CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-02-28

Broadcasting Time: 07:00-08:00, GMT+08:00, 2010-02-28

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In This Edition

A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage strikes central Chile, shaking the capital for a minute and a half and setting off a tsunami 1.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Washington is encouraged by signs North Korea could return to stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations 2.

Thailand's Supreme 3 court rules to seize 1.4 billion U.S. dollars worth of assets of Thai ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

And participating countries at a UN environment forum 5 held in Indonesia pledge to step up global response to the major environmental challenges.

Hot Issue Reports

Some 150 Killed in Chile's 8.8-Degree Eaarthquake

Chile has been struck by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, killing 6 at least 147 people.

Meanwhile, a tsunami set off by the 8.8-magnitudequake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean, roughly a quarter of the globe.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has declared a "state of catastrophe 7" in central Chile, calling for "calm and also for solidarity 8".

"Just to say that people here have been working and resolving problems - both problems connected to basic services, as one of the basic problems about communicating here is that there is no light, no water, there is little petrol, people are working as hard as they can, but there is a problem with hospital - hospitals have been seriously affected 9."

In Chilean capital of Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged.

Santiago's airport will remain closed for at least 24 hours, as the passenger terminal suffered major damage.

Experts warned that a tsunami could strike anywhere in the Pacific, and Hawaii could face its largest waves in nearly half a century.

The first wave has reached New Zealand. The US West Coast and Alaska were also threatened.

Powerful aftershocks rattled 10 Chile's coast. The US Geological Survey reported that 24 of them magnitude 5 or greater and one reaching magnitude 6.9.

Chile is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it is situated 11 on the Pacific "Rim 4 of Fire," on the edge of the Pacific and South American plates.

The South American country suffered the biggest earthquake of the 20th century when a 9.5 magnitude quake struck the city of Valdivia in 1960, killing over 1,600 people.

Chinese President Offers Condolences to Chile over Earthquake

Chinese President Hu Jintao has sent a message of condolence to his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet over the casualties and property losses caused by the powerful earthquake that struck Chile.

He extended sincere condolences to Bachelet, the Chilean people and government as well as deep sympathies to the earthquake victims.

Hu Jintao says China is ready to offer emergency relief assistant to Chile to help those affected by the earthquake through their difficulties.

Hu says he is confident that Chile will be able to overcome the catastrophe and reconstruct its homeland.

Meanwhile, CRI's South America correspondent learned from the Chinese Embassy in Chile that so far there is no report of casulties among the 10-thousand Chinese people living in the country.

The international community has responded quickly to the earthquake by offering sympathy and promise of aid.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed condolences for the victims, saying the UN is ready to provide immediate 12 assistance.

In Washington, the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the United States is monitoring situation in quake-stricken Chile, and is ready to provide assistance.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez says her country is ready provide "all the needed aid" to Chile.

In Brussels, Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner 13 for International Cooperation, Humanitarian 14 Aid and Crisis Response, says the commission is assessing the situation and stands ready to coordinate 15 European efforts "should that be required."

Hilary Clinton Encouraged by N. Korea Signs of Return to Negotiations

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Washington is encouraged by signs North Korea could return to stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations.

"Ultimately, it's up to the North Koreans, but we are encouraged by signs of progress to return to the talks that we are seeing."

Clinton told reporters after meeting with the visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan that two senior U.S. envoys 16 now visiting Asia have been "quite heartened by the movement that we see" in efforts to restart the six-party negotiations.

Clinton, in her brief comments, provided no specific details about what encouraging signs she had seen.

Her spokesman, P.J. Crowley, later said that consultations 17 between the North and the other negotiating countries - Russia, South Korea, the United States, Japan and China - indicate North Korea may be getting close to making a decision meaning that talks could begin in the next few weeks or months.

Thailand's Court Rules to Confiscate 18 Thaksin's Frozen Assets

Thailand's Supreme court has ruled that 1.4 billion U.S. dollars of Thai ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's frozen assets will be confiscated 19.

The verdict said these assets are confiscated because they were gained through malpractice during Thaksin's premiership.

Responding to this outcome via a video link, Thaksin, living in exile, said he will accept the verdict but claimed the court ruling is "unjust".

"I knew yesterday that this would happen, but I just wanted to know how it would happen. When the verdict came out, I thought to myself, when I was prime minister and helped improve the economy, no one gave me any money."

Singtong Ruachoon is Thaksin's Legal Advisor 20.

"We will appeal against the court ruling and gather new evidence within 30 days from today's verdict."

The verdict ended the frozen assets case that began after Thaksin was ousted 21 in 2006 by a military coup 22.

After the coup, the military-regime-appointed Assets Examination Committee ordered a freeze on the domestic bank accounts held by Thaksin and his wife, claiming Thaksin had become unusually wealthy while in office.

The court in 2008 sentenced him in absentia to two-year imprisonment 23 under the charge of conflict of interests.

Turkey Detains 18 More Military Officers over Alleged 24 Coup Plot

Turkish police has detained 18 more officers in an ongoing 25 probe over an alleged 2003 coup plot to topple the ruling government.

All the officers were on active duty but one. They were detained in 13 different provinces, and would be transferred to Istanbul for interrogation.

Around 50 active-duty and retired 26 military officers were detained on Monday. 31 were charged later in the week with plotting to overthrow 27 the government.

Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed 28 to put everyone who conspired 29 against the country's democracy on trial.

"Those conspiring 30 behind closed doors to trample 31 on the nation's will from now on will find themselves facing justice."

The investigation 32 followed a report in daily Taraf alleging 33 the existence of a plan, which the daily said aimed to trigger a military takeover by creating chaos 34 through mosque 35 bombings and assassinations 36 of non-Muslim figures.

However, the Turkish Armed Forces has staunchly rejected the accusations 37, claiming that the alleged plan was a war-game scenario 38 created to train the military.

An Istanbul court has ordered release of ex-chiefs of Navy and Air Forces and an army commander without pressing any charges.

Palestinians Clash with Israeli Troops at Protest over National Heritage Site

Palestinians have clashed with Israeli soldiers in the west bank town of Hebron, during a protest over Israel's plans to include historical sites located in the West Bank to its heritage list.

Earlier this week, Israel declared that it would add the town's Cave of Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb in nearby Bethlehem to its list of national heritage sites.

Israel's decision has raised condemns 39 all over the Arab world, especially among the Palestinian people living in the West Bank.

In a move seen as a challenge to the Israeli decision, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad attended prayers at Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs.

"The political dimension of this decision as our people understood it, as I understand it, its effectively to consider precisely 40 where we are standing 41 now, a few meters from the al-Ibrahimi mosque as part of the state of Israel - it isn't. Our people are unified 42 in saying no to that."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also warned that the region could plunge 43 into a "religious war" over the decision.

Meanwhile, the Organisation 44 of Islamic Conference has strongly condemned 45 the Israeli government's decision, calling it illegal and an attempt "to trigger religious confrontation 46."

Light News

Court Blocks Referendum that Could Have Allowed Uribe to Seek 3rd Term

Colombia's Constitutional Court has shut the door on President Alvaro Uribe's aspirations 47 for a third straight term, ruling unconstitutional a law that would have let voters decide in a referendum whether he could run again.

The high court's 7-2 decision is not subject to appeal.

Mauricio Gonzalez, president of Colombia's Constitutional Court, announced the decision on Friday.

"The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Colombia, administering justice in the name of the people and by the mandate 48 of the constitution, resolves to declare unconstitutional in its entirety 2009's law 1354, which called for a constitutional referendum for the people to decide on a constitutional reform bill."

Uribe is hugely popular for weakening leftist rebels, but he has also been criticized by human rights activists 49 for allying himself with politicians who collaborated 50 closely with far-right death squads 51.

First elected in 2002, 57-year-old Uribe won re-election four years later after allies in Congress pushed through a law amending 52 the constitution so he could run again.

The court's decision leaves a wide-open race for those who would succeed Uribe when his term ends on August 7.

Genocide Case Opens Against Bosnian Serb General

United Nations prosecutors 54 have opened the genocide trial of a senior Bosnian Serb army general, accusing him of supervising the execution and burial of thousands of Muslims during the Bosnian war.

General Zdravko Tolimir, 61, is one of the most senior officers to be tried by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Prosecutor 53 Nelson Thayer said Tolimir was instrumental in carrying out the 1995 massacres 55 in the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves, where about 8-thousand Muslim men and boys were killed.

"He assisted, supervised and authorised the organised detention 56, execution and burial of thousands of Muslim men and boys following the elimination 57 by that common plan of the Srebrenica enclave."

Thayer said the prosecutor would bring witnesses, radio intercepts 58, audio and videotapes and forensic 59 evidence to prove that Tolimir was "knee deep" in the carnage.

Tolimir's trial began just as the tribunal's biggest case was due to resume.

On Monday, the wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic, will begin a two-day defence statement in his own genocide trial.

Karadzic's trial opened last October but was suspended in early November when Karadzic boycotted 60 the hearings, claiming he was denied enough time to prepare his defence.

UN Climate Forum Concluded in Indonesia, Pledging to Step up Global Response on Climate Change

Participating countries at a UN environment forum held in Indonesia have pledged to step up global response to the major environmental challenges of this generation.

The just concluded meeting underlined the vital importance of biodiversity, the urgent need to combat climate change and the key opportunities from accelerating a transition to low carbon resources efficient green economy.

It said the Earth is confronted with environmental change and crisis related to food, desertification and land degradation 61.

However, it said the current environmental challenges also represent opportunity.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Program, said the concept of green economy managed to turn threat on environment to be opportunities.

"This concept of the 'green economy' has become the most exciting concept for north and south, for small and large economies, to rethink the longer term future and transition towards a different economic model and also a different economy."

UNEP's Head of Green Economy Initiative, Pavan Sukhdev, also said that the environmental-friendly concept has objectives as engine of growth, creating decent employment and solution of poverty.

The UNEP data showed that renewable energy generates more jobs in fossil fuel. Globally, some 300,000 people are employed in wind power and at least 170,000 in solar one.

While in food and agriculture, sales of organic food globally have surpassed 100 billion dollars with great potential for green jobs growth.

Health Worries in Haiti as Rainy Season Begins

The rainy season in Haiti which is just a few weeks away is expected to bring further health problems to the makeshift camps in capital Port-au-Prince where more than 500-thousand people are sheltering.

Canadian doctor Saleem Kassam says that current challenges will be magnified once the rain arrives.

"With the rainy season coming, these problems are going to be compounded, and magnified, as people will seek shelter indoors more and more, and drinking water sources will get contaminated."

A heavy rainfall hit the capital Friday night and forced thousands of evacuees 62 to find shelter.

John McGlade from non-profit medical support group NYC Medics said malaria 63 in particular will become a major concern.

"The thing that we are worried about happening of course is an upshot in malaria. That's number one, that's going to probably be everyone's biggest concern."

Moreover, Tim Martineau from UNAIDS says sexual violence among the homeless may increase HIV infection risk in the country which is vulnerable to the virus.

"We anticipate and estimate that 40 percent of people living with HIV are now no longer accessing services."

The Haitian government has talked of trying to relocate earthquake victims to organized camps outside the capital, but so far none have been built.

An estimated 230-thousand people were killed in last month's magnitude 7.0 quake, and at least a million others were left homeless.

Shanghai Exhibits Historical Expo Collections

With a little over 60 days left until the opening of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the city is exhibiting a collectionn of some 200 Expo-related antiques.

Most of the items come from the private collections of overseas Chinese.

Xie Songjun brought a purple sand ceramic 64 pot dating from the 1915 Panama Expo.

"We hope these collections from the United States can make our Expo more colorful."

Organizer Liu Ruiqi says the exhibition will open to the public for free in one month.

"Visitors may feel they are actually joining in the Expo when they come to see these collections."

Among the items, one poster from the 1876 Philadelphia World Expo shows a Chinese Qing dynasty official standing in the upper-right corner. A gramophone from Panama and a miniature jade 65 Buddha 66 pagoda 67 from the 1939 San Francisco Expo are also on exhibit.

China Surf School Uses Dog to Promote the Sport

Visitors to a beach on the southern Chinese island of Hainan are in for an unusual sight - a dog riding the waves on a surfboard.

A surf school on the island is using the dog to promote the sport to China's growing middle class.

Surf instructor 68 Zhang Dahai says if he can teach his pet dog Dan-dan to surf, anyone else can learn.

"I wondered, why don't Chinese people surf? Then I thought, I have to learn to surf and learn it well. Now when people see me and ask, 'Hey where are you from?' When I say I'm from China, I'm really proud."

The school opened two years ago and continues to attract interest from local people, as well as offering packages to Chinese and international tourists.

Zhang's business partner Brendan Sheridan predicts the sport is going to take off in a big way in China, as members of the growing middle class get used to having some fun in their spare time.

"This is going to take off. Right now we have, it's inevitable 69 there is going to be a huge surf explosion in China."

Media Digest

China Daily: Hopes for Health Reform

The pilot program of China's health reform includes revamping state-owned hospitals in 16 cities this year. Similar to the hotly debated reform in the United States, which aims to cut high healthcare costs and realize universal coverage 70, China's move involves turning state-owned hospitals into nonprofit institutions and changing the way most public hospitals rely on medicine sales for revenue.

An editorial in the China Daily says this pilot program marks the beginning of the much-debated reform to make healthcare services affordable 71, and is the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a quality medical care system that is affordable and offers a high level of service.

The editorial adds that the program, which will soon go into effect this year, will also identify the level of government funding that needs to compensate 72 for the deficit 73 due to the loss of revenue from medicine sales.

This is key to relieving patients' worries that hospitals will make up for the loss through price hikes for medical examinations and other services.

Another important part of the program involves establishing a mechanism 74 to distribute medical resources between hospitals, community clinics and rural healthcare centers.

The editorial says if community and rural healthcare service centers are able to provide adequate care for minor 75 ailments 76 and offer other services to patients, it will greatly reduce the daily burden on larger hospitals.

The editorial suggests that for this pilot program to succeed, policy makers 77 and researchers need to keep in close contact with hospitals and even use the facilities themselves in order to identify all problems. However, even if the program goes smoothly 78, it is likely to take years for the reform to be carried out nationwide.

China Youth Daily: Why No One Called a Stop to Tall Buildings near Bird's Nest

When people take a boat trip on Beijing's scenic 79 Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, the view remains 80 unspoiled by the tall buildings you can see in many other parts of the city. This is thanks to a strict policy forbidding the construction of any building taller than six stories near the park in order to retain the visual splendor 81 of the site.

Unfortunately this is not the case everywhere in the city, especially within the vicinity of the National Stadium for Beijing Olympic Games or Bird's Nest as it is affectionately known. The Pangu Plaza 82 sits just next to the stadium and even sports 12 illegally-built luxury apartments on top of the construction.

Although the plaza was eventually fined by Beijing building authorities, an article in China Youth Daily questions why there was no official call to stop to the eye-sore near Beijing's newest touring spot.

The article argues the fine of around 1,700 yuan, or about 250 US dollars, per square meter, is nothing compared to its selling price which is over one-thousand times higher.

The author argues that fining such illegal buildings is far from adequate. It is more important to find who was responsible for the building's approval and failed to stop construction.