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/ 24 October 2007
Asia’s space race heated up on Wednesday as China launched its first lunar orbiter, an event hailed in the world’s most populous nation as a milestone event in its global rise. China’s year-long expedition kicks off a programme that aims to land an unmanned rover on the moon’s surface by 2012 and put a man on the moon by about 2020.
Torrential rains from Typhoon Kaemi left more than 80 people dead or missing in China on Thursday, with a military barracks swept away, thousands of homes destroyed and rivers bursting their banks. Six people were confirmed killed and another 38 soldiers and their relatives were missing after floods destroyed the military barracks in the eastern province of Jiangxi.
Tourists to the Great Wall of China more often than not get a decidedly modern view of the ancient structure, walking along stretches rebuilt and repaved to handle millions of visitors every year. But a battle-scarred section in the historic garrison town of Zhangjiakou, 180km north-west of Beijing, is one of the first to allow visitors to walk next to the ancient edifice in its natural state.
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/ 18 January 2006
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was reportedly heading home on Wednesday on a special train, ending a secretive week-long visit to China that apparently focused on nuclear weapons and economic reforms. Press reports said the famously reclusive Kim, who is afraid of flying, had left Beijing on Tuesday night and crossed the border back into North Korea on Wednesday morning.
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/ 16 November 2005
China said on Wednesday it would not tolerate any interference over Taiwan, after United States President George Bush praised the island’s democracy and urged Beijing to open dialogue with Taipei. ”Taiwan is a part of China, an inseparable part of China, and China does not brook any interference in its internal affairs,” said Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
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/ 9 November 2005
With 1 000 days to go before Beijing holds the 2008 Olympics, confidence is high the games will be a sporting extravaganza that will showcase the country’s arrival among the world’s leading nations. Aside from the smooth running of the event and the expected strong performance of its athletes, China is working hard to ensure the games fully reflect the nation’s political and economic rise.
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/ 26 September 2005
New restrictions on internet news content in China are aimed at controlling an increasingly independent society that is demanding more rights protections. The new rules issued on Sunday by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, require internet operators to re-register their news sites and police their sites for content that can "endanger state security" and "social order".