IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Updated: 2013-11-22 10:32

(China Daily Europe)

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Typhoon

Rescue team lands in Manila

China's first group of disaster relief team members arrived in the typhoon-hit Philippines on Nov 20.

The 17 team members are due to be followed by the Chinese medical ship Peace Ark, one of the world's largest and best-equipped floating hospitals.

The team from the Red Cross Society of China headed for the central Philippine city of Cebu on Nov 21, with the death toll from Super Typhoon Haiyan topping 4,500.

"We hope this mission can alleviate the lack of medical care in disaster-hit areas in the Philippines and show the Chinese people's goodwill to the Philippine people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily briefing on Nov 20.

Hong said the government will send another 51-member emergency medical team and the Red Cross Society of China will dispatch 13 more people for disaster relief. The China Soong Ching Ling Foundation will also donate 200 prefabricated houses worth 3.2 million yuan ($525,000), he added.

Military

Spokesmen system to boost transparency

China unveiled spokesmen for its seven military branches on Nov 20 in an effort to beef up the country's military transparency.

The branches are the General Political Department, the General Logistics Department, the General Armament Department, the navy, the air force, the Second Artillery Force and the Armed Police.

Other large military units will also appoint spokesmen.

Liang Yang, a 43-year-old former navy captain with experience in international exchanges, becomes the first spokesman for the Chinese navy as the country strengthens its naval build-up to safeguard maritime interests.

The other spokesmen are mainly officials in charge of information and publicity from their related branches, military sources told China Daily.

The spokesmen will release timely information about the key activities of their units, in response to related concerns from the public and the media, the sources said.

Tourism

Tourism year proves a big hit

Tours between China and Russia have become popular since their 'tourism year' campaigns in 2012 and this year, travel agencies said on Nov 15.

The tourism year is a new strategy to improve the Sino-Russian strategic cooperative partnership and boost friendship between the countries, the China National Tourism Administration said in a recent statement.

Since the Tourism Year began, almost 400 activities, including summer camps and business studies, have been conducted in the two countries, attracting large numbers of visitors to engage in cross-border travel, the statement said.

From January to September, exchange visits between the two countries totaled 2.37 million, the statement said.

Environment

Green chance offered to investors

China will further open its energy conservation and environmental protection industry to international investors, Premier Li Keqiang has said.

The industry has huge market potential in China, he said, and can develop into a pillar industry. "We encourage private capital to enter the field. We also hope China's energy conservation and environmental protection products will enter the overseas market, and we will open the industry to the international market."

Horticulture

Flourishing finish to international show

The ninth China International Garden Expo, which has run for six months by the Yongding River in Beijing, has closed.

The expo showcased garden styles from 69 Chinese cities and 37 cities of 29 countries elsewhere. About 1,200 shows from 48 cities in 28 countries have been on display over the past six months.

More than 6.1 million people visited the show, about 33,000 a day, organizers said, setting a record. Next year's event will be in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, from September.

Winter Olympics

China 'a strong Games candidate'

China is "a very strong candidate" to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told China Daily before meeting President Xi Jinping on Nov 19.

"China is known worldwide as a reliable organizer. We all still remember the brilliant Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing. So I think China will have a good chance, but it's not an easy race."

When he met Bach later in the day, Xi stressed China's willingness to host the Winter Olympics.

Early this month, Beijing and neighboring Zhangjiakou in Hebei province announced a joint bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. They are competing with Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Lviv (Ukraine), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and a joint bid from Krakow (Poland) and Jasna (Slovakia).

China Daily-Xinhua

 IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Emergency team members from the Red Cross Society of China prepare to leave Beijing Capital International Airport for the Philippines on Nov 20. Wang Jing / China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 11/22/2013 page2)