CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-02-20（在线收听）

Broadcasting Time: 07:00-08:00, GMT+08:00, 2010-02-20

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

In This Edition:

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai summons the U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and lodges solemn representations over U.S. President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama.

The United Nations calls for 1.4 billion US dollars to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda says he will testify at a U.S. Congressional hearing next week about the automaker's massive recalls in the United States.

And China's railways are being put into overdrive by the post-Spring Festival travel rush, as millions of people begin returning to work after the holiday.

Hot Issue Reports

Call-in with Victor Gao, China lodges solemn representations over Obama-Dalai Lama meeting,

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai has summoned the U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and lodged solemn representations over U.S. President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu says the U.S. act has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, gravely hurt the Chinese people's national sentiments and seriously damaged Sino-U.S. ties.

He says China firmly opposes leaders or government officials of any country meeting the Dalai Lama in any form, and also firmly opposes any country or anyone else using the Dalai Lama issue to interfere in its internal affairs.

To better understand the situation, our collegue Xu Qinduo spoke earlier with Victor Gao, Director of China National Association of International Studies.

1, First of all, for average Americans, it's hard to see why China acts strongly against a seemingly harmless meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama. So what does the meeting mean to China?

2, damage of the meeting: How much damage will this meeting have on relationship between China and the US, say, will the expected visit by Chinese president Hu Jintao in April be postponed, or even cancelled?

3, The relationship between China and the US has undergone twists and turns in a rather short period of time. How bad do you think can the world's most important bilateral ties go?

That was Xu Qinduo talking to Victor Gao, Director of China National Association of International Studies.

UN Appeals for $1.4 Billion to Help Haiti

The United Nations has called for 1.4 billion US dollars to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

This is the second time the UN has appealed for money to help the poor island nation since last month's earthquake.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has pledged to continue to help Haiti.

"The people of Haiti, so many lost their lives, their homes, their livelihoods. Their resilience, their patience, their solidarity amid almost inconceivable hardship. To them, we say, once again, we are with you. We will help you to recover and rebuild."

Ban says about $600 million has already been raised after the UN's initial appeal for money in January.

He says so far, many of the basic needs have been met in Haiti such as food, water and security, but he stresses there is still a desperate need for shelter and work.

The Haitian earthquake has left more than 200,000 people dead and 1.2 million people homeless.

IAEA Fears Iran Maybe Developing Nuclear Missile

The United Nations nuclear watchdog says in a confidential report that it fears Iran may be working to develop a nuclear payload for a missile.

The International Atomic Energy Agency report also confirmed Iran had produced its first, small batch of uranium enriched to a higher purity -- 20 percent. But it said the country had failed to give inspectors the required advance notice.

Both developments will stoke Western concerns that Iran is secretly bent on developing nuclear weapons capacity from the enrichment process.

Tehran says the effort is meant only to yield electricity or radio-isotopes for agriculture or medicine.

Iran's envoy to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said political tension in the IAEA was counter productive and would fail to stop nuclear activities for peaceful purposes in Iran.

"If they want to stop nuclear activities for peaceful purposes they have failed. If they want to force other peace loving countries and developing countries not to go for peaceful use of nuclear energy they have failed. In fact the attraction of nuclear energy for various applications, medicine, agriculture and producing electricity is every day increasing, therefore they have a total failure."

Israel's Mossad Spy Agency Accused of Slaying Hamas Official

Dubai police are now all but directly accusing Israel's Mossad spy agency of orchestrating a hit squad to kill a Hamas official.

And the number of suspects is now up to 18.

Dubai Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim has been quoted as saying he is "99 percent, if not 100 percent" certain that Mossad was behind last month's slaying of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a hotel room in Dubai.

"We don't rule out Mossad at all, never, but when these suspects are arrested, they will be questioned and they will reveal who gave them orders, then we can say for sure whether it was the Mossad or not, because this is a possibility."

Ten of the men and one woman were earlier identified by Dubai police as members of the group that travelled to Dubai on apparently fake passports - six from Britain, three from Ireland and one each from Germany and France.

Britain has said it will investigate how some suspects in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh came to have British passports.

Mossad has been accused of identity theft before.

But it would be the first time Mossad has been suspected of using the identities of its own citizens.

Even though the passports were from other countries, some of the names found in them correspond to people living in Israel.

Rehman Malik: Pak Not to Hand over Arrested Afghans to US

Pakistan says it will not hand over the Afghan Taliban's No. 2 leader and two other high-profile militants captured this month to the United States, but may deport them to Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Rahman Malik says Pakistani authorities are still questioning Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the most senior Taliban figure arrested and two other senior militants this month.

"First we will see whether they have violated any of our law, if they have done it, then the law will take its own course against him. If they have not done anything, then naturally they will go back to the country of origin, not to the US."

Pakistani authorities working with the Central Intelligence Agency arrested Baradar about two weeks ago in the southern city of Karachi.

At about the same time, Pakistani security forces picked up Taliban "shadow governors" for two Afghan provinces.

A series of raids by Pakistani forces have followed, capturing at least nine al-Qaida-linked militants who are sheltering in Pakistan.

Light News

China Embraces Post-holiday Train Rush

China's railways are now being put into overdrive by the post-Spring Festival travel rush, as millions of people begin returning to work after the holiday.

The Ministry of Railways says more than 5 million people traveled by train yesterday, an increase of 12.5 percent over the same day last year.

The ministry says the number of long-distance travelers increased signifcantly, as more people decided to make an earlier return trip to avoid the traffic boom.

Railway departments across the country have introduced various measures to ensure smooth transportation.

Liu Xiaoping, an officer from Wuchang Railway Station in Central China's Hubei Province, says the grounds outside the station have been divided into ten temporary waiting areas based on different train numbers.

"Our staff will guide the travelers to enter the station in an orderly way 90 minutes before the trains leave. If the weather gets worse, we will lead them into the waiting rooms, which have toilets and provide hot water. "

The ministry estimated before the Spring Festival that 210 million passengers will travel during the holiday, a 9.5 percent rise compared with a year earlier.

Toyota President to Testify about Recalls at US Congressional Hearing

Toyota president Akio Toyoda says he will testify at a U.S. Congressional hearing next week about the automaker's massive recalls in the United States.

"I was formerly summoned by the U.S. Congress committee chairman. So, I will be happy to attend the hearing. And, once I get there, I will speak with full sincerity."

The about-face comes after Toyoda was lambasted this week after originally saying that he wasn't going to testify before congress, and was instead sending a US-based subordinate.

Toyoda will instead be meeting face-to-face with U.S. lawmakers after enduring criticism that he has responded too slowly to a car safety crisis that has prompted massive recalls.

The auto executive accepted the invitation as the U.S. government opens a fresh investigation into the Toyota Corolla, following complaints about steering problems.

About half a million of the cars were sold in the U.S. in 2009 and 2010.

During the past four months, roughly 8.5 million Toyota vehicles have been recalled worldwide over questions involving gas pedals, brakes and accelerators that get jammed on floor mats on various vehicles.

Rudd: Japan must Stop Whaling Programme by November or Face Legal Action

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that he is to set a November deadline for Japan to stop its research whaling programme, or else face legal action.

Kevin Rudd says that Australia prefers to persuade Japan to end its hunts through diplomatic means.

"If that fails then we will initiate that court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010. That is a direct honouring of the commitment I gave the Australian people and that is the right way to hand it with a friend and partner, which is Japan who is also a significant long-standing economic partner as well."

Rudd's threat came on the eve of Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada's visit to Australia.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Okada has said Japan also prefers a diplomatic solution to the problem.

"I want to hear from Prime Minister Rudd what he really meant by his comment. But, he also said that he prefers a diplomatic solution to this. If so, I think there is not so much difference between us. We continue with the position that our research whaling mission is legal."

Australia has said it could argue that Japan's whaling is illegal before the International Court of Justice at The Hague or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany.

The whaling is conducted in international waters, but usually within the huge patch of ocean that is designated Australia's maritime rescue zone and that Canberra considers a whale sanctuary.

US Missionaries Return after Detention in Haiti

Eight American missionaries accused of child trafficking in the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake have returned home.

Caleb Stegall, an attorney for the missionaries, read a statement from the group.

"We are deeply grateful to God for our safe return home. Our faith has sustained us through this ordeal as have the many thousands of prayers that have been offered on our behalf. We are profoundly grateful to all of those who have prayed for our safe return and to the many we may never meet in person, who have worked tirelessly for our return."

The group's leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter, remain in jail in Haiti.

Haitian judge Bernard Saint-Vil says he has not released the two because they previously visited Haiti in December and made plans before the earthquake to open an orphanage.

Officials: Austin small plane crash not act of terrorism

A software engineer furious with the US tax agency has launched a suicide attack in the American city of Austin, Texas by slamming his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees.

The FBI has tentatively identified the pilot as 53-year old Joseph A. Stack.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo says the crash is an isolated incident and there is no reason for public panic.

"Here in Austin, in central Texas and Texas and throughout the United States, I know the number one fear that is coming to everybody's mind: is that an act of terrorism and is the country, the city, the region in danger? And I can tell you categorically that there is no cause for concern from a law enforcement or a terrorism perspective."

Emergency crews have recovered two bodies from the wreckage.

At least one person in the building is missing and the pilot is presumed dead.

Media Digest/Stock/Weather

From the China Daily on Friday:

Camping in a hotel is not a joke in China's hottest travel destination of Hainan province, as one hotel on the tropical island offering tent-rooms to cope with the travel boom during China's Lunar New Year festival.

The tent houses are going for 580 yuan a night, compared with 2,680 yuan for a standard room in the hotel in the resort city of Sanya.

The room has nearly everything a standard hotel room does, including a private toilet, beds, TV, a closet and a refrigerator. Tents are assembled outside in the hotel's garden.

The provincial holiday and travel coordination bureau reported this week that the province welcomed 100,000 tourist arrivals on Wednesday, which was the highest daily record since the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

From the Global Times:

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie has said the work of border and coastal defense must be enhanced for national interests.

Speaking at a national meeting on border and coastal defense, Liang says defending China's sovereignty, territorial security and maritime interests should be a top mission of the country's border and coastal defense work.

He says the work of border and coastal defense should also contribute to improved relations with neighboring countries and social and economic development in border areas.

The delegates to the meeting included representatives of a national committee for border and coastal defense, military regions, border or coastal provinces, and border police authorities.

From the Shanghai Daily:

Local experts are researching a new therapy that allows kidney transplant patients to cut the dose or even do without anti-rejection medication after surgery.

As part of a national project, experts from Zhongshan Hospital have begun clinical tests on the new method, called immune-tolerance therapy.

So far, hospital officials say all seven patients participating in the tests have taken lower doses of anti-rejection medicine than normal.

Immune tolerance therapy suppresses the patient's immunity five to six days before surgery. Doctors then rebuild immunity by transplanting the donor's stem cells into the patient's body.

From the Beijing News:

Chinese authorities will standardize all the primary school buses to ensure safety of pupils when they commute between home and school.

The school buses refer to those that are able to carry more than 10 children.

The set of standards, the first of its kind in the country, require the school buses to bear unified tag.

According to the standards, school buses should have seat belts for each seat and there should be one seat or more for caretakers.

Double-deck bus and articulated bus are not allowed to serve as primary school buses for safety concern.

The standards also require the bus makers to install a device to record the driving speed, time and mileage of the vehicle.

The standards will come into force on July 1.

U.S. Fed increases rate on loans to banks

The U.S. Federal Reserve says it's increasing the interest rate it charges on emergency loans to banks to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent, because the financial crisis is easing.

According to a statement released by the Federal Reserve Board, the increase in the discount rate, or the primary credit rate, is effective immediately.

The central bank also announced that with the immediate effect, the maximum maturity period for primary credit loans would be shortened to overnight.

The central bank says, though, that the action should not be viewed as a signal that it will soon boost interest rates for consumers and businesses.