China Press

Comfortable housing and happy lives of Tibetan farmers and herders

..See how Chinese read Tibet in full in here.

White Paper on Tibet including many documents on human rights and minorities in China is here.

Door of dialogue open to Dalai Lama if he gives up 'Tibet independence': Premier

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday that the door of consultation and dialogue on the personal future of the Dalai Lama is always open if he truly gives up his pursuit of "Tibet independence."

"We need to observe what he says, and more importantly, we also need to watch what he does. I hope the Dalai Lama will be able to make contributions and do more things that are conducive to national unity and the development of Tibet," Wen said.

The whole article is here.

A ceremony to honor the intangible cultural heritages at both provincial and national level.

Shaolin Kungfu was among China's first batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage sites drafted last June, and also included in a first-ever provincial-level intangible heritage list, wrapping up a total of around 148 valuable items.

More info here.

The report seems very boring, but it is long and an ideal bed time reading to fall asleep really fast.

REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT - the whole text here.

The number of death sentences meted out last year by Chinese courts hit a record low in more than a decade. China has seen a gradual decrease of capital crime cases since 1997. The exact number of death sentences last year was not revealed.

Last year 889,042 people were convicted by courts at all levels across the country, and 153,724 people received sentences of longer than five years, including life imprisonment and death penalty.

The whole article is here.

Law 'needed for weapon research' - the whole article here.

France calls to lift China arms embargo

France Thursday renewed the call for the lifting of the EU ams embargo on China, denouncing opposition to the move as illogical, according to a news report.

France's Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie Thursday called it "paradoxical" to "maintain the embargo for political reasons while at the same time giving China the Olympics, which are supposed to go solely to countries that respect international rules."

Alliot-Marie said lifting the embargo would not pose a threat, arguing that European and French rules on arms exports "are even stricter than the rules of the embargo," according to the report.

Outgoing French President Jacques Chirac has been a chief proponent of ending the arms embargo.

Japan and the United States have protested the move and voiced concern about China's military spending, which is due to rise some 18 percent this year.

But Alliot-Marie said it was "normal" for China "to expand its defense equipment in light of the role that it is playing and will be drawn to play in the world due to its population and economic power."

China has said the growth is primarily caused by the sharp increase in the wages, living expenses and pensions of 2.3 million People's Liberation Army officers, civilian personnel, soldiers and army retirees.

Alliot-Marie acknowledged there had to be "a consensus by all European countries to lift the embargo" and that it "doesn't exist today."

In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has opposed lifting the embargo.

Japan denies coercion of 'comfort women'

Park Og-ryon, 87, (front L) and Kim Soon-og, 88, (R), who were forced to become comfort women or sex slaves by Japanese troops during World War Two, chant anti-Japan slogans with nuns at a protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul September 6, 2006. [Reuters]

TOKYO -- The Japanese government has found no evidence that the military or the government forced women to work in World War II military brothels, the Cabinet said in a statement to a lawmaker Friday.

...Historians say as many as 200,000 women, most of them Asians, worked in Japanese military brothels across the region in the 1930s and 1940s. Japanese defense documents uncovered in 1992 showed the military had a direct role in running the brothels, which the government had previously denied.

The whole article here.

No casualties were reported.

The quakes wrecked 5,969 homes, and disrupted water supplies to 400 people. In addition, buildings and walls in 80 schools suffered cracks or damage. The quakes also damaged ten bridges, and a local reservoir reported leaking, said Zhu Zhihua, head of the county government.

The whole article here.

Curse of the Golden Flower vs. Marie Antoinette

At the 79th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 25, "Curse of the Golden Flower" misses Oscar statuette to "Marie Antoinette" for the costume design.

The nominated designer of the Chinese film was Hong Kong based Yee Chung Man; there were more than 40 designers working on the glamorous costumes worn by the lead actress and actor over two months.
More info here.