Rebuilding plans drawn up for Yushu

A plan to rebuild the quake-hit Yushu, Qinghai province, has been drafted and will be submitted to the State Council as soon as possible, Wei Guijun, a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Wednesday.

As a result of rapid repairs, the supplies of electricity and fuel in Yushu are now enough to meet demand. Food, medicine and other life necessities are also in abundant supply in Yushu and neighboring areas, he said.

The prices for products sold in local markets have stabilized, he said, adding that the NDRC will step up price monitoring and severely punish those hike up prices in the wake of the disaster.

Anti-HIV network launched

China's first-ever anti-HIV/AIDS network for youths, particularly young migrants, was jointly launched by the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund in Beijing on Tuesday.

Young volunteers will be recruited around the country to reach local young people to raise their awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and control, the ministry's spokesman, Mao Qun'an, said at the launch ceremony.

University tackles globalization

The Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics set up the country's first bachelor's program in economic diplomacy and opened a school of international relations over the weekend.

"As globalization becomes more widespread, international trade and politics are becoming increasingly linked to one another, so it's essential to train interdisciplinary talent," said Zhou Wenzhong, former Chinese ambassador to the United States.

2 INNER MONGOLIA

Reservoir drying up in drought

The largest reservoir in North China is short of water as the severe drought persists, the local drought relief office said on Wednesday.

Water volume in the Hongshan Reservoir, Chifeng city, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has dropped to a "dead storage level" of 10 million cubic meters, said Xu Xiaoming, director of the flood control and drought relief office. The water storage capacity of the reservoir was 2.56 billion cubic meters.

This was by far the lowest level it has been in more than four decades, since the reservoir was built in the 1960s, he said.

Located in the middle reaches of the Liaohe River, one of China's largest rivers, water in the reservoir is used to irrigate about 1.12 million mu of farmland at its lower reaches.

3 HUBEI

10 missing after ship capsizes

Ten people are missing after a ship used for transporting vehicles loaded with goods capsized on Wednesday in Central China's Hubei province.

The accident occurred after the ship, Qingjiang No 8, pulled away from the dock at around 5:30 am on Wednesday in Shuibuya town, Badong county, according to the county's information office.

It capsized right after two of the 16 trucks on board rolled off the ship, said Ouyang Kaiping, spokesman of the office.

Altogether 23 people, including eight sailors, 14 truck drivers and one passenger, along with 14 loaded trucks were on the ship when it turned over, he said.

Thirteen people have been rescued, but the remaining six drivers and four sailors were still missing as of 1 pm.

Rescuers are still searching for the missing people and the cause of the accident is under investigation, he said.

4 ANHUI

Province to host cultural gala

East China's Anhui province is launching its first folk cultural gala to showcase the essence of Chinese folklore and to create a new culture platform with local features.

Yang Guo, director of the provincial culture department, said the First Anhui Folk Culture Festival, to be held between May 7 and 9, will stage 10 folk performances at the opening ceremony in southern Tongling city.

During the event, visitors will have the chance to see 30 local operas and listen to 30 types of local music, as well as to view 30 kinds of local craftsmanship and 50 types of local products, Yang said.

5 FUJIAN

Fair attracts Taiwan businesses

The upcoming 12th annual Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade, which will open on May 18, has attracted the largest number ever of Taiwan companies, thanks to the warming of cross-Straits relations and a free trade pact that is under negotiation, said Chen Weimin, deputy mayor of Fuzhou city, capital of the Southeast Fujian province.

Until now, 427 Taiwan companies have booked 1,000 booths at the fair, which will be held in Fuzhou, and many of these companies are specialized in advanced technology.

Chen also said the mainland may further ease the import restriction over Taiwan agricultural products, and more than six mainland enterprises may declare their plans to invest in Taiwan during the fair.

(China Daily 04/22/2010 page7)