新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2013/07/12
时间:2019-03-05 作者:英语课 分类:The Beijing Hour 新闻纵贯线
英语课
Friday July 12th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening,
56 dead and 178 missing in Sichuan rainstorms,
Orange alert for Typhoon Soulik as it prepares to make landfall on Saturday,
Asiana Airlines issues apology letters on Chinese media.
Business, Confidence of Chinese firms drops to 7-year low.
Sports, Jose Antonio Camacho appeals to FIFA over compensation from the CFA.
Entertainments, Feng Xiaogang set to direct the 2014 Spring Festival Gala.
Plus Special reports takes a look at a new breast feeding trend among adults here in China.
Weather
Beijing will be cloudy with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow cloudy with a high temperature of 31. Thundershowers may come at Sunday evening.
Meanwhile Shanghai will be cloudy tonight, with a low of 27, showers tomorrow, with a high of 33.
Lhasa will have moderate rain tonight, 11 degrees the low, showers tomorrow with a high of 21.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 38.
Kabul, sunny, 36.
Over in Australia
Sydney, sunny, highs of 19.
Canberra, overcast, 14.
Brisbane, sunny, 21.
And finally, Perth will be overcast with a high of 21.
Top News
56 dead and 178 missing in Sichuan rainstorms
Torrential rains pounding southwestern China's Sichuan province have left at least 56 people dead and nearly 180 missing.
Over 240-thousand residents across the province have been forced from home.
Massive mudslides have hit Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the 2008 earthquake, sweeping bridges and destroying a cluster of villages.
Qipangou, a village located 2-kilommeters from Wenchuan is now completely covered in water and mud.
Cong Weina is a reporter with China Central Television.
"The mudslide went down the hill and poured into the Ming Jiang River at a speed of 5km per hour, destroying the entire village. So far, it is confirmed that three people were killed and another 12 are missing. The mudslide has affected at least 2000 households and over 2000 people have been evacuated."
The roads connecting Wenchuan and neighbouring Dujiangyan have been blocked, hampering the rescue work.
Nonstop rainstorms which began from this Monday have triggered the worst flooding across the province in 50 years.
In Chengdu, the capital city, schools and kindergartens will be closed for three days as more rain is forecasted over the weekend.
The rainstorms also left at least 13 dead in neighboring Shaanxi province.
China prepared for Typhoon Soulik
Meanwhile, China's National Meteorological Center has issued an orange alert for Typhoon Soulik, as the super-typhoon moves across Taiwan.
The typhoon is now moving toward waters east of Taiwan, packing winds of 173-kilometers per hour.
It is expected to land on the mainland on Saturday.
Fishermen in Taiwan's coastal areas are getting prepared for the storm.
"This typhoon is pretty strong, so those who are living by the sea have to be prepared. We have to tie things down otherwise things could get blown away and could get damaged."
While forecasters are expecting Soulik to lose power as it approaches the mainland coast, authorites in Fujian are warning the storm is still going to be one of the strongest to hit the province in years.
Three ferry links between Fujian and Taiwan have also been suspended.
Soulik is forecast to roll through Fujian on Saturday before moving north into Jiangxi and Anhui where it is expected to lose power.
Asiana Airlines issued apology letters on Chinese media
South Korea's Asiana Airlines have published statements across Chinese media, apologizing for the crash landing in San Francisco International airport last Saturday.
The company says it is sorry about the pain the fatal crash has caused to passengers and promises to deal with the aftermath.
The statements come amid an ongoing investigation over the cause of the crash which killed two Chinese teenage girls and injuring 180 others.
Earlier, one of the pilots said he was blinded by a flash of light 34 seconds before the impact.
However, the U.S National Transportation Safety Board says the light did not prevent him from seeing his instruments.
"The flying pilot stated he saw a bright source of light. Neither of the other two pilots identified the source of light. It was not discussed on the CVR. The pilot that saw the light stated that he did not believe that it affected his vision."
Interview reports also show the captains thought the airliner’s speed was being controlled by an autothrottle set for 252-kilometers per hour.
However, investigators say the aircraft came in too slow and no problems have been found in the autothrottle.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Egypt prepare for more protests
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Monhamed Morsi have called for more protests on the first Friday of Ramadan.
Morsi's supporters say millions will back their call for the ousted president's reinstatement.
Meanwhile, the opponents of Muslim Brotherhood are also planning rallies for Tahrir Square to celebrate Morsi's removal.
It is feared that the protests will trigger more clashes.
"Ramadan last year came at a time when we were happy to have a democratically elected president after the revolution. But this year, whether you're a supporter or opponent of Mohamed Mursi, we're all distracted by the political situation and don't really feel the spirit of Ramadan."
Over 50 Morsi loyalists were killed in the clashes with the army this Monday.
The Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader Monhammed Badie and nine other senior leaders were charged on with inciting Monday's violence.
Morsi is still being held at a military compound in Cairo.
5th China-U.S. S&ED Concludes
Anchor:
The 5th China-U.S Strategic and Economic Dialogue has concluded in Washington.
Both Beijing and Washington hailed the two-day event a great success after reaching a number of significant breakthroughs.
Zhang Shuangfeng has more.
Ann:
Upon conclusion of their two-day dialogue, China and the United States agreed to restart negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew hailed it as a significant breakthrough. )
"China announced its intention to negotiate a high-standard bilateral investment treaty with us that will include all stages of investment and all sectors, a significant breakthrough and the first time China has agreed to do so with another country."
China and the United States began treaty negotiations in 2008, under former president George W. Bush.
But those talks stalled the following year, as President Barack Obama took office.
To date, US investment in China stands at over 70-billion US dollars, while China's investment in the United States is around 20-billion US dollars.
Chinese officials estimate that China's investment in foreign countries will surpass foreign investment into China in three to five years.
Chinese investment has met some strong resistance in the United States despite the fact that it's largely welcomed by state and local governments.
The bilateral investment treaty could expand Chinese market access for American investors.
Meanwhile, the US has also pledged to treat Chinese investment equally and fairly.
In addition to the pledge to further open up market access to each another, the two countries also reached a great number of deals.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang says the outcomes are remarkable.
"Over the past two days, we have had candid and in-depth exchanges on the overarching long-term and strategic issues concerning our two economies and the global economy, and reached nearly 90 important outcomes in macroeconomics, trade, investment, finance, and other areas."
Wang Yang believes the extensive discussions between the two sides have also helped the countries better understand each other.
For CRI, I'm Zhang Shuangfeng.
Adolescent pregnancy exposes lagging sex education in China
Anchor:
Experts marking this year's World Popluation Day on Thursday have been putting an emphasis on dealing with the problem of teen pregnancies.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter
According to a report from the United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA, about 16 million girls under the age of 18 give birth each year. Another 3.2 million undergo unsafe abortions.
Teen pregnancies are a health issue. Li Yan, director of gynecology at the Women and Children's Healthcare Center in Luoyang, Henan Province, says that young mothers face a heightened risk of maternal complications that even include death and disability. The abortion operation may have a huge negative impact on their health.
"Adolescent girls may have developed sex organs, but they are still far from being completely developed. If they undergo repeated abortion operations, it may result in paramecia, leaving them incapable of pregnancy. Most of the girls are students. They need rest, to follow medical instructions and suspend sexual activity for at least a month after the operation, more so than adults. But due to lack of awareness, some of them just go to class right after the operation. This may bring great harm to their health."
Xu Ke is the chairman of Women's Federation in Jiu Long Po District of Chongqing Municipality.
Xu Ke thinks that sex education in China is still lagging behind while contemporary adolescents are maturing at a younger age. Not only school, parents' awareness should be raised as well.
"On one hand, I do believe sex education should be reinforced in our schools. On the other hand, I strongly advise parents: don't abuse your daughter for pregnancy. You should help her at the first time when pregnancy happens. Or they may miss the best time to terminate accidental pregnancy or go to unqualified hospitals to have the operation. Our organization is also carrying education projects in rural areas, which teaches children how to prevent themselves from becoming sexual assault victims."
According to statistics issued by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission in 2012, more than 13 million abortion operations are carried out every year. This number doesn't even include the uncounted medical abortion and unregistered abortion operations performed in unqualified hospitals. More than half of these patients are below the age of 25.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
Nigeria-China investment forum appeals strong to companies
Anchor
Chinese and Nigerian companies looking to expand their cooperation have taken part in an investment forum here in Beijing.
CRI's Hu Jia was there.
Reporter:
Businessmen and government officials hope to tap into the business potentials of various fields at the forum.
Professor Wang Guangming, director of the Zibo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says he is trying to step up communication with African partners about castor oil seeds.
He says, as the origin of castor oil seeds, Africa has advantages in cultivating the cash plant while China has the technology.
"In the past, castor oil was used as lubricant for Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as brake oil for automobile and high-speed machines. In terms of further processing capacity within the plant oil industry, China is the best in the castor oil sector. If we run out of petroleum, castor oil may be the most promising replacement."
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaoling, a member of the China-Africa trade promotion association, is looking into the nursing market in Nigeria.
"The demand for Chinese nurses is huge while they're facing a language problem. So if more overseas training opportunities are there for them, in return, it will smooth up the procedures and bring more standardized primary care to the continent."
In the meantime, Nigerian companies are also trying to tap into Chinese markets such as mining.
Uche Orgi is CEO of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.
"I think there're many ways China and Nigeria can cooperate on solid minerals. But first is infrastructure. As you know without fail, you cannot develop solid minerals, it's the essential part of the mining industry. Two, the mining technology to actually exploit the product is important. There's lot of opportunities in solid minerals that haven't been exploited because of that but the most important thing needed is to have the transport infrastructure for mining."
The forum was held during Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan's official visit to China.
For CRI, I'm Hu Jia.
UK's 48 Group Club Celebrates 60th Years of Promoting Sino-British Trade
Anchor:
The 48 Group Club, an independent UK-based business network is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Beijing in the promotion of trade links between the UK and China.
CRI's Wei Tong has more.
Reporter:
A delegation of 16-British companies visited China in 1953 to discuss trade with the East Asian nation, which at the time was under the US-led trade embargo during the Cold War Period.
The visit, nicknamed 'Icebreaking Mission' paved the way for a trade delegation of 48 British businessmen visiting China one year later.
It led to the signing of the UK's first trade agreement with the People's Republic of China worth 18-million pounds.
These businessmen later formed a network known as The 48-Group Club.
Stephen Perry, Chairman of the club shared the group's forerunners' vision on China's economic potential.
"They believed the history and civilization of China would show that China would return for 18 of the previous 20 centuries since China had been the largest economy in the world and fallen back. They believed China would come back. The people they talked to, the selfless and committed leaders of China gave up all their own time to working to rebuild China. They believe these people would bring China back. Here we are 60 years later, China is back. China is now the second largest economy in the world, soon to the largest."
As China's economic power was greatly enhanced in the past six decades, Perry notes the 48 Group Club has been given new concepts and responsibility in its 'Icebreaking Mission' under the context of globalization.
Perry adds the scope of trade and investment needs to be expanded.
"China is beginning to emerge into a period of growth where the tertiary industry, the service industry is to grow. The internationalization both in terms of going out and coming in are going to have much impact in legal, accounting and other professional services where needs to grow and develop its education. And from that real business opportunities would occur, in the financial services industry, high technologies."
Meanwhile, the club has also launched a new initiative aiming to build on its six-decade legacy in 'breaking the ice' between British and Chinese businesses and policymakers among the young generation.
Since its establishment, the 48 Group Club, following the motto of "equality and mutual benefit", has been providing support and consultancy services to British companies which were managing to enter China's markets.
For CRI, I am Wei Tong.
9th China International Animation Game Expo Opens
The 9th China International Animation Game Expo has opened in Shanghai.
The 5-day expo has gathered over 300-exhibitors from all over the world to promote communication and interaction between animators from China and the world.
Gao Hairui is the director of China operations of the IMAX Company.
"Imax didn't do well in its branding in China before. But now it is well-known across the country with a good number of IMAX movies. China now has 120 IMAX screens. We would love to take part in this sort of activity and to contact with cartoon fans, movie fans and game players."
More than 200-thousand people are expected to visit the exhibition.
The Chinese government has also attached great importance to the nation's original animation industry.
Gao Zheng is an official with China's Ministry of Culture.
"As a department in charge of the animation industry, we started brand building protection plan last year. We would pick out better animation brands and recommend them to potential investors or co-operation partners. We hope the 20 brands selected in the plan could represent our country's animation production. We want to establish our own brands. "
According to the Culture Ministry, the total output of China's animation industry stood at nearly 76 billion yuan last year, a more than 20 percent increase compared with 2011.
Biz Reports
Asian Stock
Chinese shares closed lower on Friday following their biggest daily gains this year on Thursday.
At market close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.6 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index slid 2.1 percent.
Emerging industries, including the media and electronic information sectors, were among the strongest on Friday, surging 2.2 and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Over in Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent.
Other Asian markets closed mixed.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2 percent to a 7-week high, buoyed by a record finish on Wall Street and a positive outlook for the world's third largest economy.
South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.4 percent.
In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times index also slashed 0.4.
Finally, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.2 percent.
Confidence of Chinese firms drops to 7-year low in Q2
Confidence of Chinese businesses fell sharply to a seven-year low in the second quarter.
In a report released by global auditing firm Grant Thornton, business optimism has reportedly dropped to 4-percent from 25-percent in the first quarter.
It's the lowest since the firm started compiling China data in 2006.
Meanwhile the confidence of US firms surged to 55-percent from 31-percent, the highest since 2005.
The U.K rallied from a negative to 35-percent while Japan saw the first positive figure since data was compiled in 2003.
China finance minister signals tolerance for growth below 7 percent
China's finance minister is suggesting the country could tolerate economic growth in the second half of the year to be significantly below 7-percent.
Speaking in Washington, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the 7-percent growth rate should not be considered the bottom line.
That would mean growth coming in below the government's official target for the first time in living memory.
The country's official 2013 growth target of 7.5 percent was approved only four months ago at the annual National People's Congress.
Analysts say it is highly unlikely that Lou was pointing to a revision in the target.
China is due to report GDP for the second quarter on Monday.
Inbound Tourism Shows Downward Trend
Anchor:
A recent report says inbound tourism has shown a downward trend in the past half of year, while outbound tourism has gained much more momentum.
XieZhao has more.
Reporter:
The report by China Tourism Academy says overall tourism income in China is expected to reach around 1.4 trillion yuan, up 10.7 percent year on year.
Compared with outbound tourism's dramatic growth, inbound tourism has shown a downward trend, down by 5-percent year on year.
The trade deficit between them has reached 38.6 million U.S dollars.
Dr. Li Zhong Guang is director of the China Tourism Academy.
He says the China tourism market can not attract foreign tourists due to the ecological environment as well as China's immigration policy and RMB appreciation.
"We promote China as a beautiful country. But when arriving in China, tourists can not see a beautiful China, such as smog and water quality. We carried out an investigation in the first half of year. The tourists made comments, most complaining about the air and water issues and English marks. Meanwhile, some policies have not changed for a long period, such as visa, duty-free and aviation rights."
By contrast, some foreign countries have carried out some research so as to entice more Chinese tourists.
Zheng Lidong, is general manager at the development department of Yi Sheng Tourism Agency.
He says the Australia National Tourism Bureau has issued a tourism strategy for the China market.
"When attending the Australia National Tourism Bureau conference every time, I am deeply moved by them. For example, they have released 2020 tourism strategy for China market. This strategy includes several detailed aspects, such as Chinese tourists' consuming habits. The strategy will take different measures, targeting different China markets, including north China, east China, south China and southwest China, etc."
Another report from the China Tourism Academy indicates the tourist satisfaction index has a big difference between domestic and outbound tourism.
For example, among the sample cities only Suzhou in JiangSu Province reaches the "satisfaction" level, while the tourist satisfaction index on outbound tourism is high and relatively stable.
Dr Chen Xu at the China Tourism Academy clarifies the difference.
"Domestic tourists have several dissatisfactions, such air quality, ecological environment, high-priced tickets and highly-crowded passenger flow, etc. Compared to domestic tourism, foreign destinations have a well-protected ecological environment, is more accessible to historical and cultural architectures and natural sceneries and reasonable or free ticket price. The passenger flow is controlled well. "
Some insiders are hoping the Tourism Law will boost tourists' satisfaction index towards domestic tourism.
The Tourism law which will come into force in October this year will cover several issues, such as ticket price and passenger flow.
For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.
Major property developers predict rising profits in H1
Major Chinese property developers have forecast profit hikes for the first half of the year, despite last month's cash crunch.
Earnings reports sent to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges show that 21 out of 35 property developers have seen climbing year-on-year profits.
China Vanke, the country's largest developer by market value, announced its sales had increased more than 33 percent in the first half.
Poly Real Estate, the country's second-largest property developer by market value, said its net profits rose 35 percent in the first half.
However, many small and medium-sized property developers suffered shrinking profits or even losses due to limited settlements.
Analysts expect that the property sector will generally see rising profits for the first half.
Philips enter into road lighting joint venture partnership with CEC
Royal Philips Electronics and China Electronics Corp have signed a joint venture agreement to tap into China's intelligent road lighting market.
The new company will be 70-percent owned by Shenzhen-based SED Industry and 30-percent owned by Philips.
The joint venture will focus on intelligent controls, software and LED fixtures for road lighting.
Philips said the cooperation combines Philips' innovation capabilities in the road lighting field with SED's knowledge of the local market.
The Dutch electronics conglomerate estimated that by 2015, the penetration of LED products will be 50-percent.
The company currently has 30-percent of the lighting market on the Chinese mainland.
China to allow foreign game console companies entry into Chinese market
China is to grant foreign game console companies entry into the Chinese market if they register in Shanghai's new free trade zone.
But before they start selling, foreign gaming companies have to seek approval for specific products from related regulators.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture says the decade-long ban on the video game hardware market will still be effective in other parts of China.
Seven Chinese ministries collectively banned the manufacture, sale and import of game consoles in China in 2000.
Major game console vendors including Microsoft Corp, Nintendo and Sony, have since made attempts but failed to find a way to officially enter the Chinese mainland market.
Headline News
Nonstop downpours batter SW China
Torrential rains pounding Sichuan have left at least 56 people dead and nearly 180 people missing.
More than 22-thousand soldiers have been sent in to help with rescue and evacuation.
The soldiers are also helping to cleared blocked roads and communication lines.
Over 350 tourists trapped in a village in Dujiangyan have since been rescued after becoming trapped by flooding this week.
Chinese warships leave Russian port after joint naval drill
Chinese warships have left Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok after taking part in a joint naval drill with Russia.
Directors of the drill from both sides, local overseas Chinese and nearly 100 soldiers attended a send-off ceremony at the Pier of Golden Horn Bay.
Seven Chinese military vessels and 12 vessels of Russia's Pacific Fleet took part in the week-long drill which started on July 5th.
During the exercise both navies conducted a range of drills including air-defense, maritime replenishment, countering submarine threats, joint escort, and rescuing of hijacked ships.
Snowden to meet with activists, lawyers: media
It's being reported that former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden is planning to meet with Russian activists, lawyers as well as representatives from other organizations later today.
Local reports say Snowden proposed the meeting at Moscow's international airport Friday afternoon.
The whistleblower reportedly intends to demonstrate his attitude toward the U.S. government's campaign of his persecution.
Russian and foreign human rights activists, lawyers and parliamentarians have been invited to the meeting.
Russian commissioner for human rights Vladimir Lukin has also received the invitation.
He said he was ready to meet Snowden who is still in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport.
S.Korean companies start to bring back goods, materials from Kaesong
South Korean businessmen have started bringing back goods and raw materials from the Kaesong industrial complex.
Personnel from 45-companies have started going through necessary procedures for entering the suspended industrial park on this morning.
South Korean companies can take back their goods in batches through next Tuesday.
The industrial zone, where 123 South Korean companies run factories, came to a halt in April when Pyongyang banned around 53-thousand of its workers from reporting to work.
In response Seoul withdrew its personnel.
Seoul and Pyongyang will now hold a third round of working level talks on July 15th.
Newspaper Picks
China Daily
"Shelter to help abandoned children"
China's first temporary shelter for children in plight will be built in Shanghai to protect those whose parents fail to fulfill their obligations.
Authorities say the shelter will first accept kids abandoned or abused when their parents are being criminally prosecuted and will have a specialized welfare home for them in about two years.
In the temporary shelter, volunteers will take care of the children and help with their schoolwork.
Psychological counseling will be provided.
The idea for the shelter came from the court because judges often encountered cases in which minors were abandoned when parents were involved in civil lawsuit.
Beijing Morning Post
"Customized buses to help commuters in Beijing"
A customized bus service is expected to be launched and be running in Beijing by September.
The public transport sector will provide the business shuttle service for commuters.
The shuttle buses, equipped with air conditioning, would ensure a one person, one seat service.
The buses will cost more than ordinary city buses, but within office workers' affordability.
The public transport sector will start looking into commuters' travel needs in some large communities and workplaces on Monday.
The time, location and routes of the business shuttle buses will be arranged according to passenger flow and travel requirements. Commuters will be able to make reservations and pay through the customized bus platform.
Science Daily
"Japanese study explores why we like listening to sad music"
This maybe one of those quintessentially existential questions any person, regardless of culture, would ask – "why do we enjoy listening to sad music?"
The general knowledge and assumption is that sad music makes you sad, but a study made by researchers from the Tokyo University says sad music may actually evoke positive emotions in the listener.
The research team asked 44 people, which included musicians and non-musicians, to listen to two classical pieces of "sad" music and one piece of "happy" music.
The results show while the listeners would normally rate the sad music as tragic or downright sad, the emotions they had while listening to the sad song contradicted their perception of the song itself.
The research group thinks unlike sadness in daily life, "musical" sadness experienced through art actually feels pleasant.
This may be because listeners do not perceive the "sadness" in a song as a direct threat to their life's happiness.
In actuality, the researchers think that listening to sad music might actually be therapeutic in this sense.
News.com.au
"Toddler accidentally buys dad a car on eBay"
A Portland father got the shock of his life after discovering his one-year-old daughter had bought him a car on eBay.
The father said he received a notice from eBay congratulating him on his purchase of a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite for $225.
The father said he had been looking at cars on eBay with the intention of fixing one up with a friend.
He says his daughter Sorella must have picked up his phone to play with it and ended up buying a car.
"Fortunately, she didn't buy the 38-thousand dollar Porsche," he said.
But all's well that ends well, Paul and his wife Christina said that they're going to turn Sorella's mistake into the best present ever.
Stoute says he plans on keeping the car - which was listed as a "fixer upper" - and fix it up in time for her 16th birthday or graduation.
Special Reports
Breast feeding report by Marc
ANCHOR:
The recent scandal involving breast milk is shaking up quite a fuss.
For more on the story is Marc Cavigli.
REPORTER:
For centuries mothers have been nourishing their babes with the sweet nectar of life: breast milk.
A mother's milk supplies vital nutrients, protects against allergies, sickness, and disease, defends a baby from infections, and is easily digestible.
However, babies aren't the only ones sipping down the creamy goodness.
Wealthy Chinese adults from Shenzhen have been paying top-shelf prices for a supply of human breast milk.
Lin Jun, a manager of the Xinxinyu Household Service Company in Guangdong, has explained their breast milk business is extending to the adult market.
Clients could choose whether they'd like to enjoy their milk pumped and bottled or straight from the source.
Some wet nurses can make up to 16-thousand yuan or more than 25-hundred US dollars per month for their delicious services.
Though this activity seems normal to some the majority of us beg the question, why?
To put it simply: food scandals.
China has been wracked by food scandals in the past few years including in 2008 when milk and infant formula was adulterated with the chemical Melamine.
Mark Hughes, the executive business editor of China Daily, explains the severity of the scandal.
"Well it has caused the biggest loss of confidence in a product that I have ever seen. To be honest I can't think of a way for the domestic industry to restore that confidence."
It is estimated 54-thousand infants mostly below the age of 2 had to be hospitalized as a result.
Many still fear tainted milk here in China lead consumers to seek out alternative sources of guaranteed fresh milk, hence the emergence of breast feeding.
Though the idea may be a titbit strange to some, others point out breast milk is highly nutritious and a good, safe alternative.
However, not everyone agrees the benefits outweigh the negatives.
Chinese blogger Cao Baoyin suggests this practice labels women as consumer goods and degrades the moral fiber of rich Chinese people.
Weibo exploded with anger after the story broke.
In an online poll 90-percent of participants believe the practice violates ethical values while the other 10-percent insist it is an acceptable business practice.
Though we won't likely see any breast milk businesses budding anytime soon Hughes believes such an enterprise might be successful.
"I do actually think it's a feasible venture in a market such as China. The industry would need proper regulating and the fancy persuasive advertising and marketing campaign but that's not beyond the realm of possibility."
Who knows what the future holds? The human breast milk business may blossom or it may go bust.
For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.
Sports
Camacho appeals against CFA to FIFA
Jose Antonio Camacho has reportedly made an official appeal to FIFA against the Chinese Football Association, after his negotiation on the compensation issue with the association failed last week.
CFA officials say they respect his decision and will fight the appeal.
Camacho was recently fired as coach of the Chinese men's national soccer team.
Camacho and his team of lawyers demanded CFA pay over 50 million yuan, some 8 million US dollars compensation for ending his three-year contract 18 months early, and an income tax bill of 25 billion yuan as well.
The demand was refused by CFA.
Marcel Kittel wins stage 12 at the Tour de France
Marcel Kittel has won his third stage victory in stage 12 of the Tour de France.
The German rider stayed behind Mark Cavendish's wheel in the final straight and went past the sprinter at the very last moment.
Britain's Chris Froome avoided a late pile-up and retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Dozens of riders were involved in the crash as it occurred inside the last three kilometers.
Froome's teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen was one of those who crashed and was holding his shoulder when he crossed the line.
Up next, stage 13 is another relatively flat 173 kilometer transition.
ICC apologizes to England over batsman's controversial dismissal
The International Cricket Council has reportedly apologized to England over the dismissal of setting batsman Jonathan Trott during a critical patch of play on the second day of the First Ashes test.
Trott was given out leg before wicket first ball following a TV umpire review.
Though initially receiving a not out call, the referee later overturned the call, despite that one of the key review monitors was broken.
Despite the frustrating episode though, England finally finished on 215 and 80-2 on day 2, putting them 15 runs ahead of Australia at the end of the day.
But the glory belonged to Australia's Ashton Agar, who made an astonishing 98 runs to set the highest score by a number 11 in Test cricket ever.
Agar credited head coach Darren Lehmann with giving him the right advice.
"Darren Lehmann's told me to bat the way I know how to bat and he's told the whole team to bat in their own natural styles, that's the way I like to bat so that's what I try to do, take the game on. For ever I've dreamt of playing test cricket for Australia. For my debut to start the way it has, I'm over the moon, I'm very happy."
It was also the 19-year-old number 11's debut in the Ashes.
Kazan Universiade updates
On the seventh day of the Universiade Summer games in Kazan, Russia.
Chinese divers have kept their momentum and helped the country back to the top 3 on the medal table by gaining 3 golds today.
Chen Ni and Xia Yuhua claimed victory in the women's synchronized 10m finals.
And China won both the men and women's team classification.
The men's synchronized 3m springboard also finished today with Russia grabbing the gold medal and China's Lin Jin and Luo Yutong being the second.
Russia is still dominating the overall leading with a total of 141 medals, followed by China and Japan .
With 74 gold medals already, Russia is also on the verge of breaking a Universiade record of a country wining the most gold in a single games.
The record currently is held by China with 75 gold medals gained in Shenzhen 2 years ago.
Boxer Zou Shiming talks about his upcoming professional fight
Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming expressed his confidence of giving good performance ahead of his second fight as professional boxer.
Zou currently received training from renowned coach Freddie Roach in Hollywood. He will face Mexican boxer Jesus Ortega on July 27 in Macau.
"This time I'm focusing on my facepunch and how to set up and how to punch more powerfully. I think this is a basic that I need. So I think it will be a good factor for my skill to get a good performance."
Zou won China's first boxing Olympic medal in Athens and grabbed gold both in Beijing and London Olympics.
He is known for his extraordinary speed and superb footwork, thanks to years of martial-arts training.
The fighter used to state that his heroes are Muhammad Ali and Jackie Chan, and hopes his success can promote the sport in his home soil.
"There are huge numbers of people, huge fans in China, boxing fans. So after I am successful, I think that there will be more Chinese people appear, professional boxers and more Chinese fans."
In April 2013, the 31-year-old made his professional debut with a unanimous points victory in a four-round fight in Macau.
Entertainment
Feng Xiaogang to Direct Spring Festival Gala
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang has been announced as the general director of CCTV's 2014 Spring Festival Gala.
The Back to 1942 director is mostly known for his comedy films, though he has explored more serious subjects in recent years.
One of his more serious films include Aftershock a look at the deadly 1976 earthquake which struck China's city of Tangshan.
Comedian Zhao Benshan will act as deputy general director in charge of the gala's comedy programming for the event.
Sam Mendes to Direct Next James Bond
After much speculation US filmmaker Sam Mendes has signed on to direct the next James Bond film.
Mendes will once again team up with Skyfall writer John Logan for the as-of-yet untitled 24th addition to the Bond franchise.
This follows the enormous success of the last James Bond film Skyfall which grossed over 1-billion US dollars worldwide.
Singer Adele won the Academy Award for best original song for her contribution to the film.
The Skyfall director previously said the idea of doing another Bond film made him feel physically ill.
The Academy Award winning director of American Beauty is currently working on King Lear for the National Theater.
UK actor Daniel Craig will also return for his 4th outing as 007.
The new Bond films is likely to hit theaters sometime in late 2015.
Lady Gaga Announces New Album Details
Pop sensation Lady Gaga has announced details about her new album ARTPOP.
The Marry the Night singer revealed the new information at a dinner party in New York then posted the details on her facebook account.
The first single from the new album will release next month and fans can pre-order her new album and smartphone app on the first of September.
Both the album and app will be released in November.
Gaga describes the app as a musical and visual engineering system combining music, art, fashion, and technology.
The new album ARTPOP has been described as a rage of electronic passion and fury and a celebration of obsession.
Lady Gaga is also rumored to return to the stage at London's itunes festival in September.
Poll of Most Misquoted Lyrics
In a new online poll UK band the Eurythmics' song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) has come out on top as having the most misquoted song lyrics.
Out of all the UK participants in the study 28-percent of them believed singer Annie Lennox was singing "Sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to disagree?"
Singer Rihanna came in second at 26-percent for her song We Found Love.
Listeners thought the superstar was singing "We found dove in a soapless place."
Rounding out the top 3 came KD Lang at 20-percent with her song Constant Craving in which people heard the lyrics "Can't stand gravy."
54-percent of respondents admitted hearing someone sing lyrics incorrectly is a source of frustration.
Meanwhile 35-percent claim they feel embarrassment when they sing a lyric incorrectly themselves.
Two-thirds of respondents say they have had arguments with friends over song lyrics with more than half saying they always correct someone if they hear them make a lyrical mistake.
Netflix Considering A Fifth Season for Arrested Development
Media streaming website Netflix is considering producing a fifth season to the hit show Arrested Development.
Netflix's bosses are currently in discussion with the shows creator Michael Hurwitz about extending their relationship and creating another season.
To the delight of fans the website produced a 15-episode fourth season for the critically acclaimed show which was cancelled from television 7-years ago.
Each episode followed a different member of the ensemble cast including actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Portia DeRossi.
Despite winning several Emmy awards the show was pulled from network television seven years ago due to lack of an audience.
However, fans of the show called for more loudly enough for netflix to take a risk, buy the rights, and produce another season.
Though the new season was met with mixed critical reviews the decision was largely a positive one for the streaming website.