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2008-04-12 CRI Roundup
    2008-04-12 14:12:47     CRIENGLISH.com

 Hello and welcome to this edition of CRI Roundup on Saturday, April 12th. I am Qizhi in Beijing.

Let's take a look at some of the major events that happened in China and around the globe during the past week.

(Music)

China expresses strong indignation and opposition over a resolution on Tibet adopted by United States House of Representatives.

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge calls for respect the Olympic flame, which has been relayed in Europe and America this week.

Russia and the United States¡¡failed to overcome sharp differences over a US missile defense system and NATO's eastward expansion.

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China has expressed strong indignation and opposition over a resolution on Tibet adopted by United States House of Representatives.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu says the resolution, which condemned for no reason at all the legal measures taken by the government of Tibet Autonomous Region to deal with the violent crimes in Lhasa last month, is "a rude interference into China's internal affairs and seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."

Jiang Yu also says the human rights situation in Tibet is better than at any other time in history.

"We hope countries that are friends of China do not support the Dalai Lama to do anything that damages the interest of China especially under the current situation. The problem between us and the Dalai Lama is not the problem of human rights or religion, it's the problems of separatist and anti-separatist, violence and anti-violence."

Jiang Yu has also warned that the Tibet problem is CHINA'S internal affair and that "no other country or organisation has the right to interfere."

Meanwhile the Tibet Autonomous Region is fully prepared for the Olympic torch relay in June.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said¡¡that social order in Tibet is stable and Tibetan people are living normal, prosperous lives again after the recent riots in Lhasa.

The official said the Tibetan people are looking forward to the arrival of the sacred Olympic flame in June, as part of the 2008 Global Torch Relay.

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The Olympic torch has been relayed in Paris, San Francisco and Argentina' capital Buenos Aires this week.

After disruptions happened to the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris, the International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge called for respect for the Olympic Flame.

"The International Olympic Committee definitely wants and wishes the Olympic flames to be respected because it is a very important symbol that unites people."

Given the disturbances by some Tibetan separatists¡¡that have followed the Olympic flame over the past week, Rogge says the IOC has no plans to cancel the rest of the global relay. The ongoing torch relay will continue, and the protests won't damage the Olympic movement.

"Whether it has damaged the Olympic movement, I would say it has damaged those who have pledged to violence against the torch relay. I don't think that the torch, as such a symbol of the unity of the world, has been damaged. What has been damaged is the protests around [it]."

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The Chinese government is now testing various means of stabilizing prices to prevent the price hike from turning into widespread inflation. The country's consumer price index, or CPI, hit 8.7 percent in February, marking a 12-year high.

During this round of price hike, the prices of pork, edible oils and other foods contributed to 80 percent of the CPI increase.

The impact on low income families is a major concern of the Chinese government. It has increased the subsidy to the low income strata three times since last August. So far, the subsidy for each city dweller has risen an average of 44 yuan.

To deal with the surging price of pork, the government has increased support to the industry and has instituted a pork reserve system. Pig production is making marked progress under the plan. Public sectors also decided to intensify support to the agricultural industry, increase the purchase price of grain, and offer large subsidies to grain farmers to stabilize market prices.

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US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin fail to overcome sharp differences over a US missile defense system and NATO's eastward expansion.

Putin said their stance has not changed on the American plans, while Bush blamed lingering Cold War thinking by some in both Russia and the United States for making it harder to reach agreement on missile defense.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran has tested a new advanced centrifuge as part of the country's ongoing nuclear program.

He announced that Iran has begun installing six-thousand new centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.

Iran says it plans to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment that ultimately will involve 54-thousand centrifuges, reiterating that its nuclear program is focused on the peaceful production of energy, not the development of weapons.

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And that concludes this edition of CRI Roundup. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to listen to any of our programs online, you can visit our website at: www.crienglish.com. I am Qizhi in Beijing. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for more on China Radio International.

 
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