Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress     

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — Three top generals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China accentuated on Tuesday to increase military preparedness against threats to national sovereignty.

    The PLA should firmly push forward military preparedness, increase competence to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, said Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), when joining a discussion on Hu Jintao’s report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

    ”We determinedly oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ activities, and will never allow any one sever Taiwan from China in any name or by any means,” Guo told the PLA delegation to the congress that opened Monday morning.

    In pushing forward the Chinese-style revolution in military affairs, Guo asked the PLA to build digitized armed forces and try all out to win a war in the information age.

    In the same discussion, Vice CMC Chairman and Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said improvement of battle effectiveness is always the most important task of the PLA. Cao also urged military preparedness and better construction and management of the armed forces.

    Unswerving efforts must be done by the PLA to obey the absolute steering of the Party, Cao said. “Any denial or neutralization of the Party leadership will be uncompromisingly fought against,” he said, vowing that the PLA will discipline itself to orders from the CPC Central Committee, the CMC and CMC Chairman Hu Jintao.

    Xu Caihou, also vice CMC chairman, asked the armed forces to grasp cream of the strategy set in Hu’s report in which he said the Chinese “must make our country prosperous and our armed forces powerful while building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.”

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress    

Preventive mechanism should be bettered for checking corruption while it is still in buds, Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, says Tuesday when discussing Hu Jintao’s report to the 17th CPC National Congress with the Inner Mongolia delegation. (Xinhua Photo)

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — Preventive mechanism should be bettered for checking corruption while it is still in buds, Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said here Tuesday.

    When discussing Hu Jintao’s report to the 17th CPC National Congress with the Inner Mongolia delegation, Wu urged to build preventive webs upper in the stream to check corruption.

    Discipline inspection bodies must respond to any early warning of possible corruption of Party cadres and officials, regardless of how little it is, Wu said.

    How effective the Party curbs corruption reflects how capable it leads the nation, Wu said, adding the Party never tolerates corruption.

    Wu said he hopes the Party would reduce corruption to a lowest possible level with years of efforts. 

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — Three Chinese students were injured on Sunday during an attack by unidentified people in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao confirmed here Tuesday.

    The three female students, wounded by knife, were sent to a local hospital and have been out of danger, Liu said.

    He said China is highly concerned over this case and urged the Ukrainian side to seize and punish the attackers at an early date, and to take effective measures to safeguard the safety of Chinese students.

    The Ukrainian side pledged to thoroughly investigate this case and take measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents, Liu said.

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — An official of the Tibet Autonomous Region said Tuesday the plateau is ready to host more tourists, as tourism industry is both environment-friendly and promises quick wealth to the underdeveloped southwest China region.

    ”It’s not that too many tourists are coming to Tibet — there’re too few of them,” said Hao Peng, deputy secretary of the Tibet Regional Communist Party Committee and a delegate to the ongoing 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

    He refuted reports that criticized tourism as detrimental to Tibet’s ecology.

    This year Tibet has received 3.5 million tourists, compared with 50 million that visited Yunnan Province also in southwest China, he quoted figures from local tourism administrations.

    ”Covering 1.2 million square kilometers, Tibet far outsizes Yunnan,” he said during a group discussion of the Tibet delegation to the Party congress, which opened to Chinese and overseas reporters.

    The Qinghai-Tibet Railway that started operation in July 2006 instantly drove up that year’s total tourist arrivals to 2.5 million. About 3.8 million people are expected to visit Tibet this year, bringing 4 billion to 5 billion yuan (513 million to 641 million U.S. dollars) of tourism revenue.

    ”Developing tourism does not necessarily contradict environment preservation,” Hao said. “Despite the rising number of tourists, the air quality in Lhasa remains good almost all year round.”

    He said Tibet has stepped up measures to prevent pollution in recent years. “Plastic bags are no more provided for free at Lhasa’s stores and supermarkets, and many locals voluntarily clean up garbage at major tourist destinations.”

    Under such circumstances, a few million tourists won’t have much impact on Tibet’s environment, said Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government. “We don’t foresee any problem even if there are twice as many.”

    Yet his government has moved to protect the Potala Palace and some other cultural heritage sites from potential damage. “We have restricted the daily number of visitors to 2,300 and 3,000 to ease the pressure,” he said.

    The Potala Palace, more than 1,300 years old, is a wood structure and therefore more vulnerable to damage.

    He also revealed a plan to build a separate exhibition hall down the hill, so that visitors can have a glimpse of the best collections without climbing up the golden-roofed palace.

Official: Dalai Lama’s U.S. award not to affect Tibet’s stability

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — China on Tuesday lashed out at the planned award to the Dalai Lama by the U.S. Congress, saying it will not affect stability in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region. Full story

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress

Jia Qinglin(R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, shakes hands with delegates as he attends the discussions of the Beijing delegation to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC), in Beijing, China, Oct. 16, 2007.(Xinhua Photo/Ma Zhancheng)
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    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — To build a moderately prosperous society, the Communist Party of China (CPC) should fully use the initiative and creativity of all walks of life and collect their wisdom and strength, said top political advisor Jia Qinglin at the ongoing 17th CPC National Congress on Tuesday.

    Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks when joining a panel discussion of the Beijing delegation to the party congress that opened Monday morning.

    He said it is important to give full play of the united fronts and the CPPCC, urging to strengthen solidarity and cooperation between the CPC and non-Communist parties.

    The political report Hu Jintao made on behalf of the 16th CPC Central Committee at Monday’s opening ceremony provides a clear guide for the Party and country’s causes, Jia said.

    Socialism with Chinese characteristics flags a banner for the development of China, and the country’s socialism drive requires thorough implementation of the scientific outlook on development, Jia said.

    HANGZHOU, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — A Chinese businessman confirmed to Xinhua on Tuesday that he has bought an artificial island in Dubai for 28 million U.S. dollars.

    Hu Bin, developer and director of the Shanghai Zhongzhou International Holding Group, bought the 40,000-square-meter Shanghai Island, part of “The World” development in Dubai, which comprises 300 islands made from reclaimed land in the shape of the world map.

    Hu told Xinhua by telephone that he planned to spend another 1.2 billion to 1.5 billion yuan in the next three years to build hotels and villas on the island and turn it into a tourist resort.

    The resort would also include canals and buildings resembling Shanghai’s landmark areas like the Huangpu River, the Bund and the Lujiazui financial district, he added.

    Many Chinese entrepreneurs are eyeing foreign property investments. In May, a businessman from central China’s Henan Province forked out one billion yuan (133 million U.S. dollars) to buy an airport in north Germany.