新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2013/10/09

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition
 
 
 
Paul James with you on this Wednesday, October 9th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
This year's APEC meeting has wrapped up in Bali, Indonesia, with Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech to the closing.
A new report is suggesting South Korean intelligence has confirmed North Korea has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
The political stalemate in Washington shows no sign of easing with just over a week to go before the US government loses the ability to pay its debts.
In Business.... both Beijing and Tokyo have been putting on a hard-press on Washington to solve its political impasse.
In sports... we'll update you on last night's action at the Shanghai Masters.
In entertainment... Chinese actress Sun Li has been nominated for an International Emmy Award.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be sunny today, with a high of 24 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be overcast tonight with a low of 16.
In Shanghai, it will be overcast today, 26 the high, and it will be overcast tonight, the low of 21 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be sunny in the daytime the temperature's at 18, and tonight will be clear with a low of 4 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 34.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 29.
And in North America
New York, overcast, with a high of 19 degrees.
Washington, overcast, highs of 21
Houston, sunny, 28.
Honolulu, moderate rain, 29.
Toronto, sunny, 17.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, sunny, 23.
And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with highs of 24 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
APEC meeting concludes with commitment of open trade
 
Anchor
APEC leaders have concluded their summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
Among other things, the delegates to this year's meeting have agreed to enhance coordination and create a better multilateral trading system within the region.
CRI's Li Jing has more.
The two-day APEC leaders' summit meetings have ended with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono reading out a statement on behalf of APEC members.
"Close cooperation will result in a win-win situation, especially at a time when the global economy has yet to fully recover. We reaffirm our commitment to achieving a strong, balanced, sustainable and inclusive global growth."
The statement also confirmes APEC member-countries' support for a "multilateral trading system".
The final communique also reaffirms an APEC commitment to fighting trade protectionism.
APEC members say protectionist measures are "weakening trade and slowing down the global economic recovery".
APEC leaders are also promising to push forward global trade talks through the World Trade Organization.
Chinese President Xi Jingping also delivered a keynote speech to the closing ceremony, calling for the creation of a better framework of connectivity across the Asia Pacific region.
Xi Jinping says estalishing a better regional connectivity network will help boost cooepration in various fields.
Xi Jinping has also revealed China will host the next APEC economic leaders' meeting in Beijing next fall.
For CRI, I am Li Jing.
 
 
Q&A on APEC
 
For more on some key messages coming out from this year's APEC summit, CRI's Zheng Chenguang spoke earlier with Professor Su Hao with the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.
Professor Su Hao from the China Foreign Affairs University, speaking with CRI's Zheng Chenguang.
 
 
S. Korea: DPRK restarts Yongbyon reactor
 
A new report in South Korea says the country's intelligence agency has confirmed North Korea restarted its mothballed Yongbyon nuclear reactor around two months ago.
The Yonhap news agency is reporting the reactor, which is located 90-kilometers north of Pyongyang, has been in operation since August.
This would confirm a previous report by US intelligence which suggested the Yongbyon reactor has been running for weeks.
Cho Won Jin is a South Korean lawmaker and member of the ruling Saenuri Party.
"North Korea has restarted the five-megawatt level Nyongbyon nuclear reactor to strengthen its nuclear abilities such as its plutonium and highly enriched uranium production. It has carried out development activities to secure nuclear development methods such as running long-range missile engine tests at the Tongchang-ri missile launching site."
The Yongbyon reactor has been used to produce both plutonium and highly-enriched uranium for North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The Yongbyon plant had been shut down since 2007 in an agreement reached during the now-stalled 6-party talks.
North Korea has yet to confirm whether it's restarted its Yongbyon reactor.
 
 
Shutdown enters 2nd week, Obama renews call for a vote
 
Anchor:
The partial US government shutdown has entered its second week, with US President Barack Obama pressing hard on House Republicans to break the political deadlock over the budget and debt ceiling.
CRI's Washington correspondent Xiaohong has more.
Reporter:
President Barack Obama has held another news conference, calling on House Republicans to lift the threats that have led to the current political stalemate.
Obama does say he's willing to talk over a wide range of issues, but continues to insist he won't negotiate with House Republicans until the government shutdown is over.
"SO my suggestion to the speaker has been and will continue to be, let's stop the excuses, let's take a vote in the House, let's end this shutdown right now."
Obama admits a number of world leaders have been contacting him, telling him the US needs to keep its obligations by raising the debt ceiling, which is just over a week away.
"If Congress refuses to raise what's called the debt ceiling, America would not be able to meet all of our financial obligations for the first time in 225 years. And because it's called raising the debt ceiling, I think a lot of Americans think it's raising our debt. It is not raising our debt. This does not add a dime to our debt. It simply says you pay for what Congress has already authorized America to purchase."
Obama has also been critical of certian Republicans who have been publically downplaying the potential consequences of a possible default, accusing them of being "irresponsible".
Obama is also rejecting the idea of exercising his executive power to raise the debt limit.
Some constitutional scholars argue Obama has the ability under the 14th Ammendment in the US Constitution to raise the debt ceiling on his own.
However, debt limits have always been raised through Congressional action.
At the same time, House Republicans are pointing the finger at Obama and the Democrats for refusing to negotiate.
House speaker John Boehner points out the two sides have sat down dozens of times over the past 30 years when it comes to funding the government.
When it comes to the debt limit, Boehner says he agrees with the President that the US should pay its bills.
But at the same time, Boehner says something must be done to prevent the US from spending money it does not have.
"We can't raise the debt ceiling without doing something about what's driving us to borrow more money and to live beyond our needs. The idea that we can continue to spend the money that we don't have, and give the bills to our kids and our grandkids would be wrong. "
Raising the debt ceiling doesn't authorize the US to borrow more money.
It only allows the US government to pay back the money its already spent.
Republicans have been demanding changes to the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Democrats and Obama are refusing to negotiate any changes to Obama's key political legacy.
Xiaohong ,CRI, Washington.
 
 
Lampedusa wreck: EU seeks Mediterranean migrant sea patrols
 
The European Commission is calling on the European Union to create Mediterranean-wide search and rescue patrols to intercept migrant boats.
The call has been prompted by the deaths of at least 274 migrants whose boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa last week.
Italian divers are continuing the recovery mission today for those who are still missing.
It's believed that number is still around a hundred.
Marcello Lombardieri is one of the commanders leading the search for the victims.
"At the moment, our boats have left to take their shift and they will arrive shortly at the operation zone. At the same time, we have a special operation unit equipped with a robot machine called a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that will go and explore the sea bottom in search of bodies."
Only 155 of the migrants survived the fiery shipwreck.
Survivors says they believer there were at least 500 people aboard the boat when it sank, most of whom are believed to have been from North Africa.
Lampedusa island is a popular destination for North African migrants, as it is Italy's southern-most territory, and lies fairly close to Tunesia.
Tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East try to cross the Mediterranean every year to try to carve out a better life for themselves in Europe.
Hundreds die in the process.
 
 
U.N. Secretary-General calls on Syria to respect human rights
 
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has issued a new call for everyone involved in the Syrian conflict to respect human rights.
He's made that call while visiting the Hungarian capital to attend the U.N.'s Budapest Water Summit.
"The Security Council has also made very strong commitments for the humanitarian situation that could help us reach millions of desperate Syrians. Now, these commitments must be backed by action. I again call on the parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights law, end the violence and work for a political solution."
An international team of experts who will oversee the dismantling of Syria's chemical weapons is going to eventually number around 100.
The demolition work is due to last until the middle of the coming year.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has provided a shortlist of 10 experts to the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which it says are ready to participate in the verification and destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government has agreed to destroy his country's chemical weapons stocks following a sarin gas attack on the outskirts of Damascus in August which left hundreds of people dead.
More than 100-thousand people have been killed in the over 2.5-year long civil war in Syria.
 
 
Paid annual leave system to ease overcrowding during Chinese holidays
 
Anchor
New stats are suggesting some 428-million people became tourists here in China during the National Day Holiday, leading to major overcrowing.
As such, a growing number of experts are suggesting a solution to the problem is to abolish long holidays and bring in a policy of paid vacations.
CRI's Marc Cavigli has more.
Reporter
For many tourists, the National Day Holiday remains the best time for traveling in spite of traffic jams and overcrowding at tourist sites.
Beijing visitor Shao Hua says he has no choice but to travel during the Golden Week.
"We seldom have long holidays. That makes long distance traveling impossible. The relatively long National Day Holiday enables me to travel."
There have been many attempts to ease the problem of travel peaks during holidays.
Under China's first Tourism Law, which came into effect on Oct. 1, scenic spots are not allowed to receive tourists exceeding their capacities.
Early warning mechanisms and group visitor reservation systems have been broadly introduced to make the best use of travel resources.
Other possible cures have been identified, such as bringing in paid annual leave.
It says that a paid annual leave system will have been basically implemented by 2020, meaning all employers will be encouraged to subscribe to it by 2020.
Dai Bin, director of China's Tourism Research Institution, says that there's still a long way to go for the implementation of such a system.
"Implementation of the paid annual leave system isn't easy due to China's large population and regional differences. Though the policy has been suggested for 5 years, there is still a long way to go. It's definitely the best solution to overcrowding during holidays. We would make great efforts to promote implementation of the policy."
February saw the State Council, China's cabinet, announce a new program promoting domestic tourism.
For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.
 
 
Dairy industry reshuffle
 
Anchor
With the price of milk products going up here in China, industry experts are suggesting this is an opportunity for the country's dairy industry to grow to maturity.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter
In the past few months, there has been a nationwide price rise in dairy products.
Dairy companies have revealed that this round of price rise originates from the dairy farmers give up keeping their cows due to the severe price decline of raw milk.
But now, raw milk is a scare resource.
At one of the raw milk production bases in Heilongjiang Province, four dairy companies are competing for raw materials.
Manager Tong Bin says their daily production volume is about 2 tons. That is only two third compare to the same period last year.
"I think the milk companies are competing for the raw material products. I heard another milk base near us have raised their prices. We will definitely follow them."
But according to a dairy company in Heilongjiang Province, there is still a 20% scarcity when it comes to the availability of raw milk.
The price hike of raw materials has resulted in a price rise in medium and high-end products.
Fu Xinjie, the general manager of the marketing department of Wandashan Dairy Company says they are adjusting the structure of their products. They plan to cut the production volume of low-end products and aim for the high-end market.
"Currently, we are reducing the production of low-end end milk power products, also the liquid dairy products. For instance, the one yuan pack ordinary pure milk. It's even cheaper than water. Of course the company will lose money if we make such product. We are going to reduce even suspend the production of such ordinary pack pure milk."
Major dairy enterprises like Yili and Mengniu raised their high-end products in August this year by a margin of 11 and 16 percent respectively.
But it's not all bad news for the dairy industry.
Zhang Weiyin, the secretary general of the Heilongjiang Province Dairy Products Association says after this round of raw material competition, the quality of it can definitely be lifted.
The current price competition is the result of market reshuffle. It's a positive step for a more mature and standardized market.
"We will support the dairy enterprises and we welcome more investments. Our goal is to build modern dairy industry, standardized farm as well as family farms. Plus, we encourage dairy enterprises build their own milk bases."
For Cri I am Li Dong.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Anchor
First off, a check on the markets in North America and Europe.
Join me on the desk, CRI's Hu Jia.
Reporter
U.S. stocks extended recent losses as the continuing stalemate in Washington prompted stepped-up selling by investors.
Concern over a potential U.S. default was evident in Tuesday's T-bill auction.
The Treasury Department has sold 30-billion US dollars worth of four-week bills, maturing on Nov. 7th.
The average yield came in at 0.355 percent, which is the highest yield since October 2008.
When the markets closed,
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1 percent.
The S&P 500 lost 1.2 percent.
The Nasdaq dropped 2 percent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX slumped 0.8 percent.
European stock markets moved sharply lower on Tuesday, after data shows growth in the Chinese services sector slowed in September.
The HSBC China Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.4 in September from 52.8 in August, indicating that growth in the services sector is slowing down.
Any reading above 50 still indicates expansion.
In Europe, mining firms posted some of the biggest losses, with shares of BHP Billiton down 1.9 percent, Rio Tinto lost 0.8 percent and Anglo American Mining closed down 1.5 percent.
The losses weighed on the U.K.'s FTSE 100, which slumped 1.1 percent.
Germany's DAX eased 0.4 percent.
France's CAC 40 index lost 0.8 percent.
 
 
IMF Cuts World Growth Forecast, Warns China to Grow More Slowly over Medium Term
 
The International Monetary Fund has lowered its world growth forecast to 2.9 percent year-over-year this year.
This is down from the 3.2-percent projected in July.
At the same time, its lowered its projection for next year to 3.6 percent, which is down from the earlier estimate of 3.8-percent.
The IMF's forecast for China this year is 7.6%.
It's also projecting Chinese growth for next year will come in at 7.3-percent.
Rupa Duttagupta is the deputy chief of World Economic Studies with the IMF.
"There is a less of willingness (for the Chinese government) to continue in this growth mode (of stimulus measures) and IMF thinks this is the right approach and the next step of course would be to move more towards a consumption based growth model, for a range of reforms still needed including expanding the social safety net, moving to more market-determined interest, and relying more on right pace financing and so on."
The IMF says there are two particular risks to global economic growth.
One is China's slowing growth and the other is the US Federal Reserve's plan to exit its bond buyback program.
The IMF is also warning any failure by the US government to pay its bills will also badly damage the global economy.
 
 
Shanghai Bourse Releases Assessment Methods for Listed Firms' Information Disclosure
 
The Shanghai Stock Exchange has publicized new regulations connected to information disclosure.
The move is an attempt by regulators to cast more light onto the regulatory procedure and improve the quality of information available for investors.
As part of the new changes, the Shanghai Stock Exchange will evaluate the information disclosed by publically-traded companies once a year.
The Exchange will then rate the companies based on the results of its audit.
Listed firms will be placed into four major regulatory categories ranging from A—outstanding to D—disqualified.
 
 
525 companies registered in Shanghai FTZ on its first working day
 
New figures show the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is now home to 525 registered companies following the first day of operations after the Golden Week holiday.
Many more are queuing to file registering applications for the FTZ.
"The first obvious difference is that you don't have to get a capital verification report for corporate registration, which is required at other places. Here they use a subscription system instead. The second difference is that the service procedure here is much simpler and faster."
The FTZ has its own registration system.
Firms which want to set up operations in sectors not included in the previously-released negative list can expect their applications to be processed in 4-days.
It used to take nearly a month.
The Shanghai FTZ has released a negative list, clarifying what foreign companies can't do in the zone, rather than what they're allowed to do.
This is said to offer more flexibility for companies.
Jian Danian is the deputy director of the FTZ's Management Committee.
He says they're trying to make the FTZ as simple as possible to navigate.
“We are constructing information sharing platform and a sub-platform of information on our FTZ to trace and share information and facilitate the process management of the registered companies."
The FTZ is also planning to publicize annual reports for every company operating in the zone.
The negative list will be updated every one to two years.
 
 
Telecoms firm Alcatel-Lucent to cut 10,000 jobs
 
Telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent is planning to axe 10-thousand jobs worldwide to try to reduce its operation cost.
The cuts, which will come over the next 2-years, account for 14 percent of the company's global workforce.
Under the plan, the Franco-American company will reallocate its research investment to next-generation technology and cut investment in older technology.
Alcatel-Lucent hopes to save 1.4 billion US dollars through the job cuts.
Last year the firm reported losses of 1.6-billion US dollars.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Li Keqiang to attend ASEAN meeting in Brunei
 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is set to kick off a series of diplomatic stops in Southeast Asia starting today.
The Premier is set to begin his trip today, which will take him to Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam.
Ahead of the trip, Li Keqiang has taken part in joint interview with a number of media outlets in southeast Asia, saying China is exploring new strategic breakthroughs in its relationship between China and ASEAN countries.
Li Keqiang says China wants good-neighborly ties with ASEAN countries, calling for stronger cooperation in the areas of security and finance.
He has also suggested an updated version of the current Free Trade Area with ASEAN.
 
 
Obama urges Democrats, Republicans to work on budget differences
 
U.S. President Barack Obama has issued a new call for Democrats and Republicans to work on their budget differences to end the current fiscal logjam.
At the same time, Obama says he will be willing to talk with Republicans after the threats of the government shutdown and debt-ceiling are removed.
The U.S. federal government has been in a partial shutdown since October 1st.
At the same time, the US government is headed toward default in just over a week if lawmakers don't raise the country's debt ceiling.
 
 
IMF Cuts World Growth Forecast, Warns China to Grow More Slowly over Medium Term
 
The International Monetary Fund has lowered its world growth forecast to 2.9 percent year-over-year this year.
This is down from the 3.2-percent projected in July.
The IMF's forecast for China this year is 7.6%.
The IMF says there are two particular risks to global economic growth.
One is China's slowing growth and the other is the US Federal Reserve's plan to exit its bond buyback program.
The IMF is also warning any failure by the US government to pay its bills will also badly damage the global economy.
 
 
Azerbaijan braces for presidential election
 
Presidental elections are set to be held later on this Wednesday in Azerbaijan.
10 candidates are running for the former Soviet Republic's top political position.
However, most observers say the only credible challenger to incumbent Ilham Aliyev is opposition coalition leader Camil Hasanli.
Most political watchers expect Aliyev will be easily re-elected.
He had Azerbaijan's constitution ammended in 2009 to allow him to run for a 3rd term.
Around a thousand international observers are expected to oversee the voting.
 
 
Nigerian gov't in talks with key members of Boko Haram sect
 
Members of the Nigerian government have entered into talks with key members of the Boko Haram militant group in an attempt to try to end the religious-based violence in the country.
Members of a presidential committee put together by President Goodluck Johnathan are leading the talks.
The committee is putting together a report on the situation, which should be finished by the end of the week.
Islamic group Boko Haram has declared war against Western education and is demanding Islamic sharia law be enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
The group took up arms in 2009 to back its demands.
The subsequent sectarian violence, which has mostly targeted Christians in Nigeria's north, has left hundreds dead.
Nigeria is divided between a predominantly Christian south and Muslim north.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
Guangzhou's double car registration system questioned
Summary
New stats show the success rate in Guangzhou's license-plate lottery system has hit a new low at 2.8-percent in September.
In the wake of the stats, people in Guangzhou are starting express doubts about the efficiency and transparency of the plate auction system.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Beijing to host next APEC
Summary
Municipal authorities here in Beijing have confirmed next year's APEC summit will be held in Yanqi Lake, 50 kilometers outside the city.
Convention centers, hotels and exclusive villas at the lake will be put into operation late this year.
GUANGZHOU DAILY
Headline
Guangzhou says goodbye to non A/C buses
Summary
Buses with no air conditioning in Guangzhou had their last day on the roads yesterday.
Authorities say people prefer the air conditioned buses, given the average temperaturs in the southern metropolis.
Authorities in Guangzhou started putting A/C cooled buses on the road back in 2002.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
Beijing village official removed after son's luxurious wedding
Summary
A village official in Beijing has been removed from his posts after he reportedly held a three-day lavish wedding for his son during the National holiday, costing over 1 million yuan.
Disciplinary authorities say the wedding has caused negative social effects and has violated the government's rules against extravagance.
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Cabinet orders watch on poverty funds
Summary
The central government has announced plans to strictly monitor the use of poverty-relief funds.
Recent reports are suggesting some of the funds have been misused by local governments due to a lack of supervision.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
Majority of smartphones unprotected
Summary
A new report shows more than 80-percent of smartphones here in China remain unprotected from malware and hacking attacks.
Industry insiders say Android phone users in China are the most attacked in the world, accounting for over 30-percent of the world's infected smartphone users.
GLOBAL TIMES
Headline
GSK China bribe suspect captured
Summary
A suspect wanted in connection with the GlaxoSmithKline bribery case has been captured in Guizhou.
Police have confirmed the suspect will be transferred to Shaanxi for trial.
GSK China has been probed by Chinese authorities since late June for alleged bribery and tax-violations.
The company is accused of creating a network of bribery rings through local travel agencies to try to boost drug sales and push up prices.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Nishikori, Raonic, and Seppi advance to second round at Shanghai Masters
 
Let's go first to the Shanghai Masters, where the ATP's elite players are battling beneath the rains of Typhoon Fitow.
Japan's Kei Nishikori is through to the next round after defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1.
Richard Gasquet crashed out after being upset by Canada's Vasek Pospisil.
10th seed Milos Raonic beat Polish qualifier Michael Przysiezny 6-4, 6-4.
Italy's Andreas Seppi eliminated wildcard entry Lleyton Hewiitt with a straight-sets victory.
World number 27 Benoit Paire defeated fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3.
World numbers one and two Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both enjoyed byes in the first round, and are scheduled to play their opening matches today.
Despite being usurped as the top player in the world by Rafa, Djokovic is upbeat and focused on having a solid performance in Shanghai.
"It has been a fantastic week for me in Beijing. I hope to continue playing well here in Shanghai. We have an even stronger field here. We have all the best players in the world playing here except Andy Murray who is not here but everybody else is and it is going to be very competitive. I have been traditionally, in the last five years, performing my best tennis and playing well on Chinese soil."
Later today, Djokovic will take on Spain's Marcel Granollers, and Rafa will face Ukraine's top-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov.
 
 
China's Du Bei takes two golds in womens shooting
 
At the East Asian Games,
Chinese shooter Du Bei won two gold medals in the team and individual divisions of the womens 10 meter air rifle yesterday.
In the team final,
Du and teammates Chang Jing and Ma Hong rung up 1249.1 points to take first.
In the individual final,
South Korea's Yoon Danbi wasted her lead with a poor shot and failed to make it into the final three.
Du ended up winning the title by 0.9 over second place Chang.
Later today, the Beijing's Olympic champion Pang Wei will will compete in the mens 10m air pistol events.
 
 
Dancesport featured at the Tianjin East Asian Games
 
Anchor
At the ongoing Tianjin East Asian Games, the DanceSport competition is attracting large swarms of local dance lovers.
CRI's Li Jing has more.
Reporter
The dancesport competition has dancers from six East Asian countries and regions competing in 12 events.
Waltz, Tango and the Slow Foxtrot set the room with a sense of medieval luxury, while Samba, Rumba, Jive and the Cha-Cha made the floor tremble with Latin American excitement.
24-year-old Sum Wu and his partner Wai Yi Lam are one of the couples who earned a medal.
"Actually this is a very important event for us because four years ago we were in the Hong Kong East Asian Games, we also won the Bronze medalists, which was one of the milestones in our dancing career and life. To win the bronze medal again is kind of reward, i think we absolutely will go for more for our dancing in our whole life."
22-year-old Cui Yafang watched every bit of the competition.
"I have seen dancing competitions on the TV before. Though i have never heard of dancing was a sport, but i have seen lots of dancing competitions on TV, but yes, it definitely catched my imagination to watch the dancing up close."
Dancesport is not sanctioned as an Olympic event, but it is not just coincidence that it has been featured at the Tianjin Games.
George Tan, one of the officials at the event, says the sport's prospect of becoming an Olympic event has to start with successes in secondary games first.
"Because the world dancesport federation has already tried to push this through to the Olympic games. So now, i think you know that (dance sport) at the East Asian Games has been very successful. I think China alone has ten gold from this game. So i think the next step for the world dancesport federation is to put this to the IOC, that means the Olympic games."
Tan says the extremely high demand on energy and physical fitness aside, he says the immense zeal in-which the fans in Tianjin have embraced the sport is evidence enough the sport should be internationally successful.
For CRI, i am Li Jing.
 
 
England looks ahead to November internationals
 
In Rugby,
England is looking ahead to three big November Tests against Rugby Championships teams.
Head coach Stuart Lancaster said the internationals will afford him an opportunity of sorting through a pretty deep roster.
"We've got a huge pool of talent coming through and lots of difficult selection decisions to be honest. You know there's all sorts of players who played in the Under 20 World Cup last year that we won, who are beginning to push their way through the Premiership. We've got lads who've already played for England, who are 21, 22-years-old and who've been to Argentina as well."
England's first test will be against Australia, followed by a match with Rugby Championships losers Argentina, and finally a clash with the champion New Zealand All Blacks.
 
 
Teams head into final group qualification matches for World cup
 
In football,
National teams are preparing for their final World Cup qualification group matches.
England sits at the top of Group H, but by a slim one point margin over Ukraine and Montenegro.
They have a critical home clash with Montenegro on Friday. A win would see them qualify, but a loss will put the Brits into a possible play-off position.
Argentina and the US have already secured their tickets to Brazil.
US midfielder DaMarcus Beasley says his squad feels less pressure, but still isn't treating their upcoming matches against Jamaica and Panama lightly.
"We want to win our group, we want to finish off on a good note. But obviously I would be lying if I said we weren't a little more relaxed obviously coming into this camp now we know that we have qualified. So hopefully you have a good performance against Jamaica and Panama and we keep everything on an even keel."
Ethiopia and Nigeria will meet in the first leg of their qualifying play-off match this weekend.
And Croatia still has a chance at topping their qualification group if they beat Belgium today.
That match will be on home turf for the Croatians, but the advantage is offset by the loss of two of their key players:　Darijo Srna and Josip Simunic
 
 
Valcke jeered by protestors over World Cup stadium
 
Protestors were waiting for FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke when he came to inspect the final World Cup stadium yesterday.
A group of about 50 invaded the construction site in Cuiaba and jeered at Valcke when he and other officials arrived.
That particular venue had a setback after local prosecutors claimed the seats were overpriced, which forced builders to rush to find a new supplier.
The pressure seems to be getting to Valcke.
"It's amazing how FIFA is bad. Amazing that whatever FIFA is doing is negative and it's always our fault? I mean, the requirement of FIFA is not to have seats in gold etc., so it's nothing to do with FIFA requirements."
These setbacks have prompted many to ask whether FIFA will have to drop venues in order to meet the December construction deadline.
Valcke's answer is an emphatic no.
"It's good that the World Cup is in, what, 240 days, 250 days, 8 months? Because then we would not have this kind of question anymore! I would accept this kind of question I would say a few months ago. We have been very clear now, since we started the process of ticket sales that we will work in the 12 host cities organisation in Brazil. There is no way that one city will be off the list from now."
Cuiaba was the last stop on Valcke's official inspection tour that took him through the 12 host cities.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Re-make of Stephen King's "Carrie" to hit cinemas
 
(Carrie)
It's been nearly four decades since the original, now a reimagination of Stephen King's "Carrie" is poised to hit the big screen.
"Boys Don't Cry" director Kimberly Peirce chose Amiercan playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rework the book into an original screenplay.
Brian DePalma's 1976 original adaptation of the novel starred Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie as the socially isolated teenager and her mother.
KickAss star Chloe Moretz plays the titular lead.
" The Brian DePalma original definitely left out a lot of the important parts of the book. And what we did was we went in and we really created exactly Stephen King's 'Carrie,' and we breathed new life into it and we put it onto the screen the best we could."
Gabriella Wilde is high school queen bee Sue Snell while Julianne Moore plays Carrie's controlling mother.
Moore says that despite its supernatural elements, the story is all too human.
"Stephen King wrote such a wonderful book. I'm a huge fan of his and of this novel, in particular. Somebody described this not as horror, but as tragedy. It's really a sad story -- exciting, entertaining -- but really about the effects of social isolation."
"Carrie" premieres across the globe, starting from 17th October, arriving in Hong Kong on 14th November.
 
 
Wen Huaisha's calligraphy to be shown in Paris
 
103-year old Chinese artist Wen Huaisha's calligraphies are set to be exhibitted in Paris as of later today.
Wen, a celebrated writer, artist and cultural commentator, will have his work shown at the Paris' Chinese Cultural Centre.
A day ahead of the opening, the centenarian visited the shabby inn where Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh died in desolation in 1890.
Wen, a former University teacher, mused that "Vincent Van Gogh has gone but will always remian in our spirits" as he traced Van Gogh's footsteps in the dimly lit, cramped room.
The exhibition of Wen's calligraphy will run from October 9 to October 15 in Paris, France.
 
 
Sun Li nominated for International Emmys
 
Chinese actress Sun Li has been nominated for the Best Actress award at this year's International Emmy Awards.
Sun was nominated for her role in the TV series "The Legend of Zhen Huan".
(Zhen Huan trailer)
The show follows the political intrigue of an emperor's concumbines during the Qing Dynasty and has been a hit with Chinese audiences since its debut last year.
It has also reached an international audience in Singapore, Malaysia, and the US.
Other nominees for the award include British actress Sheridan Smith, Brazilian Fernanda Montenegro, and Sweden's Lotta Tejle.
The awards will be given late next month in New York.
 
 
Lost Doctor Who episodes recovered
 
(Doctor Who)
A number of early Doctor Who episodes thought to be lost for ever have been recovered by the BBC.
This comes after weeks of speculation as to the where abouts of the over 100 episodes featuring the first two Doctors, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.
While many still remain missing, the latest finds are a triumph for the BBC whose Doctor Who remains the most successful Sci-Fi TV series of all time.
Many of the original footage were destroyed after original transmissions in the 1960s and 70s.
However, hope still lies ahead.
Many of the lost episodes were transferred onto film for foreign broadcasters so it remains a task of delving into archives world wide in the hunt to find the lost history of the show.
We will need to wait to see if and when the lost episodes would be restored for screening for today's audience.
 
 
 
That's all we have time for on the show as well.
Recapping our top headlines....
This year's APEC meeting has wrapped up in Bali, Indonesia, with Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech to the closing.
A new report is suggesting South Korean intelligence has confirmed North Korea has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
The political stalemate in Washington shows no sign of easing with just over a week to go before the US government loses the ability to pay its debts.
In Business.... both Beijing and Tokyo have been putting on a hard-press on Washington to solve its political impasse.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together!