CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-01-22

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

In This Edition

China's stable and clean energy supply contributes to the country's continued economic development efficiently 1.

U.S. President Barack Obama proposes new regulations to cut back on the size and the investment risks of American mega-banks.

A top Chinese official says Google's threat to pull out of China should not affect ties with the United States.

And SUVs are hotter in China, as sales hike dramatically in the Chinese markets.

Hot Issue Reports

China's Energy Sector 2 Continures to Grow

China's stable and clean energy supply system is running efficiently and has contributed greatly to the country's continued economic development.

After a steady recovery last year, the country's energy output is expected to continue to grow this year.

Brazil Holds Memorial Services for UN Staff Killed in Quake Zone

Brazil held memorials on Thursday for a top UN official and 18 soldiers killed in the Haitian earthquake.

During a brief speech, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva mentioned each soldier by name and thanked them for their service as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim led a service at the UN's Brazil headquarters in Rio de Janeiro for Luiz Carlos da Costa, the deputy chief of the UN mission in Haiti.

Amorim said Brazil's commitment towards Haiti would remain and gain more strength.

"I believe it is our obligation now, more than ever, to honor the memory of those who lost their lives. We can't allow their deaths to be in vain, we must continue with our reconstruction 4 efforts there."

Earlier on Thursday, Braizlian leaders discussed a proposal allowing Brazil to donate roughly 200 million US dollars in reconstruction and medical aid to Haiti.

32 Haitian Orphans 5 Head for New Life in France

Thirty-two Haitian orphans are heading to France for a new life.

All had been adopted by foreigners before the devastating 6 7.0-scale earthquake on last week, which authorities estimate that had killed up to 200-thousand people.

The orphans were gathered at Port-au-Prince's French Lycee before leaving for the airport in a bus.

Didier Lebret, France's ambassador to Haiti, said the orphanages 7 in Haiti "were running out of food."

"We did try to work closely with the World Food Program. They have been trying to bring necessary items for those kids, so they are covered. But we don't know how long they will manage to cope with this situation."

It was forecast that the devastating earthquake might have left thousands of children orphaned 8.

But experts have been quick to warn against taking the newly orphaned children out of Haiti or rushing adoption 9 procedures.

The United Nations Children's Fund said it is working to reunite quake orphans with family members and prevent them from being abused and exploited.

Obama Calls for New Limits on Banks

U.S. President Barack Obama is proposing new regulations to cut back on the size and the investment risks of American mega-banks.

The proposals will prevent banks or financial institutions that own banks from investing in, owning or sponsoring a hedge fund or private equity 10 fund.

"We have to enact 11 commonsense 12 reforms that will protect American taxpayers 13 - and the American economy - from future crises as well. For while the financial system is far stronger today than it was one year ago, it's still operating under the same rules that led to its near collapse 14."

They will also set a new limit on a banks' size in relation to the overall financial sector that would take into account deposits, liabilities and other non-deposit funding sources.

The new proposal has sent shares of major financial institutions including Citigroup and Bank of America plummeting 15 Thursday.

Economists 16 say big banks under new rules may have a limited ability to court new customers aggressively because they will not be able to cover better pricing on the retail 17 side with as much revenue from trading.

Israel to Move Ahead on Border Fence with Egypt

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would ask his cabinet to move ahead on a planned border fence along part of Israel's 250-kilometer frontier with Egypt, aimed to prevent the entry of illegal migrants.

Netanyahu, who toured part of the Egyptian border area, said migrants were changing Israel's "Jewish and democratic character."

"There is a danger here of a very significant rise in the number of infiltrators into the state of Israel—illegal workers and other aspects—and that must be stopped. We will close this border. It is possible and it is about to happen."

The structure will come in addition to a massive fence surrounding the Gaza Strip, as well as a separation barrier that snakes along parts of Israel's more than 680-kilometer frontier with the West Bank.

The military began planning the fence in 2005 after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, fearing that militants 18 would freely travel to Egypt and sneak 19 into Israel.

However, UN officials and human rights workers estimated some 17-thousand to 19-thousand people have entered Israel through the southern border since 2005.

Most of them are from Eritrea, Sudan and other war-torn African countries.

Google's Retreat Should Not Affect Sino-US Ties

A top Chinese official said on Thursday Google's threat to pull out of China should not affect ties with the United States.

The comment from Vice 3 Foreign Minister He Yafei came just hours before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech in Washington on internet freedom and its place in U.S. foreign policy.

"Google should take suitable legal action to solve the problems it has encountered. The Chinese government is willing to offer help. I think it's improper 20 to relate Google's retreat from China to Sino-US relations. "

He also said censorship is a concern for the nation's security and is a normal practice for any government. Saying if companies don't agree with it, they can seek legal action to defend themselves.

The international search giant said on January 12 that it will remain in China only if the government relents on rules requiring the censorship of content that is considered subversive 21.

Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry 22 said that internet in the country was open and the search giant must obey China's laws and traditions, suggesting it was giving no ground in talks with the company.

Light News

SUVs Becoming Popular in China

As SUV sales plunge 23 in the Western market, they are currently comparatively hotter among Chinese.

In order to cope with customer demands on oil efficiency, many automakers are turning their SUVs into 'greener' models without sacrificing power or speed.

Deputy Mayor: Vancouver is Ready for the Olympics

The 21st Winter Olympics will begin on February 12th in Vancouver, Canada. But ever since its successful Olympics bid in 2003, the green and vibrant 25 city has been beset 26 by project delays, anti-Olympics protests and problems in some of its more infamous 27 neighborhoods. Now with only three weeks to go before the start of the Games, is this alluring 28 North American metropolis 29 ready for the coming event?

GM's Opel Unit to Shut down Antwerp Plant

General Motor's Opel unit has decided 30 to cut 8,300 jobs across Europe, and close a plant in Antwerp, Belgium because of a shrinking European auto 24 market.

Opel president Nick Reilly said on Thursday that the Antwerp plant had to go based on strategic consideration.

"We are announcing today the intent to wind down the plant in Antwerp. The intent to do this is certainly not based on the performance of the plant or its work force. It's based on economics and the distribution of our products."

The shutdown will cause the loss of more than 2,600 jobs at the plant.

Reilly added that Antwerp would be the only Opel plant in Europe to shut down, but warned that none of the company's German factories would escape "substantial" job cuts.

Tight Net for Drug Cheats at Winter Olympics

The lab where Olympic officials plan to conduct 2,000 urine and blood tests on athletes in February's Vancouver Olympics has been officially certified 31.

More than 30 technicians will staff the lab and drivers will deliver samples from the venues 32 to the lab's refrigeration unit for processing.

The lab will be led by Dr. Christiane Ayotte, who is the director of the Canadian national institute of scientific research.

"The test results should be given to the IOC within 24 hours. The procedures would be done at the time of the competition, therefore shall there be any sanction given and medal withdrawal 33 the athlete to which the medal would be awarded could have a chance of getting it during Game time."

Samples will also be saved for eight years for possible retroactive testing. It was the case when the IOC retested samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and caught five athletes for using drugs.

Drug-testing at the Winter Olympics began in 1968 in Grenoble, with just 86 tests.

The number has gradually increased, with the figure reaching 700 tests in Salt Lake City in 2002 and 1,200 in Turin.

Media Digest

Beijing News: Consumer Price Index Needs Modification 34

The National Bureau of Statistics has released a report stating that the country's Consumer Price Index, or CPI fell 0.7 percent in 2009 and was up again in November by 0.6 percent from a year earlier.

An editorial in the Beijing News casts doubts on the reliability 35 of the CPI figures. It says apparently 36 the public is overwhelmed by the price hikes in some commodities. It says the criteria 37 of CPI calculations stays the same as it was thirty years ago and fails to serve as a barometer 38 of inflation. Actually, it needs frequent modifications 39 in accordance with actual conditions to give a clearer and real-time picture of general living costs and financial pressures.

Meanwhile, a commentary in Rednet.cn says in line with international practices, China's CPI excludes housing since housing is a form of investment, not consumption. However, the situation varies from country to country. In China, most people struggle to live in their own homes and owning an apartment is a necessity. Housing costs have occupied an increasingly bigger share of income in China. In this circumstance, it's unreasonable 40 to exclude housing prices from Consumer Price Index.

Both articles indicate that the government fails to get a true reading on inflation if the CPI calculating system is not revised. That will block off the government from the realities of the people's everyday living conditions.

China Daily: Chinese Soccer Needs Overhaul 41

Police have confirmed that three Chinese Football Association or CFA officials have been taken in for questioning amid a deepening probe into fraud and gambling 42 in professional soccer games.

A comment in the China Daily says that Chinese soccer has no future without a through overhaul of the management system, and in that sense, the CFA is the logical starting point of the clean-up.

The article says it is an open secret that the chaos 43 in Chinese soccer is not a matter of one rotten egg spoiling the whole pudding. So extending the probe to the highest level is a welcome development.

It says to transform Chinese soccer, the key is to make clear what has gone wrong and who is responsible for the corruption 44.

The article says offenders 45 and abusers must pay. But the revival 46 of Chinese soccer entails 47 more than that. That professional soccer in China has degenerated 48 into a lawless realm is not just down to personal gain. It is also rooted in the management system.