China Chronicles November 26, 2012
- Chief of J-15 jet program dies of heart attack
THE man who was in charge of China's J-15 fighter-bomber development program died of a heart attack yesterday morning after two J-15 jets successfully completed a take-off and landing exercise on China's first aircraft carrier, China Central Television reported today.
CCTV said Luo Yang was rushed to a hospital immediately after the aircraft carrier, Liaoning 16, returned to its home port in Dalian in northeast Liaoning Province, but emergency rescue failed to save his life. Luo died at 11am yesterday.
Two J-15 fighter jets have successfully carried out the take-off and landing maneuver on the aircraft carrier, setting a milestone in the vessel's path to full combat ability, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday.
The exercise also marked the debut of the J-15, also known as Flying Shark, which is developed by China's Shenyang Aircraft Industry Group based on Russia's Sukhoi Su-33. The exercise was held two months after the carrier entered service.
As the chairman and general manager of Shenyang Aircraft Industry Group, Luo was the chief supervisor of the J-15 development program. - J-15 program supervisor died of heart attack after milestone exercise
The person in charge of China's J-15 carrier-based fighter-bomber development program died of heart attack yesterday morning after two J-15 jets had successfully completed a take-off and landing exercise, China Central Television Reported.
The report said Luo Yang, was rushed to hospital from China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, after the heart attack but an emergency rescue failed to save him. He died at 11am yesterday. Luo reportedly had the heart attack on the carrier after it returned to its home port in Dalian in northeast Liaoning Province following the jet exercise.
Two J-15 fighter jets had successfully landed and taken off from the Liaoning carrier on this weekend and this represented a milestone on the vessel's path to full combat ability. The exercise also marked the debut of the J-15, also known as the Flying Shark, which is developed by China from Russia's Sukhoi Su-33. The exercise was carried out two months after the carrier entered service.
As chairman and general manager of the Shenyang Aircraft Industry Group, which develops the J-15 aircraft, Luo is the general supervisor of the development program. - Whistleblower says scandal videos feature more officials
THE whistleblower who uploaded a video that led to the sacking of a district Party secretary in southwestern Chongqing City says he has videos featuring five more senior government officials.
Beibei District's Party Secretary Lei Zhengfu was sacked last Friday after he was identified as the person having sex with a young woman in a video which was widely spread on the Internet.
But the whistleblower, Zhu Ruifeng, told Beijing News yesterday that Lei was only one of six senior Chongqing officials who had been recorded in different sex videos he received from a police insider.
"With Lei being removed from post and another one sacked in the scandal of Chongqing's former Party chief Bo Xilai scandal, four of the six senior officials are still sitting on their chairs in the city government," the newspaper quoted Zhu as saying.
Zhu told the Oriental Morning Post that the insider who gave him the videos was a police officer working at the Chongqing Public Security Bureau. But he refused to identify the other five officials said to be involved in the videos.
Lei was seen in a 36-second clip having sex with an 18-year-old woman in a hotel room. It was part of an 80-minute video, Zhu said. He said the police insider told him the woman, surnamed Zhao, who changed her name to Zhou Xiaolan, was actually a "gift" sent to Lei by a businessman in the construction industry.
He said the video was secretly filmed by the businessman during Spring Festival in 2007 as a means to blackmail Lei to secure contracts from the official.
Awarded contracts
When Lei was Party chief in the city's Dianjiang County between 2002 and 2006, he is alleged to have awarded construction contracts for projects such as renovating roads and building schools to his relatives and not to the businessman.
Because he was earning huge sums of money from this "family business," Zhu said, "Lei started to prefer attractive women to money."
People who wanted to bribe him hired young ! and attractive women aged 16 to 20 and sent them to him as mistresses, Zhu alleged.
The businessman who hired Zhao to take part in the sex video with Lei was said to have practiced the filming several times to ensure clear images of Lei could be captured.
But when Lei was told about the video he went to another senior Chongqing official for help.
Zhao and the businessman were then thrown into jail by a police team established by Wang Lijun, former vice mayor and police chief of Chongqing.
Wang received a 15-year sentence in September for covering up the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.
In separate cases, Zhao was detained by police for 30 days while the businessman was jailed for one year for "making fake official seals," Zhu said.
The disciplinary watchdog in Chongqing said it was still investigating whether Lei was involved in the awarding of contracts to his relatives, the Oriental Morning Post reported yesterday.
- Fighter jets cleared for take-off and landing in carrier success
Two J-15 fighter jets have successfully landed and taken off from China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday.
It said the exercise, carried out two months after the carrier entered service, represented a milestone on the vessel's path to full combat ability.
The carrier returned to its home port of Dalian in northeast Liaoning Province yesterday where it docked at No. 3 berth of the Dalian shipyard.
The landing and take-off exercises marked the debut of the J-15, also known as the Flying Shark, a carrier-based fighter-bomber developed by China from Russia's Sukhoi Su-33.
According to Xinhua news agency, the J-15 is able to carry anti-ship, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs.
The defense ministry's website carried photos of the jets, numbered 552 and 553, which took off and landed several times using a total of five pilots.
"Capabilities of the carrier platform and the J-15 have been tested, meeting all requirements and achieving good compatibility," the People's Liberation Army Navy said yesterday.
Since the Liaoning formally entered service on September 25, crew members have completed more than 100 training and test programs, Xinhua said.
A video carried by China Central Television yesterday showed a tail hook on the rear of one of the J-15s catching hold of a cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier as the jet landed and slowed to a halt within 30 meters.
The plane then folded its wings and was moved to another area where engineers inspected the aircraft.
It returned to the runway shortly after take-off.
"The success of the landing is an important sign that the aircraft carrier gains combat ability, and has also marked China's Navy forces reaching a new height," said Zhang Junshe, deputy director of the Naval Military Academic Research Institute.
Combat ability
The twin-engined Chinese fighter has comprehensive capabilities comp! arable to those of the US F-18, according to military experts.
Zhang said that the carrier would continue to conduct landing and take-off trials with other aircraft including early warning and anti-submarine planes.
"It will take another two years for the Liaoning to fully get combat ability. Before that, it will mainly be used for both military training and scientific experiments," he said.
Military experts say the carrier will be capable of landing about 30 J-15 fighters and helicopters and have a crew of around 2,000.
During the recent exercise, around 100 soldiers in seven different colored jackets were involved. About 60 were seen in the video walking in two lines across the carrier's deck making sure the landing area was clear.
Several soldiers operated as guides, using various gestures to guide the fighter pilot to adjust into the best position for landing.
Before the fighters took off, another two guides crouched beside them and threw their arms into the air to communicate to the pilots when to accelerate and take-off.
"The guides have more than 30 different gestures with various meanings, because it is too noisy during take-off and landing," said Li Xiaoyong, a military official on the Liaoning.
He said the different colors of jackets were for different tasks and positions.
For example, red uniforms were for safety officers, purple was worn by refuellers, green was for the maintenance crew and medical staff wore white.
Landing on the carrier is extremely difficult and dangerous, Li said, because the runway was so small. Though the deck is over 300 meters long, the landing section is just 100 meters.
Meanwhile, the ship would rock and sway with the movement of the sea, increasing the difficulty for pilots.
"Pilot recruitment for the aircraft carrier required even more severe standards than astronaut selection," said Zhang Hongtao, an official in charge of recruitment for the Liaoning.
- Fighter jets cleared for take-offand landing in carrier success
TWO J-15 fighter jets have successfully landed and taken off from China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday.
It said the exercise, carried out two months after the carrier entered service, represented a milestone on the vessel's path to full combat ability.
The carrier returned to its home port of Dalian in northeast Liaoning Province yesterday where it docked at No. 3 berth of the Dalian shipyard.
The landing and take-off exercises marked the debut of the J-15, also known as the Flying Shark, a carrier-based fighter-bomber developed by China from Russia's Sukhoi Su-33.
According to Xinhua news agency, the J-15 is able to carry anti-ship, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs.
The defense ministry's website carried photos of the jets, numbered 552 and 553, which took off and landed several times using a total of five pilots.
"Capabilities of the carrier platform and the J-15 have been tested, meeting all requirements and achieving good compatibility," the People's Liberation Army Navy said yesterday.
Since the Liaoning formally entered service on September 25, crew members have completed more than 100 training and test programs, Xinhua said.
A video carried by China Central Television yesterday showed a tail hook on the rear of one of the J-15s catching hold of a cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier as the jet landed and slowed to a halt within 30 meters.
The plane then folded its wings and was moved to another area where engineers inspected the aircraft.
It returned to the runway shortly after take-off.
"The success of the landing is an important sign that the aircraft carrier gains combat ability, and has also marked China's Navy forces reaching a new height," said Zhang Junshe, deputy director of the Naval Military Academic Research Institute.
Combat ability
The twin-engined Chinese fighter has comprehensive capabilities comp! arable to those of the US F-18, according to military experts.
Zhang said that the carrier would continue to conduct landing and take-off trials with other aircraft including early warning and anti-submarine planes.
"It will take another two years for the Liaoning to fully get combat ability. Before that, it will mainly be used for both military training and scientific experiments," he said.
Military experts say the carrier will be capable of landing about 30 J-15 fighters and helicopters and have a crew of around 2,000.
During the recent exercise, around 100 soldiers in seven different colored jackets were involved. About 60 were seen in the video walking in two lines across the carrier's deck making sure the landing area was clear.
Several soldiers operated as guides, using various gestures to guide the fighter pilot to adjust into the best position for landing.
Before the fighters took off, another two guides crouched beside them and threw their arms into the air to communicate to the pilots when to accelerate and take-off.
"The guides have more than 30 different gestures with various meanings, because it is too noisy during take-off and landing," said Li Xiaoyong, a military official on the Liaoning.
He said the different colors of jackets were for different tasks and positions.
For example, red uniforms were for safety officers, purple was worn by refuellers, green was for the maintenance crew and medical staff wore white.
Landing on the carrier is extremely difficult and dangerous, Li said, because the runway was so small. Though the deck is over 300 meters long, the landing section is just 100 meters.
Meanwhile, the ship would rock and sway with the movement of the sea, increasing the difficulty for pilots.
"Pilot recruitment for the aircraft carrier required even more severe standards than astronaut selection," said Zhang Hongtao, an official in charge of recruitment for the Liaoning.
- Taking bribes of 500,000 yuan to be major offense
TAKING bribes of half a million yuan (US$80,200) or more will constitute a major offense, according to an updated set of criminal procedural rules for procuratorates.
The rules released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate were modified to fit the demands of the amended Criminal Procedure Law, which will come into effect on January 1.
In the case of a major bribery offense, lawyers have to ask for permission to meet with their clients in custody during the investigation, according to the amended Criminal Procedure Law.
The regulations define major bribery as those involving half a million yuan, featuring vile criminal circumstances, or having major social impacts, or undermining significant national interests.
Chen Weidong, professor at the Law School of China's Renmin University, said the new specifications on major bribery crimes were made in line with China's fast economic development.
The rules are seen as a key judicial explanatory document to guide prosecuting organs' work in criminal cases.
As many as 240 new articles were added with detailed stipulations on defense attorneys, evidence, case reception, special procedures and case management, the SPP said.
China amended its Criminal Procedural Law in March, protecting suspects and defendants from "illegal restriction, detention and arrest."
The phrase "respecting and protecting human rights" was included in its first chapter on basic principles.
The rules are expected to provide all-around standards for prosecutors' roles in criminal lawsuits while ensuring that suspects and defendants enjoy their full rights.
- 'Most polluted' city will start publishing PM2.5
READINGS of airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers - known as PM2.5 -in the city of Lanzhou, one of China's most polluted, will be available for public scrutiny next month, according to officials. The capital city of Gansu Province will start PM2.5 monitoring according to new environmental air quality standards on Saturday.
Lanzhou is among the first of 74 Chinese cities required by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to publish daily reports on PM2.5 by the end of the year.
The PM2.5 index is considered stricter than the PM10 standard previously adopted in China. The tiny particles are more hazardous to people's health.
The data will be updated on government websites and via television and radio before the end of the year, the head of Lanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, Pan En, said.
The move was hailed by local residents who have complained of air pollution in the northwestern city.
"What matters is not the reading itself, but that its publication can at least put pressure on officials to do something to alleviate the pollution," said Pan Jiang, a local citizen.
Shanghai began using the new standard this month.
Experts said terrain and climate factors, and Lanzhou's reliance on petrochemical industries and its winter heating, have worsened pollution. A World Health Organization survey in 2011 named it China's worst for air pollution.
- Testing time for 1.12m seeking stability
More than a million hopefuls packed out schools and universities across China yesterday to take part in the National Public Servant Exam, with a record number registering in search of a stable government job.
More than 1.5 million people applied to sit the exam this year, more than 30 times the number a decade ago and an increase of 150,000 from last year. On the day, about 1.12 million turned up to sit the exam to compete for around 21,000 government jobs to be filled next year.
One out of 53 exam takers will be successful in gaining a government post, according to the civil service administration, Xinhua news agency reported.
The rapid expansion in applications in recent years has been boosted by the perception that government jobs offer added stability and status, test-takers said.
Outside the Hujiaolou middle school in Beijing, one of dozens of test sites in the capital, Liu Ting, a 24-year-old student, stood clutching a red revision book containing lists of "hot" political jargon to be used during the test.
"I'm taking the exam because government jobs are more stable," Liu told AFP. "There's basically no chance of losing a government job once you have one."
Most candidates are university graduates, part of a massive expansion of higher education in China.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Education said the employment market for college graduates would be tougher next year. The number of college graduates will reach 6.99 million in 2013, 190,000 more than that in 2012.
A 31-year-old woman surnamed Liu said she hoped to swap her private-sector job as a quality inspector for a government post because "the benefits are better, and you don't need to worry about pensions or health insurance."
Cindy Liu, a 27-year-old flight attendant, expressed more exalted motives, saying she had been "reading the works of Chairman Mao" (founder of the New China) and hoped to "serve the people."
Those who pass the exam will also have to succeed in a tough i! nterview process before they can gain a government job.
The public servant exam includes an aptitude test and a written policy essay. Those who pass the written exam will make it to the interview round.
Authorities this year are on the lookout for cheaters, with anyone caught breaking exam rules barred from sitting again for five years, the Beijing Times reported.
The hundreds of thousands sitting the exam have created a thriving training industry, with representatives from several coaching schools crowded outside the Hujiaolou school yesterday to greet the test-takers.
"We hope the students who do badly will come and train with our school next year," said one employee surnamed Qiu, sporting a yellow vest emblazoned with the words "I can pass the civil service exam."
"After all, only one in 1,000 students can pass," she said, shivering in Beijing's cold November wind.
- Limits eased on migrants' college exams
WHILE migrants' children in most cases will be allowed to sit for college entrance exams in Chinese cities where their parents work, some restrictions are still anticipated, especially in large cities such as Shanghai.
Provinces will begin to lift a ban that does not allow the children to sit for the exams if their parents don't have their household registration in the place where they live.
Northeast China's Heilongjiang and eastern Anhui and Jiangsu provinces will lift the ban next year, officials said.
Children of migrant workers working in Anhui will be able to take national college entrance exams, or gaokao, there without having to return to the place of their household registration.
But they will have equal rights as local exam students only if they have attended high schools in the province for three consecutive years.
About 2,000 migrant students attend high schools in Anhui, and 300 of them are expected to take the gaokao exams in the province, according to local government statistics.
East China's Shandong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces will follow suit in 2014, the Beijing News reported last Friday.
Although China's household registration system no longer ties migrant children's compulsory education to their birth places, migrant students can't take college entrance exams outside their native homes.
Currently, China has nearly 20 million rural children aged under 14 who have followed their migrant-worker parents to cities, according to the China Children and Teenagers' Fund.
The Chinese mainland's 32 provincial-level authorities were required in August to submit plans on migrants attending the gaokao before the end of the year, according to the Ministry of Education. Changes also are expected in megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where most Chinese migrant workers live.
"Governments of big cities will likely set stricter terms and conditions for migrants attending gaokao," said Xiong Bingqi, deputy head of the! 21st Century Education Research Institute.
Local parents in megacities are upset and expect fierce competition as more students will be vying for scarce educational resources and the competitive college entrance quota.
Shanghai has not set a date for the plan, but the local government will implement a points-based system. Children of migrants with enough points will qualify for Shanghai's gaokao. Points depend on such factors as property and the number of years working and paying into social security.
- Morning tea
- The Alley in ShangHai
- Qianmen Photowalk
Sujuhyte has added a photo to the pool:
A street scene in the Hutongs of Beijing, South West of Qianmen station. Shot taken during a photo walk on Saturday Morning. Glad I got my lazy ass out of bed so early, as the walk through these hutong shopping streets was nice and the area lively. I liked this shot of the lady in a hutong alley, as the light fell on her face while she stepped out of her house.
- Who said Smokers die younger? :P
- Project Street
iamuday has added a photo to the pool:
One can see how depressing and tough of a job it can be to be a cleaner and particularly in winter. I have an immense respect for such people who work their asses off to fill their stomachs!
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