CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-05-01（在线收听）

Broadcasting Time: 07:00-08:00, GMT+08:00, 2010-05-01

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

In This Edition

The 2010 China World Expo opens in Shanghai with dazzling display.

The unprecedented opening in the Expo history impressed guests from all over the world.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says a multibillion-euro aid package for Greece will be hammered out within days.

And Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vows the government will not allow antigovernment protesters to intimidate the public again.

Hot Issue Reports

Shanghai Expo Officially Opens

The Shanghai World Expo officially opened on Friday night. Chinese President Hu Jintao and leaders of various countries and organizations attended the ceremony.

Downtown Shanghai thrilled by expo

The curtain was finally raised on the Shanghai World Expo last night. The city was packed with thrilled residents and visitors. How did they celebrate the exciting expo opening? What do they expect to see and do during the six-month global fair?

Foreign guests' feedback to the opening ceremony of Shanghai 2010 Expo

Stunning fireworks, worldwide representatives and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Expo history have impressed guests from all over the world.

Organizers of the ceremony highlighted this big event with colorful fireworks show accompanying with huge LED screens and moving light.

The stage of the fireworks show is staggering 3.4 km stretch of Huangpu River, crowned either side by the Lupu and Nanpu bridges.

Vincenzo Morano is a manager of an Italian restaurant in Shanghai.

"The fireworks show is fantastic and light games are unbelievable. I mean, I used to see Lupu Bridge everyday for the last seven years and I never saw it on this (beautiful) way. It's amazing. Shanghai now is the center of the world."

Colin Hilton is chief executive of Liverpool City Council, England. He said the show's fantastic from the beginning to the end and believes Shanghai Expo will have an influential impact on this port city.

"I expect surprises. I believe there're many interesting things I haven't seen before. I think for Shanghai, it will confirm its position as a world stage and show its leadership and initiative in a difficult time."

Based on the themes "welcome to China" and "celebration", the opening ceremony is passionate, interactive and with both Chinese and international flavor attracting thousands of guests including 20 world leaders.

China Pavilion to be a popular site

The opening ceremony marks the 184-day grand world party has now extended its arms to visitors from all over the world.

What do you expect to see first in the World Expo Park in Shanghai? Many visitors say they prefer to see the China Pavilion first. Tang Wei is a student.

"I believe the China pavilion will be very popular among visitors when the expo starts."

During the concluded trial operation of the World Expo Venue, China pavilion has been always one of those crowded sites. Hundreds of visitors waited in the long queue in front of the China pavilion.

"As a Chinese citizen, certainly I want to see the China pavilion first. I'll go to other pavilions later."

Visitors are expected to make a reservation with their entrance ticket if they want to access the China pavilion.

Light News

Greek Bailout Will Come Within Days

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says a multibillion-euro aid package for Greece will be hammered out within days.

Barroso said in Beijing that Greece's needs will be met in time.

"I am confident that the talks will be concluded very soon. I mean in the next days. The outcome will be a multilateral program that will lead to major fiscal and also structural adjustments, funding to Greece by the coordinated bilateral loans, by the Euro-area member states, will be conditional to implementing the decisions required to meet the conditions of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms."

German politicians previously said the aid package could be worth 100 to 120 billion euros over three years against an original plan for 45 billion euros of aid in 2010.

Markets worldwide plummeted earlier this week after Greece, Portugal and Spain saw their debt ratings cut as the region's debt crisis deepens.

European officials have been assuring markets they are working quickly on approving a bailout for Greece as they try to prevent the crisis from dragging others into a continent-wide financial meltdown.

Thai PM Vows Not to Allow Protesters to Intimidate Public Again

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed that his government will not allow antigovernment protesters to intimidate the public again.

Abhisit addressed the nation in a live TV broadcast on Friday, saying the Thai government was sorry the antigovernment protesters stormed the Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok on Thursday night.

"The thing that I want to reiterate is that the government and the Emergency Operations Command still have a clear and precise policy to stop the intimidation and terrorizing of people and public places. We will take action whenever and wherever necessary and properly against these threats."

Abhisit says antigovernment protesters have caused hardship by intimidating the people around their rally sites.

The antigovernment "red-shirt" rally started on March 12th. Protestors are now gathering at the Rathchaprasong Intersection—their main rally site.

They are demanding that Abhisit immediately dissolve the lower house of parliament and hold a new general election.

U.S. works to contain oil spill in Gulf of Mexico

The US Coast Guard says oil has began washing ashore on the US Gulf Coast from a leaking offshore well.

Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day are thought to be spilling into the water after last week's sinking of an oil rig following an explosion.

Fingers of oily sheen were reaching the Mississippi River delta, lapping the Louisiana shoreline in long, thin lines.

A state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana and President Barack Obama has pledged "every single available resource" to help.

"While BP is ultimately responsible for funding the cost of response and clean up operations, my administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal, including potentially the Department of Defence to address the incident."

President Obama dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson to help with the spill.

The oil slick is threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds.

Workers, Unions March on Wall Street

Thousands of workers and union leaders marched on Wall Street on Thursday to express their anger over lost jobs, the taxpayer-funded bailout of financial institutions and questionable lending practices by big banks.

The protest took place hours before the news that the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan was conducting a criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs.

"I think when 2 percent of the elite in this country own the bulk of the wealth, it's fascism as far as I'm concerned."

"The message for the people of the country is that you can't let these banks feel that they are too big to fail, which I think is ridiculous. And it is time for us to stop and make sure that we put regulations on the banks so that they can't control the economy and everything the way it is."

The rally was organized by the AFL-CIO federation of unions and an association of community groups.

It included a diverse mix of union workers, activists, the unemployed, and homeowners threatened by foreclosure.

World Economic Forum on Africa to Rethink Africa's Growth Strategy

The 20th World Economic Forum on Africa is scheduled to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from May 5 to 7. The three-day event will bring together nearly 1,000 participants from 85 countries to discuss some key issues, which include African economic recovery following the global financial crisis and China-Africa relations.

Domestic Brand Vehicles Facing Challenges

Domestic brand vehicles showed up in force at the on-going 2010 Beijing International Auto Show, with a total of 75 new models competing with the international brands. But domestic brands still have many challenges to overcome in the battle to improve sales at home and gain recognition from Chinese consumers.

Media Digest

From the Guardian from the UK: Tourists sometimes pause and shoppers stare as Rosie Swale Pope jogs determinedly through cities hauling her wheeled sleeping pod behind her. She smiles and waves but one of her knees is heavily strapped and she looks a little weary. Not surprising, as the 63-year-old adventurer and writer is running her 25th marathon in 25 days.

Swale Pope took five years to complete an epic run around the world to raise money for a prostate cancer charity after her husband, Clive, died of the disease. During that trip she encountered wolves, bears, extreme temperatures and completed the last leg of the journey on crutches.

Tomorrow Swale Pope should complete her 26th 26-mile run in Llanelli, south-west Wales, raising thousands of pounds for two hospices in the process. On Saturday she will do an extra run around her hometown of Tenby in south-west Wales just for fun.
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From China Car Times, a popular online blog: The China Daily is reporting that the at least 15% of the auto market will be made up of hybrid and electric auto sales by 2020, whilst 7 to 12% of global sales will be electric vehicles.

So is China expected to jump over other markets when it comes to electric car development? The answer is likely to be a large yes, at this year's Beijing Auto Show practically every auto maker had at least one or even two pure electrics or hybrid cars on show. There is also large government pressure on manufacturers to start building hybrid and electric cars, and at the same time the government is pushing the State Electricity Grid into wheeling out fast charging facilities around China.