新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/18（打印版）

It's Spencer Musick with you on this Wednesday, February 18th, 2015, Chinese Lunar New Year Eve

In Sports...The IOC wrapping up its inspection of facilities in Almaty ahead of that city's 2022 Olympic bid

Beijing will have smog tonight, with a low of minus 2. The smog lingers tomorrow, with a high of 9 degrees.　

Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 4, it will be a sunny day tomorrow, with a high of 11.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 13 degrees the lowest, tomorrow will also be overcast with a high of 19.

Numerous events are taking place across the country today to mark this year's Spring Festival, which starts from today and continues till next Tuesday.

While people in the city are busy preparing for the coming New Year, those in villages and small towns also have unique ways to celebrate.

In Fenghuang County of central China's Hunan province, people are having fun with lion dancing, a traditional folk activity.

But many people are heeding the message from the authorities and choosing to cut back on fireworks to celebrate the holiday.

"This year fireworks are much more environment-friendly. No dust, no smoke. Great improvement is made in terms of technique. The price is a little bit higher though, which is 11 yuan, compared to 10 yuan in the past."

In addition to traveling for family reunions, many people choose to travel during the Spring Festival holiday.

"If the number of tourists is kept within 8000 in this area, things are in good order. So we are going to take measures to prevent overcrowding and ensure the safety of tourists."

According to a survey by the online travel service ctrip.com, over half of the people surveyed are willing to make overseas trips in 2015, which is higher than domestic trips for the first time.

As fireworks illuminate skies across China in celebration of the Lunar New Year, the revelry is not exclusive to the boarders of the Middle Kingdom.

The coming year on the Chinese zodiac is that of the sheep, ram or goat, depending on who you ask; Philippine native and artist Ram Mallari expressed which animal he considers as the avatar for the new year, using recycled metal to create a sculpture of a ram in honor of the lunar new year.

Presented in the capital Manila, Mallari says the ram is a symbol of luck for the artist, and he expects good things for the new year:

"The ram is very symbolic to me because it stands for my name and my flight as an artist, and this year a lot of people have commissioned me to do works for them. I feel that this year is different and the ram is very lucky to me."

Crowds of people have been flocking to the "Thanks Nature" Cafe in Seoul to feed and pet the coffee shop's two new temporary residents--a pair of one-year-old sheep named Elsa and Anna, after the characters in the animated film, "Frozen."

Caitlin Sirkel, who works in Shanghai as a teacher, was surprised to find a cafe hosting sheep as the new year approaches.

"I'm an international teacher in Shanghai and I'm on holiday for the Chinese New Year here in Seoul. And so I know about the (year of the) sheep from being over there and, while I was in Seoul we found out that there is a sheep cafe. And I thought it would be a really cool way to spend my Chinese New Year. So seeing the sheep, they were really cute and fun and fluffy. It was a really cool experience to be able to feed them and it was really awesome."

It's not always images of animals that are used to commemorate the Lunar New Year. In Cambodia, which has roughly 700-thousand ethnic Chinese residents, auspicious plants, along with orange and kumquat trees, are popular abattoirs of the new year.

"The Chinese always buy these trees and yellow flower plants because they believe that the yellow flower plants represent a prosperous year for their family so they buy them to put in their houses, shops and for prayers on Lunar New Year day."

Other parts of the world will ring in the Chinese New Year in ways that mix the traditional and the modern.

Singapore kicked off celebrations that coincide with its 50th year of independence by launching the largest light-up ceremony in the past 29 years.

In Paris, France, a photo exhibit is being hosted for the Lunar New Year. This one features 28 giant photos from the archives of Xinhua news agency depicting China's progress since the 20th century.

With the Lunar New Year coinciding with international festivals such as Carnival in the Americas and Europe, now is a time when people across the globe are united in celebration; so we at China Radio International suggest you follow suit.

The Empire State Building in the U.S. city of New York was lit up Tuesday in red and yellow to ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The lighting is designed to show a spirit of friendship between the United States and China, will continue throughout Wednesday.

Chinese Consul General in New York Zhang Qiyue presided over the lighting ceremony, pulling a light switch to illuminate the red and yellow lights of the building's model.

Questions are being asked about birth rates here in China this year amid suggestions the "Year of the Goat" is not an auspicious time to have a child.

There is an old Chinese saying "十羊九不全", that means nine out of ten people born in the Year of the Goat are incomplete and will suffer from great misfortune throughout their life.

This led to a mini-baby boom in 2014, with mothers scrambling to have a child in the auspicious Year of the Horse, rather than in the "unlucky" Year of the Goat that will start on Feb 19, 2015.

Chinese media were full of stories about heavily pregnant women in different cities requesting doctors to induce early labor in January and early February to avoid giving birth in the Year of the Goat.

Weiwei, a 28-year-old advertising executive from Fujian says the tradition has influenced her choice not to have a baby this year.

"My parents are quite traditional. They have even asked some younger cousins to postpone their weddings, because it is not good to get married in the Year of the Goat. This year is particularly inauspicious because as per this year's lunar calendar, the Spring season started even before the New year festival. So this year is considered an incomplete year by Chinese people. I decided to postpone having a baby, because I didn't want to go against my parents."

I went to one of Beijing's oldest hospitals, the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, more famously known as the Xiehe hospital to find out more.

"Some people still say that it is not good to be born on the Year of the Goat. But I think young people, especially the 80's and 90's generations, don't take such traditional ideas very seriously..I feel my baby who will be born in the Year of the Goat is still a blessing. But, older people may still take this into consideration."

Dingchunfang, a retired government official from Jiangsu province in East China, had come with her daughter-in-law to the maternity clinic. She says many elderly parents have put such obsolete ideas in the backburner.

"Some couples are waiting to have a baby in 2016, in the luckier year of the Monkey. But if everyone wants to have children in a so called "lucky year" this could have a negative effect on the child's future. If they are born in a year when birth rates are particularly high, it will be harder for the parents to get them into a good kindergarten and the child will face more competition at the university entrance exam or when looking for a job. So why wait and make things difficult for your baby?"

The origin of this myth about babies born in the Goat year being doomed with bad luck is murky. But as LiXiaoHong, who is also high school history teacher explains, the tradition dates back to the time of empress Cixi in the Qing Dynasty.

"Negative sayings about those born in the Goat year were not very popular before the period of the Xianfeng Emperor during the Qing Dynasty. It might have been a rumor started to overthrow the reign of the Empress Cixi who ruled China from 1861 until her death in 1908. Cixi and other high-ranking officials of late Qing Dynasty, like Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang were all born in the Year of the Goat. People didn't like these rulers at that time, so they started spreading rumors that those born in that year had bad luck."

Another reason offered by those who want to avoid having babies in the Goat year is the deep-rooted belief that your zodiac sign could influence your personality.

Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac has their own virtues and shortcomings. The undisputed favorite is the dragon, often followed by the tiger, horse and pig. These strong animals are associated with success and prosperity.

But goats are meek creatures, raised to be slaughtered. So babies born this year are expected to grow up to be followers rather than leaders.

But those who brush aside this idea, point out that many successful people including China's first Nobel laureate Mo Yan, born in 1955, was born in the "year of the goat."

Actually, with the easing of the one child policy, China's family planning authorities are anticipating an extra million births in 2015 compared to last year.

This opens the celebration activities for 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and European Union.

"Yes, of course. This is great. Special event of the national. It's always beautiful. I love these thins. I love the singer. She is so cute. She is so beautiful. And the dance, it was amazing. I really like it."

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and EU. So this occasion of double happiness offers us a unique opportunity to vigorously expand communication and cooperation, to forge stronger ties of our partnership and to contribute further to our share, inspiration for world peace, prosperity and progress."

She also expressed hopes that beneficial experiences can be accumulated through such cultural exchange activities.

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations is urging a political solution in addressing the Ukraine issue, in a show of support for a UN Security Council resolution on the crisis.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN says China supports Resolution 2202 that was just adopted by the council.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing measures for the implementation of the new truce on the Ukraine crisis.

Liu also says China welcomes and views positively the "Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements," achieved last week in Minsk, Belarus.

He adds China stands ready to continue to play an active and constructive role in promoting a political resolution of the Ukraine issue.

In approving the new resolution, the Security Council is also raising concerns about the continued fighting around the town of Debaltseve.

"Unfortunately we did not get to Debaltseve. The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine didn't get to Debaltseve. This is the third day already of the ceasefire. Attempts will continue, of course."

The ceasefire was inked last week following marathon meetings among the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

New reports are now suggesting that Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has announced that Ukrainian forces will make an "organized withdrawl" from Debaltseve.

"I have a commitment to the future, to building a force for our future. That involves not only securing the resources we need, but making sure that we make the best use of the taxpayers' dollar. Make sure that we embrace change, so that years from now and decades from now, we continue to be a place where America's finest want to serve."

"Many tough missions, as you know Ash, as well as any of the men and women in here lie ahead, from the fight against ISIL to strengthening NATO to the Asia Pacific rebalance, to maintaining our technological edge to the continuous efforts to make the most out of every dollar we invest in defense."

One of the new challenges Carter is going to face is whether or not the US should begin supplying Ukrainian forces with lethal weapons.

Another challenge will be the situation in Yemen, which is the United States main battle ground in the fight against al-Qaeda.

Beijing Guoan gave their supporters a Lunar New Year's gift of qualifying for the AFC Champions League after they thumped visitors Bangkok Glass 3-0 Tuesday night.

Guoan dominated the game from the very beginning, but the attacking line led by Dejan Damjanovic missed several scoring chances in the early minutes.

New winger Song Boxuan filled the vacancy left by midfield talent Zhang Xizhe, who left for German Bundesliga giants Wolfsberg.

Song lifted Guoan to a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute with a tap-in at a goal-mouth melee from a corner attack.

Guoan's Argentinean midfielder Pablo Batalla netted on the 64th minute off a penalty kick from Song to put Beijing two ahead.

Visiting Bangkok presented little threat during the match and seemed affected by the Chinese capital's cold climate.

The win puts Guoan in Group G with J.Leage's Urawa Red diamonds, South Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Australia's Brisbane Roar.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after losing a close match to Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in the tournament's second round earlier today.

Amid desert heat reaching past 25 degrees Celsius, Peng, a semi-finalist of last year's U.S. Open, won the first set 6-3, but dropped the next set 6-4; the third set came down to a hard-fought tie-break that eventually went in Pironkova's favor 7-6.

Pironkova will go on to meet top-seeded Romanian Simona Halep, who eased into the third round with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-0 victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.　

Also out of the tournament is China's Wang Qiang, who went down to tenth-seed Italian Flavia Pennetta in straight sets.

Number-two Petra Kvitova rallied back after suffering a scare in the first set to defeat Elina Svitolina 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Third seed Caroline Wozniacki claimed a place in the third round as well with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win over Australia's Samantha Stosur; she will meet France's Alize Cornet next.

Fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated France's Caroline Garcia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and goes on to face Spaniard Garbine Muguruza.

And Germany's Sabine Lisicki produced little to challenge fourth seed Ana Ivanovic, as the Serbian recorded a 6-0, 6-3 victory.

Also taking to the court in round three will be no. 8 American Venus Williams, who will battle 11th seed Lucie Safarova.

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship continues until this Saturday. The ATP tournament continues next week, which will see world number one Novak Djokovic, defending Dubai champion Roger Federer and Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray hit the court.

The International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission is concluding its inspection of 2022 Winter Games bid for Almaty, Kazakhstan.

About 30 speakers for the Almaty 2022 bid presented the IOC inspectors with Kazakhstan's plans for the Paralympic games, event safety, marketing and finance, as well as public and political support for the event.

Alexander Zhukov, leader of the IOC delegation, says the meeting yielded a greater understand for what both sides want to accomplish with the 2022 games:

"It was a real dialogue between two serious sides and we have great experience today. And from today we are absolutely sure and more confident with our games concept and region."

However, residents are less optimistic about the benefits Almaty will reap if they get the winning bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

"Yes, I'm skeptical because it costs too much. It would need a lot of reconstruction and a lot of investment. So maybe it is not worthwhile for us to host an event like that."

The country's Prime Minister Karim Massimov, who is chair of the Almaty 2022 bidding committee, was not present to make the case for his country during a closed-session meeting on Tuesday, but vice chairman Andrey Kryukov assured the IOC inspectors that Massimov will be present in Kuala Lumpur for the final election on July 31.

The IOC commission departs from Almaty today and are due to be in Beijing from the 24th to the 28th of March.

Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, who topped charts in 1963 at age 16 with her epic song of teenage angst, "It's My Party," and followed it up with the feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me," has died.

Gore died of lung cancer at New York University Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, according to her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson.

Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised, Gore was discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and signed to Mercury Records.

In the last few years, she performed at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency in New York and, along with Ronnie Spector and LaLa Brooks, headlined the "She's Got the Power" concert outdoors at Lincoln Center in 2012.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/18（在线收听）