China Daily 20091225

Experts warn of next tsunami Page 10 By Bao Daozu The streets of Xitang are dotted with bars, restaurants and cafes all deco- rated specially for the Christmas sea- son; Santas smile from shop windows and glistening firs stand proudly on sidewalks. Only a small corner of this ancient water town in Zhejiang province re- mains untouched by this festive fervor – the local Protestant church. “We will decorate the church ad- equately and decently on Christmas Eve,” said Xia Jingzhen, a spokeswoman for the church on Tuesday. “Unlike the commercial celebrations, we focus on spiritual peace and joy.” Her comments are perhaps a sign of how seriously the growing numbers of Chinese Christians in the town and across the country take this religious festival, which despite accusations of over-commercialization has steadily increased in popularity in China over the last 30 years. There were 70 million Protestants in China by the end of last year, one of the largest Christian populations in the world, showed research by the Chinese Academy of Social Sci- ences (CASS). The Beijing Catholi- cism Committee also said that in the capital alone the number of Catholics has risen to about 80,000 from fewer than 30,000 in the 1940s. So are Chinese people becoming com- fortable and confi dent about displaying their religious beliefs in public? “In the past, we did not have a public place for fellowship groups and Sunday services. In fact, we did not even talk about our religious beliefs in public,” said Xia. “We are really happy that we have a new church now. We even have our own piano and choir.” She said that the church in Xitang, a town featured in the Hollywood action fi lm Mission Impossible 3, fi rst opened in 1944 but was closed in the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s. It was rebuilt in 2002 and stands just fi ve-minutes walk from the original location. “The new church is 1,800 sq m and cost 360,000 yuan ($53,000), which included the land and construction fees. The congregation, which includes about 200 Protestants, donated half of the money for the project,” said 50-year-old Xia, who was baptized 30 years ago. Experts suggest that, although CASS studies show two-thirds of Chinese Protestants still worship at unoffi cial “house churches”, Christmas celebra- tion is fi nally returning to mainstream society 40 years after the restrictions placed on religion during the “cultural revolution” (1966-76). The possibility that China’s exports could register high growth in the next year is almost zero. CHEN DEMING Minister of Commerce By Liu Wei A top Hollywood studio head has expressed hope that China will allow more for- eign fi lms into the country, as the move would benefit both domestic and foreign fi lmmakers. “We would prefer to be able to bring more movies to the market,” James Gianopulos, chairman and chief executive offi cer of Fox Filmed Entertain- ment, told China Daily. “It makes sense to allow people to have access to the legal products, rather than seeing fi lms in pirated form. And, piracy doesn’t just steal from us, it steals from the gov- ernment and the economy of countries like China … it doesn’t benefi t anyone,” he said. Gia- nopulos was in Beijing to promote Avatar, the studio’s latest sci-fi extravaganza that will premiere in China on Jan 4. Gianopulos’ statement comes close on the heels of the World Trade Organization- turning down a Chinese appeal and upholding on Monday its earlier ruling against Chinese regulations on the import and distribution of books and au- dio-visual products. It said the Chinese regula- tions failed to comply with world trade rules. China expressed its regret over the ruling the next day. “China has conscientiously carried out its obligations under WTO rules in terms of access to the publishing market since its entry into the WTO,” Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said on the ministry’s offi cial website. “China regrets the appeal panel ruling. China believes that cultural goods combine commercial and cultural value, and should be managed in a different way than other products.” China imports 20 foreign films a year for theatrical release. The ruling, however, does not force China to let in products it thinks are harm- ful to public morals, which means the 20 -f i lm quota stays. Over the past fi ve years, the country’s box offi ce revenue has grown by 20 percent an- nually, touching $630 million last year. US blockbusters, such as Titanic and Transformers, have been among the highest grossers ever in China, but local films too have become competitive, contributing 60 percent to the revenue last year. Gianopulos said more local fi lms would boost the whole market, rather than shrinking the space for foreign fi lms. “Local films encourage people to enjoy going to the movies, and when people go to the movies, more theaters are built and more movies are made,” he said. “When people get into the habit of enjoying fi lms, some- times it would be a local fi lm that will top the box offi ce re- ceipts, sometimes, fortunately, it will be our fi lms, but what’s important is for people to have the opportunity to see fi lms and to like the habit of going to the movies.” Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is a sci-fi fantasy featuring the latest 3-D tech- nologies. It will be screened here in both the 2-D and 3-D ver- sions. T H E N A T I O N A L E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E N E W S P A P E R R M B ¥ 1 . 5 F R I D A Y D E C E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9 ����������� ��������� ������������������������� ����������������������������� ��&1���������������� ��,661������������������ ����� V O L . 2 9 N o . 9 2 5 4 www . c h i n a d a i l y . c o m . c n © 2009 China Daily All Rights Reserved HOTLINES NEWS (86-10) 6491-8366 SUBSCRIPTION (86-10) 6491-8763 ADVERTISEMENT (86-10) 6491-8631 In this issue: Nation ............................. 3, 4 China Scene .........................5 Insight ............................. 6, 7 Comment .............................8 Opinion .................................9 International ....... 10, 11, 12 Business............................. 13 Business China.................. 15 Business Intl ................ 16,17 Life ................. 18, 19, 20, 21 Sports ................... 22, 23, 24 H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S Xmas celebrations out in the open Firms face uncertainties amid rising trade protectionism Tough year ahead for exporters More fi lms please, studio urges Students of Guangdong Polytechnic Institute dressed as Santas pose before dispatching gifts in Foshan on Christmas Eve. China Daily People participate in a Christmas Eve mass at the Shanghai Xujiahui Cathedral. Gao Erqiang Anti-porn fi lter set up at karaoke bars Taking its cue from Chongqing municipality, Henan province is setting up a karaoke “fi lter system” that sounds an alert when a song with vulgar con- tent is played. About half of the 110 major karaoke bars in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, have already been installed with the system. Page 4 James Gianopulos Pool sharks line up in Shanghai Page 24 Pool sharks line up in Shanghai Page 24 Tea so good you can eat it Page 19 Cold continues to grip north The cold snap that has brought freezing temperatures and snow to Xinjiang continued yesterday, spreading to north and central regions and will drop tempera- tures by 10 C in Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Ningxia, national meteorologists said. Xinhua By Ding Qingfen Though he knows the worst has passed, Tian Feng still cannot relax. As head of an export-oriented soy protein producer, Tian said his company still faces a lot of uncertainty despite overseas demand rising again in the third quarter of this year. “We are still very concerned about next year,” said Tian, general manager of Sinologry Enterprise Group Co based in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province. What he is worried about is growing trade protectionism against Chinese products. “Foreign countries may set trade barriers, such as tight- ening the requirements on inspection and quarantine, to protect local market players,” he said. Tian’s worry may be shared by China’s tens of thousands of manufacturers and export- ers. Chen Deming, minister of commerce, warned yesterday that China’s export situation will continue to be “grim” next year despite the improv- ing economic conditions of its trade partners. “The prospects for export in the year ahead are not very positive, as the world economy will not fully recover from the financial crisis in the short term,” Chen told the nation’s annual commerce work con- ference. Moreover, “as many foreign nations and regions are expect- ed to withdraw their economic stimulus packages during the second half of 2010, China’s ex- porters will face a hard time,” Chen warned. During the third quarter, both the United States and the European Union, China’s top two trade partners, reported positive year-on-year economic growth of 2.2 and 0.8 percent, after months of decline. Also, since August, the decline in China’s exports has begun to ease, standing at merely 1.2 percent year-on-year in November, and economists predicted positive growth in December. Although he believes there is little possibility that exports will drop in 2010 compared with this year, Chen doubted growth will remain strong. “The possibility that China’s exports could register high growth in the next year is almost zero,” he said, given that “the employment rate (in the US and EU) keeps dropping and the willingness to consume is quite low.” China’s exports posted an an- nual growth of about 25 percent for many years before 2008, but such a rate may not reappear for two or three years, or even longer, he added. Chen’s prediction is echoed by local governments. FDI, Page 2 J F M A M J J A S2009 O N Trade fi gures Graphic by Kinyen PongSources: NBS, General Administration of Customs 200 150 100 50 0 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 % ExportsImports (Percent change from previous year) $208.2 b Import & export (Monthly, $ billion) -1.2% 26.7% Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama apologized after two former aides were charged yesterday with mak- ing false fi nancial reports but refused to step down, saying he did not know about the dubious money. Page 12 Hatoyama says he won’t resign • More Pages 6, 7 Mutual trust is crucial to the suc- cess of fi ve upcoming joint space programs between China and Russia, experts said. Top of the list is a study of the moon, Alex- ander Rodin, chief representative in China for the Russian Federal Space Agency, said yesterday in Beijing. Page 2 Joint space effort gets boost Experts warn of next tsunami Page 10 PAGE22 FRIDAY DECEMBER 25, 2009 CHINA DAILY Cooperation needed for success of mission to put vehicle on moon To comment or alert us to a story, email news@chinadaily.com.cn WEATHER Central Meteorological Observatory www.tq121.com.cn RAINSUNNY CLOUDYDRIZZLE STORMDUST OVERCASTSNOW FOGSHOWER THUNDER TRAVELER’S FORECAST HIGH/LOW TEMPERATURES, IN DEGREES CELSIUS AND DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, AND EXPECTED CONDITIONS. C.....................Cloudy D.....................Drizzle Du......................Dust F...........................Fog O.................Overcast R.........................Rain Sh.................Shower S......................Sunny Sn.....................Snow St.....................Storm T.......Thunderstorms C F HARBIN Today -10/-15 -16/-18Sat CHANGCHUN Today -2/-16 -17/-24Sat DALIAN Today -2/-8 -6/-12Sat QINGDAO Today 4/-4 Sat -1/-7 XI’AN Today 4/-4 4/-4Sat CHONGQING Today 11/9 Sat 10/8 URUMQI Today -12/-19 Sat -10/-20 CHENGDU Today 12/5 Sat 12/5 LHASA Today 5/-9 Sat 6/-10 GUILIN Today 14/11 Sat 10/6 KUNMING Today 17/4 Sat 17/5 GUANGZHOU Today 23/16 Sat 18/14 BEIJING Today -4/-8 -1/-12Sat SHANGHAI Today 9/6 Sat 6/2 HAIKOU Today 28/17 Sat 29/17 WUHAN Today 10/5 Sat 5/2 MACAO Today 21/16 Sat 17/14 HONG KONG Today 22/18 Sat 18/16 XIAMEN Today 20/14 Sat 16/12 TAIPEI Today 24/16 Sat 20/16 December 25-26 %WEATHER D-D%%WEATHER D-D% SATURDAYFRIDAY %25WDAT%%25WDAT% Changsha 10/8 50/46 6/3 42/37 Dali 15/2 59/35 14/4 57/39 Fuzhou 18/13 64/55 13/10 55/50 Guiyang 7/4 44/39 8/2 46/35 Hangzhou 9/7 48/44 4/1 39/33 Hohhot -12/-22 10/-8 -9/-19 15/-3 Hefei 6/4 42/39 3/-2 37/28 Jinan -1/-5 30/23 -1/-9 30/15 Kashi 5/-5 41/23 1/-5 33/23 Lanzhou 2/-12 35/10 -4/-10 24/14 Lijiang 14/4 57/39 14/5 57/41 Nanjing 6/0 42/32 3/-3 37/26 Nanning 25/17 77/62 20/15 68/59 Nanchang 9/7 48/44 5/3 41/37 Ningbo 10/6 50/42 7/2 44/35 Shijiazhuang -1/-7 30/19 -1/-9 30/15 Suzhou 8/5 46/41 6/3 42/37 Shenzhen 24/18 75/64 20/15 68/59 Sanya 29/19 84/66 28/19 82/66 Shenyang -3/-14 26/6 -13/-24 8/-12 Shantou 23/14 73/57 18/15 64/59 Taiyuan -6/-17 21/1 -6/-17 21/1 Tianjin -5/-7 23/19 -3/-11 26/12 Xigaze 5/-15 41/5 7/-13 44/8 Xining 5/-14 41/6 -1/-13 30/8 Yantai 2/-4 35/24 0/-4 32/24 Yichang 8/5 46/41 5/2 41/35 Yinchuan -7/-16 19/3 -6/-13 21/8 Zhengzhou 4/-1 39/30 2/-6 35/21 Zhuhai 23/17 73/62 20/16 68/60 New Delhi 22/8 71/46 22/9 71/48 New York 4/0 39/32 9/2 48/35 Paris 4/1 39/33 3/0 37/32 Rome 16/9 60/48 15/5 59/41 San Francisco 13/6 55/42 12/7 53/44 Sao Paulo 27/21 80/69 27/20 80/68 Seoul 4/1 39/33 -2/-8 28/17 Singapore 27/24 80/75 28/25 82/77 Stockholm 0/-4 32/24 0/-3 32/26 Sydney 32/22 89/71 29/19 84/66 Teheran 13/6 55/42 11/6 51/42 Tokyo 11/5 51/41 12/5 53/41 Vancouver 5/1 41/33 6/0 42/32 Vienna 12/9 53/48 6/4 42/39 Washington 8/-2 46/28 10/6 50/42 Amsterdam 4/0 39/32 3/0 37/32 Bangkok 34/24 93/75 34/24 93/75 Berlin 3/0 37/32 3/0 37/32 Brussels 3/1 37/33 4/0 39/32 Buenos Aires 26/19 78/66 27/22 80/71 Cairo 23/14 73/57 22/14 71/57 Cape Town 24/14 75/57 25/15 77/59 Geneva 12/2 53/35 4/-1 39/30 Helsinki -2/-5 28/23 -2/-5 28/23 Karachi 28/14 82/57 28/14 82/57 London 4/0 39/32 8/3 46/37 Madrid 12/3 53/37 9/0 48/32 Mexico City 21/7 69/44 21/8 69/46 Moscow -1/-11 30/12 1/-2 33/28 Nairobi 26/15 78/59 27/15 80/59 C C O D C S S R C S O C C Sn C S C D R S C C Sh O D O C C D C D C O C C S C C O S C D C Sn C S C C S C C C Sh Sn R D C C O D D S C D D Du O C S S S O C D D C D C C Sn C S O O S C C C O C %26WCS%SCS%26WCS%%26WCS%SCSC R C D D O S S S S C S O O D C S C O C S D S S S C C C C C D “Overseas demand will inch up gradually, but there is no sign of immediate strong growth,” said Jin Yonghui, director-general of the Depart- ment of Commerce with Zheji- ang province. Based in the nation’s leading exporting province, Zhejiang’s manufacturers found orders suddenly shrinking late last year. “Not until this November did orders begin to grow. During the fi rst 20 days of December, exports from Zhejiang surged by 13 percent,” Jin said. Zhejiang’s exports are expected to fall by 15 percent year-on-year this year, and are expected to climb by 5 percent in 2010, compared with an annual growth of about 20 percent before the global fi- nancial crisis hit the nation’s exporters in 2008. Chen said the central govern- ment will focus on “stabilizing export growth by prioritizing exports in key industries next year, including hi-tech, services, media, medicine and culture. As a large proportion of China’s exports are attributable to the China-based facilities of multinational companies, the nation will try to encourage more overseas investment in selected areas, Chen said. Since August, China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) has started to grow, reversing a 10-month decline that began last October. “FDI will grow on a gradual basis,” Chen said. As China’s efforts to promote domestic consumption have taken off, the growth of imports will outperform that of exports next year, he said. Besides slackened demand, trade barriers and protection- ism will also challenge Chinese exporters, analysts said. Many exporters, such as Sinologry, which targets Eu- ropean and North American markets, have struggled as the impact of the fi nancial crisis materialized last year. Over time, however, the im- proving global economy has not brought much comfort to them, despite a gradual pick up in overseas demand. This year, more than 100 trade remedy cases concern- ing more than $10 billion were initi- ated against China. The latest case was the EU on Tues- day deciding to prolong an anti-dumping tariff on shoe imports from China for 15 months, disregarding strong opposition from several Euro- pean nations. Analysts said that as China’s trade partners, such as the US, become more export-driven to revive their economies, China will continue to be a major target of trade protectionist measures worldwide. “Most of those cases violated WTO rules,” said Zhou Shijian, a senior WTO expert. More measures against high value-added categories outside manufacturing, such as a car- bon tariff, will show up next year, Chen said. Chen vowed China will step up efforts to fi ght trade protectionism. Zhou Yan contributed to the story. Mainland envoy tours typhoon-hit village, calls for ‘brotherly love’ By Xing Zhigang NANTOU, Taiwan: Beijing’s top envoy sought to promote “brotherly love” across the Straits, even as dozens staged protests when Chen Yunlin visited a typhoon-hit village in central Taiwan. More than 20 buildings in this mountainous village of 100 were washed away in early August by landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot, although no- body was killed. Prefabricated houses have been constructed for all these villagers. Chen, the president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, commiser- ated with the typhoon victims, and conveyed sympathies on behalf of all mainlanders while he was being briefed about the reconstruction work. He stressed that compa- t r iots across the Taiwan Straits had time and again helped each other in times of disaster. “It was a severe disaster; but our compatr iots on both sides have af fect ion towards each other,” he said, referring to the mainland’s contr ibut ions to Taiwan’s relief efforts. “The kindred spirit between our people has proved that blood is thicker than water.” Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit the island in nearly fi ve decades, killed more than 600 people and wreaked havoc across central and southern Taiwan. The mainland donated over 780 million yuan ($115 mil- lion) and relief material includ- ing prefabricated houses to help the victims. Chen also praised the island’s “generous donations” to earth- quake-hit Sichuan province in 2008, saying it was another example of “brotherly love” across the Straits. The May 12 Sichuan earth- quake claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 people. Taiwan’s donations to the victims of the quake totaled 1.4 billion yuan. No victim of the typhoon showed up when Chen visited the village yesterday. Wang Ling-yao, a highway maintenance worker who was working near the village, said he was impressed by Chen’s caring remarks. Before visiting the village, Chen toured the Chung Tai Shan Buddhist Monastery in Nantou to pray fo