新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/01/22（打印版）

The Chinese premier has told the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that the Chinese economy is not facing a "hard landing..."

and experts are calling for a broader emergency plan to be drawn up following release of the report on the deadly Shanghai stampede...

Beijing will be sunny in the day with a high of 5, clear tonight with a low of minus 6.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says the world's second largest economy is not heading for a hard landing, shrugging off concerns over the country's slowing growth rate.

Li was speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a day after official data was released showing China posted its weakest growth rate in 24 years.

"It must be noted that the moderation of the growth rate in China reflects a profound adjustment in the world economy and it is also consistent with the laws of economics.　More importantly, we have made further progress on structural reforms. Needless to say, the Chinese economy will continue to face substantial downward pressure in 2015."

The premier said China has entered a stage he calls "the new normal," shifting from high growth rates to medium-high rates, and that makes structural reform all the more necessary.

He said loosening government regulations and encouraging mass innovation will deliver "quality growth".

Li stressed that regional or systemic crises will not happen in China, and the Chinese economy will not head for a hard landing.

"If I could compare the Chinese economy to a running train, what I want to emphasize is that this train will not lose speed or momentum. On the contrary, it will be powered by a stronger dynamo, and will run with greater steadiness, and bring with it new growth and new opportunities."

The Chinese premier also argued that efforts to shift China's economy away from one that is investment and export driven towards greater consumption will ultimately make growth more sustainable for the world.

For more on the Premier's speech at the Davos Forum, we are now joined live by Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London.

China and Japan have started another round of high-level talks connected to maritime issues.

"The talks, held between officials from both countries' foreign ministries, defense ministries and other maritime affairs departments, are a comprehensive way to coordinate and communicate between maritime affairs departments of the two countries."

China and Japan re-started meetings on maritime affairs late last year. The talks had been suspended after the Japanese government "nationalized" the Diaoyu Islands.

The latest meeting comes on the heels of the Chinese and Japanese governments agreeing late last year to ease tensions and re-start official channels of dialogue.

A meeting between foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany is now underway in Berlin.

The meeting comes as fighting has been escalating between Ukrainian government troops and rebel forces in eastern Ukraine.

German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has told his peers he hopes a consensus can be reached soon.

"And that is why, against the backdrop of today's meetings, I signaled that we are still available to help put solutions in place but it has to be clear that two warring parties themselves have to find the will to find a solution and to show a willingness to fulfill the requirements for a summit in Astana."

Right before the start of the meeting, Ukrainian president Poroshenko courted European support in Davos, saying 9,000 Russian troops are fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denied the allegations, saying nobody can present the proof of such presence.

Yemen's Houthi fighters have taken up guard duties at the President's official residence, but say they have not ousted Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The move follows two days of fighting that have put the Shi'ite rebels in all but total control of the capital Sanaa.

They shelled Hadi's residence and swept into the nearby presidential palace in what the army has been calling a coup.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has threatened to take further measures unless Hadi bows to his demand for constitutional changes that would increase Houthi power.

"At this historic and exceptional point in time, when conspiracies have been plotted against the country, there is a great danger facing the country. We will not worry about anything and nothing will ever stop us from pressuring to realise the peace and cooperation treaty.

President Hadi is an important U.S. ally in the fight against the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.

But his grip on power appeared increasingly precarious following developments in Sanaa this week.

The latest escalation began early Monday, when heavy fighting broke out around the presidential palace and Hadi's residence, and the Houthis seized control of state-run media.

The first day of this high-level officials' meeting focused on issues on immigration, ranging from the security of charter flights that travel regularly between Miami and Havana to rooting out fraudulent passports, and working jointly on potential search-and-rescue missions.

However, the two sides seemed to clash over an immigration policy providing special migration privileges for Cuban citizens.

Josefina Vidal, Director of North American Affairs for Cuba's Foreign Ministry, criticized the so-called "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy, which usually shields Cubans from deportation if they reach US shores.

"The 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot' and the Cuban Adjustment Act is a policy that grants exclusive and unique treatment to Cuban citizens, that no other citizens from other nations receive. Therefore, we conclude that this is the fundamental issue that remains as an incentive for illegal immigration."

However, Edward Alex Lee, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South America and Cuba, defended the policy.

"My government is completely committed to upholding the Cuban Adjustment Act that sets of migration-related policies that are colloquially known as 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot', very much remain in effect."

He also pressed the island nation to take back tens of thousands of its nationals whom US authorities want to deport.

The talks later today will be focusing on restoring diplomatic ties, including dealing with the mechanics of re-establishing a US Embassy in Havana, and a Cuban Embassy in Washington.

The US has dismissed an unconditional resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

The proposal was raised by North Korea after the two-day unofficial meeting between the two sides in Singapore.

The US side stressed that Pyongyang should abide by their international obligations, abandoning all nuclear weapons.

The six-party talks, which also involve Russia, China and Japan, were initiated in Beijing in 2003 but have been stalled since December 2008.

Japan's deputy foreign minister has met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman to deepen their negotiations about freeing the two Japanese hostages captured by Islamic State militants.

In a video uploaded online, the militants threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless they received 200 million US dollars in 72 hours.

The Japanese Defence Minister and Foreign Secretary have conducted a visit to Europe for possible help on the issue.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese officials have so far declined to discuss whether Japan will pay the ransom for the hostages.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says his country will create some 2,700 new jobs and increase spending by over 400 million euros to enhance anti-terrorism efforts.

He says such resources are crucial in dealing with an expanded extremist threat, with 3,000 people currently requiring surveillance across France.

The government move follows terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month in which 17 were killed.

The new security measures include increased intelligence-gathering on jihadis and other radicals, in part by making it easier to tap phones.

Following the report on the deadly New Year’s Eve stampede in Shanghai, experts are calling for new emergency plans to be drawn up, saying such preparation is needed for normal circumstances as well as for massive public events.

Teng Wuxiao, an expert from Shanghai Fudan University, says an emergency plan is especially essential on a regular day when everything seems normal.

"Under normal circumstances, an emergency plan could have an effective impact, improving handling of any emergency. Even if there's no emergency plan, we still have to take necessary measures to manage and control the stream of people, such as isolating the crowd and making sure the crowds are orderly."

Video footage has shown that the crowd density at the scene before the stampede in Shanghai was 10 people per square meter.

Experts say even with only 7 or 8 people standing on one square meter, individuals will hardly be able to control their own center of gravity, increasing their risk of toppling over as the crowd surges.

The fatal stampede in Shanghai on New Year's Eve has been labeled as a "public safety incident due to negligence".

The official investigation report says a lack of public security is the main cause of casualties.

"The Huangpu district authority and police department didn't make a risk assessment for the change of the New Year countdown venue, thus resulting in inadequate prevention and preparation for the mass activity. The police didn't issue a warning to the public, nor request reinforcements from the municipal police. So, the Huangpu District authority and police should take responsibility for the incident."

Authorities in Shanghai have leveled punishments on 11 different officials in the city in connection with the incident.

Thirty-six people died during the stampede in Shanghai. Officials have announced that the families of those victims are each to receive 800-thousand yuan in compensation.

The 49 people who were hurt will receive compensation based on the severity of those injuries.

The Chinese government has announced plans to create up to a hundred new think tanks in the country.

Authorities are hoping to have them well established with clear specialties and positions by 2020.

Long Guoqiang, chief of staff with China's Development Research Center, says some of the existing think tanks are not proactive enough in helping develop innovative policy

"First of all, we should embrace the concept of internationalization, and should do more to open up. We should be communicating more with our international counterparts. We should invite them in, including experts and all kinds of information from abroad. And at the same time, we should also be introducing the Chinese development model and ideals to the world."

The move is part of a broader attempt by Chinese authorities to establish a stronger soft-power base.

U.S. stocks posted modest gains Wednesday after volatile trading, as investors eagerly await results from the European Central Bank policy meeting.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies Wednesday and fell against the euro to a one-week low.

Oil prices rebounded Wednesday as traders bought the dip after the prior day's heavy sell-off.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said on Wednesday that U.S. housing starts jumped 4.4 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of just over one-million units in December.

Over in Europe, shares increased on Wednesday on expectations for more stimulus policies in the Eurozone.

China's State Council has announced fiscal policy plans to stabilize economic growth.

The policy, a pilot scheme, will establish a three-year rolling budget in sectors such as compulsory education, health care, and environmental protection.

Any unspent money in 2012 or before should be adjusted to be used in other projects and reported to the financial department.

Any money that has not been assigned to the lower level department should be handed in by the lower government to the upper government.

And for budgeted money that's been received by departments but not used, the same-level government should collect the money back and use accordingly.

The aim is to activate existing funds and ensure a more proactive fiscal policy is implemented.

The cabinet also vowed to intensify crackdowns on violations such as the embezzlement of state revenue.

HSBC China and Nanyang Commercial Bank China have become the first banks to open free trade accounts for clients in the Shanghai free trade zone.

The FT account is a special financial institution account introduced by the People's Bank of China in May to separate cross-border transactions done in the Shanghai FTZ from those onshore.

HSBC China has signed agreements with more than 30 pharmaceutical, energy, and automobile companies.

Banks are required to connect their FT account systems with the Central Bank, which can then monitor all transactions as required under risk management rules.

13 domestic banks and the Shanghai Gold Exchange have received approvals to conduct FT account services.

The government says China's e-commerce transactions totaled 2.1 trillion US dollars in 2014.

The spokesman of the commerce ministry says the number represents growth of 25 percent compared to 2013.

Online shopping has exploded in recent years as consumers turn to the Internet for cheaper products and overseas goods that are believed to be safer than domestic options, such as baby formula.

Authorities have said they hope e-commerce will become a new "engine" for growth in the world's second-largest economy.

China's top internet security watchdog says Apple has agreed to allow security checks by the Cyberspace Administration of China, becoming the first foreign firm to agree to the watchdog's rules.

Several US tech giants, including Google and Facebook, have been approached by the watchdog to comply with China's cyberspace checks.

These firms have had to leave the Chinese market because of their refusals to comply.

The President of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, has rejected the idea of injecting excess liquidity into the market and has pledged to maintain a stable monetary policy.

Zhou also spoke about Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, saying the new link between the bourses shows that the Chinese market is increasingly integrated with Global markets, and the aim is to further open Chinese markets to the world.

Talking about the cooperation between China and Europe, Zhou said China will continue to invest in Europe but it may be in different forms of capital investment, such as stocks and bonds.

Spring Airlines, a budget airline with its headquarters in Shanghai, has become China's first budget carrier to list, with its IPO raising over 400 million US dollars on the Shanghai stock exchange.

Its stock jumped by 44 percent, the maximum allowable limit, on its first day of trading, closing at over four US dollars.

Its initiators include Shanghai Spring International Travel Service Co, Shanghai Charter Airplanes Travel Service Co, Shanghai Chunxiang Investment Co, and Shanghai Chunyi Investment Co.

Spring stated in its IPO prospectus that it planned to raise funds to buy nine new Airbus A320 aircraft as well as three new flight simulators.

Industry observers say the stock price of Spring Airlines is much higher than those of state-owned airlines, including Air China and China Eastern Airlines, indicating the carrier's strong profitability.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says the world's second largest economy is not heading for a hard landing.

Li was speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a day after official data was released showing China posted its weakest growth rate in 24 years.

The premier admitted that China faces substantial downward pressure in 2015 but there would be no deviation from the focus on structural reform and better-balanced growth.

He also argued that efforts to shift China's economy away from one that is investment and export driven towards greater consumption will ultimately make growth more sustainable for the world.

Families of 36 victims of the New Year's Eve stampede in Shanghai will receive a compensation of 800,000 yuan each.

The deadly stampede happened when people assembled on Shanghai's Bund area to usher in the new year.

Authorities have blamed the tragedy on inadequate prevention and preparation for the mass activity and poor on-site management.

Eleven local officials have been punished, including the Huangpu district party chief and the district police chief, who were removed from their posts.

A meeting between foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany is now underway in Berlin.

The meeting comes as fighting has been escalating between Ukrainian government troops and rebel forces in eastern Ukraine.

Right before the start of the meeting, Ukrainian president Poroshenko courted European support in Davos, saying 9,000 Russian troops are fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denied the allegations, saying nobody can present the proof of such presence.

Yemen's Houthi fighters have taken up guard duties at the President's official residence, but say they have not ousted Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The move follows two days of fighting that have put the Shi'ite rebels in all but total control of the capital Sanaa.

They shelled Hadi's residence and swept into the nearby presidential palace in what the army has been calling a coup.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has threatened to take further measures unless President Hadi bows to his demand for constitutional changes that would increase Houthi power.

The US has dismissed an unconditional resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

The proposal was raised by North Korea after the two-day unofficial meeting between the two sides in Singapore.

The US side stressed that Pyongyang should abide by their international obligations, abandoning all nuclear weapons.

The six-party talks, which also involve Russia, China and Japan, were initiated in Beijing in 2003 but have been stalled since December 2008.

China's cyberspace regulator said the country will launch a six-month campaign against online extortion.

It has been receiving complaints from Chinese netizens about Internet media abusing their publishing and supervision rights, allegedly extorting local governments and enterprises with negative reports.

The Ministry of Public Security says China will strengthen supervision of assets that corrupt officials transfer abroad illegally through gambling houses in Macao.

The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong reported that ministry officials will travel to Macao in the coming week to meet with directors from Macao's financial supervisory authority and bankers.

The returned tickets are available to those who have failed to buy a ticket before.

Railway authorities suggest passengers pay frequent attention to tickets changes on the official website

The high-speed rail between Yanjiao district and Beijing has seen a sharp decline in passenger numbers.

Survey shows that an inappropriate timetable and high transport fees are the main reasons for the decline.

Graffiti drawn on some old buildings by two cartoonists in Shanghai has gone viral on the internet.

The artists say they want to preserve the good old days of living in old buildings.

Migrant workers in construction industry struggling to be paid ahead of spring festival

Chinese Labor authorities have launched an overhaul of annual wage payments to ensure that millions of migrant workers are properly paid before returning home for Chinese New Year's.

"We are from Guizhou, and all our family members are waiting here. Right now, there is no electricity or water. Every night, our kids are crying and screaming until midnight."

These are migrant workers from different construction teams in an abandoned construction site in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A year ago, the project they were working on to build a vocational school was abruptly suspended, leaving them unpaid.

This is just one of many construction sites across China where migrant workers are still waiting to be paid-in-full before the Spring Festival, which this year falls on February 19th.

The Lunar New Year is the most important festival on the Chinese calendar, and making it home for the holiday is of utmost importance for almost everyone.

As such, a number of incidents have occurred in recent weeks as people scramble to try to get paid so they can go home.

In one case, a 14-year girl committed suicide in a construction site in Hebei after failing to secure her step-father's wages for him.

A 47-year old migrant worker was killed in a dispute at a construction site in neighboring Henan when she and a group of workers tried to storm the construction site offices to get their back-pay.

A picture of her hair being stood-on by a local security officer created a firestorm of controversy on the internet.

As such, a new report put together by several Chinese universities is suggesting the prepaid funding system for construction projects and the sub-contracting system are the main reason workers aren't paid.

"If the construction industry cannot tackle the problems of prepaid funding, it means workers are conducting construction work at the expenses of their own payment. Even though our laws make it a crime for contractors who fail to pay their workers, the current labor laws aren't enough to solve the fundamental problem that has existed for years."

Construction is organized via a complex system of sub-contracting in China, involving "just-in-time" crews.

Lu Huilin is an associate professor with the sociology department at Peking University.

"Many construction workers in China are managed by their sub-contractors at the construction sites, rather than an employer in a legal sense. Although the recruitment system has been legally banned, it still exists in the construction industry."

As a response, experts are now suggesting the government set up a special body to compensate unpaid workers before asking for money from bankrupt contractors.

It was an off day down under yesterday in football action, but the Asian Cup is picking up today,

And China begins its knockout stage campaign tonight against hosts Australia at 7:30 p.m., Beijing time.

Team Dragon finished at the top of their group after edging every opponent by one goal to clinch all three of their wins in the group stage. Their run was highlighted by an upset over Uzbekistan, who was picked as the favorite to take the top spot in the group.

But China's coach Alain Perrin says, while China has done well in the last stage, Team Dragon can up their game against the Socceroos.

China could also be entering the match without key player Zhang Linpeng, who sustained a calf injury in the final 10 minutes of their game against North Korea.

Australia will have a massive amount of support from the stands, being the home team, and they are coming into the game with a day's extra rest over China. However, they are also looking at what went wrong in their last game, in which they lost 1-0 to South Korea.

And Group B runners up Uzbekistan will take on that red-hot South Korean 4:30 p.m., Beijing time.

The Uzbeks are out for revenge after their 2014 World Cup bid was dashed away by South Korea.

Uzbekistan lost 1-0 to South Korea in 2013; despite previously thrashing Qatar 5-1, the White Wolves were behind on aggregate.

The loss forced Uzbekistan into a situation where they had to compete against Jordan for the right to face Uruguay for a second chance—and they were beating.

Uzbekistan's coach Mirjalol Kasimov has promised that his side will be doing the eliminating this time around.

Rafael Nadal was made to go the full distance in a tough battle against American qualifier Tim Smyzcek, coming back from a set down to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5.

Roger Federer overcame a slow start and a sore finger on his right hand to beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Sixth seed Andy Murray didn't let the home crowd at the Margaret Court Arena bother him as he beat Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

And seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych advanced with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Austrian qualifier Jurgen Melzer.　

No. 2 Maria Sharapova saved two match points in a narrow escape against the world number 150, her Russian compatriot Alexandra Panova, advancing to the third round with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 win.　

Second-seeded Sharapova made 51 unforced errors as she went for the lines, saving some of her high-risk winners for when she needed them most in a gruelling match that went on for two　hours and 32 minutes in　temperatures topping 33 Celsius (91F).　

Shenzhen Open winner Simona Halep was met with little resistance from Australia's own Jarmila Gajdosova as she progressed to round three

And no. 7 Canadaina Eugenie Bouchard rolled into round three with a 6-love, 6-3 win over Netherlander Kiki Bertens.

Today's action down-under will see both men's and women's world no. ones hit the court, when Serena Williams faces Russian Vera Zvonareva and Novak Djokovic faces Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov.

12 games on schedule this morning, with three beginning at about 8 a.m., Beijing time;

And the New York Knicks are coming off their first win in five weeks when they play the slightly-less dismal Philadelphia 76ers.

French film director and producer Luke Besson has been honored with a top award in France for his prolific career.

"Fifth Element" producer Besson, had been awarded a Gold medal at the Cesars, France's equivalent to the Oscars, for his "exceptional artistic and entrepreneurial contribution over the past three decades."

According to the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, the prize, awarded this year for the first time, ahead of the Cesars ceremony, symbolizes the gratitude of French cinema towards the man who has upheld French excellence.

Besson will be in China this April to head the jury of the Tiantan Awards at the upcoming Beijing International Film Festival, now in its fifth edition.

Chinese actress Liu Yifei has collaborated with South Korean actor Song Seung-heon in their new movie "The Third Way of Love."

The jointly produced Chinese-Korean film is based on a novel titled "Di San Zhong Ai Qing", telling the tragic love story of Zou Yu, a smart and beautiful lawyer and Lin Qizheng, who is from a rich family.

Song rose to fame in late 2000, with South Korea's broadcast of the hugely popular TV drama "Autumn in My Heart", which was eventually broadcast all over Asia.

"The Third Way of Love" is directed by John H. Lee, a South Korean film director known for his gentle directorial style.

U.S. actor Nicolas Cage is set to star as Osama Bin Laden's hunter in new movie "Army Of One."

The film will be based on the bizarre true tale of Gary Faulkner's mission to single-handedly hunt down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Larry Charles, will direct the Condé Nast Entertainment and Endgame Entertainment production.

"Army Of One" is inspired by a 2010 GQ article about Faulker, the Colorado man who made headlines, and hit the late show circuit, for his quest to take down al Qaeda's number one.

Shooting is set to begin at the end of March, with an aim of releasing the film at the end of this year.

Singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams and Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore joined forces to announce plans for a global concert to combat climate change.

Pharrell spoke on stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the initiative.

"I think you guys know how serious the global warming thing is and so, for us, we're taking it very seriously, and we wanted to do something very different this time. Instead of just having people perform, we literally - and I can't go all the way into it now because some interesting surprises are coming out soon - but we literally are going to have humanity harmonize all at once."

The aim is to generate a global audience of two billion people, in order to put pressure on leaders attending a major climate conference in Paris at the end of the year.

Gore ended the forum with a rallying cry in which he said green-energy initiatives were moving forward faster than anticipated.

The "Live Earth" event will be held in June, and is expected to take place across all seven continents.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/01/22（在线收听）