CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-01-17（在线收听）

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In This Edition

The first batch of humanitarian aid from China flew to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Rescuers have found the bodies of all the eight Chinese peacekeeping police buried in the debris of the Haitian earthquake.

Visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has signed four sets of agreement frameworks concerning China's grant and loans to Tanzania.

And the Afghan parliament has rejected the majority of President Hamid Karzai's second slate of Cabinet choices.Chinese Aid en route to Haiti

Hot Issue Reports

Chinese Aid en route to Haiti

China sent a cargo plane, carrying almost half of its promised 4-million U.S. dollars in aid, including 90 tons of medicine, food and tents, to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Meanwhile, Chinese officials have promised to deliver further humanitarian assistance for the relief and reconstruction of Haiti.

Former US Presidents to Coordinate Fundraising Efforts for Haiti

US President Barack Obama has officially tapped two of his predecessors - George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - to coordinate efforts to involve more Americans in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

Obama appeared with Bush and Clinton to make a joint announcement at the White House Rose Garden following an Oval Office meeting on Saturday morning.

Obama said he is pleased that Bush and Clinton has agreed to lead a major fundraising effort for relief.

"Our longer term effort will not be measured in days and weeks, it will be measured in months and even years. And that's why it's so important to enlist and sustain the support of the American people. That's why it's so important to have a point of coordination for all the support that extends beyond our government."

Bush and Clinton have created a website, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org, to begin collecting donations.

Bush said the best way for people to contribute is by sending their cash.

"The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground who will be able to effectively spend it. I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water. Just send your cash. One of the things that the president and I will do is make sure your money is spent wisely."

Clinton, who also is the United Nations' special envoy to Haiti, hailed Haiti as a remarkable country.

"It is still one of the most remarkable, unique places I have ever been and they can escape their history and build a better future if we do our part."

Meanwhile, Clinton's wife, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has arrived in Haiti for the first look by a top US official at the devastation caused by Tuesday's earthquake.

Hillary Clinton arrived at Port-au-Prince in a US Coast Guard plane, which was also carrying bottled water, packaged food and other supplies.

The Secretary of State said that she is Haiti to make sure the US is doing all it can for the disaster.

Possibility of Civil Unrest Grows in Haiti

The possibility of civil unrest in the Haitian capital is growing as life necessities remain scarce along the streets of Port-au-Prince.

Many desperate, hungry residents are becoming increasingly angry at the lack of resources following Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

"Who is here to help us already? We can't do nothing."

"I'm hungry. Everybody (is) hungry."

The Haitian government now is concerned that the anger could turn to violence as looting and sporadic gunfire has been reported in some places.

Many homeless residents now fill the streets and public parks in Port-au-Prince.

Haitian Minister of Civil Protection Dieufort de Lorge estimates that between 750,000 and 1 million people have become homeless following the powerful quake.

A UN spokeswoman has promised that some 6,000 tons of food aid will be distributed shortly in Haiti. She says reports that UN warehouses in Haiti were looted are overblown.

China & Tanzania Sign Loan Agreements

Visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has signed on behalf of the Chinese government four sets of agreement frameworks concerning China's grant and loans to Tanzania. The agreements include 100 million U.S. dollars for the second phase of an information and communication technology infrastructure network project and 93.5 million U.S. dollars for the Zanzibar International Airport Terminal II project.

Afghan Parliament Rejects Majority of Karzai's Cabinet Choices

The Afghan parliament has rejected the majority of President Hamid Karzai's second slate of Cabinet choices.

The 224 lawmakers present approved just seven of 17 nominees, including a new foreign minister and a new justice minister.

The 10 rejected included two women nominated for the posts of women's affairs and public health.

Some lawmakers expressed disappointment that the two women candidates were rejected.

Shukria Barekzai is Afghan Member of Parliament from Kabul.

"Two women have been rejected by parliament and one has succeeded. It doesn't mean that women are not qualified and by success of one lady we can't say there is no chance for women not being a minister, not being approved by parliament. I hope next list President Karzai will give us, with more women in the list, more qualified women."

Two weeks after parliament rejected 70 percent of Karzai's first Cabinet picks, the mixed results this time has dealt a new setback to the leader's effort to assemble a team that can focus on badly needed reforms.

Lawmakers have complained that some of the candidates on the president's new list lacked the credentials to serve in the 25-member Cabinet.

Others claimed that some nominees are too closely aligned with warlords, or were picked to pay back political supporters.

The US and other countries contributing troops and aid have pushed Karzai to get his second-term administration in place ahead of a January 28 international conference on Afghanistan.

Ukraine Presidential Election

In the final hours of Ukraine's presidential election campaign, candidates accused one another of planning to commit fraud and experts warned of the possibility of post-election unrest.

Speaking on separate television talk shows, the three main candidates continued their campaign late on Friday with each warning of the dire consequences of electing their opponent.

During his television appearance, front-runner Viktor Yanukovych warned that Sunday's vote could have major ramifications on the country and called on the voters to support him and his Party of Regions:

"I'm sure that we'll make a step forward, that we'll make changes that will improve the life of every person and every family, and improve every sphere of life. We are able to bring order and raise the level of the economy".

Current President Yushchenko is standing for re-election, but his popularity has plunged and his chances are considered slim.

Authorities say they are planning to deploy thousands of police on Sunday to ensure an orderly first round ballot.

If no candidate receive more than 50 percent of the vote on Sunday, as expected, there will be a runoff between the two top vote getters sometime in February.

Biz Report: China's Bohai Coast Suffers Severe Icing

In the coast off East China's Shandong Province, the most severe icing situation in the past 30 years is worsening amid continuing cold snaps, greatly impacting the shipping and sea farming industry there.

Media Digest

Global Times: War against Porn Should be Just and Legal

China Mobile Communication Corporation, or CMCC recently detected "dirty" words in a customer's short message to a friend and stripped his cellphone of short message services, or SMS.

A CMCC telephone operator says that the company has cooperated with public security department to control illegal messages.

As cellphone porn became widespread in 2009, the Ministry of Public Security launched a crackdown against originating websites since last November.

These porn sites, in collusion with some advertisers, bombarded cellphone carriers through the telecom platform.

But an opinion piece in the China Daily says compared with porn websites, an individual's Person to Person messages to a couple of friends can hardly be categorized as porn.

The article says for many, sharing jokes, whether its "dirty" or "clean", is part of their friendship or a way of staying in touch. So depriving them of access to SMS for a dirty joke is actually a violation of their freedom of communication.

The commentary also warns what is more frightening is that continuous interception of the public's texts may evolve into disguised wiretaping.

It says a message intercepted by CMCC may also include sensitive personal information, which is serious violation of customer privacy.

The writer says to eradicate cellphone porn, the only solution is to shut down porn websites.

In addition, since China so far has no explicit legal sanction relating to cellphone short message management, the writer says a legal norm is desperately needed to protect people's privacy.

China Daily: Both Wedding Vow and Amicable Registrars Are Needed

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the MCA, has introduced four versions of marriage oaths for marriage registries while before new couples didn't have to vow in registries.

The MCA says the move is aimed at improving a new couples' sense of mutual responsibility and their awareness of the Marriage Law.

A commentary in China Daily says the intention is wonderful as the conspicuous casualness about marriage and subsequent high divorce rate among young people is a cause for concern.

But the article says that many could get a weird feeling taking their oath before a government functionary because the registrars are not all that friendly.

The writer concludes the article by saying that an amicable registrar is more important than an expressionless person in uniform, because a sincere smile and a few words of blessing can do the trick.