Diplomat Promoted
Zhang Zhijun has succeeded Wang Guangya as executive vice minister of foreign affairs. Wang was reappointed to head the office of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs
Actress of the Decade
Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi received the Actress of the Decade award from CineAsia, an annual regional film trade show, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center
Corrupt Officials Sentenced
Huang Yao, former Chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, and Pi Qiansheng, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Tianjin Municipal Committee, were separately sentenced to death for taking bribes

"My objective is to try to get North Korea to calm down a bit, see if we can reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula."

Bill Richardson, Governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, who is travelling to North Korea on an unofficial diplomatic mission to ease regional tensions

"We are allocating very serious, significant funds for the rearmament program. I am even scared to pronounce this figure, 20 trillion rubles($65 million)."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the allocation of funds through 2020 to modernize and re-arm the country's military, as he visited a navy shipyard in Severodvinsk on the White Sea on December 13

"Most inflation so far we see in China is food, which is reversible if there are better crops next season. "

Ethan Harris, head of the Developed Economics Research in Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Global Research, on China's increasing CPI

"This country doesn't need early elections."

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in a speech after he narrowly survived two confidence votes on December 14

"If we send the Kyoto Protocol to the bin, we will be responsible for 'ecocide,' and thus for genocide, because we would be attacking humanity as a whole."

Bolivian President Evo Morales, on the saving of the Kyoto Protocol and the creation of an international climate justice tribunal at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun

"Seoul and Tokyo are discussing plans to allow our troops to conduct rescue operations in case of contingencies."

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, speaking in a meeting with families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea on December 10. The comments were later denied by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku

"The departments should conduct strict payment-related inspections to ensure migrant workers' pay is not delayed."

Chinese Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin, calling for government departments to ensure migrant workers are paid on time before the upcoming New Year holiday and Spring Festival

 
GROUNDBREAKING FACILITY China's first deep underground laboratory is inaugurated at the Jinpin Hydropower Station in Sichuan Province on December 12, offering an independent cutting-edge underground scientific research and experimental platform in physics (ZHANG XIONG)
Tax Concern
Taxpayers have voiced hope taxes will be reduced on vehicles and boats as China's top legislature discontinued soliciting opinions for the draft law on vehicle and boat taxation
Brain Gain
China has launched a fresh initiative to recruit around 2,000 outstanding young professionals from overseas in five years, according to a statement issued by China's central authorities
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GIFT CUBS
Giant pandas Kai Kai and Xin Xin eat bamboo in a giant panda breeding and research base in Chengdu, Sichuan Province before they were relocated to Macao on December 18 (CHEN KAI)
UNFORGOTTEN HISTORY
Mourners pay condolences to the more than 300,000 Chinese citizens who were massacred by Japanese troops in 1937 at a memorial hall in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on December 12 (LI WENBAO)
INSPIRING LEARNERS
Visitors observe a copper incense stove at a folk art show in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, on December 14. The show featured more than 250 folk artworks (HUANG ZHE)
COLD WEATHER FUN
A mother and child ride an ice slide in Genhe, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on December 12, when local temperatures hit a record low of minus 45 degrees Celsius (LI XIN)
 
LINK TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD The last tunnel of the Metok Road project is open on December 15. The 117.278-km-long road, leading to the roadless Metok County of Nyingchi, Tibet Autonomous Region, is expected to be completed in 2011 at a total investment of up to 950 million yuan (JUE GUO)
ODI's Big Increase
China's outbound direct investment in non-financial sectors in 122 countries and regions reached $47.56 billion in the first 11 months of this year, said the Ministry of Commerce
Dissatisfied Consumers
The residents' price satisfaction index fell to 13.8 percent—the lowest since the fourth quarter of 1999, when the quarterly survey began—according to a statement published on the central bank's website
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November Figures
The CPI increase was largely driven by food and residential factors, said NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun. Food prices surged 11.7 percent year on year, contributing 74 percent to the CPI increase
Draining Liquidity
The People's Bank of China on December 10 ordered the third increase of the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks in a month in a move to siphon excess liquidity that has been fueling inflationary jitters
Jobs Boom
Hiring activities in China have increased 12.5 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter, making the country the world's second hottest job market, only behind Thailand
more>>
  • THAILAND
    Anti-government “red shirt” protesters participate in a demonstration in Bangkok on December 10. The group was commemorating their conflict with police eight months ago as well as Thailand’s Constitution Day (XINHUA/AFP)
  • BRITAIN
    Mark Stephens, the lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaks to the media in London on December 14 after his client was granted bail (XINHUA/AP)
  • UN
    Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (right) embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the UN headquarters in New York on December 15. On that day, the UN Security Council passed a resolution lifting major sanctions on Iraq (SHEN HONG)
  • ITALY
    Supporters of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi celebrate in Rome on December 14 after he scraped through a crucial lower house confidence vote (XINHUA/AFP)
  • SOUTH KOREA
    South Korean rescuers take part in a chemical warfare defense drill on December 15 in Paju, near the demilitarized zone between the country and North Korea. It was South Korea’s first national civil defense drill since 1975 (XINHUA/AFP)
  • RUSSIA
    Football fans clash with riot police in central Moscow on December 11 after a fan was shot in a mass fight several days earlier (XINHUA/AFP)
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