BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A reception was given here Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin attended the event. Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, congratulated the DPRK on the anniversary, hailing the DPRK's economic and social achievements over the past six decades. "We are wholeheartedly glad to see it, and hope to see the DPRK and its people score bigger achievements in their future national construction," Jia said at the opening of the reception. Jia Qinglin (L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, toasts with Choe Jin Su, ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to China, during a reception at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 8, 2008. DPRK Ambassador to China Choe Jin Su held the reception on Sept. 8 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaThe senior Chinese leader also highlighted the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, vowing that China will continue to make joint efforts with the DPRK to push forward the bilateral relations to a new level. Choe Jin Su, DPRK ambassador to China, said that the DPRK highly values its ties with China and will join with China to further promote relations, especially at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship next year. He also expressed his congratulations on the success of the Beijing Olympic Games.
BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A reception was given here Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin attended the event. Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, congratulated the DPRK on the anniversary, hailing the DPRK's economic and social achievements over the past six decades. "We are wholeheartedly glad to see it, and hope to see the DPRK and its people score bigger achievements in their future national construction," Jia said at the opening of the reception. Jia Qinglin (L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, toasts with Choe Jin Su, ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to China, during a reception at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 8, 2008. DPRK Ambassador to China Choe Jin Su held the reception on Sept. 8 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaThe senior Chinese leader also highlighted the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, vowing that China will continue to make joint efforts with the DPRK to push forward the bilateral relations to a new level. Choe Jin Su, DPRK ambassador to China, said that the DPRK highly values its ties with China and will join with China to further promote relations, especially at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship next year. He also expressed his congratulations on the success of the Beijing Olympic Games.
BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Media Village opened on Friday for 21,600 domestic and foreign registered reporters, amid some foreign media's concerns about free reporting in China. Friday's People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling party, ran a commentary appealing to administrations and common people to "befriend the media." "To serve the media is to serve the Olympic Games," the article said. "To befriend the media is to befriend the audience." About 30,000 reporters are expected to cover the Games, the most in Olympic history, which means the number in the audience could be the highest ever too. "It is through the media that the audience across the world are learning about the Olympics, China and Beijing," the newspaper said. Volunteers provide service for reporters at an entrance to the media village for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, July 25, 2008. The media center opens on Friday to journalists from all around the world.The Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) and Chinese government obviously have a full understanding of the role media will play in the coming grand sport event. In early this month, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping included well serving the media in the top eight tasks of the last-minute preparation for the Games. "We should provide a good service to the media according to the promises we made, international practice and Chinese laws. Through rich Olympic news, we are to share the joy of the Games with people worldwide," he said in the speech to officials 30 days before the start of the Games. Beijing has opened three media centers, the Main Press Center (MPC), the International Broadcast Center (IBC) and the Beijing International Media Center (BIMC). The former, on the Beijing National Olympic Green Convention Center, covers 150,000 square meters, the largest in Olympic history. The latter, to receive about 5,000 non-registered reporters, is of 60,000 square meters. A reporter checks in at the media village for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, July 25, 2008. The media center opens on Friday to journalists from all around the world. In the first 12 days since their opening, 23 press conferences have been held at the MPC and BIMC. At the BIMC website, phone numbers of ministries in China's central government are publicized. At the center, printed manuals about covering news outside Beijing are offered with contacts of local governments and major enterprises. About 150,000 guides about China and the Games written in 19 languages have been handed out. And the BIMC staff have received and processed more than 200 requests for interviews, half from foreign media. Although worries about free news reporting are lingering, covering news in China has undergone notable changes. A regulation on reporting activities in China by foreign media during the Games and the preparatory period has, since January last year, lifted several rules over foreign reporters. They no longer need approval from the local government's foreign affairs department but only agreement from the people or organizations to be interviewed. Reporters walk to their rooms at the media village for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, July 25, 2008. The media center opens on Friday to journalists from all around the world.Local authorities are urged to cooperate with media even when the interview involves sensitive topics such as environmental protection, AIDS and housing displacement. They are also cooperating in response to media requests such as to give live report from the Tian'anmen square, China's political symbol, to import satellite news operations, to hire helicopters for shooting and set up cameras in some popular tourists sites. "We could regard the Olympics as a chance to push the country to open to global media," said Ren Zhanjiang, dean of the Department of Journalism and Communication, China Youth University for Political Sciences. Some changes will continue after the Games. In April last year, the Chinese government issued a regulation asking administrations to publicize information that the public should learn about. The law on emergency responses, adopted in August 2007, cancelled an item in its draft that banned media from reporting emergencies without permission from the authority.Reporters from all around the world check in at the reception of the media village for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, July 25, 2008. The media center opens on Friday to journalists from all around the world.It was implemented when the devastating May 12 earthquake jolted southwest China. The first news about the earthquake came minutes after tremors were felt while the death toll, which used to be a taboo in disaster news reporting, was announced and updated daily until now. A day later foreign correspondents were reporting news on the earthquake ruins, and continued to do so. The country faced criticism for not allowing any foreign media to enter Tibet immediately after the Lhasa violence on March 14, although reporters already there were allowed to continue to report until their permits ran out. Chinese news stories were publicized straight after the incident happened in the Tibetan city, including TV footage about violent attacks on the street. This surprised Chinese audiences who have become used to a diet of positive news. As the International Olympic Committee said in its report when choosing Beijing to host the 2008 Olympic Games, the Games would leave a unique legacy to China and to sport. There are reasons to believe that part of the legacy will be a country opening wider to the world.
BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Hu Jintao met with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon. Hu said that with the joint efforts of the CPC and KMT, and of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the political situation in Taiwan has gone through positive changes, and the cross-Strait relationship faces a precious opportunity. "We should cherish this hard-earned situation," said Hu. It is the first meeting between chiefs of the two parties since positive changes took place in Taiwan. Hu invited Wu to attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Wu thanked him and accepted the invitation with pleasure. Hu Jintao (R), General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, shakes hands with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on May 28, 2008. Hu Jintao met with Wu Poh-hsiung and all the members of the visiting KMT group here on Wednesday. Hu said currently, reopening the cross-strait talks and to achieve substantial results constitutes an important indication of the improvement and development of the cross-strait relations. He called for resuming exchanges and talks, based on the "1992 Consensus", between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), as early as possible, and practically solving problems concerning the two sides through talks on equal footing. Once the ARATS-SEF dialogue is resumed, priority should be given to issues including cross-Strait weekend chartered flights and approval for mainland residents traveling to Taiwan, which are of the biggest concern to people on both sides of the Strait, said Hu. He urged the two sides to work together to resolve the two issues in the shortest time. Hu expressed hope that the regularization of the talks between the two organizations could be pushed forward smoothly and achievements made constantly. Leaders of the two organizations should exchange visits when it is convenient for both sides, he said. Hu pledged support to sending "Tuantuan" and "Yuanyuan," a pair of pandas the mainland has promised to send to Taiwan people as gifts, to Taiwan as soon as possible. Hu expressed hope that the two parties and both sides across the strait could make joint efforts to build mutual trust, lay aside disputes, seek consensus and shelve differences, and jointly create a win-win situation. He also called for continuing to follow and effectively implement the "common aspiration and prospects for cross-strait peace and development" to concretely push forward the actual development of cross-strait relations, and strengthen the confidence of Taiwan compatriots in the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Hu welcomed Wu and all the members of the visiting KMT group. Hu said Wu's first visit to the mainland as the KMT chairman is a major event for relations between the CPC and the KMT and relations between the mainland and Taiwan. He expressed hope that on the basis of previous exchanges and dialogues, the two parties would further exchange views on promoting the improvement and development of relations between the mainland and Taiwan and looking to the future, jointly work for peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait. On behalf of the KMT and Taiwan compatriots, Wu extended sympathy to compatriots in the areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China. He said the KMT and all social circles in Taiwan would actively assist in the rebuilding of disaster-hit areas. Hu thanked Taiwan compatriots for their concern and generous donations and assistance to relief efforts in the wake of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province. "The love and benevolence Taiwan compatriots have shown to the people in disaster-hit areas is deeply moving," he said, adding it was touching that on the afternoon of May 12, shortly after the earthquake struck, the Central Committee of the KMT sent a telegram of sympathy. Hu said the brotherly love and care shown by compatriots in the disaster was particularly valuable. It was not only the spiritual power of the Chinese nation to unite and help each other to jointly conquer the hardships, but would also become a strong driving force for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to join efforts in building a better future. Hu expressed condolences to the families of two Taiwan tourists who died during the quake, noting more than 2,890 Taiwan tourists were evacuated out of the affected areas and returned home smoothly. Wu said the "sky has cleared after the rain" for the cross-strait relationship, and an opportunity for building up mutual benefits and renovating the cooperation has come. The mainstream public opinion in Taiwan expects the relationship to become more good-willed and interactive. He said the KMT has listed the "common aspiration and prospects for cross-strait peace and development" into its guiding political principle, and has made it a promise for compatriots across the Strait. "We hope that both sides across the strait will lay aside disputes, and work for a win-win situation on the basis of the '1992 consensus,'" he said. He hoped the cross-strait negotiation, which had been severed for years, would be resumed as soon as possible. The KMT hopes that cross-strait chartered flights on weekends and mainland tourists' visit to Taiwan could be realized in July, he said. He expressed hope that the giant pandas, which people in Taiwan, especially children, are very fond of, can come to live in Taiwan soon. He said he would invite the chairman of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) to visit Taiwan at an appropriate time. Wu said some Taiwan people had doubts over the development of the cross-strait relations, and that KMT itself shares Taiwan people's wish for the island to take part in international activities. However, the KMT was against some people's distortion of "Taiwan consciousness" into "Taiwan independence consciousness," he said. Wu expressed hope that through expanded exchanges, reciprocal and win-win cooperation across the strait, the suspicion of some Taiwan people would be dissolved. Hu said with regard to the question of Taiwan compatriots participating in international activities, the mainland side understood their feelings. According to the "common aspiration and prospects for cross-strait peace and development," Taiwan compatriots' participation in international activities would be discussed with priority given to participation of the World Health Organization's (WHO) activities after the cross-strait consultations were resumed. "I believe that if two sides can work together and create conditions, solutions will be found to these issues through consultation," Hu said. He stressed that on developing cross-strait relations, the CPC has always adhered to the principal of safeguarding the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and safeguarding the common interests of all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots. "We care for, respect and believe in the Taiwan compatriots. As to the misunderstanding and suspicion harbored by some Taiwan compatriots concerning the cross-strait relations, we will not only give our understandings but also take active measures to dissolve them," he said. To realize the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, the more people unite with us, the better, he said. Wu said the two parties needed to continue strengthening exchanges and dialogues in the future, hold economic, trade and cultural forums or peace forums at appropriate time, and continue to have inter-party exchanges at the grassroot level, so as to make the two parties' exchange platform more solid and impact more far-reaching. After the cross-strait consultations resume, Wu said, the regularized consultations between the two sides and the two parties' exchange platform should play roles at the same time. Wu expressed hope that the two parties would make joint efforts and together with the compatriots from across the strait, create peace, promote stability and development and share prosperity. Hu stressed that under the new circumstances, the two parties should expand exchanges and bring the role of exchange platform between the two parties into full play. He expressed hope that the two parties can bear in mind the welfare of compatriots across the strait and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, unswervingly promote the peaceful development of the cross-strait relations, and make joint efforts to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Also present at the meeting were senior mainland officials including Wang Qishan, Ling Jihua, Wang Huning, Dai Bingguo and Chen Yunlin. Hu hosted a banquet for Wu and his delegation after the meeting.
GUANGZHOU/NANJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The first cross-Strait weekend chartered flight from China's mainland to Taiwan took off at 6:31 a.m. from Guangzhou, capital city of the southern Guangdong Province early Friday morning. More than 100 mainland tourists aboard the Airbus A330 became the first group of people on a sight-seeing tour allowed to Taiwan amid warming cross-Strait ties. The flight has 258 passengers. The historic flight by China Southern Airlines (CSA) is scheduled to land at Taipei Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan at 8:10 a.m. after a 1,124-km journey. "I have been expecting to visit Taiwan, the Treasure Island, and my dream will finally come true today," mainland tourist Shi Anwei told Xinhua before boarding the plane. "I was too excited to sleep last night." Following suit was a flight from Xiamen of eastern Fujian Province that took off at 7:16 a.m. The flight, MF881 by the Xiamen Airlines with 203 passengers, is expected to arrive at the Songshan Airport of Taipei at 8:51 a.m. Each passenger witnessing the historical moment received a gift package from the airlines, which enclosed a model plane and map of Taiwan. At a separate ceremony in East China's Nanjing City marking thecity as the fifth new city to conduct the cross-Strait chartered flight, Zheng Lizhong, mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Executive Vice Chairman, said the start of the weekend chartered flight and beginning of the mainland tourists' visit to Taiwan "is destined to open a new chapter in the cross-Straits cultural and economic communications." A high-ranking mainland aviation official said that since Shanghai was chosen as the first city for cross-Strait flight operation five years ago, "there has been a small step each year, but they have amounted to a major step in the past five years." "The ever more frequent and convenient flights across the Straits are not only improved means of transportation, they are also an emotional and cultural bridge for the people, and changed the way of thinking of both sides," the official said. However, he said, real direct flight hadn't been realized yet as all of the planes flew to Taipei by way of Hong Kong. Quoting Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of Chinese democratic revolution, the official said, "the real success is still in front and we need to work harder." The first chartered flight from Nanjing started at 8:05 a.m. Some 760 Chinese mainland tourists from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou started the first weekend charter flight to Taiwan on Friday, three weeks after the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation met last month.
企业seo优化
BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China is likely to start monitoring ozone and particle pollution from next year as part of efforts to keep anti-pollution campaigns in force after the Olympics, an environmental official said on Sunday. Fan Yuansheng, of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), said the two pollutants had caused great concern and the MEP was making technical preparations to monitor them. "We should be able to start regular monitoring of ozone and PM2.5 (particle matter) next year, which would lead to measures to deal with them," Fan told a press conference. He was speaking in response to reports that China's environmental authorities had failed to include fine particles and ozone into their pollution measurements, causing ignorance of health damage caused by the pollutants. Photo taken on August 2, 2008 shows a parterre featuring the logo of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, capital of China. Fine particles, known as PM2.5, are tiny solid particles of 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. Health experts believe they are unhealthy to breathe and have been associated with fatal illnesses and other serious health problems. Colorless ozone is also believed to cause respiratory problems and to affect lung functions. There have been worries that the air in Beijing, the Chinese capital that will host the summer Olympic Games in five days, may be unhealthy for some athletes competing outdoors to breathe. China has taken drastic anti-pollution steps, such as closing factories surrounding Beijing and ordering half of 3.3 million cars in Beijing off the roads, to try to clean the sky during the Olympics. "These measures have been effective so far," said Fan, Director General of the MEP's Department of Pollution Control. Beijing basked under blue sky this weekend after being blanketed in a humid haze for a week. The Beijing Meteorological Bureau said on Sunday favorable weather conditions and a series of anti-pollution measures had combined to clear the normal smog above the city. Fan Yuansheng refuted allegations that China's air pollution standards were more lenient than World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Standards that China was using to control four major air pollutants - sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particles - followed the WHO's "phase one" guideline issued in 2005, he said. The WHO allows developing countries like China to begin from this guideline to eventually reach its stricter final goals, he said. Fan said measures adopted to reduce pollution in Beijing for its hosting of the summer Olympics would stay in force after the event. "Most of these measures are long-term ones and will remain after the Games. Not all the temporary measures will be retained after the Games, but they may provide clues for our future work," he said. The Chinese government recently warned that more factories could be temporarily shut down and more cars could be restricted from the roads in Beijing if "extremely unfavorable weather condition" occur to deteriorate the air during the Games. But many Beijing residents are more worried that air pollution could turn bad after the Olympics, with factories reopened, construction resumed and car no longer restricted. Fan argued that the Olympics would leave environmental legacies to Beijing and China, which has spent billions to clean the environment polluted by rapid industrialization. For example, the State Council, China's cabinet, has ordered all government cars to keep off the road for one day each week according the last figure of their plate number. This is a continuation of the temporary measures during the Olympic Games, Fan said. The MEP has launched a research on how to further improve air quality in the entire northern China where Beijing is, since air pollution is not a problem of Beijing alone, he said. Nearly 90 percent of coal-burning power plants in provinces neighboring Beijing have taken measures to reduce the emission of sulphur dioxide, and many vehicles have been upgraded to meet stricter emission requirements. Lu Xinyuan, Director General of the MEP's Bureau of Environmental Supervision, said about 200 environmental inspectors have been sent to Beijing and five neighboring provinces to check enterprises on their anti-pollution work. Meanwhile, 16 environmental groups based in Beijing on Sunday called on local motorists not to drive on Aug. 8, in order to help reduce pollution and road congestions when the Olympics open. They further encouraged private car owners to use public transport as much as possible during the Olympics and the following Paralympics to "contribute a blue sky to Beijing." The groups with over 200,000 members hoped the usage of private cars would be reduced by one million times if the campaign are well responded in the next two months, according to Yu Xinbin, member of the Global Village of Beijing, a non-governmental organization.
BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Prices of real estate in 70 major Chinese cities rose 7.0 percent in July on the same month of last year, 1.2 percentage points lower than the June level, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The NDRC, the country's top economic planning organ, said the growth rate had slowed down for six consecutive months. The price rise was 11.3 percent in January, 10.9 percent in February, 10.7 percent in March, 10.1 percent in April, 9.2 percent in May and 8.2 in June. Visitors view models of apartment buildings in a real estate fair in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on April 5, 2008. In July prices of new housing went up 7.9 percent, 1.3 percentage points lower than the month-earlier level. Haikou, Urumqi, Ningbo and Beijing took the lead in price rises. Seventeen cities experienced prices fall compared with the month earlier, including Haikou, Dali, Shenzhen and Chengdu among others. Prices of second-hand houses gained 6.0 percent year on year, 1.5 percentage points lower than June. New housing for non-residential use was priced 4.9 percent higher than last July, with prices of office buildings up 6.7 percent and those of commercial real estate up 4.1 percent.
HONG KONG, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said here Sunday he is glad to see that the Olympic spirit has won common acknowledgment among the general public in Hong Kong. He made the remarks when meeting with delegates of Hong Kong athletes and volunteers set to participate or serve in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. "I am very glad to see that you are all in such a good mood and so energetic. This is the spirit we need to stage a high-level Olympic Games with distinctive features," Xi told the delegates. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (C Front) meets with athletes of the Hong Kong team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, and representatives of volunteers in Hong Kong, south China, July 6, 2008 Hong Kong athletes have a glorious tradition and produced many world gold medalists for China, Xi said, citing former table tennis player Rong Guotuan and former swimmer Qi Lieyun as examples. Xi said volunteers devote their love to and promote harmony in the society, which incarnates the Olympic spirit, noting that 15,000 people have signed up to be the equestrian events volunteers in Hong Kong while more than 400 Hong Kong volunteers will work in Beijing during the Olympic Games. "The Olympic Games is a grand event not only for the athletes, but also for the volunteers. The most important thing is to participate," Xi said. Xi encouraged Hong Kong athletes to make full preparations for the Beijing Olympics and the Paralympics to demonstrate their best athletic skills and sportsmanship. Xi arrived in Hong Kong Sunday morning on a three-day visit. He met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Donald Tsang Yam-kuen Sunday morning. In the afternoon, Xi inspected the equestrian events venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics to get firsthand information about Hong Kong's preparations for the Games.Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (R) meets with athletes of the Hong Kong team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, and representatives of volunteers in Hong Kong, south China, July 6, 2008