THIS WEEK

THIS WEEK

Holy Trip

A rare piece of the remains of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, is transported to Hong Kong from east China’s Jiangsu Province on April 25 for public worship.

The remains of Buddha are calledsheliziin Chinese. They were formed from the ashes of cremated Buddhist masters, and are highly sacred objects.

In July 2008, a monument was found in the underground palace of the Bao’en Temple of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province. Under the monument was an iron case, where a miniature gold pagoda was found. Experts concluded that the case contained thesheliziof Sakyamuni’s skull, one of Buddhism’s most sacred relics. In June 2010, the relic was presented to the world after more than 1,000 years’ burial under the ground.

“China has made solemn representations to the Philippines over the additional ships sent to Huangyan Island by the Philippine side. China urged the Philippines to take positive steps to restore peace and harmony in the waters off Huangyan Island.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, at a routine news brie fi ng in Beijing on April 24

“Such cooperation was conducted on the basis of mutual bene fi t.It was cooperation not only in capital, but also in technology,management and market, and was sincere people-to-people communication and exchanges as well.”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, saying that the combination of Geely and Volvo was an“example of success” for cooperation between the two nations’ enterprises when visiting the China-owned but Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars Corporation in Sweden on April 24 during his four-nation tour in Europe

“Weak recovery will likely resume in major advanced economies, as lingering structural challenges,including low industrial capacity utilization rates, high unemployment rates and large public debts,are weighing down the growth.”

World Bank chief economist Justin Yifu Lin,commenting on the global economic recovery in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency prior to the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank

“It is good to have two [debates] to enlighten the French. I have nothing to hide, there are no lies, no concealment.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, also the candidate of the Union for a Popular Movement who is seeking re-election, saying yes on April 24 to a second debate proposed by four major radio groups in France between the two rivals who will square off in the second round of the presidential election

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Chinese marines attend a fag-raising ceremony in Qingdao,east China’s Shandong Province on April 23, to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese navy

Money on Health

China’s Ministry of Health said on April 23 that its 2012 budget would amount to 80 billion yuan ($12.69 billion), representing a year-onyear increase of 13.3 billion yuan ($2.1 billion).

According to a statement released by the ministry, medical services will get the lion’s share, 10.9 billion yuan ($1.73 billion), in order to improve the capacity of major clinical departments at public hospitals.

Meanwhile, 236 million yuan ($37.5 million) will be allocated to education. Another 1.7 billion yuan ($270 million) will go to research projects, which include the development of new drugs and the prevention and control of major infectious diseases such as AIDS and viral hepatitis.

New Visa for China

A new visa category titled “talent introduction” has been added to a draft law on China’s exit and entry administration as part of the country’s efforts to attract talented individuals from overseas.

The draft law was submitted on April 24 to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature,for its second reading.

Preferential Loans

Under a specialized assistance program introduced in mid-2009, the government offers subsidized interest on small loans to eligible female candidates in both rural and urban regions.

Last year, the government issued subsidies amounting to 2.3 billion yuan ($365 million), with the total amount of loans

London’s Volunteer

Song Dalong, a senior student at the Medical School of Qingdao University in east China’s Shandong Province, was chosen as a volunteer for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the only university student volunteer recruited from Shandong.

Song has worked as a volunteer for several previous sporting events, including the 11th Chinese National Games in 2009, the 16th Asian Games in 2010 and the 26th Summer Universiade in 2011.

Besides volunteering at sporting events, Song has also helped the needy receive medical treatment through the Li Ka Shing Foundation, and he has also actively participated in other social welfare work.

“I enjoy helping others, which is why I continue to pursue new opportunities to be involved,” said Song.offered reaching 55.6 billion yuan ($8.83 billion), said Song Xiuyan, Vice Chairwoman of the ACWF.

HAPPY INTERACTION Children and soldiers in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province,play games with a globe in activities marking World Earth Day, which fell on April 22

Survey on Reading

An average Chinese person read four books,100 newspapers and 6.67 magazines last year,according to a survey released on April 23.

Only 1.2 percent of those surveyed thought they were well-read, while 50.7 percent admitted they didn’t read enough,said the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, organizer of the survey.

The comprehensive reading rate for people aged 18 to 70 reached 77.6 percent, a slight increase of 0.5 percentage points.

Overall, however, the survey shows a decline in the number of Chinese people who read both newspapers and magazines.

Those reading online increased by 11.1 percent on fi gures from 2010, with an average of 47.53 minutes being spent reading on the Internet every day.

Moreover, 27.6 percent of those surveyed preferred reading on their mobile phones, 4.6 percentage points higher than last year. People spent an average of 13.53 minutes reading on phones daily, and 20.75 yuan ($3.29) for the service annually.

Island Protection

A national plan on island protection and exploration has officially gone into effect, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said on April 19.

Approved by the State Council, or China’s cabinet, the plan focuses on strengthening protection of sea islands’ ecosystems, gradually standardizing exploration and improving the habitation environment by 2020.

The SOA has urged its local branches to finish the formulation of corresponding island protection regulations at provincial level this year.

PHOTO POWER An exhibition of more than 100 award-winning pictures at the Zoom-in on Poverty Global Photo Contest opens in Hong Kong on April 23

MOVIE CARNIVAL Portraits of 50 Chinese fi lm artists are shown in the Olympic Green during the second Beijing International Film Festival, which kicked off on April 22

Astronomical Observatory

A remote area in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has been recommended by the East Asia Core Observatories Association as the location for a new international astronomical observatory.

The planned observatory will enable scientists from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to build large-scale telescopes and carry out joint research programs, said Yao Yongqiang, chief researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Yao said a possible location for the new observatory will be in the mountains of Tibet’s Ngari Prefecture, at an altitude of 5,100 meters.

The location near the town of Shiquanhe,with easy access to road transport and little cloud cover and humidity, would be ideal for observation activities, he said.

Water Shortage

Beijing is expected to face a water shortage of 1.3 billion cubic meters this year, accounting for a third of the city’s annual water usage,according to local water authorities.

“The municipal government will work to keep the capital’s water consumption within 3.7 billion cubic meters this year, as only 2.4 billion cubic meters will be supplied by local water resources,” said Cheng Jing, head of the Beijing Water Authority, on April 25.

Beijing has been plagued by droughts for 13 consecutive years, with its fast-paced economic development and ever-growing population exacerbating the water shortage.

The available per-capita water resources in Beijing have dropped to 100 cubic meters, about one 10th of the internationally acknowledged warning level, according to Cheng.

Local authorities have tightened water management policies by setting a ceiling for the city’s annual water consumption at 4 billion cubic meters by 2015.

Slow Tax Growth

China’s fi rst-quarter tax revenues grew at the slowest pace in three years, as a result of the country’s cooling economy.

Tax revenues totaled 2.59 trillion yuan($410.4 billion) in the first quarter, up 10.3 percent year on year, or 22.1 percentage points from the same period last year, said the Ministry of Finance.

The eased pace came as China’s industrial value-added output and pro fi ts, key measures of industrial performances, both saw slower growth in the fi rst two months.

China’s GDP expanded 8.1 percent year on year in the fi rst quarter, marking the fi fth consecutive quarter of slowing growth, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Meanwhile, property-related tax income retreated signi fi cantly in the fi rst quarter, which is largely the outcome of sagging sales due to the government’s persistent control efforts.

The ministry also attributed the slower growth to the country’s easing inflation and tax-reduction policies.

Loan Rates Liberalization

As China progressively introduces policies favoring a market-based currency exchange rate, it is also moving to accelerate the liberalization of interest rates, probably starting with lending rates.

In an interview withCaijingmagazine,Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, said the government needs to relax controls on lending rates fi rst.

NEW AIR ROUTE The direct air route from Singapore to Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province, is opened on April 24

Zhou said the government should then liberalize deposit rates gradually by encouraging the development of alternative liability products and widening the fluctuation band for deposit rates.

He said officials are trying to reach a consensus on reforms and are waiting for an appropriate time to act.

Offshore Yuan Trade

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said on April 23 it would work on boosting offshore trading of China’s currency, the yuan, in Europe.

Xu Jinlei, General Manager of ICBC London, said the branch would work to develop itself into a European center of off-shore yuan trading, syndicated loans, trade fi nance,and capital and precious metal trading, to provide high-quality fi nancial service for clients worldwide.

He made the comments during the inauguration ceremony of ICBC’s new headquarters in London.

The ICBC, the biggest lender in China,now has 244 overseas branches in 34 countries and regions and has expanded its presence in Africa after purchasing 20 percent of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group.

Auto Deal

Auto giant Volkswagen on April 23 sealed a deal to build a new factory in China, where it plans to invest 14 billion euros ($18 billion) in five years, as visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the signing ceremony at the corporation’s headquarters in Wolfsburg.

The Volkswagen deal involves opening a plant in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that will be capable of producing up to 50,000 vehicles a year starting in 2015.

With 27 percent of its cars sold in China in the first quarter of last year, Volkswagen sold a record 633,000 vehicles in China in the fi rst quarter of 2012.

GREEN BUZZ China’s major local carmaker Chery unveils the @Ant concept electric personal car at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition held from April 23 to May 2

Freight Train Export

A Chinese train maker announced on April 23 it has exported two electric trains to Belarus,marking the first time China-made freight trains have been exported to Europe.

It also represented the first export of Chinese high-power electric trains overseas,said Datong Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China North Locomotive and Rolling Corp. Ltd.

In 2010, Datong Electric Locomotive won a bid to provide 12 electric trains to Belarus. They are set to be delivered this year.Designed to reach a speed of 120 km per hour, the trains will be used for freight transportation.

Camera Makers’ Ambition

Camera makers, such as Canon and Sony,have seen dramatic growth in China’s highend camera market and plan to expand operations in smaller cities this year, industry executives toldChina Daily.

According to a report released by China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, by the end of 2011, in large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, about 75 percent of the population already had cameras, so there is little room for low-end camera growth in those cities.

Although professional cameras are more expensive in China, it has a faster growth rate compared with developed economies such as the United States and Japan.

“China has already become the largest market for selling our latest high-end camera 5D Mark III, which started to sell last month and has almost sold out now,” said Howard Ozawa, President and CEO of Canon China.

Ozawa said sales revenue in China is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of 2016.

High-end digital single lens reflex cameras account for about 50 percent of the total sales of all Canon cameras in China, which is much bigger than other countries, said Ozawa.

Sony plans to penetrate lower-tier cities this year by holding customer experience events in small cities and accelerating the development of online stores, said Chen Ning,General Manager of Sony China’s Digital Imaging Products Division.

Devoted Writer

Chinese contemporary writer Bai Xianyong, 74, recently published a new book to commemorate his father Bai Chongxi, a famous Chinese Kuomintang general. In the book,Bai published 500 pictures of his father, recording important moments in history.

Bai was born in 1937 in Guilin,south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He has published a number of books,includingLonely Seventeen,Taipei People, andThe New Yorker.

Bai has volunteered in promoting thekunquopera,China’s oldest opera with a history of more than 600 years, for more than two decades. He adaptedPeony Pavilion, a classic ofkunqu,and it received great success.His version is called the youth edition of the play because the performers are younger and it is targeted at young audiences. First staged in Taiwan, the youth edition has toured China's mainland and Hong Kong, the United States, Britain, Greece and Singapore. He also delivers courses on ancient art in universities.

interest-deducted loans to set up their own businesses as of the end of 2011, a senior official from the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) said on April 19.

XINHUA/AFP

XINHUA/AFP

JAPAN

A Shinto priest leads a group of Japanese lawmakers to offer prayers for the country’s war dead at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which includes memorial tablets of 14 Class-A World War II war criminals, in Tokyo on April 20 during the shrine’s three-day spring festival

MEXICO

A fi reman fi ghts a massive fi re at La Primavera forest in Guadalajara on April 22

RUSSIA

A man paddles a boat in the fooded town of Kadom in the Ryazan region,some 430 km east of Moscow,on April 23.At least 1,179 people in the 803-year-old town were affected by the fooding

PAKISTAN

Rescue workers and local residents search the site of a plane crash in Rawalpindi on April 20. All 127 passengers on board and the crew members were killed in the crash when the plane attempted to land in bad weather near Islamabad on April 20