ZHOUCUN, Shandong Province, April 30 (Xinhua) — One more body has been recovered from the wreckage of Monday’s fatal train crash in eastern China, bringing the known death toll to 71, said officials handling the aftermath.

    The identities of 63 of those killed have been confirmed, and the body of one victim was cremated with the family’s agreement, officials said, without elaborating.

    When the locomotive of T195, one of the two trains involved, was being lifted from the scene by a crane, a body fell off. “It was a man,” said a spokesman for Zichuan District who declined to be identified.

    He said he suspected the victim, the last to be pulled out, had been the train driver. But the result would be known only after DNA testing, according to railway authorities.

    T195, a high-speed train from Beijing to the coastal city of Qingdao, derailed and crashed into another train in Zibo’s Zhoucun District at 4:40 a.m. on Monday.

    At least 12 cars from the two trains derailed in the accident and 71 people were confirmed dead.

    Of the 416 people injured, 39 had been discharged, 39 others were transferred to hospitals elsewhere for treatment while 338 remained hospitalized in Shandong.

    A preliminary investigation suggested the train from Beijing was running at 131 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident, while the speed limit of that section was 80 kph. It happened just three days before the May Day holiday, when millions of Chinese holiday makers will travel by train.

    HONG KONG, April 30 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong stocks retreated 0.61percent on Wednesday amid volatility, ending two consecutive days of rallying.

    The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 84.12 points, or 0.32 percent, to open at 25,998.27 but turned around into negative territory during trading before falling 158.8 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 25,755.35.

    Turnover shrank to 82.61 billion HK dollars (10.59 billion U.S. dollars) from Tuesday’s 88.68 billion HK dollars (11.37 billion U.S. dollars).

    Market heavyweight HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, gained 0.52 percent to 135.1 HK dollars, lifting the index by 20.13 points alone.

    China Mobile, the largest mobile phone operator in the country and the market’s largest stock measured by market value, lost 1.4 percent to 134.1 HK dollars.

    Energy companies headed towards different directions. PetroChina, the country’s largest oil producer, retreated 0.86 percent to 11.6 HK dollars. CNOOC, China’s largest offshore oil producer, weakened 3.1 percent to 13.76 HK dollars from previous days of rallying. Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner, rose 0.61 percent to 8.27 HK dollars.

    Hong Kong’s property companies all fell as the market predicted the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week might signal the end of the rate cut cycle, a move that Hong Kong will probably follow.

    SHK Properties, the largest house developer in Hong Kong, inched down 0.51 percent to 136.5 HK dollars. Cheung Kong, one of the biggest housing companies controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, fell 1.46 percent to 121.4 HK dollars. Sino Land slumped 3.9 percent to 19.7 HK dollars. Henderson Land lost 1.82 percent to 59. 5 HK dollars. Hang Lung moved down 0.94 percent to 31.7 HK dollars. New World Development shed 2.66 percent to 20.1 HK dollars.

    Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the market’s sole operator, lost 1.61 percent to 159.2 HK dollars.

    China Enterprise Index, or H-shares, which was composed of 43 companies registered on the Chinese mainland, fell 67.58 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 14,230.25 despite the upsurge of stock markets in the Chinese mainland.

    China’s banking companies and insurers listed in Hong Kong were mixed. Heavily traded ICBC, China’s largest lender, edged down 0. 16 percent to 6.17 HK dollars though it reported a 77 percent surge in net profits to 33.1 billion yuan (4.73 billion U.S. dollars) during the first quarter. China Construction Bank, the third largest bank in China, edged down 0.14 percent to 7.04 HK dollars. Bank of Communications failed to gain momentum from its report 170 percent increase in net profits to 7.89 billion yuan (1. 13 billion U.S. dollars) in first quarter and slumped 1.92 percent to 11.24 HK dollars.

    Bank of China, the country’s second largest bank, added 1.02 percent to 3.98 HK dollars. China Merchants Bank added 0.31 percent to 32.55 HK dollars. China Life, the country’s largest life insurer, rose 0.15 percent to 33.8 HK dollars. Ping An increased 2 percent to 73.95 HK dollars. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollars)

Special report: 2008 Olympic Games  

Participators wave hands during the marathon relay which marks the 100-day countdown of the coming Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, capital of China on April 30, 2008. Various activities were held Wednesday across China to mark the 100-day countdown of the Olympic Games. (Xinhua Photo)

    BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) — As the countdown reached the 100-day mark, senior Chinese leader Jia Qinglin on Wednesday called on the Chinese to turn their patriotism into mighty forces to overcome all difficulties to hold a successful Olympics.

    Jia, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks at a grand mobilization gathering held here in the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games, scheduled from Aug. 8-24.

    China is “confident of holding a high-level Olympics with a distinctive flavor”, said Jia, the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body.

    At this historic moment, however, “we should keep a sober mind and pool our patriotic passion to accumulate a mighty force that could overcome all difficulties in a bid to hold a successful Olympics,” he stressed.

    He asked people to make preparations for the event in a “scientific, prudent and solid” way to ensure a successful Olympics and be a great host.

    He also called on people to fully utilize the advantages of the fact that the whole country instead of only Beijing was supporting the event and “create a happy and peaceful Olympic atmosphere” in society.

    The gathering saw the presence of more than 6,000 people including athletes, students, soldiers, armed police, security forces, staff of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, volunteers, and representatives of sponsors, communities, designated hospitals and hotels.

Special report: Tibet: Its Past and Present

    BOMI, Tibet, April 30 (Xinhua) — A massive snow avalanche in Bomi County in southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region has blocked the Sichuan-Tibet highway and stranded about 260 people in 59 vehicles.

    Since April 20, consecutive rainstorms and melting snow have resulted in more than 30 avalanches in Nyingchi Prefecture in southeastern Tibet, blocking a section of the Sichuan-Tibet highway within the prefecture, according to sources with the Armed Police who maintain the road.

    The latest snow slide in Bomi, which forms part of the Nyingchi prefecture and a popular tourist destination, occurred at about 01:50 p.m. Tuesday and destroyed about 60 meters of the road.

    Officers formed two emergency rescue teams, one searching for and removing the stranded vehicles and people, and the other clearing and repairing the road.

    As there was still danger of avalanche, the officers said the road might not resume operation until Thursday.

Special report: Tibet: Its Past and Present

    XINING, April 30 (Xinhua) — The funeral ceremony for Lama Cedain, the police officer shot and killed during the pursuit of a riot leader in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, was held on Wednesday.

    More than 1,000 officials and ordinary people participated in the memorial held in the funeral home of the Huzhu Tu Autonomous County of Qinghai. The officer’s body, covered with the red flag of the Communist Party of China (CPC), lay quietly among flowers, and his photo was surrounded by a white hada, a Tibetan scarf for blessings.

    Lama Cedain left a 6-year-old son. His relatives and colleagues wept at the ceremony, while his wife, Garsamcog, was besotted by grief.

    The 33-year-old Lama Cedain started his career in 1996. He joined the CPC in 2003 and was in charge of criminal investigations in the Public Security Bureau of Dari County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Golog. On Monday, he was killed by six bullets in a gun battle and died at about 6:30 a.m..

    ”He died for safeguarding our peaceful life, and gods would bless him,” a local Tibetan granny said, softly crying at the ceremony.

    Following the March 14 unrest in Lhasa, a handful of insurgents seeking “Tibetan independence” incited herdsmen in Hongke Town, Dari County, to riot on March 21, the Qinghai Provincial Department of Public Security said.

    After a month long investigation, the police moved on Monday to arrest the suspected leader. The suspect resisted and gunfire broke out.

    Other officers killed the suspect after Lama Cedain was struck.

    His body was moved to Xining, Qinghai’s capital, on Tuesday.

    GUANGZHOU, April 30 (Xinhua) — The spring session of the biannual Canton Fair, or the 103rd China Import and Export Fair, closed here on Wednesday, clinching export deals worth 38.23 billion U.S. dollars, slightly higher than each of the two sessions last year.

    The value of export deals was 2.1 percent more than the autumn fair last year, and 5.1 percent higher than the previous spring fair, said Xu Bing, the fair’s spokesman.

    He said that the number of overseas visitors, 192,013, was up 1.3 percent over the previous session held in Autumn last year.

    He attributed the moderate growth in exports to the boom of trade with new export markets in the Middle East and the South-East Asia regions, which saw deals worth 4.84 billion U.S. dollars and 1.99 billion U.S. dollars at the fair, up 9.6 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively, over the autumn fair.

    The exports to Russia and India also recorded a respective jump of 6.2 percent and 32.9 percent, to 1.19 billion U.S. dollars and 930 million U.S. dollars, respectively, Xu said.

    There is a growing demand for machinery and electric products, the exports of which were up by 7.7 percent in general, and made up of 44 percent of the total volume signed at the fair, or 16.82 billion U.S. dollars, he said.

    The spokesman said that the fair, dubbed as “barometer” of China’s foreign trade, suggested difficulties in the country’s exports.

    The weak world market has dampened the exports of China-made garments and dress accessories, which were down by 4.8 percent from the previous fair to 2.87 billion U.S. dollars, and that of spinning yarn and textile products saw a dive of 16.8 percent to 2.4 billion U.S. dollars, he said..

    He added that other consumer products including Chinese porcelain, furniture, office appliance, toy and plastic wares were all among the sluggish exports.

    The fair, which ran from April 15 to 30, saw fewer orders from China’s traditional export markets in the European Union, America, Japan and the Republic of Korea with the biggest fall in exports with the countries going above 20 percent, said the spokesman.

    Liu Xu, head of the Foreign Economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission said that the fluctuation in China’s export environment has prompted Chinese exporters to seek more export channels.

    ”The appreciation of yuan against the U.S. dollar has dealt a heavy blow to China’s exports. So has it to the electric and information industry. However, the exporters that own intellectual property rights and self-developed brands of their products can still hold a big profit margin in exports,” said Yu Heping, a marketing manager of China Delixi Group.

    The company is one of China’s two largest private enterprises specializing in manufacturing electric power transmission and distribution appliances.

    He expected the company’s export will grow by 40-50 percent this year.

    ”Chinese export would undergo a period of “pang” under the combined effects of yuan’s appreciation and the rising production cost and labor cost at home,” said Lu Jianhua, assistant minister of commerce on Wednesday at the fair.

    However, he believed that Chinese exporters would improve innovations and product quality through the painful experience, which would bring credit to the reputation of China-made products.

    Based on export volumes at the fair, Guangdong Province is still the number one exporter in China, which sealed deals worth 10.09 billion U.S. dollars. It was followed by eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Shanghai Municipality in sequence.

    This spring fair, the largest yet of its kind, offered 42,659 booths which were rented by 18,721 businesses, according to the spokesman.

    The fair, known as the “Canton fair” after the old name of Guangdong, was originally a biannual export-promotion event until the 101st session in the Spring of 2007, when its name was officially changed to the present name of the China Import and Export Fair from the Chinese Export Commodities Fair.

    The fair has become an international trade platform, which saw 514 foreign companies from 51 countries and regions demonstrate their commodities. Although the import business at the fair was still in small scale, it drew over 5,400 domestic companies, said the spokesman Xu.

    The fair did not give figures on the import deals.