I would say my experiences in China are a delightful mix of excitement, amusement and enlightenment, which I have already archived as one of my fondest memories that I will always be happy to speak of. These have been the result of the combination of my various travels, friendships forged, and my immersion with the Chinese culture and society. These experiences I had are not just on an experiential sense or in form, but it has in substance translated into my many realizations of China. My enthusiasm to learn and trying something new especially from the Chinese warranted me to be accustomed to their way of life because I was of the impression that if the Chinese peoples means to success is effective then it should be worth understanding. For if you know ones culture, you will know ones identity.

Do what the Romans do is the maxim I held on while in China, but in this case it is Do what the Chinese do since I wanted on my own volition to fully immerse myself with the Chinese. I realized that the difference in going to a country as a tourist or having been able to reside for more than a year as a student is that there are things which you will only be able to appreciate and value as you go along with time. In the former, your mind is quick-set in a sense that you tend to pounce on the fun and recreation. Theres nothing wrong with it but to be able to assimilate the culture, you need longer time to realize why they act they why they do, and the rationale behind those acts. All my appreciation and learning about China was amplified by means of watching TV, reading newspapers, and furthered this by my constant communication and interaction with the people because I believe that a theory must be grounded into reality.

In studying in China, I did not just learn my major from within the classroom but also from without. I greatly appreciate the fact that China has a very rich and unique culture that is well-sustained and has been valued by its people for thousands of years. I, for one, have been accustomed to the observance of it, from their cultural events, to the cultural traits and to their cuisines. In addition, I have travelled into some of the cities in China and I cant help but to be fascinated by the magnificence of its cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan. The historical ancient sites are well-preserved to remind locals and tourists alike of their prestigious heritage. All cities maintained their historical architectural sites while reconciling it with the emergence of modern buildings and architectures creating a wonderful synergy between the old and the new.

Shandong province is the place where the eminent Chinese sage Confucius was born. As I am studying in its capital city Jinan, you cannot help but notice the amicability and kindness of the people which only goes to show that the values Confucius espoused thousands of years ago are still widely practiced. I remember that when I was on the train to go to Shanghai to see the Shanghai Expo 2010, I was not able to book my ticket early which made me displaced inside the train and bear the burden of standing for three hours, but then some Chinese discovering that I am a foreigner seeming helpless and unable to speak their language, found a seat for me when other passengers alighted the train. And when I was also on my way to Guangzhou and Chongqing, the Chinese at first does not know that I am a foreigner but upon knowing so, they were very ebullient to make friends and practice their English with me. These were not uncommon for me, for wherever I go in China, I was always treated well by warm-hearted people eager to make friends and at times even forcing me to break bread with them as a sign of goodwill.

In fact, I have been oft-times mistaken as a Chinese when people suddenly ask me for some directions which I just reply by making short statements or admitting that I am not Chinese. I take this as a compliment because they find a sense of affinity with a fellow Asian which I think to a certain degree is an advantage for me in making me feel a little closer towards them. I also realized that after all, I am also an Asian which is perhaps the very reason why I do not find it so hard to adapt to the way of the Chinese. I even had the privilege of celebrating the Chinese New Year in the countryside in Hubei province upon the invitation of my Chinese friend. Chinese New Year is their version of the Western Christmas and New Year combined. It is a time where families eat in a banquet together, exchange gifts and well-wishes with each other. There, I was treated like a part of the family. It was also there I learned that when you cheer your glass with an older person, his glass should be higher than yours as a sign of respect. These signs of respect and obedience are values that are very admirable about the Chinese. Of course, firecrackers would be fired up to drive away evil spirits and welcome the coming of the New Year.

From my interactions with the Chinese, I realized that China also has immense diversity when it comes to their dialects where almost every province has its distinct sub-culture to be proud of. The cuisines vary from province to province and each has its own specialty or delicacy to brag about. Those in the North like noodles and dumplings, while those in the South are fond of rice. Also, the Northerners and Southerners are distinguished by their contrasting accents. In any case, I have already been used to eating all types of Chinese food because they are all delicious anyway. In fact, I have always taken the pleasure of patronizing Chinese street food because it is uniquely delicious, simple and very cheap.

I even joined a certain Hsing-I Quan kungfu organization to fully appreciate the Chinese culture and learn martial arts. I was very privileged to have the most famous and talented master in town. In being my masters first formal foreign student, I was treated like a celebrity through a certain ceremony where even some members of the city media were invited to cover the event. Weeks later, I just realized that I was published in the city newspaper. Months later, this was followed-up by an interview where I appeared in a magazine, and then later on at a certain TV show. All I wanted when I joined was to be treated like any other student, but I do understand the sheer kindness and hospitality my master extended to me, which is certainly something that is of absolute benevolence.

One of the things I like most in China is the system of transportation. The accessibility of the trains as a means for traveling has become very helpful because it can almost link any place enabling you to go to wherever you like. The essence of having accessible and affordable transportation enables not just the fast movement of the goods and services across the country, but most especially that of the people. By allowing the people to travel quickly, not only do you save a lot of time and enhance productivity and efficiency, but you also more importantly uplift their happiness by making it convenient for them to visit their loved ones and help them see and discover the diverse beauty that their country has to offer. This in effect reinforces their sense of national pride because with the aid of modern transportation, their sense of appreciation is heightened, and the people more proud.

Another role of the trains aside from its material value is that it also on an ideational aspect forges national identity. Given the vastness of their land, trains make it appear that the provinces and cities are nearer to each other which actually help weave their national connectedness. Aside from this, while the people are inside the trains for long hours of travel or even days, it is natural that they would interact with other passengers, and by these long hours of socialization — stories and food are shared, new friendships are formed, and national values are naturally exchanged which deeply strengthens social and national cohesion.

As you travel across China, you will notice that some major and emerging cities look alike, and this is actually the result of the governments clever centralized urban planning and standardized modes of transportation. This just goes to show that the governments architectural designs and engineering are uniform across China, which thus creates a manifestation that the level of its organization from top to bottom in mapping the blueprint and layout for its urbanization echoes the Chinese national identity throughout the country. Not only is it pleasant to the eyes, but it also sends a message that by through such level of centralization, uniformity, organization, and systematization — the national identity of China is dynamic.

I recall that upon my first arrival in China in Beijing, I was taken at a certain mall by some Filipino friends to have dinner. There I was astonished to see that the basement car park of the mall seemed like a car show because of the presence of the so many branded and latest models of parked cars. I just came to realize that this was no doubt a reflection of the looming purchasing power of the Chinese public stemming from the robust rise of Chinas economy. And when I took a train from Beijing to Jinan, the bullet train I rode on at that time was just was running at around 200 km/h, but a year after, a new and a faster type of bullet train was unleashed which runs at 300 km/h. Then, now in 2012, it was announced that they are going to release the newest model of the bullet train that runs at 400 km/h. In a span of just three years, this was how as a foreigner I felt the intimacy of Chinas rapid industrialization and development.

I also remember at school, when a certain gymnasium similar to a coliseum was being constructed, I realized that the working hours were round the clock. The workers painstakingly toil day and night just to finish the project expeditiously. This actually goes for all of China which makes you understand why and how they develop with a lightning speed. It was no wonder why such a huge structure was finished in just over a year. This sense of always being on the double is very admirable for it manifests the power of the will. Not only do they finish the project hastily, but it also saves them a lot of time. Indeed, indolence has no room in a rapidly industrializing country. This is not something new, because by analogy, you will notice this in the manner they prepared for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which has beento provide the best and quality infrastructures as an end in sight. This just goes to show Chinas micro and macro parallelism from the provincial up to the national level. In fact, Shenzhen, a city that was formerly just a fish port, and now already a sister city of Hong Kong was another sign of Chinas blitzing industrialization. The four-decade old transformation since Deng Xiaopings Opening up policy in the 70s is just inspiring and magnificent.

Also in school, I noticed how the students are being disciplined from the way they live to the way they study. I found out that one of the reasons why Chinese students study conscientiously is because at 11pm, the school will close the doors of all dormitory entrances and turn-off the lights to compel the students to sleep early. This kind of discipline is admirable because it trains students in realizing the essence of time and to know how to organize their priorities. This is the very reason why you see them wasting no time and always inside the classrooms or libraries after class. They know very well that there are so many people in China and the competition for employment is very stiff. This circumstance actually brings out the best in them in order to strive doubly harder because they know that their future is at stake. And, their dormitories has about 4-6 persons each room, with this kind of lifestyle throughout their stay in the university they find the comfort of their homes with the presence of their new brothers and sisters which deepens their bond and camaraderie towards each other.

Another thing admirable about the Chinese is their culture of modesty and frugality. If in any case you give them a compliment by saying that they are beautiful, talented, clever, rich, or apt in English, they would often say no, or humbly say that they are just so-so. By reciprocating with such remarks, it shows that being arrogant and conceited is not in their nature as Chinese. I also remembered that when I was with my friends, that instead of taking a taxi, they just told me to take a bus to save money which drove me into an epiphany and made me to just concur.

In China, if you want to stroll and enjoy the sights of the city, you would not have to mind much about security because the level of criminality is actually very low which gives you a worry-free mindset. You will notice that the policemen do not carry firearms with them because of the lack of necessity to do so. Given the absence of hostility, what I experienced was magnanimity by a helping hand of a woman who gave me a small change that I could use to pay for my ride in the bus knowing that I was carrying a larger bill. And the good thing when you come to visit the parks or city squares is that you will find many young people playing, and old people doing group taichi exercises or group dancing because for them it is a prudent way to keep oneself always healthy and fit. As they are already retired, they at least make themselves productive instead of being idle and stagnant. These places also serve as points of convergence because the sense of togetherness of the community is shared by both the young and the old.

More than these memorable experiences, it has also given me on a personal level an exaltation of my own sense of being in learning how to get out further from my comfort zone. I have learned to become versatile, open-minded, appreciative, keen, and sensitive of other peoples culture and social values. It goes without saying that if you want others to respect you, you should respect them too. If you do not want to appear impudent and be alienated, just be polite and have an open mind, for by so doing you will be most certainly be more accommodated and received. Given all these, I never fail to remember that I am also an ambassador in my own way as a Filipino in particular. So, I always showed them how a Filipino interacts and how our values coincide with that of the Chinese as fellow Asians. With this, I really hope to look forward to learning more and enjoying more with the country I now consider my second home.

The author is an overseas student from Philippines mastering in International Relations with a Holistic Law Background and Service Experience at Shandong University in China.

Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway started construction on Nov. 23, 2007 but was delayed due tofinancial strains after the deadly train crash in Wenzhou in July 2011.

With about 12 kilometers in length, the Xiamen section of the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway is scheduled to open in late June, reports Strait Herald.

According to the related department, the Xiamen-Shenzhen high-speed railway is currently under construction and expected to be open to traffic by the end of this year or early next year. The travel time from Xiamen to Shenzhen by train will be shortened to 3 hours from the current 11 hours by that time.

With 502.4 kilometers in length, the Xiamen-Shenzhen high-speed railway which started construction on 23rd November, 2007, linking 2 special economic zones in China, Xiamen and Shenzhen upon the completion, is another important section of the coastal railway artery in China.

According to the latest plan, the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway will connect the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway in the north, starting from Xiamen, running though Longhai, Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Yunxiao, Zhao’an and ending at Shenzhen New Railway Station. Xiamen will become the largest hub of high-speed railway in Fujian upon its completion.

Meanwhile, Xiamen has speeded up the reconstruction of Xiamen Railway Station on Xiamen Island to cope with the passenger surge brought by high-speed railways including the Longyan-Xiamen Railway, which is expected to be open to traffic on 30^th June.

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SOURCE:WOXnews.com

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The Travel Industry Council of Macau (TICM) will recommend that the government make local and mainland Chinese agencies confirm the itineraries of package tours before tourists arrive in Macau, in order to avoid further conflicts that have been tainting the citys tourism.In the wake of a dispute between Mainland tourists and a tour agency near the Barrier Gate on Saturday night, Wu King Kwong, president of TICM was quoted by TDM as saying yesterday that the Council would soon propose to the government that they require local and Mainland tour operators finalize itineraries and confirm relevant details so that travellers can have clear and comprehensive information on the accommodation, dining and sight-seeing arrangements before subscribing to any package tours, and thereby settle any potential problems before arriving in Macau.The incident, which took place on Saturday in the departure hall of the Barrier Gate, involved about 20 holidaymakers from Guangxi Province. They started a quarrel with the tour guide after discovering that they were staying in Zhuhai instead of Macau for the night. The dispute lasted for an hour before police intervened. The disgruntled tourists were finally given accommodation in a hotel in the Taipa area.Wu did not mention a precise date when the Council intends to put the proposal to the government, and the Macau Travel Agency Association was not immediately available for comment. A recent spate of clashes between tour guides and Chinese holidaymakers has tainted the reputation of Macaus tourism industry, which is one of the most important economic pillars besides the gaming industry.On November 24 last year, a group of 19 Mainland tourists also complained their tour operator failed to provide accommodation in town, arguing that it was included in the package they had acquired in China. The local guide denied such an arrangement, saying that the programme was only a day-visit.Another incident occurred on September 25 where a group of over 360 visitors from Jiangxi province were stranded at the two local ferry terminals after a Shenzhen agency cancelled their tour in Macau. The Government Tourist Office (MGTO) was forced to rent buses to take the tourists back to mainland China.The visitors, all workers from a Jiangxi province pharmaceutical company, were on a four-day package tour to Hong Kong and Macau organised by a Shenzhen travel agency. But only after arriving in the territory did they discover there was no guide to welcome them.The travel agency later informed the group it had cancelled the Macau tour, according to an MGTO statement. The MGTO and the Tourism Crisis Management Office, in cooperation with local tour operators, rented several buses to take most of the visitors to the Border Gate so that they could return to mainland China.

By Elaine Kurtenbach

A storm of criticism in China over share listing plans by a company that sells tonics made with bear bile is highlighting the increasingly affluent country’s changing attitudes toward the environment and wildlife.

Reports said dozens of well-known entertainers, writers and other celebrities signed a petition to the China Securities Regulatory Commission urging it to withhold approval for the initial public offering by Guizhentang, a Chinese medicines maker. The company is awaiting approval for a share listing in Shenzhen.

Hundreds of thousands of comments on “weibo,” the Chinese version of Twitter, blasted the company for extracting bile from bears.

Animal rights groups contend the practice of bear bile farming is cruel because the animals are confined to small cages and milked of bile through catheters inserted into fistulas, or permanent wounds, in their gall bladders.

They say that antibiotics used to counter chronic infections from the practice, and other contaminants in the bile, also pose a hazard to human health.

A photo on the front page of the state-run newspaper China Business News on Friday showed a satirical photo montage of a caged bear, its muzzle bloodied, with a picture of the head of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Fang Shuting, quoted as saying that bears are “very comfortable” while the bile is extracted.

News reports cited Fang as saying China has 68 licensed bear farms and more than 10,000 bears farmed for their bile, which can cost up to 4,000 yuan (NZ$755) a kilogram.

A spokesman for Guizhentang, who gave his surname as “Xu,” refused comment.

“It is not the right time for an interview now. We will let you know when we want to do an interview,” Xu said.

Officials at the CSRC said they could not comment on an IPO plan under consideration.

Animal rights are gaining increasing attention in China, with public figures like basketball star Yao Ming and actor Jackie Chan speaking out against eating shark fins and other customs that many view as cruel or a threat to endangered species.

The change reflects both a growing awareness of the need to protect the environment and wildlife and also increasing affluence among many ordinary Chinese who now keep pets, travel overseas and have changing attitudes toward traditions they may not have questioned in the past.

In recent years, for example, animal protection groups have staged mass releases of cats and dogs caged for shipment to restaurants and markets, where they are slaughtered for dishes considered to be delicacies or especially nourishing.

The petition to the stock watchdog from more than 70 celebrities and environmental protection groups seeks to block the IPO and urges the use of synthetic substitutes for bear bile, which is a digestive substance made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder.

The main active ingredient in the bile is ursodeoxycholic acid, or UDCA, which is thought to act as an anti-inflammatory and is used to treat gall stones and liver ailments. It is mainly taken from the Asiatic Black Bear, a protected but not endangered species in China.

Chinese media reports cited Fang as defending Guizhentang’s bile collecting practices in a news conference in Beijing, after visiting its facilities in southeast China’s Fujian province.

“Collecting bile is like turning on a tap. It’s painless, natural and simple. I didn’t see bears suffering in the process,” Caijing magazine quoted Fang as saying.

“After the bile is extracted, bears can still drink milk and honey and have fun in the farm.”

Fang argued that bear farms helped to protect wild bears by discouraging poaching, and that China must preserve its unique, ancient medicinal practices. Animal rights groups contend that poaching continues because buyers view wild bear bile as more potent.

Farmed bears live about four or five years, while those in the wild live up to 30, according to the Animals Asia Foundation, which has been working to close down bear farms and rescue the animals.

AP

Heathcote assistant Tom Izzo became tight with Keady assistant Bruce Weber even through recruiting battles such as the one over guard Matt Painter. Izzo was an instant Painter ally when he succeeded Keady at Purdue in 2005.

When Purdue star Robbie Hummel suffered a second torn ACL in his right knee before the 2010-11 season, MSUs Draymond Green was among the first to call and console him.

Last summer, Green played for USA Basketballs World University Games team coached by Painter in Shenzhen, China, scoring 8.6 points a game as the Americans went 7-1 with a two-point loss to Lithuania. Green and Painter gained a greater appreciation for each other there.

I really enjoyed being around him, hes a contagious personality, Painter said of Green.

It was fun playing for coach Painter, hes just like coach Izzo in a lot of ways — he expects excellence, Green said. It was great to build a relationship with him, it was fun. Weve still got a relationship, but when its time to play its time to play.

And it may not be so friendly today. MSUs huge recruiting victory to land guard Branden Dawson of Gary, Ind., was a huge recruiting setback for Painter, whose Boilermakers (17-9 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) find themselves in turmoil as No. 7 MSU (21-5, 10-3) visits.

Purdue is fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid and will play today without junior guard Kelsey Barlow and junior forward D.J. Byrd. Barlow was dismissed from the program and Byrd suspended for todays game after a Friday nightclub incident in which Byrd was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.

Meanwhile, things got heated the last time these teams met. Purdue, perhaps strained by travel difficulties that forced an early-morning bus trip to East Lansing, lost 83-58 to MSU on Jan. 21.

Dawson, a freshman guard, led MSU with 14 points. He also had some kind of exchange with Painter late in the game, after which Painter said of Dawson: Im not letting a 19-year-old kid talk to me and rub it in, stick it to us. But to each their own.

(Page 2 of 2)

Painter also got into it with an MSU fan, saying later that the fan made a crack about Hummels ACL issues.

On Friday, Painter said he has moved on and regrets saying anything about either incident after the game.

The story line was, MSU dominated Purdue, said Painter, who also lost out to MSU in a recruiting battle for Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood. Im a young coach, I live and learn and if it happened to me again Id just deflect the question.

Painter said he has moved on. But Dawson expects the Purdue student section the Paint Crew to be all over him today.

I expect a lot from the Paint Crew, he said. On Twitter they told me they were gonna let me have it. So I know its coming. Coach Izzo told me Im a man, to handle things with class. Go in there with a good mindset and just play through it.

Meanwhile, Painter knows his team will have to be at its best and toughest to pull and upset. The Boilermakers have played better lately and he said collective leadership from his veterans has made a difference.

Thats what hes observed in MSUs seniors this season. There may not be a lot of warm feelings between these teams right now, but there remains respect.

Any time you want to win a championship, youve got to have a guy like Austin Thornton, Painter said of the MSU senior guard and co-captain who has played the best basketball of his career lately.

If youve been around Draymond Green for a day or two, you feel like youve known him your whole life, Painter said. Its hard to get leaders and theyve got a good one.

Reports Friday said dozens of well-known entertainers, writers and other celebrities signed a petition to the China Securities Regulatory Commission urging it to withhold approval for the initial public offering by Guizhentang, a Chinese medicines maker. The company is awaiting approval for a share listing in Shenzhen.

Hundreds of thousands of comments on “weibo,” the Chinese version of Twitter, blasted the company for extracting bile from bears.

Animal rights groups contend the practice of bear bile farming is cruel because the animals are confined to small cages and milked of bile through catheters inserted into fistulas, or permanent wounds, in their gall bladders.

They say that antibiotics used to counter chronic infections from the practice, and other contaminants in the bile, also pose a hazard to human health.

A photo on the front page of the state-run newspaper China Business News on Friday showed a satirical photo montage of a caged bear, its muzzle bloodied, with a picture of the head of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Fang Shuting, quoted as saying that bears are “very comfortable” while the bile is extracted.

News reports cited Fang as saying China has 68 licensed bear farms and more than 10,000 bears farmed for their bile, which can cost up to $635 a kilogram.

A spokesman for Guizhentang, who gave his surname as “Xu,” refused comment.

“It is not the right time for an interview now. We will let you know when we want to do an interview,” Xu said.

Officials at the CSRC said they could not comment on an IPO plan under consideration.

Animal rights are gaining increasing attention in China, with public figures like basketball star Yao Ming and actor Jackie Chan speaking out against eating shark fins and other customs that many view as cruel or a threat to endangered species.

The change reflects both a growing awareness of the need to protect the environment and wildlife and also increasing affluence among many ordinary Chinese who now keep pets, travel overseas and have changing attitudes toward traditions they may not have questioned in the past.

In recent years, for example, animal protection groups have staged mass releases of cats and dogs caged for shipment to restaurants and markets, where they are slaughtered for dishes considered to be delicacies or especially nourishing.

The petition to the stock watchdog from more than 70 celebrities and environmental protection groups seeks to block the IPO and urges the use of synthetic substitutes for bear bile, which is a digestive substance made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder.

The main active ingredient in the bile is ursodeoxycholic acid, or UDCA, which is thought to act as an anti-inflammatory and is used to treat gall stones and liver ailments. It is mainly taken from the Asiatic Black Bear, a protected but not endangered species in China.

Chinese media reports cited Fang as defending Guizhentang’s bile collecting practices in a news conference in Beijing, after visiting its facilities in southeast China’s Fujian province.

“Collecting bile is like turning on a tap. It’s painless, natural and simple. I didn’t see bears suffering in the process,” Caijing magazine quoted Fang as saying.

“After the bile is extracted, bears can still drink milk and honey and have fun in the farm.”

Fang argued that bear farms helped to protect wild bears by discouraging poaching, and that China must preserve its unique, ancient medicinal practices. Animal rights groups contend that poaching continues because buyers view wild bear bile as more potent.

Farmed bears live about four or five years, while those in the wild live up to 30, according to the Animals Asia Foundation, which has been working to close down bear farms and rescue the animals.

——

Researchers Zhao Liang in Beijing and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Apple was plunged into a legal dilemma after losing a December 2011 court case to Proview Shenzhen, which claimed the rights to use the name “iPad” on the Chinese mainland.

All the complaints and lawsuits filed by Proview Shenzhen after the December 2011 court case are against Apple’s franchisers on the Chinese mainland, said Ma Dongxiao, the lawyer representing Proview Shenzhen, at a briefing held in Beijing.

“In all the lawsuits, Proview Shenzhen did not ask for a single cent in compensation from Apple over the trademark dispute,” Ma said. “The only compensation claim is 100,000 yuan (15,880 US dollars), which is for payment of lawyers and related travel expenses, not for the use of the trademark by Apple,” said Ma.

Ma made the remarks after reports of an enormous compensation claim, which led to suspicion that Proview aims to take advantage of the lawsuit to save the company from bankruptcy.

The Guangzhou Daily reported on Tuesday that Proview Shenzhen, which operates with a debt of about 1.15 billion yuan, had demanded 10 billion yuan in compensation.

“I was hurt by what happened. Apple’s iPads are popular, but Proview does not give it the right to sell the products under a trademark that it has no right to,” Proview’s Taiwanese founder Yang Long-san said.

“What Proview Shenzhen is doing is to safeguard our own rights and interests. All we want is nothing but fair treatment.”

Although Apple launched an appeal after losing a December 2011 court case to Proview Shenzhen and the final verdict has yet to be delivered, authorities in some Chinese cities have taken action to seize Apple iPad products after receiving complaints from Proview Shenzhen.

In Shijiazhuang, capital of north China’s Hebei Province, stores have stopped selling iPads and torn down advertisements, fearing their presence may provoke penalties from local authorities.

iPads were also removed from shelves in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, after a district administration raided an authorized Apple retailer and sealed the store’s stock of 87 of the computer tablets.

Proview Technology (Shenzhen) is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-headquartered Proview International Holdings Limited, which also has a branch in Taipei.

Proview Taipei registered the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions as early as 2000, and Proview Shenzhen registered the trademark on the Chinese mainland in 2001.

Apple bought the rights to use the trademark from Proview Taipei in February 2010 via IP Application Development Limited (IP), a company registered in Britain. However, Proview Shenzhen claims it still reserves the right to use the trademark on the Chinese mainland. The two sides have been tangled in a legal dispute ever since.

Reports Friday said dozens of well-known entertainers, writers and other celebrities signed a petition to the China Securities Regulatory Commission urging it to withhold approval for the initial public offering by Guizhentang, a Chinese medicines maker. The company is awaiting approval for a share listing in Shenzhen.

(TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, M. Silverberg, File/Associated Press) – FILE – In this Oct. 2, 2010 file photo released by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, an Asiatic Black Bear cub watches from its cage at a bear bile farm in Hanoi, Vietnam. A share listing plan by Guizhentang that sells tonics made with bear bile is provoking a storm of online criticism in China from animal rights groups, celebrities and ordinary Chinese. Reports Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 said dozens of well-known entertainers, writers and other celebrities signed a petition to the China Securities Regulatory Commission urging it to withhold approval for the initial public offering by the Chinese medicines maker.

Hundreds of thousands of comments on weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, blasted the company for extracting bile from bears.

Animal rights groups contend the practice of bear bile farming is cruel because the animals are confined to small cages and milked of bile through catheters inserted into fistulas, or permanent wounds, in their gall bladders.

They say that antibiotics used to counter chronic infections from the practice, and other contaminants in the bile, also pose a hazard to human health.

A photo on the front page of the state-run newspaper China Business News on Friday showed a satirical photo montage of a caged bear, its muzzle bloodied, with a picture of the head of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Fang Shuting, quoted as saying that bears are very comfortable while the bile is extracted.

News reports cited Fang as saying China has 68 licensed bear farms and more than 10,000 bears farmed for their bile, which can cost up to 4,000 yuan ($635) a kilogram.

A spokesman for Guizhentang, who gave his surname as Xu, refused comment.

It is not the right time for an interview now. We will let you know when we want to do an interview, Xu said.

Officials at the CSRC said they could not comment on an IPO plan under consideration.

Animal rights are gaining increasing attention in China, with public figures like basketball star Yao Ming and actor Jackie Chan speaking out against eating shark fins and other customs that many view as cruel or a threat to endangered species.

The change reflects both a growing awareness of the need to protect the environment and wildlife and also increasing affluence among many ordinary Chinese who now keep pets, travel overseas and have changing attitudes toward traditions they may not have questioned in the past.

In recent years, for example, animal protection groups have staged mass releases of cats and dogs caged for shipment to restaurants and markets, where they are slaughtered for dishes considered to be delicacies or especially nourishing.

The petition to the stock watchdog from more than 70 celebrities and environmental protection groups seeks to block the IPO and urges the use of synthetic substitutes for bear bile, which is a digestive substance made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder.

The main active ingredient in the bile is ursodeoxycholic acid, or UDCA, which is thought to act as an anti-inflammatory and is used to treat gall stones and liver ailments. It is mainly taken from the Asiatic Black Bear, a protected but not endangered species in China.

Chinese media reports cited Fang as defending Guizhentangs bile collecting practices in a news conference in Beijing, after visiting its facilities in southeast Chinas Fujian province.

Collecting bile is like turning on a tap. Its painless, natural and simple. I didnt see bears suffering in the process, Caijing magazine quoted Fang as saying.

After the bile is extracted, bears can still drink milk and honey and have fun in the farm.

Fang argued that bear farms helped to protect wild bears by discouraging poaching, and that China must preserve its unique, ancient medicinal practices. Animal rights groups contend that poaching continues because buyers view wild bear bile as more potent.

Farmed bears live about four or five years, while those in the wild live up to 30, according to the Animals Asia Foundation, which has been working to close down bear farms and rescue the animals.

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Researchers Zhao Liang in Beijing and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Construction of China’s high-speed railways, halted due to funding shortages, will resume this year, the government says. Chen Zhuo / for China Daily

Projects halted due to funding shortage will resume this year

BEIJING – With 3,500 kilometers of new high-speed railways expected to be put into use this year, the length of China’s high-speed railways will exceed 10,000 kilometers, a senior railway official said.

Insiders said the construction of high-speed railways, which was halted due to funding shortage, will resume this year.

Yang Zhongmin, director of the planning department of the Ministry of Railways, said that all four of the planned North-South rail arteries for China’s high-speed rail system will be complete, according to People’s Daily on Thursday.

One of the four arteries, the Beijing-Shanghai line, opened in June. The others will connect Beijing and Guangzhou in South China, Beijing and Harbin in Northeast China, and cities on the southeast coast with high-speed railways.

Though a section of rail between Xiamen and Shenzhen will not be finished this year, the four arteries will start operation and significantly cut travel time between major cities, Yang said.

For instance, train travel from Beijing to Shenzhen will take eight hours instead of the current 24 hours, and trips from Beijing to Harbin will take only five hours instead of nine.

China’s high-speed rail sector was hampered by a funding shortage last year, when money from the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($635 billion) stimulus plan dried up and the government’s tightened monetary policy, after which the ministry was unable to get bank loans. More than 10,000 kilometers of high-speed railway projects were halted.

Wang Mengshu, a leading rail tunnel expert, said on Thursday that railway construction is expected to resume this year.

Wang, deputy chief engineer at China Railway Tunnel Group, told China Daily, citing a recent railway working conference, that the work on 6,000 kilometers of halted railway projects will resume this year and funds will be allocated gradually.

“The ministry will also begin nine new railway projects this year, but none of them are high-speed railways,” he said.

An article posted on Feb 8 on the website of the Chongqing development and reform commission, a branch of China’s top economic planner, supports Wang’s statement.

According to the article, Lu Dongfu, deputy minister of railways, said at a meeting on Dec 30 that the ministry plans to spend 406 billion yuan on 249 infrastructure projects this year.

The money will be used to complete 63 rail projects, continue work on 177 others and begin nine new ones. Besides, the ministry would like to begin 53 other projects this year.

But Yang Hao, a railway professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that the 53 projects would need the approval of the National Development and Reform Commission before ground could be broken on them.

The ministry has stressed that the plan for infrastructure spending is “subject to changes”, and experts believe that funding is the crucial factor that could determine whether the full plan is carried out.

Zhao Jian, another railway professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said it remains unclear how the ministry will pull together 400 billion yuan because it has clear access to only 80 billion yuan from the railway construction fund and other sources. “And even the 80 billion yuan is not enough to pay off the interest generated by the 2 trillion yuan debt the ministry owes,” he said.

China has planned to build a railway network of 120,000 kilometers by 2015, including at least 16,000 kilometers of high-speed railways.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/17/2012 page4)

Beijing : China’s high-speed rail network is set to exceed 10,000 km in length as the government is planning to add 3,500 km more during 2012.

The railway ministry will lay 6,366 km of rail track this year, of which 3,500 km will be high-speed lines, China Daily reported Thursday.

Travel time between Beijing and Shenzhen, a key business hub in southern Guandong province, will be reduced from 23 hours to eight hours after the high-speed line between the two cities becomes operational.