News & Reports 2011-02-06

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In This Edition

Anti-government protesters in Egypt continue, world leaders call for dialogue and an end to violence.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tells the Munich Security Conference that "state multiculturalism 1" has failed.

Israel and the Palestinians are discussing the potential mutual 2 development of a gas field off the Gaza Strip coast.

Hot Issue Reports

Obama calls for the start of transition period in Egypt amid new protest

Hundreds of protesters have continued to gather in Cairo's Tahrir square, calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule after nearly 30 years in power.

The rally piled more pressure on Mubarak to make a swift exit and allow a temporary government to embark 3 on an immediate 4 path toward democracy.

Meantime, the whole world is monitoring the situation in Egypt and calling for diplomatic solutions of the issue.

The United States government has reiterated 5 that "the issues at stake in Egypt will not be resolved through violence or suppression," as President Barack Obama calls for restraint between the authorities and protestors.

"The future will be determined 6 by its people. This transition must address the legitimate 7 grievances 8 of those who seek a better future."

Obama did not explicitly 9 call for Mubarak to step down immediately, but US officials said Washington has made a judgment 10 that Mubarak has to go soon if the crisis is to end peacefully.

Under one US proposal, Mubarak would step down and hand power to a military-backed temporary government headed by Omar Suleiman, the officials said on condition of anonymity 11.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed concern that protests in the region could disrupt progress on peace in the Middle East.

European Union leaders urged dialogue and an end to violence in Egypt in a cautious joint 12 statement at the conclusion of a one-day summit in Brussels on Friday.

Ban Ki-moon: the turmoil 13 in Egypt, "deficit 14 of democracy"

The 47th Munich Security Conference has gone into its second day with tight security around the venue 15.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the turmoil in Egypt, Tunisia and other Arab countries demonstrates the risk of insecurity caused by a "deficit of democracy."

The Secretary General also stressed the need to invest in preventing conflict rather than reacting to it.

"When you deploy 16 tens of thousands of peace-keepers, it easily could cost billions of dollars. If you can prevent conflict by knowing where the potential political problems are and addressing them properly in advance we can not only save resources but most importantly we can save a lot of human lives."

Ban praised the US and Russia for signing the new START treaty to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"We cannot talk about security without addressing one of the grievous deflects 17: stockpiles of tens of thousands of weapons - the specter of proliferation and nuclear terrorism. During the past year we made important strides including the successful NPT (non-proliferation treaty) review conference last year and the signing most - importantly - by the Russian Federation 18 and United States this new START treaty. That - when it should enter into force here in Munich today - marks a milestone 19, a historical and political milestone, on the road to the ultimate goal achieving a world free of nuclear weapons."

Cameron says multiculturalism has 'failed'

British Prime Minister David Cameron criticized "state multiculturalism" in his speech at the Munich Security Conference.

"Under the doctrine 20 of state multiculturalism, we've encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream 21. We failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong. We've even tolerated these segregated 22 communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values."

Cameron says this tolerance 23 leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless and "the search for something to belong to and something to believe in can lead them to this extremist ideology 24."

"What we see in so many European countries, is a process of radicalization…… all these interactions can engender 25 a sense of community, a substitute for what the wider society has failed to supply."

Militants 26 involved in recent attacks and attempted plots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway have all had links to Britain.

Some Europeans have criticized Britain for harboring hard-line Islamic clerics.

Thai soldier killed in the latest Cambodian border clash

A Thai soldier has been shot dead and four wounded in clashes with Cambodian troops in a disputed border area.

It is the latest fighting near the Preah Vihear temple, where both sides claim it is part of their country.

A day earlier, two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai civilian 27 were reportedly killed in a skirmish.

According to the Thai military, the two-hour exchange of fire had been a misunderstanding.

However, a Cambodian government spokesman blamed the encroachment 28 of Thai soldiers for the fighting.

The fighting ended with both sides confirming a ceasefire, but clashes resumed earlier Saturday.

The two countries' foreign ministers were meeting in Cambodia discussing the border dispute when the fighting started.

The Thai Foreign Ministry 29 has accused Cambodia of engaging in "an act of aggression 30" in "clear violation 31 of the Thai sovereignty and territorial 32 integrity."

Cambodia accuses Thailand of invasion and plans to file a complaint with the UN Security Council.

In the capital, Phnom Penh, news of the clash stoked nationalist sentiment.

"I think that the fighting will affect our business but it is necessary for us to fight."

"Whenever they enter our land we must fight to stop them from being so aggressive. If we are quiet then they think that we do not have enough ammunition 33 to fight them but now we have plenty of ammunition."

The temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, sits on a cliff between the two countries.

There has been tension involving the region since Cambodia secured a place for the temple on the World Heritage listing in 2008.

Israel and the Palestinians eyeing talks to jointly 34 develop a gas field off the Gaza Strip coast

Israel and the Palestinians are discussing the potential mutual development of a gas field off the Gaza Strip coast and other initiatives for an independent Palestinian infrastructure 35.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted 36 the existence of a Palestinian gas field near an Israeli field in the Mediterranean 37 and said it should be tapped together.

"I think we're going to begin discussions and negotiations 38 to facilitate both, where the revenues from the Palestinian field go to the Palestinian Authority and the revenues from the Israeli field go to the Israeli government and I think this is good for stability, good for prosperity and good for peace."

He also outlined new electricity, water and sewage projects intended to "make Gaza independent of Israeli infrastructure."

Israel imports some 40 percent of its natural gas from Egypt.

However, the recent unrest in Egypt has prompted Israel to seek other ways to ensure the security of its gas supply.

Light News

Permanent arable 39 land lined out to guarantee China's grain sufficiency

Self-sufficiency in grain has been China's priority for decades. Recently areas of permanent arable land have been outlined by the Ministry of Land and Resources. It's to prevent the country's arable land area from falling below the "1.8 billion Mu, or 120 million hectares, red line" needed to feed its people. However, experts indicate that the key still lies in how to carry out these policies.

BMW China voices optimism over the development of new energy cars in China

The Chinese government is pledging to increase its non-fossil fuel energy supply to 15 percent of demand by 2020, up from 8 percent in 2009.The largest auto 40-consuming market in the world, China is promoting the development of new energy vehicles with leading auto makers 41. BMW is one of them. CRI had an interview with Christoph Stark 42, President of BMW China, and discussed the brand's cooperation with Chinese enterprises in the field of new energy cars.

Media Digest

BJ News: Fireworks Controversy 43

A recent fire at a five-star hotel in Northeast China's Shenyang City and the thousands of small-scale fire alerts as well as deaths and injuries elsewhere in the country have once again triggered a public debate on fireworks in China's traditional New Year's celebrations.

During the Shenyang hotel fire, more than 50 people evacuated 44 in the wee hours of China's New Year's Day on Thursday.

Fireworks and cheap flammable construction materials were to blame.

Fireworks were the reason for a devastating 45 fire two years ago that consumed the soon-to-be-finished building for China Central Television.

An editorial in The Beijing News comments on the latest accident that rings an alarm bell on using fireworks in increasingly crowded cities.

The paper says that while skyscrapers 46 are common in Chinese cities, fire-fighting cabilities are lagging far behind. In many recent accidents, firefighters watched flames go on a rampage without being able to do anything due to limited facilities.

In Shenyang, the local government wanted to purchase advanced firefighting equipment three years ago but the plan was delayed a number of times, even after a devastating high rise residential 47 building fire in Shanghai that killed more than 50 people last November.

The peper says that although local authorities have designated fireworks areas, it's by no means a guarantee of safety. There are always law breakers. Some would ingnore the area limits and some even use powerful fire crackers 48 that are ilegal.

Given the serious threat to public safty, the editorial suggests criminal laws must be enacted 49 to fireworks offenses 50.

Another opinion piece in the Beijing News cites a recent survey in Shanghai, which reveals that nearly half of the people questioned said they would not use fireworks during the New Year's celebrations. The figure was 17 percent higher than those who said they would do, and reversed the findings of last year when the majority of people favored fireworks.

The article says that people would risk breaking the law years ago when fireworks were banned, but abandoned them even after the ban was lifted, which shows progress of civility. It is believed that civilized 51 ways of life is stronger than government decrees and therefore needs fostering. Only when the majority adopt a reasonable way for New Year's celebrations out of their own free will, would relevant laws and regulations be applicable and the society be exempt 52 from "festive 53 disasters."

Media coverage 54 on negative issues can have positive social effects

A government official from Henan Province said recently that media coverage on negative issues can bring about a positive result.

This comment has drawn 55 attention from one of China's leading newspapers, China Youth Daily.

It carries a commentary agreeing with the official, saying media exposure of social problems could lead a proper resolution of those issues, which is good for the development of the whole society. Besides, it could prompt governement to improve its work.

However, in order to stay out of trouble, some government officials only encourage the press to report on achievements, thus problems remain unsolved due to lack of public awareness 56.

Since we live in an age of information, the media shoulders the responsibility to report the facts, whether it is positive or negative. People learn from good examples and solve those problems reported in the news.

If the media focused on reporting the good news, we wouldn't have saved that many lives and achieved quick recoveries after disasters struck.

This is a testament 57 that media reports on problems can have a positive effect if the whole society could join efforts to act against those problems and draw lessons from them.

The article points out that people should treat fact-revealing reports properly, since it is not the reports that carry negative effects, but the problems featured in those reports.

Therefore, we shouldn't forget the media responsibility and credibility of telling the truth, since the press functions to protect the public interests.

In conclusion, the commentary says government agencies hold much power to serve the people, thus media exposure on problems can improve governance.