2014年11月30日星期日

Chemical plant fine called not enough to deter

Chemical plant fine called not enough to deter

Chemical plant fine called not enough to deter
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Experts called for heavier penalties to be imposed on chemical projects violating environmental laws after the Environment Ministry fined a project in East China 200,000 yuan ($32,130).

The ministry also halted construction of the plant in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, designed to produce 800,000 metric tons of paraxylene, or PX, a year. Paraxylene is a chemical used to manufacture pesticide, plastics and polyester, and poses a health risk in humans.

The plant was originally planned for the tourist city of Xiamen, which is also in the province. But after thousands took to the streets in the city in 2007 to protest the project, it was relocated to Zhangzhou in 2009.

According to an investigation by the ministry, the company in charge of the project, Dragon Aromatic Hydrocarbon, decided to change the raw materials used to produce PX, because they cannot be easily bought. But it did not seek approval from the ministry for the change, China Economic Net reported.

The ministry has asked the company to hand in a report of how it has corrected its violations, before Feb 28, adding that it must not resume construction before getting approval.

Experts said heavier penalties should be given to those who violate environmental laws.

"Though the ministry imposed the maximum fine stipulated by the law �� 200,000 yuan �� it is still too little compared with the project's 20 billion yuan investment and output value it will bring," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, an environmental NGO.

"The light punishment fails to act as a deterrent," Ma said.

Ma said the penalty for violating environmental laws is too low to deter large chemical companies.

A senior official from the Fujian Provincial Environmental Protection Department, who declined to be named, said penalties should be raised to keep abreast with the times. The law on the penalties was introduced in 2003.

It is not the first time the PX project has violated the law. In 2007, experts from the ministry found that the owner, a sister company of the one running the plant in Zhangzhou, started the project five years ago without permission from the ministry, and the pollutants emitted never met national standards.

When the project was relocated to the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou, it had full support from the provincial and municipal governments, and was labeled as "a miracle" by local media, with an investment of 20 billion yuan in less than three years, the largest amount on a single project in the city's history.

Output value of the project in the first year is estimated to be 45 billion yuan and it will pay 3 billion yuan in tax, according to the China Inspection and Quarantine Times.

Sun Li contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at wuwencong@chinadaily.com.cn
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Hard landing unlikely for China's property market

Hard landing unlikely for China's property market

Hard landing unlikely for China's property market

BOAO, Hainan, Aug. 8 -- China's property market, which has experienced disparate fortunes across the country over recent months, is unlikely to see a hard landing, experts have said at an ongoing forum.

"It's indisputable that the property market of some cities is entering an adjustment period, but it goes too far to say the market has reached the edge of collapse," said Zhu Zhongyi, vice president of the China Real Estate Industry Association, at the annual meeting of the Boao Real Estate Forum in south China's Hainan Province.

The meeting, which opened on Wednesday and closes on Friday, has attracted more than 1,000 delegates from the country's real estate-related sectors.

China's property market started to fragment last year, as home prices eased in smaller cities while prices remained stubbornly high in big cities. But the market has been heading downward as a whole in 2014.

New home prices in 55 of an official sample of 70 major cities dropped month on month in June, compared with 35 in May. New home prices fell in the first tier cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, but not in Beijing. However, used home sales declined in all four cities.

Other key indicators for the sector were also disappointing. The total floor space of commercial housing sold dropped by 6 percent year on year in the first six months of the year, while the floor space of newly constructed homes was down 19.8 percent.

Zhu attributed the situation to oversupply, lending difficulties and the bearish sentiment of home-buyers, which will continue for a while.

The market fluctuation comes alongside China's efforts to restructure and de-leverage its economy. The country's growth dropped to 7.4 percent in the first half of 2014 from a 7.7-percent pace last year.

Like the broader economy that is making a soft landing after staggering growth in past decades, the property bubble is also gradually deflating as no mass bankruptcies have been reported, noted Fan Gang, director of the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation.

Li Mingkai, president of the Hong Kong-based Centaline Group, a leading Chinese real estate agency, estimated that home prices will continue to decline in the second half of 2014 but that the number of home transactions will slightly pick up at the same time.

For the next two to three years, both home prices and the transaction volume will stay at the same level as the second half, Li predicted.

Despite the generally positive views, the property market remained the top concern among economists. Shen Jianguang, chief economist at Mizuho Securities, said it's good for the sector to correct itself before a crisis takes place, but it remains the biggest risk for the economy. And caution should be taken to facilitate a soft landing.

EASING UNDER WAY?

Concerned about the slowdown's impact on local growth, land sale revenue and social stability, local governments have started to ease home purchase restrictions set years ago as a tool to temper record prices.

Earlier this week, Foshan City in south China's economic hub of Guangdong became the latest region to lift home purchase restrictions. So far, more than 20 regions, mostly second- and third-tier cities where inventories are high, have lifted or eased their grip.

Unlike previous easing measures, which usually led to a rebound in the market, the loosening seems to have had little impact, however.

Both home prices and transactions dropped in Haikou, capital of Hainan, even after the city lifted its purchase ban in July. The "house-for-hukou" policy adopted by the city in June has so far attracted only 18 households to register their hukou, or permanent residential permit, in the city.

This underlines serious oversupply problems in smaller cities, which will suffer bankruptcies and credit crises if the oversupply is not properly dealt with, Li said.

The number of residential homes for sale has reached 134,000 in the downtown of Hangzhou in the eastern Zhejiang Province, which analysts believe will take at least 20 months to destock given the current slack sales.

"The ban-lifting is not a lifesaver," Li explained. "Recovery still relies on credit supply. As long as the country maintains a tight control on credit, a large price rebound is unlikely."

Chen Huai, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there is no need to maintain purchase limits in cities with oversupply.

Opening second-tier and third-tier cities to immigration is in line with China's urbanization drive, so it makes sense for these bans to be removed, Chen said, adding that more cities will follow suit in the future.

IMPACTS ON ECONOMY

The property downturn has come amid subdued strength in the broader economy, challenging policymakers as the housing market has been a key growth engine.

While admitting the downturn has weighed on investment and downstream sectors such as steel and cement, Shen said that the government's measures, including increasing investment in infrastructure and affordable housing, as well as shantytown renovations, will help offset the impact.

Instead of introducing aggressive easing measures, the government will more likely rely on fine-tuning to put the sector back on track, analysts believe.

Chen said that tailoring macro-policies to deal with possible economic risks, pushing urbanization, establishing a housing security net, and advancing reforms in land and financial sectors, which will indirectly impact the property sector, will be top government tasks in the short run.

According to Zhu, the current market slowdown provides an opportunity for the government to accelerate property market reforms, including establishing a real estate registration system and a system to record individuals' housing ownership. Many believe these will pave the way for a basket of property-related taxes.
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Crafting a town_2



Crafting a town


















Crafting a town





December 20, 2013 -- Cicheng is an ancient town with a rich history, but instead of attracting tourists to its picturesque streets, it hopes to lure designers with its exquisite culture of handicrafts.


It is 38 C outside. The heat in the ancient wooden house is stifling. But the crowd keeps moving from one exhibition hall to another, frequently stopping for closer observation of the work on display.


Among them is Wang Weidong, president of womenswear label Broadcast. Wang came to Cicheng near Ningbo, about two hours' drive from Shanghai, to look at the possibility of setting up a studio here, tapping into the town's handicraft resources.


"This is a place where we can actually look back into our own culture," Wang says. "Only by doing that will we be able to think independently, rather than always following others."


Wang is among his many peers who are trying to find roots in Cicheng, a 2,400-year-old town that is trying to revive itself by preserving and innovating on its tradition of handicrafts in its tailored surrounding of architectural heritage.


At a time when Chinese ancient towns like Lijiang are being choked by tourism, Cicheng is trying to walk a different path.


Here, craftsmen spend a decade restoring a single street, handicraft artists devote a lifetime to honing their skills and designers indulge in meditation as part of their efforts to resonate with traditional culture in their work.


"We don't preserve Cicheng just for the sake of preservation. We want to preserve it in a way that allows modern people to continue to thrive in it," says Yan Zaitian, president of the Cicheng Development Company.


Stretching over merely two square kilometers, Cicheng's architectural heritage inspired Pritzker-winning architect Wang Shu. Its restoration of ancient architecture has won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. It was praised as one of 18 "heritage heroes" by UK-broadcaster the BBC, for its preservation of its traditional handicrafts.


Rich history


The town first came to public attention in the midst of a nationwide interest in ancient town revival more than 10 years ago. Back then, the prospects for the area were far from promising.


Planned and built in the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907), Cicheng took after the then capital city of Chang'an. It was home to many influential scholars, whose legacy to the town is numerous examples of ancestral architecture. Thirty-three of these buildings have national level or district level status.


The town was largely ignored when Ningbo started to develop its marine economy, moving the city center toward the coast.


During the Japanese occupancy in the late 1930s, the east gate and the city walls were torn down to allow the residents to evacuate quickly during air raids.


After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, modern buildings were constructed among the ancient courtyards. The waterways that ran along the stone-paved streets were filled to double the road capacity.


In the early 2000s, when other ancient towns like Lijiang and Zhouzhuang started grabbing national attention for their picturesque landscape, all Cicheng had was run-down houses, city walls that no longer existed and a history that lingered only in people's memories.


However, Yan considered these as gateways to restore Cicheng's glorious past.


"We didn't have much to start with," Yan says. "So we had to be extra careful with our choices."







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S.Korea, China upgrade partnership on trade, finance, culture- think tank



S.Korea, China upgrade partnership on trade, finance, culture: think tank


















S.Korea, China upgrade partnership on trade, finance, culture: think tank





South Korea and China have upgraded the bilateral partnership since the two nations set up diplomatic relations in 1992, especially on areas of trade, finance and culture, a South Korean think tank said Thursday.After Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Seoul in July, the neighbors strengthened their strategic cooperative partnership, upgrading the quality of bilateral economic cooperation and widening communication channels both politically and diplomatically, the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) said in a report.The report said Xi's visit to South Korea drove Seoul and Beijing to enter a new era of "politically warmer and economically hotter," noting that it would be meaningful as this year marks the 22nd anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties on Aug. 24, 1992.Since that day, trade between South Korea and China surged some 36-fold from 6.4 billion US dollars in 1992 to 228.9 billion dollars in 2013, equaling to an annual average increase of 19 percent.China has become South Korea's largest trade partner since 2004, and in 2013, South Korea was China's fourth-largest partner for trade.The bilateral trade has been qualitatively upgraded as main trade items changed from low value-added products such as textiles and cement to high-end goods, including semiconductors, synthetic resins and oil products.Financial and monetary cooperation has been strengthened. Central banks of the two countries signed a currency swap deal worth 180 billion yuan (about 29 billion US dollars) in December 2008, before expanding the contract to 360 billion yuan in October 2011. Also, the countries agreed to open a market to trade their currencies directly in Seoul as early as within this year.Cultural exchanges continued to widen. Personnel exchange between the two countries expanded more than 87-fold since the diplomatic normalization, from 90,000 in 1992 to 7.89 million in 2013. A total of 3.97 million South Koreans visited China last year, and 433 million Chinese toured South Korea.South Korea's exports of cultural contents, including K-Pop or soap opera, to China rose from 581 million dollars in 2009 to 1.29 billion dollars in 2012, equivalent to an annual average expansion of 28.4 percent. The portion of content exports to China accounted for 27.6 percent of the total in 2012, up from 24.5 percent in 2010.Newspaper headline: S.Korea, China upgrade partnership on trade, finance, culture: think tank





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Alibaba to launch e-commerce platform for secondhand cars

Alibaba to launch e-commerce platform for secondhand cars

Alibaba to launch e-commerce platform for secondhand cars

HANGZHOU, Aug. 19 -- China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed an agreement on Tuesday with China Grand Auto Services Co. Ltd, the country's largest passenger vehicle dealer, to set up an online trading platform for secondhand cars.

The secondhand cars will be auctioned on Taobao.com, Alibaba's online trading platform. Professionals from China Grand Auto will provide online consultancy, arrange customers to see the cars in stores and provide after-sales services, said Zhang Jianfeng, president of Taobao.

The consumption data will be analyzed by Alibaba, which can provide loans to customers through its financing arm, said Zhang.

The online-to-offline trading will be supported first in China Grand Auto's 30 stores in east China's Anhui Province and will expand to its 500 stores nationwide.

China's secondhand cars currently account for only a quarter of the total car trading volume and is expected to occupy a half by 2020, according to He Liming, head of the China Automobile Dealers Association.
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Report reveals danger in traditional herbs_10



Report reveals danger in traditional herbs


















Report reveals danger in traditional herbs





November 13, 2013 -- Traditional Chinese herbs are being contaminated with a toxic cocktail of pesticides that poses a threat to health and the environment, campaign group Greenpeace said yesterday.


Its tests revealed that up to 48 of 65 samples purchased from nine pharmacies tested positive for pesticide residue, including banned substances. Some residue levels were hundreds of times higher than EU food safety standards, Greenpeace East Asia reported.


The group found 51 different types of pesticide residue and 26 of the samples contained pesticides that are banned in China.


The samples included some from renowned producers such as Tongrentang, a Beijing-based pharmaceutical company founded in 1669 and the largest producer of traditional Chinese medicine, and the Yunnan Baiyao Group, famous for a medicine used to treat bleeding injuries.


"Chinese herbs are trusted and used as food ingredients for healing purposes by millions of people around the world. They are an iconic part of our heritage we must preserve. Chinese herbs should heal, not harm people and must be pesticide free," said Wang Jing, an ecological farming campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia.


Highly hazardous


"These test results expose the cracks in the current industrial agriculture system that is heavily reliant on toxic chemicals at the expense of human and environmental health," Wang said.


The tests found that 32 samples contained traces of three or more different pesticides. Dried sanqi flowers contained up to 39 kinds of pesticide, chrysanthemum up to 35 and honeysuckle flowers up to 21.


Ten pesticides classified by the World Health Organization as extremely or highly hazardous and six banned for use on Chinese herbs were found.


Pesticide residue in the sanqi flowers was 500 times over Europe's safe limit and that in honeysuckle flowers 100 times the limit.


Long-term exposure to pesticide residue in food may cause toxic chemicals to accumulate in the body. Chronic pesticide poisoning may lead to learning difficulties, hormone disruption and reproductive abnormalities.


Even leading traditional Chinese medicine makers don't set standards or carry out tests for pesticide residue, Greenpeace cliamed.


The "ugly side" of chemical-intensive agriculture is everywhere but in China in particular, said Kumi Naido, executive director of Greenpeace International.


Many farmers bought pesticides on the recommendation of local retailers rather than following professional guidelines from authorities or pesticide makers, Greenpeace said in its report.


Pesticide abuse in herb growing is only part of a much bigger problem, it said, which was the general failure of chemical-intensive agriculture to feed people safely while preventing environmental degradation. Greenpeace said the use of pesticides in Chinese agriculture was rising at about 3 percent a year.


Currently, the country uses almost 2 million tons of pesticide a year in agriculture. About 70 percent of those pesticides end up as hazardous pollution in water, soil and air.


Greenpeace is calling on companies to publicly disclose all pesticides used in the production of Chinese herbs and to provide a timeline aimed at reducing their use. It is also calling on China to impose stricter controls on pesticide use and allocate funds to support ecological farming.


None of the companies named in the Greenpeace report has commented so far.







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Tianjin property brokers under probe following service fee hikes



Tianjin property brokers under probe following service fee hikes


















Tianjin property brokers under probe following service fee hikes





Real estate brokers in North China's Tianjin Municipality have raised service charges after regulators relaxed controls on pricing of their services, but the fee hike might be in violation of the anti-monopoly law, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.Following a recent price hike in real estate brokerage fees, the Tianjin Development and Reform Commission has initiated an anti-monopoly probe against the property brokers, the Xinhua report said.Starting from August 1, the brokerage fee for secondhand home transactions in Tianjin has been raised to 3 percent of the total transaction value from the previous 2 percent, Pan Kaifang, a Tianjin-based broker with Homelink Property, told the Glo­bal Times on Sunday."Buyers and sellers used to pay 1 percent each of the transaction value [of a secondhand home], but now the buyer has to pay 2 percent and the seller has to pay 1 percent, respectively," Pan said.Miao Weiqiang, a Tianjin-based real estate broker at Centaline Property, also confirmed the fee hike. A customer service representative of 5i5j, another major property service provi­der, told the Global Times on Sunday that its Tianjin branch has taken the same decision as its peers, but the service charge for Beijing so far remains unchanged at around 2 to 2.2 percent of the total transaction value.The Tianjin Development and Reform Commission was not available for comment on this investigation on Sunday. "The property brokers will face anti-monopoly charges if evidence shows that they had colluded to reach an agreement and manipulated the fees," a law professor at the Beijing-based University of International Business Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday on condition of anony­mity as the case is still under investigation.Given a gloomier market, it is more likely for service providers to reach a consensus on a higher service charge for mutual ­benefit, he said.China's once red-hot property market has lost some steam since early this year, weighing heavily on the performance of the real estate brokers.The brokers' decision to revise charges came after a decision by the National Development and Reform Commission to free price setting from government control since July 1.





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Chinese Premier stresses urbanization, modern agriculture

Chinese Premier stresses urbanization, modern agriculture

Chinese Premier stresses urbanization, modern agriculture

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C) talks with local residents at Yuanqiao community in Dezhou, east China's Shandong Province, July 24, 2014. Li had an inspection tour in Shandong from July 24 to 25. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged more efforts to push forward urbanization, promote agricultural modernization and coordinate urban-rural development.Li made the remarks during an inspection tour to east China's Shandong Province from Thursday to Friday.The premier said local governments should solicit more social capital to fund the construction of infrastructures in counties where these facilities are usually poor and in want of renovation.He called for more labor-intensive industries during urbanization so that new city dwellers can get employment near their homes.Li asked local governments to provide equal public services, including medical care, social insurance and education, to farmer-turned urbanites, and safeguard their legal interests.For those willing to start a business in cities, the premier promised streamlined procedures, easier access to the market and a fair competition environment.Along with urbanization, Li also underlined the importance of modern agriculture. He said China should advance farming technology and help those who choose to stay in the countryside cultivate more land and increase earnings.

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Chinese FM expounds security concept, cooperation with ASEAN on disputes



Chinese FM expounds security concept, cooperation with ASEAN on disputes


















Chinese FM expounds security concept, cooperation with ASEAN on disputes





Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday expounded China's Asian security concept and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in solving disputes over the South China Sea.Attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting, Wang reaffirmed that China is committed to working with ASEAN to solve the South China Sea disputes.Wang made the remarks to rebuke the so-called tense situation propagated by some countries over the South China Sea.In outlining China's Asian security concept, the top Chinese diplomat criticized certain foreign powers for meddling in South China Sea issues, and put forward constructive proposals for expanding China-ASEAN relations.Questionable US involvement in South China Sea issuesGenerally speaking, the current situation of the South China Sea is steady without any problem with free navigation, Wang said, rebuking the hype that the region is mired in escalating military confrontation between China and several ASEAN nations."Up to now, I have never heard any vessel's free voyage was affected," he said.Relations between China and ASEAN have remained sound and flourishing, Wang noted, adding the two sides are able and wise enough to safeguard peace and stability of South China Sea through bilateral dialogue and consultation.The remarks have been interpreted by analysts as China's resolute rejection of US sow-discord behavior in the land disputes in South China Sea."I could not understand why some countries out of the region stayed restless to propagate its tense situation," Wang said, "Is it they want to confuse the region?""Countries out of the region can reasonably voice their concern, but we disagree with them for coming to the region finger-pointing," he added.Wang made his point more specific when meeting with his US counterpart John Kerry, saying China will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and stay committed to resolving differences with the countries concerned through dialogue and consultation.China hopes that all parties will hold dear the hard-won stability of the region, uphold objectiveness and equity and play a constructive role, he said.In response, Kerry said the US will not take sides on the issue of the South China Sea, adding that what it hopes is peace and stability of the region.Noting that the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting has reached important consensus, Wang reiterated China's commitment to implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and pushing for the early conclusion of a code of conduct of the parties in the South China Sea (COC) through consensus.Common, comprehensive, cooperative, sustainable Asian security conceptWang said China believes that it is necessary to advocate the practice of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept of Asia, and blaze a new trail of security that is upheld and shared by all and brings benefits to all.He said that the Asian security concept calls for consultation and dialogue rather than threat of force, openness and inclusiveness rather than mutual repulsion, win-win cooperation rather than the zero-sum game.In disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the parties concerned should seek for peaceful resolutions through negotiation and consultation based on international law, norms governing international relations and historical facts.Wang also proposed that major countries should be objective and reasonable when judging each other's strategic intentions and stick to the principle of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.The centrality of ASEAN should be upheld and mechanisms such as the ARF and the enlarged session of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting should make more contributions to regional security."We should stay open and inclusive, stick to multilateralism, discard the outdated mentality of power politics and military deterrence, take one step at a time and run security cooperation in parallel with economic cooperation so that they can reinforce each other," Wang said.The Chinese foreign minister also said the ARF should give priority to trust in the future, put confidence-building measures at its core, build up consensus through preventive diplomacy, be result-oriented, deepen cooperation in non-traditional security fields such as disaster relief, counter-terrorism, campaign against cross-border crimes, maritime security and cyber security, be open-minded and keep pace with the times so as to enhance the efficacy and vitality of the ARF.Wang said that Asia has maintained peace, stability and relatively fast development over recent years. It is because countries in the region are committed to improving economy and the people's well-being, making Asia the most dynamic and promising region in the world. It is because countries in the region are active about engaging in and promoting regional cooperation.They work in concert to foster the spirit of consensus building and accommodating all parties' comfort levels. It is also because major countries carry out sound interactions in the region, creating a generally stable regional environment, Wang noted.





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Rescue ongoing

Rescue ongoing

Rescue ongoing

Rescue workers search the scene of an explosion that killed seven and injured four in a residential area of Changzhi, Shanxi Province on Sunday.Initial investigations showed the tragedy was caused by a natural gas explosion. Photo: Xinhua
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2014年11月28日星期五

Chinese BMW dealers fined for monopoly

Chinese BMW dealers fined for monopoly

Chinese BMW dealers fined for monopoly

WUHAN, Aug. 14 -- Authorities in central China's Hubei Province have meted out a combined anti-trust fine of 1.6 million yuan (about 260,000 U.S. dollars) to four BMW dealers, as the country steps up its fight against monopolies held by auto giants.

The Hubei price regulator found the four dealers manipulated market prices by forming a price alliance, the local government said on Thursday.

The fine came as China ramps up enforcement of its anti-monopoly law. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Aug. 6 that it will punish Chrysler and Audi for monopolistic practices.

An NDRC spokesperson said probes into 12 Japanese companies have also found monopolistic behavior on prices of auto parts, and they will be punished in accordance with the law.

Price inspectors also visited Mercedes-Benz's Shanghai premises.

Many luxury car brands charge Chinese consumers much higher prices than they do in the United States or Europe -- sometimes up to three times as much.

As the round of anti-monopoly investigations caught public attention, several luxury car brands have slashed prices in China.
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Pain and gain in fields of grain_3



Pain and gain in fields of grain


















Pain and gain in fields of grain





November 13, 2013 -- LIFE in the country was anything but bucolic for millions of educated Chinese youth "sent down" to the countryside to learn from farmers in the late 1960s. The period remains controversial, inspiring a TV series and website. Cui Yuanlei and Li Huaiyan report.


Fifty-nine-year-old Xie Ying says her life would be totally different, and possibly not as satisfying, if she had not experienced her years as zhi qing (?a?��).


Zhi qing, or educated youth, were the students from cites who spent the prime of their life toiling in the countryside during Chairman Mao Zedong's re-education campaign.


Xie, a native of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, says her time spent with farmers taught her to be tolerant and grateful.


"I find I'm stronger and more tolerant thanks to my experience in the countryside," says Xie, who works in the Yunnan Provincial People's Congress in southwest China.


In 1971, Xie took a train from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, to Kunming, capital of Yunnan, in the far south.


The 17-year-old girl then spent another five days traveling from Kunming to a farm in Ruili, a (Myanmar) border city largely inhabited by the ethnic Dai and Jingpo people.


Xie's first task was to learn how to log. Educated youth were sent up a mountain with farmers in the morning to collect wood, which they would take back with them before sunset, Xie says.


"It was quite a hard time," Xie recalls. "We - who did not have to worry about what to eat and wear at home in the city and didn't even wash our own bowls after meals - had to do everything all by ourselves in addition to the farming work."


In the 1960s, millions of young people in cities and towns went "up to mountains and down to villages" at the call of Chairman Mao to receive re-education from farmers and help with rural development. Mao believed that the countryside offered vast room for young people to bring their talents and skills into full play. He also believed bourgeois urban young people, many from intellectuals' families, were too soft and needed to do manual labor and learn from farmers.


Many zhi qing had bitter experiences and lost valuable education and career opportunities. They never caught up; they were a lost generation. Others made the best of it, some were stronger for it and went on achieve success in various fields.


Most sent-down young people returned to their urban homes around the end of the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). Mao's campaign was depicted in the literature of the 1980s, filled with stories about the youth's hard and bitter experiences.


This literary genre reflected complaints and resentment, according to Yang Jianlong, a professor at Shanghai Normal University who himself was a sent-down youth.


The sentiments of this "forgotten generation" simmered during the 1990s, when they found themselves disadvantaged. At that time China's market-oriented reforms posed employment challenges for them since they were older and many of them unskilled.


Down-to-earth manner


The trend, however, has been changing both in the literary sphere and in reality in recent years, as more educated youth are reflecting on their experiences in the countryside in a philosophical way.


Feng Jiankun, a retired official in Kunming, says he got to know a different side of his country when he was sent down to the city of Simao in Yunnan.


"No matter who you are, you have to work for the people in a down-to-earth manner. This is what I learned in the countryside," says Feng, who spent 10 years in the countryside of Simao, initially working as a herder and then a farmer.


"I learned that we cannot do things just out of passion. We have to take a practical attitude and start from reality," he says.


As some observers have pointed out, however, there was indeed a division between the educated, sent-down youth and other people in their later development.


While the group does not lack success stories, with some people taking national leadership posts, many are still troubled by their employment and living conditions, according to Li Zhenlin, a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy.


The division can partly explain the controversy about the history of educated youth, as demonstrated by discussions regarding a TV series, "Educated Youth," that premiered on China Central Television in May 2012. The 45-episode series about youth in far northeastern Heilongjiang Province is now being shown in Heilongjiang, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and other places.


It stirred a huge uproar about what some called painful history. While some critics say the TV show incorrectly downplayed the sent-down youth's suffering, others argue that it offers insight into contemporary Chinese history.


TV show


In the words of freelance news commentator Guo Songmin, the TV series reflects the sent-down youth's perseverance in pursuing their ideals and their zeal in responding to the call of the times.


Ma Yunchang, who was sent to Inner Mongolia for five years, now manages a website (www.chinazhiqing.org) aimed at zhi qing. He says he's a fan of the TV show.


"History is stereoscopic and artistic works just reflect part of it," says Ma. "Different people from different backgrounds may certainly have different views about that period of history."


Ma says he never argues with others about whether the time in the countryside was wasted or whether he regrets it.


"The social environment required young people to go to rural areas. Our generation was educated to put the nation's interests above our personal needs," Ma says.


Ma's website is a platform that allows sent-down youth to post essays and information regarding their experiences and to track down old friends with whom they have lost contact. The website also collects donations for sent-down youth who have difficulty paying medical bills today because they were never able to earn a good living.


For 59-year-old Xie, the TV series offered a chance to look back on her past. "Some of the stories in it are so familiar. They're very much like my own experience," she says.


Xie says the days spent in the countryside offered educated youth a chance to feel people's pain and needs.


"Our bond with the grassroots can never be severed," Xie says, "no matter where we are or what we do."







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Cross-Straits Tea Expo held in Fujian

Cross-Straits Tea Expo held in Fujian

Cross-Straits Tea Expo held in Fujian
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The 6th Cross-Straits Tea Expo will be held in Wuyishan, a county-level city in Nanping, Fujian province, from Nov 16 to 18.

The exhibition will host 1,183 booths that will cover various products ranging from tea and tea sets to tea testing instruments. More than 200 Taiwan tea enterprises will take part in this year��s expo.

A tea culture festival featuring tea-making performances, academic forums on ancient tea and tea-processing history will also be staged during the event.

Named after Wuyi Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the city is the cradle of most black teas in the world.
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Forage sent to wild horses in winter

Forage sent to wild horses in winter

Forage sent to wild horses in winter
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As the cold front pounds Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, 700 tons of forage have been sent to the Kala Maili Natural Reserve, home to the rare and endangered Przewalski's horses.

"The horses have difficulties foraging with the thick snow on the grass. We've prepared more than 600 tons of forage, and nearly 700 tons of corn, barley and carrots for the wild horses here," Zhang Yanbao, a specialist at the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center of the natural reserve, told Xinhua News Agency.

Przewalski's horse is a rare and endangered wild horse named after a Russian colonel who believed he had discovered this breed of wild horse in 1878. Its population is even slightly smaller than that of giant pandas.

At present, there are 954 Przewalski's horses living in the wild at the natural reserve.



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Curator finds new life in China's art_3



Curator finds new life in China's art


















Curator finds new life in China's art





November 13, 2013 -- China-based art curator Tiffany Beres has recently completed the most challenging project of her career - organizing a major show at a prestigious new exhibition center in Paris.


The exhibition, L'Asie en Vogue, featured six Asian artists, including two from China, whose works depict how fashion features in modern life.


What made it particularly special was the venue: It was held in the former Paris home of legendary art and antiques dealer Loo Ching-tsai, which is built in the style of a Chinese pagoda.


The complex, in an up-market area of Paris, close to the Champs-Elysee, has been turned into a private museum that will be used for major exhibitions, and sales of Asian art, beginning with L'Asie en Vogue.


"We wanted the exhibition to build on C.T. Loo's legacy and take this tradition of art exchange into the West and present it in a really elegant way," says Beres, 29.


"They will be shown in the home where he lived, a real architectural marvel in itself."


Loo emigrated from China to Paris in the early 20th century and built up a business that obtained works for private collectors and museum curators in Europe and the United States.


Beres, who lives in Beijing and runs her own business, Lotus Art Consulting, was hired to curate the exhibition. The assignment allowed her to utilize a vast network of art and auction-world contacts built up during six years of living and working in China.


The American, whose mother is from Hong Kong, grew up in San Francisco, later attending Brown University before being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in China. After completing her studies in the lakeside city of Hangzhou, she moved north to Beijing, working for China Guardian auction house.


"I didn't grow up speaking much Chinese but I did start Chinese painting and calligraphy from the age of 4. It was something I was interested in and has stayed with me my whole life. When I went to university I took a course in Chinese art history which really changed my life. Song Dynasty (960-1127) painting is my special area. Having an understanding of art very much adds to your appreciation."


Learning the commercial ropes also gave Beres the confidence to launch Lotus Art Consulting, which obtains works for private collectors and museums. It made her a natural choice to help locate suitable candidates for the L'Asie en Vogue show.


"I was asked to bring something together that would bring together antique and contemporary, not just China but pan-Asia," Beres says. "We thought of this theme of textiles and costumes, which everyone understands and is familiar with. We worked with a New York collector for the antiquities."


The show attracted art connoisseurs who were lured by the pieces on display and also by the opportunity to browse around Paris Pagoda. The new owners, who are real-estate investors, want the venue to become a major center for showcasing Asian art and culture, as well as being used to host sales and auctions, cocktail receptions, luxury-brand launches, and even movie productions attracted by the striking architecture.


The international co-operation theme is a fitting legacy for an individual who acted as a conduit for such exchanges during an earlier era. Loo, who died in 1957, was famed in the Western world for his deep knowledge of art and antiques, gift for languages, and urbane manner, which allowed him to mix in all social circles.


"He was a self-made man who came from China not speaking a word of any other language, learned French and English and went all over the world and was able to set up these bridges," Beres says.







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New-energy vehicles exempted from tax

New-energy vehicles exempted from tax

New-energy vehicles exempted from tax

Lack of charging network dampens consumer enthusiasm

The Chinese government formally announced Wednesday to waive the purchase tax for new-energy vehicles in a bid to support the industry but experts said there is still a bumpy road ahead.

From September 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017, new-energy vehicles approved for sale in the Chinese market, including imported ones, will be free from purchase tax, according to a notice jointly released by China's Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration of Taxation Wednesday.

The new-energy vehicles approved for sale in the Chinese market include electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.

The three governmental bodies will release a new-energy vehicle catalogue later to specify the vehicles that will be exempted from purchase tax, and automakers as well as vehicle importers can start applying for the preferential tax policy starting now, according to the notice.

The new policy follows a decision made at a State Council meeting on July 9, which said consumers who buy new-energy -vehicles can be exempted from the purchase tax, which is equal to 10 percent of the net vehicle price, from September 1 till the end of 2017.

"The notice shows that the government is supporting new-energy vehicles as it promised, which is a good news for the industry," Gao Jian, an industry analyst at Shanghai-based consultancy LMC Automotive, told the Global Times Wednesday.

In a bid to promote the new-energy vehicle industry, the government has released a number of policies, such as requiring the share of new-energy vehicles to be at least 30 percent in government procurement of vehicles by 2016 and making provisions for additional subsidies for new-energy vehicle purchase.

Several first-tier cities including Beijing and Shanghai have also adopted favorable license plate policy for new-energy vehicles.

With the subsidy and purchase tax exemption, the low-priced domestic new-energy vehicles will become more appealing to customers, but the shortage of charging facilities remains the biggest concern, Gao noted.

Without a stable charging facility network, it will be hard to persuade general customers, he said.

New-energy vehicles have failed to generate enthusiasm among the Chinese consumers due to a lack of charging stations and reliability and driving safety concerns caused by immature technology, according to a research note by global management consultancy A.T. Kearney on China's new-energy vehicle market sent to the Global Times Tuesday.

The new-energy market may bloom for a while with government support but it will not be able to achieve long-term growth without a strong natural demand from consumers, according to the research note.
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Hackers arrested after exam results falsified

Hackers arrested after exam results falsified

Hackers arrested after exam results falsified
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Three people have been arrested on suspicion of profiting from hacking into a test system to falsify exam results in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The suspects collected 174,000 yuan ($28,000) by falsifying test results for more than 300 candidates who took an exam for the national vocational qualification certification, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

A staff worker in charge of maintaining the exam system said he tried to recover data on Jan 4 after finding it had been hacked. However, the website was hacked again next day and became paralyzed. He reported the case to police on Jan 6.

One student who took the exam achieved a score of 133, but after paying the hackers 58,000 yuan, his result was changed to 354, Xinhua reported.

One of the three suspects graduated from a vocational school, and the other two looked for potential clients.

The three are suspected of illegally obtaining computer- system data and destroying computer information. They will face punishment in accordance with criminal law, the local procuratorate said.
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3 injured in N China household gas explosion

3 injured in N China household gas explosion

3 injured in N China household gas explosion

Three residents were injured in a gas explosion in their apartment before dawn on Tuesday in North China's Shanxi Province, said local authorities.

The gas explosion took place at around 0 a.m. in an apartment in Huaihai residential quarter of Changzhi City, burning one person and leaving two others with slight injuries, said the city's press office.

The three injured people have been sent to hospital for medical treatment.

Initial investigation found that the gas explosion was caused by smoking in the apartment while the gas leaked.

Further investigation into the explosion is under way.
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