SINGAPORE, May 31 (Xinhua) — The Chinese army stands ready to step up military-to-military exchanges with the Asia-pacific nations and press ahead with cooperation in areas like counter-terrorism and disaster relief, a senior Chinese military officer told an Asian security conference here Saturday.

    ”We will work together with nations in this region to maintain regional peace and stability and are committed to unremitting efforts for a harmonious Asia-Pacific region of lasting peace and shared prosperity,” Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, addressed defense ministers and military officials from 27 countries around the world.

    In his remarks to the annual conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, Ma elaborated China’s defense policy.

    ”China has been high holding the banner of peace, development and cooperation and unswervingly adhering to the path of peaceful development,” Ma said, while facing the complex and volatile international and regional situation, intertwined past and present disputes as well as traditional security threat combined with outstanding non-traditional security threat.

    ”This has been the strategic choice made by the Chinese government and people in accordance with the trends of the era and the fundamental national interests. It is also our solemn pledge to the international community,” he added.

    To strengthen defense development is the fundamental guarantee to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Ma said, adding that it is also the necessary requirement to effectively respond to multiple security threats.

    On China’s defense development, Ma said that it is compatible with the country’s economic growth, with defense expenditure consistently within the limit of affordability.

    ”China’s growing economy and fiscal revenue makes the defense budget increase a logic and imperative reality,” the senior official said.

    However, compared to increase in other sectors, he said, “the increase of defense budget is limited and proportional.”

    ”No matter it is the actual total or gross domestic product (GDP) proportion, China’s defense expenditure is at a low level, in contrast to some developed countries in the world,” he added.

    He reiterated that China would always adopt a defensive defense policy and does not engage in arms race.

    ”We are military threat to no other country. We shall never seek for hegemony or expansion,” he said.

    He said China argues for universal security of the international community and repels acts of ensuring security of some countries at the cost of others, including the expansion of military alliance.

    On the outer space issue, Ma said it belongs to the whole mankind and “it is imperative to make peaceful use of outer space and oppose weaponization and arms race in outer space.”

    It is also important to facilitate international arms control agenda and address the proliferation of weapons of massive destruction (WMD), he said.

 Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake

    SINGAPORE, May 31 (Xinhua) — Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, praised here on Saturday the Chinese army for their relief efforts in the country’s earthquake-hit Sichuan province.

    Speaking at the annual Asian Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, Ma briefed defense ministers and military officials from 27 countries around the world on the participation of China’s military force in relief operation in the aftermath of severe natural disasters in China this year, including this month’s Sichuan earthquake.

    ”In the colossal earthquake 20 days ago in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, the Chinese government has given top priority to saving lives,” he said, adding that “After the class-1 national disaster response mechanism activated, the military has taken immediate actions based on the Regulations on Military Participation in Disaster Relief as well as relevant deliberate plans.”

    Over 137,000 military troops are deployed to engage in a full scale of relief operations, according to Ma.

    The military has pulled out 270,000 people alive from the debris, treated 313,000 wounded people, relocated 660,000 stranded residents and tourists, and repaired over 4500 kilometers of roads in this month, he said.

    ”During the entire relief operations, China’s men and women in uniform have been playing the critical role in saving lives, calming down the affected public and recovering social order,” he said.

    He also thanked the international community for providing relief materials or sending professional rescue teams to China.

    ”I’d like to, on behalf of China’s PLA, express our heartfelt thanks to the assistance of friendship provided by the aforementioned governments and armed forces,” he said.

    Speaking on international disaster relief missions, Ma said “China’s armed forces is also an active member of the government-level international disaster relief missions.”

    The China International Rescue Team partly composed of military personnel has conducted search and rescue, medical treatment and disease control work in the aftermath of Indian Ocean tsunami, Pakistan earthquake, Indonesia Yogyakarta earthquake, he said.

    The military also assisted the Chinese government in providing humanitarian assistance to 16 disaster-stricken countries.

    ”On the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and consultation on equal footing, China’s armed forces stand ready to step up military-to-military exchanges with all Asia-pacific countries and press ahead with practical cooperation in counter-terrorism, peace-keeping, disaster relief, cross-border crimes and other areas,” he said.

    He ensured that China will work together with nations in the Asia-Pacific region to maintain regional peace and stability, saying that China is “committed to unremitting efforts for a harmonious Asia-Pacific region of lasting peace and shared prosperity.” 

Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (3rd L) waves hands to people as he leaves for Taiwan in Shanghai, east China, May 31, 2008. Wu Poh-hsiung ended his six-day visit in the Chinese mainland and left Shanghai for Taiwan on Saturday morning. (Xinhua Photo)

    SHANGHAI, May 31 (Xinhua) — Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung ended his six-day visit in the Chinese mainland and left Shanghai for Taiwan on Saturday morning.

    Shanghai was Wu’s third stop after Nanjing and Beijing.

    ”It was a smooth and happy visit,” said Wu.

    ”We’re glad to see the early resumption of talks between the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation,” he said.

    The promotion of peace and development across the Taiwan Strait is the common historical responsibility of both sides, said Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, at a farewell ceremony.

    ”Let’s meet in the Beijing Olympics two months later. I believe the Beijing Olympics will definitely be the most successful one,” said Wu Poh-hsiung.

Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung arrives in Shanghai

    SHANGHAI, May 29 (Xinhua) — Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung arrived in Shanghai, the third stop of his six-day mainland trip, on Thursday afternoon after a two-day trip in Beijing. Full story

Taiwan foundation accepts invitation from mainland counterpart for talks

    BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) — The Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) has accepted an invitation for talks with the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), Taiwan media reported on Thursday. Full story

KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung leaves Beijing for Shanghai

    BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) — Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung on Thursday morning left Beijing for Shanghai to continue his six-day mainland trip.

    Beijing was the second stop of his tour. His first stop was Nanjing. Full story

Mainland-based association invites Taiwan counterpart for talks

    BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) — The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Thursday sent a letter to the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), inviting them for talks. Full story

KMT Chairman: Party exchanges across Taiwan Strait to play important role

    BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) — Exchanges between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) will play an important role in the relations across the Taiwan Strait, according to visiting KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung.Full story 

Hu says opportunity for cross-Strait relations should be cherished

   BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Hu Jintao met with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon.Full story

KMT chairman: Efforts will avert cross-Strait conflict

    BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) — Visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung said here Wednesday that natural disasters were unavoidable for both the mainland and Taiwan, “but we could promise that through concerted efforts, no war would occur across the Taiwan Strait.”Full story

KMT chairman: mainland-Taiwan talks to resume soon

   BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) — The Mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) will resume talks as soon as possible, Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung told a press conference here on Wednesday. Full story 

Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake

¡¤197,477 people were evacuated to safe ground as of 8 a.m. Saturday.
¡¤The plan was drawn up for the contingency of Tangjiashan lake burst out.
¡¤Up to 1.3 million in Sichuan have been ordered to evacuate to higher grounds.

An aerial photo taken on May 28, 2008 shows a landslide near the Tangjiashan earthquake-induced lake near Beichuan County in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.(Xinhua/Li Gang)
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    MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 31 (Xinhua) — A total of 197,477 people were evacuated to safe ground as of 8 a.m. Saturday in line with an emergency plan, an official with the quake relief headquarters of Mianyang City in southwest China said.

    The plan was drawn up for the contingency of one third of the volume of quake-formed Tangjiashan lake burst out.

    Up to 1.3 million people in southwest China’s Sichuan Province have been ordered to evacuate to higher grounds for fear of a major quake lake burst as a result of flooding and strong aftershocks.

    Tan Li, Communist Party chief of Mianyang City, on Friday renewed an order that 1.3 million people living downstream from Tangjiashan must evacuate to higher grounds demarcated by the government.

    At 4 p.m. Thursday, Tan issued a No. 1 order demanding about 200,000 people living downstream from Tangjiashan in the main urban districts of Mianyang City should start evacuation by 8 a.m. Saturday. The evacuation must be completed by 8 a.m. Sunday.

    Two other plans require the relocation of 1.2 million people if half of the lake volume was released, or 1.3 million if the barrier of the quake lake fully opened.

    The Tangjiashan lake, one of 34 such bodies of water, was formed when landslides caused by the May 12 quake blocked the Jianjiang River, which runs into the Fujiang River about 40 km north of Mianyang. 

Earthquake relief workers being evacuated from Tangjiashan lake

    MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 31 (Xinhua) — The first group of 15 earthquake relief workers handling the Tangjiashan quake-formed lake in Sichuan Province took on a helicopter at 8:35 a.m. Saturday and were evacuated from the dam site. Full story

Mass evacuation underway for fear of “lake quake” burst

    MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 30 (Xinhua) — Up to 1.3 million people in southwest China’s Sichuan Province have been ordered to evacuate to higher grounds for fear of a major “quake lake” burst as a result of flooding and strong aftershocks.  Full story

Soldiers work non-stop to drain “quake lake” as thousands prepare to evacuate

    TANGJIASHAN, Sichuan, May 29 (Xinhua) — More than 600 rescuers worked through heavy rain on Thursday to dig a diversion channel on one of the most dangerous lakes in China’s quake-hit Sichuan Province. Full story

China preparing to drain swelling quake lake

    MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 26 (Xinhua) — Rescuers are preparing to dynamite the barrier of a swelling quake lake, which has posed a new threat after a devastating 8.0-magnitude temblor ravaged southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Full story

Armed police brigade arrive at major quake lake in Sichuan

    TANGJIASHAN, Sichuan, May 26 (Xinhua) — A group of armed policemen arrived on foot at the Tangjiashan quake lake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province around 00:35 a.m. Monday and immediately began work to defuse the danger of a major flooding.Full story

Rescuers hiking to large Sichuan quake lake as flood alarm grows 

   MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 25 (Xinhua) — About 1,800 armed police officers and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers were hiking on Sunday toward an expanding “quake lake” in southwest Sichuan Province, hoping to blast away its landslide barrier before it bursts and causes a flood.Full story

Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake  

    JOHANNESBURG, May 30 (Xinhua) — South Africa has donated 1.5 million rand (about 200,000 U.S. dollars) to China for its relief work and reconstruction in quake-hit Sichuan province.

    On May 12, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on Richter scale hit southwestern China, leaving 68,858 people dead, 366,586 injured and 18,618 missing as of Friday noon.

    On behalf of the government, South African Vice Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad delivered the money to Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Zhong Jianhua.

    Pahad said China has suffered huge human and property losses. The South African government offered its deep sympathy to China and spoke highly of the Chinese government’s efforts in the disaster relief work.

    South Africa will work together with the international community to provide assistance to China, Pahad said.

    Zhong expressed his appreciation for South Africa, saying both countries have enjoyed a profound friendship.

    The Chinese people will overcome the difficulty and rebuild their homes with help of the international community, Zhong said.

    BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) — China will build seven production bases for new materials to boost the development of high-tech industries, the top economic planning authority said Friday.

    The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the bases would be built in Ningbo, Dalian, Luoyang, Jinchang, Guangzhou, Baoji and Lianyungang.

    These bases will turn out new materials for industries covering information technology, biotechnology, aeronautics, new energy and environment protection.

    The NDRC required that local government departments offer preferable policies for building these bases and create a sound environment for the development of high-tech industries.