CRI中国国际广播电台 News & Reports,2011-12-10

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In This Edition
 
A new intergovernmental treaty meant to save the euro currency comes to fruition after long talks in Brussels.
 
Delegates at the UN climate conference in Durban work out details of what could be a substantial aid fund to help developing countries cope with climate change.
 
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor slashes 1 more than half of its profit forecast for this year, partly due to the floods in Thailand.
 
And Chinese police crack down on child trafficking and have rescued 18-thousand children in two years of special campaign against human trafficking.
 
 
Hot Issue Reports
EU-wide treaty change bid fails
After long talks in Brussels, a new intergovernmental treaty meant to save the euro currency has come to fruition. It will include the 17 eurozone countries plus six other EU nations - but not all 27 EU members.
 
Ding Lulu reports.
 
Report:
Attempts to get all 27 EU states to back changes to the bloc's treaty to tackle the eurozone crisis have failed.
 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy explains the reason of the failure.
 
"We would have preferred a reform of the treaties with 27 members. That is not possible given the position of our British friends. It will therefore be an intergovernmental treaty for the 17 that is open to all those who want to join us. A large number of countries have let us know they will join. As of this moment, there are two countries who tell us they are staying out. That's Hungary and the United Kingdom."
 
As a result, the new deal will not include the United Kingdom and Hungary.
 
British Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK would not join a new European treaty, for it's not in Britain's interest.
 
"of course we want the euro zone countries to come together and to solve their problems, but we should only allow that to open inside the European Union treaties, if there are proper protections for the single market and for other British key interests. Without those safeguards, it is better not to have a treaty, but to have those countries make their arrangements separately. That is now what is going to happen."
 
However, European Council President Herman van Rompuy welcomes the new treaty.
 
"An intergovernmental treaty can be approved and ratified 2 much more rapidly than a full-fledged treaty change thats, and I think speed is also very important in order to enhance credibility."
 
IMF chief Christine Lagarde, whose institution has been involved in the bailout of three eurozone members, also says the new treaty is a positive move.
 
"They want to really consolidate 3 the fiscal 4 union, number two they decided 5 to accelarate the European stability mechanism 6 and number three they decided to add to the resources to the international monetary 7 fund by amount of 270 billion dollars that is to be confirmed within ten days so that is really a good step in the right direction."
 
During the talks, eurozone leaders agreed to work on tough new budgetary rules, which envisage 8 automatic penalties.
 
Discussions on the details of the new fiscal arrangement are being conducted right now.
For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.
 
Durban meeting enters final day
Delegates attending the UN climate conference in the South African city of Durban are working out the details of what could be a substantial 'aid fund' to help developing countries cope with climate change.
 
Some negotiators say they are optimistic that a deal can be reached on the final day on Friday.
 
"We believe that we have made good strides and we are confident that tomorrow we will have an agreement."
 
However, delegates are currently clashing over any agreement that will oblige governments to cut their emissions 9.
 
The slow process has had some people worry about the increased risk of natural disasters, if climate change is not significantly curbed 10.
 
World Meteorological Organization Secretary General, Michel Jarraud.
 
"So if there is no agreement, the consequence is very likely that greenhouse gases concentration will continue to increase faster than if there is an agreement."
Over the past two weeks, delegates have been attempting to narrow differences and sign up a legally-binding resolution to fight against climate change.
 
China calls for a win-win internet cooperation with the US
China has called for the implementation 11 of win-win Internet cooperation at the recently concluded 5th China-US Internet forum 12 in Washington.
 
Qian Xiao-qian, vice 13-minister of the State Council Information Office of China, says the two countries have complementary advantages regarding the Internet.
 
"The U.S. enjoys advantages in technology, human resources, capital and experience, while China has the largest Internet market worldwide and predicts a very promising 14 market for information development. Both countries should take full advantage of one another's strengths in order to realize a win-win scenario 15 of development."
 
U.S. Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats says, Internet cooperation between the two countries serves the interests of both sides.
 
"By promoting international standards, there will be robust 16 and credible 17 intellectual property protection. By protecting cyber security, and advancing Internet freedom, we will promote a free exchange of ideas and commerce in the digital age that will enhance the dynamism of our relationship and benefit all of our citizens."
During the two-day forum, participants from both countries have also discussed issues concerning Internet management and security, as well as how to help prevent negative impact of social networking on youngsters.
 
Initiated 18 in 2007, the China-U.S. Internet forum is jointly 19 held by the Internet Society of China and Microsoft.
 
Home appliances industry in an open market
Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of China joining the WTO. Over the past ten years, China has opened up almost all of its manufacturing sector 20 to overseas investment to comply with WTO standards.
 
During that time, the home appliances industry has experienced both highs and lows because of the competition in an open market.
 
Su Yi has more.
 
Reporter:
Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, home appliance exports have reached a figure of around 160 billion US dollars, 20 times the amount Chinese manufacturers were shipping 21 out 10 years ago.
 
Long Yongtu is China's former WTO chief negotiator.
 
He says Chinese companies have been forced to learn and adapt to survive.
 
"Ten years ago, WTO entry created a dilemma 22 for domestic industries; each industry felt that it needed protection from the government. But it was impossible to protect every industry, so basically the home appliances industry and other manufacturing sectors 23 were left to face the competition by themselves."
 
In 2002, import licenses 24 for over 14 types of products were removed, six of which were related to electric home appliances.
 
The further opening-up of the Chinese market brought in more competition from outside, but it also spurred Chinese companies to look beyond the borders themselves.
 
By the end of 2000, Haier started producing refrigerators in the US; in 2001, Changhong launched its export express line to the US; and in 2002, TCL opened its office in Munich.
 
However, these opportunities haven't come without challenges.
 
Jiang Feng is the director of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.
 
"The industry has been confronted by a string of problems. At first, we were selling products that others didn't want. Since the consumption habits vary from country to country, some popular products in the domestic market couldn't meet the demands of overseas markets. For instance, we were exporting twin tube washing machines, while European countries actually wanted drum washing machines. "
 
Jiang Feng also says another major hurdle 25 has been moving beyond producing just low-end products.
 
"Ten years ago, most of the exported home appliances were low-end products with limited added value. For example, in 2001, the average export price of a refrigerator was only 80 US dollars."
 
The production of lower-priced products allows domestic manufacturers to accumulate capital within a short period of time, but on the flipside, has also brought those same manufacturers to the frontline of anti-dumping cases.
 
And with profit-margins getting tighter in an increasingly competitive market, a number of home-appliance manufactures have begun putting an emphasis on developing their own technologies.
 
Wang Qiang is the Deputy General Manager of Jiuzhou Electric.
 
"We have been constantly updating our technologies, and it enabled us to work with other local companies and major operators including Philips and Broadcom in the US. Ten years ago, we could only enter the low-end market, but now our products are sold in local supermarkets and distributed to dealers 26 there."
 
Under the Ministry 27 of Industry and Information Technology's five-year plan, home appliance manufacturers have to direct no less than 3% of their production budget toward research and development.
 
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
 
TOYOTA slashes its profit forecast for this year
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor has slashed 28 more than half of its profit forecast for this year, to 200 billion yen 29, or 2.6 billion US dollars.
Executive Vice President Sa-to-shi Ozawa explains the reasons.
"There has been a particularly large impact in Asia as a result of the Thai flooding, and as such, the number of vehicles produced has been greatly reduced. Due to supply issues related to the Thai flooding and consequent problems in Japan, sales in other areas, especially the middle east, will also be affected 30."
The company says the Thai floods caused 120 billion yen, or one and a half billion US dollars of the downward revision to operating profit.
Meanwhile, the yen's strength, which hurts the competitiveness of exports and reduces the value of overseas profits, cut another 190 billion yen.
Toyota's shares have fallen 18 percent in the year to date, in line with Tokyo's main Topix index.
 
Two dead in US campus shooting
A gunman who killed a police officer in a US university has been found dead nearby.
The incident took place at Virginia Tech University, the site of the worst school shooting in the history of the United States.
Freshman 31 Juliet Fielding tearfully describes how she felt when the police officer got shot.
"As soon as I saw his face I just started crying. Obviously if you get shot in the head or the face it's not going to be good. And then when the other officers started yelling his name to try and get him to wake up or gain consciousness, that's when it really hit me."
It is not clear how the gunman himself was killed.
Sergeant 32 Robert Carpen-tieri.
"I think the investigators 33 feel confident that we've located the person, but I can't give you specifics and I don't want to confirm that. You can kind of read between the lines, so I won't specifically address that."
Back in 2007, student gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and then shot himself at Virginia Tech.
 
Anti-child trafficking
Chinese police recently cracked down on two child trafficking gangs and rescued 178 children. Since a special campaign against human trafficing started in April 2009, police officers across the country have rescued more than 18,000 children.
Wu Jia has more.
Reporter: Direct interaction between police and civilian 34 organizations or volunteers is widely recognized as a major force driving the anti-trafficking campaign, aided by the use of new communication technologies.
Chen Shiqu, Director of the anti-trafficking office with the Ministry of Public Security, explains.
"So far, more than 1,600 children and their parents have united with the help of our DNA 35 database. Parents whose children are missing report the cases to the public security authorities. The police will take their blood samples and store samples in the DNA database, which will help identify their children. "
The national database was founded two years ago in response to the suggestion of some volunteers dedicated 36 to anti-trafficking.
Zhang Baoyan is one of them. She is Director of Baby Come Home, a non-governmental website, which helps parents exchange information and search for missing children. She says they are keeping close touch with the police.
"The Ministry of Public Security has built a working group via the online chatting tool QQ. The group members include police officers around the country, employees of our website and many volunteers. That is a green channel between the police and us."
Zhang Baoyan adds that a new tool is used this year to help the fight against human trafficking.
"The major difference between 2011 and previous years lies in the use of micro-blogs. They're convenient and quick ways to exchange information. Additionally, their coverage 37 is quite wide."
Zhang opened a micro-blog account for her website early this year. She has nearly 130,000 followers 38.
An educational campaign was launched via the micro-blog to enhance people's awareness 39 about child trafficking. Many netizens responded that until they read those online updates, they thought human trafficking cases were rare and had nothing to do with them.
Zhang Baoyan says she is glad to see more people have realized the seriousness of the problem, and that they are willing to offer a hand.
For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.
 
Dyslexic School calls for Greater Awareness of Learning Difficulties
It's estimated that around 130 million people in China suffer from reading and writing difficulties, otherwise known as dyslexia. But not many people know about the problem.
Dominic Swire recently paid a visit to one school in Beijing that specializes in this area.
REPORT
"My name is Wang Guangqi. I'm 8 years old"
Wang Guangqi is a typical energetic young boy.
But he has problems reading and writing. So his father Wang Tong brings him here, to LangLang school, which caters 40 for slow learners.
"When my son was studying pinyin, I realized he was getting mixed up with the letters b and p and the numbers 6 and 9. After listening to a radio programme about learning difficulties I brought him here as soon as I could."
Wang Guangqi suffers from dyslexia, meaning it's difficult for him to gain fluency 41 and accuracy of language.
Teacher Wang Dandan explains how they help.
"Some kids can't write characters properly. So we help by giving them pictures to copy. At first they find it difficult but after a few times it's ok."
Dyslexia is not officially recognized as a problem in China, so it's difficult to know how many Chinese people suffer from it. But dyslexia expert Professor Ian Smythe from the University of Wales thinks he knows:
"The answer to that is quite simple. It's the same prevalence in every single language." (…) So, if you go into a classroom in the UK, it's generally agreed that 10 percent of the population will have difficulties. But if you go into a school in China same it's the same percentage. About 10 percent will have difficulties. There's a general agreement that that's a reasonable percentage."
Ten percent of China's population is over a hundred and thirty million people
And yet, after 3 years of operating, LangLang school has only helped 300 kids. Head of the school Lan Zi explains why.
"Because people don't know about dyslexia, they don't know they can get professional help. And that's a significant problem."
Another factor might be the cost. LangLang has to operate privately 42 and charges around one and a half thousand US dollars per child per year, which is a lot for many Chinese families. Lan Zi hopes one day her services can be paid for by the government.
"I hope China can include help for dyslexic children in free public education just like in Hong Kong, so they don't need to pay for anything to get help."
Wang Guanqi's father says after studying at LangLang school his son improved his concentration and confidence. He hopes greater awareness can help other parents recognize and address the problem.
For CRI, I'm Dominic Swire.
 
Media Digest
Xinhua
Xinhua is reporting that more travelers than ever are expected to take to the road for the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The world's largest annual human migration 43 is expected to begin on January 8, with at least 3.2 billion journeys expected over a 40-day period.
The travel peak is expected to put the country's transport system to the test, as total traffic over the period is set to grow by 9.1 percent.
Most people will travel by road, with some 2.84 billion trips expected. Two hundred and thirty-five million trips will be made on trains, nearly 35 million by air and more than 43 million by boat.
Passengers will likely face the usual struggle to get their hands on tickets, particularly at railway stations, where long lines are expected.
To ease congestion 44, the Ministry of Railways said all tickets will be available online by the end of this year.
 
China Daily
China Daily is reporting that a royal seal is the most expensive white jade 45 article ever to be sold at auction 46.
A round jade seal of Qianlong, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty has sold for 25.3 million dollars at an auction in Beijing.
The seal was made in 1795 when Qianlong (1711-1799), the 6th emperor of the Qing Dynasty was titled "Retired 47 Emperor" after resigning from the throne but still in power.
It is the only round seal among more than 20 made in that year.
USA Today
USA today are reporting some worrying finding for those who do shift work.
A study of two groups of women has found that those who work rotating night shifts are more likely to develop type two diabetes 48 than women with regular hours. The longer that they worked a rotating shift schedule, the greater their risk.
The study's senior author, Dr. Frank Hu from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, says the findings are most worrying for women who have spent decades doing shift work. For those who had been working rotating shifts for a very long duration the risk was almost 60 percent higher.
Previous studies have found a link between unusual work hours and obesity 49 which is a factor associated with the disease. However, when researchers adjusted the data to account for body mass, the association between work hours and type two diabetes was still present.