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Two former officials of east China cities convicted of bribery executed

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:30:17 +0000

Xu Maiyong and Jiang Renjie, two former vice mayors of east China\’s Hangzhou and Suzhou cities respectively, who were convicted of bribery, were executed Tuesday morning, said the Supreme People\’s Court.

[i]Source: Xinhua[/i]

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Coca-Cola defends safety of its mainland products

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:29:17 +0000

The Coca-Cola products that tested positive for a banned preservative in Taiwan have been recalled, and the Coca-Cola Co said its products on the Chinese mainland are completely safe to drink.

Recent media reports that a batch of Coke Zero concentrate from Shanghai contained the banned preservative methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate sparked concern about the safety of beverages.

The batch of Coke Zero concentrate was made by Coca-Cola\’s Shanghai company. Media reports said the chemical may lead to inflammatory lesions of the skin and mucous membranes, and raise female hormone levels.

Coca-Cola Co said the preservative has been used in many areas including the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and the United States.

\”This ingredient is widely used as an acceptable and safe additive in food and drink, but Taiwan\’s laws and regulations do not permit its use in sparkling beverages,\” the company told China Daily on Monday.

\”Coca-Cola maintains high-quality standards and our products are safe for consumption on the Chinese mainland,\” Zhai Mei, a public relations director of Coca-Cola, told China Daily.

\”The sample tested by Taiwan authorities was Coke Zero concentrate, and the percentage of the preservative would be much lower when diluted,\” she added.

Reports said 2.062 grams of the preservative was detected per kilogram in the Coke Zero concentrate in Taiwan.

The level of methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate in Coke Zero after final dilution is only 0.015 mg/kg, much lower than the national standard of about 200 mg/kg, according to the company.

The preservative is mainly used in the concentrate of Coke Zero for \”post-mix\” drinks that are often sold in fast food restaurants like McDonald\’s. Coke Zero packaged products, including cans and plastic bottles, do not contain the preservative, Zhai said.

McDonald\’s couldn\’t be reached for comment on Monday.

Coca-Cola Taiwan Co said the batch of Coke Zero concentrate was transported to Taiwan by mistake, and its products made in Taiwan do not have the preservative, Beijing News reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, two other kinds of preservatives, benzoic acid and hexadienic acid, were also detected in excessive amounts in the sample of Coke products. These chemicals may cause irritation to skin and eyes.

Despite the declaration by Coca-Cola, consumers are still worried about food safety issues.

\”This is another alarm following a series of food safety scandals across the country. Taiwan bans this preservative but the mainland doesn\’t. Why does the mainland have a comparatively more lax standard than Taiwan? I think the mainland should establish the same standard as other areas,\” said a local resident surnamed Yang.

The Ministry of Health said it has started an investigation on the preservative.

[i] Hu Minghao contributed to this story.[/i]

[i]Source: China Daily[/i]

Toddler to be discharged from ICU 16 days after high-rise fall

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:28:17 +0000

A toddler who survived a fall from her 10th-floor home in east Zhejiang Province is expected to be discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) soon, according to her doctor.

Doctors have turned off two drainage tubes from her stomach, and if her condition is good, the final tube will be plugged and she will be transferred from the ICU to the general ward, said Zhang Chenmei, director of Zhejiang Children\’s Hospital Pediatrics ICU Center.

\”She is now fully conscious and her intestines and stomach are regaining functions,\” Zhang said.

The two-year-old girl, nicknamed Niu Niu, became unconscious after she fell out of a window at her home near Hangzhou on July 2.

Wu Juping, a mother of a seven-month-old boy, saw the girl dangling from the window and raced to catch her, preventing the girl from hitting the ground at full force and winning applause from the whole country.

Zhang said that further treatment on Niu Niu would be focused on the sensory disturbance of the left side of her body, bone fractures and injuries in the internal organs.

Zhang is optimistic about her full recovery. \”Children\’s regeneration capacity is more powerful than adults, and she can grow like another healthy kid when she restores her strength,\” he said.

[i]Source: Xinhua[/i]

Qingdao top in satisfaction survey

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:27:17 +0000

Qingdao, in East China\’s Shandong province, is gaining recognition for being the Chinese city where residents are most satisfied with low-income housing, social security, medical care and other public aid, according to a bluebook.

The Evaluation on Chinese Cities\’ Basic Public Services Capacity (2010 2011), released on Sunday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ranks Qingdao over Beijing, Ningbo and Dalian in that regard. Closely following it in the listing are Lhasa, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Xiamen and Zhengzhou.

The bluebook looked at surveys and analyses conducted in 38 prominent cities last year. The surveys posed questions about nine basic forms of public aid, including the provision of housing, social security, employment, medical care, security, education, transport, a clean environment, cultural resources, sports and government services.

Qingdao Mayor Xia Geng said the city is dedicated to ensuring that residents there enjoy equal access to public aid and services.

\”The capacity to provide basic public services has become an important indicator of government performance as social management becomes an essential part of government work,\” Xia told China Daily, adding that the government has put a priority on providing more public aid in the forms of housing and social security, among others.

The mayor said the government will continue building low-income houses this year. \”A minimum of 60,000 low-income or low-priced apartments will be completed in the next three years,\” he said.

Last year the city officially introduced an old-age pension system for urban and rural residents. The system now covers the entire city. By late this past month, the pension fund had benefited 3.5 million persons, including 880,000 who are older than 60.

As the first blue book to discuss the country\’s public service, the book urges the government to place a greater priority on housing, social welfare and employment, healthcare and other types of public aid, he said.

\”The assessment of the political performances of governments should reduce the weight given to GDP in such considerations and increase governments\’ contributions to basic public aid,\” said Zhong Jun, an expert at the Marxism Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

[i]Source: China Daily[/i]

Incomes become more uneven in Beijing, Shanghai

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:26:17 +0000

The difference seen between incomes in Beijing and Shanghai, two of the largest cities in China, has become greater in the past decade.

That is in part the result of the varying economic structure found in the two cities, as well the willingness of residents of both places to buy goods and services.

The capital\’s annual income and consumption levels are both lower than Shanghai\’s and have been increasing more slowly, according to the Annual Report on Analysis of Beijing Society-Building, also known as the Blue Book of Society Building, which was released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Monday.

According to statistics from the blue book, the annual average disposable income among urban residents in Beijing was 17,653 yuan ($2,715) a person in 2005, which is 992 yuan fewer than it was in Shanghai. In 2009, the difference became greater, increasing to 2,100 yuan.

\”The income difference between the two cities is understandable because there are more State-owned enterprises in the capital,\” said Lu Hanlong, professor from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences\’ institute of sociology.

\”They offer more stable salaries, while more international private companies, which offer better benefits, have been started in Shanghai.\”

A comparison of the salaries earned in both places also reveals differences. In Shanghai between 2006 and 2009, the average salary paid to residents rose by an amount that was 531 yuan higher than the amount that salaries rise by in Beijing during those years.

\”With more private companies and international enterprises opening offices in Shanghai, salary incomes and labor costs have risen alongside the rapid economic development and improved welfare system seen in the city,\” said Lu.

Lu said a rise in consumption in Shanghai and the entrance of more luxury brands into the city have led to a higher cost of living. That cost is much lower in Beijing.

Compared with the annual average amount of consumption in Shanghai, that in Beijing has declined among urban residents. In Beijing, a city resident spends about 13,244.2 yuan on average on goods and services, which is 528.8 yuan fewer than Shanghai residents spent on average in 2005. In 2009, the difference in consumption between the cities amounted to 3,099 yuan.

\”The cost of living in Shanghai is a bit high for new graduates from other cities,\” said Teng Xiaole, 28, who works for a tourist agency in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. \”So the majority of us (graduates) were failing to save money when I worked as a public-relations employee in a hotel in Shanghai just after graduation.\”

Two years ago, Teng moved back to her hometown after working in Shanghai for about four months. She decided to return largely because she had found it difficult to afford living in Shanghai on the amount of money she was then making.

[i]Source: China Daily[/i]

At least three injured in fireworks factory explosion in SW China

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:25:17 +0000

At least three people have been confirmed injured after an explosion occurred at a fireworks factory in Suining City, southwest China\’s Sichuan Province, Tuesday morning.

A spokesman with the city\’s fire department said one who was seriously injured had been sent to the central hospital of Suining City.

Burning fire caused by the explosion was put off at around 10:00 a.m.

The explosion happened at around 7 a.m. in the fireworks workshop in Huima Township of the city.

The exact number of casualties has yet been confirmed.

Residential houses in the nearby area within a radius of several kilometers from the explosion site had some of their glass fragmented by the shockwave of the blast. A dozen or so villagers are receiving medical treatment at a local clinic for their wounds caused by glass fragments.

Some netizens left microblog messages on the Internet Tuesday morning saying the explosions at the fireworks plant caused such severe tremors that local people feared it was an earthquake. They suspected there might be more casualties.

Cause of the explosion is being investigated.

[i]Source: Xinhua[/i]

829 illegal websites, online stores shuttered

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:24:17 +0000

China\’s Ministry of Commerce started an action to clamp down on the infringement of intellectual of property rights as well as market counterfeits in December 2010. Since the campaign began, it has achieved positive results.

The action is mainly aimed at books, videos and clothes. It is focused on Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong and Beijing.

Based on incomplete statistics, 628 counterfeits, 829 illegal websites and online stores and 436 criminals have been punished as of the end of May, 2011. Also, Taobao, EBay and Pai Pai — three online shopping platforms — have made corrections.

Next, the Ministry of Commerce will build lasting mechanisms to supervise online shopping and create legislation in this area.

[i]By People\’s Daily Online[/i]

Tragic death prompts escalator overhaul

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:23:17 +0000

China\’s top quality watchdog has ordered all escalators that are similar to the one involved in a tragedy in the capital this week that took the life of a 13-year-old boy to be put out of use and overhauled.

The organization made the move after an escalator at a subway station reversed direction on Tuesday, causing people to fall.

\”Preliminary investigation concluded that the OTIS model has a design defect and was not maintained well during the last regular check,\” said Zhang Juming, a spokesman from the Beijing bureau of quality and technical supervision, during a news conference.

Zhang added that a similar incident in which an escalator suddenly reversed direction took place in Shenzhen, in South China\’s Guangdong province. It too was the same model – OTIS 513 MPE. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine called on local inspection authorities to carefully check any escalators of the same type.

It is not known how many escalators of that model are in use across the nation but there are 257 of them in the capital alone within the subway system.

Zhang said two bolts within the escalator\’s engine failed, causing the accident.

One of the bolts fell off while the other broke, making the driving engine shift position and fall off the chain belt. With the escalator effectively without power, it reversed direction because of gravity.

No representative from the OTIS Elevator Company attended the news conference.

An OTIS manager on Wednesday told Beijing Times that regular checks are carried out according to State policies and standards and said no problems were detected when that happened.

Zhang, the Beijing inspector, also dispelled a rumor that subway operators had been buying light-duty escalators designed for shopping malls to save cost.

\”In the Beijing subway system, all the escalators are heavy-duty ones,\” he said.

The accident this week that killed one and injured 30 happened at 9:36 am on an escalator at Beijing Zoo Station Exit A on Line 4, said Yang Ling, a representative from the line\’s operator, Beijing MTR Corporation.

On Dec 14, 24 passengers were injured when an escalator, also made by OTIS, reversed direction at a subway station in Shenzhen.

Beijing transport commission on Wednesday ordered the overhaul of all of its 1,331 escalators and elevators at subway stations.

China Daily on Thursday witnessed passengers changing their behavior when using facilities in subway stations.

When riding the ascending escalators, most people put their hands on handrails. Many used to think of the handrails as dirty and did not touch them.

\”They kill people. It\’s not simply that you tumble and get up later,\” said Xie Wanru, a local logistics manager.

Broadcasts on the city\’s Line 4 said \”passengers with heavy luggage please use the elevators (rather than escalator) for the sake of safety\”.

Two staff members were seen carefully helping a woman sitting in a wheelchair to use an elevator.

Safe production expert Yu Shengzhang told Beijing Times two major risks exist in the city\’s escalator operation.

Yu said there is no scanning for faults on escalator parts that bear loads. And he said no one manages the emergency brake button.

[i]Source: China Daily[/i]

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Guo Meimei not linked with Red Cross Society of China

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:22:17 +0000

Guo Meimei, a woman who became famous after she boasted online about her personal wealth, and her parents had no direct connections with the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the Beijing public security bureau announced on Thursday on its official microblog.

Guo admitted that she does not know any staff from the RCSC and has never worked there and only knew a businessman surnamed Wang, who was in a partnership with the Commerce Sector Red Cross, an organization affiliated with the RCSC, the statement said.

Guo opened an account on Sina Weibo claiming to be the \”general manager of the Red Cross Chamber of Commerce\” to raise her online social position and flaunt her wealth to others.

Guo expressed regret during interrogation, it added.

[i]Source: Global Times[/i]

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Burned boy faces 10 yrs behind his mask

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:21:17 +0000

[img]http://www.people.com.cnhttp://english.peopledaily.com.cn/mediafile/pic/20110708/34/3672894623897789058.jpg[/img]

Wang Gengxiang, who wears a mask to prevent his facial burns from getting infected, plays with his puppy and Ultraman doll. (Source: China Daily)

A boy who suffered severe burns to his face and hands may have to spend the next 10 years or more in a full surgical mask, said his parents on Thursday.

Wang Gengxiang, 5, was badly hurt when he fell into a pile of burning straw in a courtyard at his hometown in Fenyang, Shanxi province. He lost most of the skin on his head, as well as his fingertips.

Pictures released of him playing with his puppy while wearing his gray-white elastic headgear, which prevents his scars from becoming infected, touched hearts nationwide.

However, doctors this week revealed they cannot continue his skin-graft surgery until his damaged trachea, or windpipe, is strong enough – which could take more than a decade.

\”We have to wait until his trachea is larger, maybe when he\’s 14 or 19. It depends on his situation,\” said Shen Chuan\’an, deputy director of the burns unit at the First Affiliated Hospital of the People\’s Liberation Army General Hospital, where Wang – nicknamed Xiangxiang – is receiving treatment.

Along with the financial burden facing the family, the boy\’s parents are concerned what effect the boy\’s condition – and mask – will have on his development.

Wang Shouwu, Xiangxiang\’s father, said many children in the village have refused to play with his son since the accident last November because of the way he looks.

\”His friends are afraid of him now. I had to buy snacks for them to play with him,\” he said, explaining that Xiangxiang spends most time with his

3-year-old brother and puppy.

The boy has even been refused enrollment at the village primary school because the principal is concerned he will frighten other students.

Growing up in the countryside and facing such attitudes \”will likely result in Xiangxiang suffering a serious negative impact\”, said Tian Chenghua, a professor specializing in psychiatric research at Peking University\’s No 6 Hospital.

\”He might learn to avoid society when he grows older,\” he continued. \”People who suffer such disfigurements can grow to resent society for the way they are treated.\”

Not only does Xiangxiang need extensive physical care, Tian said it is vital he receives psychological support and counseling as he gets older.

For the time being, the farming family is simply trying to cope with the emotional and financial stress.

\”His grandmother, who has high blood pressure and heart disease, has been hit very hard and has been sick in bed since the accident. She blames herself because she was taking care of Xiangxiang that afternoon,\” said mother Wei Yanjun as she played with her son.

Cash donations to help pay the mounting medical costs began flooding in shortly after Xiangxiang\’s plight was reported in the media, with the total so far standing at more than 300,000 yuan ($46,000).

On Thursday, a woman who gave her name only as Cao visited the boy in hospital with her husband and gave his parents 500 yuan. As the couple left, Xiangxiang intimated his father by shaking their hands and was still waving goodbye with his burned left hand long after they had disappeared into a nearby elevator.

\”The money will go far. We won\’t give up,\” said Wang Shouwu, who said the family will return home after the latest round of treatment.

[i]Source: China Daily[/i]

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