新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/13（打印版）

terror suspects linked to the deadly attack in the Chinse city of Kunming last year have been arrested in Indonesia...

and the compensation process for the families of those who disappeared with flight MH370 is underway, with lawyers telling Chinese claimants they will need to build a case to ensure a fair settlement...

In Entertainment...Jaycee Chan, son of a famous Chinese action star, has been released from prison...

Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of minus 3. There will be smog tomorrow with a high of 11 degrees.

Chongqing will have slight rain tonight and a low of 9. Tomorrow will be rainy with a high of 12.

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The National Development and Reform Commission has released the country's first comprehensive two-way investment report.

As of 2013, China's overseas investment has reached a record high of one hundred billion US dollars.

However, the report reveals that the country's 18-thousand foreign enterprises in China that year represent a decrease of almost 11 percent compared to 2012.

But Song Qun, a former official from NDRC academic committee, says that with the "new normal", foreign investment to China will also enter a new normal stage.

"The relative size of the manufacturing industry will gradually decline while the share of companies in the service sector will rise. This is the general trend for China's industrial transformation and upgrading. Foreign investment serves China's economic development. Some low end foreign manufacturing should be transferred to other places, due to cost increases in both market and labor. This is the same as when western countries shifted their manufacturing business here to China."

Stimulated by the new normal, China's huge market potential will bring enormous business opportunities to foreign enterprises.

"Currently the biggest attraction here in China is the market potential. According to the estimation of the US Chamber of Commerce, a middle-class consumer market with a population of over 500-million will take shape in China by 2020. This will supply tremendous opportunities for foreign industries, such as machinery manufacturing, medical equipment, health care, and the pharmaceutical industry."

According to the report, China's direct investment goes to 184 countries and regions worldwide, covering about 80 percent of the globe.

The rising cost of labour and the fluctuation of the RMB exchange rate have led to a reduction in long-term orders.

Wei Jianguo suggests that both the government and national enterprises should join efforts to tackle the issue.

"I am very sad to see that our companies only try to lower prices to keep them individually competitive, instead of solving problems with other companies in the same industry. Meanwhile, China should continue try to keep the title of 'world factory'. If not, millions in the workforce will be affected. So the government needs to support exports through effective policies."

On Tuesday, China's top economic planner said it would increase efforts to manage effective investment this year, in a bid to help stabilize economic growth.

The NDRC also vowed to streamline its approval procedures and improve supervision and transparency.

China says it is ready to work closely with foreign countries, including Indonesia, in the fight against cross-border terrorist activities.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying commented today in response to a report that Indonesian police have detained several terrors suspects linked to last year's deadly attack in Kunming.

She also says China is on high alert for terrorists who try to collaborate with their foreign counterparts by crossing borders into war-torn areas such as Syria and Iraq.

More than 30 people were killed and some 140 injured in the terror attack at a railway station in Kunming in southwest China in May last year.

The compensation process for the families of MH370 victims is now underway. Lawyers in China are suggesting families in this country affected by the disaster need to make a case to back up their claims, as settlements related to plane crashes tend to differ globally.

Zhu Ziqin, a professor from China University of Political Science and Law, says an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention stipulates that airline must pay relatives of each deceased passenger an initial sum of around 110 thousand US dollars.

But as he explains, differences in law lead to different final payouts, even among families of victims from the same crash.

"Even though passengers from different countries are in the same plane, their compensation for loss of life is vastly different, mostly due to different measuring standards among different nations. The payments would also be varied among different people. Some people earn more money, some earn less. Thus, their families suffer from different amounts of financial loss. This is a common principle."

"we've started to accept families' authorizations months ago. The compensation-seeking process is now underway. Right now, some of the relatives are fulfilling legal formalities, some are doing notarization, and some have already started the evidence notarizing process. The MH370 air crash case is very rare historically, so the exact compensation details will also be different from past cases. "

When it comes to the specific amount of payment, Professor Zhu suggests that there should not be exact numbers offered to avoid affecting the negotiating progress.

"We should not cite a clear amount, should not limit the compensation payment amount. I myself still suggest the victims' relatives get proper legal help. Lawyers are more experienced on searching for useful evidence."

Thursday, a group of 16 Chinese relatives of the MH370 passengers protested how the incident has been handled by the Malaysian authorities, and continued to question their lack of evidence to make a conclusion about the fate of the flight.

US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on the final stop of the American official's Asian trip.

"Especially in this 70th anniversary year, the alliance sets an incredibly powerful example for the rest of the world of what's possible when two countries work together in common cause."

He is scheduled to make a speech tonight, where he will highlight U.S. economic policy in East Asia and the Pacific.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has met his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Auckland.

"We are looking forward to receiving more support from countries around the world especially from New Zealand and also from any other countries who are inside or outside coalition countries to stand by us and support the Iraqi defence forces."

"I've taken the opportunity to outline for Dr. al-Jaafari the process that has seen the New Zealand government already make some humanitarian contributions to the challenges in the region. But also the process by which we are giving consideration to delivering other support."

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a new resolution targeting sources of financing for extremist groups, including the Islamic State.

The UN resolution also threatens sanctions on anyone buying oil from the Islamic State or the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

Both groups have control of numerous oil fields in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, and have been selling oil on the black market to help fund their campaigns.

The resolution, adopted by all 15 members on the Security Council, calls on countries to stop making ransom payments to kidnappers.

The United Nations estimates the Islamic State is raising around 100-thosuand dollars a day through ransom payments.

"China welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2199 by the Security Council. The resolution is of great importance for the coordination of the international anti-terrorist campaign and certain countries' efforts to fight against terrorism."

Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, says the resolution should be particularly effective in blocking the Islamic State's cash flow from the oil industry.

"We believe this is the type of case which clearly shows the need for the collective efforts to resolve the issues we are facing. Having adopted the resolution 2199, we took yet another very important step in suppressing the funding of terrorists – first and foremost from the illegal trafficking of oil."

The United Nations estimates the Islamic State has been generating between 800-thousand to 1.6 million US dollars a day through the sale of oil on the black market.

However, observers have been suggesting oil is no longer the main source of revenue for the group, given the depressed prices on the global market, as well as airstrikes which have wiped out a number of the oil installations the Islamic State controls.

Syria's UN ambassador, Bashar al-Ja'afari, says his side is very happy to see the resolution be adopted.

"So we are very pleased to see the Council has moved finally in the right direction towards establishing a wider framework to combat terrorism and to guarantee full commitment from all member states to achieve this very important goal."

The lingering civil war in Syria became the breeding-ground for the Islamic State insurgency, as many of the foreign fighters who flocked to fight against the Syrian government later got together to form a united front.

This culminated with a massive offensive last summer which say the group take control of large swaths of eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

About 4,000 students, nuns, and school workers have held an event in Manila aiming to end violence against women.

US author Eve Ensler launched the campaign, calling for women across the globe to "rise" on February 14.

Reports are suggesting fake gold and silver commemorative coins have been flooding the Chinese market ahead of the "Year of Goat."

"Year of Goat" gold coins were officially issued at the end of last year by the People's Bank of China.

But given the obvious popularity of them, a number of groups have been issuing plated coins, but have been marketing them as 'the real thing.'

Zhang Hanqiao is the executive manager of China Gold Coin, one of two commemorative coin issuers approved by China's central bank.

"Last year we received many complaints. Most of them are from the seniors. In some cases, families have been brought to ruin by purchasing fake coins. The fake coin manufacturers and retailers use misleading ads on TV, websites and magazines which specifically target seniors."

Zhang Hanqiao recommends anyone who wants to purchase a commemorative coin first research its authenticity.

"The People's Bank of China has information published on its website about the times, size and types of commemorative coins its put out. This is the first thing you should confirm. Second, people looking for legitimate gold coins should go to PBOC branch offices or companies qualified to sell coins to buy the authentic products"

"In terms of investment, I suggest people buy gold bars, which are more profitable. But if you're looking for a collector's piece, decorative items such as gold jewelry are better."

While gold sales here in China did slump through this past year with the downturn of the economy, China did surpass India in 2013 as the world's largest consumer of gold products.

China's fireworks companies are feeling pressure, with the Lunar New Year just around the corner.

Local governments limit use of fireworks as part of ongoing efforts to control the country's smog problem.

Business at firework companies has been hit in the past few years due to the concerns for the environment.

Producers are working to develop more environmentally-friendly fireworks mostly made with improved black powder and new chemicals.

Chinese stocks kept up their winning streak on Friday, ending the last complete trading week before Spring Festival holiday with a handsome performance.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added more than a percent, marking its biggest rise in three weeks.

However, Japan's Nikkei pulled back from a seven-year high, dipping more than a third of a percent.

The non-performing loan ratio of Chinese banks rose last year, but banks' capacity to defend against risk also improved.

China's Banking Regulator says the ratio at commercial banks rose to one- and-a-quarter percent by the end of last year, up from one percent at the start of the year.

However, the regulator says the banking sector still performed well with net profits growing by 9.7 percent year on year.

Monetary authorities seem to have joined the holiday spending spree by offering "red envelopes" worth billions of dollars to financial institutions to avert a seasonal liquidity crunch ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Increased demand for cash for year-end bonuses to employees and preparing red envelopes for friends and relatives, as well as last-minute holiday shopping, has banks under pressure to meet the demand.

The People's Bank of China on Thursday injected 160 billion yuan through 14- and 21-day reverse repurchase arrangements at interest rates of 4.1 and 4.4 percent, respectively.

Reverse repos involve the central bank purchasing securities from banks, thereby injecting cash into the system.

With these transactions, the PBOC has injected a net 205 billion yuan into the financial system this week, the largest one-week liquidity injection by the central bank since January 2014.

The latest survey on consumer confidence in China shows there was much optimism in the 4th quarter of last year.

Neilsen's Global Consumer Confidence Index for China stood at 107 points, with readings above 100 indicating optimism.

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong ranked sixth on the list of 60 countries and regions surveyed.

The survey says Chinese consumer confidence in first-tier cities displayed healthy confidence due to optimistic outlooks on job prospects and personal finances.

A new survey shows one in four online shoppers on the Chinese mainland spends more than a thousand U.S. dollars a year on overseas purchases.

Chinese consumers have embraced overseas online promotions such as Black Friday and Christmas sales.

The global average for online spending on overseas purchases is 300 U.S. dollars. However, consumers in the Asia Pacific region spend an average of 50 U.S. dollars more.

Chinese e-commerce represents 440 billion U.S. dollars in sales per year and is forecast to double by 2018.

China's two largest mobile taxi-hailing applications backed by Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent are discussing a merger.

Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache have been ramping up their marketing to attract more drivers and passengers.

The shape of the deal remains fluid, but could see Alibaba and Tencent hold equal stakes in a combined company, which would be valued at around 6 billion US dollars based on their latest fundraising valuations ,if no additional capital is put in as part of the merger.

For more on this issue, CRI's Zhao Yang spoke earlier with Einar Tangen, former chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council.

A shanghai-based airline, Spring Airlines, is in discussions with Airbus and Boeing to buy as many as 30 planes.

Spring Airlines plans to double its fleet to 100 aircraft by 2018, as China's economic growth makes air travel affordable for more people.

The airline aims to raise the proportion of international passengers carried and revenue to about a quarter of a percent by the end of this year.

Spring Airlines will start new routes to Osaka, Japan from four cities in China from the end of March.

That adds to its existing flights to Japan's second-largest city from Shanghai, Wuhan, Tianjin and Chongqing.

The company started a low-fare subsidiary in Japan last August, with flights from Tokyo's Narita airport to Hiroshima, Saga and Takamatsu using Boeing planes.

China says it is ready to work closely with foreign countries, including Indonesia, in the fight against cross-border terrorist activities.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying commented today in response to a report that Indonesian police have detained several terrors suspects linked to last year's deadly attack in Kunming.

She also says China is on high alert for terrorists who try to collaborate with their foreign counterparts by crossing borders into war-torn areas such as Syria and Iraq.

More than 30 people were killed and some 140 injured in the terror attack at a railway station in Kunming in southwest China in May last year.

The Army has set a compulsive standard for soldiers' weight and vowed to pay more attention to military physical training.

The guideline said physical training should be linked to personnel management, referring to promotions or demotions.

It said military physical training is "a basic way of enhancing soldiers and officers' physical and mental quality" and helps cultivate combat power.

Russia says that leaders at the Minsk talks are keeping in touch over the ongoing discussings involving the situation in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said four heads of state in the Normandy format plan are to hold telephone conferences as soon as all relevant sides start to implement the Minsk agreements.

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have reached a new peace deal following marathon talks in Belarus Wednesday.

It will be followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front lines and constitutional reforms to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.

At least 10 people have died after a train derailed in southern India, with another 150 injuries reported.

Local police in Bengaluru say nine coaches came off the track near the city. Seven victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while three others have died in hospital.

A senior railway official says there are reports a boulder may have rolled onto the track. Investigators have yet to confirm such details.

The Department of Conservation has reported that its staff and many volunteers have worked to refloat the pilot whales as the tide rolls in.

Media in the country are reporting that most of the whales that got stuck in the sand have been refloated, but have yet to swim out to deeper waters.

Ten Chinese gay couples have been chosen as part of a special Valentine's Day event to get married in the US in June, a non-profit LGBT organization announced.

The couples were chosen from an online poll, and will hold a group wedding ceremony in West Hollywood, California.

It was organized by three non-profit LGBT organizations and Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce platform, to generate respect and understanding for gay people in China.

The activity started on January 23 with more than 400 gay couples registering and 20 couples making it to the final round.

West Hollywood mayor John D'Amico welcomed the China activity and promised to serve as a wedding witness.

Shanghai will expand a pilot program to monitor key food producers through video surveillance, after a major scandal devastated fast-food giants including McDonald's and Yum Brands as well as consumer confidence in food safety.

Starting this year, the city will ask "high-risk" food manufacturing companies or organizations to install more surveillance cameras in their key departments, such as those producing or processing meat, infant products, dairy, school canteens and large-scale food delivery services.

The measure comes after Shanghai Husi Food was found to have supplied expired meat to fast-food companies in Shanghai and restaurants as far away as Beijing and the provinces of Liaoning, Henan, Sichuan and Shandong.

Since April, the city has helped install video surveillance at four formula producers and at all fast-food companies with a daily delivery capability of 300,000 portions at their warehouses and workshops where feeding, cooking or cleaning is undertaken.

Scientists at a US conference have said it is time to try actively to contact intelligent life on other worlds.

Researchers involved in the search for extra-terrestrial life are considering what the message from Earth should be.

The call was made by the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence institute at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose.

Researchers at the Seti institute have been listening for signals from outer space for more than 30 years using radio telescope facilities in the US. So far there has been no sign of ET.

The organisation's director told attendees to the meeting that it was now time to step up the search.

About 8 million tons of plastic waste wind up in the world's oceans every year, according to a study out Thursday that warned this amount could increase significantly in the next decade, unless the international community improves its waste management practices.

Expert say coastal countries generated close to 275 million tons of plastic waste in 2010 and that 4.8 million to 12.7 million tons of that plastic made its way to the oceans.

Eight million tons, the midpoint of their estimate, is equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world.

The new study also identified the major sources of this ocean- bound plastic waste, listing the 20 countries, including China, Indonesia, India, Brazil, and the United States, that delivered the most plastic into the oceans that year.

French photographer Yann Layma has spent the past three decades recording China's changes through the lens of his camera.

Layma began his photography career in China in 1985 when he was 22 years old. Thirty years passed and among all the changes that have taken place, Layma says it is the people that have changed the most.

"Now Chinese people are very open to foreigners, very open to new world. Chinese people are right to be proud of globalization, to be part of global culture. I think it's a very nice thing. I think the envolving of China is a very nice thing and very important to global balance."

Chinese readers can easily find their collective memories in Layma's latest photo album, China in Yesterday, hitting bookshelves in the country.

Apart from the city life, Layma constantly recorded the life of minority groups. He went to the villages of the Dong people in the southwest four times during the course of one year.

His friend, art manager Na Risong echoes this view, saying when it comes to photography, Layma's nationality is almost irrelevant.

"It does not mean he sees China differently from Chinese people. Seriously, I cannot see anything like that. He is just so good at it. That is it."

But it is hard to argue that this is the case for every photographer. Like many other art forms, photography is engraved with the values and experiences of its creator.

"It's better to be objective, but a lot of photographers say if you are too close it's not good if you are too far, it's not good. You have to find the right distance with your story."

Layma says amid the rise of the Internet, photography publications are becoming something of the past. But it is safe to say with his faithful and insightful records of China, his works will never lose their glow.

Top-seeded Andy Murray advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Tennis Tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Vasek Pospisil of Canada earlier today.

The Australian Open runner-up, who faces eighth-seeded Gilles Simon of France in the next round, fought back from a break of serve in the second set and won the last four games.

Second-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, third-seeded Tomas Berdych, and No. 4 Stan Wawrinkaalso advanced.

Defending champion Berdych hit 10 aces in a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Andreas Seppi. The third-seeded Czech will take on Gael Monfils for a spot in the semifinals.

Raonic hit 17 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Italy's Simone Bolelli, while Wawrinka, the 2013 Australian Open champion, labored to a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 win against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Derrik Rose scored 30 points, and Chicago handed Cleveland just its second loss in 16 games, beating the Cavaliers 113-98 Thursday night.

Pau Gasol added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Snell scored 22, helping offset a 31-point performance by LeBron James, and the Bulls sent another strong signal that their recent struggles might be behind them.

They won their fourth straight after dropping 10 of 15 and entered the All-Star break with a 1 1/2-game lead in the Central division over the Cavaliers. Leading the way was their former MVP point guard, a player who missed most of the previous two seasons because of injuries to each knee.

The Bulls led most of the way against the NBA's hottest team and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Gasol posted his 14th straight double-double, the longest streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan's 15-game run in 1988-89.

Snell came up big again after scoring a career-high 24 against Sacramento on Tuesday. He shot 9-of-11 for the second straight game and helped force eight turnovers by James.

The hosts pulled away early in the second - the Germans caught up before halftime, then used a 0-7 run to open the second half - and take control of the game.

Tight defence was the key factor - Alba never trailed again, allowing just 23 points in total over the third and fourth quarters.

Jamel McLean hit a game-high 18 points plus 6 rebounds - Marko Banic scored 11 points with 5 rebounds.

For Maccabi, the effervescent Devin Smith amassed 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists - Nate Linhart

Madrid only allowed 24 second-half points - after Zalgiris had scored that many in just the second quarter - to claim a comfortable 88-71 success.

Rudy Fernandez finished with 17 points, while Felipe Reyes added 16 and Andres Nocioni 15 as 'Los Blancos' pull away and improve to 6-1.　

Justin Hicks and J.B. Holmes each shot 64 at Pebble Beach to share the first round lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Last week's winner at the Farmers Insurance Open, Jason Day opened this tournament with an even par round of 72 there at Pebble Beach.

The Aussie, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4, made five birdies but had them negated with a bogey and two doubles.

John Daly played bogey-free for a seven-under 65, making him one of six golfers to come in one stroke behind the co-leaders Holmes and Hicks. Holmes lost in the playoff to Day last week but shook that off to open his round with an eagle-birdie start.

He later sank four birdies in a five-hole span on his back nine (the front nine of Pebble Beach) to leap up the leaderboard and sign an eight-under 64.

Hicks has yet to win on the U.S. PGA Tour. He missed the cut at seven of his previous eight events this season but closed a bogey-free opening round with an eagle on the par-five 18th.

New Zealand trained and talked on Friday ahead of their World Cup opener tomorrow versus Sri Lanka.

Brendon McCullum believes his New Zealand side has never sent a better-prepared team to a World Cup, and he's high in confidence ahead of the tournament opener against 1996 champion Sri Lanka.

"It's the best prepared team and I think it would tick most boxes. And I think the style of play which we've crunched down over a period of time is something that we're comfortable with. We have different personal come in and out over the last little while but the game plan always remains the same."

New Zealand was creeping towards a prominent place among the World Cup favourites, even before it beat Sri Lanka 4-2 and Pakistan 2-0 in the recent limited-overs international series that were the crux of its Cup build-up.

The actor and singer received a six month prison sentence for using drugs and sheltering other users.

He was arrested in August along with movie star Kai Ko, after they both tested positive for marijuana and admitted to having used the drug. Police discovered 117 grams of marijuana in a bedroom at Jaycee's house.

Ko was released after 14 days detention, while Jaycee was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 2,000 yuan by the Dongcheng District People's Court.

Jaycee's manager has said that they may hold a press conference in Beijing either tomorrow or on Sunday.

China has detained a string of celebrities on drug-related and prostitution charges. On Thursday, popular Chinese singer Yin Xiangjie was prosecuted in Beijing for possession of drugs.

Zhou Yun, the wife of director Jiang Wen has talked about working with her husband in the latest film Gone With the Bullets.

"I don't think about who he is, I don't see him as my husband in that moment.He's just a co-worker, he just works with me. But I wouldn't say I separate work and private life that strictly. I was just very fortunate to meet someone who is in the same circle or same situation as me."

Gone With the Bullets is set in 1920s Shanghai and revolves around a beauty pageant. It's the follow-up to Jiang's political satire film Let the Bullets Fly.

Jay Chou's record label, JVR Music has denied rumours saying that the singer did not invite his former mentor Jacky Wu to his wedding due to past incidents.

Rumours of the fall out between the former mentor and singer were re-sparked, when Jacky Wu was revealed not to have been invited to Jay's wedding banquet, which was held at Taipei's W Hotel earlier this week.

Many speculated that Jay was still upset that Wu had exposed his past secret romance with Jolin Tsai to the media.

Jay was also unhappy that the Taiwan entertainer sold his record label Alfa music back in 2002 along with Jay's contract with the company.

However, according to JVR Music's representative, the singer did invite Jacky to his wedding initially, but was removed from the final guest list, which was decided by the singer's mother.

Christie's auction house is predicting that the never before seen 16 page document will fetch up to 1.5 million dollars.

The 16 pages of handwritten and typed draft includes notes and deletions for the recording that became a hit after its release in 1971. It was named a Song of the Century by the Recording Association of America.

The musician says his motivation for parting with the documents are to give his family some extra cash for the future. He says that he has little sentimental attachment to the lyrics of his most famous song. He says he's even considering auctioning off more items including guitars and clothes.

McLean has refused to reveal the inspiration behind any of the lyrics to the song apart from the opening lines about the death of Buddy Holly.

Five and a half years after Kanye West infamously crashed Swift's acceptance speech during the 2009 Video Music Awards, the pair are to record music together.

West said in an interview with Ryan Seacrest that Swift wants to go into the studio with him. He said he is willing to get into the studio and work with any artist with an amazing point of view and fan base.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/13（在线收听）