BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- China named and shamed more than 10,000 workshops and selling groups in dust and poisonous material-related industries last year in a bid to fight against occupational diseases, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).The figure was revealed at a national meeting on food safety and sanitation supervision here Monday amid an ongoing campaign on regulating workshops and selling companies in the fields of mining, quartzite processing, gem processing, stone processing, smelting and cement production among others.The campaign, starting in last August, was jointly launched by the State Administration of Work Safety, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Federation of Labor.Earlier this month, 152 workers at an electrical and lighting company in south China's Guangdong Province were found to have suspected mercury poisoning, showing symptoms such as headaches, hair loss, joint aches and shivers.According to the company, all six production lines of the workshop used liquid mercury, but some workers seldom took the trouble to wear a mask at work.Vice Health Minister Chen Xiaohong said at the meeting that the ministry is currently working with other departments to set up regular meetings at ministerial level on the prevention and control of occupational diseases.The MOH is also aiming to set up a network against occupational diseases at grassroot level while providing basic job-related health services for migrant workers, said Chen.
BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The Third Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, opened in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday.More than 2,000 CPPCC National Committee members, from across the country, will discuss major issues concerning the nation's development during the annual meeting scheduled to conclude on March 13.Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), delivers a report on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee over the past year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 3, 2010. The Third Session of the 11th CPPCC National Committee opened on Wednesday afternoon.After the session started at 3 p.m., CPPCC National Committee Chairman Jia Qinglin delivered a report on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee over the past year."The CPPCC (last year)...made important contributions to effectively responding to the impact of the global financial crisis, pushing forward the process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and promoting the great cause of peaceful reunification of the motherland," Jia said."The CPPCC's cause entered a period of unity, harmony, pragmatic progress and vigorous development," he said.Top Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang were present at the opening meeting.Founded in 1949, the CPPCC consists of elite members of the Chinese society who are willing to serve the think tank for the government and for the country's legislative and judicial organs.
Beijing, Feb. 8 -- China's banks will outpace their peers in India and Indonesia, the best performers in Asia's banking industry over the past decade, to deliver the highest returns over the next five to 10 years, analysis firm CLSA Ltd said.The top eight performers among Asian banks over the past decade were all from India, with gains of 400 percent to 3,000 percent, CLSA said in a research report released today.Indonesian banks ranked second over a three-to-five-year period, as no data was available for 10 years, the report said.Shenzhen Development Bank Co, China's first commercial bank to launch an IPO and get listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange (in 1987), is expected to show a more than eight-fold increase in net profit for 2009, boosted by lower provisions for bad loans and higher net interest and fee income, the Wall Street Journal saidThe two countries recorded the highest credit growth, as India's loans increased 622 percent over the past 10 years, followed by 508 percent growth in Indonesia, Daniel Tabbush and Suangsuda Sinsadok, analysts at CLSA, said in the report.That shows "positive" implications for China's banks given the nation's 326 percent increase in loan growth over that period, they wrote in their analysis."Where China stock price data is only recent, we can at least assume that the fact that those banks are returning the third-highest loan growth over the past five and 10 years can in fact mean strong total returns over the long term," the analysts wrote.China's loan growth of 79 percent was the highest over the past three years, according to the report by CLSA, which is "overweight" on the nation's bank stocks as well as those in India and Indonesia.
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Principled consensus was reached between China, European Union Naval Force, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), China's Ministry of National Defense said on Friday.The consensus, outlining the shipping escort cooperation based on "areas of responsibility" in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), was approved Thursday at the the plenary meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in New York, said a statement from the ministry.Previously, China had suggested cooperation be based on "areas of responsibility" under the UN Security Council resolutions while EU, NATO and CMF proposed coordination guidelines of the IRTC.China and the three parties conducted rounds of consultations at the contact group meeting, international coordination meeting in Beijing and the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) system meeting in Bahrain.The final principled consensus absorbed components of "areas of responsibility" in escort missions cooperation and the coordination guidelines of IRTC, showcasing concerted effort by all parties.China always takes a positive and open attitude towards international cooperation on shipping escorts, and would like to cooperate with countries and organizations in line with UN Security Council resolutions for peace and stability in the Gulf of Aden and Somalia waters, said the statement.
NAIROBI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released a fishing boat from Taiwan, China, and all of its crew held since April, a regional maritime official said Thursday."The Taiwanese ship was released this morning. The fishing vessel which has a crew of 30 from various Asian nationalities was seized in April last year," Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's coordinator of the Africa Seafarers Assistance Program, told Xinhua.The Win Far 161 was seized last April 4 near an island in the Seychelles, more than 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia.The ship carried a crew of 30 -- 17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five from the Chinese Mainland and two from Taiwan, China.Mwangura said 27 crew members were said to be safe, though a Chinese sailor and two from Indonesia died in captivity.The coordinator could not confirm whether a ransom was paid to secure the release of the 700-ton ship and crew.Piracy has been rampant off Somalia since the country slid into chaos after warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.Somali pirates now hold at least seven ships and more than 160 crew members.The hijackings have prompted the international community to deploy security forces in the area to deter the pirates.
朱砂本命佛十二生肖守护神
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- China Unicom, the country's second largest telecom operator, said Saturday its net profit might have dropped by more than 50 percent in 2009, as the one-time gain from the sale of a mobile business laid a higher comparison basis for 2008.China Unicom, in October 2008, sold its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) business and related assets to China Telecom, the largest fixed line service provider of the country, which substantially increased the profits of the company in 2008.The company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its profit was also affected by the high costs for its new Wideband-CDMA operations.
SHANGHAI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese bankcard holders' consumer confidence in January was up year on year, according to an index issued jointly by China Unionpay and Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday.The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI) stood at 86.81 in January, 2.44 points higher from the same period last year, and stayed at basically the same level as December 2009, said the index report.The increasing consumer confidence mainly stemmed from China's steadily improving macroeconomic conditions, the report said.China's economy resumed a double-digital growth in the fourth quarter last year, pushing the annual figure beyond the government target of 8 percent at 8.7 percent.The index also resulted from an increase of 9.1 million urban jobs and a higher-than-8-percent income rise for urban and rural residents in 2009, according to the report.The report also attributed the rising confidence to people's growing demand during the New Year and the approaching Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar new year, which falls on Feb. 14 this year.The report said China Unionpay would release the BCCI index on a monthly basis starting 2010.
BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- "Transformation of the economic growth pattern" has become a key word on the agenda of the annual sessions of China's parliament and top advisory body as the country aims at complete recovery from the global financial crisis and seeks sustained growth.Following are quotes from some Chinese leaders that underscore the transformation. The leaders joined deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) Saturday to deliberate Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report.-- The bottleneck that stagnates the transformation of the economic growth pattern lies in an imperfect institutional mechanism. Reforms in key areas and sectors should be quickened to strengthen the impetus for economic growth and provide institutional guarantee for the transformation, said Vice Premier Li Keqiang in his discussion with NPC deputies from Liaoning Province.-- Deepening reform and expanding opening-up offer fundamental impetus for shaping a competitive modern industry system, said He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, in his discussion with NPC deputies from central Hunan Province.-- The transformation means a profound change in the economic sector, and it is currently, and will be in a long run, a major economic task of the nation, said Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, in his discussion with NPC deputies from Heilongjiang Province.-- Cultural programs and cultural industry play an important role in enlightening the nation, and their development should be taken as an important approach to the transformation, said Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, in his discussion with NPC deputies from northwestern Shaanxi Province.
GUIYANG, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a partial collapse of an unfinished building Sunday in southwest China's Guizhou Province has risen to seven, the rescue headquarters said.A mold supporting structure in the corridor between two halls at the International Conference and Exhibition Center under construction in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, collapsed at around 11:30 a.m., burying workers working at the area, said a spokesman for the rescue headquarters.Rescuers found 26 workers who were rushed to hospital. Seven of the workers were proclaimed dead shortly upon arrival at hospital, one more seriously injured.Altogether seven remained hospitalized, and another 12 were discharged from hospital after some treatment.The police were investigating the cause of the accident.