China Chronicles June 28, 2012
- 宝
- State auditor uncovers misdeeds of Railway Ministry
The Railway Ministry splurged 18.5 million yuan (US$2.9 million) on a promotional video without public bidding, one of the irregularities the country's top auditor found in its annual report.
The video, Chinese Railways, was directed by world-renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and played at the opening of the 7th World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing in December 2010.
The National Audit Office said yesterday that the Railway Ministry invested the huge amount of money in the video without a public bidding process and the video failed to meet expectations.
The video showed China's railway development in the past decades.
The ministry was also found to illegally shorten the time for bids on infrastructure work on the Shanghai-Beijing High-Speed Railway from five days to 13 hours, reducing opportunities for bidders, the report said.
- State auditor uncovers misdeeds of Railway Ministry
The Railway Ministry splurged 18.5 million yuan (US$2.9 million) on a promotional video without public bidding, one of the irregularities the country's top auditor found in its annual report.
The video, Chinese Railways, was directed by world-renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and played at the opening of the 7th World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing in December 2010.
The National Audit Office said yesterday that the Railway Ministry invested the huge amount of money in the video without a public bidding process and the video failed to meet expectations.
The video showed China's railway development in the past decades.
The ministry was also found to illegally shorten the time for bids on infrastructure work on the Shanghai-Beijing High-Speed Railway from five days to 13 hours, reducing opportunities for bidders, the report said.
- Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to return tomorrow morning
Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft will return to the Earth around 10 am tomorrow, a spokesperson of China's manned space program announced in Beijing today.
Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 lab module has been successfully separated by manual operation this morning, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.
It was the first time for China's spacecraft and target module to be disjoined by manual operation.
The three Chinese astronauts returned to Shenzhou-9 spacecraft from Tiangong-1 lab module at 6 am today, to prepare for the manual separation attempt.
Liu Wang conducted the manual operation to separate Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and the orbiting Tiangong-1. He will continue manual operation and steer the spacecraft to a safety distance.
- Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to return tomorrow
SHENZHOU-9 manned spacecraft will return to the Earth around 10 am tomorrow, a spokesperson of China's manned space program announced in Beijing today.
Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 lab module has been successfully separated by manual operation this morning, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.
It was the first time for China's spacecraft and target module to be disjoined by manual operation.
The three Chinese astronauts returned to Shenzhou-9 spacecraft from Tiangong-1 lab module at 6 am today, to prepare for the manual separation attempt.
Liu Wang conducted the manual operation to separate Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and the orbiting Tiangong-1. He will continue manual operation and steer the spacecraft to a safety distance.
- Self-repair moment@Shanghai
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JOBO tank with DIY 8x11 reels/version III - Chinese myth lends name to discovery
US scientists have discovered a previously unknown substance in the Allende meteorite believed to be among the oldest minerals in the solar system.
The titanium oxide is named panguite after Pan Gu, the giant in ancient Chinese mythology who created the world by separating heaven and Earth from chaos.
The denomination is "in allusion to the mineral with an ultra-refractory origin, being among the first solid materials formed in the solar system," Chi Ma, a senior scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said.
The mineral and its name have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association's Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification.
A paper outlining the discovery and the properties of the new mineral will be published in the July issue of the American Mineralogist journal and is available online now.
"Panguite is an especially exciting discovery since it is not only a new mineral, but also a material previously unknown to science," said Ma, who also serves as director of Caltech's Geological and Planetary Sciences division.
Studies of panguite and other newly discovered refractory minerals are continuing in an effort to learn more about the conditions under which they formed and subsequently evolved.
"Such investigations are essential to understand the origins of our solar system," Ma said.
In 1969, an exploding fireball over Mexico scattered thousands of pieces of meteorite across the state of Chihuahua. The Allende meteorite is the largest carbonaceous chondrite, a diverse class of primitive meteorites, ever found on Earth.
- China to double its Latin trade
PREMIER Wen Jiabao wrapped up a tour of resource-rich Latin America on Tuesday by offering US$10 billion in credit for infrastructure projects and calling for a joint push to combat protectionism.
Wen proposed a free-trade deal with the Mercosur bloc and signed a series of investment accords during the trip to the region, a key source of agricultural and mineral commodities and a growing market for Chinese exports.
"The Chinese government ... will continue to offer economic assistance to countries in the region that are interested," Wen told the UN regional economic body ECLAC in Chile, the world's No. 1 copper exporter.
He said China's Development Bank would implement a US$10 billion credit program for infrastructure projects.
He also said China would create a US$5 billion fund for cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.
"We have to combat trade protectionism, broaden the mutual openness of our markets, optimize the trade structure and diversify cooperation in terms of customs and quality control," Wen said.
The premier added that China also aims to nearly double trade with Latin America in five years to over US$400 billion.
Last year, 8.9 percent of all regional exports were destined for Chinese shores and 13.8 percent of imports were made in China, as trade between China and Latin America and the Caribbean surged nearly 30 percent in the 2005 to 2011 period, according to ECLAC data.
"China wants to have more balanced trade with Latin America ... we hope that in the future we can import more types of products, including value-added products," Wen said.
The head of ECLAC, Alicia Barcena, welcomed Wen's words to improve trade ties and diversify away from commodities-based exports. "It's very interesting that (Wen) came to the region to deliver a message that China isn't only interested in Latin America's and the Caribbean's raw materials, but that it wants a long-term strategic relationship," Barcena said. "That's very g! ood news for the region."
Fears of a hard landing in China, the world's No. 2 economy, have sent jitters through Latin America, as China's annual growth target for 2012 looks increasingly in jeopardy as demand at home falters and Europe's debt crisis worsens.
"China is also considering the possibility of negotiating and signing agreements for local currency swap agreements ... and increasing the reciprocal creation of bank branches," Wen said.
The Chinese leader also called for cooperation from regional leaders on food security and to that effect invited Latin American and Caribbean agriculture ministers to a meeting in China in 2013.
"We also propose to establish between China and the region an emergency food reserve mechanism of 500,000 tons, which will be used for natural disasters and humanitarian aid," Wen said.
- 110m yuan less spent by central government
CHINA'S central government administrations and institutions spent 110 million yuan (US$17.3 million) less on overseas trips, vehicles, and receptions last year compared with 2010, the finance ministry said yesterday.
Expenses in the three areas, known as "three public consumptions," totaled 9.36 billion yuan in 2011, including 1.98 billion yuan for overseas trips, 5.92 billion yuan for vehicle purchases and maintenance and 1.47 billion yuan for receptions, said Finance Minister Xie Xuren yesterday.
The total figure for 2010 stood at 9.47 billion yuan, with overseas trips accounting for 1.77 billion yuan, vehicle purchases and maintenance 6.17 billion yuan and receptions 1.53 billion yuan.
It is the second year for the Chinese central government to disclose bills of the "three public consumptions." Xie said more details and explanations on the expenses need to be provided and all the provincial governments need to follow suit in making their expenditures public within two years.
Three public consumptions are often criticized as sources of corruption and waste of the public funds.
Last year, 199,600 government vehicles were found to be purchased or used against regulations on the use of public funds, and 170 officials involved were punished, authorities disclosed earlier.
- HK to issue stamps to mark 15th anniversary
A staff member shows the special stamps and first day covers which will be soon published to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in Hong Kong, south China, today. July 1, 2012 marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.
- Illegal cargo ignited bus fire
THE fire that killed 41 on an overloaded double-decker sleeper coach in central Henan Province last July was ignited by flammable chemicals illegally taken onboard by the bus operator, authorities said.
The State Administration of Work Safety said yesterday that the bus illegally carried 300 kilograms of chemicals, which were stored improperly and triggered a fire on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway in Xinyang City in Henan.
Blame rests with the chaotic management of the Weihai Transportation Group in eastern Shandong Province, which subcontracted the bus operation to Wang Endian, as well as authorities in Shandong and Henan, officials said.
Five people, including Wang and bus driver Zou Jianzhou, have been arrested for causing the incident while 32 Party officials, including work safety inspectors and transportation officials, have been punished, according to the statement.
Wang paid 400,000 yuan (US$62,840) for the right to operate the bus and entrusted its day-to-day management to Li Gang, who died in the blast.
Chemical manufacturers and dealers often asked Li to transport hazardous chemicals, and both Wang and the Weihai group turned a blind eye, officials said.
On July 21 last year, Li took 10 boxes of the explosive chemical on the bus at the request of Huichang Chemicals Supporting Material Co in Zibo, Shandong.
The State Administration of Work Safety punished Huichang and two other chemical companies. Five people in three companies, including Yang, have been apprehended.
- Four waitresses dismembered, two men held
TWO men have been arrested in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, in the robbery and slaying of four nightclub waitresses, parts of whose bodies were cut up and flushed down the toilet at the men's apartment.
Xie Bingyou, 32, and Lin Hu, 35, confessed to have lured the victims to their flat and robbed and dismembered them, police announced yesterday.
Some body parts flushed down the toilet blocked sewage pipes. Police were alerted on June 16 after workers who came to unclog the pipes made the horrible discovery, Guangdong media reported.
The suspects also are believed to have removed some of the body parts from the apartment and dumped them into suburban ditches.
All the victims are thought to have been killed and dismembered inside the men's 15th floor apartment in the city's Luohu District.
Police combed through surveillance footage and discovered the four women who entered the building since May never exited. Police caught the suspects in the wee hours of June 21.
Two of the victims were reported missing, including a 29-year-old woman surnamed Tan. Her husband reported on June 12 that Tan had been missing since they last talked on the phone on June 7. Tan is thought to have been killed that evening - the third victim. The last victim is thought to have been murdered on June 17, local media reported.
The victims were robbed of their cash and mobile phones and one was forced to divulge her bank card combination before being killed. The bank account was later emptied of cash from an ATM machine, according to police.
Residents from the building told local media the corridors near the men's apartment started to smell rotten in recent weeks. As news of the slayings spread, some frightened tenants moved out.
Both the suspects are Guangdong natives. Police had not said by late yesterday how the men had lured the women to their apartment.
- Driver strips after crash
A woman driver who stripped naked in front of an ambulance to hinder rescuers after her car hit two people, killing one and severely injuring another, was given a psychological test yesterday.
Zhang Yan, a university teacher in Linyi City, Shandong Province, sped in her residential complex and hit a woman on a moped who had her 4-year-old daughter sitting behind her, officials said.
Instead of helping the victims, Zhang stripped and lay naked on the ground. Later she snatched the injured girl from the ambulance and dropped her on the ground. The girl died later. Her mother, surnamed Wang, remained in intensive care.
Neighbors said Zhang was furious when she left her home on the morning of June 17.
A relative of Wang, Wang Lewen, said Zhang drove into the crowd after finding out her husband had a mistress. Zhang was detained for involuntary manslaughter, but Wang Lewen said it was intentional homicide.
"Zhang teaches medicine, including medical psychology and psychiatry. She disguises herself as a mad woman and hinders emergency treatment. She's so evil," Wang said.
- Health services disliked
RESIDENTS are most dissatisfied with medical treatment and health services, the public service that earned the lowest marks in a report of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Residents ranked compulsory education as the public service they were most satisfied with, followed by public utilities and transportation infrastructure.
Chen Lanying, a 77-year-old resident in Shanghai, complained about the long queues at hospitals, high medical fees and repeated health checks.
"I was asked to have the same health checks every time when I changed hospitals and the medical fee is also a burden," she said.
- between the lines
- Scorpion tasting
- Chinese manned submersible refreshes national dive record
CHINA'S manned submersible Jiaolong set a new national dive record today after reaching 7,062 meters below sea level during its fifth dive into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
The Jiaolong got three water samples, two sediment samples and one organism sample, placed a marker, and made several experiments on the sea floor 7,062 meters deep from the sea surface.
The oceanauts in the submersible attracted lots of living things with baits and took many photos and videos of them.
China has invested 470 million yuan (US$73.79 million) into the Jiaolong project over the past 10 years for submersible research and modification and on-sea experiment, said on-scene commander Liu Feng.
The Jiaolong set a national dive record on Sunday after reaching 7,020 meters below sea level during its fourth dive into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world's oceans.
After arriving at the area earlier this month, the Jiaolong had succeeded in reaching depths of 6,671, 6,965 and 6,963 meters in its first three dives from June 15 to 22, easily surpassing the previous national record of 5,188 meters it set last July.
The Jiaolong enabled China to join the ranks of deep-sea faring countries. The United States, Japan, France and Russia currently lead the world in the development of deep-sea exploration technology, each possessing their own submersibles and support bases.
- changing lanes
- The debate courtyard
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