CRI 中国国际广播电台 2010-04-11

Broadcasting Time: 07:00-08:00, GMT+08:00, 2010-04-11

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

In This Edition

A plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed in western Russia, killing 1 the president and all 97 people on board.

Chinese Vice 2 President Xi Jinping addresses the Boao Forum 3 for Asia calling on nations to make concerted efforts for common and harmonious 4 development.

At least 15 people dead and more than 650 injured in a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital, Bangkok.

And more than 200 people have been killed and thousands more left homeless in Brazil, after heavy storms have been hitting Rio de Janeiro state since the beginning of the week.

Hot Issue Reports

Polish President, Top Officials Die in Plane Crash

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and some of the country's most prominent military and civilian 5 leaders died on Saturday, along with dozens of others, when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia.

Irina Andrianova, spokesperson for Russian Emergency Situations Ministry 7.

"Today at 10.50 Moscow time a Tupolev 154 plane carrying an official delegation 8 from Poland crashed while attempting to land at Smolensk airport. According to our information 88 people were on board the plane at the time and unfortunately there were no survivors 9."

Andrei Yevseenkov, press secretary for the governor of the Smolensk region, where the crash took place, explains the cause of the crash.

"The aircraft crashed due to poor visibility. It was attempting to land in fog. The airport dispatcher suggested sending the plane on to Minsk, but as far as can be ascertained 10 the crew made an independent decision to land in Smolensk. They did not make it to the landing strip, and the wings of the plane hit the tops of nearby trees and crashed into the forest."

The army chief of staff, General Franciszek Gagor, National Bank president Slawomir Skrzypek and deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were also on board.

The presidential plane was at least 20 years old.

Polish officials have long discussed replacing the planes that carry the country's leaders but said they lacked the funds.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s, including six in the past five years.

World Leaders Send Condolences to Poland on Plane Crash

World leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama have expressed their condolences for the death of Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders in a plane crash in western Russia.

Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, says that he thinks the whole world will be saddened.

"I think the whole world will be saddened and in sorrow as a result of this tragic 11 death in a plane crash of President Kaczynski and his wife Maria and the party that were with him. I think we know the difficulties that Poland has gone through, the sacrifices that he himself has made as part of the Solidarity 12 movement and we know the contribution he made to the independence and the freedom of Poland."

German Chancellor 13 Angela Merkel, French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, Israel's President, Shimon Peres, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders also expressed deep sorrow at the tragedy.

Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2010 Opens

The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2010 opened Saturday morning in Boao in south China's Hainan Province, with a focus on Asia's sustainable recovery from the economic downturn.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping called on nations to make concerted efforts for common and harmonious development.

"We should actively 14 promote conservative culture and raise awareness 15 for environmental protection, and make sure that the concept of green development, green consumption and green lifestyle, and our commitment to taking good care of our home earth be embedded 16 in every citizen".

The Chinese Vice President also stressed the need for eradicating 17 poverty to achieve balanced development.

Some 2,000 political and business heavyweights and experts from Asia and around the world gathered in the island resort for the conference, which will conclude on Sunday.

The Forum, established in 2001, is a pan-Asian platform of dialogue for key issues affecting Asia and the world.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Green Recovery: Asia's Realistic Choice for Sustainable Growth."

Boao Calls for Doha Round Completion to Stop Protectionism

Reassurances 18 made at the G20 Summit are not enough to dispel 19 concerns about the rise of trade protectionism. Economic nationalism has caused governments to take short-sighted trade measures, which have posed a real threat to global recovery. World Leaders at the Boao forum for the Asian Annual Meeting 2010 stressed the importance of completion of the Doha Round to fight against trade protectionism.

Thai Fierce Clash

A crackdown on anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital on Saturday left at least 15 people dead and more than 650 injured.

The fighting erupted after security forces tried to push out demonstrators who have been staging a month of disruptive protests demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajva dissolve Parliament and call new elections.

A Thai photo journalist was shot in the leg. His doctor suspects the wound was by a live round.

After more than two hours of fierce clashes, the soldiers pulled back and asked protesters to do the same, resulting in an unofficial truce 20.

Prime Minister Abhisit went on national television shortly before midnight to pay condolences to the families of victims and indirectly 21 assert that he would not bow to the protesters' demands.

"I want to show my regret to the people, for the loss that happened today, especially to the families of those who were killed in this incident tonight."

According to the government's Erawan emergency centre, four soldiers and 11 civilians 22, including a Japanese cameraman, were killed.

It was one of the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest in 1992.

Light News

At Least 200 Killed in Brazil Storm

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands more left homeless in Brazil, after heavy storms have been hitting Rio de Janeiro state since the beginning of the week.

Massive floods and landslides 23 caused by hard rains left many neighbourhoods throughout the area destroyed.

Volunteers have created makeshift shelters, where thousands of people have arrived in search of food, water, clothing and a place to sleep.

One woman, taking refuge at a local shelter, lost her daughter and granddaughter in the disaster.

"By the time I arrived, my niece told me it had all collapsed 24. My son-in-law managed to escape with the two little ones through the window, but by the time he went back to get his wife and daughter he was too late to save them."

One flood victim said that within ten or fifteen minutes "everything was destroyed."

"I have nowhere to go for now. I will have to stay in other people's homes for now. But, living in a shanty 25 town on the mountain - never again. This is the second time this has happened to me."

The rain still has not stopped in several areas of the state, and is expected to last at least until Monday.

China Posts its First Monthly Trade Deficit 26 Since 2004

China reports its first monthly trade deficit in nearly six years. The 7.24 billion US dollar trade deficit in March reported by China's customs administration is China's first since a 2 billion US dollar deficit in April 2004.

The drop follows four straight months of narrowing trade surpluses.

Ding Zhijie, dean at the School of Banking 27 and Finance University of International Business and Economics, says the deficit is caused by the increase in imports into China, outstripping 28 exports from the country.

He also predicts that China's exports will continue to grow.

"Even if there is a surge in the trade deficit, the export figures are still growing rapidly. I think China will continue to maintain its leading position as a major trading nation."

Meanwhile, Yao Jian, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, says the March deficit proves the exchange rate is not the decisive factor affecting trade balance.

He also called for the removal of export restrictions 29 to China by some developed countries of certain high-tech 30 products as soon as possible to facilitate bilateral 31 trade balance.

High Time to Update Chinese Car Recall Regulations

While many Chinese customers are outraged 32 by Toyota's different attitudes towards the Chinese and US markets, experts say it is high time that China re-examines its laws and regulations and develop its own domestic automobile 33 manufacturing industry.

Russia's Kruzenshtem Sailing Vessel 34 Arrives in Cuba

The Kruzershtern, Russia's oldest tall ship, sailed into Cuba's Havana harbour on Friday to begin a week-long visit to the island nation.

The visit is part of a transatlantic voyage commemorating 35 the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II.

In Cuba, the ship's crew and local officials will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Russian-Cuban relations with an exhibition of previously 36 unpublished photos displayed onboard.

Mijail Kamynin, Russian Ambassador to Cuba, welcomes more Cubans onboard.

"Today the Cuban people will be able to come onboard this marvelous ship and enjoy the photo exhibits. Those photos depict 37 Fidel and Raul Castro and the revolutionary icon 38 Che Guevara."

The Kruzershtern was built in Germany in 1926 and even though it will turn 84 this year, the ship continues to be the pride of the training sailing fleet of Russia.

It is one of the oldest and at the same time one of the biggest sailing vessels 39 in the world.

Eugene Terreblanche Murder Casts Shadow Over South Africa's Security

The murder of white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche and the threat of militant 40 attacks have caused renewed security concerns in South Africa ahead of the FIFA World Cup football tournament.

Jerome Valcke, General Secretary of FIFA, says the main focus for organizers of the South African World Cup is counter-terrorism.

"The first issue is Al-Qaida, or any threat we will receive from international terrorist groups. It will happen, and is happening. We have to be very clear is that it's not a threat which will stop FIFA organising the World Cup here in South Africa."

While Terreblanche's death has not sparked wider violence, Andre Visagie, Secretary General of the South Africa's far right secessionist political organisation 41, AWB, said the government was not able to ensure the safety of its citizens, nor that of visitors to the country.

"The government cannot assure the safety and the security of its citizens, and therefore we say the soccer fans that come to South Africa should also make provisions for their own security, let alone the visitors from abroad."

While Terreblanche's death has triggered public concern about security in South Africa, FIFA is confident it can hold a successful World Cup there in June and July, resisting the pressure imposed by terrorists.

Media Digest

China Daily: A Different Housing Crisis

The average life of a residential 6 building in China is about 30 years, according to a senior government official. Yet many buildings in America are still standing 42 over 70 years after they were built, and some in Britain are around 130 years old.

In contrast, it is not unusual to see some buildings in China being torn down less than 10 years after they were constructed to make room for new developments. There have also been reports of newly constructed buildings collapsing 43 due to shoddy quality.

It's certainly a serious problem if these reports are true but the issue opens up a wider discussion about the shocking reality of the construction and demolition 44 of Chinese buildings today.

A commentary in Tencent.com says there seems to be a "poison of time" in many such buildings. It is because of such short lifespan of buildings that people have to repeatedly purchase property, causing house prices to soar.

Moreover, an editorial in China Daily argues that the demolition of buildings for the sake of making room for new ones is causing a massive waste of resources and producing huge heaps of construction material waste.

New residential buildings are also poor in quality mainly because real estate developers often try to cut corners by using substandard materials or hastening the construction process.

The editorial believes that to remedy these problems, local urban planners need to be more frugal 45 when it comes to tearing down recently built buildings. Specific rules are needed to prevent local governments from unnecessary demolitions 46 to make a profit.

For the Ministry of Construction, the editorial argues that an investigation 47 needs to be launched to discover the exact percentage of low quality residential buildings and the number of sound buildings that have been demolished 48 within a specific period of time.

Low-Rent Housing to be Priority Policy

The high price of housing has become a major social problem in China. A commentary in The Beijing News argues that low-rent housing should be a key part of the government's housing policy.

A Chinese low-rent housing program has been running since 1998. However, progress on the project has been slow for the long duration of housing development and lack of government financial revenue. The investment in the government subsidized housing has been only about 40 billion yuan, accounting 49 for just 24 percent of the plan's costs.

The commentary in the Beijing News says that the government should pay strong attention to the low-rent housing policy. The major problem is balancing the interests of the central government, local government and of low-income residents.

The commentary suggests that more housing subsidies 50 should come from the land grant net profits rather than others. The source of construction revenue now mainly comes from four channels according to the present policies: local government fiscal 51 budget, over 10 percent of local land grand net profits, the profit of public accumulation fund for housing construction and central government special subsidies on low-rent housing project to the central and west regions.

The paper concludes that low-rent apartments are an essential part of China's housing security system. With the expected policies being steadily 52 and strongly implemented 53, the central and local governments should allocate 54 more funds to low-rent housing in their annual budgets. The central government should also provide subsidies to local governments for the low-rent housing.