DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “China amends laws for ratification of Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: report” plus 9 more

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China has amended laws to prepare the ground for the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, according to a report issued by the Information Office of the State Council, or China's cabinet, on Thursday.
China is carrying out legislative and judicial reforms. It amended the Law on Lawyers and the Law on State Compensation to prepare the ground for the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, says the report titled Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010).

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has brought a number of infectious diseases under control to safeguard people's right to health, says a report released on Thursday by China's State Council Information Office (SCIO).
The report, titled Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010), says the number of reported cases of 15 infectious diseases, including diphtheria, dropped markedly over the past two years.
In 2010, the incidences of meningitis B, rabies and hemorrhagic fever throughout the country were 0.19 per 100,000, 0.15 per 100,000 and 0.17 per 100,000, down of 42 percent, 40 percent and 15 percent, respectively, compared to 2007, according to the report.
Meanwhile, 102 million people were immunized against measles over the past two years, says the report.
In April 2009, the SCIO published the Action Plan, which is China's first national plan on human rights.

exports to Russia; FDI in Shanxi
BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The following are some China economic news items in brief.

GUANGXI'S TRADE WITH ASEAN UP NEARLY 50 PCT
South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region generated 3.93 billion U.S. dollars in foreign trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the first half of this year, a rise of 49.5 percent on the same period of last year, according to the local customs house.
ASEAN remained as the top trade partner of Guangxi.
The total trade volume included 2.76 billion U.S. dollars of exports to the ASEAN members, up 56.2 percent year-on-year, and 1.17 billion dollars of imports from the nations, up 35.7 percent.
The export growth was 8.5 percentage points higher than the January-May level.

FUJIAN'S H1 GDP UP MORE THAN 13 PCT
East China's Fujian Province generated 706.29 billion yuan (107 billion U.S. dollars) in gross domestic product, or GDP, in the first half of this year, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.
The total included 52.85 billion yuan generated by the primary sector, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, 401.56 billion yuan by the secondary sector, up 17.6 percent, and 251.88 billion yuan by the tertiary sector, up 9.1 percent.

MORE MACHINERY, ELECTRONICS SOLD TO RUSSIA VIA LAND PORT
China exported 80.42 million U.S. dollars worth of machinery and electronics via Manzhouli, a major land port in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in the first five months of this year, an increase of 200 percent on the same period of last year, according to the local customs house.
Most of the exports, equipment and transport instruments, went to Russia.

SHANXI USES MORE OVERSEAS CAPITAL
North China's Shanxi Province approved establishment of 19 overseas-funded enterprises in the first five months of this year, a rise of 52.6 percent on the same period of last year, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.
The total included 10 joint ventures and six wholly-owned overseas businesses.
The newly established enterprises involved total investment of 690 billion U.S. dollars, up 87 percent year-on-year.
Around 660 million U.S. dollars in overseas capital were actually used in Shanxi over the five months, up 50.9 percent year-on-year.
Most of the money went to the manufacturing and service sectors.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday strongly condemned Wednesday's deadly serial blasts in Mumbai, India, and expressed condolences for the victims.
"We are shocked by the heavy casualties and losses caused by the blasts," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
A total of 17 people were killed and 131 others were injured, according to Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram at a press conference on Thursday.
Hong said China firmly opposes terrorism in any form and will work with the international community, including India, to jointly fight against terrorism in order to maintain the peace and stability of the region and the world as a whole.

LHASA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Tibet has finished building its first expressway, a 38-km long, four-lane road linking Lhasa's city center with Gonggar Airport in the neighboring Shannan Prefecture, the local government said.
The toll-free expressway will halve the travel time from downtown Lhasa to the airport to 30 minutes.
Construction of the expressway began in April 2009 and was completed in early July, 11 months ahead of schedule.
The exact time of its opening remains unknown.
The expressway starts at the Lhasa Railway Station and runs along the southern bank of the Lhasa River.
The 1.59 billion yuan (246 million U.S. dollars) expressway allows vehicles to drive at 80 to 120 km per hour, and its lighting is fueled by solar energy.
The new expressway will ease traffic pressure on a section of the No. 318 national highway that has traffic jams year round.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Thursday that the country's fiscal revenue rose 31.2 percent year-on-year to 5.69 trillion yuan (875.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year.
In June alone, fiscal revenue reached 1.01 trillion yuan, up 27.6 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The ministry attributed the fast growth of revenue in the first six months mainly to the country's economic growth and higher prices.
China's economy expanded at 9.6 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, with the growth rate at 9.5 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier in the first half, with the growth rate accelerated to a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June.
The ministry said the growth of fiscal revenue will slow in the second half of this year due to moderating economic expansion and the higher exemption threshold for individual income tax.
Fiscal revenue in China includes taxes, administrative fees and other sources of government income, such as fines, and income from state-owned assets.  
The country's fiscal spending grew 31.4 percent from a year earlier in the first six months with an expenditure of 4.44 trillion yuan, according to MOF. The expenditure for June was 1.08 trillion yuan, up 33.1 percent, it said.
According to the MOF statement, 576 billion yuan was spent on social security and employment, up 40.5 percent, while 612.8 billion yuan went to education, up 27.8 percent. Medical services used 245.5 billion yuan from January to June, up 61.4 percent year-on-year.

FUZHOU, July 14 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and 22 others were injured after a bridge collapsed Thursday in east Fujian Province, according to local authorities.
The accident happened at around 8:50 a.m. when a section of the Wuyishan Gongguan Bridge collapsed in the city of Wuyishan, said a spokesman with the city's committee of the Communist Party of China.
A tourist bus, carrying 23 people, fell off the bridge, said the spokesman, and the injured were rushed to the hospital.
Designed by Fujian Provincial Traffic Planning and Designing Institute, the steel arch bridge is 301 meters long and 18 meters wide. It is a vital traffic hinge linking the Wuyishan Mountain Resort and the 101 Provincial Highway.
With a total investment of 17 million yuan (2.6 million U.S. dollars), the bridge's construction by the provincial forest engineering company started in November of 1996. It opened to traffic on Nov. 20, 1999.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday strongly condemned the Mumbai blasts and expressed condolences for the victims.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks when answering related questions.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A government report released on Thursday says that Chinese government adopts a policy of "relocation first, demolition later" in requisitioning farmers' land to protect their legitimate rights and interests.
A social security system for farmers whose land has been requisitioned has been established, says the report titled Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) , issued by China's State Council Information Office (SCIO).
"Before the authorities report the compensation standards and relocation plans about the land to be requisitioned to the upper level for approval, any party concerned will receive a written notice stating that he/she has the right to a hearing," says the report.
In accordance with the requirement of "relocation first and demolition later," the government ensures that the compensation for and relocation of farmers are done properly, it says.
According to the report, the governments of 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government have issued measures to include farmers whose land has been requisitioned in the social security system, enabling them to enjoy basic living or old-age insurance.
More methods have been adopted for the relocation of farmers, including relocation to other areas of agricultural production and relocation of farmers to other places, so that farmers whose land has been requisitioned can be provided with basic production conditions and source of income, the report says.
Local governments have publicized the uniform standards for land requisition and the comprehensive land prices of the areas to be requisitioned, and raised the compensation level by 20 percent to 30 percent, and even over 100 percent in some places, it says.
A dynamic mechanism for adjusting compensation standards has been established, under which the compensation standards for land requisition are adjusted every two or three years.
According to the report, by the end of 2010, a total of 18 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government had worked out measures for distributing and using the compensation funds of requisitioned land within rural collectives.
In April 2009, the SCIO published the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). It is China's first national plan on the theme of human rights.
The 56-page report made an overall assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan. It also specified China's efforts on implementing the plan to safeguarding people's economic, social and cultural rights, people's civil and political rights, as well as promoting the cause of human rights in other spheres.

report
BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China has improved the state compensation system and the courts have adjudicated nearly 72 million yuan for state compensation in the past two years, says a report released on Thursday by China's State Council Information Office (SCIO).
Titled Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010), the report says people's courts at all levels in China have adjudicated 2,950 cases of claiming state compensation in the last two years, among which the decision to compensate was made in 805 cases, involving a total amount of 71.71 million yuan.
In April 2010, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress approved the Decision on Revising the Law of the People's Republic of China on State Compensation.
The Decision further smoothes the channels for claiming state compensation, improves the compensation procedures, clarifies the scope and standards of compensation, and straightens out the compensation management and payment mechanism, according to the report.
To ensure the effective implementation of the State Compensation Law, related departments have formulated and revised relevant administrative laws and regulations and judicial interpretations, it says.
In March 2009, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued Some Opinions on Carrying Out Relief Work for Crime Victims.
In addition, people's courts have expanded the scope of judicial aid and approved the reduction, deferral or exemption of litigation fees in 547,000 cases, the report says.
In April 2009, the SCIO published the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010). It is China's first national plan on the theme of human rights.
The 56-page report made an overall assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan. It also specified China's efforts on implementing the plan to safeguarding people's economic, social and cultural rights, people's civil and political rights, as well as promoting the cause of human rights in other spheres.