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BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China lodged another stern representation to Japan on Friday over Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone's remarks that the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and United States is applicable to the Diaoyu Islands.     According to the reports by the Taiwan-based Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC), an official of the U.S. State Department, familiar with East Asian affairs, said at a press conference in Washington on Friday that the Diaoyu Islands were always under Japan's administrative jurisdiction and the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and United States was applicable to them.     Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone echoed the U.S. official's remarks afterwards.     Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu rejected Nakasone's remarks later in a press release, saying the Japan-U.S. Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty should not harm the interests of third parties, including China.     "Any words and deeds that bring the Diaoyu Islands into the scope of the Japan-U.S. Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty are absolutely unacceptable for the Chinese people," he said.     Ma stressed again that the Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets had been Chinese territories since ancient times and China held "indisputable" sovereignty over the islands.     "We have lodged stern representations to Japan again and required the United States to clarify reports on the issue," he said.     He also urged the two countries to realize the great sensitivity of the Diaoyu Islands issue and proceed with discretion in word and deed, so as to avoid damage to the general interests of China-Japan and China-U.S. relations and regional stability.

BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- A Taipei court has rejected here Tuesday former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's appeal against his detention and ordered that he be held in custody for a further two months, starting on March 26.     According to the island's law, a defendant whose maximum, basic, potential sentence is below ten years should not be held for more than three months during trial. If necessary, courts can prolong the detention for no more than two months every time. The detaining period can be prolonged for at most three times.     However, Chen Shui-bian was accused of many corruption charges and his most severe basic sentence could be life, which made the court consider prolonging his detention more than three times.     Chen was first detained on Dec. 30, 2008.     According to the resolution made Tuesday by the Taipei court, the charges against Chen were very severe, and he had repeatedly disturbed the judicial procedure to protect himself and delay the litigation.     "Under the current circumstances, it will be very hard to hold more trials if Chen Shui-bian is not detained," the court said in the resolution.     It added that since Chen was likely to destroy or change evidence and collude with witnesses, it wouldn't be effective enough to confine his living compared to detention. "Thus Chen's appeal for repealing the detention was rejected," it said.     Chen and his wife are accused of taking bribes worth 100 million New Taiwan dollars (29 million U.S. dollars) and 6 million U.S. dollars in a corporate land procurement, and the couple are also allegedly involved in deceivingly pocketing over 104 million New Taiwan dollars of special funds. Chen and his collaborators are also accused of laundering the illegal income.

RIYADH, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz here Tuesday on deepening the two countries' friendship and cooperation.     Hu arrived here earlier in the day at the start of his "journey of friendship and cooperation" to Saudi Arabia and four African countries.     In a written statement issued upon his arrival, Hu said he would exchange views with the king on China-Saudi Arabia ties and global and regional issues of common concern, including ways of addressing the international financial crisis.     Since China and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic ties in 1990, bilateral relations have developed steadily, with increasing exchange of visits at different levels and expanding cooperation in various sectors. Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (L front) and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz (R front) walk into the venue of their meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 10, 2009. Saudi Arabia is now China's largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa. In 2008, two-way trade between China and Saudi Arabia amounted to 41.8 billion U.S. dollars.     During the visit, President Hu will also meet Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya, secretary general of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), to discuss cooperation between China and GCC member countries.     From Riyadh, Hu will travel on to Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius.     Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters last week that Hu's visit was aimed at further strengthening China's friendship and cooperation with these countries.     "It is believed that the visit will promote the in-depth development of China-Saudi Arabia strategic friendly relations and China-Africa new strategic partnership and further consolidate the China-Africa traditional friendship," said Jiang. 

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LONDON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao made concrete proposals on tackling the global financial crisis at the G20 London summit, playing an important and constructive role for the summit to gain pragmatic results, the Chinese foreign minister said on Friday.     "The summit produced measures of high value in fighting the financial crisis and built up confidence for the world to tide over the crisis and renew economic growth," Yang Jiechi said, adding that Hu's proposals contributed to the result. Chinese President Hu Jintao attends the Group of 20 summit in London, Britain, April 2, 2009. The international community held high expectations, especially on influential emerging economies such as China, and President Hu's attendance caught much attention, Yang said.     At the summit, Hu called for international cooperation, actively participated in various discussions, comprehensively introduced China's effective measures in dealing with the financial crisis, Yang said.     According to Yang, the Chinese president's trip was proved to a success mainly in five aspects. Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. Firstly, Hu expounded China's opinions on the global financial crisis and called for coordination and support between each other to "join hands and tide over the difficulties together."     Hu reiterated the Chinese government's willingness to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination with the international community, push the reform of the international financial system forward, actively safeguard the stability of the multilateral trade mechanism and contribute to the restoration of the world's economic development.     Secondly, Hu put forward proposals on reforming the international financial system, saying efforts should be made to strengthen cooperation in financial regulations, formulate as soon as possible widely accepted standards and norms of the regulations, Yang said. Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) talks with British Prime Minister Gorden Brown (R) as they prepare to pose for a family photo during the Group of 20 summit in London, Britain, April 2, 2009International financial institutions should offer more aid to developing countries and the Financial Stability Forum should playa bigger role, the Chinese president said.     The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should strengthen and improve its supervision over the macroeconomic policies of various economies, major reserve currency issuing economies in particular, with a special focus on their currency issuing policies.     Measures should be taken to improve the governance structures of the IMF and the World Bank and give more say to developing countries.     Thirdly, Hu introduced to world leaders China's anti-crisis measures and preliminary achievements gained in tackling the economic downturn.     Fourthly, China voiced strong opposition to protectionism and concerns over development issues, Yang said.     Hu pointed out that protectionism had produced grave consequences, lessons of history must be learnt, and no country should resort to protectionism under the excuse of stimulating the economy.     Yang said the crisis has taken its toll particularly on the developing nations and the UN Millennium Goals have also suffered as a result.     China, as the world's biggest developing nation, has spared no efforts in defending the interests of developing nations, the minister said.     Fifthly, Hu's visit promotes bilateral relations with some countries, Yang said. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009In London, Hu held talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in the first meeting between the two heads of state since the new U.S. administration took office in January, agreeing to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century and establish a new "China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue" mechanism.     The meeting ushered in a new era which features healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations, Yang said.     In a meeting between Hu and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, the two leaders agreed to push forward bilateral ties, jointly tackle the global financial crisis and strengthen coordination in dealing with international affairs. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in London, Britain, April 1, 2009When meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Hu reached broad consensus with him on tackling the international financial crisis, promoting the reform of the world financial system and enhancing bilateral relations.     Hu also met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.     Despite a tight schedule, Hu tried to seize every opportunity to explain China's positions and views on various issues and achieved good results, Yang said. Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009G20 groups the world's major economies and serves as a key and effective platform for tackling the current global economic and financial challenges, Yang said.     China is ready to work with other G20 members to implement the consensus reached at the London summit and make greater contributions to overcoming the financial crisis, renewing global economic growth and advancing international financial reforms, the minister concluded.

BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China's cement production expanded 10.3 percent year on year to 159 million tonnes in the first two months, amid the booming fixed-asset investment, data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have shown.     The growth rate was 6.8 percentage points higher than that for December, as the fixed-asset investment accelerated due to the government's 4 trillion yuan (584.8 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package, according to the MIIT data released on Friday.     The wholesale price was 284 yuan per ton, 5 yuan cheaper than the price peak in November, but 27.8 yuan higher than that for January.     China's urban fixed asset investment rose 26.5 percent year on year to 1.027 trillion yuan (150.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, as the government's stimulus plan propped up construction of housing and railways.     MIIT figures showed that the output value of the building material sector rose 14 percent year on year in the January-February period, two percentage points higher than that for December.     The figures were calculated based on the comparable working days in the first two months, since China's Lunar New Year holiday fell in February last year, but in January this year.     Zhu Hongren, official with the MIIT said the building material sector was back on track after the stimulus plan showed effect. However, the excess production was still prominent, and efforts must be made to eliminate outdated capacity.

GENEVA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday blasted a U.S. measure blocking Chinese poultry imports, saying the "clearly discriminative measure" can serve as a good example for the WTO's training courses.     The U.S. measure, or Section 727, is contained in the Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2009, which was approved by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. It bans any funds from being used to "establish or implement a rule" allowing imports of poultry products from China.     "It is needless to explain why such discriminative measure are forbidden by the WTO," said Zhang Xiangchen, deputy permanent representative of the Chinese WTO mission.     "Perhaps we could send to the Institute of Training and Technical Cooperation of the WTO Secretariat a copy of this section, which would serve as a perfect example for their training courses," Zhang told a WTO meeting in Geneva.     "I believe that any trainee with a preliminary knowledge will tell that this section violates the basic rules of the WTO including the MFN (most-favored-nation) treatment principle," he said.     In a strong-worded statement, Zhang said he had got "a specific instruction from Beijing to express the serious concern of the Chinese government about the U.S. Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2009."     "What should we, all WTO members, do to prevent such discriminative practice from undermining the multilateral trading system and sending wrong signal to the outside world at this critical juncture of global crisis?" said Zhang at the meeting.     "How should we live up to our commitments repeatedly made both here at the WTO and at the G20 summit to resist trade protectionism?" he added.     On Wednesday, the Chinese WTO mission in Geneva also sent a verbal note to the U.S. WTO mission.     According to the note, the U.S. measure has triggered strong reactions in China, and the government is under increasing pressure from the poultry industries to "adopt related measures to poultry products imported from the United States."     "China would raise complaints to the WTO in this regard and maintain the right of further measures," said the note.     "At the same time, we would like to urge the U.S. to eliminate such kind of discriminative and trade protectionist provision as soon as possible in order to correct its wrong decision," it said.     China and the United States banned imports of each other's poultry in 2004 following outbreaks of bird flu. They agreed to lift the bans at the Sino-U.S. joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in 2004.     China did lift the ban but has complained that the United States was not following suit.     China imported 580,000 tons of chicken products from the United States last year, accounting for 73.4 percent of total chicken imports, according to figures from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

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LONDON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century when they met here Wednesday.     Hu said China-U.S. ties have got off to a good start since Obama took office. "I have been keeping close relations with Obama and the foreign ministers of both countries have exchanged visits in a short time," he said. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009The current international situation is undergoing complicated and profound changes, and the international financial crisis continues to spread and go deeper, he said, adding that global challenges are markedly increasing.     China and the United States share more extensive common interests in tackling the financial crisis, striving to recover global economic growth, dealing with international and regional issues and safeguarding world peace and security, the Chinese president said.     He said China and the United States need to view each other from a positive perspective and push forward dialogue and cooperation with positive moves despite the differences in their social systems, historical background, cultural tradition and phases of development.     The two countries should also work together to tackle the complicated and thorny issues facing the humanity in the 21st century to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, he said.     China and the United States should deepen exchanges and cooperation in economy, fighting terrorism, non-proliferation, law enforcement, energy, climate change, science and technology, education, culture, healthcare, and boost exchanges between the military of the two nations, he said. The two countries should also strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs and global issues, he added. Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd R) during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009Hu invited Obama to visit China in the second half of this year, and Obama accepted the invitation with pleasure.     This was the first meeting between the two heads of state since the new U.S. administration came into office in January.     The two presidents had an "extensive" exchange of views on bilateral relations and global issues of common interest and agreed to work toward an enhanced bilateral relationship, the White House said in a statement.     The two leaders decided to establish the mechanism of "China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues," and agreed that the first round of the dialogues will be held in Washington this summer.     Speaking at the start of their meeting, Hu said: "Good relations with the United States are not only in the interests of the two peoples, but also beneficial to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and the world at large."     China is willing to work with the United States to make even greater progress in advancing their bilateral relations, Hu said, adding he hoped to establish "good working relations and personal friendship" with Obama.     The U.S. president said the relations between the United States and China have become "extremely constructive." "Our economic relations are very strong."     "I said publicly our relations are not only important for citizens of the two countries, but also help set the stage for how the world deals with a host of challenges," he said.     "China is a great power and has a long and extraordinary history," Obama said.     The Chinese president also said during the meeting that no matter how the situation across the Taiwan Strait evolves, China will steadfastly adhere to the one-China policy and resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence," "One China, one Taiwan" and "Two Chinas."     Obama said the U.S. government is committed to the one-China policy and the three Chinese-U.S. joint communiques, adding that this stand will not change. Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) and U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) meet in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009.The United States welcomes and supports efforts to improve relations across the strait and hopes for greater progress in the relations, the U.S. president said.     Observers say the China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world in the 21st century, and amid the spreading international financial crisis and mounting global challenges, it is all the more important to further develop China-U.S. relations.     Over the years, leaders of the two countries have maintained close communication on major issues concerning bilateral ties through mutual visits, meetings, telephone calls and correspondence. These exchanges have given a strong boost to the sustained, sound and steady growth of bilateral relations.     The Chinese and U.S. leaders met in London on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) summit on the financial crisis slated for Thursday.     The London summit brings together leaders of the G20, and representatives of international organizations and financial institutions to work to restore stability and stimulate global economic growth.     The summit will focus on enhancing the coordination of macroeconomic policies, pushing for necessary reforms in the world financial system and stabilizing global financial markets.     Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said last month that President Hu will deliver a speech at the summit to elaborate China's opinions and proposition.     China endeavors to push for positive and pragmatic results at the London summit, He said.     The G20 consists of China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, the United States, and the European Union. 

LHASA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Five bouquets of lily and chrysanthemum, one for each of the five young women who died in the riots exactly a year ago.     "We are here today, to bring you our best regards," murmured Tang Qingyan, manager of the Yishion casual wear outlet in downtown Lhasa. "May you be happy every day in heaven."     Yishion, one of the 908 shops torched by the rioters on March 14, 2008, lost five employees, including four Han nationals and one Tibetan. The women were aged between 19 and 24.     Exactly a year after the tragedy, Tang brought six employees to mourn the dead Saturday on the exposed riverbed of the Lhasa River, whose water has, in the dry season, given way to a huge expanse of sand and cobblestones.     The place was quietly sandwiched between high mountains and the "Sun Island", Lhasa's new development project with restaurants, apartments and villas. The occasional whining chirps of aquatic birds added to people's woes.     Silently, the group laid offerings on the ground: five candles, piles of "paper money", incense sticks, and two strings of firecrackers.     "Here, we've brought you some money, too, so that you won't be short of cash," said Tang as he led four young women and two men to put the "paper money" in a little flame they lit on the ground.     The Chinese traditionally burn "paper money" for the deceased, hoping they would have enough cash in the afterlife.     "Dear sister, I've got your favorite sweater," Zeng Yaoyao sobbed as she put a white sweater in the flame. "Please rest in peace."     Zeng, 20, said she dreamed of her cousin Yang Dongmei Friday night. "I was so excited I ran up to embrace her. Then she said something about her sweater. I woke up in tears."Photo taken on March 14, 2009 shows the manager of the Yishion garment store Tang Qingyan (C) and employees mourn by the Lhasa river the five sales assistants burned to death in an arson attack by the rioters on March 14, 2008, in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous RegionOf the five dead, Yang, Liu Yan and Chen Jia were still single. "According to the customs in our home province Sichuan, the death of an unmarried daughter is considered evil. They could only be buried in the obscure graveyard far from their homes," said Tang.     The three girls' parents therefore agreed to have their ashes spilled into the Lhasa River. "It's a beautiful place, even better than our home province," Tang said.     Tsering Zhoigar, the only Tibetan girl, was taken to her hometown in Xigaze Prefecture for the "sky burial", the traditional Tibetan burial.     Tsering Zhoigar's close friend Basang joined Yishion after the torched store was revamped and reopened in May. "I used to spend a lot of time with her at her store after work. Now that she's gone, I feel closer to her by doing her job."     Six sales women huddled together on the second floor of the store when rioters set the ground floor on fire. Zhoi'ma, 24, was the only one to escape the fire site at the last minute.     A year after the tragedy, the nightmare still clings to Zhoi'ma, who refused to talk to the media and stayed away from the mourning. "We called many times on her cell phone, but she didn't answer," said Tang. "She told me this morning she was going to mourn her friend Zhoi'gar in the Tibetan way, and at monasteries."     Towards the end of the mourning, the flames spread to burn card-boards they had carefully propped up with cobblestones to contain the fire. With all the offerings burnt, the group threw the bouquets into the river. A young man lit firecrackers before he stood with others, bowed, and paid a silent tribute to the dead.     Four police officers, who had been silently watching the scene, lowered their heads, too. "It's sad indeed. That's why we have tightened security this year to avoid similar tragedies," said one of them, who refused to be named.     Tang still stays in touch with families of the dead.     "These good girls were all their families" breadwinners," he said. "Zhoi'gar worked with me for three years and Yang Dongmei, my wife's younger cousin, worked for a year."Photo taken on March 14, 2009 shows employees of the Yishion garment store put bunches of fresh flowers into the Lhasa river to mourn the five sales assistants burned to death in an arson attack by the rioters on March 14, 2008, in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous RegionTang had known Chen Jia, the youngest of the five, since she was a toddler. "Her father is my close friend. Until the day she died, she'd been worrying for her younger brother, who was blind in one eye."     With the government's compensation for Chen Jia's death, her parents had arranged an operation for her brother, Tang said. "Now I hope she'll have nothing more to worry about."     Tang hadn't had the time to get familiar with the other two girls, Liu Yan and He Xinxin, who had worked for a week and three days respectively.     He Xinxin's parents took her home to the central Henan Province after the riots. "Her cousin used to work in Lhasa, but left for home before the new year holidays," said Tang.     "I had planned to take all my 14 employees here to mourn them today, but I didn't want everyone to point to my store and say 'hey, look, Yishion is closed,'" he said. "Together, we'll try to walk out of the shadow soon."

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TIANJIN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao went on a morale boosting tour in the northern port municipality of Tianjin, an industrial hub near Beijing, Sunday and Monday.     Wen talked with textile workers, steel makers, tire manufacturers and students during the tour to see how the city is weathering the global financial crisis. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L Front) talks with workers as he visits an iron and steel factory in Tianjin, north China, Feb. 15, 2009. Premier Wen made an inspection tour in Tianjin on Feb. 15-16At the Tianjin Tianfang Investment Holding Co., a textile firm, company chairman Liu Baogen told Wen January sales increased 0.3 percent year on year and orders have been secured till March.     Wen said the textile industry is a pillar of China's economy. He offered three suggestions to the sector: Adjust the product structure according to domestic and overseas demand; increase corporate competitiveness by lifting product quality and reducing costs; explore sales in both the domestic and overseas markets. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) shakes hands with a student as he visits Nankai University in Tianjin, north China, Feb. 15, 2009. Premier Wen made an inspection tour in Tianjin on Feb. 15-16.The Premier also visited a watch maker, an auto molding company, the construction site of an ethylene and refinery project and an animation technology firm.     Wen told employees to explore the market and look for new opportunities against the ongoing global financial crisis.     He also went to see students at Nankai University, the most reputed college in Tianjin. He reassured them government agencies would do their best to find them jobs.

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature approved the Food Safety Law on Saturday, providing a legal basis for the government to strengthen food safety control "from the production line to the dining table."     The law, which goes into effect on June 1, 2009, will enhance monitoring and supervision, toughen safety standards, recall substandard products and severely punish offenders. The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee gave the green light to the intensively-debated draft law at the last day of a four-day legislative session, following a spate of food scandals which triggered vehement calls for overhauling China's current monitoring system. Wu Bangguo (C), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the concluding meeting of the 7th meeting of the 11th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, on Feb. 28, 2009. The NPC Standing Committee, China's top legislature, concluded its four-day session on Saturday, after approving the food safety law, an amendment to the criminal law and the revised insurance law.    Winning 158 out of 165 votes, the law said the State Council, or Cabinet, would set up a state-level food safety commission to oversee the entire food monitoring system, whose lack of efficiency has long been blamed for repeated scandals.     The departments of health, agriculture, quality supervision, industry and commerce administration will shoulder different responsibilities.     These would include risk evaluation, the making and implementation of safety standards, and the monitoring of about 500,000 food companies across China, as well as circulation sector.     The law draft had been revised several times since it was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for the first reading in December 2007.     It had been expected to be voted by lawmakers last October, but the voting was postponed for further revision following the tainted dairy products scandal last September, in which at least six babies died and 290,000 others were poisoned.     "It actually took us five years to draft this law since the State Council first made legislative recommendations in July 2004.It has undergone intensive consideration, because it is so vital to every person," Xin Chunying, deputy director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, said at a press briefing after the law was adopted.     She said although China had certain food quality control systems in place for many years, lots of loopholes emerged in past years, mainly due to varied standards, lack of sense of social responsibility among some business people, too lenient punishment on violators and weakness in testing and monitoring work.     China has a food hygiene law, which took effect in 1995, to regulate issues of food safety, but many lawmakers said it was too outdated to meet the need of practice.     For example, the law is far from being adequate in addressing the problem of pesticide residue in foodstuff.     According to the new law, China will set up compulsory standards on food safety, covering a wide range from the use of additives to safety and nutrition labels.     The law stipulates a ban on all chemicals and materials other than authorized additives in food production, saying that "only those items proved to be safe and necessary in food production are allowed to be listed as food additives."     Health authorities are responsible for assessing and approving food additives and regulating their usage.     Food producers must only use food additives and their usage previously approved by authorities, on penalty of closure or revocation of production licenses in serious cases, according to the law.     In the tainted dairy products scandal, melamine, often used in the manufacture of plastics, was added to substandard or diluted milk to make protein levels appear higher than they actually were.     "Melamine had never been allowed to be used as food additive in China. Now the law makes an even clearer and stricter ban on it," Xin said.     She said the compulsory system to recall substandard food, as written in the law, would also be effective in curbing food-related health risks.     Producers of edible farm products are required to abide by food safety standards when using pesticide, fertilizer, growth regulators, veterinary drugs, feedstuff and feed additives. They must also keep farming or breeding records.     Offenders can face maximum fines which would be 10 times the value of sold products, compared with five times at present.     If businesses are found producing or selling a substandard foodstuff, consumers can ask for financial compensation which is 10 times the price of the product. That's in addition to compensation for the harm the product causes to the consumer.     For those whose food production licenses are revoked due to illegal conducts, they will be banned from doing food business in the following five years.     "This is a big step to increase penalties on law violators," Xin said.     Another highlight of the law is that celebrities can share responsibility for advertising for food products that are found to be unsafe.     The law says all organizations and individuals who recommend substandard food products in ads will face joint liability for damages incurred.     This has been a hot topic in China where film stars, singers and celebrities are often paid to appear in ads of food products.     "The provisions were added out of concern over fake advertisements, which contained misleading information. Many of the advertisements featured celebrities," said Liu Xirong, vice chairman of the NPC Law Committee.     Several Chinese celebrities had advertised for products of the Sanlu Group, a company at the epicenter of the tainted dairy product scandal. They were vehemently criticized after thousands of babies were poisoned by the Sanlu formula.     Many people posted online demands for them to apologize to and compensate families of the sickened babies. But others argued that it was unfair to blame the celebrities as Sanlu had legal documents to prove its products safe.     On tonic food, a booming industry with an estimated annual output value of 100 billion yuan (14.62 billion U.S. dollars) in China, the law prohibits any claims related to prevention or cure of illness on the product's label and instruction leaflets.