"She is a perfect combination of classical and modern beauty. Her open-minded but tough character (due to her early experience as a youth athlete), in addition to her intelligence shown at the Q&A section, makes her the winner. Since the annual pageant was launched 57 years ago, beauty and wisdom are equally weighted."

Li Xiaobai, President of the New Silk Road Models Co. Ltd., to which Zhang signed up, also a member of the judging panel for this year's Miss World Beauty Pageant

"You've brought honor to our country! We're all happy for you! We're proud for China!"

A congratulatory message posted on Zhang's blog on the Web portal Sina.com, by a fan named "Tango"

"We have not seen such sovereign wealth funds take advantage of the policy loopholes of a country or target a country's foreign exchange policy in order to gain."

Lou Jiwei, Chairman of the China Investment Corp., assuring a recent banking forum in Beijing that China's $200-million sovereign fund would eventually play a "stabilizing role" as the global economy weathers the fallout of the U.S. subprime crisis

"The money used for the Chang'e project comes from the taxpayers and, therefore, the data should also be made public."

Ouyang Ziyuan, Chief Scientist of China's lunar exploration program, announcing that data from the country's lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 will be available to all

"Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005."

The National Intelligence Estimate, the consensus view of all 16 U.S. spy agencies released on December 3, saying that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons drive in 2003. The new announcement contradicts previous U.S. judgments of Iran's intentions

"I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, admitting his defeat in launching constitutional reforms after 51 percent of voters voted against the changes with 49 percent in favor in a referendum on December 2. One of Chavez's proposed amendments, if passed, would have allowed him to seek reelection indefinitely

"The eyes of the world are upon you. There is a huge responsibility for Bali to deliver."

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, speaking at the UN-sponsored climate change conference in Indonesia's Bali on December 3. The 11-day conference, attended by more than 180 nations, is tasked with crafting a road map for negotiations leading to a new pact for addressing global warming