China to double nuclear power capacity by 2020

China is to double its nuclear power capacity by 2020, the general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation said here on Thursday.

Kang Rixin told the World Energy Congress in Rome that at present China's nuclear power capacity accounts for 2 percent of the total installed capacity of the country. By 2020, the percentage will stand at 4 percent.

China's installed capacity of nuclear power will hit 40 million kilowatts by 2020, he said.

Kang said China has 11 nuclear power generation units in operation, 8 units are under construction and another 8 units are in their preparation stage.

He said China will invest a total of 400 billion RMB in building the 16 nuclear units, and "banks in China are active in pouring the funds and there is no shortage of funds."

The general manager said China has already listed the nuclear power industry as a priority, and the move is to reduce the CO2 emission to tackle climate change.

The five-day World Energy Congress is to end later on Thursday.

Source

BREAKING: Aung San Suu Kyi HAS LEFT HOME.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Residents say pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has left her home in Myanmar, apparently to meet with a government official, and marking an end to 12 years in house detention.

Her release came as China and Russia urged Myanmar's military rulers to talk with the country's opposition but affirmed their opposition to any U.N. sanctions against the junta.

The two veto-wielding countries on the U.N. Security Council say Myanmar's crushing of pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks was an internal issue, a position that has prevented discussions of sanctions.

Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi of China and Sergey Lavrov of Russia said Wednesday at a meeting with India's Pranab Mukherjee that, instead of punishment, they support efforts by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to open talks between the opposition and the ruling generals.

"The initiatives (Gambari) has taken, he should be encouraged," Mukherjee told reporters. "There should not be any sanctions at this stage."

Lavrov warned that sanctions, threats or other forms of pressure on the junta risked "aggravating the situation and generating a new crisis."

Yang echoed that, saying: "We hope that countries concerned will play a helping role instead of applying sanctions and applying pressure."

Meanwhile, activists wearing white prison garb and masks held small protests in cities around the world to mark the 12th anniversary of her years in detention


The meeting of China, India and Russia is part of the revival of a loose 1950s alliance against U.S. dominance of global affairs. A joint statement said, however, that the countries' third recent forum "was not targeted against any other country or organization."

China is one of Myanmar's leading trading partners and its communist government has frequent contacts with the junta and provides the military with much of its weaponry.

In Beijing, Gambari called on China to use its influence to help persuade the junta to stop its crackdown. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei told Gambari China backs his efforts, but made no new commitments.

Myanmar security forces crushed the recent wave of protests by shooting and beating demonstrators on September 26-27. The regime said 10 people were killed, but dissident groups put the toll at up to 200 and say thousands of students, Buddhist monks and others were arrested. The crackdown ignited international outrage.

Myanmar state radio and television reported that a top leader of the ruling junta, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, had been appointed prime minister.

Thein Sein had been serving as acting prime minister since May, filling in for ailing Gen. Soe Win, who died October 12.

The prime minister's job holds little independent power because the military controls the state through the junta, officially known as the State Peace and Development Council.

No change in policy is expected with the appointment.
CNN

China to launch first moon orbiter at 6 pm on Oct. 24

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is planning to launch its first moon orbiter at around 6 p.m. on October 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.

"The satellite will be launched between October 24 and 26 and our first choice is around 6 p.m. on October 24," a spokesman for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The circumlunar satellite, which has been named Chang'e I after the legendary Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A have passed all pre-launch tests and have been transported to the launch site.

The lunar probe is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5.



The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.

The orbiter will carry out a series of projects including acquiring 3-D images and analyzing the distribution of elements on the moon's surface, according to the spokesman.

"Experts from foreign space administrations have been invited to watch the launch on site," said the spokesman.

"China welcomes international cooperation in space activities," he said.

China hopes to become the 17th nation to join the International Space Station (ISS) project, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said on the sidelines of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last week.

The Chinese government has been pursuing a policy of peaceful use of airspace, Li said.

The satellite launch will mark the first step of China's three-stage moon mission, which will lead to a moon landing and launch of a moon rover around 2012. In the third phase, another rover will land on the moon and return to earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017.

China carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it only the third country in the world after the Soviet Union and the United States to have sent men into space. In October 2005, China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board.

Source

20,000 Olympic torch bearers to be chosen globally

senior official with the BeijingOrganizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games said Friday in Beijing that more than 20,000 torch bearers are to be chosen around the world.


Liu Jingmin, executive vice chairman of the organizing committee, said at a press conference that preparations for the Olympic torch relay both in China and the rest of the world are going on smoothly.


According to the plan, the torch will be relayed to Mount Qomolangma. The number of torch bearers would be 21,880, the organizing committee revealed previously.

Source

Taiwan President To Stage Relay Run to aid in UN Bid

Taiwan authorities' plan to stage a long distance relay run as part of a push for a "referendum" on the island's bid to enter into the United Nations has been criticized by Taipei mayor Hau Long-bin, Taiwan media reported Friday.

Hau said the plan was a political campaign rather than a sports activity and the municipal government so far had not received any application for permission from the Chen Shui-bian authorities.

The mayor said staging such an activity during rush hour on main streets would cause inconveniences to Taipei people and seriously affect their rights and interests.

If Taiwan authorities insist on hosting the campaign, the Taipei government would handle it according to law, Hau said.

Disregarding Taiwan people's call for peace and strong opposition from the international community, Chen Shui-bian authorities had been obstinately promoting the "referendum" on the island's UN entry bid.

Slogans drumming up the "referendum" were seen on Taiwan's streets, gas stations and even on people's electricity or water bills. The distance running was planed to start on Oct. 24 from Taipei and last for 11 days.

Hau officially took office on Dec. 25, 2006, replacing Ma Ying-jeou, leader of the opposition Kuomintang Party and candidate of the 2008 presidential election.

Source

Beijing's Olympic swimming venue financed by Overseas Chinese

The newly-built swimming venue for Beijing Olympics was financed by overseas Chinese, a senior official with the organizing committee said Friday.


Liu Jingmin, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), said at a press briefing that 830 million yuan (110.7 million U.S. dollars) of investment has arrived for the construction of the glittering National Aquatics Center, nicknamed Water Cubic.


Liu said the organizing committee hoped to further cooperate with overseas Chinese in the preparation of the Games.


According to Liu, there are roughly 60 million overseas Chinese around the world, who he said could do more for the Games that is scheduled to open on Aug. 8, 2008.


Source

Primitive man used makeup, dined on cooked seafood

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- A recent archaeological discovery in a South Africa cave suggests primitive Homo sapiens may have eaten seafood, used razor-sharp cutting tools and donned makeup long before they were supposed to.

Researchers found harvested and cooked seafood, reddish pigment from ground rocks and early tiny blade technology at Pinnacle Point overlooking the Indian Ocean near South Africa's Mossel Bay. Scientific optical dating techniques show these indicators of modern life were from 164,000 years ago, plus or minus 12,000 years.

A recent archaeological discovery in a South Africa cave suggests primitive Homo sapiens may have eaten seafood, used razor-sharp cutting tools and donned makeup long before they were supposed to.


Skeletal remains from the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History, a permanent exhibition hall that presents the remarkable history of human evolution from our earliest ancestors millions of years ago to modern Homo sapiens, are seen in New York,Feb. 7, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)


"Together as a package this looks like the archaeological record of a much later time period," said study author Curtis Marean, professor of anthropology at the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University.

Marean said the findings reveal humans were eating seafood about 40,000 years earlier than previously thought. They are also the earliest record of humans eating something other than what they caught or gathered on the land. Most of what Marean found were the remnants of brown mussels, but he also found black mussels, small saltwater clams, sea snails and even a barnacle that indicates whale blubber or skin was brought into the cave.

Marean also found 57 pieces of ground-up rock that would have been reddish- or pinkish-brown. That would be used for self-decoration and sending social signals to other people, much the way makeup is used now, he said.

There have been reports of earlier but sporadic pigment use in Africa. The same goes with rocks that were fashioned into small pointy tools.

But having all three together shows a grouping of people that is almost modern, Marean said. Seafood harvesting, unlike other hunter-gatherer activities, encourages people to stay put, and that leads to more social interactions, he said.


Source

Chinese May Build Communist Party Branch in Space

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese taikonauts (astronauts) may start a branch of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in space, said the country's first taikonaut Yang Liwei.

China now has a 14-strong astronaut team. The team members, including Yang himself, are all CPC members.

"If China has its own space station, the taikonauts on mission will carry out the regular activities of a CPC branch in space in the way we do on earth, such as learning the Party's policies and exchanging opinions on the Party's decisions," said Yang, a delegate to the on-going CPC national congress in Beijing.

"If we establish a Party branch in space, it would also be the 'highest' of its kind in the world," said Yang, who is also deputy director of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

According to the CPC Constitution, a grass-root CPC organization should be established where there are three or more CPC members. The latest official figure shows that China has more than 73 million CPC members and about 3.6 million grass-roots CPC organizations.

"Like foreign astronauts having their beliefs, we believe in Communism, which is also a spiritual power," said Yang. "We may not pray in the way our foreign counterparts do, but the common belief has made us more united in space, where there is no national boundary, to accomplish our missions."

China successfully sent Yang into orbit on the Shenzhou V spacecraft in 2003, and two years later, taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng completed a five-day flight on the Shenzhou VI.

Earlier media reports say the Shenzhou VII is expected to carry three taikonauts in 2008 and the taikonauts may perform their first spacewalk during the flight.

"We will see more international cooperation in space in the future and the different beliefs of taikonauts will not be a 'trouble' for the cooperation," said Yang.

"Cooperation is the inevitable trend of the development of the world's space industry and Chinese taikonauts will also participate in international operations like peace-keeping, environment protection and rescue in space, which require our taikonauts to increase their sense of cooperation and responsibilities as members of a global village," he said.

Yang's center has been working with the Aerospace School of the Beijing-based Tsinghua University since 2006 to provide masters-level degree training for the taikonauts.

"New courses include the law of space, the history of aviation and others on the cultures of different countries," said Yang.

In addition, the taikonauts have been learning English and Russian.

"Now, it's no problem for us to communicate with foreign colleagues in English and Russian," he said.

Source

Suicide Blasts Kills 110 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Up to 110 people were killed and over 200 others injured in two suicide blasts near former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's vehicle in the southern port city of Karachi early Friday morning, local TV channel DAWN NEWS reported.

The twin blasts occurred near the truck, which carried Benazir Bhutto after she arrived at the Karachi airport on Thursday, the DAWN NEWS report said.

Up to 110 people were killed and over 200 others injured in two suicide blasts near former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's vehicle in the southern port city of Karachi early Friday morning


Up to 110 people were killed and over 200 others injured in two suicide blasts near former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's vehicle in the southern port city of Karachi early Friday morning. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)


Benazir Bhutto who returned to the country after eight years of exile was not on the top of the truck and survived the attacks. She remained unhurt and arrived at the Bilawal house in Karachi, according to DAWN NEWS.

No group has claimed responsibility for the suicide blast attacks.

However, a local commander of pro-Taliban militants had earlier threatened to launch attacks on Bhutto after her return schedule was announced. A security official said about 18,000 to 20,000 security personnel including police and rangers were deployed in the city to ensure fool-proof security arrangements for Bhutto.

Bhutto departed from Dubai and arrived at the Karachi international airport on Thursday afternoon, receiving warm welcome from hundreds of thousands of zealous supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

Bhutto had planned to speak to the general public at a PPP meeting at Quaid's mazar, which had been canceled after the suicide attacks.

The PPP leader Nisar Khuhro blamed the Sindh government for the blasts while the PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar was quoted by local media as saying that Bhutto wanted the intelligence bureau chief to be sacked.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz condemned the suicide attacks.

Bhutto, Chairperson of PPP, served twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan in late 1980s and mid-1990s. She went into a self-imposed exile in 1999 to evade corruption charges against her.

Source

PLEASE READ: Sucide Facts and Prevention

Today I found out that an old friend of mine just committed suicide. The news took me by storm. we all knew that he had problems but no one saw this coming, no one. I just wanted to take a moment now to remind everyone how precious life really is.

As most of you know, for the past year or so I've been going through a really rough time. Sometimes it seemed as if the sadness just completely consumed me, and sometimes you forget that there is light and hope surrounding the darkness. Without my friends' help I never would of made through this, so to all my friends my sincerest thanks.

So remember my friends, when life is getting you down and it seems like there is no hope, you've got a friend here that'll listen. Life is precious, please don't be stupid, no problem is ever that big.

R.I.P. Casey
We all miss you.



Facts

The Problem

* Suicide took the lives of 29,199 Americans in 1999.1
* More people die from suicide than from homicide. In 1999, there were 1.7 times as many suicides as homicides.1
* Overall, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for all Americans, and is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.1
* Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than are females.1 However, females are more likely to attempt suicide than are males.2
* 1999, white males accounted for 72% of all suicides. Together, white males and white females accounted for over 90% of all suicides.1 However, during the period from 1979-1992, suicide rates for Native Americans (a category that includes American Indians and Alaska Natives) were about 1.5 times the national rates. There was a disproportionate number of suicides among young male Native Americans during this period, as males 15-24
* Suicide rates are generally higher than the national average in the western states and lower in the eastern and Midwestern states.4
* Nearly 3 of every 5 suicides in 1999 (57%) were committed with a firearm.1

Suicide Among the Elderly

* Suicide rates increase with age and are highest among Americans aged 65 years and older. The ten year period, 1980-1990, was the first decade since the 1940s that the suicide rate for older residents rose instead of declined.5
* Men accounted for 84% of suicides among persons aged 65 years and older in 1999.1
* From 1980-1998, the largest relative increases in suicide rates occurred among those 80-84 years of age. The rate for men in this age group increased 17% (from 43.5 per 100,000 to 52.0).1,6
* Firearms were the most common method of suicide by both males and females, 65 years and older, 1998, accounting for 78.5% of male and 35.0% of female suicides in that age group.1
* Suicide rates among the elderly are highest for those who are divorced or widowed. In 1992, the rate for divorced or widowed men in this age group was 2.7 times that for married men, 1.4 times that for never-married men, and over 17 times that for married women. The rate for divorced or widowed women was 1.8 times that for married women and 1.4 times that for never-married women.6
* Risk factors for suicide among older persons differ from those among the young. Older persons have a higher prevalence of depression, a greater use of highly lethal methods and social isolation. They also make fewer attempts per completed suicide, have a higher-male-to-female ratio than other groups, have often visited a health-care provider before their suicide, and have more physical illnesses.7

Suicide Among the Young

* Persons under age 25 accounted for 14% of all suicides in 1999.1 From 1952-1995, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled. From 1980-1997, the rate of suicide among persons aged 15-19 years increased by 11% and among persons aged 10-14 years by 109%. From 1980-1996, the rate increased 105% for African-American males aged 15-19.1,8
* For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury and homicide. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined.1
* Among persons aged 15-19 years, firearm-related suicides accounted for more than 60% of the increase in the overall rate of suicide from 1980-1997.1
* The risk for suicide among young people is greatest among young white males; however, from 1980 through 1995, suicide rates increased most rapidly among young black males.9 Although suicide among young children is a rare event, the dramatic increase in the rate among persons aged 10-14 years underscores the urgent need for intensifying efforts to prevent suicide among persons in this age group.

Someone You Know is Suicidal

The Journal of the American Medical Association has reported that 95% of all suicides occur at the peak of a depressive episode. Education, recognition and treatment are the keys to suicide prevention.

KNOW WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Symptoms of Depression
Warning Signs of Suicide

KNOW WHAT TO DO

Stigma associated with depressive illnesses can prevent people from getting help. Your willingness to talk about depression and suicide with a friend, family member, or co-worker can be the first step in getting help and preventing suicide.

If you see the warning signs of suicide…

Begin a dialogue by asking questions. Suicidal thoughts are common with depressive illnesses and your willingness to talk about it in a nonjudgmental way can be the push a person needs to get help. Questions to ask:

“Do you ever feel so badly that you think of suicide?”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Do you know when you would do it (today, next week)?"

“Do you have access to what you would use?”

Asking these questions will allow you to determine if your friend is in immediate danger, and get help if needed. A suicidal person should see a doctor or psychiatrist immediately. Calling 911 or going to a hospital emergency room are valid options. Always take thoughts of or plans for suicide seriously.

Never keep a plan for suicide a secret. Don’t worry about endangering a friendship if you truly feel a life is in danger. It's better to regret something you did, than something you didn't do to help a friend.

Don't try to minimize problems or shame a person into changing her mind. Your opinion of a person's situation is irrelevant. Trying to convince a person it's not that bad, or that she has everything to live for will only increase her feelings of guilt and hopelessness. Reassure her help is available, that depression is treatable, and that suicidal feelings are temporary.

If you feel the person isn't in immediate danger, acknowledge the pain as legitimate and offer to work together to get help. Make sure you follow through. This is one instance where you must be tenacious in your follow-up. Help find a doctor or a mental health professional, participate in making the first phone call, or go along to the first appointment. If you're in a position to help, don't assume that your persistence is unwanted or intrusive. Risking your feelings to help save a life is a risk worth taking.


for more information goto www.afsp.org

Chinese farmers grew rice 7,700 years ago

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese farmers cultivated rice along the eastern coast as far back as 7,700 years ago and used fire and flood control measures to manage their fields, researchers said, citing new evidence.

In a letter published in Nature late last week, geographers in Britain and China described how they found artifacts -- bone, bamboo and wooden tools used for foraging and cultivation -- and high concentrations of charcoal in Kuahuqiao, a freshwater marsh about 200 km southwest of Shanghai.

"About 7,700 years ago, people started to burn woody crops and there's a very high concentration of charcoal there and a decline of woody tree pollen," said Zong Yongqiang of Durham University in the United Kingdom.

"These two give us a very clear indication that people used fire to open the site for settlement and cultivation. It wasn't just one burn but over several decades to maintain the ground for rice cultivation ... This could be the earliest paddy cultivation in the world," Zong told Reuters by telephone.

"They used animal bones as spades, for example, the shoulder blades of pigs (which have a) triangular shape."

Other archaeologists found wood pilings which they believe were used as supports in the marshy ground to erect platforms for huts for the farmers and their families.

These early farmers were also able to protect their paddy fields from floodwaters in the low-lying coastal area, at a time when they were constantly threatened by rising sea levels.

"When we look at the diatoms (species of green algae that thrive in sea water), salinity was kept very low in the background of rising sea levels. That gave us another suggestion that the humans somehow managed to have very primitive ways of blocking seawater during flooding," Zong said.

But the area was suddenly abandoned about 7,500 years ago, again evident from diatoms dating from that time.

"You can see an abrupt rise in marine and brackish water diatoms, which means that up to a certain point, the people couldn't maintain the paddy fields because sea water levels kept rising and they overwhelmed the sites," Zong said.

"They abandoned the sites, which they occupied for 200 years, and moved on to other sites, with similar marshy conditions," he said, referring to Hemudu, 120 km east of Kuahuqiao, or Majiabang, which lies in between Shanghai and Kuahuqiao.

Again, the researchers secured evidence showing paddy cultivation in Hemudu and Majiabang began about 7,000 years ago.

The researchers are now setting their sights on Taihu lake, which lies about 150 km north of Kuahuqiao.

"Between 6,000-4,000 years ago, the community was so vibrant, they had jade, ceramic ware and rice production was so high. Then 4,000 years ago, this community just disappeared," Zong said.

"Is it because of the sea level rising, or climate cooling? Was weather so cold that their harvests were harmed?"

Source

"Queshan" 2007 PLA Exercise

ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Jinan Military Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a seven-day exercise to attack "Blue Army" targets on a mountainous island on Saturday, according to Army sources.




The exercise, dubbed as "Queshan 2007", is divided into four stages -- change of combat readiness, long-distance maneuver, combat plot, and combat.

Source

China + Blackstone = Watch Out World

NEW YORK/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new state investment agency is taking a $3 billion stake in U.S. private equity firm The Blackstone Group, in a sign Beijing plans to use its stash of currency reserves to become a global investor.

The agreement gives China's government a stake in the private equity boom sweeping the world and seals a key alliance for Blackstone at a time when foreign investors are struggling to gain support from Beijing to buy domestic assets.

China is taking a non-voting stake of just under 10 percent in Blackstone, leaving it under the radar screen from U.S. government scrutiny and providing a template for future deals.

"From what I understand it should be, or will be, part of a trend," Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman said of China's investment. "Blackstone is the first, but over time I would suspect there would be others," he told Reuters by phone.

The announcement comes just days before Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi meets U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Washington to discuss sticking points in trade in the second round of the two governments' "Strategic Economic Dialogue."

The run-up to the talks has seen a flurry of deals and government measures, including Friday's move to widen the yuan's trading band to let the currency appreciate faster.

"If we are going to borrow from them, then we have to let them buy things," said William Overholt, director of the RAND Corp's Center for Asia Pacific Policy.

New York-based Blackstone, which is expanding its planned $4 billion IPO to $7 billion to accommodate the Chinese investment, is making a big push into China to catch up with rivals. It appointed Antony Leung, Hong Kong's financial secretary from 2001 to 2003, as its China chief in January.

"For both China and Blackstone, it's about enhancing access and developing deeper relationships," said Monte Brem, CEO of advisory firm Leucadia Capital Partners.

"The Chinese government wants to increase its access and role in the global private equity market; Blackstone wants to increase its access and role in China," Brem said.

Private equity firms buy companies or take controlling stakes, cut costs, restructure the businesses and sell them later for a profit. They usually borrow two-thirds of the money needed to finance their purchases.

Beijing will get the shares in the IPO, planned for June, at a 4.5 percent discount and has agreed to hold them for at least four years.

A SIGNIFICANT MOVE

China said in March it was setting up a vehicle to diversify part of its $1.2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves to improve returns on its portfolio, now mainly invested in dollar bonds.

The agency, still to be named, is headed by Lou Jiwei, a former vice finance minister, who was on hand in New York for Sunday's signing ceremony.

The new agency could manage up to $200 billion, state media reports have said. Finance Minister Jin Renqing has said one of its models would be Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings, which invests in a broad range of industrial and financial assets at home and abroad, including Chinese state-owned banks.

"This is a very, very significant move and it symbolizes that China believes in America," said Frank Holmes, chief executive of U.S. Global Investors Inc., which invests in Asia.

Holmes contrasted the move with the political furor that scuttled an attempt in 2005 by Chinese state-owned oil firm CNOOC <0883.hk> to buy U.S. oil producer Unocal.

China plans to own just under 10 percent of Blackstone's equity after the buyout firm's IPO, which Schwarzman said could be a template for future investments because they are not subject to U.S. government scrutiny.

"To the extent that the state investment company stays below the 10 percent threshold for governmental review...and invests in securities that are liquid, which this security eventually will be, that's a very easy way for the state investment company to put large amounts of money to work with minimum to no controversy," Schwarzman said.

U.S. buyout firms have flocked to Asia, seeking deals that tap into its booming economy and burgeoning consumer market.

But large, long-time U.S. buyout players in China, including TPG Capital and Carlyle Group , have found it difficult to secure majority deals.

In March, Carlyle settled for a minority stake in China's biggest machinery maker, Xugong Group Construction Machinery Co., bowing to Beijing's concern over spreading foreign influence.

Blackstone's recent deals include the $23 billion purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust and the $17.6 billion buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. It also manages a half-dozen other investment funds, including real estate and distressed debt.

(Additional reporting by Michael Flaherty and Mark McSherry in New York; JoAnne Allen and Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington)

Source

Chinese warships arrive in France to conduct joint military exercise

Two Chinese naval vessels on Friday arrived in the southern French port city of Toulon to conduct a joint military exercise with the French Navy in the Mediterranean sea.

During their five-day visit, more than 500 Chinese officers and sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer Guangzhou and the supply ship Weishanhu will take part in the joint military exercise dubbed "China-France Friendship 2007."

France is the fourth leg of the 87-day voyage of the two Chinese naval vessels that has already taken them to St. Petersburg, Russia, Portsmouth, Britain, and Cadiz, Spain.

Source

140,000 Chinese officials voluntarily turn bribes over to higher authorities

A total of 140,660 Chinese officials have voluntarily turned bribes they have accepted over to higher authorities in past five years, China's disciplinary watchdog said here Saturday.

The bribes, including cash, marketable securities and pay orders, were valued at about 676 million yuan (89.18 million U.S. dollars), according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China.

During the same period, 6,828 officials have been punished for taking cash, marketable securities, pay orders, gift moneys by violating government anti-corruption regulations, while 16,411 officials have been punished for gambling, sources with CCDI said.

China has beefed up its fight against corruption. During this period of time, China has punished 16 ministerial-level or higher officials for "serious corruption" including Chen Liangyu, former Shanghai Party Chief,Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of State Food and Drug Administration and Qiu Xiaohua, former head of the National Bureau of Statistics.

At the same time, China introduced more approaches to tackle the thorny problem. Besides the government investigation and people's tips, China have encouraged people to confess their wrongdoings and turn over the bribes they have accepted.

CCDI issued a set of regulations targeting corruption that took effect on May 30, urging officials who have traded power for money to confess their crimes before the end of June in return for leniency.

Just in one month alone, 1,790 persons voluntarily reported their misconduct, involving 77.89 million yuan (10.2 million U.S. dollars), Gan Yisheng, CCDI spokesman, said at a press conference.

Gan said the regulations were effective since they laid the basis for the government to investigate cases involving violation of party discipline and they also provided an opportunity for those who had made mistakes to make corrections.


Source

Former bank official sentenced to death for corruption

CHENGDU, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Huang Jinjiang, a former bank official in southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been given death sentence for accepting bribes, local court sources said on Saturday.

The Ziyang City's People's Court made the first-instance trial on Sept. 5. Huang was also deprived political rights all his life with the confiscation of all his personal assets.

According to the court verdict, from 1993 to 1997, the defendant Huang took advantage of his posts as president of China Agricultural Bank's subsidiary bank of Dazhou city to seek loans for a local firm after accepting bribes.

Huang accepted seven million yuan (about 930,000 U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, Huang's three colleagues, who will be handled in a separate case, accepted and extorted bribes worth of 3.12 million yuan (about 416,500 dollars).

By now, most part of the illicit money has not been recovered.

Huang's crime also resulted in losses of 700 million yuan in bank loans, which cannot be recovered. (about 93.3 million dollars).

Source

China to build new space launch center in southernmost province

BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China plans to construct a new space launch center in Wenchang, China's southernmost Hainan Province, according to official sources.

The new launch center aims to serve the next-generation rocket carriers that do emit poisonous and pollutive gas and new-type spacecraft.

The new launch site will be mainly used for launching synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep space probe satellites, according to the plan which has been approved by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Hainan is located in a low-latitude region, which is helpful to increasing the capacity of rocket carriers and extending the lifespan of satellites.

A spokesman for China's space program said the Chinese government works on peaceful use of the outer space to promote development of human civilization and social development and benefit the whole Mankind.

In 1958, China began building its first rocket launch site in northwest China's Jiuquan. At present, the country has three space launch grounds. The other two are located in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province and Xichang in southwestern Sichuan Province.

These launch sites have carried out over 100 space launches, sending over 100 satellites and six manned spacecraft into space.
Editor: Yan Liang

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Visits to Beijing cultural relics restricted during Olympics

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will restrict the number of daily visits to cultural relics during the Olympic Games next year so as to ensure a sound visiting order and protect cultural relics, according to the Beijing Cultural Heritage Administration.

"All cultural relics of the capital are to undergo a thorough "facelift" in the coming few months before next August, and any renovation, except for emergency repair, will suspend during the Games," said Kong fanzhi, director of the administration.

Kong said the "facelift" includes the renovation of the exterior of ancient constructions and roofs which could be seen from adjacent streets so as to enable visitors, especially foreign tourists, to "see Beijing through cultural relics".

The "facelift" also refers to service improving, he said, adding cultural relics protection bureaus above the city-level should have more than two staff in charge of reception and visitor service.

The building of "soft environment" of cultural relics around Olympic venues should be specially improved, such as the building of obstacle-free facilities to benefit the handicapped, he said.

A regulation on cultural relics management for the Olympics, which outlines measures for protection, renovation, obstacle-free facilities and movie-shooting during the time, would be put into effect on Oct. 1 and last a year.
Editor: Yangtze Yan

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1,700-year-old tombs found in NW China

URUMQI, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Nine 1,700-year-old brick tombs have been discovered in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which, experts say, provide valuable clues for the research of exchanges between the central Chinese government at that time and remote Western Regions.

It is the first time ancient tombs with typical characteristics of China's main Han nationality have been found in the Uygur ethnic region, said Yu Zhiyong, deputy head of the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute.

Archaeologists from Beijing, Shaanxi and Xinjiang concluded that the tombs were built between the middle and late third century and fourth century.

The tombs were unearthed during the construction of a road earlier this year in Kuqa county, 740 km from Xinjiang's capital Urumqi and part of the ancient Qiuci State.

Qiuci State, which existed between the second century BC and 860 AD, was one of the 36 states in the Western Regions, a term used in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) for areas west of Yumen Pass including present Xinjiang and parts of central Asia.

The tombs would help archaeologists with research into the political, economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains government and states in the western oasis, and on the cultural influence of the Central Plains on the Western Regions, Yu added.

Archaeologists from the Xinjiang institute have excavated nine tombs since Aug. 22, finding skeletons of more than 30 people, some ancient coins and more than 60 pottery jars. It is thought there are another three tombs to be excavated.

Yu said the people buried in the tombs were probably either people from the western regions deeply influenced by the Han culture or the Han residents in the region.

The ancient Qiuci state became part of China's territory in 59 BC during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD24). Many Han people move to Qiuci to avoid war during the Western Jin Dynasty (AD265-317).

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Amazing Art Made From Toothpicks

BEIJING, Sept. 20 -- Toothpicks may only be convenient pieces of wood in most people's eyes, but in Zheng Changlun's opinion, they have another usage---making mosaics.

The craftsman from Shangrao, east China's Jiangxi province, is now working on a painstaking mosaic that is 1.2 meters high and 0.6 meters wide.

A local newspaper reported on Wednesday that he is planning to incorporate 130,000 toothpicks in making a figure painting of Kwan-Yin, or Avalokiteshvara, the Goddess of Mercy from Chinese folklore.

Zheng, 49, drew his inspiration from a TV program which showed an Albanian artist sticking together 1.5 million toothpicks in making a mosaic of a galloping horse. The artist was included into the Guinness Book of World Records for his work.



Zheng also plans to challenge the artist's work with his own after he finishes the current work of Kwan-Yin, the report said.
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China Denies U.S. Charge It Hacked Pentagon Network

BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has rejected accusations by the United States that its military hacked into the Pentagon's computer network in June, labeling them "groundless."

"The Chinese government has always opposed any Internet-wrecking crime, including hacking, and cracked down on it according to the law," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu at a regular press conference.

The Financial Times, citing former and serving U.S. officials, said the Chinese People's Liberation Army hackers broke into a U.S. Defense Department network in June.

"Some people are making wild accusations against China and wantonly saying the Chinese military attacked the Pentagon's computer network. These are totally groundless and also reflect a Cold War mentality," Jiang said.

Jiang said China and the United States have worked together to build relations and the two militaries are enjoying a good momentum in exchanges.

She also said hacking was an international problem and that China itself has also been attacked.

"China would like to work with other countries to take measures to crack down on web crime," she said.

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Hero Buys Back Looted Art And Returns It To China

Macao gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun has bought a rare bronze horse head plundered by British and French troops in the 19th century for HK$69.1 million ($8.84 million) and donated it to the motherland Thursday.

The sale set a record in the trade of Chinese sculptures from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Sotheby's Hong Kong said in a news release.

The deal stopped the national treasure looted from the Yuanmingyuan (the Old Summer Palace) being auctioned at Sotheby's autumn auction in October.

"We do not agree with cultural relics which were smuggled, stolen, or looted in wars being auctioned," Song Xinchao, director of museums department at the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, told a press conference on Thursday in Beijing.

He thanked Ho for his "patriotic act" and said the administration welcomes donations of cultural relics from abroad.

"I feel honored to have played a role in saving lost Chinese cultural relics from overseas," Ho, 85, said in a statement.

Ho was ranked 104th on Forbes' list of billionaires this year, with $7 billion in personal wealth.

The bronze statue is set to go on display in Sotheby's pre-auction exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center October 4-8, and at Hotel Lisboa in Macao starting October 9.

It has not been decided when and where the statue will be displayed on the mainland.

The statue is one of the 12 bronze heads of zodiac animals that graced a water-clock fountain in the Old Summer Palace, which was destroyed by the British and the French in 1860. So far, only the whereabouts of seven are known.

Besides the horse head, four statues - the tiger, monkey, ox and pig - have been bought in auctions and are on display at the Poly Art Museum in Beijing. The rat and rabbit are in a private European collection.

Song said Sotheby's Hong Kong was contacted "as soon as we heard the news" and the auction house agreed to help in the repatriation of the treasure.

"It contacted possible buyers, and Mr Ho showed interest as soon as he heard about the news."

With Sotheby's coordination, the owner's trustee and Ho finally sealed the deal at a price 22 times of what the owner reportedly paid for the sculpture at a Sotheby's London auction in 1989, or HK$3.14 million.

"China has got back more than 3,500 pieces of cultural relics from overseas since 1997," Song said.

"The government consistently maintains that historic relics abroad should be reclaimed by legal and diplomatic means, under the legal framework and principles set up by the international society, and through international cooperation," he added.

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UN Rejection of Taiwan Bid Lauded

Beijing praised the latest decision by the UN General Assembly to reject a vote on Taiwan's attempt to join the world body Thursday, saying it demonstrates that no one can change the fact that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territories".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks after the General Committee of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly decided not to include the so-called issue of "Taiwan's participation in the United Nations" on the agenda of the General Assembly on Wednesday.

"This again shows that... any act that is against the UN Charter and Resolution 2758 will gain no support of the vast majority of the UN member states, and any attempt to challenge the one-China policy and split China will doom to fail," said Jiang.

It was the 15th consecutive year the General Assembly thwarted Taiwan authorities' attempt to join the UN.

In New York, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wang Guangya said on Wednesday that no matter what plots the Taiwan authorities hatch, their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" through secessionist activities in the United Nations will never win international support.

Wang noted that the Chen Shui-bian administration, for personal and party interests, is provoking confrontation across the Taiwan Straits with intensified secessionist activities.

"Instead of offering blessings to the Taiwan compatriots, these activities can only cause disastrous consequences," he said.

"We hope and believe that the Taiwan compatriots can clearly see Chen's ulterior motives," Wang said.

Jiang on Thursday also lashed out at a US report criticizing China's religious situation, saying "China is strongly resentful of, and resolutely opposed to, the report which runs counter to the fundamental principles of international relations and openly interferes in China's internal affairs".

She was commenting on the International Religious Freedom Report 2007 released by the US State Department last Friday.

Jiang said that all ethnic groups and people across China enjoy the freedom of belief fully as entitled by law, and it is the Chinese government's long-term policy to respect and protect religious freedom of its citizens.

"This is an undeniable fact that does not allow any distortion," she said.

She said China demands Washington stop using issues such as religion to intervene in China's internal affairs, and do more to promote mutual understanding and trust between the two countries instead.

On the Dalai Lama's ongoing visit to Germany, Jiang said: "the Dalai Lama is not simply a religious figure but a political one who has long engaged in separatist activities aimed at undermining national unity under the guise of religion."

She added that China resolutely opposes any official contact between the Dalai Lama and foreign governments in whatever form.


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Mattel Apologizes Over Toys Recall

Thomas Debrowski, an executive of Mattel, apologized Friday to a senior Chinese official for the inconvenience it has caused to Chinese consumers after recalling millions of China-made toys and pledged to take responsibility, according to a Xinhua witness.

During his talk with Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Debrowski admitted that the vast majority of its recalled toys were of design flaws rather than the manufacturing errors of China.

According to a press release announced by a lawyer of the Mattel, 17.4 million toys have been recalled because of loose magnets and those recalled because of impermissible levels of lead numbered 2.2 millions.

The magnets related recalls were due to emerging issues concerning design and this has nothing to do with whether the toys were manufactured in China, said the press release.

"Mattel does not require Chinese manufacturers to be responsible for the magnets related recalls due to design problems," it said.

It also admitted that Mattel's lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive" as the company were "committed to applying the highest standards of safety for its products".

"The follow-up inspections also confirmed that part of the recalled toys complied with the US standards."

The same high standards to recalls of its products have been applied in the EU and other countries despite the fact that some of these products may have met local safety standards. its said.


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IOC cancels plan of Olympic torch relay passing through Chinese Taipei

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cancelled the plan of the Olympic torch relay passing through Chinese Taipei, it was announced by a spokesman of the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games (BOCOG) on Friday.

The spokesman said that on Thursday, Tsai Chen-wei from Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee said in a letter to BOCOG that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee would not have further discussions with BOCOG on the issue of the Olympic torch relay passing through Chinese Taipei and thus closed the door of the discussion.

BOCOG expresses its deep regrets that the Olympic torch relay in the end will not be held in Chinese Taiepi and the high expectations of the Taiwan compatriots to pass the Olympic flame will not be realized, the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the responsibility for this entirely rests with the Taiwan authorities.

"The Taiwan authorities have violated the regulations of the 'Olympic Charter' and take the opportunity to promote political propaganda. The Taiwan authorities set up barrier over the agreed route of torch relay, which directly resulted in the abortion of the plan," said the spokesman.

It's the first time for an Olympic committee to turn down the arrival of Olympic torch relay.

The BOCOG announced on April 26 that the 2008 Olympic torch relay will pass through 135 cities all over the world. The planned137,000 kilometers route includes a stop at Taipei before the torch arrives in Hong Kong, Macao, and a score of Chinese mainland cities.

The relay route had been approved by the International Olympic Committee after the two sides across the Straits reached the agreement.

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China Consecrates New Beijing Bishop, Li Shan

A grand ceremony was held in a downtown Beijing Catholic church Friday morning to consecrate Li Shan, vice-chairman of the Beijing Church Affairs Committee, as new bishop of the Beijing diocese.

Li Shan, was elected bishop by priests and nuns of the Beijing diocese and representatives of Church followers on July 16, after his predecessor Michael Fu Tieshan passed away on April 20, 2007.

Li Shan, born in 1965, is also deputy to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress. His predecessor Fu, elected bishop of the Beijing diocese in 1979, was the first bishop consecrated by the Chinese Catholic Church after the government initiated its reform and opening up policy. The consecration, held at the 400-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Beijing, was chaired by the Bishop Fang Xingyao of Linyi diocese and assisted by bishops of major dioceses in China.

Representatives from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and Bishops' Conference of the Chinese Catholic Church, as well as more than 70 priests and 1000 fellows attended the ceremony.

China has 5 million Catholics under 97 dioceses.

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