国际要闻

巢湖居巢国税局工会获表彰

YANGJIANG, Guangdong Province -- A Chinese salvage team is getting ready to recover the wreckage of an ancient merchant ship loaded with exquisite porcelain from the South China sea on Saturday."If the weather is cooperative, the boat, which has been in the sea for about 800 years, will see the light of day again two days later," said Wu Jiancheng, head of the excavation project.Photo taken on Dec. 20 shows the interior of "Crystal Palace," a glass pool that will be used to put the ancient merchant ship Nanhai No. 1 after its wreckage is recovered from the South China sea on Saturday, Dec. 22. [Xinhua]According to Wu, the excavation is scheduled to begin at 10 am and the ship is expected to be hoisted out of water in two hours.The ship dates back to the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and is 30.4 meters long and 9.8 meters wide. It was the first ancient vessel discovered on the "Marine Silk Road" of the South China Sea. It was named Nanhai No. 1, meaning "South China Sea No.1."Wu said, Nanhai No. 1 left port in southern China to trade with foreign countries and sank probably due to stormy waves. It was quickly buried by silt. It was estimated there were probably 60,000 to 80,000 relics on board.To better protect the precious relics and gain valuable information, archaeologists launched an unprecedented operation in early May to raise the wreck and the surrounding silt in a huge steel basket.According to the plan, a crane would first put the basket onto a barge. Tow boats would then pull the barge to a temporary port on Sunday where the basket would be sent to a specially-built museum.In order to avoid damage to the relics caused by a change of environment and pressure, the ancient ship would be put in a huge glass pool. There, the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions would be the same as the sea bed where the ship lay.The pool, named "Crystal Palace" is 64 meters long, 40 meters wide and 23 meters high. It contains seawater and is about 12 meters in depth."It will be sealed after the ship and the silt are put in," said Feng Shaowen, head of the cultural bureau of Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province.Feng said visitors would be able watch the on-going excavation of the ship through windows on two sides of the pool.As early as 2,000 years ago, ancient Chinese traders began taking china, silk and cloth textiles and other commodities to foreign countries along the trading route. It started from ports at today's Guangdong and Fujian provinces to countries in southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.Nanhai No.1, accidentally found in 1987, was located some 20 sea miles west of Hailing Island of Yangjiang City in South China's Guangdong Province, in more than 20 meters of water.Green glazed porcelain plates, tin pots, shadowy blue porcelains and other rare antiques have all been found during the initial exploration of the ship.Guangdong has earmarked 150 million yuan (US.3 million) to build a "Marine Silk Road Museum" to preserve the salvaged ancient ship.Unlike the traditional practice of excavating relics on sunken ships first and then salvaging the vessel, no more relic excavations would be made until the boat "gets used to its new home," said Wu."Actually, archaeologists will conduct thorough excavations of the ship later in the pool."It is believed that a successful salvage would offer important material evidence for the study of China's history in seafaring, shipbuilding and ceramics manufacture.

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.

TOKYO - Japan's Supreme Court on Friday overturned a landmark ruling that had ordered a Japanese company to compensate Chinese who were forced to work as slave labourers during World War Two. It was the first ruling by Japan's top court on whether foreigners forcibly brought to Japan to work during and before World War Two had the right to compensation. A lower court had ordered Japanese construction firm Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. to pay a total of 27.5 million yen (0,000) in compensation to a group of five Chinese for forcing them to labour in Japan during World War Two.

南京瘦小腿的办法

Reduced bank deposits by Chinese households suggest that a large amount of money is being invested in the capital market, according to the central bank. Household deposits decreased by 167.4 billion yuan (.7 billion) in April. In contrast, they increased by 60.6 billion yuan (.9 billion) at the same time last year, the People's Bank of China said on its website yesterday. The high growth rate of M1 a narrow measure of money supply that includes cash and demand deposits plus diminishing household deposits suggests Chinese households are keeping money on tap for investment in the capital market. The red-hot stock market has grown by more than 50 percent this year after doubling last year. Stock mania is sweeping the country despite warnings of a speculative bubble but small investors are rushing to pull out money from bank savings accounts and deposits to pump them into the share market. Some are even mortgaging their houses or dipping into retirement savings to feed the frenzy. Economists say the government should take steps to moderate the price surge or risk a sharp fall that could hurt millions of small investors. "This is a very critical time. If policy adjustments take place now, the market can still have sustainable development," Hong Liang, a Goldman Sachs economist, told Associated Press. "The longer they wait, the harder the eventual landing will be." Enthusiasm for stocks is fueled in part by a lack of other attractive investments and low interest rates. Some have made fortunes in the booming real estate market, but the government is cracking down on speculation to rein in soaring housing costs. On Friday, the government announced it will raise the amount that Chinese banks are allowed to invest in stocks abroad, possibly diverting some of the money pouring into domestic markets. But economists said the amounts involved will be too small to affect the country's money flows. Regulators have also discussed raising interest rates on bank savings to make them more attractive and creating other new investment options but have announced no timetable. There has also been some talk of imposing a capital gains tax to cool off speculation. The securities watchdog on Friday urged stock exchanges, securities dealers and other authorities to educate investors about the risks of stock market trading. The institutions must make investors understand that stock markets are risky and they should be cautious in entering, especially those who use all their savings or pawn their apartments for loans to invest in stocks, the notice by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said. Saying that the number of "irregularities" in the stock market was rising, the CSRC also told listed companies, securities dealers and other related institutions to release accurate, authentic, complete and timely information.

Six Uygurs have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment for secessionist activities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.They were convicted of engaging in "separatist activities", "training at a terrorist camp" and "illegally making explosives" by the intermediate people's court of Kashgar last Thursday.The six people were believed to be members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the UN listed as a terrorist organization.Two were sentenced to death, two received death sentences with two years' reprieve and the other two were jailed for life.The court heard that the six had engaged in a series of secessionist activities from August 2005 until this January, when they were arrested.Together, they planned, led and organized a terrorist camp and led two missions aimed at securing explosives.They made 67 grenades and two bombs that could be used for suicide attacks with the 16 kg of explosives they had acquired, Xinhua reported.

BEIJING -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has planned to open a subsidiary in the United States, as part of its going-global strategy which also involves Russia, Indonesia and the Middle East, Board Chairman Jiang Jianqing said here on Wednesday."Preparations have been going on smoothly. We hope to receive approval from American authorities as early as possible," said Jiang, a delegate to the ongoing 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at a news briefing.Jiang said that next month the ICBC would open a branch in Russia and take over the Bank Halim in Indonesia. Applications to set up new branches in Dubai and Doha have been approved by the banking authorities of China, paving the way for its march into the emerging Middle East market.In its latest overseas expansion, the ICBC clinched an agreement with Seng Heng Bank Limited on August 29 to acquire a stake of nearly 80 percent of the bank in Macao for 4.683 billion patacas (US5 million), according to the bank's website.Jiang said that the ICBC would "cautiously" advance its going- global strategy. "Only when the price, opportunity and place are right will we make a move."The bank has established more than 100 branches so far in 13 countries and regions, mainly through greenfield investment, merger and acquisition. But overseas business only contributed three percent of its total assets and four percent of its profits. The ICBC hopes to raise the proportion to 10 percent in the future, Jiang said.Domestically, the ICBC has more than 16,800 outlets.With a total asset of over US0 billion, the ICBC has been named as the second largest bank of Asia and the most profitable bank with a net profit of over US billion, according to a listing of HK Asia Week of "Top 300 Asia Bank".Apart from expanding its global presence, the bank has been engaged in financial innovations at home. In September, China's banking regulator approved the bank to set up a leading company with a registered capital of 2 billion yuan (US5.96 million), the largest of its kind in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, which will help improve the bank's performance by shifting its profits from interest income to intermediary services.Jiang said the bank's non-performing ratio would be hopefully kept under three percent this year, much lower than the industry's average of eight percent. Bad loan ratio in term of real estate property stood at 1.4 percent in the first half. 

南京隆鼻材料

DALIAN: Visiting Japanese lawmakers said on Saturday they were confident that China-Japan relations would develop further, and sport may have something to do with it."Japan and China are partners and our relations are facing good momentum of development and opportunities," Seishiro Eto, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives and former vice-minister of foreign affairs, said.During this visit to China, Eto also wore another hat: that of captain of the Japanese lawmaker soccer team. On Saturday, the team played a friendly soccer match with Chinese lawmakers in the coastal city of Dalian, Liaoning Province.The Chinese team has 35 members with an average age of 45. Most are deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) including government officials, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers and doctors.Participants from Japan are 23 lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner the New Komeito Party, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the People's New Party.Both sides said "soccer diplomacy" was aimed at deepening friendship. "Ping-pong diplomacy broke the ice in the Sino-US relationship during the early 1970s - and now another sport, soccer, has become a new way to improve Sino-Japanese relations," Lu Yongxiang, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said.Lu said China-Japan ties had entered a new phase after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's "ice-breaking" visit to China last October and Premier Wen Jiabao's "ice-thawing" visit to Japan this April.The game was particularly important as this year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.He said it was the first time that NPC deputies engaged in a sports exchange with Japan.There was a push to hold a soccer match among Japanese, Chinese and South Korean lawmakers next year in Japan, as well as form a cheering squad for Japan during the next year's Beijing Olympic Games, he added.During the friendly soccer match, whenever there was a physical confrontation, players helped each other to get up and shook hands. There was no sign of aggression on the field, only smiles.At the end of the game, players took photos of each other against the background of a big screen where a message read: "friendship first, competition next".Both teams were free to change as many as players, and dangerous actions such as slide tackles were forbidden."It's indeed an easy and comfortable game," Wang Ning, a NPC deputy and professor at Ocean University of China, said.Wang said he had been looking forward to the game for a long time, and was very happy to interact with Japanese lawmakers in such a unique way.Suzuki Tsuneo, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, said China-Japan ties had witnessed ups and downs, but were now back on track because of extensive efforts by both sides."However, I believe that no matter how the bilateral political relationship goes, friendship will last if communication and exchange among the people continue," he said.

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese commercial banks will be allowed to trade gold futures in the domestic market, according to a notice released on the regulator's official website here on Monday.     China gold futures trading was launched in January, but domestic banks were barred from trading by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.     According to the notice, domestic banks that meet certain requirements, such as having capital adequacy ratio of more than 8percent, can apply for a trading permit.     "That's great news for the gold futures market, which is not operating that well," said Hu Yuyue, an expert with Beijing Technology and Business University.     "Commercial banks can provide more liquidity and stability to the market, after all, they hold huge capital," said Hu.     "Gold futures trading can also help domestic banks to improve competitiveness against overseas banks as financial derivatives are supposed to be the largest revenue sources for leading banks," he said.     Non-interest income usually accounts for at least 50 percent of bank revenues in developed countries and the proportion can reach 80 percent for some banks.     However, Chinese banks depend heavily on the margins between deposits and loans.

南京做去眼袋的手术

The Ministry of Agriculture on Monday confirmed a bird flu outbreak in South China's Guangzhou, which began with the mass deaths of ducks on September 5.The outbreak was confirmed as a sub-type of H5N1 bird flu by the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory, according to the ministry.It said 36,130 ducks had been culled as of September 17, after farmers in Sixian Village and Xinzao Township in the Panyu district of Guangzhou reported the deaths of their ducks on September 5.The agriculture ministry and the Guangdong provincial government immediately implemented an emergency plan to deal with the outbreak and the ministry said the outbreak has been brought under control.It also said no further deaths of fowl have been reported in the Panyu district or nearby areas.The last reported case of H5N1 bird flu in China occurred on May 19 at Shijiping Village in Yiyang City of Hunan Province, which killed more than 11,000 poultry with another 52,800 birds culled.China has reported a total of 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003, which have resulted in 16 deaths.

LOS ANGELES - More Chinese tourists are expected to visit the United States as new travel rules between the two nations are pending, a report said on Sunday.Southern California is a likely destination for middle- and upper-class visitors with money to spend, said the Los Angeles Times.Travels agencies are preparing for what they hope could be a boom in new Chinese tourism to the United States that is expected to occur next year.Both nations are finalizing a deal to ease entry restrictions and lift a ban in China on promoting travel to the United States, according to the paper.The negotiations have been going on for several years, but China's government news agencies and sources at the US Commerce Department said a deal should be completed within the next few weeks, said the paper.The new travel rules are expected to be a particular boom to Southern California, which already sees more Chinese tourists - 110,000 in Los Angeles County last year - than anywhere else in the United States. But travel officials expect that number to grow significantly if more members of China's emerging middle and upper classes are able to travel to the region for vacations.China's travel industry is currently prohibited from marketing the United States as a travel destination because of disputes over the strict entry process initiated after 9/11 - a reality that US officials blame on the need for national security and concerns about visitors overstaying their visas, said the paper.