China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), the cradle of diplomats, set up a new school on Friday - the College of Diplomacy and International Relations - with former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing as the dean. Meeting students at a ceremony marking his appointment, Li highlighted the key criteria for a diplomat.Li Zhaoxing (Right), former foreign minister, receives a certificate naming him the dean of the College of Diplomacy and International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University on Friday from Wu Jianmin, university president. [Xinhua] "The most important is love for your country. This is my deepest feeling during my career at the foreign ministry," said Li."I hope graduates from this college can better serve our country, our people and contribute to peace and development around the world," he added.Li, a diplomat for nearly 40 years, retired this spring. He was appointed foreign minister in 2003, and was Chinese ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2001.Some students said they like Li's animated style and are excited to have him as the dean."He is very friendly," said Wang Lei, a third-year student majoring in diplomacy.CFAU President Wu Jianmin said the establishment of the school reflects "a golden era" for China's diplomacy."China's diplomacy has entered a golden era, and it is in this context that the college has been set up," said Wu, who was formerly ambassador to France."Never have we seen such a big stage for us, never have people expected so much of us, and never has the world looked at China with such a high hope," he added.CFAU, established in 1955, is affiliated to the Foreign Ministry, and specializes in training international affairs experts and diplomats.
BEIJIN - A Chinese zoo will compensate a man whose daughter was mauled to death by a tiger while she was waiting to have her picture taken with it, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. Visitors pose for a picture with a tiger chained to a shelf at a park in Huaibei, East China's Anhui Province in this March 26, 2006 file photo.[newsphoto] The six-year-old was preparing to be photographed with a tiger from a local circus last month when a camera flash startled the animal and it turned on the girl who was standing behind, "biting her head", the report said. Kunming zoo, in China's southwest, will pay the father 340,000 yuan (,980), it added. "Nothing can compensate for the loss of my daughter. I hope the government can ban dangerous circus performances in case more people are hurt," Xinhua quoted father Mo Jicai as saying. In 2001, a female worker at the same zoo was also killed by a tiger. And in January, a tiger at the Kunming Wildlife Park attacked another child, but zookeepers were able to open the animal's mouth and save the child, Xinhua said.
BEIJING, March 10 -- Tianjin's mayor assured investors Sunday that the city's pilot program, allowing mainlanders to invest in Hong Kong-listed shares, is on track. "There's a lot of preparation involved. Risk assessment and research is under way to open the door for mainlanders to invest in the Hong Kong stock market," Huang Xingguo, mayor of Tianjin, said Sunday. "The project's going smoothly, but timing depends on central government approval. I can assure you that Tianjin's status as a pilot city (for financial reform) will not change," he said. The scheme is in line with the nation's economic development and investor demand and will be an effective way to bring in conversion of the renminbi via capital accounts, Guo Qingping, chief of Bank of China's (BOC) Tianjin branch, said on the sidelines of yesterday's NPC session. But authorities are cautious about rushing the program through, due to its complexity and risk. "One risk is hot money flowing into and out of the mainland," Guo said. BOC was originally expected to be the only financial institution providing the program, but Guo said the details are still being ironed out. The trial scheme was announced in August last year as a way to diversify mainland investor channels. But it's been put on hold amid the unfolding US subprime crisis and global stock market uncertainty. Preparation for the program includes payment systems, renminbi conversion, regulation changes as well as extensive risk assessment, Huang said. Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, told China Daily earlier that no timetable has been set for the pilot scheme, which will allow mainlanders to invest directly in Hong Kong-listed shares. The regulator stressed that more research into the system is needed. Meanwhile, a timetable is not yet available for Tianjin's new offshore financial center, which is also subject to further research, according to Guo from BOC.
Fifty-two workers were trapped early Sunday when a torrent of mud and water engulfed a rail tunnel under construction in central China. Rescue teams managed to free 35 of the workers building the tunnel in Hubei province and the remaining 17 trapped about 200 metres (660 feet) below ground would soon be freed, the Xinhua New Agency added. Earlier reports said 38 workers were trapped in the accident Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding and mudslides across many areas of central China in recent weeks. According to Xinhua news agency, 78 people died and 18 are still missing after three days of downpours set off flash floods in Henan province in the past week. More than 700 people have been killed by floods, landslides and lightning this year in China, according to latest official figures that have yet to tally the past week's casualties.
SHENYANG, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine descendants of the Chinese painter Qi Baishi have made agreements with one of 19 publishers and received books worth 100,000 yuan (14,051 U.S. dollars) as compensation over copyright infringement, a local court said on Thursday. The Chinese Drama Publishing House contacted Qi's descendants and decided to give them books worth 200,000 yuan with a 50 percent discount as compensation after the court handed down the petition paper on Feb. 26, according to Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Thursday. Qi's offspring will have 90 percent copyright of the pirated book "Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi's Seal Cutting" during the next 49 years and the publishing house has the remaining ten percent, according to their agreement. Qi's descendants sued 24 publishers for 10 million yuan (1.3 million U.S. dollars) in damages for copyright infringement in December 2007. The court accepted 19 of them. The claims were made against publishers based in Shanghai, Chongqing and other places, according to documents from the court. Qi Bingyi, the painter's grandson said all the art works of his grandfather should enjoy the protection of copyright for 50 years after his death in 1957, but the publishers printed, published and sold the copies of the works without permission and also failed to pay contribution fees. The largest damages claim ranged from 100,000 yuan to more than three million yuan. The evidence that the plaintiffs collected included more than 100 items, including books, gold coins, paintings and seals. The court began hearing four of the suits on Feb. 25 and a decision is yet to be handed down.
乌市阴唇整形
HANGZHOU - Nineteen people are missing with only one rescued after a Liberian ship collided with a fishing boat in the East China Sea on Saturday night, said the Zhejiang Maritime Affairs Bureau on Sunday.A spokesman with the bureau said that the Liberian ship, "Formosa 10", collided with the fishing boat about 11:40 pm in the sea off the eastern Zhejiang Province, on its way from Taiwan to the Republic of Korea.The fishing boat, with 20 people on board, capsized."Most of the missing people are local fishermen and the others are from the neighboring provinces," said the spokesman.The provincial search and rescue center sent more than ten searching boats to the scene immediately and a helicopter arrived to assist in the operation around 6:45 am on Sunday.More than 20 fishing boats also participated in the rescue work."The visibility at the sea is favorable but the temperature of the sea water is very low. Usually, it's hard for people to survive more than 12 hours in such cold water," rescuers said.
China has paid its dues to the UN in time, one of China's representatives to the world body has said."This year, assessed contributions (UN membership dues) and peacekeeping assessments both will go up significantly for China, with the total being 0 million, a 42 percent increase against last year," a member of China's delegation to the Fifth Committee of the 62nd UN General Assembly, Yu Hong, said.Speaking at a conference on "Improving the Financial Situation" of the UN in New York last week, he said China has provided equipment worth more than million to its peacekeeping troops in Sudan and Liberia, too.The country will pay the bulk of its outstanding peacekeeping dues before the end of the year, Yu said."China has a very good reputation in fulfilling its financial promises to the UN," Wu Miaofa, a UN expert with the China Institute for International Studies, said. "China has become an active participant and constructor of the organization."The increase in China's financial contribution and its fulfilment of the promises show that it's willing to shoulder more international responsibility, he said.The UN's financial condition has deteriorated this year because of the rise in unpaid contributions."A sound financial condition is most important for the UN to perform its functions as the most important world body," Wu said, urging all member states to honor their financial obligations in time.
A former top official from Beijing is facing prosecution for taking bribes from property developers, advertising companies and other businesses, a local newspaper reported Thursday.Zhou Liangluo, 46, former head of Haidian district, the city's thriving university and hi-tech hub, received bribes totaling 16 million yuan (.2 million) from 10 businesses and individuals, the Beijing Times reported.Caijing magazine said on its website last month that Zhou was apparently uncovered when authorities were investigating Liu Zhihua - the former vice-mayor of Beijing - for alleged corruption and finding out that a real estate developer Liu Jun had been bribing the two.However, there is so far no evidence proving the alleged links.Investigators last month handed Zhou's case to a city court for trial.His wife, Lu Xiaodan, also faces charges of taking more than 8 million yuan in bribes, the paper said.Beijing has enjoyed an influx of investment over recent years, partly spurred by its preparations to host the Olympics Games.Zhou's posts in Haidian, and before that in Chaoyang district, gave him a big say over lucrative projects.The report did not say when Zhou and Lu are to be tried or how they are expected to plead to the possible charges.
The average wedding cost in urban China hits a record of 560,000 yuan (US,572), and young couples are heavily depending on parents' financial aids to pave the way for their marriages, reported the Jiefang Daily Friday.2006 China Wedding Expo was held at Beijing Exhibition Center from August 11-13. Various wedding photos and other related wedding outfits had been exhibited during the expo. [CRI]The 560,000 yuan is based on some 60,000 valid questionnaires of a recent survey conducted by the Committee of China Wedding Expo.According the survey, the wedding related expense, honeymoon, new house and car are prime contributors to the soaring marriage cost in the urban area. The wedding related cost, including wedding picture, dress, ceremony, feast, jewelry is 139,557 yuan in average. The average costs of honeymoon and a new car are 9,227 yuan and 94,800 yuan respectively. Housing expense fuels the marriage cost by adding 308,600 yuan in average. According to the survey, 81.6 per cent of young couples' marriages are funded by their parents. No matter parents finance some of it, half of it or all of it. "Parents are the young couple's first-choice sponsor of their luxurious wedding," said Liao Junguo, the director of the data center of China Wedding Expo. "I am willing to give my boy a hand as it is a tradition of Chinese parents to take care of their children's wedding," a senior surnamed Zhang said. The skyrocketing marriage cost in urban area put many engaged couples in an awkward position when it comes to the question of getting married. Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage, but the carriage nowadays is loaded with money.