News & Reports 2011-04-03

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In This Edition

Leaders from five of the world's top emerging economies set to discuss a coordinated 1 stance on global developments when they meet in China next week.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan visits the country's earthquake and tsunami 2-devastated 3 areas, the first time since the calamity 4 hit three weeks ago.

China's second lunar orbiter Chang'e-2 completes its planned 6 month-long mission and is expected to carry out further research.

Surveys show that China ranks only 29th in English language proficiency 5 among 44 countries and regions, lagging behind many of its Asian neighbours.

Hot Issue Reports

Chinese Senior Diplomat 6: BRICS Summit to Focus on Global Developments, Financing and Cooperation

Leaders from five of the world's top emerging economies will discuss a coordinated stance on global developments, financing and cooperation among nations.

The meeting of BRICS will gather leaders from China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa in Sanya on south China's tropical island of Hainan Province on April 14.

Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Hailong said Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to chair the summit and deliver a keynote speech.

"We hope all sides can strengthen coordination 7 and mutual 8 cooperation on reform of the international currency system, commodity price fluctuations 9, climate change and sustainable development and jointly 11 promote the improvement of the global economy."

President Hu will also hold bilateral 12 meetings with other leaders to discuss bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concern.

According to the senior diplomat, the combined GDPs of the BRICS nations accounted for 18 percent of the global GDP in 2010, and trade volume for BRICS countries has also shot up year to year, with an average annual growth rate of 28 percent in the past decade. The total volume of trade among BRICS countries reached 230 billion U.S. dollars last year.

Hailing BRICS' increasingly important role in the world economy, Wu said China hopes the third BRICS meeting will send a signal of confidence, solidarity 13 and cooperation to the international community.

"The cooperation among member countries conforms with the interests of the five states and the global community as a whole, and will play an positive and constructive 15 role in boosting world economic growth and peace, bridge cooperation between developing countries and developed ones. It's open, transparent 16 and inclusive, and will stick to the principle of unity 14, cooperation and mutual benefit."

A document, expected to be released after the summit, will sum up BRICS countries' consensus 17 on the global economy, international financial issues and developmental affairs.

Japanese PM Makes First Visit to the Country's Tsunami-devastated Region

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited the country's earthquake and tsunami-devastated areas, the first time since the calamity hit three weeks ago.

Kan went to Rikuzentakata city, one of the worst-hit areas to witness the destruction.

He met with survivors 18 at a makeshift camp in the fishing village, and vowed 19 to make an all-out effort to rebuild the local fishing industry.

"I spoke 20 with local officials on how to rebuild the fishing industry including how we can rebuild farms for fish and shellfish. The Japanese government will do its best to support their efforts."

Unpopular and under pressure to quit or call a snap poll before the disaster, Kan has been criticized for his management of Japan's humanitarian 21 and nuclear crisis.

After three weeks, fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remain overheated and high levels of radiation continues to flow into the sea.

Japan is facing a damages bill which may top 300 billion US dollars -- the world's biggest from a natural disaster.

As for the latest count, at least 28,000 are dead and missing from the quake and tsunami, as the death toll 22 from the disaster continues to rise.

Meanwhile thousands of Japanese and U.S. soldiers conducted a massive search for bodies.

They used ships and helicopters to sweep across land still underwater along the northeast coast, hoping that when a large spring tide recedes 23 it will make it easier to spot bodies.

Japanese Restraint on Spending and Having Fun

Life in the Japanese capital of Tokyo is tiptoeing towards normality from the early post-disaster days when train service was patchy, workers stayed home and groceries were only bare necessities.

But the new normal is a pale shadow of the pre-disaster hustle 24 and bustle 25, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan and triggered a nuclear disaster at a power plant 240 kilometres away.

Three weeks later, shoplights are still dimmed as power shortages persist, only about half the escalators are running in subway stations and Tokyo's boisterous 26 nightlife is only now starting to revive.

Stress simmers just beneath the surface and an air of self-restraint is keeping shoppers at home, raising concerns about the world's third-biggest economy as it tries to recover from a disaster that caused damages that could top $300 billion.

In the Ginza district, as famed for its nightlife as its pricey shopping, some people living in the capital say they are hoping the government will take measures to boost Japan's flagging economy in these times of crisis. 51-year-old accountant, Kazutoshi Takao is one of them.

"There are many other things that can be done, but it seems that the government is too preoccupied 27 with the earthquake and nuclear crisis and doesn't have the capacity to deal with anything else. I am worried that nothing is being done to address the economy."

Others fret 28 most about the possible spread of radiation from the quake-crippled plant to food and water after high levels were found in vegetables from regions around the plant.

Daily necessities are returning to shop shelves. But items like toilet paper and bottled water are limited to one per customer to stem hoarding 29.

In Tokyo, the capital's governor Shintaro Ishihara has also urged residents to refrain from the boisterous cherry-blossom viewing parties traditional at this time of year, but cabinet minister Renho said that official efforts to restrict social activities should be kept to a minimum.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini Visits Buenos Aires

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez met with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in Buenos Aires on Friday, marking the first high-level meeting between the two countries since 2002, when Argentina's financial default affected 30 tens of thousands of Italian savers.

Frattini led a delegation 31 of entrepreneurs and government members, signing a series of bilateral agreements with the Argentine government.

During a news conference with Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, Frattini referred to the conflict in Libya and the possibility of arming rebel forces.

"Italy's position is quite clear, we work for the protection of civilians 32, we work intensively for a political solution that would allow the departure of Gadhafi in the shortest possible time. It is clear that we cannot imagine this solution without the use of force to protect civilians, which is what we are doing with the NATO mission."

Frattini also said he hopes the dispute between the defaulted bond holders 33 in Italy and Argentina will be soon resolved.

Timerman and Frattini announced that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez will visit Italy in June.

IOC Commission Praise London in Visit to 2012 Olympic Host

The International Olympic Committee co-ordination commission gave London a glowing report, 16 months ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

IOC co-ordination commission chairman, Denis Oswald, making his eighth inspection 34 visit to London, had few complaints about the state of readiness of the 2012 Olympics host.

"We left LOCOG (London Organising Committee) after the seventh commission with a number of open questions that have been addressed in the meeting, and in the meantime have been resolved and got all the answers we were expecting. Venues 35 have been planned with legacy 36 in mind."

Denis Oswald spoke about the financial dispute between the British Olympic Association and the London organizing committee over its share of any potential surplus from the Games.

The BOA is taking the organizing committee to the Court of Arbitration 37 for Sport, but Oswald said CAS has no legal jurisdiction 38 over the case.

"From a purely 39 legal point of view we feel that in that case CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) has no jurisdiction over the case because the clause in the joint 10 marketing 40 agreement says every dispute should be included and that no other court case should be started by one of the other party, obviously the decision will be made by CAS itself the arbitrators will be appointed and we will respect and decision they will make."

Entitled to a 20 percent cut under a joint marketing agreement signed in 2005, the BOA claims the potentially money-losing Paralympics should not be taken into account.

China's Second Lunar Orbiter Chang'e-2 Completes Its Mission

China's second lunar orbiter Chang'e-2 has completed its 6 month-long mission and is continuing to run as normal.

Deputy Chief Designer of Chang'e-2 Zhou Jianliang said the orbiter has achieved all its goals and is expected to carry out further research.

"We will first run some measure and control experiments. Then the moon satellite will adjust its orbit to take photos of the north and south poles of the moon. After that it will once again approach the Bay of Rainbows area, the proposed landing ground for Chang'e-3, and capture more images."

Chang'e-2 was launched on October last year. The orbiter has gathered a great amount of scientific data over the past six months.

After finishing all the experiments, Chang'e 2 is believed to be capable of flying away from the moon. But more statistics will need to be looked at before scientists will know if it will crash into the moon or leave its orbit.

China launched its lunar mission in 2007 by successfully sending an unmanned probe - Chang'e-1, into the moon's orbit. The next mission will send a landing craft and rover vehicle to the moon's surface by 2013.

National Museum of China Reopens after Renovation 41

The renovated 42 National Museum of China has reopened to the public, as the largest museum in the world.

After three and half years' renovation, the National Museum of China nearly tripled in size from 65-thousand square meters　to almost 200-thousand square meters, and Chinese officials say it has become the world's largest museum.

579 objects will be on display in the 2,700 square meter space for 12 months.

"The Art of the Enlightenment" exhibition, jointly organised by the National Museum of China and three major German museums, is one of the first exhibitions open to the audience in China.

Lu Zhangshen, the curator of the museum, talks about this exhibition.

"When the exhibition is open, I am sure art of the Enlightenment will bring the audience a strong spiritual shock and graceful 43 pleasure."

More than 2.5 billion RMB has been spent on renovation of the museum.

The new National Museum could receive 8 to 10 million visitors every year, about three times the amount it has seen in the past.

Basic exhibitions in the museum will be free to the public, while some special exhibitions will charge a relatively 44 small amount for a ticket due to preparation expenses.

China Still Needs to Improve English Language Proficiency

It has come as a surprise that China ranks only 29th in English language proficiency among 44 countries and regions. That's according to the first-ever English Proficiency Index Report, released by EF Education, the world's largest private educational company that specializes in English training.

What can we tell from this English Proficiency Index Report? Our reporter Wang Jing has more.

EF Education has conducted a study to compare test scores of more than 2.3 million adults in 44 countries and regions where English is not the native language, from 2007 to 2009. Based on these scores, EF Education released the first-ever English Proficiency Index Report.

Despite huge efforts in language training, Chinese still have poor English skills. The report says China ranks 29th in the index and belongs to the low-proficiency tier, falling behind its Asian neighbors, South Korea and Japan that rank 13th and 14th respectively.

China has long invested much into English training. Official statistics show the market cap of China's private English training sector 45 exceeded 30 billion RMB in 2010. No less than 100,000 native speakers work here teaching English language. Chinese are enthusiastic about learning English, both students and adults.

Liu Jie, who graduated from college three years ago and now works at a foreign trade company, is still passionate 46 about improving her English.

"I've spent several thousand yuan to improve my English at a private English training school over the past two years. I think fluent oral English and good listening comprehension are indispensable skills for people who have a job. Besides, better English capability 47 can be a catalyst 48 for my career."

China performed worse than expected, considering the large investment many people make in private English training. Therefore, the survey raises questions about how China teaches English.

An experienced high school English teacher in Beijing's Haidian District, who identifies herself as Ms. Zhao, talks about the status quo of English teaching in many domestic schools.

"Test-oriented and rote-based learning methods deteriorate 49 real language skills of Chinese students. More focus is given to grammar study and literary translation. English teaching is rarely carried out in a way for daily conversation. As a result, many students find it hard to communicate with native speakers, although they are good at grammar rules."

In addition, the study found a strong correlation 50 between income levels and English proficiency. Richer countries have more money to spend on education, resulting in better English training. It is reported that the market cap of Japan's private English training sector has already reached 20 billion U.S. dollars, whereas China only stands at 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, less than one quarter of Japan's.

Needless to say, to compete successfully in global industries and capitalize on the business outsourcing boom, the ability to produce large number of skilled graduates who can communicate in English is a top priority for developing countries.

For CRI, I'm WJ.

Israeli Company Better Place Demonstrates Fast Battery-changing System

An Israeli company has introduced a network of car battery-changing stations that replace exhausted 51 batteries with fresh ones faster than it takes to fill a tank with petrol.

The Israeli electric car company Better Place plans to roll out the world's first battery-changing grid 52 in the country.

Electric vehicles are acknowledged as environmentally friendly but with a reduced range of around 70-100 miles and long recharge times.

But Shai Agassi, Better Place's CEO, says it will only take five minutes to change a battery at their stations.

"Today we've actually demonstrated for the first time the complete solution for an electric vehicle-charging network, if you want the solution to make an electric car cheaper and more convenient than a gasoline car. And this solution along a map of deployment 53 across all of Israel will actually be deployed 54 within this year, and the network will be open, and Israel can then switch out of gasoline and into electricity."

The company also demonstrated how charging spots can be set up on streets, rather than at traditional petrol stations, making it even more convenient for motorists.

Once the charging network has been rolled out in Israel, Better Place will begin its next project in Denmark.

Electric cars made by its partner Renault will be sold in Israel by the end of 2011.

China Daily: More Affordable 55 Housing

Cities and regions in China have released their 2011 targets for property-price controls. All, but Beijing, have linked their price targets with the average increase of urban per capita disposable income and the growth of local gross domestic product. Only Beijing has set the target to lower the property price appropriately.

Given that China's urban income level increased by 11.3 percent last year and GDP by 10.3 percent, the announced targets mean practically no Chinese city is planning to limit its housing price growth to a low single-digit level, never mind reducing property prices.

What a disappointment to Chinese authorities who are eager to prevent a dangerous property bubble, especially now that the country is battling inflation.

An editorial from China Daily says if the country allows local property prices to continue to rise, it is more than likely that not only will it significantly impact the real estate sector but the national economy would soon become overheated with greater difficulties of avoiding a hard landing.

The article points out that the double-digit targets for property-price control have laid bare the local governments' reliance on a property boom for revenues and local officials' insensitivity to the risk of property bubbles.

An in-depth report from 21st Century Business Herald 56 takes Shenyang as an example. 60 percent of local revenue comes from land transfers.

The China Daily editorial discloses the real problem with the property market, which is not the property-price target. To curb 57 the rapid rise of property prices, the central government must assume its responsibility of turning off the tap of excessive liquidity 58. The central government should hold local governments to their obligation to build enough affordable housing. After all, it is the supply of houses and the purchasing power of home buyers that determine the property market.