3_6_5_PQ365

Jia Qinglin (front), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People\’s Political Consultative Conference, visits the exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet in Beijing, capital of China, July 8, 2011. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Tibet is now in its best period of development, Chinese leaders said, while visiting an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet on Friday.

Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun and Li Keqiang, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when visiting the exhibition at Beijing\’s Cultural Palace of Nationalities respectively.

The peaceful liberation of Tibet was an epoch-making tipping point in Tibet\’s history, marking its transition from autocracy to democracy, from poverty to affluence, and from seclusion to openness, said the leaders, according to an official statement Xinhua received.

【1】 【2】 【3】

Many of the nation\’s universities are struggling with mounting debts, according to a recent ranking of their financial health by ifeng.com.

"It will become a bit of a gamble when people choose which university they want to go to because they will have no idea whether their choice of university might disappear from the national college entrance exam enrollment list," said Luo Yi, a Beijing resident who graduated from Jilin University. "I was surprised to see my university at the top of the debtors\’ list for Chinese universities."

Jilin University in Changchun, the capital of Northeast China\’s Jilin province, has 3 billion yuan ($464 million) of debts that are largely down to an expensive expansion project in 2000, according to the ifeng.com ranking.

Jilin University is closely followed by Guangdong University of Technology, which owes 2.3 billion yuan, and Zhengzhou University, which has debts of 2.1 billion yuan.

A total of 1,164 universities around the country have heavy debts that together are worth around 263.5 billion yuan, according to Liu Liyun, a senior official from the National Audit Office, who was quoted on China National Radio.

Fast-rising interest rates have exacerbated the problem but the main reasons why the universities have been performing poorly financially are the fact that fewer students are enrolling and the decisions by many universities to undertake ambitious campus expansions.

More than 9.3 million students took the national college entrance examination this year, 240,000 fewer than last year. It was the third consecutive year that there has been a decrease.

"Many Chinese universities have spent too much money on acquiring more land and erecting more buildings and overambitious expansion projects have pushed them into debt," said Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of 21st Century Education Research Institute.

Lao Kaisheng, an education policy researcher from Beijing Normal University, suggested that universities should concentrate on improving the quality of their teaching instead of their size.

In some provinces, including Shaanxi and Guangdong, local governments have been paying some of the debts accrued by universities.

Shaanxi government is setting up a 1.65 billion yuan fund to help its universities get through their financial crises.

The central government has also strengthened its financial support for education. China\’s Medium- and Long-term Plan for Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) calls for spending on education to equal 4 percent of the nation\’s GDP each year, starting in 2012.

Experts said Chinese universities can expect the government to invest more in their development but they also cautioned that the institutions should cut back on excessive expansion plans if they hope to become profitable.

Source: China Daily

Authorities have ordered a halt to the sale of 31 brands of water after they failed safety standard tests.

A list of the affected companies was published by the capital\’s industry and commerce administration\’s website on Wednesday. Consumers have been urged to demand their money back.

The brands were all found to have an excessive aerobic bacterial count or coli group, with one – Liquan – having an aerobic bacterial count 9,000 times the set value.

Too much coli indicates the water may be contaminated with animal waste or contain bacteria that could lead to intestinal disorders, according to the administration.

"People can stand a certain amount of bacteria, but when there is an excess the risks of catching infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera increase," said Li Xingming, an epidemiologist at Capital Medical University.

The government\’s random tests were carried out on large barrels normally used for water coolers and did not include small bottles, such as the 550-ml bottles sold in supermarkets.

"Water from famous brands is 15 to 20 yuan a barrel in my store, 18.9 liters each," said a dealer surnamed Zhang, at the e-baijia water store in Zhongguancun, Haidian district. "But there are hundreds of small brands, selling at 10 yuan a barrel, which are all produced by the same production equipment and just labeled differently."

Li Fuxing, a nutrition expert, warned that barrels for water coolers should be consumed within a week to prevent bacterial growth.

"I seldom drink water from drinking machines because I\’ve seen many small peddlers selling water at 6 yuan a barrel, which barely covers the cost of sanitizing the recycled barrels and purifying the water," said Liu Chen, a 26-year-old Beijinger. "When I was in college, my … roommates would return from summer vacation to find their water had turned into the disgusting green color."

The ban is the latest in a series of food scares this year, including poisoned pork, toxic milk and dyed buns.

Source: China Daily

The names of some senior officials from government and State-owned enterprises have disappeared from the list of candidates who will participate in the second round of competition for academician vacancies at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) this year.

The names of 163 candidates were published online on June 30, and any queries or doubts about the candidates\’ qualifications will be welcome before Aug 15, CAE announced on its website.

However, anonymous complaints will not be accepted, it said.

The qualifications of some candidates triggered fierce debate when, in the first round of competition on May 25, 485 candidates were named in the race for 60 academician vacancies at CAE.

Chinese netizens thought many candidates were senior officials from government or State-owned enterprises.

The heavyweights from State-owned enterprises on the list included Fu Chengyu, chairman of the Sinopec Group, and Hu Wenrui, a former senior executive of China National Petroleum Corporation.

The incumbent or former senior officials on the candidate list included Vice-Mayor of Shanghai Shen Xiaoming and Wu Qidi, former vice-minister of education.

Many netizens criticized the criteria for selecting the candidates, arguing the list showed that the academy had been bureaucratized and the honor of academicians simply means more research funds, better income and benefits.

In response to the critics, an unidentified official at the academy said the selection criteria focus on the "candidates\’ contribution to the country" and "academic background" rather than their general background, and only senior engineers, researchers and professors could be nominated.

Although some candidates are officials or senior executives, they used to work for the country\’s science and technology development and some contributed to cutting-edge engineering technology, the official said.

Some officials, including Fu Chengyu and Shen Xiaoming, have been removed from the list, but others remain.

Hu Wenrui and Wu Qidi are on the new list, although doubts about their qualifications have been raised.

The new list also includes: Cao Yaofeng, deputy general manager of Sinopec Group, Zhang Xiaolu, vice-president of China Power Investment Corporation and Zhang Yuzhuo, general manager of Shenhua Group.

"They should volunteer to give up their academic honors if they choose to become officials," said a netizen called bestall1234 on Sina.com, a major information portal in China.

"It is contempt for justice and fairness when CAE lists senior officials of government or State-owned enterprises for academician vacancies," said another netizen called Huanguangguanguang.

However, some netizens support the CAE\’s decision to include officials and executives in its list of candidates.

"Modern enterprises are not only assembly lines for producing things," said a netizen named Baqianlilu. "Scientists in enterprises can also invent and contribute to the country."

CAE, established in 1994, is a national organization composed of selected academicians with the highest honors in Chinese engineering and technology. It has 739 academicians.

Existing members will elect new academicians and the final list will be released in November.

Source: China Daily

Rescuers are racing to dig through a sludge-flooded tunnel to reach 19 miners who are trapped in a collapsed coal mine in south China for the fourth day, sources with the rescue command center said Tuesday.

By 9:00 a.m., rescuers reached half way of the 25-meter tunnel that is studded with sludge of mud and coal, said Su Fuchao, general manager of the coal mine company.

The tunnel is thought to be closest to six miners who have the highest chance of survival, Su said.

The six miners were initially estimated as being trapped 320 meters deep.

Rescuers cleared 12.5 meters of the tunnel after one day\’s effort.

Su said the rescue work faces with great difficulties as the density of toxic gas inside the shaft is not stable.

Rescue efforts were suspended due to high levels of toxic gas Monday morning, but were resumed later that day.

Also, the tunnel\’s sludge slowed the rescue operation.

"We are trying to clear off a giant rock now, but we can only progress a few centimeters per hour," Su said.

The collapse occurred midday Saturday in the suburbs of Heshan City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Forty-nine of 71 miners managed to escape when the coal mine collapsed, and rescuers have retrieved three bodies of the dead miners.

Initial investigations indicate that the collapse was caused by continuous heavy rains.

Source: Xinhua

Rescuers racing to save 19 trapped coal miners in south China suspended their efforts Monday morning due to high levels of toxic gas.

After carbon monoxide gushed out of the mine at 2:45 a.m., the rescue command center ordered the rescuers to retreat to the platform of the main shaft, said Ye Fangyong, an expert from the command center.

Ye added that other toxic gas in the mine is also over the safety level.

As of 9:30 a.m., the command center was still trying to identify the source of the carbon monoxide and find a solution to recommence the rescue operation. Ye said the rescue will resume as soon as possible.

The collapse occurred midday Saturday in the suburbs of Heshan City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Initial investigations indicate that the collapse was caused by continuous heavy rains.

Forty-nine of 71 miners managed to escape when the coal mine collapsed, and rescuers have retrieved three bodies of the dead miners.

The location of the trapped miners has been identified, but their conditions are unclear, according to the rescuers.

Source: Xinhua

A giant panda gave birth to a cub, which was said to be the first one in the world this year, on Thursday in rain-battered Sichuan Province.

The panda, nicknamed "Su Lin," produced the cub at 12:36 p.m. at a semi-wild training ground in the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, said its feeder.

Several hours later, the panda delivered a second but stillborn cub, according to the feeder.

As continuous heavy rains and mudslides damage roads and electric power facilities in Wolong, workers have been using diesel generators to ensure power supply for the center.

Su Lin was born at the San Diego Zoo in the United States in August 2005. The panda was transferred to the Bifengxia breeding base in the city of Ya\’an in Sichuan in September 2010. In mid-June, the pregnant panda was released into the semi-wild training ground in Wolong to give birth there.

On Wednesday, provincial forestry authorities said a male wild giant panda, aged about 10, drowned in the township of Yingxiu in Sichuan. They said the panda probably drowned after it was swept into a section of the Minjiang River by rain-triggered floods and mudslides.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo said Monday the country\’s old-age subsidies system has expanded to 14 provincial-level regions, benefitting 8 million citizens aged above 80.

Last year only six provincial-level regions introduced the system, said Li, while addressing a civil affairs work meeting held in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Li said the ministry will continue to push other provincial-level regions to establish such system, so as to better support aged residents to meet their daily needs.

According to officials, China currently has a total of 18.99 million residents aged above 80 years old.

Source: Xinhua

All five workers have been confirmed dead in a landslide that engulfed a boiler house Wednesday in north China\’s Shanxi Province, local officials said Thursday.

The accident happened at about 8 a.m. in a coal mine in the town of Dawu in Luliang City, which unleashed 300,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks to push the boiler house some 20 meters away, trapping five workers, according to rescuers.

Among them, four died on the scene and one died after being sent to the hospital. Rescue efforts ended at Thursday noon.

More than 400 rescuers dug through the debris, trying to retrieve trapped workers.

The landslide was apparently triggered by heavy rainfall in the region, which caused direct economic losses of more than 4.8 million yuan (738,500 U.S. dollars), according to the rescue command center.

Relevant departments have started monitoring work to prevent further disasters.

Source: Xinhua

China has acted to clean up its raw milk industry to ensure safety at the source of the industrial chain, but some experts say the nation is implementing a very low standard.

Gu Jicheng, secretary-general of the Dairy Association of China, said agricultural departments have eliminated a total of 6,890 disqualified raw milk stations during a three-year campaign that began in 2008.

In the wake of the campaign, a total of 13,503 raw milk stations and 7,980 raw milk transportation vehicles throughout the country are subject to the monitoring of local authorities, Gu said in an interview with the People\’s Daily.

"All the stations are now either run by dairy companies, cow farms, or cooperatives established by dairy farmers," said Gu, who used the rise of machinery-milking to 87 percent from 51 percent nearly three years ago as an example of improved hygiene standards.

Despite that, Guo Benheng, president of Bright Dairy & Food, said that China\’s raw milk standard was nearly the world\’s lowest, according to a report Sunday by SINA, a leading online media company.

The country\’s raw milk standards of protein content and colony-forming unit (CFU) is much lower than those from the United States and the European Union, the report said, citing Wang Dingmian, an industrial expert.

"International standards for the dairy industry also require checks of antibiotics and nitrites in raw milk, but China does not even make such requirements," Guo said.

The credibility of China\’s dairy industry was severely damaged in 2008 when milk laced with melamine, a chemical added to milk products to make the protein content seem richer, sickened nearly 300,000 children and killed at least six.

China\’s milk processing technologies are among the world\’s best, but the problem lies in the low standard of the raw milk, said Guo Benheng, adding that the priority now should be focused on the improvement of raw milk quality.

Since 2009, agricultural departments have paid great attention to the safety and supervision of raw milk, and strictly cracked down upon illegally adding substances such as melamine to raw milk.

Additionally, the nation\’s top quality regulator in January ordered that dairy product markers must obtain new production certificates this year, and those with weak quality guarantees will be shut down.

By the end of March, only 643 dairy firms among a total of 1,176 companies had passed the examinations, said Ren Fazheng, a professor with the China Agricultural University.

Ren said this overhaul promoted restructuring in the dairy industry and was beneficial to the improvement of quality and safety of the country\’s dairy products, as both dairy output and consumption surged last year.

According to figures provided by Ren, dairy output reached 21.59 million metric tonnes last year, up 48 percent compared to 2006; meanwhile, per capita spending on dairy products by residents in 36 large and medium-sized cities reached 277 yuan ($43), up 40 percent compared to 2006.

Source: Xinhua