Briefs, September 27, 2012
Taiwan will push ahead with plans to set up a national marine park near the disputed Diaoyu Islands, also claimed by Japan and Beijing, a top official said. Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan was speaking a day after dozens of Taiwanese boats entered territorial waters around the disputed Diaoyu islands, known as the Senkakus to Japanese, in the East China Sea. The planned national park would cover three Taiwan-held islets and surrounding waters measuring 750 square kilometres. Separately, Beijing said it would offer help to both mainland and Taiwanese fishermen operating in waters around the islands. AFP, Xinhua
About 11 million vehicles are expected to hit Beijing's expressways during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, marking a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent, according to the capital's transport authorities. The increase is mainly a result of a new toll-free policy for cars during major holidays initiated by the government in August, a municipal transport commission official said. Xinhua
Leninism still has relevance to China, an expert on Communist theory said yesterday, explaining why the Communist Party was upholding it as one of its guiding philosophies. "The failure of the Stalinist model of the former Soviet Union doesn't necessarily mean Leninism has nothing good to learn from," said Yan Jianqi , secretary general of the party's Literature Research Centre. Xinhua
