News & Reports 2011-02-26

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

In This Edition

Some 12-thousand of the 33 thousand Chinese citizens have so far been evacuated 1 out of Libya following the unrest in the North Africa country.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi accuses Osama Bin 2 Laden 3 and his followers 4 of being behind the protests racking his country.

The death toll 6 in New Zealand's earthquake stands at 113. There are 228 people still missing, including 26 Chinese nationals.

A World Bank report calls on the Chinese government to include early childhood education and development as a basic public service.

Hot Issue Reports

Hundreds of Chinese Arrive Home after Evacuation from Libya

HMore than 450 Chinese citizens have returned home after being evacuated from Libya by two flights chartered by the central government.

The first chartered flight arrived in Beijing Friday morning with 224 evacuees 8 onboard.

Jiang Ying recalls her horrible experience in Libya.

"Previously 9, we were in Benghazi, the most turbulent city in Libya. Two days before the eruption 10 of the riots, we went to Tripoli. But there we had nothing to eat and drink. It's especially hard for my one-and-a-half year-old baby. On the charter flight, we have received considerate service. Thank you very much, our great motherland!"

The evacuees aboard the first charter flight are mainly engineers, technicians and their family members. Most of the passengers are women and children.

The second charter flight has also ferried 227 others back to China.

Meanwhile, Song Tao, China's vice 7 foreign minister, says so far around 12-thousand Chinese citizens have been evacuated out of Libya.

"We've sent charter planes and rented large steamships 11 and coaches. In all, we have adopted all measures to get our citizens back from Libya. So far according to a rough calculation, 12,000 Chinese have been evacuated from Libya. We should say that we have made some achievement in our first stage of evacuation efforts in Libya."

A majority of the other Chinese citizens fleeing Libya have gone through Egypt, Tunisia, Greece and Malta.

China Eastern was sending two chartered flights to Malta Friday to pick up more evacuees. The flights are the first of 6 the airline has planned.

Some 33-thousand Chinese citizens were in Libya when the unrest broke out earlier this month. The majority of them are employees of Chinese companies with operations in that country.

Gaddafi Accuses Bin Laden of Being behind Protests

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has accused Osama Bin Laden and his followers of being behind the protests racking his country.

"It had become clear that who recruited our sons was al-Qaida, Bin Laden, who is called an international terrorist. America, Europe and the whole world is with us in fighting them. They are armed and vicious. They are wanted by America. The one in Dirna (a Libyan town) is wanted, he was in Guantanamo before."

Speaking on the State TV from an unspecified location, Gaddafi also claims al-Qaida followers have given young Libyans drugs and alcohol to get them to revolt.

Gadhafi's control has been reduced to the northwest corner around the capital Tripoli.

A small group of UN workers evacuated by the Italian military say Tripoli is largely calm, and say they they haven't witnessed any violence in the Libyan capital.

"Actually, we didn't see much violence there, the city is quiet and calm and we were taken to the hotel and now we are safe, we landed here."

"Everything there is quiet and no victims and everything is okay. But the airport, there is a lot of people at the airport."

International momentum 12 has been building for action to punish Gadhafi's regime for the bloodshed.

Both US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have raised the possibility of international sanctions.

Libya's state TV claims a total of 300 people including 111 soldiers and 189 civilians 13 have been killed in the unrest over the past week. But media reports are putting the death toll at more than a thousand.

The United Nations Security Council is convening 14 a special session to discuss the political turmoil 15 in Libya.

France and Britain are both expected to propose for a total arms embargo 16 and sanctions against Libya at the meeting.

26 Chinese Citizens Missing in Christchurch as Hopes Dim for Finding Survivors 17

Rescuers are extending their searches into shattered homes close to the epicenter of Christchurch's deadly earthquake.

But the rain and cold temperatures are now dimming hopes of finding anymore survivors.

The disaster has so far officially claimed 113 lives.

But the authorities are warning that the death toll is set to climb sharply in the coming days, with 228 people still listed as missing.

Wang Xin, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, has now confirmed that 26 Chinese nationals are among the missing.

"There are still about 26 Chinese students and local Chinese missing in the earthquake of Christchurch. Most of them are Chinese students and the rest are local Chinese. But, we have not yet received any confirmed deaths of any Chinese or Chinese students from the New Zealand side."

Police say that many bodies still lie trapped in the tangled 18 concrete and steel that was the Canterbury Television, or CTV, building, where dozens of students from China, Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries are believed buried when their English-language school collapsed 20 along with other offices.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker is now trying to assure the families of those still missing that everything is being done to find their loved ones.

"For those young students who we're uncertain about at the moment, for those people in those far off places, your families are our families. Your children are our children; there is no difference for us. There are no different standards, we all just work together because we are sharing with you in just as intimate a way that feeling of loss and concern."

Meanwhile, a ten member Chinese rescue team has now joined crews from Britain, the United States, Japan and Australia, which has allowed the difficult search to push into the beachside areas, which were the hardest hit by Tuesday's 6.3 quake.

Fears of a disease outbreak from contaminated water from broken sewer 21 lines has forced the closure of an emergency center.

More than 25-hundred people have been hurt in the quake, 160 of them seriously.

Trial of CIA Contractor 22 in Pakistan Suspended

A Pakistani court has adjourned 23 the trial of a CIA contractor charged with killing 24 two Pakistanis until March 3, dismissing U.S. demands for his release.

The contractor, Raymond Davis, shot dead two men in the eastern city of Lahore last month.

He says he was acting 25 in self-defense.

The US government says he has diplomatic immunity 26 because he was stationed at the consulate 27 in Lahore, and should be repatriated 28.

Asad Manzoor Butt 29 is a lawyer for the families of the two men Davis killed.

"He (Davis) said that the court should release him, because he has immunity. He has given an application to the court in this connection, and the court has given notice to us -- the complainant party, as well as the government -- that there should be discussion on the application in the next hearing."

There have been conflicting accounts about the identity of the two victims, and a police report indicates they were armed robbers.

But the Pakistani media and some officials have portrayed 30 them as innocent victims.

Davis is being held under tight security.

The case has inflamed 31 anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and is straining relations between the two allies.

Polls Open in Ireland, Election Likely to Usher 32 in New Government

Irish voters are casting their votes in a ballot 33 that could devastate 34 the ruling Republican party, which is being blamed for the country's dramatic economic reversal of fortune.

The party has dominated Irish politics for almost 80 years.

"My expectation is that the new government that comes in will take a strong line on the recovery of our economy which has been destroyed by the previous government. And I think they will have to have look at how we treat the bondholders of the banks in particular."

The election campaign has been dominated by debate on how to rebuild an economy brought down by the collapse 19 of a property boom, which in turn, forced a bailout of Ireland's banks.

Unemployment in Ireland is above 13 percent, taxpayers 35 have become bank owners, the value of homes have plummeted 36 and the nation is indebted to the European Union and the International Monetary 37 Fund.

Opinion polls suggest the voting will usher in a new government led by the opposition 38 Ireland First party, but the big question is whether the party will need a coalition 39 partner, which would most likely the Labour Party.

World Bank Calls for Investment on ECDE

The World Bank has issued a report calling for the Chinese government to include early childhood education and development as a basic public service.

Yingying explains.

The report, produced by the World Bank in collaboration 40 with China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, shows that although China has reached about 50 percent gross enrollment 41 for the 3-6 age group in 2009, rural children are under served, particularly the extremely poor and ethnic 42 minorities. And the 0-3 age group in the whole nation is particularly under represented.

Kin 5 Bing Wu, World Bank's Lead Education Specialist, stresses the importance of early childhood education and development.

"The brain development is most active in the first two years of life. If we intervene at the time which is most critical by providing nutrition, health care and early stimulation 43, we could significantly strength the brain capacity, and also strengthen subsequent physical and cognitive 44 development of children."

According to the report, in 2008, China's public spending on early childhood development and education was only at 0.01 percent of GDP, or 1.3 percent of the total public expenditure 45 on education.

Kin Bing Wu says that China should focus more funding on early childhood development and education because it will yield tremendous high economic return.

"In a well-known American pre-school program, for every dollar invested, over eight dollars in benefits was returned to society and to the program participants later on due to higher academic achievement, much longer duration of study, less dropout 46 rates, higher wages, more stable marriages and lower criminal offenses 47."

The report indicates that in China, about 60 percent children under the age of six live in rural areas. Only 40 percent of them have access to education and other childhood development services.

Ru Xiaomei, an official with the National Population and Family Planning Commission, says China should provide more childhood development services for preschool children, especially those from rural areas.

"In the past, we focused more on early childhood education, but haven't paid enough attention to other aspects in children's development such as nutrition, cognition and language ability. The situation in rural areas is even worse. This might result in inter-generational transmission of poverty."

It is reported some 53 centers for early childhood services have been set up across China, the majority of which are located in the less developed central and western regions.

For CRI, I'm Yingying.

Import Taxes to Be Lowered-report

The central authorities are reportedly planning to cut import taxes on some products, including milk formula and cosmetics 49, as part of a series of reductions aimed at balancing international trade.

The "Nanfang Daily" is quoting an unidentified official with the State Administration of Taxation 50 as saying the tax bureau is planning the cuts because of concerns over possible tax evasion 51, although there has been no official comment.

Cosmetics are the most popular imported products, and are subject to a tax of more than 50 percent when they enter the mainland market.

Milk powder is another popular item following the massive melamine contamination scandal in 2008.

Professor Chen Ji at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing says the price gap between domestic goods and imported ones is caused by the high customs duties on international brands.

"Customs taxes have been kept high for many years to protect domestic brands. And there was not that much demand in the past. Since China's entry into the World Trade Organization, the tax rate has been gradually reduced. But when it comes to those luxury brands, the customs taxes are still higher than the expectation of the WTO."

The State Administration of Taxation also reportedly plans to cancel the consumption tax on cosmetic 48 products and abolish it for gold and jewelry 52 in the long term.

The Ministry 53 of Finance is reporting that the nation's tax revenue jumped 23 percent year-on-year to 7.32 trillion yuan, or around $1.1 trillion US dollars in 2010, partly boosted by import taxes.

Car Dealers 54 in Beijing Shift Focus

Automobile 56 dealers in Beijing are restructuring their operations by shifting their focus from sales to services to try to cope with the sharp decline in sales in the local market.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers says deliveries from dealers to customers in Beijing has declined 50 to 70 percent year-on-year in January, after the license 57 quota 58 policy was adopted to try to ease traffic.

Yang Bo is the sales director of the Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile dealership 59 in Beijing.

"In previous years, the store could sell about 400 vehicles each month on average, but now, the monthly sale is at about 20."

One of Beijing's largest auto 55 markets has now set up an online platform for second-hand 60 car trades, hoping to promote sales to non-local buyers.

Meanwhile, services, including tune-ups, painting and car-care that had been previous ignored by dealers are now being considered the best chance of survival.

Rain, Snow to Relieve Drought, Dissipate Haze 61 in China

Drought-plagued central and eastern China are now in for some relief.

Forecasters say three days of rain and snow is going to hit the areas between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers starting tonight.

Zeng Yande, deputy director of the Planting Bureau with the Ministry of Agriculture, says the rain will be critical for the crops.

"The rain will be great help to relieve drought, it will be a critical rain for the growth of winter wheat, even a few millimeter of precipitation will be quite helpful."

The persistent 62 drought in this country's winter-wheat producing areas has left a quarter of the farmland in a 'severe drought' condition.

China's winter wheat accounts for 95-percent of this country's overall wheat output.

The system is also expected to bring strong winds with it, which should help blow off the haze which has been lingering over many parts of central and eastern China recently.

Chinese Version of Mama Mia! To Hit Theater in July

The Chinese language version of ABBA's hit musical "Mamma Mia!" will open in China this July, as the 13th foreign language production of the show.

The musical uses the songs of ABBA, and follows the story of a mother planning her daughter Sophie's wedding, still unaware 63 the girl has invited three men who might be her father.

Cast members have now been confirmed after a half-year of auditions 64. Zhang Fangyu from Taiwan will take on the role as Sophie, and earned the part ahead of more than a thousand other candidates.

"It came as a great surprise for me. There are millions of talents in the mainland so I thought the chance for me to win is very slim. How am I able to compete with them? So when I got the news I was very very happy."

To attract more ordinary people to watch the musical, the lowest price is 99 yuan.

The new version is also said to be the first time that a blockbuster contemporary musical been presented in the Chinese language in the country.

Shuttle Discovery Thunders into Orbit for the Final Time

Discovery, the world's most traveled spaceship, has thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey that marks the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

The six astronauts on board, all experienced space travelers, say they are thrilled to be on their way, after a delay of nearly four months for fuel tank repairs.

Mike Leinbach is the Shuttle Launch Director for Discovery's 39th mission.

"It was a kind of exciting last few minutes of this countdown. Several of us have been around for many, many countdowns, and this was one for the record books."

The 11-day mission will be the last for Discovery, which is to be retired 65 and put into a museum.

NASA is under US presidential direction to retire the shuttle fleet this summer and let private companies take over trips into orbit, instead focusing on getting astronauts to asteroids 66 and to Mars.

Newspaper Picks

From the Shanghai Daily:

Hundreds of customers cued for hours Friday at one of Shanghai's Best Buy outlets 67 to try to deal with issues of after-sale service, insurance and membership cards, after the appliances retail 68 giant reopened its two Shanghai stores, following their sudden closure on Tuesday.

A long queue snaked along a pedestrian overpass 69 in front of one of the stores and needed more than 10 policemen to maintain order.

The store, already empty inside, only had four information desks to handle customer inquiries 70. People had to wait at least two hours to be seen.

On top of the customers, more than 100 employees who are not satisfied with the company's compensation were also at the store to try to renegotiate their severance 71.

***************************

Also from the Shanghai Daily:

A 27-year old doctor has now been suspended, after writing on her blog that she wished her patient would die, but only after she finished her shift.

A microblogger who goes by the name of "snooky" wrote on her Sina-dot-com microblog that her patient's blood oxygen was falling, and complained that she would probably have to get up in the middle of the night to pick the patient up.

"Snooky" went on to write that she even had the funeral home's number on hand.

The post sparked a frenzy 72 on the internet, with people upset enough to go online and track "snooky" down through her photos.

Turns out "snooky" is a 27-year old doctor at the Shantou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong.

Market update

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, bouncing back from a three-day sell-off as oil prices stabilized 73, but unease over the Libyan rebellion could be enough to keep buying in check.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.5 percent to 12,130. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1 percent to finish at 1,320. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.6 percent to close at 2,781.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.4 percent to 8122. Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent to 7185, while France's CAC 40 added 1.5 percent to 4070.