CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-02-06

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

In This Edition

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi urges the international community to stay patient and step up diplomatic efforts to seek solutions to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Pakistan says it welcomes India's offer to resume bilateral 1 talks, 15 months after the Mumbai attacks.

Severe drought leaves millions of people and animals without drinking water in Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous 2 Region.

And China promulgates 3 judicial 4 interpretation 5 on internet pornography to ensure healthy development of the country's internet.

Hot Issue Reports

China Files WTO Complaints over EU Tariff 6

The simmering dispute between Brussels and Beijing over anti-dumping duties on Chinese footwear in Europe has heated up again, with China issuing a complaint to the World Trade Organization, demanding further justification 7. A Chinese economist 8 suggests that trade disputes like this are going to continue to fester.

2010 Could be Stormy Year for China-EU Relations

It's been described as one of the most important international partnerships 9 in the world, and one that some say is about to undergo considerable change. China's relations with the EU appears destined 10 for changes this year as Brussels continues to transform the way it operates as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force at the end of last year. CRI's Dominic Swire looks into what this could mean for China-EU ties over the course of the year.

Chinese FM Stresses Diplomacy 11, Patience on Iran Nuclear Issue

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi urges the international community to stay patient and step up diplomatic efforts to seek solutions to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Addressing the 46th Munich Security Conference in Munich, the Chinese foreign minister said that the Iranian nuclear issue "has entered a crucial stage."

"The parties concerned should, with the overall and long-term interest in mind, step up diplomatic efforts, stay patient, and adopt a more flexible, pragmatic and pro-active policy. The purpose is to seek a comprehensive, long-term and proper solution, through dialogue and negotiations 12, and uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the Middle East."

He pledged that China will make concerted efforts with the international community and play a constructive 13 role in settling this issue.

The Chinese foreign minister said that it is the wrong time to talk about imposing 14 more sanctions on Iran because Tehran appears open to dialogue.

The West has accused Iran of using its nuclear program to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied the charge adamantly 15, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The Munich Security Conference of top diplomats 16 and defense 17 officials opened Friday afternoon. It was the first appearance by a Chinese foreign minister in the conference's 46-year history.

Pakistan FM welcomes India's offer to resume talks after Mumbai attacks

Pakistan is welcoming India's offer to resume bilateral talks, nearly 15 months after the Mumbai attacks.

Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters in Islamabad that Pakistan believes it can resolve bilateral disputes with India through discussions.

"Pakistan has always believed that it is only through genuine and meaningful talks that Pakistan and India can resolve their bilateral disputes, including the long-simmering Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the water issues. From our perspective, talks should be all-encompassing and result-oriented. We will, therefore, welcome resumption of the Composite Dialogue."

India and Pakistan launched broad-based talks in 2004, aimed at resolving several disputes between the two nations, including tensions over Kashmir.

India put the peace process on hold soon after the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 that left 166 people dead.

Light News

Severe Drought Affecting Hechi City, Guangxi

Severe drought is leaving millions of people and animals without drinking water in Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

So far, the worst drought in 50 years has affected 18 more than a million hectares of crops, resulting in direct economic losses of more than 3.5 billion yuan.

A villager from Guangxi's Hechi city says they don't have enough water to use because there's not enough water being stored in the local reservoir.

"We have run short of water from August of last year. All the water we are using is carried back by the town government."

As of now, the drought has affected more than 140 districts in Hechi city, causing a loss of over 100 million yuan.

Wei Chunxia is the director of Hechi metrological observatory 19.

"Since August 2009, precipitation in Hechi city is low. It dropped over 60 percent and the space-time location of the precipitation is not well balanced. It caused the severe drought from summer to winter. "

The city government is now adjusting the structure of water consumption in the city and is investing in drought-control equipment.

Latest Judicial Interpretation on Internet Porn to Ensure Healthy Development of Internet Industry

The latest criteria 20 for imposing penalties for internet pornography, which have been jointly 21 released by China's Supreme 22 Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, are now in effect. The criterion applies to pornographic information spread via the internet, mobile telecommunication 23 tools and information service centers.

Private Hospitals Join in Chinese Healthcare Reforms

China has taken another step towards the goal of a more "public" healthcare system. The State Council has decided 24 to pilot a series of measures, including freeing public hospitals from over-relying on prescription 25 profits and emphasizing primary care, all in an effort to boost stalled medicare reforms.And this time the usually marginalized private hospitals have been included in the scheme.

Sichuan Prepared for Panda Return

Two American-born giant pandas, Tai Shan and Mei Lan have now been back home to Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The two pandas arrived at Shuangliu International Airport in the provincial 26 capital Chengdu this afternoon.

Tai Shan and Mei Lan will live separately in China's top two panda research centers, the Wolong nature reserve and the Chengdu research base of giant panda breeding.

They will be quarantined in a special zone for a month before moving into new homes.

Tai Shan's new home is 30 square meters, with a backyard of one thousands square meters for him to play around. Dr. Tang Chunxiang is from the Panda Research enter.

"This is a large open space, the biggest in our center. Tai Shan will be accompanied by a number of friends of similar age."

A swimming pool and a table have been set up for Mei Lan. Deng Tao will be her keeper.

"We have sterilized 27 Mei Lan's room and playing ground. We also prepared her favorite food bamboo, including some specially 28 prepared buns for pandas."

Tai Shan, a 4.5-year-old male panda, was born at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

3-year old Mei Lan has been living at the Atlanta Zoo.

Newspaper Picks

From the USA Today: Gravel 29 roads, once a symbol of quaint 30 times, are emerging as a sign of financial struggle in a growing number of rural towns in the United States.

High costs and tight budgets have prompted communities in Maine, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont to convert or consider converting their cracked asphalt roads back to gravel to cut maintenance costs.

According to an expert with Penn State University, new technology allows asphalt to be recycled into a durable 31 gravel-like surface that is cheaper to maintain and adequately prevents potholes 32 and mud.

Meantime, in a similar story from the Denver Post: The tax-averse city of Colorado Springs in the US-state of Colorado is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash 33 services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric 34.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

The deep recession bit into Colorado Springs sales-tax collections, while pension and health care costs for city employees continued to soar. Despite this, Voters in November said an emphatic 35 no to a tripling of property tax that would have restored $27.6 million to the city's $212 million general fund budget, which would have kept the public services going.

From the Daily Telegraph in the UK: The use of pig lungs in human transplants appears to be coming a lot closer, thanks to a new medical breakthrough.

Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, used a ventilator and pump to keep the animal lungs alive and "breathing" while human blood flowed in them.

Experts estimated the work could lead to the first animal-human transplants wi

The breakthrough came after scientists were able to remove a section of pig DNA 36, which had made the pig organs incompatible 37 with human blood.

From the Boston Globe: A New Yorker faces a $135 traffic fine for using a mannequin as her "plus one" in the high-occupancy vehicle lane of the Long Island Expressway.

An alert sheriff's deputy on Long Island became suspicious this week when he saw the "passenger" wearing sunglasses and using the visor. The problem: The sky was overcast 38.

When he stopped the vehicle, he found the mannequin, fully 39 dressed with a long dark wig 40, blazer, shirt and scarf.