The rescue headquarters said that gas outburst caused the explosion in the Xinxing Coal Mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group.

The company has updated the number of miners who escaped the accident to415 from the previously reported 389.

It said that 528 miners were working under the mine, when the explosion occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made instructions on the rescue work. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is on way to the site.

The mine is located over 400 km east of the provincial capital of Harbin. Xinhua's reporters are on the way to the accident site.

The Hegang subsidiary of Longmei is a state-owned mining company with an annual coal output ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:15:26 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197966/MTk3OTY2Zz6XJ020.html The apparent suicide of an education bureau director who had been struggling to find heating fuel has highlighted the shortage of coal at schools in Yuxian county, Hebei province.

Ge Xiang, 40, is understood to have slashed his wrist at his home on Wednesday afternoon after an attempt to buy coal at a nearby coalmine failed, the Hebei Youth Daily reported on Friday.

A teacher surnamed Lian at Xiheying Middle School said the mine has not provided schools with reduced-price coal.

"Our coal will be used up next Tuesday or Wednesday and we still have to find more to keep the classrooms warm," he told China Daily on Friday.

Previously, schools in Yuxian got approval from the county government to buy low-cost coal from nearby mines. But after a blast last year at a coalmine killed 35, mines in the county have undergone an overhaul that left the county government with a deficit. Since then, schools have had to find their ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:15:05 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197965/MTk3OTY1xzZ81YCy.html Three sailors died and two are missing after a North Korean cargo ship, the Jisong 5 , was wrecked Tuesday due to strong winds near northeast China's Dalian port, xinhuanet.com reported.

The ship sank about 90 sea miles east of Dalian, with 20 seamen on board. The sea border force of Dalian dispatched emergency rescue helicopters to the scene and retrieved one sailor. Another 13 seamen were saved from life rafts Wednesday.

The rescued sailors were resting in a local hotel and doctors were sent to check them. Dalian's frontier inspection department has contacted the North Korean consulate in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, to make arrangements for the sailors to return home, according to reports.

Sudden temperature drops in the city on November 17 led to a surge in power demand for heating that resulted in the failure of five power generator sets Tuesday, which reduced power-generating capacity by around 1.5 million kilowatts, the official said.

Later, SGCC's power company in Shanghai, the Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company, restricted power supplies.

Since November, China's power demand has been increasing as rain and snow affects most parts of the country.

The northeastern and northwestern regions, and some provinces in the north, usually the coldest areas in China, all reported record highs for power demand, according to Wang.

On Wednesday, the State Grid said coal stocks for power plants were ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:14:03 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197963/MTk3OTYzw5sCz2qQ.html Hundreds of taxi drivers have been in strike since Wednesday to protest against government plans to regulate the industry in Putian City, east China's Fujian Province.

More than 200 of the city's 622 taxis were parked near Putian New Bus Station on Friday. Few were seen in the street.

Protestors stopped taxis that were still in business and demanded the drivers join them. If refused, they would throw stones at the vehicles.

Some even sat in the doorway of the city hall for two hours to protest.

The city government has released a plan to give out 411 taxi licenses to replace the current ones that are about to expire.

It also planned to revoke the license of a taxi if the driver breaches service or traffic regulations for three times or above within a year.

Director of the municipal transport bureau Huang Hua said the moves were aimed to regulate the industry and improve taxi services.

Huang said...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:13:17 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197962/MTk3OTYyVsCA9rLu.html Death toll of a gas outburst accident in a coal mine in Hegang City, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has risen to 23, while 90 other miners were still missing.

The rescue headquarters said that gas outburst caused the explosion in the Xinxing Coal Mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group.

The company has updated the number of miners who escaped the accident to415 from the previously reported 389.

It said that 528 miners were working under the mine, when the explosion occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made instructions on the rescue work. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is on way to the site.

The mine is located over 400 km east of the provincial capital of Harbin. Xinhua's reporters are on the way to the accident site.

The Hegang subsidiary of Longmei is a state-owned mining company with an annual coal output ...]]> China Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:12:28 +0800 /articles/09/1121/197935/MTk3OTM14Dk0xhaQ.html Five people were killed in an explosion in an apartment building in central China's Henan Province Friday, local authorities said.

The blast happened at around 5:30 am in Hualong District, Puyang City, damaging walls of several homes and smashing dozens of window.

Firefighters recovered five bodies and saved 16 trapped in the damaged building.

Initial investigation showed the explosion was caused by natural gas leak from a gas heater.

The Shanghai Minhang district traffic administrative enforcement team made an illegal punishment by falsely accusing local resident Zhang Hui of operating an illegal taxi, confiscating his car and fining him 10,000 yuan ($1,500), officials from Shanghai Minhang district court announced yesterday afternoon.

On Sept 8, Zhang, on the way to his office, picked up a man who begged for a ride, claiming he had a bad stomach ache.

When Zhang gave the man, now known as Guan Shiquan, a ride, Guan quickly took away his car key and seven men in uniform dragged Zhang out of his car.

He was then held by his arms and neck and escorted into a van, where he was forced to sign an investigation report accusing him of operating a black taxi and fining him 10,000 yuan.

Zhang paid the...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:07:46 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197884/MTk3ODg0euFzS0Ei.html More than 10,000 migratory birds are being illegally slaughtered every day in Guangdong province and ending up on dinner tables.

The bodies of the birds, which annually fly from northern China to spend the winter in the tiny coastal Jijiazhen township in Leizhou peninsula, are cooked at local restaurants, or made into cured meat as special local products, according to a report from China News Service Thursday.

"Many of the birds being slaughtered are under the State's strict protection," a local resident surnamed Chen from the town's Beizai village was quoted as saying.

He estimated more than one million migratory birds are killed in the town every winter.

"Because of over-hunting, fewer and fewer migratory birds are flying to the town in winter," Chen said.

Along a special food street, more than 10 restaurants offer bird dishes as their major attraction to diners.

And most of the restaurants enjoy br...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:07:24 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197883/MTk3ODgzlQUf1k5A.html Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, has stopped the natural gas supply to all entertainment buildings in the city starting Wednesday because of a natural gas gap, zjol.com.cn reported.

The new policy advocates priority on civil use of the gas supply, limitations on the public supply and a reduction of the industrial supply. The city government building only has air conditioners operating during the 2 hour afternoon break, the report said.

The gas shutdown is the result of cold and snowy weather in north China since Nov 12, which has limited the natural gas supply to southern China. With the cold weather approaching the south, Hangzhou and some southern cities in China are facing a huge inadequacy of natural gas, according to reports.

The road was closed after the accident, which occurred at 6 a.m. on a sharp bend.

All the acid on the trailer had spilled on to the road and into woods when emergency services arrived, said a spokesman for the fire service, who declined to be named.

The driver was unharmed and no injuries were reported. The local authorities have made no order for evacuation.

Fire fighters had diluted the acid on the road with water, but the acid in the woods was yet to be handled, said the spokesman.

The city's environment protection and work safety inspection authorities had sent investigation teams to the site to assess the impact of the spill on the environment, the spokesman said.

Hydrochloric acid is a hazardous c...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:06:43 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197881/MTk3ODgxv9WIHIFK.html A former prison warden and six other prison staff have been arrested in connection with a prison break that left one guard dead in north China last month.

Former warden Zhang Heping was arrested on charges of dereliction of duty, said a spokesman for Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's procuratorate on Friday.

Another six officials and guards had been arrested and releasedon bail in connection with the escape of four inmates on Oct. 17, said the spokesman.

The other staff were former deputy warden Deng Jianshe, former chief of the second section Wang Jun, former deputy chief of the second section Li Gang, policemen Xu Fumeng and Liu Wenzhi and gate guard Qian Guojun.

Meanwhile, Lan Jianguo, 34, has been honored posthumously as a revolutionary martyr Friday, according to a statement from the region's Department of Civil Affairs.

Lan, deputy chief of the second section of Hohhot No. 2 Prison, fought fearle...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:06:23 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197880/MTk3ODgwSC8fWYBI.html Former US President Jimmy Carter paid a visit along with his wife Rosalynn Carter to Qionglai, an earthquake-stricken area in Sichuan, on November 19 to help build low-rate apartments to solve the housing problem in the area. The 85-year-old president and 248 volunteers from around the world have joined the project to help locals, who are given a living expense of less than 190 yuan ($30) per month, afford better housing.

"By building physical walls, we are actually breaking down the walls in our mind," said Carter, the 39th American president, as he did shelter-building volunteer work in Qionglai. Thirty years ago, President Carter witnessed and promoted the formal establishment of the Sino-US diplomatic relationship and had a dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Deng Xiaoping. Carter said he chose China's Sichuan as his charit...]]> China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:06:01 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197853/MTk3ODUz15XUsNwv.html China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:29:01 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197852/MTk3ODUygETHIp2T.html China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:28:39 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197851/MTk3ODUxv0j8fths.html China Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:28:18 +0800 /articles/09/1120/197850/MTk3ODUwuSDCsP7l.html Washoku tasting Display of Kimonos

The Greenpeace report on fruit and vegetable safety, published on its website, said 17 pesticides had been detected in melons, apples, peaches, nectarines and cherries bought in four supermarket chains, including Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Lotus and Vanguard, in Beijing.

However, a notice issued Wednesday by the ministry on its official website said all the 17 pesticides found were normal and permitted and the amounts of residues were within national standards limits.

It said the tests were jointly conducted by the health and agriculture ministries, the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine, and Beijing municipal government.

No banned...]]> China Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:44 +0800 /articles/09/1119/197769/MTk3NzY5VSwrLUYw.html Beijing will raise non-residential water rates starting Friday to encourage water saving in the thirsty Chinese capital, local government said Wednesday.

The water resource fee for non-residential use climbs by 0.22 yuan per cubic meter and wastewater treatment fee rises by 0.18 yuan, said the municipal development and reform commission.

The price hikes were aimed at encouraging water saving and recycling in a bid to ease water shortages in Beijing, the commission said.

The water rates for industry and commerce, and hotels, restaurants and the catering industry rise to 6.21 yuan (91 US cents) per cubic meter from 5.6 yuan and 6.1 yuan, respectively.

The rate for government and public agencies is increased from 5.4 yuan to 5.8 yuan per cubic meter.

The planning agency also raised water prices for the car-washing and purified water sectors to 61.68 yuan from 41.50 yuan per cubic meter.

The water price f...]]> China Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:20 +0800 /articles/09/1119/197768/MTk3NzY4I1Ht3gSM.html Unusually cold weather and the resulting soaring energy consumption for heating have caused power outages and shortages of natural gas in parts of central and eastern China.

The consumption surge, which began last week, is typical of the challenges the country is facing as it struggles to meet the demand from consumers whose growing earning power enables them to enjoy a more comfortable life, experts say.

Forecasters said the snow will end before tomorrow, but the strong gales that will follow for the next three days will push the temperature down even further in the central and southern area.

The eastern economic hub of Shanghai, which is experiencing its earliest winter in nearly three decades, is facing a record potential shortage of 1.9 million kilowatts after the sudden surge in demand caused four generating sets to malfunction, the city government said in a notice on its website early yesterday.

Two generator...]]> China Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:29:57 +0800 /articles/09/1119/197742/MTk3NzQyqxS3n6ZU.html

[More Guangzhou News]

[More Guangdong and Pan PRD News]

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"It's magical," Obama said, walking down a ramp alone, his hands in his pockets. "It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on earth is not that long. We better make the best of it."

A must-see for presidents from President Richard Nixon on, the Great Wall was one of Obama's major sightseeing stops during his diplomatic tour of Asia. He later traveled to Seoul, South Korea, the final stop of his eight-day trip.

Dressed in a winter jacket against a biting wind at the Great Wall, Obama led a knot of people for a half-hour jaunt up the crenelated wall toward a watchtower, a restored section originally built 500 years ago.

Obama walked down the last ramp by himself in a choreographed moment for photographers. White House aides were exu...]]> China Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:51:56 +0800 /articles/09/1118/197669/MTk3NjY5S0yR3rrO.html Taiwan plans to recruit Chinese mainland college students to study in graduate schools by the end of next June, according Xinhua News Agency.

Universities and institutions in Taiwan will acknowledge mainland academic qualifications, but only to students from the "985 Project" colleges - referring to the 41 top universities on the Chinese mainland.

Mainland students can only apply for graduate studies at Taiwan's public universities, according to the report. Private education establishments, including vocational, undergraduate and graduate schools, also admit mainland students.

"After the opening policy, Taiwan's vocational schools and professional training colleges would be full loaded," said Wu Ching-chi, Taiwan's "Minister of Education", quoted on xinhuanet.com. Mainland students will be charged higher than Taiwanese, she said.

"The tuition differentiation system adopts from the US. Many universities in the US de...]]> China Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:14:23 +0800 /articles/09/1118/197642/MTk3NjQyDlzFCUck.html Some 42 tourists and three drivers were injured as three tourist coaches collided with one another on a narrow road in Macao, the Macao Post Daily reported on Wednesday.

The accident occurred Tuesday morning near Macao's landmark Ruins of St Paul's Church, when a coach carrying 31 tourists lost control and crashed into the rear of a coach with 26 passengers onboard, which then collided with another 38-passenger coach, the daily quoted local traffic police report as saying.

Of all the passengers and drivers, 45 got injured and they were rushed to a nearby local hospital immediately after the accident. Most of the victims sustained minor injuries such as bruising and minor whiplash, and all of them except two passengers were discharged from the hospital last evening, according to the daily.

The passengers involved in this accident were from Shanghai, Beijing and Jiangxi province on the Chinese mainland. The authorities h...]]> China Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:26:22 +0800 /articles/09/1118/197641/MTk3NjQxfjRmteaj.html Chinese maritime authorities launched a search for six seamen from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday who are missing after their cargo ship sank off China's coast.

Altogether 20 DPRK crew members were aboard the vessel when it sank in strong winds about 90 nautical miles southeast of Dalian, in northeast China, at noon on Tuesday, said Zheng Jian, of the Ministry of Transport's Rescue and Salvage Bureau.

The ministry's Beihai Rescue Bureau immediately dispatched a helicopter to the area after receiving an SOS signal from the ship, and rescuers picked up one survivor two hours later, Zheng said.

The rescued seaman said 14 colleagues on two life rafts had been swept away by waves.

The Beihai Rescue Bureau also sent two rescue vessels to the area, and rescuers saved another 13 sailors from a raft late Tuesday afternoon, Zheng said.

"We are still searching for another raft and the o...]]> China Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:26:01 +0800 /articles/09/1118/197640/MTk3NjQwHc0zQZzs.html Huang Tingxin, the Chinese mainland's last veteran of the D-Day campaign to end the Nazi domination of Europe in 1944 has died. He was 91.

Huang, who died on Nov. 11, was made a Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, France's highest recognition of merit in 2006.

Upon receiving the medal, Huang said, "The honor goes to all the Chinese soldiers who fought there."

A graduate of the Qingdao Naval Academy, in east China's Shandong Province, in 1942 at the age of 24, Huang and 23 other young naval officers went on to study and fight in Britain.

After training at Royal Naval College, in Greenwich, London, Huang was deployed as deputy watch officer on a U.S.-manufactured 10,000-tonne escort carrier HMS Searcher, which carried up to 25 fighter aircraft, in March 1944. His duty was to make sure the ship maintained course and remained in formation.

Huang saw active duty when the vessel took part...]]> China Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:25:39 +0800 /articles/09/1118/197639/MTk3NjM5d0Nb9zkR.html Nine people died and more than 30 were injured when a bus crashed through a guard rail and plunged down a 30-meter slope in southwest China's Guizhou Province Wednesday.

The accident took place at about 5:15 a.m. on a highway in high mountains in Dafang County, a local traffic police spokesman said.

The injured, including six people who were seriously hurt, were taken to hospital, he said. The bus driver was among the injured.

The bus was traveling from Shanghai to Bijie Prefecture, which administers Dafang County, he said.

The exact number of people aboard the vehicle was not yet known.

Police and work safety authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, he said.

[More Guangdong and Pan PRD News]