China Chronicles June 30, 2012
- Hu inspects Kai Tak public housing project
CHINESE President Hu Jintao had an inspection tour of the Kai Tak public housing development project this morning.
The public housing project is part of a comprehensive Kai Tak development plan which is going in an area of 320 hectares. - At least 17 injured in Xinjiang quake
LOCAL authorities said at least 17 people have been injured after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early this morning.
Strong tremors were felt widely in the region, including the regional capital of Urumqi, shaking residents off beds and causing temporary blackouts when the quake occurred at 5:07 a.m.
The epicenter was monitored at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees east longitude, a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The quake has damaged or toppled an unconfirmed number of houses in Hejing, and falling objects have injured 17 people, one seriously, a county government official said.
Traffic on Highway 315 was interrupted after cave-ins were reported after the quake. Railway authorities also suspended 32 passenger and freight trains in Xinjiang for safety reasons.
The CENC has launched a level-three emergency response following the quake.
Officials of the region's Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Xinyuan, and Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Hejing, have sent work teams to the quake-hit area. - img927
- 50 dead, 42 missing as downpours pummel nation
FLOODS triggered by strong rainfall that has been battering many parts of China since June 20 have left 50 people dead and 42 missing, officials said.
More than 10.4 million people have been affected by downpours in 399 counties in Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou, with 1.247 million in urgent need of aid, as of yesterday morning, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Torrential rain also toppled 34,000 houses, damaged another 89,000 and destroyed 738,000 hectares of crops in these regions, resulting in direct economic losses of 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.62 billion).
The ministry said some of the affected provinces have been battered by numerous rounds of heavy rain since April while other usually water-starved regions, including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have suffered record levels of rain that ruined many of their crops.
The ministry said more than half of the affected counties and cities are in the country's impoverished regions and ethnic areas where local residents with already limited means of self-support largely rely on government aid.
Local governments in disaster-hit regions have poured more than 90 million yuan into aid, including 20 million yuan allocated to Inner Mongolia - one of the hardest-hit areas - the ministry said.
Persistent rain continues in south China. In the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the death toll from week-long rainstorms has risen to 11, the regional civil affairs department said.
Another round of storms is expected to arrive in Guangxi today and tomorrow as a result of the upcoming tropical depression Duksuri, which is due to land in Guangdong early today.
In neighboring Guizhou Province, three people were killed and another injured in a landslide yesterday.
And at least three people have been confirmed dead with 38 others still missing after a mudslide at a construction zone on Thursday morning in the southwestern p! rovince of Sichuan.
- Passengers and crew foil hijack attempt during flight to Urumqi
PASSENGERS leapt into action to help aircrew foil an attempted hijacking by six men on a flight in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region yesterday.
Two policemen on the flight were seriously injured while the head attendant and seven passengers received minor injuries, Xinhua news agency said.
There were more than 92 passengers and nine crew members aboard Tianjin Airlines' Flight GS7554 when the men attempted the hijack about six minutes after take-off from the desert city of Hotan at 12:25pm. The plane was heading for the regional capital Urumqi, about 1,400 kilometers away, police said.
The six suspects are in police custody, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
"The hijackers claimed to have a bomb and tried to rush into the cockpit, but failed to open the door," a Beijing resident whose husband was on the flight, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The woman, who declined to be named, said one of the hijackers took out a ball-shaped device and tried to ignite it.
Two guards on the flight and several passengers, some of whom were police officers, jumped from their seats to tackle the hijackers, she said.
They forced the hijacker to let go of the device before it could be ignited and finally subdued all of them as more passengers rushed to help, she said.
"One of the hijackers pretended to be lame and hid the device in a walking stick to be able to dodge the security checks at the airport," she said.
During the fight, he used the walking stick as a weapon to seriously injure the guards and passengers, she added.
The jet returned to Hotan Airport at 12:41pm.
Police checked all passengers after the plane landed and discovered another accomplice of the hijackers, the woman said.
Police asked all the passengers to write down what they had seen during the hijacking attempt, she said.
The airline arranged another flight at around 9:30pm to take the passengers to their destination.
A photograph ! posted o nline showed passengers holding down the head of at least one of the suspects and some blood could be seen on one of the seats.
In another picture, more than 10 armed police could be seen on the runway beside the plane.
The civil aviation administration said a police investigation was ongoing and it could give no further details.
A spokeswoman for Hainan Airlines, which owns Tianjin Airlines, said: "The airline is cooperating with the police to investigate the case and is not allowed to reveal any more details."
In March 2008, two Uygur women attempted to blow up a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi to Beijing, but were stopped by crew members. A stewardess detected the smell of gasoline during the flight and traced it to one of the women who became agitated when questioned. Her accomplice was caught trying to ignite fuel in the plane's bathroom.
- Astronauts back on Earth, and they're feeling good
"WE have returned, and we feel good," was the message relayed by China's three astronauts after they touched down on grassland in the north yesterday at the end of a 13-day mission to an orbiting module that is a prototype of a future space station.
The Shenzhou-9 return module, carrying China's first woman in space and two colleagues, came down at around 10am in Siziwang Banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
A parachute slowed their descent while a rocket was fired just before landing to position the module so that the hatch was in the right position to allow an easy exit.
Helicopters which had been tracking the capsule since it entered the Earth's atmosphere hovered above the landing area as the capsule approached.
It was just moments after touchdown that ground crew rushed to open the hatch. Medical staff who went inside said all three were in good health.
Premier Wen Jiabao watched the landing from the command center in Beijing and congratulated the crew and welcomed them home.
"This is another outstanding contribution by the Chinese people to human efforts to explore and use space," Wen said.
Mission leader Jing Haipeng was first to leave the capsule, smiling and waving in his white space suit as he was helped out by two ground crew members. Fellow astronauts Liu Wang and Liu Yang followed to loud applause.
"We are proud of the motherland," Liu Yang said to waiting reporters.
Her red lips indicated she had put make-up on for her return. She had been allowed to take some specially made cosmetics into space, but appeared not to have used them during the mission judging by the daily television broadcasts.
The mission marked the first time China had transferred astronauts between two orbiting craft, a milestone in its efforts to acquire the technological and logistical skills to run a space station that can house people for long periods.
The mission also included manual docking maneuvers that marked another major ste! p forwar d for China's ambition to become the third nation to build a permanent space station by 2020.
The launch, landing and docking exercises with the Tiangong-1 space lab module were broadcast live on China Central Television.
Chang Wanquan, chief commander of China's manned space program, announced in Beijing that the mission had been a "complete success."
Before they were flown to the nation's capital for more physical examinations, the astronauts had lunch at the landing site.
"Their first meal after landing included stewed mutton, porridge, steamed buns, pickles and vegetables and fruit," said Bai Yanqiang, deputy commander of the mission's astronaut system.
They also had special drinks to boost heir energy, Bai said.
Nutritionists had customized the menu for each astronaut after talking with them, he added.
The astronauts successfully completed a manual docking between Shenzhou-9 and Tiangong-1 on Sunday, the first such attempt in the country's history of space exploration.
The spacecraft and space lab had docked automatically on June 18, after the astronauts launched into space on June 16 from northwest China's Gobi desert. They also conducted a series of scientific and medical tests during their 13-day space flight.
- 20 die in gas tanker explosion
TWENTY people died when a tanker loaded with 40 tons of gasoline collided with a truck on an expressway in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou yesterday morning.
At least two of 14 people injured in the explosion and the massive fire that followed suffered severe burns.
Some of the dead were workers at a timber processing plant near the scene, and others were local residents.
The two drivers survived and are being treated in hospital where they are both said to be in a stable condition.
The accident happened at about 4:30am on the Yanjiang Expressway in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong Province.
Gasoline leaking into drainage ditches triggered a fire in the timber plant close to the expressway at 5:15am, Guangzhou government officials said.
The blaze spread over some 2,000 square meters of the surrounding area.
Dozens of vehicles parked at the plant and a fire engine were damaged in the fire.
Many workers fell victim to the explosion and their bodies were badly burned, Guangzhou Daily reported. One worker who survived, surnamed Zhu, said he saw a fireball hit the plant. He suffered burns all over his back.
A local resident identified as Chole-Lam online said he and his neighbors were woken by a huge explosion. "I thought the end of the world might have come."
It took 185 firefighters and rescue workers about four hours to bring the blaze under control, officials said.
The injured were taken to hospital while several hearses from a Guangzhou funeral house arrived to take the bodies away.
The Guangzhou Blood Center issued an appeal for blood donors.
The oil tanker driver surnamed Zhou, 38, and the truck driver surnamed Liu, 35, are said to have been detained by police. Both vehicles carried plates from central China's Hunan Province.
The wreckage had been cleared by yesterday afternoon and the scene was cordoned off.
The Guangzhou government said a team of professionals had been mobilized to ch! eck the expressway to ensure that it was safe to reopen to traffic.
- Nantong probes child lead poisoning cases
NANTONG City authorities said yesterday that they are investigating allegations that hundreds of wire rope manufacturers are responsible for excessive lead levels in more than 200 children.
Authorities have been accused of turning a blind eye to the case.
A preliminary investigation found 184 of 655 children who were tested as of Thursday had high lead levels and 19 were diagnosed with lead poisoning, said a spokesman for the Nantong City Economic and Technological Development Area, Jiangsu Province.
The affected children would be treated free of charge. Children under the age of 10 who live in the Zhuhang and Xiaohai communities, where most of the wire rope manufacturers are based, would be given free health checks, the spokesman said.
Authorities said the cause of the lead poisoning has yet to be determined.
The manufacturers in the area account for 33 percent of the domestic wire rope market and export products to 20 countries and regions. During production large amounts of lead dust is generated.
Children living nearby were exposed to lead dust. Symptoms of lead poisoning include irritability, difficulty sleeping and general weakness.
Parents said the plants were built 50 meters from residential complexes while state rules say the distance should be at least 100 meters.
"Officials have long promised to move the plants," one resident said. "But years later, nothing has changed and the plants continue to operate."
- Nantong probes child lead poisoning cases
NANTONG City authorities said yesterday that they are investigating allegations that hundreds of wire rope manufacturers are responsible for excessive lead levels in more than 200 children.
Authorities have been accused of turning a blind eye to the case.
A preliminary investigation found 184 of 655 children who were tested as of Thursday had high lead levels and 19 were diagnosed with lead poisoning, said a spokesman for the Nantong City Economic and Technological Development Area, Jiangsu Province.
The affected children would be treated free of charge. Children under the age of 10 who live in the Zhuhang and Xiaohai communities, where most of the wire rope manufacturers are based, would be given free health checks, the spokesman said.
Authorities said the cause of the lead poisoning has yet to be determined.
The manufacturers in the area account for 33 percent of the domestic wire rope market and export products to 20 countries and regions. During production large amounts of lead dust is generated.
Children living nearby were exposed to lead dust. Symptoms of lead poisoning include irritability, difficulty sleeping and general weakness.
Parents said the plants were built 50 meters from residential complexes while state rules say the distance should be at least 100 meters.
"Officials have long promised to move the plants," one resident said. "But years later, nothing has changed and the plants continue to operate."
- 175b yuan rural plan for safe drinking water
CHINA will invest 175 billion yuan (US$27.53 billion) before the end of 2015 to ensure safe drinking water in rural areas, a government official said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying made the pledge at an ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, citing a State Council report on a five-year plan for improving rural drinking water quality. The report was deliberated by legislators on Thursday.
According to the report, the central government will subsidize 68 percent, or about 118.8 billion yuan, of the total investment, while another 22 percent of the funds will be provided by local governments and 10 percent will be assumed by rural residents, Li said.
Residents will be charged an average of 54.6 yuan annually, according to the report.
Li said subsidies in eastern and central China are typically less than those in the country's less-developed western areas.
In the Tibet Autonomous Region, for example, the central government will bear all of the costs, Li said.
The number of rural residents who lacked access to safe drinking water dropped by 221 million between 2004 and 2010, Du Ying, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the Wednesday session.
However, legislators have admitted that improving the quality of drinking water in China has been challenging, particularly in rural areas. As many as 298 million rural residents still lack safe water, according to the report.
In the next three years, the central government's allocation will be first used to guarantee the operation of drinking water projects for rural areas, Li said.
Meanwhile, efforts should be made to protect water sources by reducing and optimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, reducing pollution and improving the restoration of rural ecosystems, said Li.
China amended its drinking water quality standards in 2006, increasing the number of water quality indices! to 106.
"By the end of 2015, the 106 quality indices will be implemented in all provincial capitals and municipalities," Minister of Health Chen Zhu said.
Also by 2015, nearly 80 percent of the rural population will have access to safe drinking water through centralized water supply facilities, Du said.
China should also deepen its reform of water prices nationwide and further promote progressive pricing schemes.
- Party expels pilot for causing deadly jet crash
A HENAN Airlines captain has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and fired for trying to land a plane despite poor visibility, resulting in an air crash that killed 44 people in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, in 2010.
Qi Quanjun, the captain, had his pilot's license revoked for violating aviation regulations and may face criminal responsibility, the State Administration of Work Safety said yesterday. Henan Airlines Co Ltd was fined 5 million yuan (US$786,780) for lax management of its crew and poor supervision of irregularities during a flight.
Qi was deemed responsible for the accident as he piloted the plane toward the runway despite visibility deemed to be low for landing aircraft, the administration said.
The visibility at the time was 2,800 meters due to fog, 800 meters below the lowest distance allowed for safe landings.
Other flight crew members such as copilot Zhu Jianzhou were also held partly responsible for not reminding Qi that visibility was too poor to land the plane, the administration said. Zhu died in the accident.
A number of Henan Airlines employees were fired after the accident.
Forty-four people were killed after an E-190 plane traveling from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, overshot the runway and crashed in Yichun in August 2010. A total of 96 passengers were on board.
The plane missed the runway by 1.5 kilometers and broke into two upon landing, throwing some passengers out of the cabin. The aircraft then caught fire before exploding.
- Party expels pilot for causing deadly jet crash
A HENAN Airlines captain has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and fired for trying to land a plane despite poor visibility, resulting in an air crash that killed 44 people in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, in 2010.
Qi Quanjun, the captain, had his pilot's license revoked for violating aviation regulations and may face criminal responsibility, the State Administration of Work Safety said yesterday. Henan Airlines Co Ltd was fined 5 million yuan (US$786,780) for lax management of its crew and poor supervision of irregularities during a flight.
Qi was deemed responsible for the accident as he piloted the plane toward the runway despite visibility deemed to be low for landing aircraft, the administration said.
The visibility at the time was 2,800 meters due to fog, 800 meters below the lowest distance allowed for safe landings.
Other flight crew members such as copilot Zhu Jianzhou were also held partly responsible for not reminding Qi that visibility was too poor to land the plane, the administration said. Zhu died in the accident.
A number of Henan Airlines employees were fired after the accident.
Forty-four people were killed after an E-190 plane traveling from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, overshot the runway and crashed in Yichun in August 2010. A total of 96 passengers were on board.
The plane missed the runway by 1.5 kilometers and broke into two upon landing, throwing some passengers out of the cabin. The aircraft then caught fire before exploding.
- 175b yuan rural plan for safe drinking water
CHINA will invest 175 billion yuan (US$27.53 billion) before the end of 2015 to ensure safe drinking water in rural areas, a government official said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying made the pledge at an ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, citing a State Council report on a five-year plan for improving rural drinking water quality. The report was deliberated by legislators on Thursday.
According to the report, the central government will subsidize 68 percent, or about 118.8 billion yuan, of the total investment, while another 22 percent of the funds will be provided by local governments and 10 percent will be assumed by rural residents, Li said.
Residents will be charged an average of 54.6 yuan annually, according to the report.
Li said subsidies in eastern and central China are typically less than those in the country's less-developed western areas.
In the Tibet Autonomous Region, for example, the central government will bear all of the costs, Li said.
The number of rural residents who lacked access to safe drinking water dropped by 221 million between 2004 and 2010, Du Ying, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the Wednesday session.
However, legislators have admitted that improving the quality of drinking water in China has been challenging, particularly in rural areas. As many as 298 million rural residents still lack safe water, according to the report.
In the next three years, the central government's allocation will be first used to guarantee the operation of drinking water projects for rural areas, Li said.
Meanwhile, efforts should be made to protect water sources by reducing and optimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, reducing pollution and improving the restoration of rural ecosystems, said Li.
China amended its drinking water quality standards in 2006, increasing the number of water quality indices! to 106.
"By the end of 2015, the 106 quality indices will be implemented in all provincial capitals and municipalities," Minister of Health Chen Zhu said.
Also by 2015, nearly 80 percent of the rural population will have access to safe drinking water through centralized water supply facilities, Du said.
China should also deepen its reform of water prices nationwide and further promote progressive pricing schemes.
- Le Bar in Nanjing
alfondc - 亞行者 has added a photo to the pool:
- President Hu arrives in HK for 15th handover anniversary
Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Hong Kong by special plane at noon today to attend the celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the swearing-in ceremony of the fourth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen mounted the special plane to welcome Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
HKSAR Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun-ying and a group of high- ranking officials were also present at the airport to greet Hu.
A series of events will be held during the next few days to mark the anniversary, including a flag-raising ceremony, artistic performances, a fireworks display, carnivals, and parachute jumping performance staged by the People's Liberation Army 81 Parachute Brigade.
Comments