CRI中国国际广播电台 News & Reports 2013-03-16

 Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.

 

In This Edition

 

The Chinese public express their high hopes for the country's newly elected top leadership.

Syrians mark the second anniversary of the start of the civil war in the country.

The United Nations says global losses from natural disasters in the past year hit 138-billion US dollars.

And aircraft maker Boeing says commercial flights of the grounded 787 Dreamliner jets could resume within weeks.

Hot Issue Reports

 

China Lawmakers and Residents Express High Hopes for New Premier Li Keqiang

 

Li Keqiang has been endorsed as Chinese premier at the ongoing parliamentary session with nearly 3-THOUSAND deputies to the National people's Congress voting to approve his nomination.

 

Li was nominated by newly elected President Xi Jinping.

 

His endorsement has attracted a positive response from both the country's top lawmakers as well as its citizens.

 

"I am really satisfied. He listens to ordinary people's voices. We also have hopes that he will build a wonderful China."

 

"He is a very clear and bright person, with abundant and complete experience in government. We have a lot of expectations of him."

 

Li Keqiang is the seventh premier since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

 

The 58-year-old replaces Wen Jiabao, who headed the State Council since 2003.

 

He's scheduled to meet the press for the first time as Premier, on Sunday morning.

 

Now before he meets the press, here's what the residents in Beijing had to say about the new Premier.

 

"I hope China's new leadership, including the president and the premier, govern our country well after they take office. Ordinary people can have a wealthier life and afford to buy an apartment and make much more progress every day."

 

"I think China now is facing a tough situation domestically and internationally. For domestic, we are still facing many problems such as property, medical, pension and economic transition. As for overseas affairs, we have the Diaoyu Island dispute, North Korea issue and pressure from the U.S. that all need to be resolved soon. If new leadership could solve all these problems, I think China will be further developed."

 

Also at Friday's NPC session, Fan Changlong and Xu Qiliang have been endorsed as vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission.

 

Delegates have also appointed the other eight members of the Commission.

 

Zhou Qiang has become president of the Supreme People's Court while Cao Jianming has been re-elected pro-curator-general.

 

 

NPC Deputies Improving China's Legal System

 

Lawmakers at this year's session of the National People's Congress have submitted about 400 motions.

 

CRI's Zhang Ru takes a closer look on how their motions and suggestions will contribute to China's legal system.

 

Reporter: NPC deputy Pang Lijuan is an expert on preschool education. She has been calling for the legalization of preschool education for many years.

 

Last year, China's Ministry of Education designated preschool education as its key legislative program.

 

Pang Lijuan says submitting motions is a major duty of NPC deputies.

 

"In recent years, the National People's Congress has put special emphasis on the quality of legalization. For example, it says deputies had better include a draft framework of the new law in their motions. If you want to amend a law, you should also elaborate on how to amend it. So in my motion on preschool education, I drew up a framework that sheds light on the key items."

 

A motion must get the signatures of at least 30 NPC deputies before the NPC presidium accepts it.

 

This year, the presidium has decided that none of these motions is urgent enough to be deliberated at the ongoing session. They, therefore, will be passed on to special committees for further discussion.

 

Every year, the deputies will also hand over thousands of suggestions and criticisms on major political and social issues of the government.

 

For the presentation of suggestions and criticisms, there is no restriction on the timing, scope and the number of sponsoring members.

 

NPC deputy Zhou Hongyu is known for advocating free compulsory education in China's rural areas.

 

"Why had some lawmakers called for free compulsory education before, but to no avail? I thought it was because none of them worked out a calculating standard."

 

Zhou first put forward his suggestion at the NPC session of 2003. But the Ministry of Finance sent him a response three months later, saying that as a developing country, China's education investment was not able to cover a free education program.

 

Then Zhou calculated how much the government would need to spend each year if free education was implemented.

 

Zhou raised the suggestion again in 2004, emphasizing the feasibility and urgency of the move.

 

The suggestion became reality in 2005.

 

Many people are curious about what exactly the NPC deputies will do after the session ends when they go back to continue their routine daily work as government officials, professors, workers or farmers.

 

He Yehui, deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, says lawmakers take part in training and conduct surveys when the NPC is not in session to ensure the quality of their motions and suggestions.

 

"The deputies' political awareness, professional quality and ability to perform their duties vary greatly. The training will help deputies broaden their horizons and better take up their duties. Plus, according to the law, the deputies' survey consists of two parts. First, during their leisure time they can conduct investigations related to their profession. Second, every year, they should spend one week investigating a specific field and another week making inspections."

 

For CRI, I am Zhang Ru.

 

 

Syrians Mark Second Anniversary of Unrest as EU Discusses Arming Rebels

 

Syrians are marking the second anniversary of the start of the civil war in the country.

 

The two-year-long conflict has cost almost 70-thousand lives and reportedly forced a million to flee the country.

 

The anniversary comes at the time when arming the Syrian rebels is being considered as a possible option.

 

Britain and France have been pressing other EU countries to back their proposal to lift an arms restriction currently imposed on Syria, and the European Union is scheduled to review that embargo in May.

 

The Syrian government though is describing the suggestion as a "flagrant violation" of the principles of international law.

 

The Russian government has also opposed the suggestion, saying "it is not an option".

 

And Dong Manyuan, an international strategic analyst at China Institute of International Studies, says arming the rebels could make things worse.

 

"Arming the rebels will only further add fuel to the fire. It is not practical for the rebels to overthrow the Assad government, at least in the short term. The government still has wide support among citizens. Its control over the military forces, administrative organs and natural resources still prevails. It is difficult to break the power balance unless there is a direct military intervention."

 

Germany, Austria and Sweden are said to be among the EU countries reluctant to lift the arms embargo.

 

There's also been some suggestion from the United Nations that lifting the arms embargo will make the job of humanitarian agencies "more difficult".

 

 

UN: Disaster Losses Hit $138 Bln in 2012

 

The United Nations say global losses from natural disasters in the past year hit 138-billion US dollars.

 

It is reported one hundred million people were affected in over three hundred natural disasters in 2012.

 

Hurricane Sandy, cold snaps in Europe, and the drought plaguing North America and Africa were the main disasters of the year.

 

However, this wasn't the worst compared to recent years.

 

"Last year was not, fortuitously, was not a major year for disasters. And that's why you saw a little bit downward trend in some of those statistics, If you look at the ten year average, then the number of death 9330 last year, was lessen 10 percent the ten year average, but it is still a extremely big figure, to have over 100 million people impacted."

 

That was Elizabeth Longworth, the Director of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

 

The UN are also saying many developing countries are still short of disaster response measures, and they're suggesting setting up an international network to help reduce losses from natural disasters.

Light News

 

Boeing Says Dreamliner to Fly Again in Weeks

 

Aircraft maker Boeing says commercial flights of the grounded 787 Dreamliner jets could resume within weeks.

 

"We are going to be dependent upon, as we move through the certification process, to determine when we actually get back in the air in terms of flight. Now what Mike had said previous is that we don't anticipate that being months, we are thinking more along the line of weeks as we do that."

 

That was Boeing CEO, Raymond Conner speaking in Japan where the country's All Nippon Airways were the launch customer.

 

Conner's comments come just days after the US airline regulator approved Boeing's plans to redesign the lithium-ion batteries used on the plane.

 

All 50 Dreamliners were grounded from operation earlier this year following a string of incidents in which batteries on the planes emitted smoke.

 

Boeing chief project engineer Michael Sinnett says they still don't know the exact cause of the overheating, but they have a new design which will prevent batteries from overheating nevertheless.

 

The Dreamliner 787 is the first plane in the world to use lithium-ion batteries, which make planes lighter, hold more power and recharge more quickly.

 

Boeing has so far delivered 50 Dreamliners and is said to have received some 470 more orders from around the world.

 

 

Infrastructure Construction Under Way in Sansha

 

China's deep-sea economy is set to take a huge step forward as basic infrastructure construction gets under way in Sansha, the country's youngest city at its southernmost point.

 

He Fei has the details.

 

Reporter: Located on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea, Sansha City of Hainan Province administers the three island groups of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha and their surrounding waters.

 

Officially set up last July, the city has been working on the infrastructure construction since then, especially in the field of transportation.

 

Mayor Xiao Jie explains.

 

"We've increased the number of trip of sealift vessels. For example, the Xiongsha No.3. Before it was one or two trips per month between the mainland and Yongxing Island and now we can guarantee one trip per week. The improved transportation has raised the supply capacity of the Xisha Islands. And now we are building a bigger sealift vessel, Sansha No.1. It is expected to be put into use in 2014."

 

Xiao Jie says other basic infrastructure to improve people's daily lives, such as desalination plants, solar power facilities and houses for public use, have also been built on Yongxing Island.

 

Hainan Governor Jiang Dingzhi points out that Sansha can help the province develop its marine industry.

 

"The establishment of Sansha city is key to the development of Hainan Province. We'll use the opportunity to further develop the marine industry. For example, to build more trawlers with larger tonnages to continue our work in the field of marine reserve. And probably, we'll engage in oil and gas exploitation in the area."

 

Thanks to its geographical location, , Sansha at the southernmost point of China is expected to play a critical role in the exploration of the country's South China Sea.

 

NPC deputy and economist Xiang Xiaomei is an expert in the marine industry. In her opinion, the economic value of oceanic territory should be well utilized. And Sansha provides a support base for the country to explore the deep sea.

 

"Take a deep-sea fishery as an example. If you sail far in the deep sea and there is no such support base, then you need a larger ship to carry all the fishery equipment and living supplies, which costs a lot of money. Well, Sansha now plays the role of the logistic supply base between the mainland and the deep sea in the exploitation. It is the extension of the land."

 

Xiang also says that with Sansha as a base in the deep sea, China will learn more hydrological information about the South China Sea. It will also be another impetus for the already flourishing tourism industry in Hainan.

 

Mayor Xiao Jie says tourism will be the signature industry of Sansha. The first travel program it expects to launch this year is a cruise tour of the Xisha area.

 

"Now the preparation work is going smoothly. We've finished the construction work on the cruise ship. We've mapped out the ship route and the tourist attractions along the tour. Safety controls are also being discussed. It won't be too long before it opens to the public."

 

Xiao says the cruise tour might be a two- or three-day route.

 

For CRI, I'm He Fei.

 

China Alternative Energy

 

Renewable energy is an increasingly hot topic in China and is a sector targeted for increasing amounts of government attention and investment.

 

As many parts of China have been shrouded in a gray haze over the past few months, both the government and citizens have begun to realize the urgency and are looking for new alternatives to tackle the problem.

 

Wang Xiao has more.

 

Reporter: China's energy production relies heavily on coal-fired power stations. As the world's highest emitter of greenhouse gasses, China consumed more than 400 million tones of coal last year.

 

As many parts of China have been shrouded in a gray haze over the past few months, the issue of air quality has been frequently raised. A recent study shows that coal-burning and motor vehicle emissions make up 60 to 70 percent of the PM2.5 particles. Therefore, looking for new alternate energy sources to replace fossil energy is becoming urgent for both the Chinese government and its population.

 

Actually, China's renewable energy capacity installation growth has been impressive, and an increasing amount of government attention and investment has been put into this sector.

 

Take solar thermal as an example. It works by using energy that comes solely from the sun, and is transformed into heat energy that generates electricity.

 

Wang Zhifeng, chairman of State Solar Thermal Energy Alliance, says this new technology is totally environmentally friendly, and has unique advantages over photovoltaic systems.

 

"During bad weather or at night, the heat storage system allows electricity output to continue even if the sun isn't shining. Also, this new technology source doesn't need expensive solar panels, so the cost is comparatively low."

 

However, Wang says the development of alternative energy especially the solar thermal power still faces many obstacles.

 

"Alternative energy sources are important to ease the air pollution problem. But solar thermal projects in China are still in the experimental stages. It faces the problems of low efficiency and maintaining stability. Also, the lack of an industrial supply chain is also a problem."

 

China has already set a target of increasing its total renewable energy consumption to 478 million tones of coal equivalent. This would represent approximately 9.5% of the overall energy consumption in the country by 2015.

 

Another major smog contributor is motor vehicle emissions. The country's auto sales hit more than 19 million units in 2012, but alternative fuel cars only made up 0.6 percent of those sales.

 

The government has enacted new policies, such as tax exemptions, to support the growth of alternative fuel vehicles.

 

Consumers, however, still have their concerns.

 

"The cost of changing the battery is too expensive. It's hard for me to accept."

 

"I'm a bit concerned about the high maintenance cost in the future. Besides, the supporting facilities need to be built more comprehensively."

 

Though alternative fuel cars are barely on the radar at the moment, the country has set a target to have five million on its roads by 2020.

 

Moreover, China may also continue the subsidy on new-energy vehicles for another three years, according to Miao Wei, deputy to 12th National People's Congress, and Minister of China's Industry and Information Technology.

 

"I think chances are high that the subsidy policy will be extended. Talking about the growth of the new-energy vehicle industry, buses were the majority of such vehicles in the past, but the good news is that more and more individuals are purchasing them lately. Next, we plan to boost the development of new-energy cars for private use."

 

For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.

Media Digest

 

SHANGHAI DAILY

 

Day of Reckoning for Some Quality Scandals

 

TODAY is the Consumer Rights Day, and tonight, news program "3.15" - one of China's most widely watched TV shows - will name and shame companies that have violated consumers' trust.

 

Over the past 12 months, a large number of quality scandals have been reported in the country, involving many international brands.

 

International brands that were caught up in quality-related problems covered a broad range of areas.

 

Food products were the most mentioned with cases involving Nestle, Lipton, Ikea and Twinings.

 

McDonald's, along with KFC, had been supplied with chicken raised on farms where excessive chemicals were fed to the birds.

 

Domestic dairy giants Mengniu and Bright Dairy were also involved in food safety scandals, further eroding people's confidence in domestic dairy products.

 

Clothing and shoes were involved in a number of cases with brands such as Vero Moda, H&M, Edc, Mogg Pink, adidas, Zara, Levi's and Jack & Jones involved.

 

 

GLOBAL TIMES

 

Chinese Craze for English Debated

 

A Chinese professor's criticism of what he believes is an excessive craze for learning English has sparked heated debate among the public.

 

Zhang Shuhua, dean of the information and intelligence institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says people's mania for English learning has wasted education resources and threatened the study of Chinese.

 

Zhang made the remarks at the just concluded annual session of the top political advisory body.

 

The subject of English has been listed as indispensable by college and postgraduate entrance exams in China, no matter what majors candidates are applying for.

 

Zhang says that many applicants have been denied access to postgraduate education only because of their failed English tests.

 

English is also a hurdle for people to overcome if they are to get a promotion or salary raise, even in cases in which they barely use the language in their work.

 

However, Zhang noted that the country still lacks students of foreign languages who are familiar with both Chinese and foreign culture.

 

He suggested that China should tackle "English worship" at each education stage and improve current English teaching methods.

 

 

NEWYORK DAILY NEWS

 

Scientists Are Getting Closer to Resurrecting Extinct Species

 

Scientists say resurrecting extinct species, or "de-extinction," could be possible, and it is time to involve the public.

 

Revive & Restore, a nonprofit that is part of The Long Now Foundation, will be showcasing their de-extinction work at an event hosted by the National Geographic Society later this month.

 

The Pyrenean ibex, which became extinct in 2000, has once been revived in 2003.

 

Using frozen tissue, a Spanish team cloned a female ibex, which was birthed by a goat, but the newborn died of respiratory failure after only 10 minutes.

 

However, Revive & Restore points to this as a sign that some "impressive milestones" are on the horizon.

 

The organization has set up a pioneer project to bring back hundreds of other extinct species, including the passenger pigeon, the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger.

 

But Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for Mission Programs, says "De-extinction is a provocative idea that has tremendous scientific, ethical and ecological impacts."