News & Reports 2012-01-07

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In This EditionVisiting Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi says China will make even greater contribution to peace and development in Africa.
Rescuers continue searching for up to 150 people, thought to be missing after a landslide 1 struck a mining village in the southern Philippines.
Mexican authorities promise a full investigation 2 into the latest prison riot that left dozens of inmates 3 killed.
Analysts 4 say China's local governments should be held accountable for the uncontrolled expansion of golf courses at the expense of natural resources.
Hot Issue ReportsChina Attaches Importance to Africa's Concerns, Interests: FMChinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi says China will always attach great importance to Africa's concerns and interests.
The Chinese foreign minister is in Namibia for a three-day visit.
He has held talks with Namibian Prime Minister Nahas An-gula and Foreign Minister Utomi Nu-joma.
Speaking of his three-nation African tour, Yang Jiechi says the visit has achieved the goal of enhancing political mutual 5 trust, promoting practical cooperation and carrying forward traditional friendship.
"During my visit, I feel that African countries want to maintain stability, pursue development and promote unity 6. They stress they hope to enhance pragmatic cooperation with China to achieve mutual benefits. China cherishes the friendship and unity with African countries. The two sides can accomplish many goals during the new era, and the Sino-African relationship is believed to gain more development in 2012."China is Africa's largest trading partner, with a total of more than 2,000 enterprises on the continent.
At Least 6 Dead in Fire in ChileAt least six firefighters have been killed while fighting a blaze in southern Chile.
Four others have been injured.
Witnesses say the firefighters were boxed in by a circle of flames while working some 650 kilometers south of the capital Santiago.
President Sebastian Pinera has paid his respects to the victims.
Pinera says the authorities will bring charges against those people responsible for the arson 7.
"We have decided 8 to press criminal charges, invoking 9 the anti-terrorist law. Because this was definitely arson, and criminal conduct caused these fires to start simultaneously 10. Behind these fires is the conduct of a terrorist."At present the authorities have no leads on possible suspects.
The fire began early on Wednesday morning, when as many as 50 small fires were allegedly set.
Several forest fires in the south of Chile have burned thousands of acres, over 100 homes and temporarily closed down a popular national park.
Rescuers Continue Searching after Landslide in PhilippinesRescuers are continuing to search for up to 150 people, thought to be missing after a landslide struck a mining village in the southern Philippines.
At least 25 people have died.
16 have been pulled out alive so far and are currently being treated in hospitals.
Arnel Nicolas is one of them.
"We were asleep when the landslide happened. Rocks and soil were falling, and I rolled down and I was thrown against a large house. And from there, I was able to survive."The area was home to miners searching for gold.
The miners are rejecting government calls to evacuate 11 because of the lucrative 12 job.
Celso Lari-wan is a village leader.
"Authorities of the village have talked to the villagers. The problem is, they can't leave because of their jobs, and their property in this location. They refuse to leave."Unregulated mining activities have made the mountain area unstable 13 and caused a series of accidents.
A nearby village was also hit by a landslide last year that left 14 people dead.
Prison Riot Between Drug Gangs being Looked at by Mexican AuthoritiesMexican authorities have promised a full investigation into the latest prison riot that left dozens of inmates killed.
Earlier this week, rival drug gangs inside a prison in northern Mexico got into a knife fight, which caused the loss of 31 lives.
Tamau-lipas state government General Secretary Morelos Gomez, says those injured in the fighting are being questioned.
"13 people are under investigation for being co-participants in these homicides. Some of the people being investigated suffered injuries as a result of their actions."Powerful drug cartels in Mexico are constantly fighting for control of smuggling 14 routes along the U.S.-Mexico border.
And rivalries 15 between different drug cartels often spread into the jail system.
Last October, 20 inmates died in a prison fight at another jail in Tamaulipas.
Expanding Consumption and Encouraging Trade, Main Goals for China in 2012China is focused on expanding its domestic consumption and maintaining stability and continuity in foreign trade over the coming year, according to the China Commercial Conference held in Beijing.
Last year, China's consumption of urban and rural residents continued to grow rapidly, with a rate of 17 per cent to 2.8 trillion US dollars. The total export-import volume exceeded 3.6 trillion US dollars; an increase of more than 20 per cent. Foreign investment also increased by 13.2 per cent to more than 100 billion US dollars.
Minister of Commerce Chen Deming says China will continue to encourage residential 16 service consumption throughout this year.
"We will work on policies supporting environmental-protection products in order to establish an environmentally friendly mode of consumption. We must also pay greater attention to recycling, which will be an important part of the efforts to achieve our overall goal."Meanwhile, Chen emphasizes the significance of foreign investment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
"We must adopt a diverse marketing 17 policy, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and support the branding of original products. A fair and open market environment is also needed in order to better utilize 18 foreign investment."Drawing upon the possible dangers as a result of existing international challenges and possible trade friction 19, Chen reaffirms that a free and accepting attitude will promote the development of trade and investment.
China's State-owned Enterprises Experience Steady Increase Throughout 2011China's state-owned enterprises achieved a steady increase over the past year, despite domestic and global economic contraction 20.
According to the latest data issued by the state-owned assets supervision 21 and administration commission of the State Council, central and local state-owned enterprises realized a total revenue of nearly 31 trillion yuan, or about 5 trillion U.S dollars from January to November last year.
Meanwhile, state-owned enterprises also achieved a net profit of 1.4 trillion yuan, or about 220 billion U.S dollars.
Wang Yong, director of China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, says potential slow economic growth and highly volatile 22 prices will be intertwined this year. He also says state-owned enterprises should maintain their steady and rapid development.
"As the backbone 23 of the national economy, State-owned enterprises at all levels should take more responsibility to ensure steady growth. With regards to protecting and improving people's livelihoods 24, state-owned enterprises, especially those providing public goods and services, should stabilize 25 the market supply, improve product quality and participate in the construction of projects that benefit people's livelihoods."Wang adds that China will further promote the reorganization and integration 26 of state-owned enterprises and enterprises with other ownerships, as well as cultivate and develop new strategic industries.
Golf Courses Grow in Defiance 27 of Govt. banChina imposed a ban in 2004 on the construction of new golf courses. But the number of golf courses has skyrocketed from 170 to more than 600 since then.
Analysts point out that the local governments should be held responsible, and many hope the government's increasing efforts towards this end would help ease the problem.
Wu Jia has more.
Ever since golf was introduced to the general public in China in 1984, the game has become increasingly popular among the country's rapidly growing population of wealthy people.
The booming golfing industry has defiantly 28 challenged the government moratorium 29.
Official statistics show that 430 new courses have been built in the past eight years despite a government ban that attempts to protect land and the environment.
Ma Jun is an environmentalist at the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, an NGO based in Beijing.
"In the northern parts of China, some golf courses operate by exploiting underground water. Some are even using deep underground water, which can never be replenished 30. This causes massive ecological 31 damage."The huge amount of chemical fertilizer used to keep the courses green is also a threat to nearby ecological systems.
The growing drive to play the game also puts huge pressure on land availability.
According to China's land watchdog, the construction of golf courses is one of the most prominent ways that land is used illegally. Of 18,500 hectares of land illegally used during the first half of last year, 6,000 hectares were formerly 32 arable 33 land.
Official data also indicate that Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong and Hainan are the top five golf destinations, containing 90 per cent of the country's golf courses.
However, according to the People's Daily newspaper, only about 10 of these courses have received all the necessary permissions.
Legal experts say most of these golf courses were developed under the disguise of being "eco-tourism projects" or "property development" to circumvent 34 the ban. Some courses are euphemistically called sports or leisure clubs.
Li Jianqin, an official with the Ministry 35 of Land and Resources, says local governments are to blame because of their tacit encouragement for such projects.
"Golf courses are often built to support high-end residential communities. Some local governments think such projects will help push urbanization forward and boost tourism. Besides, local governments and enterprises have deliberately 36 misinterpreted the policies, thus building the courses illegally."Li Jianqian adds that the development of golf industry is often seen as a way to push up GDP, which constitutes a crucial part in the current assessment 37 system for Chinese officials.
According to Li, the rampant 38 construction of golf courses has also sent an alarming bell to the central government. Last year, 11 Chinese ministries 39 collectively ordered new checks on all golf courses to ensure no loss of farmland.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land and Resources has pledged to roll out regulations by working with other government departments.
For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.
Tourism Destination RankingThe results of a survey on tourism satisfaction in 2011 were released on Friday with Suzhou, Ningbo and Xiamen ranking the top three.
Wang Wei has the story.
Dai Bin 40, the head of the China Tourism Academy, introduces the survey on tourism satisfaction in 2011.
"Based on our data, the tourist satisfaction index has stopped dropping and began to go upwards 41. It bottomed out in the first quarter of last year, with only 75 points out of a total of 100 points. But it has reached more than 80 points in the third quarter."The survey shows that members of tour groups show more satisfaction than individual travelers. Dong Xiang, vice-president of overseas tourism department of China International Travel Service, explains.
"Tour groups use less shopping and self-funded activities than before. Generally speaking, we want our products to suit high-end customers. This will decrease the number of tourists' who complain about shopping or self-funded activities in tour itineraries 42."The China Tourism Academy also ranks the country's tourist destinations, with Suzhou, Nibong, Xiamen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Guilin, Huangshan, Beijing and Shanghai as the top ten cities. And the bottom ten are Hefei, Zunyi, Hohhot, Chengde, Sanya, Urumqi, Fuzhou, Nanchang, Qinghuangdao, and Yan'an.
Dai Bin with the China Tourism Academy says local tourism departments should pay close attention to these results and think about how to improve their services.
"Among the bottom ten cities, there are provincial 43 capitals and hot tourist destinations like Sanya. If the tourists have been complaining about these popular destinations for a long time, the local governments should think about the reasons."Citizens' satisfaction with tourism overseas declined compared to the year 2010. Due to tourists' high expectations of foreign destinations, the satisfaction index of overseas tourism is lower than that of domestic tourism. Chinese people are more satisfied with their trips to Japan and European countries than the ones to the United States. Singapore, Germany, Malaysia, Japan and the UK rank as the most satisfying countries abroad to visit.
According to the survey, things tourists complain about most are public service, shopping, accommodation and transportation. Dai Bin says some tourist agencies still make shopping compulsory 44, which can make the tour group members angry. What's worse, tourists are not satisfied with the complaint resolution mechanism 45.
"For tourists, the complaint resolution is not timely. Most of the time, they don't get an answer after they log a complaint. Or they don't know with whom they should log the complaint. The situation is even worse for tourists who don't join a group."Experts say the survey provides some clues for local governments to further develop. The top ten cities are good examples for other tourist destinations.
For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.
Yi Jianlian in Dallas Waiting for Deal with MavericksChinese professional basketball player Yi Jian-lian is still waiting for his deal with NBA Dallas Mavericks 46 after staying days in the US city.
According to previous reports, the Chinese player has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with Dallas Mavericks.
But the formal signing of the contract is yet to come. Yi appears to take the waiting time easy.
"Some signature procedures to go through, such as health checkup, and then wait. Anyhow, I'll join their training these days, though not their games."Before playing in the NBA, Yi Jian-lian will play at Texas Legends of National Basketball Development League for a while.
Zheng Jie into ASB Classic FinalChinese player Zheng Jie has cruised into the final of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland.
The Chinese player will meet Flavia Pennetta of Italy in Saturday's final.
Meanwhile, Britain's Andy Murray has cruised into the semi finals of the Brisbane International tournament, with a 6-2, 6-2 win over doubles partner Marcos Baghdatis.
Murray says he is happy about the result.
"I wanted to try and dictate 47 the points today which I wasn't able to do in the first two rounds. I needed to move better to do that and today I started the match off very well, moving well, didn't give him any opportunities and I dictated 48 a lot of the points so I was pleased with that."China DailyChina Daily reports that migrant workers are complaining of increasing difficulty in buying train tickets, after railway authorities launched an online ticket booking system.
Huang Qinghong, a 37-year-old migrant worker in the eastern city of Wenzhou, has written to railway authorities, venting 49 his frustration 50.
He said in the letter that he lined up in the early morning for a ticket in the past, but now he doesn't even have that opportunity.
The train tickets now go on sale in the online and phone booking systems "two days" earlier than in train stations or through authorized 51 ticket agents.
While migrant workers wait for hours in line, tickets for the most popular routes are snapped up within minutes of becoming available on the computer system.
In the past, migrant workers could wait for hours in the cold of winter, sometimes overnight, to buy tickets at train stations or from ticket agents.
In general, China's low-income migrant workers have no access to the Internet and many of the poorly-educated group do not know how to book tickets by phone.
Shanghai DailyFrom the Shanghai Daily, the newspaper says Shanghai women lag their male peers in education, partly due to the increasing number of migrant women in the city.
Overall, local women have received an average 10.9 years of education while the number for men is 11.6 years.
That's according to a report released by the Shanghai Women's Federation 52.
The report was based on a survey, involving over 3,000 male and female respondents over 18 years old.
The respondents include permanent residents and migrant families in the city.
Lu Jian-jun, a federation official, says the education gap can be attributed to historic problems, as many women were deprived of schooling 53 due to gender 54 bias 55 before 1949.
In addition, the influx 56 of female laborers 57 into Shanghai has affected 58 the overall numbers, as their education levels are relatively 59 low.
The AustralianThis is a very sad one from The Australian. A Chinese Chef has made the fatal error of mistaking the toxic 60 "death cap" mushroom for a common edible 61 variety used in Chinese cooking. For a year he had been working at a Chinese bistro serving food to Canberra's Chinese community. However on New Year's eve, 38-year-old Lui Jun served the mistaken mushrooms to a small gathering 62 of friends. After consuming the world's most poisoness mushrooms, they were rushed to hospital where Lui and a 52 year-old woman later died. Two other guests were at the dinner, one was admitted to hospital and later released, while the other had not eaten the mushrooms. Lui is survived by his wife, 11 year-old daughter and seven year-old son who reportedly live in China's Hunan Province. Close friends are apparently 63 setting up a memorial fund to help the family. The death-cap mushroom grows around oak trees in the Canberra area and has been particularly prevalent this year due to late rains.
The ABCThis one's from the ABC. They're reporting that a Texan teenager has been accidentally deported 64 to Columbia. Jakadrien Turner ran away from her home in Dallas in late 2010 when she was just 14. She made her way to Houston where she was reportedly arrested. Turner gave police a false name not realising the trouble she was about to cause for herself. The name she had given police, apparently matched the name of a 22-year-old Colombian citizen who had been in the United States illegally. To make matters worse, there was a warrant out for her arrest in Columbia. So in April of 2011, she was deported by the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She was given a work card in Colombia before being released and getting a job as a maid. Meanwhile, her grandmother had reported her missing to the Dallas police. Between police records and the grandmother's Internet searches, it became apparent what had happened to the girl. Turner is now being held in a Colombian detention 65 facility awaiting more information on her case.
Market UpdateU.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as traders weighed the debt problems in Europe against improving jobs market in the United States.
The blue-chip Dow lost over 0.5 percent to 12360. The broader S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent to 1278.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained less than 0.2 percent to 2674.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent to 5650. Frankfurt's DAX lost 0.6 percent to 6058. CAC-40 in Paris slipped 0.2 percent 3137.