by Ling Shuo

    BANGKOK, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — “More than 20 years ago, I went to Shanghai for the first time. Only one skyscraper was there then …But when I was on the highway from airport to downtown Shanghai during a visit in 2000, I could not believe my eyes since the whole city was surrounded by modernism,” Thailand’s newly elected Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej recalled his previous visits to China on Thursday at his residence in Bangkok.

    It is the second day that the People Power Party (PPP) leader officially took over the premiership from former premier Surayud Chulanont who was appointed by military after a coup in 2006. Samak, leading PPP, won the general election late last year and then was elected as the 25th Prime Minister early this week.

    On Thursday, Zhang Jiuhuan, China’s ambassador to Thailand, delivered a congratulatory letter of China’s premier Wen Jiabao to Samak, congratulating to his Thai counterpart.

    Samak, a 72-year-old veteran politician who has a political career of more than 40 years, thanked premier Wen and reaffirmed that the new government will enhance the Thai-Sino relationship in every fields.

    He said the Thai-Sino relations are deeply rooted and are as inseparable as relatives or brothers. He said that the Thai government paid great attention to the development of the relationship between Thailand and China.

    ”I am an old friend of China,” said the premier. He recalled his visits to China during the past decades, saying he was always “shocked” by the quick development of various Chinese cities.

    ”I have been to Beijing, Shanghai, Dali, Hangzhou … too much for me to remember. But I was always impressed by the changes of all the cities every time I went there,” said Samak.

    He said as the governor of Bangkok in 2000, he paid more attention to the construction of China, from city layout, to expressway construction, and also railway paving. He highly praised the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest railroad in the world which was completed in 2006.

    Samak said he expects the early accomplishment of the road connecting China’s Kunming to Laos’ Vientiane which passes northern Thailand. He predicted that the “driving-tourism” would be enhanced after the project is finished.

    ”For myself, I also wish to drive to China. It must be fun,” said the premier.

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — The All-China Journalists Association published a letter on Thursday lauding reporters who were covering the snow-related disasters in the central and southern provinces.

    A “people’s war” against these disasters was being fought under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, the letter said.

    It praised journalists for their active participation in the anti-snow campaign and timely, accurate reports. The reporters had to overcome many difficulties, including transport problems and the lack of power and water in many areas, according to the letter.

    The letter ended with a festive greeting to journalists for the upcoming Spring Festival, the traditional Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 7.

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi called on Thursday for an all-out effort to ensure food and drug safety through improved supervision, supply and rule of law.

    Wu made the call at the opening of the annual working conference on the supervision of food and drug safety. She pledged to ceaselessly deepen the current special safety campaign.

    Wu praised the food and drug administrations for achievements in restructuring the supervisory system.

    ”Food and drug safety is directly linked to the health and safety of the people,” she stressed, urging the supervisory authorities to further implement the Scientific Concept of Development, the essence of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which was held last October.

    The special campaign on food and drug safety should focus on grassroots units, rural areas and exurbs where food is grown for cities, she said.

    She called for carefully implementing measures to ensure food and drug supplies to the Olympics host city of Beijing and five co-host mainland cities — Shenyang, Qinghuangdao, Tianjin, Qingdao and Shanghai.

    Meanwhile, the government would introduce an on-line supervisory network, she said. This would enable the government to ensure the supply of common use pharmaceuticals and give the public easier and more affordable access to common use medicines.

    She called for transparent governance in the supervision of food and drug safety and said it should be a fundamental, long-term and strategic task to build up a group of supervisors who are honest, pragmatic and put people’s interest first.

    At the meeting, Wu gave awards to units and individuals for exemplary work in the field.

    Shao Mingli, director of the SFDA, presided over the conference, which was attended by relevant officials from central government departments and leaders of food and drug organs from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday urged the safeguarding of the production and transport of coal for power generation, in light of the severe weather affecting much of the country.

    Hu spoke during an inspection of coal fields in Datong in Shanxi Province and Qinhuangdao Port in Hebei province, through which much of Shanxi’s coal is shipped.

    In footage shown on CCTV on Thursday evening, Hu entered a coalmine more than 400 meters underground, taking an elevator down to meet miners of the Datangtashan coal mine co-op in Datong who had worked overtime in temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius to increase supply.

    He asked the miners to produce as much coal as they could safely to provide more fuel for generating electricity amid a nation-wide shortage.

An electrician works to restore power supply in Yihuang County, East China’s Jiangxi Province Jan. 31, 2008. The power network in the county were damaged after days of snow and sleet. (Xinhua Photo)

    ”Disaster-hit areas need coal and the power plants need coal,” Hu told administrators and workers of the mine, saying that coal supply had been a crucial part in fighting the snow disaster.

    At the side of a facility that transfers coal to vessels in Qinhuangdao Port, Hu told dockworkers to maintain all equipment in good condition and improve the efficiency of coal transportation to vessels.

    ”The southern areas were hit by heavy snows and ice. We must take the overall situation into consideration,” Hu said, “I hope you can make more contributions to disaster relief in the southern areas.”

    Qinhuangdao Port is the busiest shipping port, which transfers coal for power generation from Shanxi Province to southern China by ship, with a special railway connecting Datong.

    To maintain uninterrupted coal supplies, the port has been operating around the clock since the severe weather hit central and southern China.

    As of Sunday, 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions had suffered blackouts, and power grids in central Hubei and Hunan provinces and southern Guizhou and Guangdong provinces had been seriously damaged.

    The blackouts shut down electrified railways in those areas as well.

    More than 30 million people have been affected by the power shortages, many of them stranded en route home for Spring Festival family reunions.

    The snow, the heaviest in a decade in many places, has been falling in China’s east, central and southern regions since Jan. 10, causing deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, highway closures and crop destruction.

China vows to ensure supply, stable prices of farm produce threatened by snow

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — The Chinese government has vowed to ensure a steady supply of farm produce, which has been threatened by the heavy snow that has fallen since mid-January, the worst in five decades. Full Story

China’s air force flies winter relief materials to snow-affected areas

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Four Chinese air force Ilyushin II-76 military transport aircraft on Thursday began flying relief materials to south China areas affected by severe winter weather. Full Storey

China intensifies relief work for disaster-hit areas

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — China has stepped up relief work for areas affected by ice and snow by mobilizing women’s and youth organizations and military forces. The government also offered help to Taiwan compatriots and businessmen on the mainland who have been affected by the weather. Full Story

Chinese premier visits passengers stranded at Guangzhou railway station

    BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday visited passengers stranded at the railway station in the southern city of Guangzhou, saying the government will try its best to make sure they can go home for family reunion for the upcoming lunar New Year. Full Story

    BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — China is waging all-out war against the disasters caused by heavy snow and rain in the southern provinces, with military forces and police officers getting involved. Full story

    BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is urging local authorities to regard disaster relief as the “most pressing task” and to make “all-out efforts” to ensure normal production and life in areas hit by unprecedented bad weather this month. Full story

Premier Wen rushes to Hunan Province to direct disaster relief work

    BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has rushed to Hunan to help with the central China province’s disaster relief work following an unprecedented snowfall.

    Wen flew out of Beijing on Monday night but had to land at Tianhe Airport in neighboring Hubei Province because of the bad weather in Hunan. He then completed his journey by train and arrived in Changsha City, the provincial capital, on Tuesday morning. Full story

    HONG KONG, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 270.34 points, or 2.12 percent, to close Thursday’s trading at 12,755.41.

    The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the overall performance of 43 Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    Hang Seng China H-Financials Index went down 488.01 points, or 3.35 percent, to close at 14,094.76.

    The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.

    Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index went down 37.18 points, or 0. 88 percent, to close at 4,183.90.

    Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 and readjusted on Sept. 11, 2006, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 103 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

    Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index went up 28.43 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 5,091.80.

    The index tracks the performance of 31 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.

    BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — About half of the villagers’ committees across China will be reshuffled in 2008. The following are some key facts and figures about the development of democracy in China’s rural areas.

    According to the Organic Law of the Villagers’ Committees, the functions of the villagers’ committee are as follows:

    – To make sure the villagers have a better understanding of the Constitution, laws, regulations and state policies.

    – To manage the collective-owned land and other means of production, provide various kinds of services for rural residents, including the construction of roads and bridges.

    – To be responsible for the local education, cultural, health and sports causes.

    – To mediate civil disputes and coordinate the relations among local residents.

    The elections of villagers’ committees are held every three years.

    In 1980, 85 households of Hezhai village in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region elected and established China’s first villagers’ committee as a self-rule body. Such a practice was recognized in 1982 by country’s Constitution.

    In June 1988, the Organic Law of the Villagers’ Committees was enacted and was tried out for ten years. In November 1998, the law was formally promulgated.

    At the end of 2007, more than 620,000 villagers’ committees had been set up across the country.

    Voter turnout is considered as an important indicator of the election enthusiasm of villagers. The rate for elections held from2005 to 2007 was 90.7 percent, a fairly high figure considering the fact that some rural people went out seeking jobs outside their hometown.

    According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, “no-candidate elections”, which means no candidates are decided prior to the elections and any individual villager can promote himself or herself, were popular in 17 provincial areas in the elections from2005 to 2007.

    However, the report showed that there are three main factors intervening or disturbing rural election — the power of big clans, bribery and other illegal competitive practices, and the high mobility of migrant workers.

    To overcome these factors, some election monitoring modes have gradually formed, such as a specialized electoral supervisory body, a observers system, and a judicial notary system.