine of up to 100,000 rupees or around 1,800 US dollars or five years in jail.
The government says the bags are a "grave threat to the environment if not managed properly" and has carried out awareness52 campaigns in the city.
A previous effort in 2009 to introduce a partial ban in Delhi did not make much of an impact.
Although shops in many areas have moved to bags made from paper and other materials, authorities say millions of plastic bags are still used in Delhi every week.
Environmentalists say plastic bags block the drains and sewage system, and pose a threat to the health of people and animals.
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envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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militant
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| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
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boding
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| adj.凶兆的，先兆的n.凶兆，前兆，预感v.预示，预告，预言( bode的现在分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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analyst
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| n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家 | |
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civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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starkly
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| adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直 | |
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subsidies
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| n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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unemployed
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| adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的 | |
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slated
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| 用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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relegated
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| v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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Congressman
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| n.（美）国会议员 | |
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overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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colloquially
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| adv.用白话，用通俗语 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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halved
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| v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊 | |
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bottleneck
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| n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环 | |
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economist
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| n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人 | |
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sector
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| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
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bankruptcies
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| n.破产( bankruptcy的名词复数 )；倒闭；彻底失败；（名誉等的）完全丧失 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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sanitary
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| adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的 | |
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prospects
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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dubbed
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| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
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encompass
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| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
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autonomous
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| adj.自治的；独立的 | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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reassures
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| v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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awareness
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| n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智 | |
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