UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (Xinhua) — The United Nations has refused to accept a letter from Chen Shui-bian to the UN secretary general, in which the Taiwan authorities applied for UN membership under the name of Taiwan.

    The UN Secretariat returned Chen’s letter on July 20, which was conveyed by the Solomon Islands and two other UN members a day earlier, the UN’s Chinese-language website said on Monday.

    The decision to reject the letter was made in accordance with Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly, which determined that the United Nations adheres to the one-China policy, the world body said.

    The rejection was welcomed by China.

    China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, said the UN decision has maintained the solemnity of the UN Charter and upheld the dignity of the world body.

    Terming Taiwan authorities’ application as a splittist move which the Chinese government firmly opposes, Wang that only a sovereign state is qualified to apply for UN membership according to the UN Charter as well as relevant provisions of the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly.

    There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, Wang said.

    Taiwan has no qualification whatsoever to join the United Nations under any name or in any way, as statehood is required for membership of the world body, Wang said, adding the Chinese government highly appreciates the UN decision.

    On Oct. 25, 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, deciding to transfer China’s seat in the United Nations to the government of the People’s Republic of China.

    TAIYUAN, July 24 (Xinhua) — Five people who were responsible for a coal mine blast that claimed 26 lives in north China in March have been sentenced to terms ranging from 5 years to life imprisonment, a court announced on Tuesday.

    Zhou Xiaogen, former owner of the Yujialing Coal Mine in Yaodu district of Linfen, Shanxi Province, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the Linfen Intermediate People’s Court said.

    It said Zhou operated the mine without license and failed to ensure work safety in the mine. He was also fined a total of three million yuan (394,000 U.S. dollars).

    Zhou Linggen, who was in charge of general supervision and procuring explosives, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 50,000 yuan (6,578 U.S. dollars). The court found that he had bought substandard explosives from unauthorized sources.

    Ren Maosheng, Li Mingshun and Zhao Qijin, who were in charge of work safety, were respectively jailed for eight years, seven years and five years.

    A month before the accident, the three safety directors received three advisories from the district coal mine administration, which required the colliery to stop production. They acknowledged receipt of the advisories, but allowed operations to continue, the court said.

    The accident happened 11:00 a.m. on March 28, when miners were using explosives in the mine shaft. The blasts ignited gas, which had gathered to dangerously high levels in the poorly-ventilated shafts.

    The mine company claimed its annual output capacity was 150,000 tons, but its production licence, which showed an annual capacity of 90,000 tons, had expired.

    Seven Communist Party of China (CPC) and government officials, including district chief Su Qingping, and director Zhao Chenghe and deputy director Cui Junyu of the district coal mine administration, were removed from their posts after the accident.

    In early July, three people were sentenced from 20 years to life imprisonment after the court found them responsible for an accident in Pudeng Coal Mine in Puxian County of Linfen that killed 30 miners.

    In the Makulue colliery in Liuliang City in Shanxi, rescuers are searching for nine miners who are still trapped after a flash flood swamped the mine on Sunday evening.

    Figures from the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) show coal mine accidents killed 4,746 people in 2006.

    SANYA, Hainan, July 24 (Xinhua) — Two Chinese naval vessels left here on Tuesday for an 87-day tour that will take them to Russia, Britain, Spain and France.

    The guided missile destroyer Guangzhou and the supply ship Weishanhu are under the command of Major General Su Zhiqian, deputy commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

    The Guangzhou — 155 meters long, 16 meters wide and with a displacement of 5,850 tons — is said to be one of China’s newest naval vessels.

    The two ships will travel more than 23,000 nautical miles, stopping in Russia’s Saint Petersburg, Britain’s Portsmouth, Spain’s Cadiz, and France’s Toulon in succession.

    More than 500 soldiers and officers are on board the vessels. They will join activities for the Year of China in Saint Petersburg and hold joint rescue exercises with the British, Spanish and French navies.

    MACAO, July 24 (Xinhua) — Macao’s light metro and bus services will transport some 500,000 passengers a day in 2011, local media reported Tuesday.

    The Macao Post Daily quoted Lau Si Io, secretary for Transport and Public Works, as saying that the light metro system alone is expected to handle 200,000 passengers a day in 2011.

    ”There will be a huge demand for public transport services in the future, following Macao’s economic development and the growth in the visitor numbers,” the official was cited as saying.

    The region has a population of 520,000.

Chinanews, Urumqi, July 24 - Nowadays, many movie directors in China choose Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to make new movies, where the impressive landscapes and unique ethnic culture have become the new visual attractions of Chinese movies.

Currently, Feng Xue Lang Dao, a new movie with a simple story line but magnificent visual effect, was made in Aletay, northwest of Xinjiang. The white birches and crystal clear streams there have brought an “European flavor” to the movie. Besides, the snow mountains in Aletai enabled a shocking avalanche scene to be included in the movie.

Many scenes of Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragon, the Academy Award winner, were also shot in Xinjiang, where the deserts imbued the movie with a unique wild character of the west, forming a sharp contrast to the rest of the scenes shot in southern China,where the landscapes are delicate and gentle.

Actually, directors and producers from all around the world are charmed by the beauty and mystery of Xinjiang. After the New Silk Road made by NHK, German producers have come here too, to make a new documentary to introduce its natural beauty to the rest of the world.