China PM responds to outrage over school bus crash

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the ASEAN-China Commemorative Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian island of Bali November 18, 2011. Wen pledged central and local government funds to improve and provide school bus service to China’s schools in the wake of a traffic accident that killed 18 pre-school children.


Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today pledged central and local government funds to improve and provide school bus service to schools in the wake of a traffic accident that killed 18 pre-school children and sparked outrage across the country.

A school van with nine seats but crammed with 62 children and two adults crashed head-on into a coal truck in western Gansu province after the van swerved into oncoming traffic, television and other media reports said.

The two adults on board also died in the crash and 44 people were injured.

China protests Mongolia visit by Dalai Lama

China said today that it had lodged a complaint with the Mongolian government about a visit to the vast and remote country by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who Beijing considers a dangerous separatist.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China had made “stern representations” to the government in Ulan Bator about the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

“We have always opposed any country providing a platform for the Dalai Lama to engage in activities to split China in any form,” he told a daily news briefing.

China warns of turmoil over Iran, mute on sanctions

A general view shows the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, about 1,215km south of Tehran, in this file photo of November 30, 2009. China warned on November 9, 2011 against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran’s nuclear programme.


China warned today against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran’s nuclear programme, but declined to comment on the possibility of new sanctions following a UN report that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was “studying” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, and repeated a call to resolve the issue peacefully through talks.

China shuts 50 microblogs for porn, vulgarity

China has shut 50 microblogs for distributing pornography and carrying “vulgar content,” state media said today, as the government steps up monitoring of the internet.

“The microblogs were shut down for violations that include carrying pornographic images and videos, information for prostitution, as well as illegal advertising for sex-related drugs and productions,” Xinhua news agency said.

“Members of the public reported the microblogs, which were then investigated and closed by authorities,” it added, citing an unidentified official at one of the country’s internet regulators, the State Internet Information Office.

US will not offer new F-16s to Taiwan

Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes off from the closed-off section of Sun Yat-sen freeway at Chang-hua county in central Taiwan, in this May 15, 2007 file photo

US President Barack Obama has decided against selling new F-16 jets to Taiwan but will give the island an arms package worth US$4.2 billion (RM12.6 billion), the Washington Times reported.

The newspaper quoted administration and congressional officials as saying the US Congress will be briefed later today on the proposals.

China warns outside nations to stay out of sea dispute-paper

A militant group warned Wednesday that the Philippine government's proposed oil and gas exploration activities off Palawan, particularly in areas near the Spratlys, may trigger a shooting war between the Philippines ...China vehemently opposes external powers meddling in territorial disputes over the South China Sea, the main military newspaper said on Tuesday, after Vietnam asked for international help to defuse tensions ...

China paper warns Google may pay price for hacking claims

Google says China-based hackers were responsible for a spate of phishing attacks on Gmail users. —

Google has become a “political tool” vilifying the Chinese government, an official Beijing newspaper said today, warning that the US Internet giant’s statements about hacking attacks traced to China could hurt its business.

The tough warning appeared in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the leading newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, indicating that political tensions between the United States and China over Internet security could linger.

Last week, Google said it had broken up an effort to steal the passwords of hundreds of Google email account holders, including US government officials, Chinese human rights advocates and journalists. It said the attacks appeared to come from China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected those accusations, and the party newspaper warned Google against playing a risky political game.

Terrifying moment a crazed father threatened to impale his tiny daughter with a Samurai sword

This was the dramatic moment when a crazed motorist staged a tense stand off with cops - by threatening his own daughter with a razor sharp samurai sword.

The horrific scene was captured after Zhang Gang, 34, caused an accident with another car and instead of stopping to exchange details tried to speed off.

But police who were in the area chased the hit and run motorist - finally stopping him 15 minutes later just outside a farmer's market at Yongren country, in Yunan province.


 

Terror: Crazed motorist Zhang Gang threatens his daughter May with a samurai sword

Tiananmen mothers say government hints at payment, no apology

This Saturday marks the 22nd anniversary of the military sweep of protesters in Beijing.

Mothers of civilians killed during pro-democracy protests near Tiananmen Square more than two decades ago said today authorities had raised the issue of compensation but offered no apologies or public account of the military crackdown.

A group of 127 mothers signed a letter, drafted ahead of Saturday’s 22nd anniversary of the military sweep of protesters in Beijing, which said public security officials had approached one unnamed victim’s family twice since February about payment.

“The visitors did not speak of making the truth public, carrying out judicial investigations, or providing an explanation for the case of each victim. Instead, they only raised the question of how much to pay ... ” the letter said.

North Korea leader’s armoured train arrives in Chinese capital

 North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (right) and his youngest son Kim Jong-un (left) gesture next to a military official during a gala evening to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010.

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il’s armoured train arrived in Beijing today, setting the stage for a summit with Chinese leaders that he will want to underscore the bond between his isolated state and Asia’s biggest economy.

A motorcade later swept down central Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue under unusually tight police guard, suggesting the secretive Kim was in the Chinese capital.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Kim was there “apparently for a summit meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao”.

Neither China nor North Korea has confirmed the visit.

China hails death of bin Laden, defends partner Pakistan

A vendor sells masks of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in Nanjing, Jiangsu province May 3, 2011. China hailed on Tuesday the death of bin Laden in a US raid while defending its regional partner Pakistan against accusations it had done too little against terror threats

China hailed today the death of Osama bin Laden in a US raid while defending its regional partner Pakistan against accusations it had done too little against terror threats.

Beijing and Washington have gone through bouts of friction over Taiwan and Tibet, regional security and most recently China’s clampdown on dissent and human rights activists.

China showed no appetite, however, for turning the US raid that killed bin Laden on Pakistani soil into a point of dispute.

Stop hoarding salt, China tells radiation-scared shoppers

China’s economic agency told shoppers today to stop panic buying salt, blaming baseless rumours that the iodine in it can stop radiation sickness.

The Chinese government has repeatedly said the country’s residents will not be exposed to radiation from a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan which engineers are frantically trying to bring under control after it was damaged by last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.

But in a sign of increasing public worries about the risks, people across much of China have been buying large amounts of iodised salt, emptying markets of the usually cheap and plentiful product.

Dalai Lama resigns

The Dalai Lama has announced that he will step down from his role as the political leader of the Tibetan exile government.

China casts wide security net ahead of leadership show

China’s President Hu Jintao (L) and US President Barack Obama inspect honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in this file photo of November 17, 2009. China is locking down droves of people it fears could spark social unrest and tightening media controls ahead of the annual session of parliament.

China is locking down droves of people it fears could spark social unrest and tightening media controls ahead of the annual session of parliament, worried that uprisings in the Middle East could encourage dissent.

Protests that have toppled authoritarian Arab governments have reinforced Chinese leaders’ vigilance about defending one-party control, a priority since the Party crushed pro-democracy protests in June 1989.

Those official anxieties are sure to multiply as President Hu Jintao prepares to hand power to a successor generation from late 2012.

Some foreign reporters were assaulted over the weekend in central Beijing, where an online message from abroad had urged a pro-democracy gathering inspired by the “Jasmine Revolution” in the Arab world. Police smothered the designated area and no protest happened.

US to boost naval forces as China develops carrier: Admiral

 US aircraft carrier USS George Washington anchored in Hong Kong waters upon its arrival in this file photo of October 29, 2009. The United States will continue to upgrade its naval forces in the Pacific to counter China’s growing military strength

The US navy will continue to upgrade its military capabilities in the Pacific given its steadfast commitment to the region, a US vice-admiral said today, while urging China’s growing navy to avoid provocation.

China’s swelling defence budgets, rapid development of advanced systems including aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles, and its growing naval aggression in bordering seas, have unnerved regional neighbours and the United States in recent years.

Chinese demand ban on goldfish magic trick watched by hundreds of millions on TV amid claims of animal abuse

A magic trick with goldfish that was watched by hundreds of millions of Chinese on TV during the Lunar New Year celebrations may have involved abuse including implanted magnets and should be banned, according to animal rights activists.

The trick was performed during a China Central Television gala on January 30, eve of the Lunar New Year festival. The gala is China's most watched broadcast of the year.

Goldfish are a symbol of wealth in China, but the image of six of them swimming in perfect synchronisation under magician Fu Yandong's direction alarmed many Chinese, who worried that magnets were implanted in the fish or that they were controlled by electric current.

Canada hit by cyberattack from China computers: CBC

The Canadian government was hit by an unprecedented cyber attack from Chinese-based computers last month that penetrated two key economic ministries, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported yesterday.

The CBC cited sources as saying the hackers broke into computer systems at the Finance Department and Treasury Board. Once the attack was detected, Internet access in both ministries was cut off.

The Finance Department is preparing the federal budget, which will be delivered next month.

China in talks to build Colombian rail link to rival Panama Canal

China is in talks with Colombia to build a rail link that would join the South American country's Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The railway would rival the Panama Canal, which has brought masses of trade to Colombia's South American neighbour.

Ships using the canal account for roughly five per cent of world trade.

The 140-mile 'dry canal' would run from the Pacific coast to a new city near Cartagena, pictured, on the northern Atlantic coast of the country

The planned rail line would run alongside the Panamanian border

China is proposing to build a railway in Colombia that would rival the Panama Canal, pictured, which has brought masses of trade to Colombia's South American neighbour

U.S. threatened to take military action against China over arms race in space

* WikiLeaks documents reveal battle for supremacy above the Earth in 2007
* Both superpowers destroyed their own satellites with missile strikes in show of strength

The U.S. warned China it could take military action in response to Beijing’s use of space missiles, it has emerged.

Leaked diplomatic documents reveal that the U.S. shot down one of its own satellites to demonstrate its ballistic power after China had destroyed its own weather satellite.

And despite being threatened with military action in 2007 by then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, China carried out another missile test only last year.

The military standoff has been likened to the ‘star wars’ strategic missile plan conceived by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

According to diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph, China and the U.S. jostled for position behind closed doors over the issue of missile defence.

China shot down a weather satellite stationed 530 miles above the earth in January 2007, sending over 2,000 pieces of space debris into orbit.

The strike was the first anti-satellite test since 1985 but despite widespread international criticism of China’s actions, then-Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jinchao stressed: ‘There’s no need to feel threatened by this.’

Cause for conflict: China and the U.S. engaged in a military standoff over space missile tests

The field of conflict: An artist's impression of a weather satellite, similar to that shot out of the sky by China with a missile

Female Chinese students resort to eating roundworm eggs to ensure they look thin for job interviews

Bad diet: Chinese students have been swallowing roundworm eggs which hatch in the stomach. It can cause severe health problems

Female students in China have been eating roundworm eggs to lose weight for job interviews - because employment is so hard to come by.

They hatch in the stomach, allowing those who take them to shed pounds without exercising or dieting in the Xiamen, China.

But swallowing the worms is extremely dangerous - and definitely not to be recommended for those wanting to shed the pounds in the New Year.

With jobs shortages across the country, women in China are under pressure to appear thin if they are to have any chance of landing a role.

Employment stands at 22 per cent - and the size of the labour pool has grown by 112 million people over the last decade to more than one billion people.

Other students are staring at pictures for hours on end to suppress their appetite so they can shed excess weight.