THIS WEEK

THIS WEEK

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A Chinese paleontologist inspects a fossilized dinosaur egg nest in the Geological Museum of China in Beijing on February 28.

The rare dinosaur egg nest, 65-million-year-old, was unearthed in south China’s Guangdong Province in 1984. It was later smuggled out of China and then bought by an American collector in 2003. At an auction in Los Angeles in 2006, the fossilized nest was sold for $420,000. It was returned to China for free afterward.

The nest contained 22 unhatched eggs arranged in a circular pattern along the edge. Embryonic remains were uncovered in 19 eggs and one egg was removed for study. Some eggs are so wellpreserved that the embryos curled inside are visible. This is the fi rst time the Chinese Government has successfully used diplomatic channels to recover a paleontologic fossil that had been removed from the country.

“China is accelerating its economic transformation, promoting innovation and opening up—to ensure long-term economic growth, stable, balanced and relatively rapid social and economic development.”

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, promising stable economic growth at a meeting with Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank,in Beijing on February 27

“The core of the South China Sea issue is the differences in opinions regarding territorial sovereignty of islands and reefs in the sea, and the demarcation of part of the sea area. It is necessary to point out that there is no country, including China, claiming sovereignty over the whole South China Sea, as some people made irresponsible remarks in this regard on many occasions.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei,at a routine press brie fi ng in Beijing on February 29 in response to a question concerning a U.S.commander’s remarks on China’s position on the South China Sea

“Taiwan authorities should take into consideration the calls from press institutions both on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan, and eliminate obstacles for them to establish permanent press of fi ces across the Straits as soon as possible.”

Fan Liqing, spokesperson of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Of fi ce, urging Taiwan to allow the establishment of permanent press of fi ces across the Straits, at a routine press conference in Beijing on February 29

We know that some are preparing to use schemes to con fi rm election fraud. They will stuff ballots themselves, monitor this themselves and then present this accusation themselves. We see it and know already.”

Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, urging the opposition to behave themselves in elections on February 29

All-inclusive Services

The Chinese Government has pledged to provide equal access to public services for people living in urban areas without proper residential permits.

Future policies and measures on essential public services, including employment assistance, compulsory education and occupational training, will not be based on whether a resident has a permanent residential permit or not,according to a national guideline on reforming the country’s household registration system.

The guideline, dated February 26, 2011,was posted on the official website of the Chinese Government on February 23.

Under China’s household registration system, many urban public services are still only available to registered urban residents within certain administrative regions. The system was introduced in the 1950s to reduce mobility and maintain social order under a planned economy.

Recent statistics show that the number of migrant workers reached 252.78 million in 2011, with 158.63 million of them leaving the towns they are registered to live in to seek employment elsewhere, usually in urban areas.

The guideline proposes creating a unifi ed household registration system, as well as granting equal access to public services for both urban and rural residents.

Post-quake Reconstruction

SPRING HARVEST A tea plucker from the Dong ethnic group picks spring tea in Buyang Village,Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on February 27, the fi rst day of this year’s picking season in the region

The reconstruction of parts of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, which was hit by a devastating earthquake in May 2008, has been completed, said Vice Governor Wei Hong on February 24.

Wei said that 99.5 percent of the budget,or 865.8 billion yuan ($137.5 billion), has been invested in post-quake reconstruction efforts, and 99 percent of 29,692 related projects have been completed.

Local governments have helped more than 12 million people in rural and urban areas repair their houses, and have relocated 200,000 farmers who lost their farmland.

According to official statistics, in 2011,the total output value of the six hardest-hit cities and prefectures was almost double that of the pre-quake period, with urban per-capita disposable income growing by 1.7 times and farmers’ net income by 1.75 times.

The 2008 quake hit Sichuan and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, leaving more than 80,000 people dead or missing and millions of homes destroyed.

Land Rehabilitation

China has announced a target of rehabilitating 250,000 square km of eroded land to make it habitable again by 2015.

Speaking at a national meeting on water loss and soil erosion in Nanning, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on February 25, Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources, said that the country also aims to build 2.67 million hectares of agricultural terraces in the same period to ensure food supplies for 30 million people.

China has already rehabilitated 1.1 mil-

Heroic Captain

Fan Shuren, the captain of a Panama-registered Chinese cargo ship from Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province, was shot dead by pirates in waters near Nigeria on February 14. That day, the ship encountered pirates near the port of Lagos, Nigeria. In an effort to cover the retreat of other crew members, Fan remained on the navigation bridge and was shot dead along with the chief engineer who was from Taiwan.

Fan, 64, became a captain in 1990.The captain reached his retirement age four years ago,but he stayed with his job in order to support his family.lion square km of land, bene fi ting 150 million residents over the past 10 years.

MECHANICAL OCCUPATION Transformers toys are placed on the Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, on February 26, as their owners took pictures of the 79-year-old crossing over the Pearl River before it closed for an 18-month renovation

Nearly one third of China’s land is vulnerable to soil erosion, and the situation is particularly bad in the country’s western regions.

Polar Research

China has launched a special project to research and evaluate environmental issues in polar regions.

The project, starting on February 24, will include five Antarctic expeditions and three Arctic missions over the next five years,according to a press release from the State Oceanic Administration.

Researchers will focus on polar environments, climate change and disputes between different countries regarding polar interests,the administration said in a press release.

In 2011, Chinese scientists completed 61 research projects at three Antarctic research stations and one Arctic station.

International Students

LIFT OFF A Long March-3C carrier rocket takes off at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on February 25, sending the 11th satellite of China’s indigenous Beidou global navigation and positioning network into space

A record 292,611 students from 194 countries and regions studied in China in 2011, up 10.38 percent from the previous year, fi gures from the Ministry of Education show.

These students studied in 660 colleges,academic institutions and other educational organizations.

Of the total, 25,687 were supported by scholarships from the Chinese Government,up 14.73 percent year on year. Self-funded students, who accounted for the rest, a yearon-year increase of 9.98 percent.

The Republic of Korea is the largest source of international students for China, followed by the United States and Japan.

According to the ministry, China aims to attract 500,000 overseas students by 2020.

Food Safety Action

China’s food and drug safety watchdog opened a national center on February 27 to receive complaints on pharmaceuticals, health food products, cosmetics and catering.

A subsidiary of the State Food and Drug Administration, the center handles reports of wrongdoing during research, development,production, distribution and utilization.

It is also responsible for coordinating efforts to inspect the relevant enterprises and individuals, compiling analysis reports and publicizing investigation reports, the administration said.

China has seen recurring drug and food safety scandals in recent years and the government over the months has introduced a series of measures to boost food and drug safety.

Pritzker Prize Winner

Wang Shu, an architect in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, received this year’s Pritzker Architecture Prize on February 27, becoming the first Chinese to win the prestigious prize. The prize, founded in Chicago in 1979 by the Pritzker family, owner of the Hyatt Hotel Group, is often likened to architecture’s Nobel Prize.

“The fact that an architect from China has been selected by the jury represents a significant step in acknowledging the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals,” said Thomas J. Pritzker, head of the Hyatt Foundation, in announcing the prize.

“This is really a big surprise,”said 48-year-old Wang. “I suddenly realized that I’ve done many things over the last decade. It proves that earnest hard work and persistence lead to positive outcomes.”

Wang’s work includes the Wenzheng College library at Suzhou University in east China’s Jiangsu Province, which was completed in 2000 and won him the Architecture Arts Award of China in 2004. The work embodies his architectural philosophy—paying close attention to environment. It is also a reflection of the architectural idea of Chinese classical gardens.

Wang and his wife founded the Amateur Architecture Studio in Hangzhou in 1997. He now heads the Architecture Department of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou and has taught or lectured at Harvard, UCLA,the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas.

PMI Comes Back

China’s purchasing managers index (PMI), a barometer of manufacturing activities, stood at 51 percent in February 2012, slightly rebounding from 50.5 percent in January, said the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

“The fi gure re fl ects the growing strength of the Chinese economy, with both industries and consumption picking up momentum,”said Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council. “But uncertainties remain due to slowing exports and investment demands.”

The new orders sub-index, an effective gauge of domestic demand, stood at 51 percent in February, compared with 50.4 percent last month.

Capital Flees

In 2011, China recorded $3.1 billion of volatile cross-border capital out fl ows, or so-called “hot money”, compared with an in fl ow of $35.5 billion in 2010, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

China experienced massive cross-border capital in fl ows in the fi rst half of 2011, driven by expectations for a stronger yuan and interest rate differences between China and other developed economies. But the trend was reversed since September 2011 amid the liquidity crunch in overseas markets and weakened expectations for yuan appreciation.

The SAFE said fundamental factors will continue to support a surplus of China’s international balance of payment, but the country may experience fewer cross-border capital in fl ows and greater volatility due to a complicated international fi nancial environment.

Optimistic Outlook

American companies remain optimistic about their China prospects and plan to increase investments in the booming market.

The American Chamber of Commerce in South China surveyed 461 member companies, and 57 percent of the respondents said they will bump up investments in China.

About 88 percent of the polled firms said they are already profitable or expect to make a pro fi t in two years, and about 70 percent of the already pro fi table companies said they expect to meet or exceed their pro fi t targets.

“Two major reasons for the expansion are the absence of a large number of investment opportunities in the rest of the world and the room for growth in the Chinese market,” said Harley Seyedin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China.requiring commercial banks to facilitate loans to “green” enterprises.

The CBRC urged lenders to reduce loans to industries with high energy consumption, high pollution or excessive capacity, and to strengthen support for environment-friendly industries and projects. The growth rate of new loans that China’s 19 major commercial banks extended to those restricted industries was 3.3 percentage points lower than their overall credit growth.

Meanwhile, the CBRC required commercial banks to control the clients’ threats to the ecological system, including local environment, healthcare and social security.

World Bank Advises

Green Credit

The China Banking Regulatory Commission(CBRC) on February 24 issued a circular,

China should strengthen efforts to deepen a series of reforms to achieve its goal of a new structure for economic growth, said the World Bank in its latest report.

“The case for reform is compelling because China has now reached a turning point in its development path. Managing the transition from a middle-income to a high-income country will prove challenging,” said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick.

The report lays out major strategic directions for China’s future: completing the transition to a market economy; accelerating the pace of open innovation; going “green” to transform environmental stresses into green growth; expanding services such as health, education and access to jobs for all people; and modernizing and strengthening its domestic fi scal system.

CSR’s New Plant

CSR Corp. Ltd., China’s largest train manufacturer, said it has signed an agreement with a local partner to build a new subway train assembly plant in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Zhang Jun, Vice President of CSR, said the plant involves an investment of 980 million yuan ($156 million).

Diving Champion

Qiu Bo, a Chinese diver, won the gold medal in the men’s 10m platform at the 18th FINA Diving World Cup at the Olympic Aquatics Center in London on February 25. Qiu won the gold medal with 574.90 points, helping China win back the title of world championship in the 10m event after six years.

Qiu, 19, won the championship at the 2011 FINA Diving World Series in Beijing. Then at the 2011 World Championships held in Shanghai, Qiu won two gold medals in the platforms.

The plant, which will initially have an annual production capacity of 200 subway trains,will roll out its first subway train early next year, said Zhang, adding that the subway trains will be supplied to Chengdu and its surrounding cities to cash in on the boom in constructing metro lines seen in many large cities.

4G Campaign

China’s telecom giant China Mobile recently unveiled a plan to deploy TD-LTE, a 4G mobile telecommunication technology, in the country.

China Mobile President Li Yu said that over 20,000 TD-LTE base stations would be put in operation by the end of this year, and that the number would increase 10 times by the end of 2013.

“We are ready for large-scale 4G deployment with commercial services becoming available in 2013. The fi rst TD-LTE installations will start in the second half of this year and some of the existing TD-SCDMA sites will also be upgraded to TD-LTE,” Li said.

POWERING UP China’s largest electric vehicle charging station starts trial run in Beijing

LIGHTS ON Visitors look at energy-ef fi cient lighting products at the 2012 China (Beijing) International Lighting Exhibition on February 29-March 2. Over 200 domestic and overseas companies attended the show

ARGENTINA

People parade with a super-sized Argentine national fag at a ceremony in Rosario on February 27 to mark the 200th anniversary of the fi rst hoisting of the fag during the Argentine War of Independence in this central city

THE PHILIPPINES

BRITAIN

Protesters shout from a makeshift barricade at the “Occupy London” protest camp outside Saint Paul's Cathedral on February 28, as police dismantle the camp, which sprang up last October

SYRIA

A woman shows a ballot card before casting her vote on a new constitution at a polling station in Damascus on February 26. Syrian authorities said referendum results showed 89 percent of eligible voters supported the new charter

PAKISTAN

Residents watch the demolition of the compound where former Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26

U.S.A.

A resident searches for possessions after a tornado ripped through his neighborhood on February 29 in Harrisburg, Illinois. At least nine people were killed in tornadoes across the U.S.Midwest