Interesting news from Chinese daily news

I have a list of about twenty international and local newspapers and news web sites I like to regularly read. For news about China I read www.chinadaily.com. I've always been fond of Chinese people and culture, and as I mentioned in a previous post, learned to draw Chinese characters, and also spent time learning Chinese martial arts, philosophy, and some herbal medicine. My heart is grieved about the situation with abortion in China, and I also wish for greater communion with the Roman Catholic Church. I'm also saddened by incidents such as the poisoned food filler that made its way into pet food in the US several months ago. But this does not take away from my interest in their doings and support for their people, most of whom just want a good life for their families. Anyway, there are some fascinating stories in today's online edition. Here are some topics:

* China has begun building a highway to Mount Everest base camp, partly to smooth the way for the carrying of the Olympic torch up to the highest peak in the world, state press reported Tuesday.

The new road will begin at the base of the mountain in China's Tibet region and replace a rough 108-kilometre (67-mile) track that leads to the northern base camp, the Xinhua news agency reported. Construction of the 150-million-yuan (20-million-dollar) highway began on Monday and will take about four months to complete, according to Xinhua. The road is being built to "ease the path of those bearing the Olympic torch," Xinhua said. Organisers of next year's Beijing Olympics have said they intend to include the summit of Mount Everest in the 130-day torch relay leading up to the Games.

* Shanxi Governor Yu Youjun yesterday made a self-criticism on behalf of the provincial government for the recent slavery cases in illegally-run brick kilns and mines across the province. The rare move came during a meeting of the State Council, or the Cabinet, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

It asked government departments to go all out to crack down on such criminal activities and save the victims to "safeguard social justice". "The criminals should face the full force of the law and the rights of the public, particularly children, must be protected," said the meeting. To prevent a recurrence of such cases, a large-scale investigation will be launched nationwide into laborers employed in small kilns and collieries. About 160 suspects have been detained in Shanxi and Henan. By Sunday night, about 45,000 police personnel had raided more than 8,000 kilns and small coal mines in the two provinces and freed 591 workers, including 51 children. The State Council ordered the Shanxi provincial government to step up the investigation into the scandal and compensate the victims. It also urged local governments and central ministries to learn a lesson from the tragedy. Police have arrested 168 people and are seeking more than 20 other suspects involved in the forced labor scandal. By Sunday night, about 45,000 policemen had raided more than 8,000 kilns and small coal mines in the two provinces and freed 591 workers, including 51 children.

* China and Iraq on Thursday signed four agreements in Beijing, including one about exemption of Iraqi debt, as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani pays his state visit to China. "China has always been supportive and has participated in the rebuilding of Iraq," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference.

"We will reduce or forgive Iraq's debt on a large scale, and help it to train people in the fields of economics, electrical power, diplomacy and management," Qin said, adding that Chinese companies were also willing to participate in the rebuilding. Commerce Minister Bo Xilai later signed an agreement with Iraqi officials to cancel the debt owed the Chinese government. But no further information is available about how much Iraqi debt owed to China will be forgiven. "We hope Iraq can restore stability, safety and development as soon as possible," Qin said. China donated 50 million yuan (3.3 million pounds) of aid to Iraq in May, he said.

* China's first national park, the Potatso National Park, was inaugurated on Thursday in Shangri-La, an area famous for its natural beauty in the southwest province of Yunnan. The 2,000 square-km national park covers 17 percent of Diqing, an autonomous prefecture mainly inhabited by Tibetans. Its centerpiece sceneries are crystal-clear lakes, undulating mountains and gurgling streams.

Now about 69 km of blacktop roads have been built in two major scenic spots, the Shudu Lake and Bita Lake, in Potatso. The roads also serve as fire separation stripes. Plank roads stretch 10 km along the mirror-like lakes to protect the grasslands. Seven solar-energy powered public toilets and shuttle buses consuming clean energy are also used in the park to minimize pollution. During the past ten months of trial operational, the national park received 600,000 visitors. More than half of the revenue from ticket sales went to environment protection.

* The theme of the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Interfaith Dialogue speaks volumes for what it stands for: "Deepening Interfaith Dialogue for Peace, Development and Harmony."

Co-chaired by Cui Tiankai, assistant minister of foreign affairs of China and Senator Gianni Vernetti, undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two-day dialogue brought together religious and political leaders, academics and intellectuals from Asia and Europe to discuss four topics: Dealing with the interfaith dialogue and globalization, peace, social cohesion and development, and the promotion of cultural and educational cooperation.

* China is soliciting public opinion on its environmental sanitation regulations which envisage tougher disinfection, ventilation and hygiene standards. The original regulation, two decades old, has been outpaced by rapid social and economic development. The revised regulation expands its scope to cover all public places with a special focus on hotels, public toilets, swimming pools, beauty parlors and waiting rooms.

"Local health officials who cover up public health incidents such as epidemics will be demoted or expelled, and business operators who delay in reporting public health incidents in their precincts will be fined up to 30,000 yuan (3,900 U.S. dollars)," the regulation said. It also requires operators to install air purification facilities to prevent the spread of disease, and those defying hygiene rules and facilitating the spread of infectious diseases will have their business licenses revoked and be fined up to 100,000 yuan (13,000 U.S. dollars), and could be charged with crimes. The revised regulation bans the opening of public places that are being renovated. Reopening must wait until the air quality has reached normal standards.