Premier in Finland, urges EU to lift ban

HELSINKI (Finland)—Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged European leaders to show their "farsightedness and courage" and "make correct political decision" to lift arms embargo on China and recognize China's market economy status. (Full Coverage on Premier Wen's Visit to Asia, Europe )
Solving these problems should reflect "mutual respect and equality", said Wen, noting it will benefit both China and Europe.
Wen made the appeal at the joint press conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. Finland is the current holder of the rotating EU presidency. The three leaders attended the Ninth China-EU Summit.
The 25-member EU still keeps an embargo on weapons sales to China. A French-led move to end the embargo was blocked last year with strong opposition from US and Japan.
A joint statement of the summit was released after the meeting, covering wide-ranging issues from human rights dialogues to controlling of avian influenza. (Full Text of the Joint Statement )
In the 36-article document, China urged the EU to lift the arms embargo at an early date, while EU confirmed "its willingness to carry forward work towards lifting the embargo."
The two sides also announced the launching of negotiation on the new Partnership and Co-operation Agreement that aims to "reflect the full breadth and depth of today's comprehensive strategic partnership."
Leaders from the both sides hope the new agreement could push the two sides to further their practical co-operation on economic and trade, sustainable development, environmental protection, social security, finance and exchange of the youth.
On the sustainable development, for example, the two sides agreed to step up the exchange of experiences with a view to building a resource-efficient and environmental-friendly society. EU promised to back China's efforts to introduce a circular economy and safeguard natural resources.
On the economic side, China supports the practical co-operation, but does not want EU to link economic and trade co-operation with human rights issue.
The EU is now China's biggest trading partner. Trade reached US$120.95 billion in the first half of this year, a 20.9-percent increase over the same period last year.
The leaders also talk about the nuclear issues of Iran and that in the Korean Peninsula.
They urged Iran to comply fully with the demand from the United Nations that it stop enriching uranium.
China appreciated EU's efforts to solve the Iran nuclear issues, said Wen, urging Iran to heed concerns of international community and take constructive measures to solve the problem.
He said China will make joint efforts with other countries to seek peaceful solution to the issue.
"Diplomatic effort is a hard and complicated process, and sanctions will not necessarily help solve the problem," said Wen.
He appealed for all relevant parties to keep cautions when thinking about launching sanctions against Iran.
While on the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula, leaders emphasized their wish to see the Six-Party talks process resume as soon as possible. They also expressed grave concern over the recent missile launches by Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Pyongyang has boycotted six-party talks, hosted by China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia, since last November.
It refuses to return to the negotiating table until Washington lifts financial restrictions imposed after claims that the country produce fake US money and traded illegal drugs.
Chinese Premier arrived in Helsinki on Saturday to attend the ninth China-EU Summit and the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) as well as start his official visit to Finland. His September 9-16 trip will also take him to the United Kingdom, Germany and Tajikistan.

—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item

Thousands protest against Chen

Beijing (China)—Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters thronged Taipei Saturday, demanding that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian resign over a series of alleged corruption scandals involving his family and inner circle.
The color of their clothes symbolizing anger, the protesters shouted slogans and gave the "thumbs down" gesture, emblematic of their feeling that Chen should resign to restore the dignity of the 23 million people in Taiwan.
Police estimated 90,000 people took to the streets, though protest organizers claimed they reached their target of 200,000.
Protest leader Shih Ming-teh said Taiwan would be paralyzed if Chen served out his term, which ends in May 2008.
"The people of Taiwan have the power to ask Chen to step down," Shih said. "We will not stop this protest until he does."
Organisers said the mass protest was triggered by public frustration over a series of scandals involving Chen's family and officials in his administration.
Last week Chen admitted that he had used other people's receipts to write off his official expenses, Taiwan media reported.
In July, his son-in-law was indicted for alleged insider trading involving a local development firm, a charge he denies. Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen is also under investigation for allegedly profiting from the transfer of an upscale department store to new owners. Chen's office insists she was not involved.
Several high-level officials have also stepped down prematurely this year due to a series of corruption scandals.
On Saturday, Chen returned to his hometown in the southern county in Tainan, meeting his supporters and praying for his political survival.
Chen's office has said the leader would neither step down nor meet the crowd. He rejects the allegations of corruption and says he did not pocket any money from the "state affairs budget".
Taiwan's financial markets have come under pressure this week in the run-up to the protest, organised by the "Million Person Depose Bian" movement led by Shih Ming-teh, former chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
In Taipei, chants of "A-bian step down," a reference to Chen's nickname, broke out occasionally, and people wore shirts with similar themes and waved balloons in the shape of a thumbs-down.
"On September 9, we stand here, we sit here, to call on A-bian to step down," said Shih.
"Brothers and sisters, today is a moment in history. The people of Taiwan are watching, the world is watching. They are looking to see if we have the resolve to make A-bian step down."

—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item

China issues rules on news release by foreign media

Beijing (China)—Xinhua News Agency on Sunday promulgated a set of measures to regulate the release of news and information in China by foreign news agencies and the subscription of such news and information by users in China and to promote the dissemination of news and information in a sound and orderly manner. (Full Text of the measures )
Xinhua News Agency formulated the Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies in accordance with national laws, administrative regulations and the relevant regulations of the State Council.
With 22 articles, the Measures go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
Xinhua News Agency, as China's state news agency, is the legally authorized institution to exercise unified administration over the release of news and information in China by foreign news agencies.
According to the Decision of the State Council on Establishment of Administrative Licenses for Items Subject to Administrative Examination and Approval That Need to Be Retained, foreign news agencies shall be subject to approval by Xinhua News Agency for releasing their news and information in China, and shall have entities designated by Xinhua News Agency act as their agents. Foreign news agencies shall not directly solicit subscription of their news and information services in China.
The Measures state that news and information released in China by foreign news agencies shall not contain any of the following that serves to:
-- violate the basic principles enshrined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China;
-- undermine China's national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity;
-- endanger China's national security, reputation and interests;
-- violate China's religious policies or preach evil cults or superstition;
-- incite hatred and discrimination among ethnic groups, undermine their unity, infringe upon their customs and habits, or hurt their feelings;
-- spread false information, disrupt China's economic and social order, or undermine China's social stability;
-- propagate obscenity and violence, or abet crimes;
-- humiliate or slander another person, or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of another person;
-- undermine social ethics or the fine cultural traditions of the Chinese nation;
-- include other content banned by Chinese laws and administrative regulations.
The Measures say Xinhua News Agency has the right to select the news and information released by foreign news agencies in China and shall delete any materials mentioned in the items above.
"To subscribe to news and information services of foreign news agencies, a user in China shall sign a subscription agreement with a designated entity and shall not, by any means, directly subscribe to, translate, edit or publish the news and information released by a foreign news agency," according to the Measures.
In using news and information from a foreign news agency, the user in China shall clearly indicate the sources and shall not transfer them to another party in any form, the Measures say.
The Measures make detailed regulations on a foreign news agency's legal credentials in its home country or region, the requirements of releasing news and information in China, release application procedures, and on the distribution of foreign news and information undertaken by designated entities in China.
The Measures also specify penalties for violations in the releasing, distributing or using of news and information from a foreign news agency in China.
If a foreign news agency violates the Measures, for example, Xinhua News Agency shall give it a warning, demand rectification within a prescribed time limit, suspend its release of specified content, suspend or cancel its qualifications for releasing news and information in China.
Xinhua News Agency shall impose disciplinary penalty on violations by a staff member who, for example, fails to perform his duties of supervision and administration, or abuses his powers.
These Measures shall be applied mutatis mutandis to release of news and information on the mainland by news agencies and other news and information releasing entities of the nature of a news agency in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.
The Methods for the Exercise of Administration over Publication in China of Economic Information by Foreign News Agencies and Their Information Subsidiaries, promulgated by Xinhua News Agency on April 15, 1996, are repealed simultaneously.

—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item

Drinking water source poisoned in C.China

BEIJING—The source of drinking water for local residents in Yueyang County in central China 's Hunan province has been found polluted with arsenide, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said in a press release on Saturday.
The accident has affected drinking water for the nearly 100,000 residents in the county, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
Residents in Yueyang county were asked to stop drinking tap water and 18 fire engines distributed fresh water, Xinhua said.
Fresh water from a nearby reservoir was being discharged into the river in an attempt to dilute the polluted water and accelerate the speed of water flow.
At 15:00 pm Friday, workers of the environmental monitoring center of Yueyang City conducted a routine measuring of water quality for Xinqiang River, the source for local water plant, and found that its content of arsenide was 10 times higher than official standards.
The incident drew great attention from the State Council and local governments. The provincial government of Hunan initiated an emergency plan for dealing with environmental accidents, while the SEPA has sent a group of officials and experts to the site.
A chemical plant in Linxiang city, 50km upriver, has been ordered to shut down after it was found leaking the toxin from its waste water pond.
Arsenide can damage the liver, kidney and cause lung or skin cancer, as well as cause convulsions which may lead to coma or even death.
Humans poisoned with arsenide may feel sick, vomit, get stomach pain, convulsion in limbs. It may lead to coma, twitch or even death.

—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item

Beijing Summit to boost establishment of new China-Africa strategic partnership

Beijing—The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC),to be held in the Chinese capital from November 3-5, will boost the further development of bilateral ties and the establishment of new China-Africa strategic partnership, said Chinese experts.
"The summit is an important event in the history of China-Africa relations and China's foreign affairs," said He Wenping, director of the African Studies Section at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS).
The summit, also the 3rd Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC, focuses on the subject of "friendship, peace, cooperation and development".
Both Chinese and African leaders will review the achievements of China-Africa friendly cooperation over the past 50 years, and blueprint bilateral future cooperation and exchange views on major international issues, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, more than 30 African heads of state or government plan to attend the summit.
It will be the highest-level and largest-scale meeting between China and African leaders since the founding of People's Republic of China, said An Yongyu, a senior diplomat who has been working in Africa for some 30 years.
The Beijing summit comes after President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao's visits of ten African countries in April and June this year.
"It is very rare for both president and premier to visit Africa in the same year, which shows China has attached great importance to its ties with Africa, " said An, who is also president of the China Society for African Studies.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relationship between the People's Republic of China and African countries.
China released its first African policy paper early this year, putting forward its proposals for all-round cooperation with Africa in various fields in the coming years.
Xu Weizhong, director of the African Studies Section at China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said China has proposed an equal and mutually-beneficial cooperation with Africa, which can be proved by the subject of the summit.
During the summit, a high-level dialogue between leaders and business people and an China-Africa entrepreneur conference will be held.
Experts said the economic and trade issue, especially the cooperation in the investment sector, will be a major topic between Chinese and African leaders.
"Compared with the soaring trade volume, investment volume is rather low. The leaders will discuss how to lift the mutual investment from the governments' point of view," said He from CASS.
China-Africa economic ties have grown rapidly in recent years. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that the two-way trade volume has rocketed from 4 billion U.S. dollars in 1995 to some 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2005.
Chinese direct investment in Africa has amounted to 1.18 billion U.S.dollars, with more than 800 Chinese enterprises on the continent.
With China's gradual increase of imports from Africa, bilateral economic ties have developed to a new level, said He, adding the ties will continue to expand.
FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.
Since the launch of FOCAC in 2000, two ministerial conferences have been held in Beijing and Addis Ababa.

—People’s Daily, Daily Mail news exchange item