News & Reports 2011-07-23

 Hello and Welcome to News and Reports on China Radio International.

 
In This Edition
 
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his US counterpart Hillary Clinton applaud a set of guidelines on the issue of South China Sea, reached between China and ASEAN nations.
 
At least 17 people have been killed dead and many others severely 1 injured in a huge bomb explosion in downtown Oslo, Norway.
 
Eurozone countries and the International Monetary 2 Fund have agreed to give Greece a second bailout worth 109 billion Euros.
 
The Ministry 3 of Industry and Information Technology says China's industrial growth is expected to increase in the latter part of this year, but uncertainties 4 will remain amid increasingly complicated domestic and overseas conditions.
 
 
Hot Issue Reports
 
Chinese FM Meets His US Counterpart in Bali
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his US counterpart Hillary Clinton have both applauded a set of guidelines on the issue of South China Sea, reached between China and ASEAN nations.
 
The two diplomats 5 have met in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss issues of common concern as they attend a regional forum 6 between ASEAN members and some Asia-pacific countries.
 
At the meeting, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached a set of guidelines on better implement 7 a 2002 Declaration of the Conduct in the South China Sea. Parties concerned have reiterated 8 to peacefully resolve competing territorial 10 claims in the region.
 
ASEAN comprises 10 Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam, which have disputed territorial claims with China in the South China Sea.
 
Meanwhile, nuclear envoys 11 of South Korea and North Korea have held talks on nuclear issues on the sidelines of the ASEAN forum. The report says the envoys have indicated a possible attempt to resume the six-party talks.
 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
 
"I want to commend China and ASEAN for working so closely together to include implementation 12 guidelines for the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea. And of course we will discuss our mutual 13 desire for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."
 
For his part, Yang Jiechi called for an early resumption of the stalled six-party talks.
 
"I also and believe that China and the United States and other members of the six-party talks need to work together. Anything we can do together to promote a better atmosphere and good dialogue among the parties concerned and to work together to restart the six-party talks would be in the best interests of peace, stability and security of the region."
 
The six-party talks, which stalled some three years ago, involve the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
 
17 Killed, Dozens Injured in Oslo Explosion
At least 17 people have been killed and many others severely injured in bomb and shooting attacks in the heart of Norway's capital Oslo Friday afternoon.
Most of the windows in the government building where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg works have been shattered.
 
Stoltenberg says the bombing is a serious case and the rescue work is underway.
 
"It is very serious that there has been a bomb attack in the government quarter and that there is a situation that is very difficult to follow at Utoeya. I have made sure that all emergency teams and services are working to help those injured and in a critical situation."
 
The gunman, who was arrested after the shooting incident, was being interrogated 14 on Friday night by police.
 
Police said they believed the man in his his 30s is behind both the shooting incident and the bomb explosion.
 
International condemnation 15 has poured in following the attack.
 
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his shock over incident.
 
US President Barack Obama called on the world to work together to fight terrorism.
 
"....its a reminder 16 that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this type of terror from occurring and that we have to work cooperatively together both on intelligence and in terms of prevention of these kinds of horrible attacks."
 
Canada and the United Arab Emirates have also joined the international condemnation on the violence.
 
WFP Calls for Intensified 17 Efforts to Combat Famine in Somalia
The UN World Food Program has called on the world to help "scale up" operations to reach people suffering from famine in Somalia.
 
However, reports claim that the local Islamist militant 18 group al-Shabab is continuing its ban on certain food agencies from operating in regions they control.
 
Josette Sheeran, executive director of the program, says it's vital for supplements to reach those in need as she was visiting a feeding centre in Mogadishu.
 
"I've met people from all over southern Somalia and there's no food where they are. And so we're calling on the world to really back operations, to scale up very quickly, to reach those in the epicenter, in the famine conditions, in southern Somalia."
 
The UN World Food Program says it will start airlifts into Mogadishu within days, to get vital supplies of special foods in for malnourished children.
 
The agency adds it's currently reaching 1.5 million people in Somalia and is scaling up operations to reach another 2.2 million in the previously 19 inaccessible 20 south of the country.
 
The UN has declared a famine in parts of southern Somalia, which is experiencing its worst drought in over half a century.
 
World Food Security Issue
For more on the food scarcity 21 issue and on how can China better itself in maintaining a steady food supply, our Zheng Chenguang earlier talked to Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
 
Eurozone Agrees New Greek Bailout
Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to give Greece a second bailout worth 109 billion Euros.
 
This comes on top of the 110 billion euros given over to Greece a year ago.
 
Banks and other private investors 22 are hoped to contribute some 37 billion Euros to the new rescue package.
 
Speaking at an emergency summit in Brussels, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, says the new bailout is critical.
 
"We reached three important decisions, fully 9 supported by all of us. We improved the Greek debt sustainability, we took measures to stop the risk of contagion 23, and finally we committed to improve the eurozone's crisis management."
 
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou also applauded the agreement.
 
"We now have a programme and a package of decisions which create a sustainable path for Greece, a sustainable debt management for Greece, and this in the end, of course, will mean not only the funding of a programme but also mean the lightening of the burden on the Greek people."
 
The new bailout also includes debt restructuring and an expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility, a European bailout mechanism 24.
 
The expanded role of the mechanism will be allowed for the first time to give states precautionary credit lines before they were shut out of credit markets.
 
The change is designed to prevent bigger euro zone states such as Spain and Italy from sliding into similar debt crises as Greece.
 
US Budget Cutting Plan Still under Discussion
The US Senate is moving to cast away a budget cutting plan passed by the US House of Representatives, clearing the way for increasingly urgent government talks over raising the nation's debt ceiling.
 
US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have searched once more for an ambitious $4 trillion US dollar grand bargain, but officials said wide differences remained.
 
US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.
 
"Frankly 25, I think it would be irresponsible on behalf of the Congress and the president not to be looking at back-up strategies for how to solve this problem. At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act."
 
With less than two weeks from an August 2nd deadline, which could precipitate 26 a first-ever government default, the continuing Obama-Boehner talks keep alive the possibility of substantial deficit 27 reduction.
 
Brookings Institute economist 28, Alice Rivlin points out that the US should start reducing its deficit without a thorough plan because there's simply not much time left.
 
"We should do as much future deficit reduction as the congress can agree on. But I don't think they are going to get a whole plan that does what most of us think is necessary to stabilize 29 the debt over the next few years. It's not as good as fixing the whole thing, but we don't have time to fix the whole thing now before the debt ceiling has to be raised."
 
While talks on a long-term agreement continued, a shorter-term backup plan has appeared to be gaining momentum 30. The proposal would cut spending by $1 trillion dollars or slightly more immediately and raise the debt limit by a similar amount to postpone 31 a final reckoning until early in 2012.
 
China's Manufacturing May Contract for First Time in a Year, PMI Signals
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says China's industrial growth is expected to increase in the latter part of this year, but uncertainties will remain amid increasingly complicated domestic and overseas conditions.
 
China's value-added industrial output growth decelerated from March's 14.8 percent to hit 13.3 percent in May, leading some to believe that the country's economy has suffered a drastic slowdown. China's industrial enterprises account for 42 percent of the national economy.
 
Meanwhile, HSBC and Market Economics says that preliminary data for a purchasing managers' index fell to 48.9 for July from a final reading of 50.1 for June, implying China's manufacturing may contract for the first time in a year as output and new orders drop.
 
For more on this, CRI's Larry Chen earlier talked with Mark Hughes, executive business editor of China Daily.
 
Foreign Journalists Get Rare Glimpse of Chinese Honor Guards
Chinese military's elite 32 honor guards put on a rare performance for foreign journalists in Beijing.
 
The troops welcomed foreign journalists to their barracks in a show of increased openness in Chinese military.
 
Established in the 1950s, the Chinese Guard of Honour has 700 members.
 
Zhang Huaqing, a 21-year old soldier from Hubei Province, is one of them.
 
"I'm so proud to be a Guard of Honour, this is a group with a glorious history and it was crowned the model of the PLA by the former President Jiang Zemin in 1992. I feel like this is the most exciting experience in all my life."
 
China's elite honor guards are often seen at ceremonies for foreign dignitaries that visit the country.
 
The guards have welcomed many presidents and officials, including the US President Barack Obama in November 2009.
 
Foreign Brand Furniture
The scandal ridden Chinese furniture retailer 33 Da Vinci is suffering cancelled orders and compensation claims following its acts of forgery 34 of imported furniture has been revealed.
 
Our Zhao Kun has the story.
 
After the scandal at The Da Vinci Furniture Company, many high fashion furniture brands are faced a decrease in sales. Most customers who planned on buying foreign brands are now going to wait and see.
 
Ms. Lu likes the style of French furniture, but she is now hesitant to make the purchase.
 
"After the fakes scandal, we customers will definitely hesitate and have questions."
 
The foreign brands which used to be the favorite of many Chinese customers are now faced with an integrity crisis. Zhou Yufeng is the general manager of Roche Bobois Furniture Company's Chinese branch. He says their sales in Beijing, Shanghai and other big cities have slumped 35 in the past two weeks. Many customers who have already signed the purchasing contract have suspended the payment, while some who has placed an order and have cancelled it. It is the first time the French furniture maker 36 have come face-to-face with this situation since it entered Chinese market seven years ago.
 
"I can tell you a very shocking fact. Our sales of the first half of this month reduced by more than 80% compared to previous six years. We've never had any crisis as serious as this one."
 
Facing the crisis, dealers 38 are trying to win back the trust of customers. Da Vinci cheated customers to buy so called made abroad products by shipping 39 Chinese products around to get an import certification. Now furniture dealers selling foreign brands have started to ask manufacturers to send production place certification with their products. Because it costs money to apply for the certification, dealers usually didn't ask for it in the past.
 
This furniture dealer 37 is telling customers how to tell a good quality product from a fake one by looking at the workmanship and checking the material used.
Customers are learning to sharpen their eyes when shopping, but the government should shoulder the responsibility to supervise the businesses.
 
The export volume of the domestic furniture is 33 billion US dollars, accounting 40 for 34% of global furniture trading amount. According to the Secretary-General of Shanghai Furniture Association Xu Guanrong, the domestic furniture making has already met the international standards, but the home-made furniture lacks original designs and brand value. High income customers would spend hundreds of thousands of Yuan to buy a foreign chair. The furniture import value in 2010 is 1.2 billion yuan.
 
For CRI, I'm Zhao Kun.
 
Newspaper Picks
 
BBC: Happiness is something a lot of us are striving for in this life, but we don't usually think about it as a political issue. Well apparently 41, Bhutan does.
The BBC is reporting that the UN's General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution this week to make happiness a "development indicator 42". This is thanks to 10 months of lobbying by Bhutan's ambassador, Lhatu Wangchuk.
 
The BBC says many at the UN were skeptical 43 at first, but the resolution ended up winning 66 co-sponsors.
 
The idea is based on Bhutan's model of GNH, which means Gross National Happiness. Mr. Wangchuk says they wanted to bring happiness to the UN consciousness, because GDP is an inadequate 44 measure of quality of life.
 
Member states are invited to draw up their own measures of happiness and add them to the UN's development agenda. When asked if he thought UN diplomats were happy people, he said many were overworked, and needed to sleep more and spend more time with their families.