財經，財經台: 二月 2015

2015年2月12日星期四

Beijing officials expelled, probed over graft

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BEIJING - Beijing's disciplinary watchdog has announced the removal of a former traffic official from the Communist Party of China (CPC) amid a widening anti-corruption drive.

Song Jianguo, former head of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, has been expelled from the CPC for taking huge sums in bribes, according to Beijing's municipal commission for discipline inspection.

Song has been transferred to local judicial organs, the commission announced in a statement posted on its official website on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, authorities have launched probes into three other Beijing officials, the statement said.

Wang Hongzhong, head of Mentougou District, is being investigated over suspected "serious discipline violations." Also being probed are Wen Zhen, an official of Daxing District, and Ding Zhenkuan, former deputy head of the Beijing Administration of Work Safety.

Since taking the helm of the CPC in November 2012, President Xi Jinping has led efforts to fight corruption, targeting both high-ranking "tigers" and low-ranking "flies."

On July 29, the CPC announced an investigation into Zhou Yongkang, a former Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the highest-ranking "tiger" caught in the anti-corruption campaign's crosshairs so far.

In the first half of 2014, prosecutors investigated more than 25,000 people on suspicion of corruption, according to statistics released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in July.

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Media need authorization to post political news

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Foreign media without authorization may not publish or forward political news via their public accounts on instant messaging tools in China, according to a rule issued by the nation's Internet watchdog.

Under the rule, which was formulated by the State Internet Information Office and has been effective since August 8, only public accounts operated by news media and some non-journalism institutes with online news service licenses can publish or forward political news.

The rule also covers foreign news agencies, the office said on Monday.

In other words, foreign media must obtain a publication license from Chinese news authorization departments before they publish political news on instant messaging applications, including Wechat, the office said.

Xu Feng, an official with the office, said that all media that intend to publish news on instant messaging platforms should obey the rule. "Foreign agencies are not an exception," he added.

p25ajnbu

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People tend to dream big at the start but soon those dreams fade, especially those of young impulsive students. A resolution was reposted countless times on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter.

It reads: "In this new semester, I make my promise: no stay up, go to bed early, read more, workout more, learn English, and save money. I wish I could be addicted to study!" They have our blessing.

As the new semester starts some students are already counting down the days. By deducting all the holidays and weekends from Sept to Dec, there are 21 days in Sept, 19 in Oct, 21 in Nov and 19 in Dec, 80 days in total.

A school day of 7 hours multiplied by those 80 days comes to 560 hours, which is actually only 23 days if divided by 24 hours, so 23 days to go until New Year!? Actually...they won't enjoy their winter vacation until February next year as they encounter the? longest semester in the past 50 years.

Traditional Han-style clothing, a statue of Confucius and Chinese ancient classics...

If you think this is a performance you may find in scenic spots, think again. It's the welcome ceremony for 450 newcomers at Gaoxinbocai School in Changsha, Hunan province. According to the Chansha Evening News, after paying tribute to great thinker and educator Confucius, each student received books, pens and letters of advice and encouragement from teachers who then patted lightly on the kids' heads, showing acceptance of the students.??

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Pupils at a primary school in Shanghai found it easier than most to settle back into routine when meeting their guest PE teacher. The 50 pupils at Pinghe Bilingual School were welcomed by the fastest man on earth, Usain Bolt.

On a commercial visit to China, the multi-World, Olympic and Commonwealth champion demonstrated the correct running posture and shared stories with his little fans. The Jamaican sprinter also reminded students of the importance of study, according to the Oriental Morning Post.

Many pregnant women in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, underwent cesarean sections to give birth before their due date as they wanted to enable their newborns to enroll for school one year earlier, according to Guangzhou Daily.

With Sept 1 the start of autumn term for primary schools it is also the cutoff date for children born before or on Aug 31 to start primary school at 7 years of age. According to obstetricians in the city, one baby was born nearly every hour in the last three days of August, and more than 60 percent were delivered through cesarean sections.

Shenyang Aerospace University in Northeast China's Liaoning province converted its stadium as a place to rest for parents of children starting their first year in college.

About 400 "beds" were placed on the floor of the stadium.

Tired of parents' endless questions about school? Now you can take them to school and let them think in your seats.

Three hundred parents turned students at Chengdu Caotang Primary School to give them firsthand knowledge of the school and an insight into their children's behavior, according to Chinanews.com.

Due to a lack of construction land on campus, No 2 Elementary School in the Chicheng district of Tiantai, Zhejiang province has built a running track on its roof, a first for the country.

The track meets the needs of 1,600 students for physical education, the head of the school said. The design is displayed in an international exhibition with designer Ruan Hao saying: "Inspiration comes from frustration."

Parents of twins may consider it a blessing their kids have built-in best friends but it could be anything but for teachers at a school in Jiangsu province: there are five sets of identical twins among this year's primary intake.

Yuanyuan and Congcong are identical brothers. Their parents say Yuanyuan is outgoing while the slightly younger Congcong is shy. Teachers added their own observations: Yuanyuan is the one who puts his pencil box straight on the table and Congcong likes it at an angle. Or should that be the other way around?

Xiaoli, a freshman from Xinjiang, found his roommates in Zhejiang University had something in common�Cthey all stay up late, reported Xinhua.

It is thanks to a new school policy taking living habits of newly-enrolled students into consideration in dormitory allocation. Under the arrangement, those who sleep late have been put together, a move that's earned the praise of students.

Beijing is reportedly no longer the most congested city in China, but it may be too early to celebrate: the city is about to get extremely tangled this month and the traffic commission has dubbed it "the most congested".

It is partly about Beijing's youngsters returning to school but with Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day and a general increase in people visiting friends and family ever more people will be on the streets, the Municipal Public Security Bureau said.

Shame parade for public sentencing provokes anger

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A county in Central China's Hunan province has sparked widespread criticism and public anger by holding a shame parade at a public sentencing, a local newspaper reported.

Huarong County last Friday held a public rally for the sentencing of eight criminals, which attracted a crowd of about 5,000 spectators.

Photographs posted online showed armed police standing beside suspects wearing white boards on their chests bearing their names and crimes. The suspects are standing behind iron bars on moving trucks, which also have signs with words like "punish criminals severely."

Such rallies have been held several times before from 2009 to 2013, according to the county government's website.

China banned shame parades of criminals in 1998, the newspaper said.

466 Hunan officials punished for buying votes

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China cracks down on graft

A total of 466 officials involved in a high-profile election scandal in Hunan province have been punished, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.

The officials, including 18 at prefecture level and 139 at county level, were found to be responsible for the election scandal that triggered public outrage last year, according to the statement from the Communist Party of China Hunan provincial committee.

The incident was revealed on Dec 28 when the provincial legislature disqualified 56 provincial legislators for buying votes and announced that more than 500 lawmakers in the city had been disqualified, dismissed or had resigned.

An investigation showed that the 56 provincial legislators offered 110 million yuan ($17.65 million) in bribes to 518 municipal lawmakers and another 68 staff.

China to strengthen budget management

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BEIJING - China is strengthening budget management as government expenditures become more transparent and efficient, according to an executive meeting of the State Council.

The meeting, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday, said China is aiming to build a modern fiscal system, a highlight in the country's ongoing fiscal reform.

The pledge came following China's top legislature adoption of a Budget Law revision on Sunday which clears ambiguity and closes loopholes in managing the trillions of yuan involved in fiscal revenue and spending.

This marked the first time the Budget Law has been revised since it took effect in 1995.

China will step up budget supervision to make sure all government income and spending will be included in the management system, with greater transparency in information disclosure, said a statement from Tuesday's meeting.

More efforts will be made to improve management on treasury funds in order to awaken "sleeping money", according to the cabinet meeting, which also pledged tighter audit supervision to deter illegal activities.

The government will launch campaigns to clean up private coffers and scrap unnecessary fees, while regulating management on tax collection and non-tax incomes.

Along with these efforts, China will allow provincial-level governments to issue bonds within a certain quota, while at the same time closely watching the debt risks.

"China will properly handle existing debts, while ensure that ongoing projects get following financing to support economic and social development," the statement said.

Management of the huge public funds and supervision of its use remain key challenges for the Chinese government. In 2014, China's fiscal revenue is budgeted to be 13.9 trillion yuan (2.25 trillion U.S. dollars) and government spending to be more than 15 trillion yuan.

China offers 4th batch of aid to Africa in anti-Ebola efforts_0

China offers 4th batch of aid to Africa in anti-Ebola efforts

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A Chinese medical worker demonstrates equipment to test body temperature at the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital in Freetown. Huang Xianbin / Xinhua

BEIJING - China on Wednesday unveiled the details of its 4th batch of aid worth some $82 million to help African countries' fight against the ebola virus.

According to Sun Jiwen, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, the latest aid package includes sending health experts to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea -- the three hardest-hit countries in the Ebola crisis -- to help contain the epidemic and sending public health staff to train local doctors and nurses, as well as medical equipments and materials.

China will build a 100-bed treatment center in Liberia where the epidemic is most serious and send doctors and nurses there for its operation.

China factory well suited to help in Ebola fight

China rushes help to Ebola-hit countries

Moreover, China has pledged to donate $6 million to the UN Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund and launch a program for China-Africa public health cooperation to hold 12 training sessions on public health and epidemic prevention and control for the three epidemic-stricken countries, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States in 2015.

In Sierra Leone, Chinese medical team have tested about 1,000 blood samples and about half of them have been proved positive.

The Chinese medical team there is divided into two units, a holding center and a mobile laboratory. The lab receives the blood samples for testing whilst the holding center admits the suspected cases. Those that are proved positive are referred to a treatment center whilst the ones proved negative are referred to a hospital.

With the advent of the Chinese laboratory, testing time has been reduced and it has helped immensely in getting the positive cases to the treatment center, the Deputy Director of the China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention Gao Fu said.

In Liberia, the Chinese contingent of the UN Mission will help build an Ebola Quarantine and Control Center in the capital city of Monrovia.

Since the outbreak of the deadly disease, the Chinese government has offered three batches of emergency humanitarian relief worth 250 million yuan ($41 million) to help West Africa fight Ebola.

On the international arena, countries such as the United States, Algeria and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have actively taken various measures to contain the disease.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday approved a measure to place under a 21-day supervised isolation regimen all military service members returning from Ebola response efforts in West Africa.

According to a Pentagon statement, the order will apply to all military services that are contributing personnel to the fight against Ebola at its source.

Eleven American soldiers in northern Italy have been put under Ebola quarantine after returning to a US military installation there, from West Africa.

On Wednesday, a US government health official attended an Ebola meeting in Havana, Cuba, signalling the two nations' desire to cooperate in a fight against the deadly epidemic.

At the meeting on the region's response, Nelson Arboleda, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Central America, underscored the importance of regional cooperation.

Algeria on Wednesday decided to freeze business dealings with African countries hit by deadly Ebola virus, as a preventive step against the spread of the disease.

The World Health Organization warned recently that Algeria is among the North African nations that are threatened by the spread of Ebola, following some cases recorded in neighboring Mali and Mauritania.

European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) has said it will continue working with its partners to support Mali's efforts to fight against Ebola outbreak following last week's confirmation of the first case.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea said it will take emergency measures against Ebola spread and all foreigners who enter the country will be subjected to a 21-day quarantine at designated places and medical observation by health workers.

Timeline of China's assistance

August 11, 2014

Medical supplies

Chinese plane carrying emergency humanitarian supplies for Sierra Leone arrives in the country's capital Freetown in the afternoon of August 11, as part of efforts to help the country contain the spread of Ebola.

August 27, 2014

Suspected case cleared

Chinese returnee from Nigeria who was hospitalized for "observation" in the southern city of Shenzhen is cleared after medical checkup, said the local health authorities.

September 5, 2014

New research lab

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that it is working to establish a special laboratory by next year to conduct research on finding a potential cure for the virus.

September 10, 2014

Premier promises help

During the meeting with President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita at Tianjin Summer Davos, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China is prepared to "fight side by side" with West African countries to combat the epidemic.

September 16, 2014

Team leaves for Sierra Leone

A 59-member Chinese laboratory team, with 30 doctors and 29 technicians, leaves Beijing. It will work at the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital to help Sierra Leone improve lab testing, said Hong Lei, spokesman of Foreign Ministry.

September 19, 2014

Portable testing kits

China has produced portable kits to help with testing, said Li Dexin, a research fellow of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

September 25, 2014

Successful test

Chinese experts successfully test the Ebola RNA samples for the first time at Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital, some 30 kilometers from the capital Freetown.

September 26, 2014

Tackling root cause

In addition to assistance in tackling the unprecedented crisis, China wants to help boost crisis-hit countries' ability to address the root cause, said China's Special Representative for African Affairs.

September 29, 2014

Aid to Ghana

China provides Ghana with 5 million yuan ($833,000) worth of equipment and medical supplies to help the country battle the outbreak.

October 1, 2014

Mobile lab treats first patients

Ambulance takes the first five patients under Ebola observation to China's mobile lab testing team at the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital at 2:15pm, Oct 1, 2014.

October 15, 2014

Drug firm eyes quick approval

Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd signs an agreement with Chinese research Academy of Military Medical Sciences to help push the drug called JK-05 through the approval process in China and bring it to market. The medicine, developed by the academy, is currently approved for emergency military use only.

October 17, 2014

Book on prevention

Prevention and Treatment of Common Diseases in Africa, a book on preventing and treating common diseases in Africa, highlighting the Ebola virus that is raging through the west of the continent, is co-published by Zhejiang Science and Technology Press and Gabon's NTSAME publishing house, under the instruction of China's State Council Information Office.

October 19, 2014

China, France to join hands

China and France agree to join hands to combat the "unprecedented" spread of Ebola in western part of Africa.

October 24, 2014

China pledges 500m yuan Ebola aid to Africa

President Xi Jinping announced a 500 million yuan ($81.7 million) assistance package to fight Ebola as China continues its commitment to preventing the spread of the deadly virus in West Africa.

Technologies pave way to energy-efficient buildings_0

Technologies pave way to energy-efficient buildings

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Seven Chinese construction projects have been selected as energy-efficient examples by news site China Economic Net in Beijing on Oct 16 as the nation seeks ways to keep economic growth while spending fewer natural resources.

Technology has played a crucial role in the design and the construction process of the award-wining programs which focus on saving the energy and water as well as improving the environment.

Organizers hope the event could set examples in different fields and inspire others.

The extension project of Net Zero Energy Building was one of the seven models chosen by the website. The office building of Institute of Building Environment and Energy showcased 28 technology methods aiming to take down emission and control key attributors inside the building such as the temperature and humidity.

By using these technologies, the energy consumption for cooling system of the building in summer has been reduced by 50 percent.

Alternative energy has also been used as heating resources in winter rather than traditional powers.

"Innovation of the technology will be the key to creating an energy-saving society. The application of the technology has to be standardized to its maximum limit," said Meng Qinglin, chief of the Building Environment and Energy Laboratory SCUT at South China University of Technology.

Buildings, industries and transportation are the top three sectors that consume most energy, with buildings responsible for nearly half of energy consumption and gas emissions in China.

In 2009, China promised to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 40 to 45 percent per GDP unit by 2020 compared with the levels in 2005.

The energy-efficient buildings have been working on this path since China started experiencing high air pollution and severe environmental threats.

Cybertheft allegations by the US are 'absurd'

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Washington's reasoning behind the indictment of five People's Liberation Army officers for spying is absurd, said the Chinese ambassador to the United States.

The US justified the move by claiming that the officers stole confidential business information and sensitive trade secrets of US companies. Washington defended its own attacks on other countries' cyberspace as a means to safeguard national security.

"I don't know how they can make a distinction between such activities," Ambassador Cui Tiankai said in an interview with CNN aired on Tuesday.

"How do they explain the attacks on Chinese companies, universities and even individuals? Is that for national defense? Or is that for other purposes?"

Beijing denounced the US indictment as "purely ungrounded and with ulterior motives" and demanded that the US withdraw the indictment. Beijing announced it would suspend work on a joint cybersecurity working group.

The Ministry of National Defense warned that the US move would endanger military relations.

The distrust is increasingly costing businesses.

Beijing said on Monday it would prohibit the use of the Windows 8 operating system in new government computers to ensure security following the end of technical support for Windows XP.

US equipment and software providers such as IBM and Cisco Systems have already seen their sales in China drop after former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations began to emerge last year.

Li Yuxiao, director of the Institute of Internet Governance and Law under Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said, "US technology companies will suffer a lot in the Chinese market amid China's distrust of the security of American products due to the US government's global cyberspying".

Du Yuejin, head of the National Institute of Network and Information Security, said it is necessary for the government to check the security of US technology products.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday that the US did not expect China to react well to the indictments and that the Pentagon wants to keep lines of communication open.

Cui said, "It's really amazing to see that some people still believe they have the moral high ground and credibility to accuse others, if we consider the Snowden revelations, and so on and so forth".

Snowden's leaks showed that the National Security Agency had engaged in widespread hacking of Chinese government and military entities as well as companies and universities.

Cui said China had a long list of well-known Chinese companies that have been attacked by such activities from the US.

Cao Yin contributed to this story

Unlicensed vendor attacks chengguan with knife

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Two chengguan, or urban patrol officers, in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, were injured with a knife by an unlicensed vendor, Metro Express reported on Tuesday.

According to the officers surnamed Wang, 56, and Xu, 47, they were inspecting a downtown street to keep order and found that the watermelon vendor from Henan province had no vendor's license, so they asked the man to stop his illegal business which was impeding traffic.

The vendor then suddenly attacked Wang and Xu with the knife he used to cut watermelons.

Backup officers arrived to control the vendor and the two injured officers are in stable condition in a hospital.

The case is under further investigation.

2015年2月11日星期三

Chinese continue to seek justice for Japanese bombings

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At her home in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Su Liangxu displays a letter describing the atrocities that her family suffered during the Japanese bombings in the province between 1938 and 1944. Chen Yuxiao / for China Daily

Su Liangxiu, 84, boarded a plane in Chengdu, Sichuan province, at 1:45 pm on June 1, bound for Tokyo. At 1 am on June 2, her connecting flight took off from Hong Kong, and she arrived in Tokyo at 6:25 am.

Su said she didn't dread the laborious journey or overnight flight. "I am seeking justice that has been delayed for 73 years," she said.

She will appear in Tokyo District Court on Wednesday to narrate the sufferings of her family during the Japanese bombings of Chengdu during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), and to join with other victims in seeking compensation.

On July 27, 1941, Japanese planes targeted civilians in a Chengdu air raid. Su's grandmother, mother, two aunts and two younger brothers died. Su was seriously injured.

"My right hip was dislocated, and my limbs were burned in the fire after the explosion. Because of the injury, I've had to walk slowly all my life," said Su, showing a scar about 7 centimeters long on one knee.

Wednesday will mark the 29th court session since 2006 that deals with Japan bombing of civilian targets in Chongqing and Sichuan.

From Feb 18, 1938, to Aug 23, 1943, Chongqing was bombed more than 100 times. It is estimated that 9,513 Japanese aircraft dropped 21,593 bombs, including some laden with bacteria, killing 11,889 and injuring 14,100.

Chengdu underwent 31 bombing attacks from Nov 8, 1938, to Dec 18, 1944. The dead and injured numbered 5,337, according to the Chengdu Civil Air Defense Office.

With the help of Japanese lawyer Keiichiro Ichinose, victims of the bombings first appeared in the Tokyo court in 2006. Each victim sought 600,000 yuan ($96,774).

On May 7, Luo Baoqing, an 89-year-old resident of Leshan, Sichuan province, made a statement on behalf of his father, Luo Huaide, who was killed along with four employees in his shop during a raid on Aug 19, 1939.

On May 21, Ma Fucheng, a 68-year-old from Songpan county, Sichuan province, told the court that his grandmother, aunt and brother were killed by the bombings on June 23, 1941.

"All the victims' relatives are seeking compensation for the indiscriminate bombing," said Liu Shilong, a Sichuan University history professor.

Indiscriminate bombing refers to air attacks that don't differentiate between military targets and civilian residential areas.

Xu Bin, a lawyer with the Junyi Law Office in Chengdu, said, "The US bombed Tokyo in 1945 and caused nearly 100,000 deaths. Japan sued the US for indiscriminate bombing, and the Japanese court ruled in Japan's favor."

huangzhiling@chinadaily.com.cn

China opens military academy to media for the 1st time

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The Chinese army has opened its military academy for the first time to journalists in advance of Aug 1 Army Day, China News Service reported.

Chinese and foreign journalists came to the PLA Engineering Academy of Armored Forces in Beijing on Tuesday morning, where they watched a video of the academy's development, toured teaching and research facilities, saw an armored equipment exhibition and communicated with students.

Geng Yansheng, spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said the public can learn more about the Chinese army through military academies, which reflect the future of the army.

Xu Hang, head of the academy, said they are training people for information-based wars in the future.

The Chinese army has organized an open day for journalists at its units before Aug 1 Army Day every year since 2008.

Geng said more types of military units will be opened to the public in the future.

China's foreign aid benefits recipients

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BEIJING - China has long been committed to giving aid to other developing countries, and Chinese assistance has effectively helped recipients reduce poverty and improve their livelihood.

In a white paper released this week, China detailed how it helped other developing countries, mostly in Asia and Africa, in agriculture, education, medical services, public welfare facilities and other fields.

Since 2000, China has announced a string of assistance measures and implemented them to the best of its ability with focus on improving people's livelihood in recipient countries, especially the least developed among them.

In addition, China has opened up its domestic market wider to the least developed countries by lifting tariffs on some imports. China is the largest export destination for these countries.

Although China is the world's second-largest economy, it is still a developing country with about 80 million impoverished people living in rural areas.

China is willing to share its experience and provide aid to others afflicted by poverty, as China's development cannot do without the rest of the world in a closely woven global economy.

Notably, the basic principles China upholds in providing foreign assistance are mutual respect, equality, keeping promises and mutual benefit.

China has adhered to the principles of not imposing any political conditions, not interfering in the internal affairs of recipient countries and fully respecting their right to independently choose their own paths and models of development.

Sometimes there are voices saying China's foreign assistance is conditional. No one knows better than the recipient countries that China's help is sincere and mutually beneficial.

China's foreign aid within the framework of South-South cooperation embodies friendship and brotherhood among developing countries.

Today, the impact of the global financial crisis still exists, and developing countries, especially the least developed ones, are still confronted with the tough tasks of poverty reduction and development.

The international community should mobilize more resources to strengthen South-North cooperation, support South-South cooperation and promote economic and social development of developing countries to eliminate poverty worldwide.

China will continue to increase its input in foreign assistance, optimize assistance structure, highlight key areas, innovate assistance means and help recipient countries enhance their own capabilities for independent development.

China is willing to work with the international community to share opportunities, meet challenges and realize the world's dream of lasting peace and common prosperity.

Govt regulators, not judges, lead antitrust cases

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Government agencies, instead of judges, will continue to play the leading role in investigating anti-monopoly practices in China, legal professionals said.

Wu Peng, an antitrust lawyer and partner of Beijing-based Zhong Lun Law Firm, said domestic companies are more willing to seek help from government regulators when they believe they have encountered unfair market competition.

In addition to companies' long-standing mindset of resorting to the government in settling competition disputes, the government has more resources and law enforcement ability to fix antitrust issues than business owners, Wu said.

Mu Ying, a judge at Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court who deals with antitrust lawsuits, said plaintiffs usually have a slim chance to win cases due to the lack of ability to collect evidence.

"Even if they win the lawsuit, the fines can hardly compensate their losses," she said.

Mu said the difficulty in winning a lawsuit, as well as the lengthy legal procedure, has compelled many companies to resort to administrative agencies for help.

According to the Supreme People's Court, judges heard more than 61 antitrust lawsuits from 2008 to 2013, a number rising faster in recent years as more companies have become aware of using antitrust rules to protect their rights.

The antitrust regulators - the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce - did not release the number of cases they have handled over the same period.

The NDRC said last week that 12 Japanese auto companies have been investigated for suspected price manipulation of automobile parts. NDRC bureaus in Shanghai and Hubei province are also completing probes into US carmaker Chrysler and German manufacturer Audi.

In the latest move, the NDRC's Tianjin bureau said on Sunday that it is investigating price inflation by two major real estate agents, who raised their commission fee from 2 percent of a house's total value to 3 percent.

"Because of different calculations of illegal gains, penalties issued by regulators are usually higher than those of the courts," Mu said. "What the plaintiffs expect is not simply a ruling in favor of them, but a timely penalty that can remedy their losses."

In a high-profile case last year being hailed as the first court ruling in favor of a plaintiff in an antitrust case in China, Shanghai High People's Court ordered Johnson & Johnson Medical China and Johnson & Johnson Medical Shanghai to pay 530,000 yuan ($86,400) in compensation to a former dealer for setting a price floor.

In a recent case released by the NDRC, Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb and several contact lens and eyeglass manufacturers were fined a total of 19.6 million yuan ($3.18 million) for vertical price fixing.

"Government regulators can drop into the office of an alleged market power abuser to seize the evidence. It is certainly more resourceful in evidence collection than the plaintiffs themselves," Mu said.

She said that even in Beijing, where there are many multinational headquarters, only several judges deal with antitrust cases.

But two major government regulators, the NDRC and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, have added plenty of new hands in the past two years to beef up enforcement.

Ye Guangliang, a professor of economics and finance at Renmin University of China, said judges are in a better position to deal with antitrust disputes in the long run.

No matter who is in charge, the nation's antitrust agencies and judges face similar challenges in the economic field, as the calculation of illegal gains and the judgment of a product's market share are increasingly difficult.

zhaoyinan@chinadaily.com.cn

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