China

A stone staircase leads up to the large fourth floor area Celebrating the opening of their new IFC store, Givenchy held an after-party at a fascinating new restaurant / exhibition space called Duddell’s on Thursday night. Walking around inside, the venue succeeds at being sophisticated, contemporary, and elegant, all at once. Not yet open to the public, if the quality of the design is any indication of the cuisine, it will be a worthy new addition to the city’s growing circle of world-class institutions. Is Hong Kong getting more sophisticated? Historically, Hong Kong didn’t do elegant or contemporary very well. For many years it went over the top in both directions, either trying to be overtly affluent, which ended up being gaudy, or too space-age slick, which frequently left places feeling too cold. The interior of Duddell’s however, which consists of two floors and a series of separate dining rooms, avoids both of these cliches. Multiple private dining rooms can be found throughout the venue Predominantly a mixture of natural materials such as stone and wood, with excellent lighting, the space has clean lines and art hanging throughout the interior. Designed by Elle Decor founder Ilse Crawford, Duddell’s comes across as both warm and timeless. A large open dining room occupies the third floor Located at 1 Duddell Street, it sits between Queens Road (just opposite the Landmark Mandarin Oriental,) and Ice House Street. The lower floors of the building are home to Shanghai Tang’s new flagship store. The dead-end block is anchored on one side by a grand old stone staircase that is often used as a backdrop in photo shoots. Duddell’s, which has yet to officially launch, is the latest project by a dream team of three of the city’s serial entrepreneurs, Alan Lo, Yenn Wong, and Paulo Pong. You can expect to be hearing a lot more about this space in the very near future. Duddell’s has a large fourth floor patio, which is ideal for events The following is admittedly, not a great video(!), however, it quickly shows the main dining room, and a private room on the third floor. Duddell’s is meant to go beyond being a restaurant and to occupy a role more akin to a contemporary creative space. Recommended! Duddell’s 3F – 4F, 1 Duddell Street Central, Hong Kong

A group of North Koreans claim to have hijacked a Chinese fishing boat, are holding hostages, and demand some 600,000 yuan in ransoms. The initial hijacking took place on May 6, but authorities are struggling to pin down exactly what happened. They are investigating the boat owner's claims that his ship and its crew were taken, but officials have been silent. [ more › ]

North Korean hijackers take Chinese fishing boat with 16 hostages

TAIWAN yesterday repeated calls for a joint investigation into the killing of a fisherman by Philippine coast guards.A team of investigators returned to Taiwan on Saturday, accusing the Philippines of failing to honor an agreement on a joint probe."The decision to send the investigators to Manila came only after the Philippine government had agreed to let us do so," Chen Ming-tang, Taiwan's deputy justice minister, told reporters.Chen said a joint inquiry was the only way to establish the truth of the May 9 shooting of Hung Shih-cheng."While our investigators can provide them with evidence they have collected, Filipino investigators can come to Taiwan to gather evidence, including talking to the other witnesses on board the fishing boat at the time of the shooting," Chen said.The coast guard has said the fishing vessel intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram its patrol boat. Chen denied any intrusion, citing a voyage data recorder on the fishing boat.Taiwan has rejected Manila's apology and slapped sanctions on the Philippines, including a ban on the hiring of new workers, recalling its representative to Manila and staging a drill in waters off the northern Philippines.Amadeo Perez, a personal envoy from Philippine President Benigno Aquino was forced to return home last Thursday after Taipei rejected an apology he conveyed from Aquino.Taipei has repeatedly pressed Manila to issue a formal government apology, to compensate the fisherman's family and to apprehend the killer.In Manila, Perez said his country was waiting for tempers to cool.Comments by Taiwanese investigators branding the incident as murder have complicated the situation, Perez, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, said."We are waiting for the right time because I was told by the secretary-general for Asian affairs, we should wait for the temperature in Taiwan to cool," Perez told DZMM radio.Perez said Taiwan wanted Aquino personally to write a letter of apology, but this could be considered a violation of Manila's one-China policy.But he thanked Ma for his promise to protect Filipinos working in Taiwan after a Filipino worker was attacked.

PLASTIC foam dinnerware, allowed to be used again after a 14-year ban was lifted recently, is being made from industrial waste and toxic chemicals in a city in south China's Guangdong Province, according to an undercover newspaper investigation.More than 10 million plastic foam disposable food containers are made each month in one small factory in Guangdong's Dongguan City, where most of the plastic foam products are made, according to the Hangzhou-based City Express. The products are made from industrial waste and phosphor powder, a toxic substance which can make the items look whiter but may also cause cancer, the newspaper said. The lifting of a ban on the sale and use of disposable food containers made of plastic foam on May 1 sparked controversy.However, the National Development and Reform Commission said the ban had ended as plastic foam could now be recycled to become raw materials in construction, paints and stationery. A decision to ban plastic foam dinnerware was imposed in 1999 over pollution concerns. But the newspaper said production had never stopped in a number of small factories in Dongguan. There are up to 200 companies in China allowed to make plastic foam products and 10 of them are in the city. Today, Dongguan factories produce over 70 percent of such products on the national market, the newspaper said. In the 500 square meter factory visited by the undercover reporter, 10 workers were seen producing plastic foam dinnerware by mixing one part of new plastic material to four parts of industrial waste, the newspaper reported. The factory's owner told the reporter they mixed together various kinds of plastic material during production to cut costs. By using new material, the factory could earn 0.01 yuan per item. But it could triple these earnings by mainly using industrial waste, the owner said. The factory's machines can churn out thousands of plastic foam products every hour. In a larger factory in the city there are machines capable of producing 50 containers every second, the paper said. The products were being sold to big cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, a factory official said. According to the newspaper, one factory owner said that although plastic foam containers had not been allowed to be used or sold over the past 14 years, they had been able to continue production by bribing local government officials. "Our factory was inspected by local industrial and environmental watchdogs, but we paid them money to solve the problems," the owner said. He told the newspaper that 3,000 (US$488) to 5,000 yuan would be paid to keep government watchdogs quiet. It is estimated that production companies in China have an annual capacity of 14 billion dinnerware items made of plastic foam, according to China National Radio.Previously, some experts had warned against the decision to end the ban. Dong Jinshi, deputy general secretary of the Beijing Society for Environmental Sciences, said a recycling system had not been established and it was more dangerous to use such products today as many companies were using waste plastic to make them.

CHINESE applicants who signed up for a Dutch project to land humans on Mars in 2023 are raising doubts about the enterprise after its founder said the goal might not be achieved. Many of the more than 10,000 Chinese who paid US$11 to register are demanding their money back, according to the Guangzhou Daily newspaper. It is believed that more than a million dollars has been raised from more than 78,000 applicants from over 120 countries and regions.Mars One, a non-profit company based in the Netherlands, aims to land its first four astronauts in 2023 for a TV reality show.In all, the program is seeking six quartets, each departing on a seven-month journey every two years after the first mission. They will have to agree to stay on Mars, some 230 million kilometers from Earth without the prospect of going back, and be filmed for the TV program.The main requirements for applicants are strong health, good people and survival skills, being 18 or older, and having a reasonable grasp of the English language. The deadline for the first round of online applications is August 31.The four astronauts will be chosen from applicants who registered on the Mars One website. Applicants pay an administration fee that varies across nations according to their per capita GDP. The website says that once an applicant has applied, he or she cannot retrieve the registration fee if the application is withdrawn. Viability doubtsHowever, many applicants began to have doubts about the viability of the project after Xinhua news agency reported that Bas Lansdrop, co-founder and CEO of Mars One, said in an interview that the goal may not be achieved as scheduled. "If we decide that the project cannot be achieved, we will certainly stop proceeding," Lansdrop told Xinhua. Meanwhile, a Xinhua reporter found that the Mars One company was registered on June 23, 2011, in the Netherlands with one employee. Its office, is in a rented apartment in the city of Amersfoort, with "simply some tables." Questions are also being raised about how astronauts could survive on a planet with a temperature of minus 55 degrees Celsius and whose atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide. "They think it's a nice destination for a holiday, but in fact, the climate is much colder than the Earth's climate," Marc Naeije, assistant professor of astrodynamics and space missions at the Delft University of Technology, told Xinhua."There are also a lot of sandstorms. This is not convenient for human beings, but also a problem for the solar panels that should produce energy for the ones living on Mars," he said. Some Chinese applicants have complained about not being able to get their money back, according to Guangzhou Daily. "I feel disappointed to hear that the project may not be achieved. But it sounds like a scam once they charged money from anyone who wanted to register," was one online comment. In another space project, more than 500 people have paid deposits for a US$200,000 ticket for Virgin Galactic sub-orbital flights set to begin later this year.

CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang arrived in New Delhi yesterday afternoon on the first leg of his maiden foreign trip since he took office in March.Li met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday and was due to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari, chairman of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament. He is also expected to deliver a speech on China-India ties and visit India's commercial capital Mumbai.The two countries will also sign a series of agreements on cooperation in trade, agriculture, environmental protection and culture.In a written statement issued on his arrival, the premier hailed the development of bilateral relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1950.He said in the statement that cooperation between China and India means the two great civilizations can learn from each other, the two major markets complement each other, the two major emerging economies fulfil common development, and the two neighboring countries achieve mutual benefit.It is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples that China and India maintain peaceful and friendly relations and join hands to realize national rejuvenation, Li said, adding it is also a blessing to Asia and the world at large.China regarded India as an important partner and friend, he said."I am looking forward to exchanging views with Indian leaders on bilateral ties and regional and global issues of common concern," Li added.Li also expressed confidence that his visit would strengthen mutual trust, deepen cooperation, expand common interests and consolidate bilateral friendship, which would inject new vigor into the China-India strategic cooperative partnership.China's foreign ministry said it is hoped the visit could further cement the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, strengthen cooperation in fields such as investment, trade and infrastructure, explore complementary advantages and achieve mutually beneficial results.Trade between China and India has grown strongly in recent years, with a total volume reaching US$66.5 billion in 2012.China has become India's second largest trade partner and India is China's largest trade partner in South Asia. The two sides aim to expand bilateral trade to US$100 billion by 2015.After India, Li will visit Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.

China is urging North Korea to release a Chinese fishing boat and its crew reported to have been held since May 5.Counsellor Jiang Yaxian of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea told Xinhua news agency yesterday that Yu Xuejun, the boat's owner, called the embassy for help on May 10 and it had immediately contacted the North Korean side.The Chinese Embassy promptly made representations to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, asking Pyongyang to release the boat and the fishermen as soon as possible, said Jiang.The embassy urged the North Korean side to fully ensure the Chinese crew's personal and property safety as well as their legitimate rights and interests, he said."We will continue efforts to ensure that the issue will be properly addressed at an early date," Jiang said. Yu said the boat, from Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, had been hijacked by armed North Koreans and that he'd received a call demanding a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$98,000). Yu said the boat was sailing in Chinese waters around 70 kilometers from North Korea's west coast when it was seized. "They jumped onto the boat and ordered the sailors via an interpreter," Yu said.He was later contacted by the kidnappers and told to pay the ransom by noon yesterday or they would "confiscate the boat and discharge the crew," Yu told the Southern Metropolis Daily yesterday."The supplies on the boat should have run out by now, so I am quite worried about them," he added.Contact with the fishing boat, No. 25222, was lost on May 5 and Yu asked its pair fishing boat to look for it at around 11pm.But its captain told Yu that the vessel had been taken away by a North Korean patrol boat.Yu said he later received the phone call demanding a ransom. The caller claimed the boat had been confiscated because it had entered North Korean territory.1.2 million yuan"They initially demanded 1.2 million yuan to give back the boat and that changed to 800,000 yuan and finally to 600,000 yuan after being refused," Yu said.Yu was not certain of the kidnappers' identity, but told reporters he suspected they were associated with the North Korean army.Yu said he believed the 16 crew, aged between 21 and 46, were in good health because he had been in contact with them as recently as Saturday, but added he was "worried that the North Koreans could abuse our sailors."He had reported the incident to local police, he said, and later posted details of the hijacking on the Internet to ask for further help.The incident comes a year after the return of 29 fishermen kidnapped by North Koreans who had demanded a 1.2 million yuan ransom.The fishermen were returned without a ransom being paid, according to Xinhua news agency, after China's foreign ministry contacted North Korea.

A HIGHER court in Hunan Province will review attempts by the mother of a rape victim to sue a local authority for imprisoning her after she protested the sentences given to her daughter's violators.The Hunan Province Higher People's Court said yesterday that it has accepted plaintiff Tang Hui's appeal.It did not specify a date for the review.Last year, Tang was briefly placed in a re-education and labor camp over her protests.Tang appealed to the higher court on April 30 to overturn a judgement made earlier that month by the Intermediate People's Court of the city of Yongzhou.That court ruled against her lawsuit demanding the local "re-education through labor" commission apologize and pay her 2,463.85 yuan (US$399.50) in compensation for the time she spent in the labor camp.In October 2006, Tang's then 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped, raped and forced into prostitution. She was rescued on December 30, 2006.On June 5, 2012, the Hunan Province Higher People's Court sentenced two of the girl's kidnappers to death.Four others found guilty were given life sentences while another received a 15-year term.Tang petitioned for harsher punishments for those found guilty.But she was put into a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" during her protest in front of government buildings on August 2, 2012.She was sentenced to 18 months in the camp, but was released eight days later amid a public outcry urging her release.

WHEN Jozef Pandelaere came to northwest China's Qinghai Province a year ago, the 60-year-old carpet industry veteran was seeking nothing but a new life. Now, he has a bigger dream for Qinghai and himself."I want to enhance the status of Chinese Tibetan sheep carpets around the world," Pandelaere said." It is my dream to see Qinghai become the genuine home of Tibetan sheep carpets."Last month, Pandelaere won the International Cooperation Award in Scientific and Technological Development in Qinghai, for his contributions to technological innovation in the production of Tibetan sheep carpets.Born in Belgium in 1953, Pandelaere has worked for carpet companies in Belgium, the United States, Indonesia, Turkey and India. In March 2012, he became the manager in charge of production and management with the Qinghai Tibetan Sheep Carpets Group."The Tibetan sheep carpet is an artifact unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," he said, praising the fine texture and bright luster of wool from Tibetan sheep. "What I'm doing here is combining technological innovation and managerial expertise with tradition."Tibetan carpets are made of the hair of sheep, cattle or camels. It is a distinctive product popular both here and abroad.Pandelaere and his team are doing research on printing patterns onto the carpets, instead of the traditional method of weaving."This innovative breakthrough will improve productivity and bring about more vivid patterns," he said, joking that it would be as if the carpet was equipped with a high-definition screen.The initiation of the project, according to Pandelaere, derived from the necessity of meeting customers' needs."Both people in the West and here in China now have a demand for quality products. Price is also important," he said, explaining that the project will deliver high-quality products at a reasonable price.The program's initial achievements have already increased the company's output value by 80 million yuan (US$12.88 million)."The innovation will of course not impair the prospects for traditional hand-made Tibetan sheep carpets," Pandelaere said, explaining the company only targets customers who don't want to buy costly hand-made carpets."Without innovation, there would be no impetus for further development," the award winner added.