News & Reports 2010-10-03

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In This Edition

China and Greece strike a series of deals and agree to further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao begins his three-day official visit to Greece.

Scientists believe the accurate mapping of Chang'e 2 will be a great help for future moon landing missions.

Red Cross officials from the South and North Korea agree to hold reunions for families separated by the Korean War.

And the US government apologizes for unearthed experiment in Guatemala where mental patients were deliberately infected with sexually transmitted diseases 60 years ago by American scientists.

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Chinese Premier Arrives in Athens to Start European Tour

China and Greece have clinched a series of deals and agreed to further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pays his three-day official visit to Greece.

Wen held talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou after his arrival earlier on Saturday.

The two countries also issued a joint statement on deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Zhao Jianfu has more.

Reporter: The visit to Greece is the first by a Chinese premier to the Mediterranean country in 24 years.

Wen Jiabao is expected to hold talks with Greek leaders, and give a speech on Sunday at the country's parliament on bilateral ties and Sino-European relations.

The premier's visit will also feature the signing of several cooperation agreements in various sectors.

During his stay in Brussels, Belgium, Wen Jiabao will also attend the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting or ASEM and 13th China-EU summit.

At a press briefing about the Premier's trip, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said Wen Jiabao will propose a series of initiatives during the ASEM summit.

"Premier Wen Jiabao will call on Asia and Europe to join hands for a balanced and sustainable recovery in world economy, pushing for international economic management and the reform of international financial system."

Fu Ying said China also hopes that countries could step up the exchange of various cultures and civilizations, cope with various global challenges and security threats, and safeguard the peace and stability of Asia and Europe.

As for the China-EU summit, the first between Chinese and EU leaders since the Lisbon Treaty took effect, Fu Ying said China hopes the summit will be a new starting point for China-EU relations.

"The focus of the meeting is the future direction of China-EU relations from the strategic perspective. We will have an in-depth exchange of views on some issues of common concern. Secondly, we will draw plans for Sino-EU cooperation in the next phase, reorganizing the dialogue mechanism. Thirdly, we will exchange views on some global issues, including the G20 Summit and the climate change conference in Cancun."

Feng Zhongping, a scholar with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, says in addition to economic and trade cooperation, China and Europe could step up cooperation in global governance.

"The root issue of global governance is strengthening coordination between world powers. One of the important issues concerning the coordination is how to develop new rules. As a globally influential bloc and a great power respectively, Europe and China have much room for cooperation."

According to the Foreign Ministry, China will sign some new deals and documents with related countries during the Premier's visit.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Jianfu.

Launch of Chang'e-2 Lays Foundation for Future Moon Landing

Among the many important missions that China's successfully launched Chang'e-2 lunar probe carries, a vital task is to lay the foundation for future moon landing vehicles. Our reporter Wang Jing has more.

Reporter: The satellite bears a vital mission that will pave the way for Chang'e 3, the probe that is scheduled to land on the moon surface in 2013.

Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's Lunar Probe Project says that as an early guiding satellite, Chang'e 2 has the task of conducting various tests, including landing tests.

"First, Chang'e 2 will send the satellite directly into the earth-moon transfer orbit by using a carrier rocket. Second, the change from an elliptical orbit to a round orbit with a perigee of 15 kilometers will be tested. Third, a high definition imaging experiment for the pre-selected landing area of the Chang'e-3 will be carried out."

Chang'e 2 was initially built as the back-up for the Chang'e 1. Rather than mothballing the spare spacecraft, it was used to examine the moon much more clearly.

Morris Jones, an Australian Space Analyst, says the accurate mapping of Chang'e 2 will be a great help for future moon landing missions.

"Chang'e 2's mission is very important for Chang'e 3 and all the other Chinese missions that will land on the moon. Because Chang'e 2 is making very accurate maps of the landing sites, it would be taking photographs and looking for hazardous objects, like large boulders, that could damage the lander as it tries to touch down. If you do not know whether or not the landing zone is safe, you cannot have a successful mission with Chang'e 3."

In addition, Dr. Jones says China's aerospace development has shown to be very stable.

"China has a very good space program and it moves ahead steadily without falling. The American space program is different. It starts then it stops, sometimes it seems to move backward. China's program is not as developed as America's, but it always moves forward."

Xiao Zuo, professor at the School of Earth and Space Science of Peking University says developing space is a good way to show a nation's ability.

"I think actually the space science is the power of the whole country for its national defense, economy and social development. In not a long time, less than ten years, we developed our Moon Exploration, actually this is the first step of China to get into deep space."

He admits that although human beings have devoted years of effort in space science, there are still a lot of problems that we are facing in moon exploration, many issues that are still beyond our ability to solve.

The nation's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, was named after China's mythical Moon Goddess. It was launched on October 24, 2007, and its 16-month mission ended on March 1, 2009, when it crashed into the moon's surface.

For CRI, I am Wang Jing.

Red Cross Officials from Two Koreas Agree to Hold Family Reunions

Red Cross officials from the South and North Korea agree to hold reunions for families separated by the Korean War.

Kim Eyi-do is a South Korean Red Cross delegate.

"We decided to hold cross-border reunions of families from October 30 to November 5 at Mountain Kumgang Seoul-financed reunion centre and the North's Mountain Kumgang Hotel."

One hundred families from each country will attend the meetings.

The two Koreas also agreed to another round of Red Cross talks in the North's border city of Kaesong on October 26 and 27 to discuss ways to hold reunions regularly as well as other unspecified humanitarian issues.

Millions of families were separated following the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a cease-fire.

There are no mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges between ordinary citizens across the heavily fortified border.

So far, nearly 21,000 separated families have been reunited through brief face-to-face meetings or by video following a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000.

US Mid-East Envoy Shuttles Between Jerusalem and Ramallah

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has shuttled between Jerusalem and Ramallah in an effort to salvage peace talks facing a meltdown because of a serious rupture over Israeli settlements.

Mitchell was meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are at loggerheads over the end of a temporary settlement slowdown by Israel.

The US is pressing Israel to extend the settlement freeze, which expired this week 10 months after it went into effect.

But Netanyahu has said he will not continue the restrictions. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he will quit the talks if they are not extended.

Following talks with Abbas in Ramallah, Mitchell said both parties had agreed to continue discussions.

"Both the president and the prime minister have agreed that we will continue our discussions ongoing in an effort to move forward in this process towards what we all share as a common goal: the establishment of comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including of course an Israeli-Palestinian agreement that provides security and prosperity for both people through a two-state solution."

Abbas is expected to make his final decision at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers next week in Cairo.

U.S. Officials Apologize for Unearthed Experiment in Guatemala

U.S. officials apologize for revelations that prisoners and patients in a mental hospital in Guatemala were deliberately infected with syphilis 60 years ago by American scientists.

The U.S. government-funded experiment, which ran from 1946 to 1948, was discovered by a Wellesley College medical historian.

It was conducted to test whether penicillin, then a relatively new medicine, could prevent infection with sexually transmitted diseases.

The study came up with no useful information and was hidden for decades.

Two members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet apologised to the Guatemalan government for the tests, and the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said that the medical experimentation was "shocking, tragic, and reprehensible."

"This is tragic and the United States by all means apologises to all those that were impacted by this."

Later on Friday Obama telephoned Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom to apologize personally.

Colom said he considered these act to be crimes against humanity and raised the possibility of a law suit by the Guatemalan government.

In Guatemala, nearly 700 men and women were exposed to syphilis or in some cases gonorrhea, through jail visits.

Those who were infected were offered penicillin, but it was not clear how many were infected and how many were treated successfully.

Final Preparations for General Election Underway Throughout Brazil

Final preparations are well underway throughout Brazil, as the country prepares to vote for the successor of president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Regional Electoral Tribunals or TRE said most voting materials and electronic voting machines would be distributed to thousands of schools and centres, where Brazilians will vote on Sunday.

Sao Paulo TRE judge Marco Antonio Martin said his district is prepared to receive the voters in South America's largest city and officials are prepared for any contingency.

"We hope that all registered voters will participate, that they will vote and fulfill their civil duty without any major incident. Obviously, we at the judicial authority are prepared to control any incident which may corrupt the electoral process especially any form of fraud, like campaigning for the candidates at the polls, which is illegal in Brazil."

The latest polls indicate that ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff is on the cusp of winning a majority of ballots and taking the presidency in a first-round vote.

Rousseff has been campaigning with popular president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for months and is expected to continue with many of the social policies that have made Lula so popular throughout the country.

2 Millionth Visitor to Montenegro Pavilion Wins Free Trip

Now let's take a look at the ongoing Shanghai Expo.

Located in Southeastern Europe, the Montenegrin Republic remains a little-known country to most Chinese people. After gaining independence in 2006, the "world's youngest country" is bringing its new look to the Expo in Shanghai and awarding free trips to lucky Chinese visitors.

Zhao Kun has more.

Reporter: A few minutes ago, Expo visitor Yao Weifang from the neighboring city of Ningbo had no idea what the faraway country of Montenegro had to do with her life. The 26-year-old dropped by the Montenegro Pavilion and was told she was the two-millionth visitor and had won an all expenses paid trip to the country.

"I was struck dumb with surprise when I got the news. I really had no idea what had happened. Now as I've already calmed down, I still feel quite excited."

Along with her for the journey is Huang Jiali, from Guangdong Province, the one-millionth visitor to the pavilion.

This month, they will both fly off on a seven-day trip to this beautiful mountainous country.

Branko Perovic is Montenegro's ambassador to China. He hopes the trip will be just the beginning of a wave of Chinese tourism to his country.

"Not so many Chinese people know about Montenegro or our national image. We do believe these two nice Chinese ladies will be our new ambassadors in this lovely country. They will help us in many actions promoting our tourism, our wine and many of our other actives."

The number of outbound tourists from China was nearly 48 million in 2009, and this year it's expected to hit 52 million. The World Tourism Organization estimates that China will have the world's largest number of outbound tourists by 2018.

As a newly-established country, Montenegro would also like a share of this huge tourism market.

"China should be the target market for each European country just because the figure of outbound tourists is so impressive that every country should take (this market) into consideration. We have obviously many European tourists coming in because it's much closer. But we do believe in coming years Chinese tourists moving around Europe will stop over to see our beautiful country."

As the Expo 2010 Shanghai approaches its finale, a string of participating countries, such as Finland, Canada and Indonesia, have awarded free trips or gifts to their millionth visitors, aiming to boost local tourism.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Kun in Shanghai.

Expo Exposed: Shanghai Expo's Secret Party Scene Revealed

Normal operating hours of the Shanghai Expo are from 9:30am 10:30pm. But if you thought that's when the excitement stops you'd be wrong, very wrong. In fact this is just when some of the best entertainment starts. Our Dominic Swire brings us this exclusive glimpse into the secret party scene behind the closed doors of the Expo.

Report: With thousands of foreign employees working and living together on the Expo site, many of them young party goers, the emergence of a thriving social scene is hardly a surprise. What may be, however, is the sheer number of Expo events held behind closed doors and the way in which they're publicized amongst those in the know.

"We have 450 staff in the Australian pavilion. About 200 of those are in the main young people from Australia."

Peter Sams is Pavilion Director and Deputy Commissioner-General for Australia at the Shanghai Expo. Speaking in the midst of a huge party hosted by the Australian pavilion, he explains the importance of socializing at such events.

"Young people, strangely, enjoy nightlife; and, of course it's important for them to have fun and interact with other pavilions. The best experiences that they have come from the interacting with other people from around the world. That's a legacy of Expo that's often not spoken about. The connections and friendships and sometimes relationships that are build between countries through people working at the Expo. It's a really nice thesis."

The Australian party is just one of numerous afterhours parties held for those working at the Expo once visitors have left the grounds. In fact there are so many of these parties that a couple of enterprising officials from the Lithuanian pavilion took it upon themselves to launch the website exponights.com. This provides a live update of all the unofficial social events happening at the Expo.

"In the beginning, I really love parties, myself."

Aivaras Kriauciunas is Deputy Commissioner General for the Lithuanian pavilion, and one of the creators of the site.

"In the beginning it was like this. Everyone figured out because I love parties I know where the parties are. So they started calling me every night asking, 'Aivaras, where's the party tonight?' I was really tired of answering the phone, so I just made the website."

Kriauciunas says the first few parties were initially organized by Lithuania, Malta and Angola. But soon after many other pavilions started picking up on the idea. Now not one week goes by without a handful of afterhours festivities.

"This coming Friday, if I'm not mistaken, they'll be four parties. Four parties, one night!"

Paulius Staniunas, also from the Lithuanian pavilion, is the one who updates the site. He explains what's special about the Expo parties.

"Why they good? Because people know how to party. Imagine this: in the Expo, people are collected from all around the world in here, the best people. Because each country wants to represent themselves in the best way they can. The best pavilion, the best equipment, the best staff. The best people from all over the world gather in one place. So definitely they know how to party and that's what makes these parties so good."

Undoubtedly the Expo is primarily focused on catering towards the tens of millions of Chinese visiting the site; but there are also thousands of foreign staff having a jolly good time, too.

For China Radio International at the Shanghai Expo, I'm Dominic Swire.

China Daily: Taxi Cams, Privacy and Obligations

The decision of the municipal government of Wuhu, Anhui province, to install video cameras inside the city's taxis to prevent possible crimes against cab drivers has triggered a wave of debates in the Chinese media.

While the majority of the public support the decision, a good number of people, especially some experts and media, have voiced concern over infringements of a citizen's right to privacy.

An editorial in China's leading English newspaper, the China Daily, says although such concerns are understandable, it disagrees with the misleading comment that taxi drivers' safety comes at the cost of passenger's privacy.

Some media has argued that since the passenger pays for the use of the cab, what he does inside should be shielded from watching eyes.

Yet, the paper points out that what a passenger buys in a taxi ride is only a service of getting him or her to a destination instead of the use of the cab or its inner space. Therefore, a passenger's conduct inside a taxi doesn't warrant privacy.

The China Daily also notes that any society consists of both rights and obligations on the part of its citizens.

Besides, surveillance equipment in public places has played an important role in cracking down on crime.

The editorial appeals in conclusion that our media and experts should promote the idea of citizens' obligation to help maintain a safe and orderly society at the same time as encouraging people to maintain their privacy.

Beijing Youth Daily: Urbanisation Behind Expensive Vege

The ever-rising cost of vegetables has been causing much public concern in China.

One of the main causes of the price rises is the dwindling supply of locally produced vegetables. Statistics show most cities provide less than 30 percent of the vegetables consumed by its local residents.

The Beijing Youth Daily points the finger at real estate, which has been encroaching on previously arable land for more than a decade.

Furthermore, when vegetables, a daily necessity, need to be transported a long way to most cities, it is not just a waste of money in terms of fuel and manpower, it also exerts great pressure on traffic.

The paper also points out that imbalanced urbanization is to be blamed. It seems city planners seldom give enough thought to how urban life can be made easier, cheaper or more sustainable. The bigger and more luxurious the better seems to be the credo.

In conclusion the Beijing Youth Daily says from the perspective of vegetable supply it can be seen that we still have a long way to go to reach a truly sustainable society.