The results of the 2005 Green China Annual Peoples' Award are announced

The 2005 Green China Annual Peoples' Award is China's first award given by the government to environmental personages and has received a lot of support from the UNED. In recent years, and along with the rise in environmental awareness in society as a whole, more and more individuals are playing undeniable influencial roles and making huge contributions to China's environmental cause. They might persuing the goal of sustainable development, fighting against pollution with selfless bravery or being the first to start using wind power, leading the way in realizing a green production or lifestyle method. Perhaps they will have invested in environmental protection public good enterprises, nurturing a spirit of public good within Chinese society. The results of the selection process were made known on 27 th November 2005. The following people all received an award, Liang Congjie, founder of China's first environmental NGO, Wang Canfa - the first academic to provide sufferers of pollution with legal aid; Tian Guirong, a peasant from Xinxiang; Henan who was the first to be elected head due to his ideas about environmental protection; Zhao Yongxin, the first journalist to report the Yuanmingyuan anti-seepage lining case; and Liang Liming, who lifted the lid on the Taiyuan national air pollution case from the head of Taiyuan's Environmental Protection Agency.

This annual event was made into a program, which has been broadcast by the CCTV Economy Channel, from its establishment in 2000 until today. The announcement about this year's results has already been made. This year Sheri Liao, head of Global Village of Beijing was selected as winner of the 2005 CCTV China Economy Annual People's Public Good Award. She was not only the only woman to receive the award, but also the only woman to come froma an environmental NGO to be awarded.

Jane Goodall gives a lecture to the public

On 5 th December 2005, in one of the big lecture theatres of the Central University for Nationalities there are no vacant seats and a warm atmospehere as the hundreds of students, NGO representatives and personages from other circles crowd together to listen to the talk of the internationally renouned primotologist, Jane Goodall.

Professor Goodall uses the special speech used by the ape kingdom to greet the audiences and to open this incredible talk. She shares her experiences of living with chimpanzees in Africa for 40 years, including her rich and interesting live experiences, great research successes and outstanding stories about communicating with chimpanzees. She also talked about her experience and opinion on protecting the environment and wild animals and how she spread her concern and protection for animals, the environment and humans from the African jungle to the whole world.

This lecture was part of Professor Goodall's travel through China. The purpose of Professor Goodall's trip is to continue to publicise her “Roots and Shoots” project, namely to people with different cultures and beliefs, especially within younger people, to appeal for them to love and protect living creatures and encourage each one of them to take action and make an effort to create a beautiful planet for people and wildlife.

Public benefit organization capacity building – corporate social responsiibility website

On 16 th December 2005 the public benefit organization capacity building – corporate social responsibility website's establishment ceremony was held, convoking an enterprises and NGO forum. Two representatives from GVB attended this meeting.

NGOs play a big role in public benefit and social development, strengthening the capabilities of enterprises in carrying out their social responsibilities and contributing to the public benefit causes in Chinese society. This website will become a stage for which enterprises and NGOs can communicate and will assist both of them in cooperating to develop the public development work for poverty alleviation, helping orphans, helping disabled people and environmetal protection. During this meeting, public benefit organization capacity building was explained to the enterprises and NGOs – corporate social responsibility networks, gave the NGOs who took part in the meeting an opportunity to publicize and make themselves known and also helped the enterprises and NGOs to further their understanding and build a mutually cooperative relationship.

During the meeting, the organizer introduced the functions and development plans of the website and the “migrant worker emergency medical assistance fund” that had been created jointly by the website and 12 migrant worker organizations. 15 NGOs, from areas such as environmental protection, migrant worker services, child protection, services for the disabled, animal protection and AIDS prevention came with their service partners and representatives from enterprises to give a joint presentation of how their cooperation has led to successful public benefit activities.

GVB attended China and Japan's NGO Symposium

By Li Junling 6 th Dec 2005

From 1 st to 3 rd of December 2005, the Global Village of Beijing participated in China and Japan 's NGO Exchange Cooperation Development Symposium convened by China Association for NGO Cooperation ( CANGO ) and Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA ) .

Representatives from 29 grassroots NGOs from all around China and 6 NGOs from Japan met together to discuss such subjects as elimination of poverty; education on environmental protection; prevention of desertification; and reforestation, and waste water treatment. They also exchanged information on the achievements and difficulties of past work and the challenges that they are facing.

During the symposium, the representatives visited Global Village of Beijing's Model Environmental Village --- Hexi Village of Gubeikou, Miyun County. They held a discussion with members of Hexi Village Environmental Committee on the village's environmental issues. They also paid a visit to the exhibition center in the village, and conducted a careful and thorough examination of the village's environmental conditions. Villagers, with expressions of gratitude and welcome, then served country dishes to the representatives.

The representatives from NGOs of both countries share a common understanding; China, as a huge country with 1.3 billion people, and rapid economic growth, now faces several challenges in further development. Regional imbalances, widening gaps between the poor and the rich, environmental pollution and deterioration are becoming increasingly evident. All these NGOs within China and in other countries need to strengthen their capacity-building, mobilize every sector of society, and promote increased capacity of community-based NGOs. They also need to work to enhance solidarity, exchange and collaboration between NGOs from countries all around the world, and cooperation with governments and corporations. They must establish an alliance mechanism between governments, corporations, and NGOs, work together with all circles of society to promote the realization of a harmonious society, and make great contributions to China 's NGO field.

Translated by Takeshi

Edited by Tina

Top 10 Economic News Stories for 2005

The editor-in-chief of China Daily, along with peers of 16 Beijing-based media organizations and nine economists, select China's top 10 economic news stories for 2005.

A series of macro-control measures on over-heating real estate market

The Standing Committee of the State Council on April 27 put forward eight tough measures on macro-control of property markets. In two weeks, seven ministries, including the Ministry of Construction, issued proposals for stabilizing housing prices. On June 1, the government unveiled further policies to collect a tax of 5 per cent on the full earnings of all home sales if the property is sold within two years of being purchased. Soaring house prices have shown signs of slowing down.

Non-tradable share reform

On April 29, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a document to begin trials on floating non-tradable shares. Currently more than 300 domestic-listed companies are involved in the reform.

Bird flu found in 11 provinces

The first case of bird flu was found in Qinghai in May. By December 14, 30 cases of the fatal H5N1 strain of the virus was reported in 11 provinces and five people were infected. But the control of bird flu has seen initial success and 23 affected areas have been able to ease their restrictions on preventing the spread.

A more flexible mechanism for RMB exchange rate

The People's Bank of China announced on July 21 to reform the exchange rate regime by moving into a managed floating exchange rate regime based on market supply and demand with reference to a basket of currencies, instead of the US dollar alone. The RMB exchange rate regime will be improved with greater flexibility.

Clearing "official shares" in coalmines

In late August, the Ministry of Supervision, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of the State Council, and the State Administration of Work Safety ordered government officials and State-owned enterprises leaders to withdraw their shares in the coalmine industry before September 22, or be removed their posts.

The 11th Five-Year draft programme approved by CPC

The fifth plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held between October 8 and 11 approved a proposal for formulating the 11th Five-Year Programme for national economic and social development in China. The proposal aims to double the per capita gross domestic product for the year 2000 by 2010 and will cut the per unit GDP energy consumption by about 20 per cent by the end of 2010.

A peaceful solution to textile disputes

China and United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 8 in London to find a solution to the bilateral textile tensions after seven rounds of talks in five months. On June 11, China and the European Union also managed to reach a way to tackle the textile problems.

Water pollution in Songhua River

On November 13, a plant explosion of PetroChina's Jilin branch led to a leakage of poisonous substances into the Songhua River. The central government took emergency measures to minimize the impact of the water pollution.

GDP substantially revised after economic census

The National Bureau of Statistics revised the size of the economy on December 20, saying GDP was 16.8 per cent higher in 2004 than previously reported mainly because the service sector was not fully taken into account before. The country raised the GDP in 2004 to 15.99 trillion yuan (US$1.93 trillion) from 13.65 trillion (US$1.64 trillion).

Agricultural tax abolished and personal income tax threshold raised

The National People's Congress on December 29 approved a motion on abolishing the regulations on the farm tax, which means the 2,600-year-old agricultural tax will be cancelled from January 1, 2006. A revised Personal Income Tax Law will also be effective on the same day, which raises the threshold for monthly personal income tax from 800 yuan (US$99) to 1,600 yuan (US$198).

(China Daily 12/31/2005 page5

Students Awarded for Protecting River Wetland

A total of 21 teams of students from 21 universities across the country met in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, last Wednesday for the award ceremony of 2005 Yangtze River Wetland Ambassador Action (WAA).

This year's WAA presents the theme: Restoring the Web of Life in the Yangtze. The ceremony was co-organized by World Wildlife Found (WWF), Ramsar Convention Secretariat, the Ramsar Convention Implementation Office of China State Forestry Administration and Hunan Youth Development Foundation.

The team from Darwin Association of Lanzhou University won the first prize of 2005 WAA. The second prize went to three teams, two of which are from Jiangxi Province, and the third one is from Changsha Science and Technology University of Hunan Province.

Central South Forestry University, former champion of the event, got the third prize.

Grades were classified according to the performance of online bidding, on-spot investigation, photo and DV film shooting and editing, diaries and reports, and the extent of media involvement.

The Wetland Ambassador Action has been held for five years. In the past five years, WAA has involved 68 university associations with over 1,200 students directly participating in this campaign covering 18 sectors of the Heilongjiang, Yangtze, Yellow, Lancang and Pearl rivers. They have spread the knowledge of wetland protection, restoration and sustainable development to millions of people.

Source: (China Daily December 28, 2005)

China Suffers Severe Soil Erosion in Four Areas

China is suffering severe soil erosion in "the central route" project of the northbound water diversion project, the northeastern part, the northwestern three-river headwaters and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the Ministry of Water Resources Tuesday.

In the Danjiangkou Reservoir area, located in the headwaters of the south-to-north water diversion project, soil erosion spreads to an area of 39,500 sq km, accounting for 41.5 percent of the area's territory.

In China's northeastern black soil region, 275,900 sq km of land suffers from water, wind and ice erosion, or the area's 26.8 percent.

The three-river headwaters area in the interior northwestern Qinghai Province also has 95,000 sq km of land in soil erosion, or 31.1 percent of the area's total territory.

"All the three areas are critical to China's water conservancy, " said E Jingping, vice minister of water resources. "The Danjiangkou Reservoir has been playing a crucial part in providing Beijing and Tianjin's safe potable water. Northeast China is a major 'bread basket' and the three-river headwaters area is described as 'China's water tank'."

During the 11th "Five-Year Plan" period (2006-2010), the priority of the ministry will be given to water conservation to ensure the sustainable use of water, said the vice minister.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2005)

Guangdong Launches Water Purification Plan

Southern China's Guangdong Province began on Friday to purify the polluted Beijiang River, hoping to dilute the excessive cadmium.

The plan was launched in the river section in Yingde City under supervision of local experts by adding iron or aluminium polymer at the upper reaches of the river to induce cadmium sedimentation.

The toxic stretch, resultant from excessive cadmium discharges from a smelting works in Shaoguan city on Dec. 15, has polluted the Beijiang River in the province.

The measure is the most economical and reasonable choice to deal with the cadmium pollution, said experts, adding that 1,200 tons of such component can reduce the toxic density by 30 percent.

The move is expected to ensure a safe water quality at the lower reaches of the river, said experts.

The downstream cities of Guangzhou and Foshan have launched emergency plans to ensure safe drinking water supplies to their residents as the toxic stretch approaches.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2005

Energy Firms Bid to Clean Up

Eight State-owned energy giants announced on Friday a 5.8-billion-yuan (US$715 million) joint venture to develop coal gasification technology.

It is hoped the initiative will help see the green technology eventually used to produce hydrogen to generate electricity.

The investors include the country's top five power generators, the two-biggest coal producers, and an investment company.

The power producers involved in the venture are China Huaneng Group (CHNG), China Datang Group, China Huadian Group, China Guodian Group and China Power Investment Group, while the two coal companies are Shenhua Group and China Coal Group. The final investor is State Development and Investment Corp.

CHNG is the biggest stakeholder, which initiated the project and controls 51 percent in the new green technology venture, with the remaining seven companies owning 7 percent each.

Over the next 15 years, the new joint venture will see technologies developed to gasify coal to produce hydrogen for power generation, and to collect and store environment-polluting carbon dioxide, CHNG sources said.

The eight shareholders aim to build a power plant driven by gasified coal and hydrogen with a capacity of 400 megawatts.

The new pilot project will be located in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, or Chonqing of southwest China, where CHNG already operate power plants.

"We have installed clean coal technology facilities at the two places, so it will be easy for us to base the project there," Ju Zhanghua, vice-president of CHNG, told China Daily at the launch ceremony on Friday.

Li Xiaopeng, president of CHNG, said more than 70 percent of China's electricity producers are fuelled by coal. "The new project will have strategic importance for China to use coal in a clean and more efficient way," he said.

Ju said they would welcome new companies, including foreign firms, investing in the venture.

"Hong Kong-based CLP Power Asia is in talks with the CHNG for a stake in the new venture," the CHNG vice-president said.

The new company will depend on domestic strength for the new technology development, but also bring in some from foreign companies including carbon dioxide storage and hydrogen production, Su Wenbin, a CHNG official in charge of the clean coal project, told China Daily.

(China Daily December 24, 2005)

Second West-east Gas Pipeline to Be Built

The country is planning to build a second natural gas pipeline from its western regions to the southern province of Guangdong in a bid to reduce its reliance on coal and oil, domestic media said.

The pipeline, which is expected to connect the gas-rich Xinjiang region to energy-guzzling Guangzhou, capital of prosperous Guangdong Province, is expected to carry over twice the amount of gas compared with existing west-to-east pipeline, the China Daily said.

The government and companies were in the preliminary stages of studying the pipeline project, the report said, citing an unidentified official from the Ministry of Land and Resources. Construction will start in 2020, it said.

Sources at PetroChina, one of China's biggest oil and gas companies, were quoted as saying the new pipeline will have capacity of 26 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year, more than double that of the current line that connects Xinjiang with the eastern coastal metropolis Shanghai.

Costs for the new project are expected to surpass the US$5.2 billion spent on the existing pipeline, the unidentified official said.

The first line, the West-East Gas Pipeline, has a designed annual capacity to pump 12 bcm of natural gas from the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang to Shanghai. It began operating last year.

PetroChina, builder of the first pipeline, is also considering constructing the new line, the newspaper said.

Together with the existing pipeline, the new project underlines China's long-term strategy to replace the polluting energy sources of coal and oil with cleaner natural gas, the report said.

China now relies on coal for about 70 percent of its energy needs, suffering the consequences of air pollution from coal-fired power plants, health problems among its population and a high death toll from coal mining.

The government aims to increase gas use to 10 percent of total energy use by 2010, up from the current 3 percent.

The gas for the new pipeline as well as the existing pipeline could also come from Russia or Kazakhstan, as the reserves in Xinjiang may prove insufficient to meet soaring demand, the China Daily quoted a senior engineer with PetroChina saying.

The company has confirmed 658 bcm of proven gas reserves in Xinjiang's Tarim Basin, but was "not as optimistic" about finding further reserves as it originally was, said Jin Zhengli, a senior pipeline engineer.

China's booming economy has created a sharp rise in demand for energy. Its annual consumption of gas is estimated to reach 100 to 125 bcm by 2010.

(China Daily December 23, 2005)

Over One Million Beijingers Suffer from Noise Pollution

Currently, at least 1 million Beijing residents suffer from all sorts of noise pollution, according to sources with the municipal environmental protection bureau. They mainly live in areas along urban highways trunks, railways and near construction sites, said Zhuang Shuchun, deputy chief engineer with the bureau.

Work staffs with the bureau used a special method to test noise pollution. They divided the city proper of Beijing into four functional zones in advance and then measured the decibels of each functional zone during daytime and at night respectively. The zones with decibels higher than the required standard are listed as noise pollution-contaminated areas. Some areas recorded noise pollution as high as 70 decibels, while the minimum recorded noise pollution came to 45 decibels, Zhuang said.

During the period between the 1970s and the 1990s, industrial noise was blamed the major noise pollution in the city proper. Consequently, local government moved nearly 100 plants and workshops out of the city proper to reduce noise pollution. Since the 1990s, noise at construction sites, restaurants and other commercial business sites became a new source of noise pollution in the city. Rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles, as well as airplanes and trains is listed as a major source of noise pollution in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005 ) ( Extract )

HP Boosts Recycling Rate by 17 Percent in 2005, Advances on Recycling Goal of 1 Billion Pounds


HP today announced it has recycled approximately 140 million pounds (63.5 million kilograms) of hardware and HP print cartridges globally in its just ended fiscal year - an increase of 17 percent over the previous year, and the equivalent weight of 280 jumbo airliners.

In addition, HP collected more than 2.5 million units - more than 50 million pounds (22.6 million kilograms) of hardware - to be refurbished for resale or donated. (1)

To date, HP has recycled more than 750 million pounds (340 million kilograms) of hardware and HP print cartridges globally, well on the way to meeting its goal to recycle 1 billion cumulative pounds (453.5 million kilograms) by the end of 2007.

"HP's commitment to environmental responsibility includes our efforts to limit the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycles," said David Lear, vice president, Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility, HP. "One way we achieve this is through developing and investing in product return and recycling programs and technologies globally, giving our customers choices and control over how their products are managed at end of life."

HP intends to reach its global recycling goal by expanding its product return and recycling program to more customers and creating new ways for customers to return and recycle used or unwanted electronic equipment and HP print cartridges in a convenient and environmentally responsible manner. New recycling initiatives launched in 2005 include:

HP began a free and convenient hardware recycling service for commercial and enterprise customers in European Union countries who purchase replacement HP products, in advance of the implementation of the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. A similar offer exists for HP commercial customers in the Asia Pacific region.

To make recycling more convenient and affordable in the United States, HP partnered with retailers to offer free recycling at drop-off events throughout the year in San Diego and Roseville, Calif., Minneapolis, Minn., and Bentonville, Ark. HP offered similar initiatives in Germany and Australia.

In China, HP initiated a first of its kind public-private sector partnership with Global Village of Beijing, the Jane Goodall Institute, and Roots and Shoots Shanghai and Beijing to increase awareness of print cartridge recycling among consumers and to provide residents of Beijing and Shanghai with a convenient and easy way to return HP print cartridges for free and environmentally responsible recycling.

Addressing electronic waste is one of HP's global citizenship priorities. As part of this effort, HP opened its first recycling facility in Roseville, Calif., in 1997, becoming the only major computer manufacturer to operate its own recycling facility. A second HP facility has since been opened in LaVergne, Tenn. Outside the United States, HP works with more than 10 recycling vendors across Europe, and regional and local recycling vendors throughout Asia Pacific.

HP has implemented global recycling standards that ensure HP vendors manage product recycling responsibly and to set a high expectation regarding how vendors should manage their workforces. HP regularly monitors and reviews all of its recycling operations to ensure the highest standards of responsible recycling are maintained.

HP's recycling program operates globally in more than 36 countries, regions and territories and seeks to reduce the environmental impact of IT products, minimize waste going to landfills and help customers conveniently discard products in an environmentally sound fashion. Plastics and metals recovered from products recycled by HP have been used to make a range of new products, including auto body parts, clothes hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays and roof tiles.

In addition to recycling, HP offers a variety of product end-of-life management services including donation, trade-in, asset recovery and leasing. More information, including HP's 2005 Global Citizenship Report, is available at http://www.hp.com/environment .

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $86.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com .