"There's no country or party in the world like our country and the Communist Party of China (CPC), which, in more than a decade, pooled the whole nation's strength to support the development of an ethnic region."

Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, outlining the achievements made by Tibet Autonomous Region in a recent meeting with private envoys of the Dalai Lama in Beijing

"China is very flexible as a culture—extremely high energy and that's the makings of a dynamic economy and culture."

Klaus Kleinman, Board Chairman of metals giant Alcoa, saying that there are a lot of misconceptions about China in the West at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

"We are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car."

Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program of the U.S. Treasury Department, warning of the problems that led to the last financial crisis in the United States have not yet been addressed

"Arrogance and some complacency came into play, driven by the idea that their ranking as No.1 producer of quality goods wasn't at risk."

Kirby Daley, a veteran Tokyo trader, now a chief strategist at the Newedge Group, a financial services firm in Hong Kong, on Toyota's worldwide recall of more than 9 million cars over faulty gas pedals

"We feel we should move quickly. Our purpose is to try to provide guidance, to try to reduce harm."

Keiji Fukuda, head of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Influenza Program, defending the group's reaction to the A/H1N1 flu threat, which proved milder than expected