| 14 | Mar |
| 2011 |
One-Line news
- The Chinese government wants to take a more market-oriented approach to health care, allowing expanded private investment in medical institutions and permitting doctors to practice in multiple hospitals. At present, doctors must register with only one hospital and practice only there. In the future they would be allowed to work at several institutions at the same time, including at private clinics, which they could set up themselves.
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next Ambassador to China subject to approval by the U.S. Senate. The fact that a cabinet Minister is taking up the ambassadorial post shows the importance the U.S. attaches to its relations with China. Locke is the first cabinet-level official to be tapped for the post and the first Chinese-American to serve as Washington’s envoy to China.
- Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said that the approved construction budget for the first stage of the Disney Theme Park is CNY24.5 billion. He said he hoped construction would start soon. The park is to be Disney’s first on the mainland and the third in Asia, after those in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The CNY24.5 billion phase 1 will cover 3.9 square kilometers, while the rest of the 7 sq km area is listed as reserved land for future development.
- The number of Chinese billionaires has nearly doubled to 115, according to the annual Forbes list of the world’s richest people. Robin Li, the man behind the popular search engine Baidu, is topping the list with an estimated wealth of USD9.4 billion. The real number of billionaires could be a lot higher, due to the reticence of some to reveal the true extent of their wealth.
| 21 | Feb |
| 2011 |
One-Line News N° 211
- Yu Youjun has been named Deputy Director of the State Office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. He was removed from the Communist Party’s Central Committee in 2008 when he was Vice Minister of Culture because he was said to have used his influence to gain profits for relatives during his tenure as Mayor of Shenzhen.
- Industry veterans with advanced degrees in economics have been appointed to top posts. Sun Zhigang was named a Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Director of the office for nationwide medical reform. Zhou Mubin was made Vice Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). Both Sun and Zhou hold PhDs in economics. Liu Tienan, who holds a PhD in engineering, was appointed Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA).
- At least 10% of rice consumed in China contains excessive amounts of the heavy metal cadmium that can cause bone problems, indicating that food safety is still a problem. The National Food Safety Regulating Work Office said there were 130,000 food safety cases last year.
- Shenzhen has rapidly become the world’s biggest center for making e-cigarettes, a market that researcher Euromonitor estimates is worth USD100 million in annual global sales. According to the National Vapers Club, an advocacy group for e-cigarette users, at least one million people in the U.S. use the product. There are now about 100 companies producing e-cigarettes in Shenzhen.
| 20 | Sep |
| 2010 |
One-Line News 190
- Xue Hanqin (55) was sworn in as a judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, becoming the first Chinese woman to get the job. Xue is a veteran Chinese diplomat and an expert of international law. She was elected to the court with all 15 votes in the Security Council and a majority of votes in the UN General Assembly in June. Xue is a former Chinese Ambassador in The Hague.
- Japan released 14 crew members from a Chinese fishing boat that collided with two Japanese coastguard vessels in disputed waters off the Diaoyu islands and allowed the boat to sail back to China, but the row between China and Japan escalated as Japan refused to set free the skipper, who could face a three year jail term if convicted in Japan. China canceled the visit of an NPC delegation to Japan in protest.
- Billionaire U.S. philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett insisted that they would not pressure China’s super-rich to give to charity at a banquet on September 29, after the 50 invitees were slow to respond. They said they only hoped to learn more about China’s approach to philanthropy.
- Japan’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, a former Transport Minister, is expected to take a tough stand towards China.
- At the end of the year, Ambassador Markus Ederer of the German Foreign Ministry will succeed Serge Abou as Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Beijing.
- China suspended high-level exchanges with Japan and promised tough countermeasures after a Japanese court extended the detention of a Chinese trawler captain whose boat collided with two Japanese coastguard vessels in waters off the Diaoyu islands claimed by both countries. China demands that Japan immediately release the captain without preconditions. China said relations were seriously damaged by the incident.
| 07 | Jun |
| 2010 |
One-line news 175
- Shaanxi Governor Dr Yuan Chunqing has been promoted to Communist PartySecretary in neighboring Shanxi, and his predecessor, Zhang Baoshun, was appointed to the top post in Anhui. The Governor of Gansu, Xu Shousheng, was appointed Acting Governor of Hunan province.
- The Chinese government is introducing a residence permit system to replace the hukou or household registration system, which implied that people were tied to particular places of residence. In the future, this will be changed to a “citizen identity card”, which would separate the holder’s residence from his identity and thus entitle him to move about freely. At present, residence permits are being implemented in 10 cities – Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Dongguan in Guangdong; Shanghai, Cixi and Jiaxing in Zhejiang; Taiyuan in Shanxi; Dalian in Liaoning; and Changchun in Jilin.
- Shenzhen’s Executive Vice Mayor Xu Qin was appointed Mayor of the city a year after his predecessor Xu Zongheng was removed amid a graft probe. The appointment is part of the largest political reshuffle in Guangdong in a decade.
| 31 | May |
| 2010 |
One-line news n° 174
- The Chinese government and academics have started planning the country’s first draft immigration law to better manage the increasing number of foreigners, who for the first time will be included in the national census due to begin on November 1.
- Ernst & Young’s Global Fraud Survey, which includes responses from 50 Chinese executives, found that 12% of the Chinese respondents had experienced fraud, such as corruption and bribery, in the past two years, against a global average of 16%. The 12% was down sharply from 81% in the previous survey conducted in 2008, although there was no explanation for the steep decline.
- Dynasty Fine Wines Group, part-owned by Remy Cointreau, may buy vineyards in Australia, New Zealand, Chile or France and has almost USD150 million to spend boosting capacity to meet demand in China. Dynasty wants to raise production to 100,000 tons annually within three years, from the current 70,000 tons. China is on track to become the world’s seventh-largest wine market by 2013.
