 |
 |
| SCHWEIZER
BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE |
Der wöchentliche
Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic
of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP
de Chine |
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| |
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| Table of
contents |
|
Avian flu
^ top ^
|
| Foreign
Policy |
| Nation set to substantially
forgive Iraq debt (China Daily)
2007-06-22
China will substantially forgive debt owed by Iraq and also
help with the reconstruction of the war-torn country. That was
the pledge made by President Hu Jintao when he met his Iraqi
counterpart Jalal Talabani in Beijing yesterday. No specific
figure was available but Talabani was quoted as saying ahead
of the trip that he would like to have $8 billion in debt cancelled.
(…). ^ top ^
China invited to explore Iraqi oil (China
Daily)
2007-06-19
China is welcome to explore oil resources in Iraq as a new law
is set to open its oilfields to international companies, the
Iraqi ambassador to China said yesterday. (…) The oil
and gas law faces a parliamentary vote next month after Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki endorsed it in February and the
Cabinet approved it the following month. If ratified, it will
open the country's oil resources to foreign companies; and a
frozen Sino-Iraqi oil contract could be reactivated, he said.(…)
Under the terms of the new law, all energy contracts signed
by foreign producers during the Saddam era must be renegotiated.
(…). ^ top ^
Envoy: China may send peacekeepers to Darfur
(China Daily)
2007-06-22
China's special envoy on Darfur said Thursday his country will
seriously consider sending troops for a peacekeeping mission
in the war-torn Sudanese region and insisted Beijing is doing
its best to help solve the conflict. Liu Guijin lashed out at
critics who accuse China of backing Sudan's government because
of Chinese oil interests there. "To link the Chinese corporations'
involvement in the oil sector with loss of life in Darfur is
baseless," Liu said. "That link is really ridiculous.
The Olympics are a non-political event." Liu defended Beijing's
efforts to bring calm to Darfur. "Even the United States
has to admit that we've played a positive role," he said.
(…). ^ top ^
Russia likely to help build two more nuclear
power units in China: official (People’s Daily Online)
2007-06-20
Russia is likely to play a role in the construction of the second
phase project of the Tianwan nuclear power station in China,
Ivan Kamenskikh, deputy director of the Russian Federal Atomic
Energy Agency, said on Tuesday. (…) Construction of the
first two 1.06-gigawatt power units supplied by Russia at Tianwan,
near the eastern city of Lianyungang, has been completed. (…)
China is expected to build two more power units in Tianwan in
the second phase project. (…). ^ top ^
Ministry slams new US controls on technology
exports (SCMP)
2007-06-20
The mainland's Ministry of Commerce has criticised new US controls
on exports to the mainland of technology with possible military
uses, rejecting them as a threat to co-operative relations and
efforts to tackle the bilateral trade imbalance. The new rules,
announced in Washington on Friday, are meant to deny the People's
Liberation Army access to technology that might aid its modernisation.
They impose end-use controls on goods including lasers, telecommunications
equipment and navigation systems. "The Chinese side believes
the US side's insistence on issuing these rules without fully
hearing China's opinions is inappropriate, and violates the
co-operative spirit," the ministry statement said(…).
^ top ^
Beijing envoy seals new ties with Costa
Rica (SCMP)
2007-06-20
Beijing's first envoy to Costa Rica in six decades has taken
up his post, sealing the Central American nation's switch in
allegiance. The mainland sent Wang Xiaoyuan to Costa Rica as
its business attaché and is likely to install him as
ambassador following the establishment of diplomatic relations
between the two countries on June 1. (…) Mr Wang said
the mainland would be patient over restoring ties with other
nations that currently side with Taiwan. (…) Costa Rica's
change of sides left Taiwan with just 24 allies, most of them
small, poor nations in Central America, the South Pacific and
Africa. In comparison, more than 170 countries have diplomatic
ties with Beijing(…). ^ top ^
Rape of Nanking exaggerated, say lawmakers
(SCMP)
2007-06-20
A group of about 100 lawmakers from Japan's ruling party say
that after a month-long review they have determined the number
of people killed by Japanese troops during the infamous Rape
of Nanking has been grossly inflated. Nariaki Nakayama, head
of the group created to study wartime historical issues and
education, said yesterday that documents from the Japanese government
archives indicated 20,000 people were killed in the 1937 attack
- about a tenth of the more commonly cited figure of 150,000
to 200,000. Beijing said that as many as 300,000 people were
killed. (…) Mr Nakayama accused Beijing of subsequently
inflating the numbers for propaganda purposes. (…).
^ top ^
Friendship delegation arrives in Beijing
(China Daily)
2007-06-18
After visits to Shanghai and Northwest China's Gansu Province,
the Japan-China friendship delegation will today arrive in Beijing
for the final leg of a weeklong friendship tour . The 220-member
group, led by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone,
mostly comprises people, or their delegates, who took part in
the largest-ever Japan-China youth gathering in 1984, as well
as representatives from several Japanese friendship organizations.
(…). ^ top ^
Turkish, Chinese ministers vow to enhance
bilateral economic ties (People’s Daily Online)
2007-06-18
Visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and Turkish State
Minister Kursad Tuzmen vowed here Sunday to enhance bilateral
economic cooperation between the two countries. (…) The
two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on
launching a China-Turkey Economic and trade Cooperation Website.
Moreover, the two sides also signed a MoU on construction services
and another on business contracts. According to official statistics,
trade relations between the two countries have been developing
smoothly in recent years. Sino- Turkish trade, which was 1.2
billion dollars in 2000, reached 8.1 billion dollars last year(…).
^ top ^
India refuses to give ground in border
dispute (SCMP)
2007-06-18
India cannot part with populated areas to settle a decades-old
border row with the mainland, its external affairs minister
said yesterday. The two countries have held several rounds of
talks over their border dispute but have been unable to report
progress, even though ties have grown warmer as a result of
strong business links. (…) Beijing has differences with
New Delhi over three main stretches of the Himalayan frontier
in the east, central and western parts, with Beijing not recognising
the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern stretch
as Indian territory. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Domestic
Policy |
| Crackdown on slave labour
nationwide - State Council vows to end enslavement (SCMP)
2007-06-21
Beijing will launch a nationwide crackdown on enslavement and
child labour after this month's shocking revelations of slave
labour in brick kilns in Shanxi province. (…) By Sunday
night, about 45,000 policemen had raided more than 8,000 kilns
and small coal mines in the two provinces and freed 591 workers,
including 51 children. Meanwhile, 13 job agencies at Xian's
railway station have been closed for tricking people into working
as slaves, Xinhua reported. (…) Yesterday, lawyers said
they were preparing to fight for the victims, saying redress
given by the government so far was not enough. "The government
has given some compensation, but it's hardly enough for the
work, physical suffering and mental trauma," said Zhang
Lisheng, a lawyer in Xian. (…). ^ top ^
New plea to save 'lost' kids (China Daily)
2007-06-22
The parents of more than 400 missing children have posted a
second joint letter online, urging authorities to step up their
efforts to rescue slave workers across the country. "The
slavery case in Hongtong County that caused a great stir in
the country is only the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of laborers
are still suffering and in pain. Please save our children!"
the letter said. (…). ^ top ^
Some human traffickers may walk away in
'slave' case (China Daily)
2007-06-15
While many are shocked by the news of a slave trafficking ring
in Shanxi Province, some of the victims will not be able to
prosecute their traffickers because they are not covered by
the criminal law code. "Those traffickers who lure migrant
workers, mainly adult males, to do forced labor will not be
convicted as the criminal code only covers those who traffic
women and children," Guan Zhongzhi, a lawyer with Zhonghuan
Law Firm told chinadaily.com.cn. The legal loophole has put
male victims in an awkward position when fighting against their
traffickers in the court of law. (…). ^ top ^
China's former drug registration chief
on trial (Xinhua)
2007-06-21
Former drug registration official Cao Wenzhuang went on trial
on Thursday for charges of bribery and dereliction of duty.
Cao is the third senior official with China's State Food and
Drug Administration (SFDA) to stand trial, after former SFDA
head Zheng Xiaoyu and former director of the SFDA department
of medical devices Hao Heping. (…) The Beijing Evening
News said Cao was charged with taking 2.34 million yuan (304,000
U.S. dollars) in bribes. He was also accused of lowering the
drug registration standards, which put the health of the public
at risk and undermined government credibility. (…).
^ top ^
China to launch 2nd national land survey
in July (China Daily)
2007-06-21
China will start its second national land survey on July 1st
to obtain up-to-date and accurate land data for policy making,
according to the State Council, or cabinet. (…) A circular
said China will use advanced remote imaging technologies to
survey all the land used for different functions including farmland,
forests, land used by industry and infrastructure and development
parks. Acreages and their distributions will be mapped and recorded
nationwide. The country will survey every plot of land to get
information on ownership and on how the land is used, and gather
information on land owned by the state and by collectives in
the countryside. (…). ^ top ^
30,000 protest against forced demolition
(SCMP)
2007-06-21
Armed police arrested two protesters and beat up dozens more
when more than 30,000 people demonstrated against the forced
demolition of a house in Shaoqing, Zhejiang province, witnesses
and officials said yesterday. The demonstration on Monday also
persuaded the local government to give up demolishing a "nail
house" - a four-storey building in downtown Shengzhou owned
by 18 householders, said a spokeswoman for the Shengzhou Reconstruction
Bureau. (…) "As armed police kept kicking two people
who fell down to the ground, it provoked more people to join
the confrontation." (…)Forced demolition has increasingly
become a source of conflict on the mainland. (…).
^ top ^
Homeowners' voices are heard (SCMP)
2007-06-22
In a rare move, a Shenzhen district government yesterday appealed
to property owners in an upmarket community not to block the
construction of a high-voltage transformer station near their
homes, Xinhua reported. The appeal followed repeated protests
by residents of an affluent community in the Luohu district
against a plan to build a power transformer station near their
homes. (…) Zou Shubin, a Shenzhen professor, said such
incidents would become increasingly commonplace as the middle
class in rich coastal mainland cities grew. "They are aware
of their rights and are willing to take actions to protect their
interests. This is a show of democratic awareness and social
progress," he said(…). ^ top ^
Senior party official expects Reuters to
depict China fairly (China Daily)
2007-06-21
Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Changchun
on Thursday called on Reuters to report China as it is. "Reuters
should be a bridge in helping the world obtain a better understanding
of China and report China as it is," (…) The meeting
came after Xinhua and Reuters on Thursday afternoon held celebrations
in the Great Hall of the People to mark their five decades of
cooperation. Reuters was the first Western news agency to forge
cooperation with Xinhua. (…). ^ top ^
Television channels punished for airing
banned advertising (SCMP)
2007-06-22
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft)
has ordered two provincial-level television channels in the
northwest of the country to suspend all advertising as punishment
for repeatedly airing banned medical commercials, according
to a statement on the administration's website. (…) It
is the toughest punishment handed down by Sarft in relation
to commercials for banned medicines, medical equipment, weight-loss
products, breast enlargement goods and other outlawed beauty
products in TV shopping programmes. (…).
^ top ^
Crackdown on bribes given to TV censors
- Spotlight falls on 'fees' paid to get shows aired (SCMP)
2007-06-22
The mainland's media watchdog has vowed to fight corruption
in television drama approvals after a prominent writer blew
the whistle on censors taking bribes. "TV production companies
can report to the administration if censors collected unwarranted
fees. If proved true, we will strictly deal with it," Li
Jingsheng, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's
(Sarft) director of TV drama, said in an online forum last week.
(…). ^ top ^
NE China suffers worst drought in 30 years
(China Daily)
2007-06-19
While torrential rains batter southern China, northeast China's
Liaoning Province is suffering its worst summer drought in 30
years that has left more than one million people short of drinking
water, the provincial government said. Nearly all 14 cities
in Liaoning Province have been affected by the drought, though
the situation is more serious in the northwestern and central-southern
parts of the province where 88 small and medium-sized reservoirs
have dried up, the provincial flood prevention and drought control
headquarters told Xinhua on Tuesday. The drought has affected
1.27 million people, 473,800 cattle and 1.4 million hectares
of cropland, it said. (…). ^ top ^
China to dust off food safety standards
(China Daily)
2007-06-19
China will update food safety standards and strengthen enforcement
in order to improve food safety, Liu Pingjun, chief of the National
Standardization Management Commission, said on Tuesday. Liu
told reporters that China had 1,965 national food safety standards
at the end of 2006, 634 of which were mandatory. China will
speed up revisions to national and industry standards on farm
produce and processed food products, Liu said, adding that these
standards were on average 12 years old. (…).
^ top ^
China plans new generation of rockets (China
Daily)
2007-06-19
China plans to develop a new generation of carrier rockets with
an increased payload capacity in order to advance its lunar
exploration program, according to the China Aerospace Science
and Technology Corporation. The payload capacity of China's
Long March series of carrier rockets will be increased from
its current weight of 9.5 tons to 25 tons, an official with
the corporation said. "The development will greatly increase
China's ability of peaceful uses of outer space," the official
said, without specifying when the rockets will be ready for
launch (…). ^ top ^
Federation vows to protect migrants (China
Daily)
2007-06-19
(…)The All-China Federation of Trade Unions said it requires
grassroots trade unions across the country to immediately carry
out a thorough examination to stop the violation of migrant
workers' rights. It instructed trade unions at all levels to
unearth the hidden problems and cooperate with the government
in cracking down on offenders. (…) The announcement of
the campaign follows media reports of hundreds of slave laborers
being used in small brick klins and mines in Shanxi and Henan
provinces(…) Zhang said the campaign would target industries
that employ large numbers of migrant workers, such as manufacturing,
construction, mining and restaurants. He admitted the trade
unions had failed to play a significant enough role in rural
areas, which have produced more than 200 million migrant workers
(…). ^ top ^
Housing vote in Beijing 'not supported'
(China Daily)
2007-06-19
The first-ever referendum on the demolition of old houses has
not been met with favor by a majority of the general public.
About 62.7 percent of 1,506 people in a week-long survey starting
on June 10, were not happy with the way the referendum was conducted.
Respondents disagreed with the method of voting to decide the
future of the capital city's largest-ever urban renewal project.
(…) "Real democracy means not neglecting the minority,"
most respondents said. (…) The referendum on June 9 showed
that 2,451 families accepted the compensation on offer, while
1,228 families disagreed. However, the referendum only covered
67 per cent of 5,473 households in the sub-district. The survey
showed 54 per cent believed the referendum was a democratic
framework only in name. (…). ^ top ^
Group says news of Sichuan riot concealed
(SCMP)
2007-06-19
More than 1,000 protesters clashed with police last month over
the controversial death of a high school student in the home
town of late leader Deng Xiaoping, a human rights body reported
yesterday. Ten were injured in the riot, which took place on
May 17 in a village in Guangan, Sichuan province, said the Hong
Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.
Residents in Jiulong village were protesting over the death
of 15-year-old Wang Qiang, who was allegedly murdered by two
gang members - one of whom was the nephew of the area's police
chief - who went unpunished. In an effort to prevent news of
the riot from spreading, and hampering their political careers,
government chiefs ordered a media ban on coverage and cut the
village's telephone services, the group said. (…).
^ top ^
Many still have faith in flawed petition
system (SCMP)
2007-06-18
Despite its imperfections, many people believe that they can
petition Beijing when they are wronged and justice will be served
as long as they have the ears of top national leaders. The petition
system - essentially a channel allowing citizens to make complaints
to higher authorities on any matter - has been in use for decades.
Petitioners such as Liu Guiqin believe the central leadership
is honest and fair - just like the ancient icon Judge Bao Zheng
who has been worshipped for centuries for his impartiality and
integrity. (…) But in many cases, the petitioners never
get justice. (…). ^ top ^
Li Peng defends Three Gorges (SCMP)
2007-06-18
Former premier Li Peng has spoken out in defence of the Three
Gorges Dam project amid widespread criticism over its environmental
and social impact. In comments published by a paper run by the
Communist Party, Mr Li, 78, said the decision to begin creating
the world's largest hydroelectric project in 1997 could only
have been the right one. Mr Li praised the contributions made
by those displaced by the project to the economic fortunes of
Chongqing municipality(…). ^ top ^
Report on mainland's No 1 emissions status
'flawed' - Beijing official rejects new carbon dioxide ranking
(SCMP)
2007-06-21
A central government official yesterday dismissed a report stating
that the mainland had for the first time overtaken the US as
the world's top producer of carbon dioxide, a year ahead of
previous predictions. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment
Agency said on its website on Tuesday that the mainland's carbon
dioxide emissions, which topped 6.2 billion tonnes last year,
had surpassed those of the United States by 8 per cent. […].
^ top ^
|
| Tibet |
Tibet official rejects
call to allow Dalai Lama to return from exile (SCMP)
2007-06-21
Tibet's top government official has defended Beijing's rule
in the Himalayan region and dismissed calls by a veteran Tibetan
communist to allow the Dalai Lama to return home. The letters
reveal a debate in the mainland's high political circles on
the possible return of the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in
India in 1959. Asked to comment on Mr Phuntso Wangye's letters,
Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet's regional government, told
a Beijing news conference yesterday: "I feel his views
do not represent that of the Tibetan people ... but represent
the thinking of very few people." (…)The 84-year-old
former National People's Congress deputy also condemned hard-liners
for thriving on their opposition to the spiritual leader of
the predominantly Buddhist region (…).
^ top ^
Visiting Tibet could become easier (People’s
Daily Online)
2007-06-22
The Autonomous Region (TAR) could become easier for foreigners
because the local government is considering doing away with
the laissez-passer system, a senior Tibet official said yesterday.
(…) Another project that would attract more overseas visitors
is a highway on Mount Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount
Everest, Qiangba said. The road to the world's highest peak
will be completed before August 2008, in time for the Beijing
Olympic Games. (…) The central government will invest
77.8 billion yuan ($10.23 billion) on 180 projects and in implementing
a range of preferential policies. Qiangba welcomed the central
government's help and dismissed allegations that the Tibetan
people would lose their culture to the Han way of life. (…).
^ top ^
Tibet sees record influx of tourists in
first five months (China Daily)
2007-06-19
Southwest China's Tibet received a record 672,000 tourists in
the first five months, a rise of 82 percent from the same period
last year due to the Qinghai-Tibet Railway which began operation
last July. From January to May, the region hosted 627,000 domestic
tourists and 45,000 from overseas, reaping a revenue of 636
million yuan (83.6 million U.S. dollars), up 78 percent, the
regional tourism bureau said. Zha'nor, deputy director of the
bureau, said the Qinghai-Tibet Railway had unblocked the transport
bottleneck that had hindered tourism development of the region.
(…). ^ top ^
|
| Taiwan |
Taipei ignores US on
referendum in bid to join United Nations (SCMP)
2007-06-21
Taiwan has chosen to ignore the US and push ahead with plans
for a referendum on joining the United Nations under the name
of "Taiwan". Government spokesman Shieh Jhy-wei said
the island would not bow to any "threat" and "intimidation"
over its UN bid because it was the wish of most people in Taiwan
and a democratic way for Taiwanese to express their opinions
on the issue. (…) Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said
on Monday that he planned to hold the referendum alongside the
presidential election in March. Washington, an informal ally
and Taipei's biggest arms supplier, said Mr Chen's plan would
escalate cross-strait tension. Lawrence Chung(…).
^ top ^
Arms deal on track as Taiwan passes budget
(SCMP)
2007-06-17
Taiwan's legislature has approved the government's budget, including
parts of an arms deal with the US, amid mounting public complaints
about funding shortages due to a long delay in the approval
process. The 2007 budget includes NT$6.3 billion (HK$1.5 billion)
for the acquisition of 12 US-made P-3C Orion submarine-hunting
aircraft and the financing of a feasibility study as a first
step towards purchasing diesel submarines. (…) The weapons
funds are part of a US$16 billion arms package that Taiwanese
President Chen Shui-bian's administration wants to acquire from
the United States.(…) In delaying funding for the weapons
package, opposition lawmakers had said that parts of it were
overpriced, and that spending billions of US dollars would propel
Taiwan into a no-win arms race with the mainland(…).
^ top ^
|
| Economy |
| Foreign investment boosts
port industry (China Daily)
2007-06-22
Companies in China are foregoing investment opportunities in
overseas shipping ports in favor of a commercially lucrative
domestic industry, significantly boosted by foreign capital.(…)
"The government wants domestic companies to develop into
something bigger and stronger, and investing abroad is a way
of achieving that goal," Peng Cuihong, counsel to the ministry's
water transport department, said. (…) The challenges ahead
for China's ports include the need to expand fairways to accommodate
the ever-increasing size of cargo vessels, and improving logistics
for smoother distribution and transportation of goods(…).
^ top ^
China opposes IMF rule (People’s
Daily Online)
2007-06-22
China has expressed "reservations" about a new International
Monetary Fund (IMF) ruling on exchange rate policy, saying drastic
exchange rate fluctuations in a country will damage its economic
stability. The IMF's Executive Board decided on Friday on a
new framework for IMF bilateral surveillance, or the way the
Fund monitors and assesses its member's economies. (…)The
revised decision adds the new principle that a member should
avoid exchange rate policies that result in external instability.
The ruling has been widely interpreted as a move to increase
pressure on China to allow a faster revaluation of the yuan.
(…). ^ top ^
China to adjust export rebate policy on
2,831 commodities (People’s Daily Online)
2007-06-20
China's Ministry of Finance said Tuesday that, starting July
1, the country would cut or eliminate export tax rebates for
2,831 commodities representing 37 percent of the total number
of items listed on customs tax regulations. A ministry spokesman
said the move was one of a basket of measures to suppress overheated
export growth and ease frictions between China and its trade
partners. The country will abolish export tax rebates on 553
"highly polluting products that consume heavy amounts of
energy and resources" such as salt, cement, and liquefied
petroleum gas, said the spokesman. (…).
^ top ^
China punishes 8 banks for slack supervision
(China Daily)
2007-06-18
The Chinese banking industry regulator said Monday it has punished
the branches of eight local banks for failing to prevent two
clients from misappropriating loans of 4.46 billion yuan. The
eight banks concerned are the Bank of Beijing, the Beijing branch
of Bank of Communications and the Shanghai outlets of China
Merchants Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China
CITIC Bank, Bank of China, China Industrial Bank and Shenzhen
Development Bank. (…) The CBRC urged the whole banking
industry to tighten management to prevent any new cases of illegal
investment of bank loans in the stock market. (1 U.S. dollar=7.62
yuan). ^ top ^
Microsoft to buy shares in China TV giant
(China Daily)
2007-06-18
Microsoft China is buying 15 million shares of China's Sichuan
Changhong Electric, one of the mainland's largest television
makers(…)Market speculation led to a surge in the value
of Changhong shares last week, increasing 9.97 percent to 9.93
yuan on Thursday. Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding
with Changhong on Friday to cooperate in products that connect
televisions with computers and the Internet, according to the
statement. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Avian
Flu |
Bird flu closes market
(SCMP)
2007-06-17
A deadly strain of bird flu has been found for the first time
in Mong Kok's Bird Garden (Hong Kong), forcing its temporary
closure. The H5N1 virus was found in a faecal swab taken from
a breed of migratory bird which a customer left in one of the
market's 26 pet-bird shops two weeks ago. (…)The crowded
market in Yuen Po Street has been closed for thorough cleaning
amid fears the virus could spread. (…).
^ top ^
|
| Beijing
Olympics |
Beijing won't intervene
on inflated hotel rates (China Daily)
2007-06-21
Beijing will not intervene in the pricing of hotel rooms during
the 2008 Olympic Games, the city's tourism chief said, amid
reports of exorbitant room rates and dwindling supply more than
a year before the opening ceremony. Barring an extreme situation,
authorities would let the market decide hotel rates, the China
Daily on Thursday quoted Du Jiang, Beijing tourism administration
director, as saying. An "extreme" case would be if
"a foreign visitor was being asked to pay $10,000 for a
room despite a hotel having plenty of vacancies," Du said(…)
Du's comments came after local media reported that some Beijing
hotels were quoting rooms up to 10 times above rack rates, or
the listed price of a room before any discount. (…).
^ top ^
Olympic ticket sales receive overwhelming
response (China Daily)
2007-06-21
Ticket sales for the 2008 Olympic Games have received overwhelming
response as many events including the opening and closing ceremonies
were over-subscribed, organizers said on Wednesday. "With
just 10 days until the first phase of sales ends, we have received
360,000 orders for more than 2.2 million tickets," Rong
Jun, head of the Beijing Olympic Ticketing Center, told reporters.
(…). ^ top ^
|
| North
Korea |
| US nuclear envoy visits
N.Korea (China Daily)
2007-06-21
Chief US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill arrives in Pyongyang
in the first high-level visit by a US official there in more
than 4 1/2 years. Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher
Hill's trip came ahead of the expected resumption of six-nation
talks next month following the resolution of a key financial
dispute that had blocked progress. (…) North Korea, which
carried out its first nuclear test explosion in October, promised
in a landmark agreement struck in February with China, Japan,
Russia, South Korea and the US that it would shut down its nuclear
reactor at Yongbyon by mid-April. Progress was stalled by the
financial dispute between Pyongyang and Washington involving
$25 million in alleged North Korean illicit funds. That dispute
was resolved in recent days, and although North Korea still
hasn't shut the reactor, it invited UN monitors next week to
discuss a shutdown. (…). ^ top ^
FM to visit Pyongyang amid hopes of progress
(China Daily)
2007-06-22
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will visit the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) early next month amid optimism that
the Six-Party Talks on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula will
resume soon. (…) The DPRK has already invited the International
Atomic Energy Agency to visit the country for the first inspection
since the agency's experts were expelled from the country in
December 2002(…). ^ top ^
|
| Joel Baumgartner
Embassy of Switzerland
|
The Press review is a random selection
of political and social related news gathered from various media
and news services located in the PRC, edited or translated by
the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and distributed among Swiss
Government Offices. The Embassy does not accept responsibility
for accuracy of quotes or truthfulness of content. Additionally
the contents of the selected news mustn't correspond to the opinion
of the Embassy.
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