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China auto sales rebound to grow 56 percent in Aug

BEIJING (AP) — Auto sales in China, the world’s biggest car market, rebounded in August as subsidies for energy-efficient vehicles and a stronger currency spurred demand. Sales rose 55.7 percent over a year earlier to 1.21 million vehicles, up from 1 million vehicles the month before, the Cabinet’s China Automotive Technology and Research Center said [...]

Obama sanctions on North Korea are also aimed at China

The Korean Peninsula has known neither war nor peace since a conflict there in 1950-53 ended with an unstable truce. In March, however, the mood changed. North Korea snk a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. It was the largest military attack by the North since the end of the Korean War. On [...]

China requires ID to buy mobile phone numbers

BEIJING – China began requiring identification on Wednesday from anyone purchasing a new mobile phone number in what it says is a bid to stamp out rampant junk messages but that some say gives the government a new tool for monitoring its citizens. The rules apply to everyone, including foreigners visiting China for a short [...]

World stocks up on China, Australia economic news

LONDON – World stocks mostly rose Wednesday after strong manufacturing figures from China and forecast-busting economic growth in Australia shored up optimism ahead of a closely watched survey on the U.S. industrial sector. With fears growing that the U.S. recovery is running out of steam, the data will be key in shaping investor sentiment ahead [...]

China imposes anti-subsidy duties on US chicken

BEIJING – China has imposed anti-subsidy duties for five years on imports of U.S. chicken products after concluding producers received improper support, the Commerce Ministry said Wednesday amid a string of trade spats with Washington. Importers must pay tariff rates ranging from 4 percent to 30.3 percent on U.S. broiler or chicken products, starting Aug. [...]

China and North Korea deepen ties during Kim Jong Il visit

The two countries seemingly renew their vows as communist brethren, with China’s Hu Jintao promising to help develop his ally’s economy and North Korea’s leader expressing a desire to resume nuclear talks. Chinese President Hu Jintao promised North Korean leader Kim Jong Il help in developing the North’s economy and Kim spoke of his desire [...]

In Rare Move, China Court to Hear H.I.V. Case

BEIJING — In what appears to be a first for China’s legal system, a court in Anhui Province has agreed to hear a complaint by a prospective schoolteacher that he was illegally denied a job because he is H.I.V. positive, the man’s lawyer said Tuesday. The unidentified man, said to be in his early 20s, [...]

Hongkong flights to Laoag cancelled beginning today

Laoag City (26 August) — The aftermath of the Manila hostage taking has began to be felt in the city with the indefinite suspension of flights from Hongkong to Laoag and vice versa beginning today. Milagros Gonzales, provincial tourism officer, confirmed that twice weekly flights from Hongkong to this city and vice versa have been [...]

Wired youth forget how to write in China and Japan

HONG KONG (AFP) – Like every Chinese child, Li Hanwei spent her schooldays memorising thousands of the intricate characters that make up the Chinese writing system. Yet aged just 21 and now a university student in Hong Kong, Li already finds that when she picks up a pen to write, the characters for words as [...]

HK cancels flights to Laoag and Manila

LAOAG CITY—Direct flights from Hong Kong to this city have been canceled “indefinitely” beginning Thursday, a fallout from the bloody Aug. 23 hostage-taking at Luneta Park in Manila that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. Ronal Estabillo, manager of Laoag International Airport, said he received a letter this week from executives of Hong Kong Express [...]

RP airlines feeling brunt of hostage crisis

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippines’ airline industry is already starting to feel the effects of Monday’s hostage crisis as the tourists who were planning to visit the country had canceled their flights. Two of the country’s largest airlines – flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) of the Lucio Tan group of companies and Gokongwei-led Cebu [...]

China’s massive traffic jam could last for weeks

By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer Anita Chang, Associated Press Writer – 52 mins ago BEIJING – China has just been declared the world’s second biggest economy, and now it has a monster traffic jam to match. Triggered by road construction, the snarl-up began 10 days ago and was 100 kilometers (60 miles) long at one point. [...]

Philippines mourns, HK angry after hijack deaths

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines acknowledged “inadequacies” in handling a hostage crisis that killed eight Hong Kong tourists, as anger over the botched negotiations erupted Tuesday in Hong Kong with demonstrations and harsh words. A heartbreaking picture emerged of the victims — a mother of three who lost her husband and two daughters, a teenager [...]