Chief judge Xiao Yang has pledged to keep up the fight against judicial corruption after the nation's court system rooted out 292 judges last year because of unethical deeds. Greater efforts would be made this year to build a "clean court system", Xiao, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), said in an interview with China Daily. "We must never relax our vigilance on corruption," he said, after he reported to the National People's Congress in early March that, last year, 292 judges were subjected to power abuse investigations, with 109 of them prosecuted. The number of judges charged with corruption was 378 in 2005 and 461 in 2004. However, Xiao, who has been SFC president since 1998, said he had ongoing fears about the "grave situation" of judicial corruption. The 69-year-old chief judge said he "lost sleep" because he was so deeply disturbed by reports of corruption, especially those involving court officials. Corruption involving judges, though in small number, damaged the image of the country's court system and undermined the credibility of the justice system. "We will continue to be serious in handling the official corruption cases," he said. In 2006, two high-level group corruption cases were reported by the Chinese court system. The first involved three top judges from Fuyang Intermediate People's Court in East China's Anhui Province, who were arrested for taking bribes since 2005. Two of the former judges were sentenced to 9 and 10 years respectively, with the other one still on trial. The second case involved five senior judges from Shenzhen's Intermediate People's Court in South China. Three of them were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 3.5 to 11 years, with the other two still on trial. Corrupt judges have disrupted the working of the court system and sometimes resulted in wrong verdicts, Xiao said. A "firewall" against corruption will be consolidated, he said, with the apex court on its way to make four important sets of rules on fee charges, court discipline, judge discipline, and court supervision. The first two sets of rules will be implemented this year, with the other two released for public comment. Of the new rules to be released, he said, court officials are barred from using their influence to seek price discounts in any transactions, to occupy properties under other people's ownership, to collect or to spend money through gambling, to have personal investment managers, or to seek benefits for their family members. Also, beginning last year, the court introduced an "anti-corruption deposit" system. If a 22-year-old court staff member deposits 500 yuan () every year and does not do anything illegal, he will get 300,000 yuan (,600) upon retirement - including his premium and reward.
The average pork price has dropped to 12.61 yuan this week, 9.61 percent lower than the peak price on August 9, said China's economic planner after pork prices nearly doubled in the past eight months due to short supply and mounting production costs.The prices have seen a consecutive drop for the eighth week, down by 3.45 percent from the end of August, as the piglets raised since May and June grew ready for the market to add to the pork supply.Pigs daily butchered in 36 major cities have increased by 12.6 percent from August, and the supply is expected to keep rising, said the National Development and Reform Commission.But the Ministry of Commerce said the decline in the pork prices would probably stop as demand surges during the ongoing National Day holiday and feedstuff prices stay high.The soaring pork prices is a major contributor to the general food price hikes that drive up the consumer price index to a 6.5 percent increase in August.
NANJING -- Police in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, have nabbed 47 suspects over human trafficking and rescued 40 babies, said senior officers with the Nanjing railway police office on Friday.A group of four women, each holding a newborn baby in arms but never breast-feeding the infants, arouse police suspicion on May 24 on a train from Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, to Nanjing and were questioned.The women, including one identified as Lang Chunyan from Tancheng County of East China's Shandong Province, confessed that the babies were bought from Yunnan and they had been doing so with the help of two other suspects, Dao Xiufen and Ding Fachang, since 2005. While Lang's husband, Shen Yuzhou, was in charge of selling babies with the help of 10 human traders in Shandong.Lang also confessed that they usually buy a baby girl at 1,500 yuan (US0) but sell it for 8,000 yuan, while a baby boy usually costs them 8,000 yuan and can fetch 20,000 yuan for them.The Nanjing railway police set up a special team of more than 10 policemen to investigate the case.The team arrived in Yunnan on May 27 and arrested Dao, Ding and seven other suspects. Shen was later arrested in Shandong.Investigations found that the gang of human traders headed by Shen and Lang have bought 27 newborn babies in Yunnan during 16 trips and then sold them in Shandong.Forty out of more than 60 babies who were trafficked by the gang have been rescued by police so far, while police were trying to find the others.
Clashes erupt between members of the ethnic Chinese community and Italian riot police in Milan April 12, 2007. [Reuters]China has made representations to the Italian government after at least 10 Chinese nationals were injured during a clash with local riot police in Milan on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. "We hope the Italian side deals fairly with the issue and seriously considers the justified demands of local Chinese nationals and takes real measures to protect their legitimate rights and interests," a statement on the ministry's website said. The conflict was sparked by a dispute over parking between a local Chinese woman and a police officer. The woman was detained after the argument turned into a physical clash, according to the Foreign Ministry. The situation escalated when hundreds of local Chinese protested over the detention of the woman, which led to the conflict. Of the Chinese nationals injured in the clash, five have been released from hospital after treatment, the ministry said. The scuffle broke out in the city's busy Chinatown area. Protesters reportedly threw plastic bottles and rubbish bins at police armed with batons. "It is not right for a violation of road regulations to cause this," Milan's mayor Letizia Moratti was quoted as saying. "This cannot be justified." Protesters complained about the police violence, with some saying one of the demonstrators had been pistol whipped. The ministry said in the statement that the situation had eased.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shares a light moment with children orphaned due to the death of their parents from AIDS in Shangcai County, Central China's Henan Province Novermber 30, a day before the 20th World AIDS Day which fell on Saturday. [Xinhua] ZHENGZHOU -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid his second visit to China's worst AIDS-hit villages in Henan Province, a day before the 20th World AIDS Day. It was Wen's fifth face-to-face talks with AIDS patients or their family members since 2003."What's your name?""Zhang Shuwan.""Do you remember how your parents were dying?""No, I don't."This was a dialog between the visiting Premier and Zhang Shuwan, a 10-year-old girl, whose parents died of AIDS seven years ago, at the Chinese Red Ribbon Home, an orphanage at the Wangying Village of Lugang Township in Shangcai County on Friday morning.Wen was accompanied by Henan's Communist Party chief Xu Guangchun and Governor Li Chengyu.Upon learning that all the orphans are studying hard and with good results, Wen said with smile: "I have come to see, because I have kept you in my mind.""You are very unfortunate for losing your parents at a young age, but you are very lucky, as well, since there are lots of people in the country who have taken care of you and showed concern for you," said the premier, advising the children to walk out of the shadow of losing parents.He expressed his hopes that these children will study even harder to make themselves useful for the people, the nation and the society, in the future. He asked them to be happy and take an optimistic attitude toward life.Afterwards, the premier sang a song together with the children. He also visited their dormitory, played table tennis, and had lunch with them.Wen first visited Shangcai County in 2005 on the eve of Spring Festival, China's traditional Lunar New Year.The county in Henan is well known for high AIDS incidence caused by illegal blood deals in 1990s. Among 38 worst AIDS-hit villages in Henan, 22 are located in Shangcai.Premier Wen Jiabao chats with children at the Red Ribbon Home, an orphanage in Shangcai County, Henan Province November 30, 2007. [Xinhua]The premier's second stop was Wenlou village, home to 373 HIV carriers, one tenth of the village population. And 360 of them have developed AIDS."I came here two years ago," Wen told some AIDS patients and medical staff, while visiting the village's clinic.Kong Chunyi, one of the patients and a worker of the village's mushroom factory, said he has been quite fine with the help of the government's special policies for this group of people.The Chinese government provides AIDS patients, who have been covered by social security umbrella, with free medicine; provides free consultation to all those who are voluntary to consult on the disease; provides free schooling to AIDS-caused orphans; and provides free consultation, medical check, and medical treatment to pregnant women from areas which have been made exemplary for comprehensive control over AIDS, so as to reduce the spreading of HIV between mother and infant; and make all AIDS patients accessible to financial assistance from the government.During his visit, the premier showed his concern for the problem of drugfastness among some patients. He asked Health Minister Chen Zhu, who was with him, to study the issue.In talks with some medical staff working with the clinic, Wen thanked them for their devotion.The premier also encouraged the patients to be confident and optimistic to face the illness.Wenlou Village is a vegetable production base, but its products do not sell well due to prejudice by some outsiders. Wen called for greater awareness about the disease among the public so as to eliminate prejudice against AIDS patients."You can tell them that the premier has eaten Wenlou's vegetable today," he told the villagers.According to the villagers, with the help of the government, great changes have taken place at the village. The village is gradually out of the shadow of AIDS. About a dozen of children in the village go to college every year."I believe that Wenlou will become better and better day by day," said the premier.In Shangcai County, there are some "simulation families" formed by volunteer "parents" and AIDS-caused orphans.On Friday afternoon, the premier visited one of them with father Hu Shaoling, mother Zhang Ping, and four orphans.In his talks with the "family", Wen questioned the "family members" carefully. "It is not a matter of money, but a matter of passion," he said, upon learning that the "mother" only gets a pay of 500 yuan (about 67 U.S. dollars) per month.The premier told the kids, "Your 'dad' and 'mum' are caring and kind people. You must study hard. Don't forget them and treat them with filial respect when you grow up."At another "simulation family", with five orphans, Wen wrote an inscription, "Study hard for a beautiful future."Later the day, Wen presided over a workshop attended by experts and local officials. In his speech, the premier urged local people to prepare for a protracted war against AIDS.On the same day, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited doctors and communities in north Beijing, talking and shaking hands with HIV carriers to encourage the people "not to be daunted by HIV."An official report released on Thursday said that China officially reported 223,501 HIV contracted cases, including 62,838 AIDS patients, by October this year while about 700,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS.
China has offered Spain a pair of pandas during the ongoing visit of King Juan Carlos, as a goodwill gesture to promote ties between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "This is a very good gift for Spain," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "We hope the Spanish people will love them. As envoys of the Chinese people, we hope that the gift of the pair of pandas will increase the friendly relations between the two countries and peoples." China has a long history of giving its national animal, the endangered panda, to other nations as a gesture of goodwill. Officials at the Spanish embassy in Beijing said the pandas were not a gift, but were being loaned in an arrangement financed by a private Spanish company that runs the Madrid Zoo. King Juan Carlos is currently on a visit to China. Queen Sofia is scheduled to visit the nation's panda breeding centre in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Friday, the final day of a five-day visit.
青岛关键词优化排名
BEIJING, March 3 -- The China Development Bank (CDB) will mainly serve medium- and long-term national development strategies even after it is transformed into a commercial bank, a senior executive said on Sunday. A China Development Bank office in Shanghai. The China Development Bank (CDB) will mainly serve medium- and long-term national development strategies even after it is transformed into a commercial bank, a senior executive said March 2, 2008. The CDB cannot turn into a commercial bank immediately since it does not accept individual deposits now, but it will start doing so in the future, said Liu Kegu, vice governor of the bank. The CDB is one of the three policy lenders in the country. The CDB at the end of last year received the first 5 billion U.S. dollars of the planned 20-billion-dollar re-capitalization from Central Huijin, an investment arm incorporated into China Investment Corp (CIC). Liu said the capital injection will not affect the CDB's credit rating since it has the best asset quality among domestic banks. It has a non-performing loan ratio below 1 percent - much lower than that of major commercial banks. The CDB will retain its long-term credit business and the right to issue financial bonds in the interbank market. The lender has generated controversy in the banking industry by increasingly becoming involved in commercial business in recent years. Earlier reports said that the CDB is planning to expand into financial leasing to diversify its business. It is reported to be on the verge of acquiring Shenzhen Financial Leasing Co Ltd for 7 billion yuan, by taking a 90 percent stake.
Chinese President Hu Jintao accepted Thursday credentials presented respectively by new ambassadors to China from Austria, Ecuador, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Nepal, and Yemen.The six new ambassadors include: Martin Sajdik from Austria, Washington Hago Mendizabal from Ecuador, Alisher Salashizinov from Uzbekistan, Vahagn Movsisyan from Armenia, Tanka Prasad Karki from Nepal, and Abdulmalek Sulaiman Mohammed Al-Muaalemi from Yemen.
SHANGHAI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The gas supply to about 10,000 households in Shanghai was suspended for eight hours after a gas pipeline was broken by a grab at a construction site on Thursday. No casualty has been reported, according to the municipal government. The accident happened at around 8 a.m. at the crossing of the downtown Caoyang and Shunyi streets. Workers said gas burst out after the grab broke a gas pipeline with a diameter of 300 millimeters. Though they tried to plug the crack with bricks and mud, the leak was out of control till rescuers from the municipal gas supply company arrived. The company cut the gas supply later and fire fighters sprayed water around the pipeline to dilute the gas to avoid explosion. The pipeline was repaired at around 4 p.m. and the supply had resumed by 6 p.m., according to the gas supply company.
BEIJING - More than 50 people in the Chinese capital have been fined for spitting during the week-long May Day holidays, according to officials in charge of the city's image. Beijing's management department and civilization promotion office have jointly sent five inspection teams to patrol the downtown Wangfujing pedestrian street, Tian'anmen Square, commercial centers and railway stations to stop people from spitting, littering, random posting of advertisements and scrawling. By Sunday, 56 people were fined for spitting and refusing to correct the bad habit, according to the teams. The officials also handed out more than 10,000 bags to tourists, reminding them not to litter. The government is now anxious to correct the embarrassing habits of Chinese travelers ahead of next year's Olympics Games. And there is no better opportunity of doing it than the May Day travel spree, when an estimated 150 million Chinese will be on the road. The China National Tourism Administration has issued a circular, making travel agencies and tour guides responsible for correcting tourists' bad behavior during the holidays. Jumping the line, spitting, littering and clearing one's throat loudly in public are some of the frequently observed practices among Chinese travelers, according to a guideline prepared and released last year by the Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee (SCSC) of the Chinese Communist Party, the official etiquette watchdog. "We are supposed to remind people constantly throughout the tour, and also lead an etiquette discussion at the end of the tour," said Huang Xiaohui, a travel guide with a Beijing-based travel agency. "The Olympics are coming, and we don't want to get disgraced," Huang said, summing up the purpose succinctly.