War games
Shortly after concluding its naval war games with South Korea in the waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula this week, the US sent the carrier USGeorge Washington to Japan to participate in another joint military exercise. Analysts say this move can serve only to worsen the tense situation on the divided peninsula and threaten regional stability.
US Major William Vause, chief of operational plans, training and exercises, said in a statement that the drills, codenamed "Keen Sword," will last from today to December 10 in Japanese waters off its southern islands, close to the southern coast of South Korea.
The drills involve around 34,000 Japanese defense personnel with 40 warships and 250 aircraft, as well as more than 10,000 of their US counterparts with 20 warships and 150 aircraft, forming the biggest-ever war games between the two countries, according to Vause.
Integrated air and missile defense, base security, close air support, live-fire training, maritime defense, and search and rescue will be covered in the drills, AFP reported.
The joint maneuvers between Washington and Tokyo followed those between Washington and Seoul that concluded Wednesday amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The two Koreas exchanged fire last week in waters off the peninsula's west coast, resulting in at least four deaths.
A Beijing-based military strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Global Times Thursdaythat "North Korea's hard-line moves are attempts to pressure the US into holding bilateral talks. Pyongyang is confident that it can keep the situation from evolving into war. China's influence is limited in the face of such an independent North Korea."
Responding to the US-Japan joint exercise, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursdaythat "the US-Japan alliance should not damage the interests of third parties, including China, and the international community does not support actions that escalate tensions."
She reiterated Beijing's belief that dialogue and negotiations are the only solutions for the Korean Peninsula issue.
The joint maneuver between the US and South Korea mobilized a combined 7,300 troops, the 97,000-ton aircraft carrier George Washington and about 10 navy ships.
In an interview with the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military drills with South Korea had been planned a month ahead of time, and the US had informed China of their objective and how long the drills would last.
China had expressed objections to the drills, saying it was opposed to such military activity in its exclusive economic zone.
But Mullen reiterated the US' stance that the drills were held in international waters, and the US will continue to hold drills there in the future.
In another development, South Korea moved more troops and guns onto its islands that border the North this week, AFP reported Thursday.
"The danger of further attacks from North Korea is high," South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-Hoon said during a closed session of Parliament's intelligence committee, reports said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to meet with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington on Monday for crisis talks, Reuters reported Wednesday.
South Korea, Japan and the US are reportedly reluctant to accept proposals, made by China on Sunday, to hold emergency consultations in Beijing early this month to ease tensions.
China followed up that proposal by calling on Wednesday for calm and restraint, advising parties involved to avoid escalating the problem by doing anything that would "inflame the situation."
Fang Xiuyu, an analyst of Korean issues at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times that protecting South Korea and Japan are just excuses made by the US to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Geng Xin, deputy director of the Tokyo-based Japan-China Communication Institute, told the Global Times that "frequent military drills involving the US are dangerous - inflaming the situation and threatening regional security."
He urged the US to act responsibly by accepting China's call for international talks.
Geng also noted that "economic relations among China, Japan and South Korea are unlikely to be affected, despite the war games, since the framework for economic cooperation runs deep in the region." zhemodou deexienge ljoie
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US Major William Vause, chief of operational plans, training and exercises, said in a statement that the drills, codenamed "Keen Sword," will last from today to December 10 in Japanese waters off its southern islands, close to the southern coast of South Korea.
The drills involve around 34,000 Japanese defense personnel with 40 warships and 250 aircraft, as well as more than 10,000 of their US counterparts with 20 warships and 150 aircraft, forming the biggest-ever war games between the two countries, according to Vause.
Integrated air and missile defense, base security, close air support, live-fire training, maritime defense, and search and rescue will be covered in the drills, AFP reported.
The joint maneuvers between Washington and Tokyo followed those between Washington and Seoul that concluded Wednesday amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The two Koreas exchanged fire last week in waters off the peninsula's west coast, resulting in at least four deaths.
A Beijing-based military strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Global Times Thursdaythat "North Korea's hard-line moves are attempts to pressure the US into holding bilateral talks. Pyongyang is confident that it can keep the situation from evolving into war. China's influence is limited in the face of such an independent North Korea."
Responding to the US-Japan joint exercise, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursdaythat "the US-Japan alliance should not damage the interests of third parties, including China, and the international community does not support actions that escalate tensions."
She reiterated Beijing's belief that dialogue and negotiations are the only solutions for the Korean Peninsula issue.
The joint maneuver between the US and South Korea mobilized a combined 7,300 troops, the 97,000-ton aircraft carrier George Washington and about 10 navy ships.
In an interview with the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military drills with South Korea had been planned a month ahead of time, and the US had informed China of their objective and how long the drills would last.
China had expressed objections to the drills, saying it was opposed to such military activity in its exclusive economic zone.
But Mullen reiterated the US' stance that the drills were held in international waters, and the US will continue to hold drills there in the future.
In another development, South Korea moved more troops and guns onto its islands that border the North this week, AFP reported Thursday.
"The danger of further attacks from North Korea is high," South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-Hoon said during a closed session of Parliament's intelligence committee, reports said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to meet with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington on Monday for crisis talks, Reuters reported Wednesday.
South Korea, Japan and the US are reportedly reluctant to accept proposals, made by China on Sunday, to hold emergency consultations in Beijing early this month to ease tensions.
China followed up that proposal by calling on Wednesday for calm and restraint, advising parties involved to avoid escalating the problem by doing anything that would "inflame the situation."
Fang Xiuyu, an analyst of Korean issues at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times that protecting South Korea and Japan are just excuses made by the US to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Geng Xin, deputy director of the Tokyo-based Japan-China Communication Institute, told the Global Times that "frequent military drills involving the US are dangerous - inflaming the situation and threatening regional security."
He urged the US to act responsibly by accepting China's call for international talks.
Geng also noted that "economic relations among China, Japan and South Korea are unlikely to be affected, despite the war games, since the framework for economic cooperation runs deep in the region." zhemodou deexienge ljoie
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Engineers' plan
between wodai ni hao ma
In 2005, the Ministry of Transport unveiled an expressway plan to link Beijing with Taipei before 2030.
But the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council claimed in 2007 that at least 30 years would be needed for the Beijing-Taipei expressway project and there has not been any timetable set for launching the program.
"Thirty years ago, nobody could have imagined building a bridge across the Straits," said Tsai Chung-chih, a Taiwan engineering expert.
Engineers from both sides of the Straits have provided three plans for building a cross-Straits bridge: a northern route connecting Pingtan to Hsinchu, a middle route connecting Putian to Taichung and a southern route connecting Xiamen to Kaohsiung.
But Lin said the north route is preferred as the water is less than 80 meters deep and the geological structure is quite steady with less risk of earthquake.
There may be more than one way to skin a cat, and for engineers in Fujian province there is more than one way to build a bridge across the Taiwan Straits.
While experts from both sides have provided three viable ways to create a land link between the island and the mainland, engineer Lin Yuanpei with the Chinese Academy of Engineering on Tuesday revealed an updated design for a northern route.
The bridge would stretch about 100 km, connecting Pingtan Island in Fujian and Hsinchu in northwestern Taiwan.
The new design features an enclosed bridge deck to allow the bridge to remain open in all weather conditions, including the heavy fog and strong gales that are common in the Straits.
"It's like a tunnel hanging in the air," said Lin, who also designed the 32.5-km Donghai Bridge in Shanghai, which was the longest cross-sea bridge in the world until the 36-km Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened in 2008.
"The cost will increase for adding the walls and roofs, but the traffic capacity will skyrocket," said Lin, who did not provide any specifics about the cost.
He suggested a suspension bridge style be adopted where the water is deeper than 40 meters but the suspension sections would not be longer than 3.5 km.
Li Dejin, director of the Fujian Provincial Department of Transport, said engineering experts have been discussing the bridge project for 14 years.
"I hope all the scientists and industry associations can work together and promote the implementation of the project," Li said at the 12th annual meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology held in Fuzhou.
Engineers on the mainland are expected to complete a plan for building a bridge across the Straits in the coming five years, Li said on Tuesday.
There has been no response yet from Beijing on the latest proposal and the bridge project has not received official approval.
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In 2005, the Ministry of Transport unveiled an expressway plan to link Beijing with Taipei before 2030.
But the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council claimed in 2007 that at least 30 years would be needed for the Beijing-Taipei expressway project and there has not been any timetable set for launching the program.
"Thirty years ago, nobody could have imagined building a bridge across the Straits," said Tsai Chung-chih, a Taiwan engineering expert.
Engineers from both sides of the Straits have provided three plans for building a cross-Straits bridge: a northern route connecting Pingtan to Hsinchu, a middle route connecting Putian to Taichung and a southern route connecting Xiamen to Kaohsiung.
But Lin said the north route is preferred as the water is less than 80 meters deep and the geological structure is quite steady with less risk of earthquake.
There may be more than one way to skin a cat, and for engineers in Fujian province there is more than one way to build a bridge across the Taiwan Straits.
While experts from both sides have provided three viable ways to create a land link between the island and the mainland, engineer Lin Yuanpei with the Chinese Academy of Engineering on Tuesday revealed an updated design for a northern route.
The bridge would stretch about 100 km, connecting Pingtan Island in Fujian and Hsinchu in northwestern Taiwan.
The new design features an enclosed bridge deck to allow the bridge to remain open in all weather conditions, including the heavy fog and strong gales that are common in the Straits.
"It's like a tunnel hanging in the air," said Lin, who also designed the 32.5-km Donghai Bridge in Shanghai, which was the longest cross-sea bridge in the world until the 36-km Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened in 2008.
"The cost will increase for adding the walls and roofs, but the traffic capacity will skyrocket," said Lin, who did not provide any specifics about the cost.
He suggested a suspension bridge style be adopted where the water is deeper than 40 meters but the suspension sections would not be longer than 3.5 km.
Li Dejin, director of the Fujian Provincial Department of Transport, said engineering experts have been discussing the bridge project for 14 years.
"I hope all the scientists and industry associations can work together and promote the implementation of the project," Li said at the 12th annual meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology held in Fuzhou.
Engineers on the mainland are expected to complete a plan for building a bridge across the Straits in the coming five years, Li said on Tuesday.
There has been no response yet from Beijing on the latest proposal and the bridge project has not received official approval.
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years ago: study
The grinding stones, each of which fit comfortably into an adult's palm, were discovered at archaeological sites in Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic.
The researchers said their findings throw mankind's first known use of flour back some 10,000 years, the previously oldest evidence having been found in Israel on 20,000 year-old grinding stones.
The findings may also upset fans of the Paleolithic diet, which follows earlier research that assumes early humans ate a meat-centered diet.
Also known as the caveman diet, the regime frowns on carbohydrate-laden foods like bread and cereal, and modern-day adherents eat only lean meat, vegetables and fruit.
It was first popularized by the gastroenterologist Walter L. Voegtlin, whose 1975 book lauded the benefits of the hunter-gatherer diet.
Starch grains found on 30,000-year-old grinding stones suggest that prehistoric man may have dined on an early form of flat bread, contrary to his popular image as primarily a meat-eater.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal on Monday, indicate that Palaeolithic Europeans ground down plant roots similar to potatoes to make flour, which was later whisked into dough.
"It's like a flat bread, like a pancake with just water and flour," said Laura Longo, a researcher on the team from the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Early History.
"You make a kind of pita and cook it on the hot stone," she said, describing how the team replicated the cooking process. The end product was "crispy like a cracker but not very tasty," she added. meeting vhiew meiose seowgbah
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The researchers said their findings throw mankind's first known use of flour back some 10,000 years, the previously oldest evidence having been found in Israel on 20,000 year-old grinding stones.
The findings may also upset fans of the Paleolithic diet, which follows earlier research that assumes early humans ate a meat-centered diet.
Also known as the caveman diet, the regime frowns on carbohydrate-laden foods like bread and cereal, and modern-day adherents eat only lean meat, vegetables and fruit.
It was first popularized by the gastroenterologist Walter L. Voegtlin, whose 1975 book lauded the benefits of the hunter-gatherer diet.
Starch grains found on 30,000-year-old grinding stones suggest that prehistoric man may have dined on an early form of flat bread, contrary to his popular image as primarily a meat-eater.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal on Monday, indicate that Palaeolithic Europeans ground down plant roots similar to potatoes to make flour, which was later whisked into dough.
"It's like a flat bread, like a pancake with just water and flour," said Laura Longo, a researcher on the team from the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Early History.
"You make a kind of pita and cook it on the hot stone," she said, describing how the team replicated the cooking process. The end product was "crispy like a cracker but not very tasty," she added. meeting vhiew meiose seowgbah
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Commerce Minister
China's foreign trade surplus was approximately 84 billion U.S. dollars from Jan. to July, down 20 percent year on year, and the year 2010 is expected to see a small trade surplus, said Commerce Minister Chen Deming on Tuesday.
Chen made the projection at the ongoing World Investment Forum that runs from Sept. 7 to 9 in southeast China's coastal city of Xiamen.
China has seen a trade surplus in recent years, but with a decreasing margin, and the trade surplus takes up a very small proportion of the GDP, noted Chen.
"China's foreign trade policy aims to stabilize exports and increase imports, which can boost China's economy and also bring positive impacts to neighboring countries," said Chen.
Customs statistics show that China's import and export value in the first seven months reached 1,617 billion U.S. dollars, with exports worth 850.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.6 percent, and imports at 766.6 billion U.S. dollars, up by 47.2 percent.
China's trade surplus in 2009 was more than 190 billion U.S. dollars, down 34.4 percent from the 290 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.
The World Investment Forum is the global meeting on investment and development issues organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Held every two years, the forum aims to strengthen international cooperation in the interest of promoting international investment and its contribution to economic growth and development.
Chen made the projection at the ongoing World Investment Forum that runs from Sept. 7 to 9 in southeast China's coastal city of Xiamen.
China has seen a trade surplus in recent years, but with a decreasing margin, and the trade surplus takes up a very small proportion of the GDP, noted Chen.
"China's foreign trade policy aims to stabilize exports and increase imports, which can boost China's economy and also bring positive impacts to neighboring countries," said Chen.
Customs statistics show that China's import and export value in the first seven months reached 1,617 billion U.S. dollars, with exports worth 850.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.6 percent, and imports at 766.6 billion U.S. dollars, up by 47.2 percent.
China's trade surplus in 2009 was more than 190 billion U.S. dollars, down 34.4 percent from the 290 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.
The World Investment Forum is the global meeting on investment and development issues organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Held every two years, the forum aims to strengthen international cooperation in the interest of promoting international investment and its contribution to economic growth and development.
foreign-owned hospit
Foreign ventures are said to have been given the green light to further enter into China's vast medical market by establishing solely owned foreign hospitals - a move that has stirred hot debate about the nation's ongoing medical reforms.
China's medical authorities have roughly reached a consensus to allow solely invested foreign medical organizations into the country, China Business News reported Tuesday, quoting "authoritative" but unnamed sources.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health did not directly respond to the report Tuesday, but the possibility of further change on the limits seem to remain.
Such a reform is regarded as a first "pragmatic step" after the Chinese government announced in February that it would encourage "social funds" to enter into various medical fields. According to an ambitious medical-reform plan publicized in 2009, the State Council vowed to invest 85 billion yuan ($13 billion) into the health and medical sector by 2012.
According to a report issued by the Ministry of Health in 2000, the upper limit of foreign funds is 70 percent of the total investment in Chinese medical institutions.
The 19 joint-venture hospitals in Shanghai, such as the United Family Hospitals & Clinics - a US-China healthcare joint venture, made 2 billion yuan ($294 million) in profits in 2008, according to Outlook Weekly, a journal run by the Xinhua News Agency.
Li Ling, a professor specializing in medical reform at Peking University, illustrated how these hospitals bring in huge profits.
"These foreign-invested medical institutions supplement the high-end health need in our society," he said.
Li also told the Global Times that regulations on joint-venture hospitals are important to keep patients safe. "Only those foreign hospitals that have high standard professional skills are permitted to invest in China. Start-up hospitals, which dream of digging for gold here, are not welcome."
Pan Zhongying, president of United Family Hospitals & Clinics, said her hospital mainly targets foreigners living in China, but anticipates more Chinese patients if the Chinese market opens to foreign solely funded hospitals.
"The biggest problem I meet here is the language barrier," said Virginie Mangin, a French journalist in Beijing. "I don't think the quality or the environment of foreign hospitals is better than Chinese ones, but the doctors can speak English. I think that's why they are three times as expensive as in France."
Peter Davis, an American who has gone to both Chinese hospitals and joint-venture hospitals during his seven years in China, said, "It's good to know there is another option for medical care that doesn't mean being 'treated' with placebo drips in crowded, unsanitary conditions that resemble bus or train stations rather than hospitals."
He Jingbin, with International SOS in Beijing, told the Global Times that the opening of the Chinese health market to foreign hospitals will help accelerate healthcare reform, but he doesn't think foreign hospitals will shake the dominant position of State-owned hospitals in the short term.
"Foreign hospitals need to be audited by China's social security
authorities and align their pricing with that of Chinese ones. But their profit-making nature makes it difficult for them to lower their service rates," He said.
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China's medical authorities have roughly reached a consensus to allow solely invested foreign medical organizations into the country, China Business News reported Tuesday, quoting "authoritative" but unnamed sources.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health did not directly respond to the report Tuesday, but the possibility of further change on the limits seem to remain.
Such a reform is regarded as a first "pragmatic step" after the Chinese government announced in February that it would encourage "social funds" to enter into various medical fields. According to an ambitious medical-reform plan publicized in 2009, the State Council vowed to invest 85 billion yuan ($13 billion) into the health and medical sector by 2012.
According to a report issued by the Ministry of Health in 2000, the upper limit of foreign funds is 70 percent of the total investment in Chinese medical institutions.
The 19 joint-venture hospitals in Shanghai, such as the United Family Hospitals & Clinics - a US-China healthcare joint venture, made 2 billion yuan ($294 million) in profits in 2008, according to Outlook Weekly, a journal run by the Xinhua News Agency.
Li Ling, a professor specializing in medical reform at Peking University, illustrated how these hospitals bring in huge profits.
"These foreign-invested medical institutions supplement the high-end health need in our society," he said.
Li also told the Global Times that regulations on joint-venture hospitals are important to keep patients safe. "Only those foreign hospitals that have high standard professional skills are permitted to invest in China. Start-up hospitals, which dream of digging for gold here, are not welcome."
Pan Zhongying, president of United Family Hospitals & Clinics, said her hospital mainly targets foreigners living in China, but anticipates more Chinese patients if the Chinese market opens to foreign solely funded hospitals.
"The biggest problem I meet here is the language barrier," said Virginie Mangin, a French journalist in Beijing. "I don't think the quality or the environment of foreign hospitals is better than Chinese ones, but the doctors can speak English. I think that's why they are three times as expensive as in France."
Peter Davis, an American who has gone to both Chinese hospitals and joint-venture hospitals during his seven years in China, said, "It's good to know there is another option for medical care that doesn't mean being 'treated' with placebo drips in crowded, unsanitary conditions that resemble bus or train stations rather than hospitals."
He Jingbin, with International SOS in Beijing, told the Global Times that the opening of the Chinese health market to foreign hospitals will help accelerate healthcare reform, but he doesn't think foreign hospitals will shake the dominant position of State-owned hospitals in the short term.
"Foreign hospitals need to be audited by China's social security
authorities and align their pricing with that of Chinese ones. But their profit-making nature makes it difficult for them to lower their service rates," He said.
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