新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/06/06(在线收听

 The Beijing HourMorning EditionIt's Spencer Musick with you on this Saturday, June 6th 2015.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
The Eastern Star being lifted out of the Yangtze River as the confirmed death toll climbs to 103...
Myanmar's opposition leader due to make a stop here in China in the coming week...
And China slamming irresponsible and unfounded claims by the United States that it is behind the recent cyber-attack on several federal agencies...
In our weekly business review.... China and South Korea singing a Free Trade Agreement...
In Sports... the latest action from the Chinese Super League...
In Entertainment...the latest installment of "Jursassic Park" set to open here in China...
Top NewsCapsized Eastern Star raised from the Yangze to speed up search for hundreds still missingAnchor:
The capsized Chinese ship has been lifted out of the Yangtze River on Friday evening as the confirmed death toll climbed to 103.
Rescuers are now searching inside the ship's cabins for the hundreds who are still missing.
CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reports.
Reporter:
Massive 500 tonne cranes hoisted the damaged hull of the Eastern Star that capsized with 456 passengers on board on Monday.
Over a thousand relatives. who had gathered on the riverbank, broke down in tears as the ship emerged from the murky waters of the Yangtze at about 6.50 PM on Friday evening.
Its smashed blue roof and twisted top-deck showed the extent of the damage caused by a freak tornado that made the ship turn upside down within minutes.
Many of the passengers on board were elderly Chinese tourists on a river cruise from Nanjing to Chongqing.
Only 14 people survived. Many of them had jumped off the ship as it began to sink. Three were rescued by divers from air pockets in the upturned hull.
But authorities say the chances of finding anyone still alive are "slim."Rescue teams have now shifted their focus from attempting to find survivors to searching the ship's 150 cabins for the bodies of more than 300 people who are still missing.
Liu Xiaowu, Chief of Staff of the Guangzhou Military Area Command says the rescue team plans to complete the search inside the ship in seven hours.
"According to the plan for this phase, we will strive to finish the search within seven hours. As for the problem that some deceased might be washed away, the command center has made thorough plans. We have deployed search and rescue personnel along the river to prevent this from happening. There are also nets set along the river 200 meters, 500 meters, and 700 meters away from the accident site."Over 500 medical workers have been deployed to carry out psychological counseling and epidemic prevention work in Jianli County, in Central China's Hubei province where the accident occurred.
Meanwhile, the Chongqing Dongfang Shipping Company, which owns the Eastern Star says it has ordered an internal inquiry into the safety record of its fleet in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Maritime agency records showed that the Eastern Star was investigated for safety violations two years ago. It was held alongside five other vessels in 2013 over safety concerns.
Shanghai based Xiehe Travels, the tour operator that organized the cruise has apologized for the delay in informing the relatives when disaster struck.
But Tao Fei, legal representative for the company says they had followed all the relevant safety procedures.
"Our tour agency was registered in Shanghai in 1997. We obtained all the required approvals for running a tour agency including a business permit, qualification code and taxpayer registration. We had gone through all the procedures."The captain and chief engineer, however, have been detained by the police for questioning.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has called for a thorough investigation into the incident and has promised to make the findings public.
Forensic experts have now started identifying the bodies that are being recovered. Relatives are lining up to give DNA samples to help this identification process.
For the loved ones of those who perished in what is now set to become China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years, the long wait for answers has just begun.
For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.
China vice premier meets Japanese deputy PMChinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has sat down with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso ahead of a finance ministers dialogue between the two sides.
Zhang calls on both sides to advance bilateral ties on the basis of the four political documents.
He also calls for the two sides to step up practical cooperation in the areas of finance and macro-economic policy.
For his part, Taro Aso expressed his side's readiness to strengthen economic and financial cooperation with China.
Taro Aso, also Japan's finance minister, will attend the fifth round of the China-Japan financial ministers dialogue that begins today in Beijing.
Aung San Suu Kyi to Visits ChinaMyanmar's opposition leader is due to make a stop here in China this coming week.
Aung San Suu Kyi, chair of Myanmar's National League for Democracy party, is poised to lead a delegation to China.
The party-to-party meetings between the NLD and members of the Communist Party of China will take place from June 10th to the 14th.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.
"Party-to-party exchanges are an important component of China-Myanmar relations. China has maintained long-term friendly exchanges with all parties in Myanmar, including the NLD. We hope this visit will strengthen communication and understanding between the two sides and further friendly cooperation in various fields."The ministry says both party and state leaders will meet with the delegation.
Ties between the two sides became strained earlier this year after Myanmar government forces, fighting rebel groups in the country's northeast, inadvertently bombed a village on the Chinese side of the border.
Beijing Hits Back at US Hacking AccusationsChina has hit back at recent allegations that it was involved in a cyber attack that hit millions of U.S. federal workers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says such accusations have been frequent as of late and are irresponsible.
"We have seen many similar media reports and remarks about this, but are they scientific? We know that hacker attacks are conducted anonymously, across nations and that it is hard to track the source. It's irresponsible and unscientific to always make trumped-up presumptions without deep investigation."US officials say China-based hackers are suspected of breaking into the computer networks of the US government personnel office and stealing identifying information of at least 4 million federal workers.
Hong Lei notes that China firmly fights against cyber attacks and urges Washington to be "less suspicious" and to stop making unverified allegations.
"China consistently places emphasis on the fact that it firmly fights against cyber hacker attacks in any form. China itself is a victim of hacking attacks. We would like to conduct international cooperation to build a peaceful, secure and collaborative cyberspace. We hope the US can be less suspicious and stop making unverified presumptions, but show more trust and participate more through cooperation."The US has frequently accused China of being behind attacks into its domestic systems.
But Beijing has refuted such accusations as "groundless."China Warns Vietnam on Island TripChina is warning that Vietnam's offer to its citizens of a cruise to islands in the South China Sea "violates" Chinese sovereignty.
The comment came after Vietnam said it would offer scores of its citizens a cruise to China's Nansha islands that are under its control.
It's reported that 180 Vietnamese will take part in the voyage later this month with each paying 800 US dollars.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei expressed strong dissatisfaction with the move.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and surrounding waters. Vietnam's actions violate China's sovereignty. We demand that Vietnam respect China's sovereignty, not take actions that complicate or magnify the situation, and make proper efforts to safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea."Disputes over the Nansha islands escalated between the two sides about one year ago after China deployed oil rig No. 981 in the area.
The tensions began to show signs of easing following recent visits by senior Vietnamese officials, including Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
China Completes Genome Sequencing of Imported MERS CaseAnchor:
Scientists have completed sequencing the genome of the first case of imported Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS, and found no evidence of variation that would make the virus more contagious.
CRI's Yu Yang reports.
Reporter:
The sequencing has been accomplished by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in cooperation with the health department of Guangdong Province, where the case was reported on May 29th 2015.
The genome map of the virus shows high homology with the strand of the MERS virus detected in the Middle East.
Scientists believe the strain originated in Saudi Arabia.
The result of the sequencing has been uploaded to GenBank at National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States.
The patient from South Korea who has tested positive for MERS is still being treated at Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital in Guangdong.
By testing and comparing genome sequence of different strains, scientists believe they may find effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Over in South Korea, the government is now offering up apologies amid the continued spread of MERS across the country.
South Korean Health Minister Moon Hyung-pyo admits the administration 'dropped the ball' when the virus was first confirmed in the country.
"Despite the government's endeavors to block the infection after the first confirmed MERS case on May 20, the number of MERS patients is growing. I am truly sorry for the current situation in which the number of MERS patients is increasing at a rapid pace due to our belated track down and isolation of the first confirmed patient and thus our inability to block in-hospital infection early."South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited the National Medical Centre in Seoul on Friday.
This is where MERS patients are being hospitalized.
Park has met medical workers who wore personal protected equipment in front of State-designated quarantine wards.
Park says the government promises to do everything it can to end the outbreak.
"People should trust that the government is trying its best with civilian experts to prevent the spread of disease in every possible way."Four people have now died from the virus in South Korea.
41 others have been confirmed infected.
Among the 5 new cases reported this Friday include an officer at Osan Air Base near Seoul, which is home to both South Korean and US troops.
Over 80 soldiers at the base have reportedly been quarantined.
They join the over 16-hundred others in South Korea who are under quarantine amid the spread of MERS.
Officials have shut down 11-hundred schools across the country.
MERS is a corona virus similar to SARS.
It has a mortality rate of around 40-percent.
For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.
Preparations fully made across the country for the upcoming GaokaoAnchor:
China's annual national college entrance exam, known as the 'Gaokao' falls on Sunday.
As CRI's Wang Wei reports, preparations have been made across China for the challenging exam.
Reporter:
In Xi'an, the capital city of northwest China's Shannxi Province, special transportation services are being provided to aid the exam participants.
Buses, taxis and metro lines in the city offer green channels for the students.
Wei Wei, an official with the local metro system, further explains.
"As the second day of this year's Gaokao is Monday and we'll see a traffic peak in the morning, so we will open a green channel for the students in the metro line one and line two to make their travels easier. Medical materials are being prepared to cope with emergencies. If any of the students lose their admission cards for the exam, our station staff will also help to search for them."In the capital city of Southern China's Guangdong Province, all the exam classrooms are outfitted with air-conditioning so that students won't be affected by the region's hot weather.
As many parents seek to provide quiet and convenient environment for their children in nearby hotels, special services are also offered for students there.
Ji Baowen is with a local hotel.
"We will offer milk for students every night so that they can have a good sleep, and we also offer morning call service so that the students won't miss the exams in the morning."Guangzhou authorities have also required construction work suspended in areas near exam sites during the two days.
The 'Gaokao' is seen as a make-or-break competition and offers students a bright future with higher education opportunities if they do well on the challenging exam.
To ensure fairness, the Ministry of Education launched a campaign this year to crack down on the sale of concealed wireless devices, frequently used for cheating.
However, as the clock ticks towards exam day, experts say it's necessary for students themselves to reduce pressure and stress.
Zhang Yue is a high school teacher from northeast China's Jilin province.
"If students lack confidence, they can try to give themselves positive self-suggestions, for instance, students can look back upon successful moments which make themselves proud. Because these achievements mean the students have the ability to handle the exam. With this confidence, students can bring their strengths into play."Moreover, experts suggest students to check the exam sites beforehand and to fully consider the transportation situation in order to avoid rush hour.
This year, over 9.4 million students are expected to sit the grueling test.
For CRI, this is Wang Wei.
Educational Experts on Gaokao ReformAnchor:
China has been carrying out reforms in the gaokao system, with the latest round of major reform measures released last year.
Under the plan, English is no longer mandatory; Students must take the Chinese and math exams, but they can chose the other four subjects to be tested; and they can take these exams separately.
In addition, the bonus mark policy, which has benefited a lot of students with specialties in arts and sports but weak in academic performance, is set to be abolished.
There are also often discussions about the value of what students learn in preparation for the Gaokao.
For more on this, CRI's Tu Yun earlier spoke with Professor Zhu Zhiyong, Vice Dean of Educational Administration, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University.
Beijing Sees Improved Air QualityAnchor:
Authorities here in Beijing have announced that the city has seen improved air quality this year.
CRI's Luo Wen has more.
Reporter:
Latest stats from the city's Environmental Protection Bureau show the number of days with high air quality reached 57 in the first four months of 2015, up eight days from a year earlier.
During the period, the number of days with severe air pollution decreased 42 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, the concentration of sulfur dioxide and fine particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter was reduced by about 43 percent and 19 percent, respectively.
The Chinese capital, along with its neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, has suffered from severe air pollution for years, with excessive coal use and car emissions among the key culprits.
Amid the country's stepped-up campaign against pollution, the three areas have decided to join hands.
Li Lixin heads the air pollution control division of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
He says the concerted effort has led to a big drop in pollution from coal-fired plants.
"The coal consumption in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei has been cut by 19.8 million tons. Meanwhile, we have replaced 3.9 million tons of faulty coal with high-quality coal in the rural areas in those regions."In its latest step, Beijing dismantled four remaining largest coal-burning boilers in the urban area in this past week.
According to the city's blueprint, the Dongcheng District in the downtown area will be coal-free in the future, while coal-burning boilers in other urban areas will be replaced with less-polluting ones.
Meanwhile, the city has also seen a decrease in car emission, another key contributor to pollution.
Li Kunsheng is also from the Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau.
"Though car ownership in China has been increasing in recent years, vehicle emissions have actually decreased year on year."As part of its anti-pollution move, Beijing has enacted strict restrictions on car use in the country.
Under a lottery-style quota system, its residents have to compete for limited license plate numbers before buying a vehicle, while cars have to be kept off road for one weekday per week, depending on the final digit of their license plate.
In the next step, the city may adopt a plan that will require residents to have first secured a parking space before purchasing a vehicle.
To reinforce the car-limiting effort, Beijing has also reached an agreement with Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia to share car emission data and carry out cross-region law enforcement against drivers who breach emission limits but have their cars registered in other cities.
Beijing's authority has vowed to further step up its efforts to combat pollution in the wake of its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The city's urban center expects a 25 percent reduction in PM2.5 pollutants under a five-year plan that began two years ago.
By 2017, Beijing will have reduced the amount of coal burned in the city to 10 million tons from 23 million tons in 2013 and taken whole fleets of old, polluting vehicles off its roads.
The city's government has vowed to devote 48 billion yuan, or about 8 billion US dollars, to this effort.
For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.
Philippines May Allow Japan to Use Their Military Bases for RefuelingPhilippine President Benigno Aquino III has announced plans to potentially allow Japanese military aircraft and naval vessels to use bases in the Philippines for refueling and picking up supplies.
This could potentially allow Japan to extend its patrols much deeper into the South China Sea, even though the country has no claims in the region.
Aquino has made the announcement at the end of a four-day state visit to Japan.
"The Philippines does welcome this development, and we will be initiating all of the diplomatic requirements to come up with the Visiting Forces Agreement."A Japanese VFA would be similar to the one the United States currently has in the Philippines.
The move comes amid the current dispute between the Philippines and China over China's control of the Nansha Islands.
Top Saddam Aide Tariq Aziz Dies at 79An Iraqi doctor has confirmed that Tariq Aziz, foreign minister of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, died from a heart attack on Friday.
He was 79.
Dr. Saadi al-Majed is director of al-Hussin General Hospital based in the city of Nasiriyah, about 320 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.
"Today at three o'clock in the afternoon, Tareq Aziz arrived from Al-Nasiriyah prison to the emergency department of Al-Hussein hospital and suffered a severe heart attack that paralyzed the heart. His health situation deteriorated quickly, first aid did not help and he passed away."Aziz had been in custody in a prison, awaiting execution.
Aziz was the highest-ranking Christian in Saddam's regime.
He was sentenced in October 2010 to hang for persecuting members of the Shiite Muslim religious parties that now dominate Iraq.
Iraqi authorities say Aziz had suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure for a long period of time.
weatherBeijing will be sunny today with a high of 32 degrees Celsius, overcast tonight with a low of 20 degrees Celsius.
Shanghai , also sunny with a high of 30.
Chongqing will see slight rain with a high of 24.
Lhasa, cloudy today with a high of 28 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy, 37,Kabul, rainy, 25.
Over in North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 19 degrees Celsius.
Washington, also rainy, 23.
Honolulu, cloudy, 26.
Toronto, also cloudy with a high of 21 degrees.
In South America,Buenos Aires will be rainy with a high of 20.
Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.
Headline newsEastern Star hoisted from waterThe capsized cruise ship Eastern Star is being hoisted from the Yangtze River after rescuers righted it earlier today.
Up to now, rescuers have found 97 bodies and 14 survivors.
More than 340 people are still missing.
The decision to right the upturned ship and hoist it above water comes after three days combing through the ship for survivors.
The rescue headquarters says the move would help find the missing "in the shortest possible time".
In Beijing, President Xi Jinping has presided over a top-level meeting on how to handle the aftermath of the tragedy.
Xi has also demanded a serious investigation into the cause of the shipwreck.
China vice premier meets Japanese deputy PMChinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has sat down with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso ahead of a finance ministers dialogue between the two sides.
Zhang calls on both sides to advance bilateral ties on the basis of the four political documents.
He also calls for the two sides to step up practical cooperation in the areas of finance and macro-economic policy.
For his part, Taro Aso expressed his side's readiness to strengthen economic and financial cooperation with China.
Taro Aso, also Japan's finance minister, will attend the fifth round of the China-Japan financial ministers dialogue that begins today in Beijing.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi to visit ChinaMyanmar's opposition party leader is due to make a stop in China next week.
Aung San Suu Kyi, chair of Myanmar's National League for Democracy party, is poised to lead a delegation to China.
The party-to-party meetings between the NLD and members of the Communist Party of China will take place from June 10 to 14.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei says party-to-party exchanges are important for China-Myanmar relations.
China has maintained long-term friendly exchanges with all parties in Myanmar, including the NLD.
China calls for political settlement of Ukraine crisisChina has called on parties concerned to press ahead with a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the call at a Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
He said China believes that dialogue and consultation is the only solution to the Ukraine issue.
Dozens of people were killed in eastern Ukraine as fighting flared up on Wednesday in the restive areas.
The new round of violence added to worries about the shaky ceasefire reached in mid-February to end the conflict, which has already killed 64-hundered people.
Weekly Biz RoundupWeekly Business ReviewAnchor:
It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the business world this past week in our Weekly Business Review.
China and South Korea signed a free trade agreement on Monday. China's new home prices have increased in May for the first time in four months. Chinese train makers CSR and CNR have completed their merger deal. And Chinese stocks continue their path to go global this week.
Let's catch all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.
Reporter:
China and South Korea signed the free trade agreement on Monday this week.
Under the deal, tariffs on over 90 percent of the goods traded between the two countries will be removed in the next two decades.
It covers 17 areas including trade in goods, services and investment. It also covers e-commerce, government procurement and competitive policies.
It is also the first time for China to include finance, telecommunications and e-commerce industries in a free trade deal.
Jin Yisong, President of China Chamber of Commerce in Korea, says the FTA marks a breakthrough between the two economies.
"Both countries can make their respective advantages complementary to each other. It will have a positive impact in the upgrading of enterprises and optimization of industrial structure in both China and South Korea."Once the FTA takes effect, the bilateral trade volume is expected to reach 400 billion U.S. dollars in five years.
Following this, China has unveiled a blueprint for an industrial park in east China's Yantai city to facilitate investment by enterprises from the South Korea.
Starting from this Monday, import tariffs on clothing, cosmetics, and some other goods in China have been cut.
The Ministry of Finance said tariffs on selected goods would be slashed by an average of about 50 percent.
Taxes on sports shoes will roughly be cut in half to 12 percent, while tariffs on diapers will drop to 2 percent from 7.5 percent.
Meanwhile, international luxury brands are cutting prices in China to counter Chinese consumers' overseas shopping habits.
Gucci has halved the prices of many of its products after a 20-percent cut by Chanel in March.
A report by the China Index Academy shows new home prices in China increased in May for the first time in four months.
The average new home price in one-hundred major Chinese cities rose half of a percent last month to about 10-thousand five hundred yuan or nearly 17-hundered U.S. dollars per square meter.
Looking ahead, experts suggest that the property market overall will show a warming trend.
Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures, says China's slower economic growth may actually have a positive effect on the real estate market in the future.
"As long as we could not see the economy gets better, there will be further easing policies like interest rate cut, lower reserve requirement and other loosen policies, this could bring more money into the real estate market."China's new housing prices had been falling since February.
China's central bank is now allowing financial institutions to issue certificates of deposit, giving banks more freedom when it comes to interest rates.
A certificate of deposit is essentially a savings bond which gives the purchaser a higher rate of return than ordinary deposits.
A minimum certificate of deposit is 300-thousand yuan for individual investors. Institutional investors have to spend a minimum 10-million yuan.
Interest rates on the certificates will be determined by the market.
Chinese train makers CSR and CNR have announced the completion of their merger and adopted CRRC as the company's new name.
The two companies halted trading on May 7 to proceed with creating the world's biggest rail conglomerate in terms of sales through a share swap merger.
An earlier statement said the swap was completed on May 28 and the companies exchanged business licenses on Monday.
The Chinese government has set a goal to cut the number of SOEs to 40 in its massive merger plan to push reform and structural upgrade in the economy.
George Ren, partner and vice president of the Roland Berger Enterprise Management, says the Chinese market need to see more mergers among big companies in the future.
"I think, with the size of the capital market in China, we should see more heavyweight mergers. Currently it is the government that is pushing for a lot of mergers. I hope that in the future, the market will play a more important role in these mergers, too"Currently, the central government owns over 110 conglomerates, including 277 public firms listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges.
Chinese stocks continue their path to go global this weekOn Tuesday, US-based Vanguard Group has announced plans to include mainland-listed A-shares in its emerging market fund.
The mutual fund giant says its investors will have access to over 14-hundred mainland-listed shares.
Vanguard is poised to become the latest to add Chinese A-shares to its list of securities after FTSE included Chinese shares last week.
Morgan Stanley Capital International is set to make a decision on whether to include Chinese A-shares in its portfolio next week.
Meanwhile, new reports are suggesting the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has been granted approval to invest 1.5 billion US dollars in the Chinese A-share market.
The report has yet to be confirmed by Chinese authorities.
If true, it will be the largest investment approved by China's foreign exchange regulator under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, or QFII, program.
This week, 23 different companies have been taking IPO subscriptions in the Chinese A-share market this week alone.
Among them, China National Nuclear Power Corporation aims to raise more than 13 billion yuan or nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars.
CRI's Financial Commentator Cao Can explains why a massive influx of Chinese companies moving to raise funds on the capital market.
"The main reason is that the Chinese stock market is doing very well, so it is profitable for companies to list their IPOs in China at this point, because the market cap is very attractive. So it is easier for new companies to recapitalize at a cheaper cost."This comes after an industry report suggests 48 different Chinese companies went public around the world last month. All but four of them listed on mainland exchanges.
This has created a record high.
Meanwhile, Chinese regulators have given the green-light for Chinese securities firm Guotai Junan to go public.
Guotai is expected to put forward the largest IPO on China's A-share market in some 5 years.
Beijing transport authorities have reiterated the illegality of unlicensed taxis after grilling executives of Uber-like taxi-hailing app Didi Dache.
Didi Dache services including "Didi Express" and "Didi Zhuanche" allow private car owners to accept fares for driving passengers.
These actions violate existing laws and regulations.
Authorities regulate that only cars officially designated as taxis may pick up paying passengers.
On the corporate front,Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Property has wrapped up its first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.
It has gained over 4-Hong Kong Dollars in value after opening trading at 70-Hong Kong dollars.
This marks the completion of Li Ka-shing's reorganization of his corporate empire.
Li Ka-shing says he has a lot of confidence in local market, which is one of the most expensive in the world.
"It is difficult for the current property prices to fall because the construction costs and labor costs are on the rise. If you buy a flat for self-use not for speculation, you can afford it through installment payment."And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review; I'm wenjie, thank you for listening.
SportsFootball:Chinese Super League, Toulon Tournament RecapIn football action from the Chinese Super League,Beijing Guo'an failed to climb on top of the league standings after scoreless draw with Guangzhou R&F last night.
The draw helped Guo'an snap its three game-road losing streak at Guangzhou since 2012.
Guo'an now remains third in league standings with 26 points.
The Chinese Super League will next have a two-week break,Round 14 will kick off on June 19.
The Chinese men's U20 football team was eliminated from the Toulon Tournament with 3-1 loss to England this morning.
This was China's fourth consecutive defeat at this year's tournament.
England will play the USA in the third and fourth place play-off game on Sunday.
Elsewhere,Barcelona has arrived in Berlin for the Champions League final against Juventus.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique gave his thoughts on the match:
"I expect that we'll have the ball, we'll have the possession and they will try and counter-attack us. They have a lot of power up front with Morata, with Tevez. They have good midfielders like Vidal, Marchisio, Pogba. They are really strong, they can go box-to-box and definitely they will try to, to counter-attack us and we have to be really concentrated in the defending part and, and then through the possession of the ball try to create chances to score goals."Barca, led by Lionel Messi, have already won this year's La Liga title.
Juventus comes into the match without defender Giorgio Chellini.
He sustained a calf injury during practice on Wednesday.
The Champions League final will get underway at 2:45 on Sunday morning, Bejing time.
Wawrinka Defeats Tsonga to Reach Final at Roland GarrosIn tennis action from Roland Garros,Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka defeated the last French hope, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 on Friday to reach his first ever French Open final.
The eighth-seeded player served 15 aces and hit 60 winners to progress to his second final at a Grand Slam tournament.
"Today was a tough battle, Jo is always a tough player to play, especially when he's playing at home here in Paris. The match could have gone either way also when he had break chances to take advantage in the third set but I stayed with him. I'm really happy and proud the way I stayed mentally strong even when I was really nervous in the third and the fourth set."Wawrinka will face top-ranked Novak Djokovic or third-seeded Andy Murray in the final.
The semi-final between Djokovic and Murray was suspended at Roland Garros on Friday due to an impending storm.
The No. 1-seeded Djokovic led 6-3, 6-3, 5-7 and with the fourth set tied at 3-3.
The match will resume at 1 p.m. local time on Saturday.
It would be the third appearance in the final at French Open for Djokovic should he win the game.
He lost to the nine-time Rafael Nadal in 2012 and 2014.
Volleyball: Brazil Beat Australia in Four SetsIn Volleyball action,Brazil beat Australia in four sets on Friday in Pool A of the World League in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
Brazil won the game 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.
Brazil remain undefeated and stands top of Pool A while Australia are bottom.
In Group B,Poland beat Iran 3-1.
And Finland entertained Portugal 3-0.
MLB: Will Smith's Suspension Reduced from Eight Games to SixIn MLB,The Milwaukee Brewers announced on Friday that Will Smith's suspension for having an illegal substance on his arm is reduced to six games.
The 46-year-old Smith was initially suspended for eight games after his May 21 ejection.
The Brewers will be a man short in the bullpen as they will not be allowed to replace Smith during his suspension.
The Los Angeles Angels are visiting the New York Yankees.
Marcus Kinhult Take Lead at Scandinavian MastersIn golf,Swedish amateur Marcus Kinhult shared a 2-shot lead with Jens Dantorp at the Scandinavian Masters on Friday.
The 18-year-old Kinhult scored a five-under 67 in his first round to go with his four-under 68 in the second round for a nine-under total of 135 in the tournament.
"Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I had a great time out there and yeah, it felt great coming down those last couple of holes, bigger crowds and I managed to make two big putt too,so that was a great feeling."Germany's Maximilian Kieffer and Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg share third place with a seven-under total of 137.
On women's side,Suzann Pettersen fired a 7-under 65 on Friday to tie with Mariajo Uribe on top of the leaderboard at the Manulife LPGA Classic.
Pettersen said hard work helped her to get this far.
"Well, why I'm playing well is hard work over time. I started to, kind of, put the puzzles together. I'm really looking forward to next week so this is like a good test. I'm hitting the drives really good and long, which is kind of nice which puts me in a good position for the par-fives."American Cristie Kerr came into the second round tied with Cheyenne Woods and P.K. Kongkraphan, who shot a second round of 75 to drop to 6 under.
Entertainment"Jurassic Park" to hit Chinese cinemas next weekThe Latest "Jurassic World" is set to hit Chinese cinemas next week.
The Steven Spielberg's movie was groundbreaking and fresh when it first came out in 1993.
Fast-forward twenty-two years, and Colin Trevorrow directs the new movie, which is executive produced by Spielberg.
"At many points during the process, Steven was very involved in the writing process and so we wrote a screenplay and we presented it to him and at that point, the three of us were really able to get inside this thing and break it and put it back together and really find something that works on all the levels that these movies have to work on. They're not really a genre, they're action-horror-adventure-romantic-comedy-thrillers, with sci-fi."Leading man Chris Pratt even thinks the heroic character he plays has a whiff of another Spielberg creation: Indiana Jones.
"Well you know 'Indiana Jones' was also a Spielberg movie and Colin came into this movie a huge fan of Steven's and with permission to essentially make a Steven Spielberg movie, so the characters are very reminiscent of Indiana Jones and even the banter between Owen and Claire is reminiscent to a 'Temple of Doom' or something like that. There's a contentious romantic relationship between the two lead characters.""Jurassic World" is set to drop in Chinese cinemas on June 10.
Arnold Schwarzenegger goes Down Under for new 'Terminator' premiereSchwarzenegger made a hit with Australian filmgoers in Sydney as he happily delivered more than a few of his famous lines.
The former California Governor says "Terminator Genisys" is one of the best written films in the series.
"I think people will walk away from this movie more surprised I think about the emotional power that it has rather than the visual effects, even though the visual effects and all that stuff is just spectacular," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
It's Schwarzenegger's first Terminator film in more than a decade but according to the man himself he hasn't lost any of the skills that made him an action movie icon. "Well it was kind of like riding a bicycle that, you know, you never really lose it. Even though the last one (Terminator movie) was done in 2002, came out 2003, so that was 12 years now and I'm back again."Making his first appearance in Sydney since the 70's, Schwarzenegger was keen to talk up the merits of the latest installment of the Terminator franchise - in which he co-stars with Australian actor Jai Courtney.
"Terminator Genisys" is out in Hong Kong on July 2 and Taiwan on July 3.
Tom Hanks Returns to War Zone in Steven Spielberg's 'Bridge of Spies' TrailerTom Hanks returns to a war zone in the first trailer for Steven Spielberg's upcoming film "Bridge of Spies."The movie comes 17 years after Spielberg won a directing Oscar for the war drama "Saving Private Ryan," which also starred Hanks.
Displaying only a few booms and blasts, the film depicts a war that does not "involve men at arms, it involves information" between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Set at the height of the Cold War and based on a true story, Hanks plays an insurance lawyer who's tasked by the CIA to represent a Soviet spy in U.S. court in 1957, then negotiate a prisoner swap five years later.
The film, which also stars Amy Ryan, Alan Aldan and Mark Rylance, hits theaters on October 16.
The Rolling Stones are ready to start work on a new albumIt's the news longtime Rolling Stones fans have been waiting for: the iconic rock band are ready to start work on completely new material.
After embarking on an extensive world tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary, the British band have spoken about moving forward with a brand new album.
Mick Jagger recently admitted that he is keen to write and record a new Stones record, and now Keith Richards has added that that time is fast approaching.
Ronnie Wood added that the current atmosphere amongst them is the "best vibe ever within the band".
The Rolling Stones are currently completing the North American leg of their world tour.
That’s it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.
The Eastern Star being lifted out of the Yangtze River as the confirmed death toll climbs to 103...
Myanmar's opposition leader due to make a stop here in China in the coming week...
And China slamming irresponsible and unfounded claims by the United States that it is behind the recent cyber-attack on several federal agencies...
In our weekly business review.... China and South Korea singing a Free Trade Agreement...
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Spencer Musick in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.
  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/thebeijinghour/318278.html