Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday visited a heat supply company and a nursing home in Beijing, extending New Year greetings to front-line staff and seniors all over the country.

Xi Jinping made the remarks during his tour of the Beijing Jingqiao Thermal Power Co., Ltd. and the "Sijiqing homes for the elderly" in Beijing. 

The president expressed his greetings to the front-line staff of the company and asked them to work meticulously to ensure all households can enjoy a warm winter and a happy holiday.

 

China says Abe must repent shrine visit

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the Yasukuni shrine is a mistake that must be corrected.

He says in a statement the Chinese people cannot be insulted, nor can people of Asia and the world be humiliated. Abe must own up to the wrongdoing, correct the mistake and take concrete measures to remove its egregious effects.

China urges Abe to give up illusion and mend his ways, otherwise he will further discredit himself before Japan's neighbors and the international community.

Yang Jiechi points out that the issue of Yasukuni shrine boils down to whether or not the Japanese government is able to repent its militarist aggression and colonial rule.

 

China formally allows more couples to have second child

China's top legislature Saturday made a resolution to allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) passed a resolution on adjusting and improving the family planning policy, through a vote at its bi-monthly session which closed in Beijing Saturday.

China abolishes reeducation through labor

China's top legislative body has adopted a resolution to abolish legal documents on reeducation through labor, commonly known as "laojiao" .

The resolution stresses that all legally-made "laojiao" penalties before the abolition of the system were valid. 

After the abolition of the "laojiao" , those who are serving the "laojiao" penalties will be set free. Their remaining terms will not be enforced any more.

 

The resolution goes into effect Saturday

Over 500 Chinese lawmakers resign over fraud.

The local legislature in central China's Hunan Province has dismissed 56 provincial lawmakers for electoral fraud.

The legislative bodies at county-level in the province's Hengyang City on Saturday accepted resignations of 512 municipal lawmakers who took bribes from the 56.

Preliminary investigation shows the 56 elected deputies to the provincial people's congress offered bribes to 518 lawmakers in Hengyang municipal people's congress and another 68 staff, with the total amount of money involved exceeding 110 million yuan (over 18 million U.S. dollars), according to a statement issued by the Hunan provincial legislature on Saturday.

 

Chinese icebreaker awaits better weather to rescue Russian ship in Antarctic

Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, on way to rescue a Russian science ship trapped off Antarctica, has stalled itself since midnight Friday after getting stuck in thick ice only 6.1 nautical miles away from the Russian ship.

The captain of Xuelong told Xinhua that they will stay still and secure ship safety before continuing rescue efforts in favorable weather conditions. 

He said Xuelong will do its utmost to approach the trapped Russian ship in the first place after communication.

French icebreaker Astrolabe is also on the way to rescue, but a main engine has broken down due to the extreme weather, making it unable to offer help very soon.

 

Removal of Syrian chemical weapons unlikely before deadline

The joint OPCW-UN mission in Syria says the transportation of the most critical chemical material out of Syria before the deadline of December 31, 2013 is unlikely due to the volatility in overall security conditions in Syria. 

In a statement issued Saturday, the joint mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations (UN) says a number of external factors have impacted upon timelines.

 

Syria's crisis to be solved by Syrians only through dialogue: Assad

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stresses that the Syrian crisis would only be solved through national dialogue among Syrians and under a Syrian leadership.

The president's remarks were made during a written letter he sent to Pope Francis of the Vatican via Joseph Sweid, a Syrian minister of state, who held talks in the Vatican on Saturday.

 

Thai constituency candidate registration proceeds amid protests

Constituency-based candidate registration for Thailand's upcoming Feb. 2 general election kicked off Saturday amid blockage from anti-government protesters. 

The constituency registration is expected to last through Jan. 1 while the party-list candidate registration concluded on Friday with 45 political parties having their lists submitted. 

Registration in 32 constituencies in six southern provinces was suspended due to attempts by protesters to block candidates from submitting their applications.