TAIPEI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Hu Jintao's talk to Taiwan business people during his Spring Festival visit in Fujian Province delivered goodwill to Taiwan, media and scholars on the island said.Leading newspapers in Taiwan including the China Times and the United Daily News followed the developments of Hu's four-day inspection tour in Fujian, which faces Taiwan.Hu ended his tour on Feb. 15 after visiting Zhangzhou, Longyan and Xiamen and celebrated the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with local residents and Taiwan compatriots living in Fujian.Hu told Taiwan business people the mainland would try its best in everything that would benefit Taiwan compatriots, and "we will honor our words."Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd L), who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), talks with a businessman (1st L) from China's Taiwan Province, at the Zhangpu Pioneer Park of Taiwan farmers in Zhangzhou, east China's Fujian Province, Feb. 12, 2010He also said the negotiation on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between the mainland and Taiwan would "put into full consideration the interests of Taiwan compatriots, especially those of farmers."The China Times carried a commentary saying the message conveyed in Hu's speech to Taiwan business people was worth careful reading by Taiwan authorities.The online edition of the Central Daily News also released a commentary headlined "Hu Jintao celebrates Spring Festival in Fujian, delivers goodwill to Taiwan people."Hsu Wun-Pin, a renowned lawyer in Taiwan, said Hu's visit highlighted the role of culture and kinship in cross-Strait relations.Hsu's ancestors lived in Tong'an, now a district of the coastal city of Xiamen.Tamkang University prof. Chang Wu-yueh said Hu's choice of visiting Taiwan businessmen in cities that saw thriving cross-Strait exchanges during the most important traditional festival of the Chinese nation clearly displayed the mainland's high expectations of cross-Strait relations.
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese leaders on Saturday joined representatives of Beijing residents and the People's Liberation Army to watch a show to mark the upcoming traditional Chinese New Year.Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang watched the performance themed on close army-civilian relations in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese top leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang pose with performers for a group photo after an evening party welcoming the upcoming Chinese traditional Spring Festival, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6, 2010The traditional Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, falls on Feb. 14 this year.
BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The development road of China will be bumpy and even thorny in the next few years, Premier Wen Jiabao told a press conference Sunday rightly after the conclusion of the national legislature's annual session.He called for unslackened efforts to tackle difficulties, saying "we must have firm confidence."Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao smiles during a press conference after the closing meeting of the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2010."No matter how high a mountain is, one can always ascend to the top. The only way out and hope when facing difficulties lie in our own efforts," Wen said.He also said he holds deep love for the country and vowed strong commitments in the next three years of his term.
BEIJING, Jan. 19 -- The government is considering evacuating all Chinese nationals from the Haiti disaster zone, Foreign Ministry officials said Monday.If local conditions become too difficult and no country can offer shelter to the Chinese living in Haiti, the government is prepared to evacuate all nationals, Wei Wei, director of the ministry's consular department, said.Apart from the Chinese in Haiti on governmental or other business, Wei said he believed there are about 10 other nationals in Haiti - mainly working for mainland companies or at local Chinese restaurants - as well as about 20 illegal immigrants.Amid the ongoing relief efforts following the 7.0-magnitude quake, the capital Port-au-Prince has been hit by sporadic violence and looting. However, Wei said that all Chinese nationals there have been safely accommodated.A chartered flight took 11 staff of ZTE, a Chinese communications technology company, to neighboring Dominican Republic on Friday.There are also about 30 Taiwan residents in Haiti and, although Wei had no specific details, he said the government would provide help to anyone who requested it. One Taiwan resident has asked for help, he said without elaborating.About 230 Chinese were in Haiti at the time of the disaster. Most are safe but eight Chinese police officers on a peacekeeping mission died in a collapsed United Nations building. Their bodies were being flown home last night on a chartered flight.More than 50,000 people have died in the aftermath of the quake, and the final death toll could be as high as 200,000, according to Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, the nation's interior minister.And while the disaster last Tuesday may have happened on the other side of the world, the shock has been felt deeply in China, especially in Sichuan province, where residents are still recovering from the 8-magnitude quake that struck there on May 12, 2008, and killed more than 69,000."Hearing about this disaster in Haiti, although it is far away, it is as if the cracks beneath our feet have opened up again. It has all come rushing back for us," said Li Yong, a farmer in Beichuan, the county worst hit by the 2008 quake.The horrific disaster brings back bad memories for the people who lived through the Wenchuan earthquake. Huang Zhiling in Chengdu, Guo Anfei in Kunming and Wang Shanshan in Beijing reportLi Yong's family lost their home in the 2008 disaster and now live in a shabby temporary home built with wooden boards. His 18-year-old son, Li Anqiang, also had both legs amputated after being pulled from the rubble of the collapsed Beichuan Middle School. Many of his classmates were killed.Apart from what they make selling potatoes, the family survives on a monthly government subsidy of just 800 yuan (0), which is paid to them to help care for Li Anqiang. But despite the family's struggles, Li Yong said they are desperate to help those left in similar situations by the 7.3-magnitude quake in Haiti."We heard about the deaths through our neighbors. The people in Haiti are much poorer than we are, and we really want to help them. I hope that we can do something for them," he said. "Our life is good. After what we have gone through, we really feel sorry for the people in Haiti."Many in Sichuan, particularly children, are still in too much trauma to hear the word "earthquake", said Wang Zhihang, 53, a volunteer who tours schools in the area offering emotional support to victims."Those children who have been able to face the reality of the disaster in Haiti have shown real concern for the victims. Most have already joined in with fundraising events at schools across the province," said Wang, who is based in the provincial capital, Chengdu.The people in Sichuan understand full well the kind of relief operation that is now under way in Haiti. For those who were close to the epicenter in 2008, such as 20-year-old student Wang Li, they will also be able to understand the true terror of being trapped for hours by rubble.Wang was attending class at her middle school in Xiaode when the disaster struck - and was on the fourth floor when the building collapsed."The disaster in Haiti reminds me of the hours I was trapped in the dark. I was there for one day and one night," she said. "I passed out immediately when the building fell, but when I regained consciousness I could see I was buried under rock with two classmates. I knew one of them was dead. I called her name but she didn't respond. I reached out and checked her pulse, but her heart had already stopped beating."Wang lost her left leg in the disaster and had to take the national college entrance exam in a hospital ward during her recovery. She now studies at Chongqing Electronic and Engineering College."As I am a student, I cannot help out the Haitians financially but I feel their agony. All I can do is to pray for them," she said.Wei Min, 18, also lost a leg in the Sichuan earthquake. She was so moved by the kindness shown by strangers during her treatment in Chongqing, she has set her heart on a career in social work as a way to repay some of the compassion she experienced."With international aid, I believe Haiti will recover, although the process of recovering from an earthquake is lengthy," said Wei, who is from a poor farming family in Leigu, Beichuan county.
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Sunday China is firmly opposed to the recent moves by the United States that undermined China's core interests and the overall interests of bilateral ties and called for joint efforts to promote a return to sound relations."The responsibility for the current difficulty in Sino-U.S. relations does not lie with China," Yang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's supreme legislature.He said that the China-U.S relationship had a good start after President Obama took office last year.However, the U.S arms sales to Taiwan and U.S leaders' meetings with the ** Lama "caused a serious disturbance to China-U.S ties and posed difficulty to the cooperation between the two countries," he said.
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said Thursday that the civilians and army should develop favorable interactions to secure both economic and defense development.The government will mobilize various social resources to support the modernization of and various military demands of the army, said Hui at a meeting here.It will also work to better protect the legal rights and interests of servicemen and their families, he said.Hui also hoped the armed forces could contribute to the development and stability of the Chinese society.To develop close army-civilian relations, the government and armed forces should work together to solve problems that common people and soldiers care most and well settle the disputes between the army and localities, so as to well safeguard the fundamental interests of the army and civilians, he said.
北京加固粘钢板
MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian officials and experts have expressed optimism on further expansion of Sino-Russian ties on the eve of a visit here by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping.A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday that Xi’s visit to Russia would further promote bilateral cooperation.Xi was invited by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to attend the inauguration of the Year of Chinese Language, and the opening ceremony of the second round of dialogue between the Chinese and Russian ruling parties, Qin Gang said."The Year of Chinese Language will promote mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Russian people, which would also enhance the two countries' cultural cooperation," he said.At a press conference for the upcoming Year of Chinese Language held here on Wednesday, Li Hui, Chinese ambassador to Russia, said the language year would be conducive to nurturing language talents and deepening the bilateral relationship."I hope that, through the Year of Chinese Language, Russian people, particularly the young people, will understand Chinese society and traditional culture,” he said.China held the Year of Russian Language in 2009 and, with this year's reciprocation in Russia, is an effort to further consolidate the bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation.Li said previously the Year of Chinese Language, with its many events, would write a new page in China-Russia ties and elevate bilateral relations to a new high.In a recent interview with Xinhua, Alexander Lukin, director of the Center for East Asia and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies at Moscow State University for International Relations, said Russia-China ties, which have been developing smoothly, are at their best in history.The current ties between Russia and China are entirely equal and are based on practical interests, Lukin said."The two countries have almost no contradictions. Both support a multi-polar world and oppose a global structure dominated by a certain country," he said.Several leading Russian Sinologists, who attended a recent reception for the traditional Chinese lantern festival, all hailed the achievements made in Russia-China relations in recent years.Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Denisov and Mikhail Titarenko, chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association, said the frequent high-level exchanges in 2009, joint celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Russia-China diplomatic relations and the success of the Year of Russian Language had played a key role in deepening bilateral relations.They said Russia-China relations would maintain sound development in 2010 and a series of grand events, including the Year of Chinese Language, would further boost bilateral ties.
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin Sunday urged Beijing to transform its economic development pattern and improve people's livelihood.Beijing should foster more enterprises in high tech industry, build Zhongguancun, dubbed as China's "silicon valley", into in an innovation hub with global influence, said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), during his inspection in Beijing on Saturday and Sunday.Jia called on the Chinese capital to take positive steps to shape an eco-friendly and energy-saving industrial framework, growth pattern and consumption mode.In addition, the city should spend more efforts in solving problems in people's daily life, including housing, traffic, education, health care and social security, he said.Jia also met with local political advisors and representatives from all walks of life, calling on them to study major economic and social issues and contribute their talent to the scientific development and social harmony and stability.
BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers from across the country have gathered in Beijing for the upcoming Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC).NPC deputies from central China's Henan Province arrived in Beijing by train at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, becoming the last group to reach the country's capital city for the annual parliament session, which is scheduled to begin Friday.Aside from reviewing the government's work report for last year, voting on the central and local governments' draft budgets for 2010, discussing an amendment to the Electoral Law and mapping out this year's development blueprint, the lawmakers will also take part in three rounds of online dialogues with the public.The three online dialogues would be held on March 5, March 11, and March 12, respectively.The lawmakers would be joined by officials from the Ministry of Health, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate during the online dialogues.The NPC session's press center has begun soliciting questions for the three dialogues on the NPC's website, as well as from a dozen of popular news portals, including Xinhuanet, on Tuesday.
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Presidents of China and Zambia on Thursday pledged joint efforts to bringing bilateral relationship to a new high.The pledge came out of their hour-long summit talks in Beijing as China rolled out the red carpet for Rupiah Banda, who was on his first state visit to the country since becoming Zambian President in 2008.Banda was welcomed by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) holds a welcoming ceremony for visiting Zambian President Rupiah Banda in Beijing, China, Feb. 25, 2010. Banda arrived here Wednesday to kick off his first state visit to China, strengthening the ties of friendship"I highly appreciate your commitment to promoting practical cooperation between China and Zambia since you assumed presidency," Hu said at the start of the talks."I believe your visit will turn a new page in the bilateral friendship and bring the relationship to a new high," Hu said.Banda recalled "the historic relations that exist between our two countries that go back before our independence." China and Zambia forged diplomatic ties in October 1964.Banda highlighted "the sacrifices many young Chinese made in order to construct the first railway line connecting Tanzania and Zambia."The about-1,860-kilometer railway, one of the largest foreign-aid project undertaken by China, was financed and built by China in 1970s. More than 60 Chinese died in constructing the railway.