News & Reports 2011-04-16

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In This Edition

Chinese President Hu Jintao calls for inclusive development in Asia at the opening ceremony of the 2011 annual meeting of the Boao Forum 1 for Asia.

Some economists 3 at the forum believe that emerging economies did a good job to recover from the global economic meltdown, but some residual 4 uncertainties 5 such as inflation will influence their play to the world economic recovery.

Tokyo Electric Power Company will start the first batch 6 of compensation payments to evacuees 7 near its damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

China says its economy expanded 9.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while its inflation in March hits a 32-month high of 5.4 percent.

Hot Issue Reports

Boao Forum for Asia Opens with Theme of Inclusive Development

Chinese President Hu Jintao is calling for inclusive development in Asia at the opening ceremony of the 2011 annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia.

This year's meeting is themed "Inclusive Development: Common Agenda and New Challenges". Hu Jintao and leaders from other countries have discussed about how to realize the common development of Asia, tackle with the challenges and achieve economic prosperity in the region.

CRI's Wei Tong has more.

Hu Jintao says Asia's development contributes to China's prosperity and vice 8 versa, and that the country will always place the diplomatic relations with Asia on top priority.

"In the past decades, Asia has witnessed a rapid economic growth with progress in the regional cooperation and ever growing international impact. Asia was the first to get its economy stabilized 9 in the global financial crisis and recover from it and it has become a major engine to drive the world economy to a recovery and growth."

Hu Jintao reiterates 10 that the Asian countries need to seek common ground while shelving differences, achieve mutual 11 benefits and win-win results as well as deepening regional cooperation. Meanwhile, Asian nations should intensify 12 macro-economic policy coordination 13 so as to expand common interest and promote regional development.

"Large countries should support small ones, rich countries should help poor ones and all should help each other so as to seize opportunities and tackle challenges together. We hope the Asian countries can share the benefits achieved from the regional economic prosperity."

Hu Jintao adds in the next five years, China will focus more on imports to achieve macro-economic balance and economic restructuring. Meantime, China will expand its investment in Asia and other emerging nations and increase assistance to the developing world.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for Asia-Pacific countries to get access to the economic integrity process so as to achieve balanced economic development. He hails the inclusive development of great significance.

"In order to reach the goal of inclusive development, we must step up the democratic process of international relations as well as building up a fair new political and economic order. The key point is to reform the global financial system."

South African President Jacob Zuma said his country is among the developing world and has very close economic links with many Asian countries. He suggested the developing world needs to work together in sustainable development and tackling challenges.

"Economically, the phenomenal development has been the rise of the economical giants of the South. Clearly, these new developments require that we work on managing global inter-dependencies and strengthen cooperation in order to overcome common tragedies and take advantage of opportunities. Some of the challenges we must confront together relate to sustainable development, climate change, energy security, peace, trade and finance."

The Boao Forum for Asia, founded in 2001, marked its tenth anniversary. It is a non-government platform for global political, business and academic leaders. During the three-day session, 1,400 participants from political and business sectors 14 will focus on topics including prospect 15 of world economy, capital flow, China's 12th five-year plan and growth of specific industries.

For CRI, I am Wei Tong.

Certainties and Uncertainties Emerging Economies Bring to World Economic Recovery

The global recovery remains 16 fragile and subject to a number of uncertainties. Government indebtedness, high unemployment, inflation may wreak 17 havoc 18 on the international system once again.

But vigorous GDP growth of emerging economies brings the world a light of hope and some certainties. How do economists view the contribution of emerging economies to the recovery of the world economy in the coming years?

Our reporter Zhang Cheng has more.

At the ongoing 19 Boao Forum in south China, emerging economies have caught the most eyeballs from economists coming from the US, Japan, and China.

Huang Yasheng is a professor at Sloan School of Management, MIT. He says when evaluating a country's economy in the short term, speed is a key gauge 20, but for a longer term, the economic scale is a more crucial gauge.

"Is the world economy really diversified 21? If you take a look at BRICS, the combined GDP of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa combined is less than China. I think instead of saying the economy is diversified worldwide, I'd rather say China's economy is diversified."

Huang says people overrated the diversity of emerging economies. Among the BRICS nations, Brazil and Russia are quite dependent on oil and other raw materials for GDP growth. China, to some extent, has boosted their GDP increase. However, they are lacking an independent growth mechanism 22 to ensure its sustainability.

"The so-called 'economic diversity' of emerging markets is mainly reflected in production, not consumption. Though consumption growth is increasing in the emerging economies, the consumption amount is relatively 23 low. We should clearly realize the limitations of emerging markets' economic growth."

Huang adds that China, as the biggest emerging economy, has witnessed an estimated 80 percent of electricity consumption from enterprises, and 20 percent from individuals and families.

But the situation is the opposite in the US. So he says that it is certain that emerging economies' emphasis turning from production to consumption will definitely influence the world economy.

Timothy Bond, chief economist 2 at Asia Pacific, Bank of America Merrill Lynch agrees with Professor Huang. He believes emerging economies are on the right track.

"I think emerging markets emerged as one of the pillars of the world economy. Our global growth forecasts are expecting 4.4% global growth in 2011. And that's driven by rapid growth in emerging market. We do need to see a change in the structure of the emerging market economies and China, in particular, we need to see consumption play a more important role. I think they will move in that direction."

Economists also point out that emerging economies did a good job to recover from the international economic meltdown, but some residual uncertainties, such as inflation, will influence their play in the world economic recovery.

For CRI, I'm Zhang Cheng, in Boao.

Japan Orders Compensation for Nuke Plant Evacuees

Tokyo Electric Power Company will start the first batch of compensation payments to evacuees near its damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that each affected 24 household will receive 1 million yen 25, or about $12,000 U.S. Dollars in compensation.

"Tokyo Electric Power Company is to make an urgent and speedy payment in order to compensate 26 for the losses incurred 27 by evacuation and orders to stay indoors. We think that such an amount is necessary as a provisional payment."

Local media reports said the provisional compensation would total $599 million U.S. dollars.

According to Kyodo news agency, payments from TEPCO will start as early as mid-April.

Roughly 48,000 households living within about 30.5 kilometers of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant would be eligible 28 for the payments.

Meanwhile TEPCO's President Masataka Shimizu apologized to the people of Fukushima Prefecture, saying he was deeply sorry for the nuclear emergency which has forced thousands to evacuate 29.

"I would like to extend my heartfelt apologies to the people of Fukushima, especially to those living in the area surrounding the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, for having caused great pain both mentally and physically 30."

Shimizu said he plans to finance these massive compensations by streamlining the company.

Argentina Former Military Ruler Bignone Sentenced to Life in Prison

Argentina's last military ruler, Reynaldo Bignone, has been sentenced to life in prison for the torture and murder of political opponents more than three decades ago.

Four other former soldiers and police officers were also convicted.

Argentine Human Rights Secretary Eduardo Luis Duhalde said the punishments fit the crimes.

"The crimes call for the penalty of four life sentences and for imprisonment 31 in a jail and not house-arrest. That's what is appropriate for all the offenders 32 who should not have any privileges."

Human rights groups and relatives of the victims applauded when the sentences were read out in a Buenos Aires court.

Bignone was the last of four military de facto presidents in Argentina in the late 20th century.

More than 11,000 people died or disappeared during Argentina's "Dirty War," a systematic 33 crackdown on leftists and other opponents of the military regime.

China's March Inflation Hits 32-month High

China says its economy expanded 9.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while its inflation in March hits a 32-month high of 5.4 percent.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, says the figures are encouraging.

"The national economy maintained steady and fast growth, and had a very good beginning. According to preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product of China in the first quarter of this year was 9,631 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.7 percent."

China has set its GDP target for 2011 at 8 percent.

However, the first quarter Consumer Price Index figures, a main gauge of inflation, far exceeded the official ceiling of 4 percent for the whole year, led by rise an 11.7 percent in food prices.

Chinese Premier 34 Wen Jiabao has said that keeping the price levels basically stable is the primary and most urgent task for the government's macro economic control this year.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, has already raised the key interest rate twice this year to curb 35 the high inflation.

Private Jet Makers 36 Eye Chinese Market

Scores of private jet manufacturers showcased their products in Shanghai, attempting to lure 37 in new customers in China.

Jeff Anastas, vice president of Hawker Beechcraft's North Asia operations, says the company has a great interest in tapping the potential of this emerging market.

"China is a very exciting market place for each Hawker aircraft. In the last few years, we've seen tremendous growth here as have all the other manufacturers. Around the world, the BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, are leading the growth. And we believe China is leading ahead of the rest."

The company displayed three of its private jets at the ongoing three-day aviation exhibition in Shanghai.

Bombardier, the world's third-largest air-framer which operates regional parts depots 38 in China, is also putting emphasis on the Chinese market.

Bob Horner is senior vice president in charge of sales in the company.

"The international business represents something like 70% of our overall business jet sale. First is North America. So we see development and growth coming out of Europe and traditional markets but also out of the emerge markets, India, Russia and Eastern Europe and of course just to emphasize the importance of China."

Forbes' latest global rich list showed the number of Chinese billionaires peaked at 115 this year, the first time any country outside the United States had more than 100.

Official estimates show China has only around 200 private aircrafts, far fewer than the 11,000 in the United States, signaling a greater potential for aviation industry in the world's second largest economy.

But flight restrictions 39 enforced by the Chinese government are hampering 40 demand for private planes.

Authorities require potential flyers to report days before the flight schedule, eliminating the advantages of flying with a private jet.

Given the complication in flying procedures, now only a few dozen private jets are registered for civil aviation authorities.

Trust Crisis

An online forum article named, "Where did Chinese people's trust go?" has triggered wide discussions on mutual trust on the mainland. It is held by many that China is undergoing a severe trust crisis.

Wang Wei has more.

When asked whether they trust people around them, eight out of ten gave us the answer, no.

Wang Congcong is an editor at the Social Survey Center for the China Youth Daily.

She uses a story about how one of her colleagues almost failed a class in college because they entrusted 41 them to turn in a paper to illustrate 42 the reasons behind their survey.

"We discussed the lack of trust in today's society. It's common that many patients feel their surgery operation will be successful only when they give extra money to please the surgeon. On top of that, you must examine a package from the courier before signing and accepting it. So, we did out this survey to see where mutual trust stands in China."

The survey was carried out on 6,744 Chinese netizens. When looking at the results of how people think of mutual trust, Wang Congcong says they weren't surprised.

"About 82 percent of respondents feel the level of trust is rather low. More than half of the respondents think the level is extremely low."

Going by these numbers, it seems there are very few trustworthy people. So who can people trust?

"About 70 percent of the respondents think mutual trust is very high with family members, and then comes their spouses 44 with less than 55 percent. About one third think that their friends are worthy 43 of trust. The most unreliable relationships are between business partners as well as between doctors and patients with less than 10 percent in favor. It's quite unexpected for us to find such a low level of trust between doctors and patients."

Some say that developed countries have higher mutual trust, so it must be related to economic development. However, philosophy professor Li Huqun from the China University of Political Science and Law disagrees.

"The economic gap between China and those developed countries is small now. And you can find that people in the less prosperous central and western part of China enjoy a better trust level than those in the well-developed eastern part."

Professor Li says there are remote and proximate causes to the trust crisis.

"The remote cause is the erosion of Chinese traditional culture. Traditional Confucianism, Buddhism 45, and Taoism always put great emphasis on trust between people. The erosion of these values began about 100 years ago. The proximate cause is people's pursuit of economic profit. Since China reformed its economy, the country has been focusing on economic construction, and has closed its eyes to the soft power of traditional culture."

Professor Li says the country must start to enhance its cultural development now; otherwise the trust between people will eventually be lost.

For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.

Disneyland Reopens for First Time since Disasters

Disneyland Tokyo has reopened, after it was closed to visitors for more than a month since the March 11 earthquake.

More than 10,000 Disneyland fans queued up from early in the morning waiting for doors to open at 8:00am local time.

"My fun is finally back."

The park had been closed due to damages at the site. The power shortage caused by the troubled nuclear power plant of Fukushima Dai-ichi also prevented Disneyland from running its scheduled rides and holding parades.

Prince William's Dinner Party Turned away in Wales

Everyone wants to get close to Prince William as his wedding approaches, but it turns out that the future king can't always get the table he wants.

Prince William and a group of friends from his Anglesey airbase were turned away from a restaurant because staff said they didn't have room for them.

The group of 24 people had gone to the prince's favorite Seacroft restaurant for dinner.

Iain "Spike 46" Wright, operational commander of Prince William's unit, describes what happened.

"The plan was to eat there but unfortunately they had one of their chefs off sick, so they weren't able to cope with the number that we had brought, so we found another location and moved on."

The situation was resolved amicably 47 after staff at the Seacroft telephoned the nearby Treaddur Bay hotel which was able to accommodate the group.

On the phone, Treaddur Bay hotel thought it was a joke. Seacroft customer Jonathan Campbell explains what he saw.

"They thought it was a joke, because it was Prince William and his buddies 48, and I think they had to phone up three or four times to say no, this is real."

Campbell said it was only fair that Prince William should have been turned away, as it wouldn't have been right to treat him differently from any other customer.

Newspaper Picks

With all the talk of trade deals and single currencies among politicians, how about another way of trading…with Skills.

Personal Skills, just like commodities, are being traded by resourceful Chinese Internet users hoping to save money and make friends.

English for piano lessons, driving for cooking... The internet term being branded for these new style traders are "skill swappers."

On jnjhw.com, one of the leading Chinese websites providing a platform for such activity, about 50,000 offers under various categories were listed as of 9am yesterday.

Most of the registered users are students or office workers. They swap 49 diverse life skills ranging from language to cooking, driving to IT and fine arts to sports.

Internet users only need to type in their desired skills and location to find a match.