http://www.sinodaily.com/index.html Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST en-us China seems poised to launch three astronauts into space, in the middle of June, onboard Shenzhou 9, the country's fourth, and most ambitious manned spaceflight. Shenzhou 9 is scheduled to rendezvous and complete a manual docking with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, and will stay in orbit for 13 days, more than doubling China's current endurance record. The Long March 2F rocket was d]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST At sunrise in some parts of China and Japan and by sunset in the western United States, a partial solar eclipse is set to slink across a narrow swath of the Earth on May 20 and 21. Depending on where people are in the eclipse's path, some may be able to witness an annular eclipse in which the moon blocks out all but a ring of the Sun's light. Others will see the Sun as a crescent, partia]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST China's permanent space station, the Heavenly Palace, is to be launched into orbit within a decade. According to Chinese media reports, the 60-ton craft will include a central module and two laboratories, for a crew of three. So, it's really more like a country cottage than a palace. This all-Chinese project was unveiled earlier this week in the capital, Beijing. To the public at home, the]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST Chinese space officials have confirmed plans to build a 60-ton space station by 2020 and develop a space freighter for hauling supplies to the station, the China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday. The China Manned Space Engineering Office unveiled on Monday a blueprint of the future orbital station, which will comprise an 18.1-meter core module and two 14.4-meter lab modules. "The 60-t]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST Taiwan is to build 12 new "stealth" warships in reaction to China's naval build-up, the island's navy announced Tuesday. Navy Captain Chu Hsu-ming told reporters Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co, a private firm, has been awarded a Tw$890 million ($30.1 million) contract for the construction of the first 500-tonne corvette, with delivery slated for 2014. The prototype will be the first of 12 such]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST Four South Korean activists have been detained in China since March on suspicion of spying after they interviewed North Korean refugees living in hiding there, an anti-Pyongyang group said Tuesday. South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed the four were arrested in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian on March 29 on charges of "endangering state security". One of the four is Kim Young]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST The European Union on Tuesday gave China and India a month to comply with a new airline carbon emissions fee coming into effect across the bloc, or face penalties for flights in and out of Europe. EU Commissioner for Climate Change Connie Hedegaard said all EU airlines and "nearly all" world airlines had agreed to hand over emissions data required under a controversial carbon levy on air tra]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST US lawmakers and activists called for persistent pressure Tuesday until China allows activist Chen Guangcheng to travel overseas, after a showdown between the two nations over his treatment. US officials said May 4 that China would allow the blind self-taught lawyer to leave soon to study in the United States, after he dramatically fled house arrest and took refuge in the US embassy. Che]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST Hong Kong opened a liaison office in Taiwan Tuesday and announced visitors from the island would no longer have to pay to visit, the latest signs of warming ties between Taiwan and China. "The inauguration of the (Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office) marks a new milestone in Hong Kong-Taiwan relations," Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang told reporters at an inauguration ce]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST China said Tuesday British Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama was an "affront to the Chinese people", and launched "solemn representations" with London. The statement from the Chinese foreign ministry came after Tibet's exiled spiritual leader held a private meeting with Cameron during a visit to London to receive one of the world's most lucrative prizes. "This is]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST The United States consulate in Shanghai has begun issuing its own pollution statistics, giving a much more pessimistic assessment of the city's air quality than official Chinese data. The US consulate began releasing hourly air quality data from a monitoring device in its city centre compound Monday, posting results online and on Twitter, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Throughout Tuesday mo]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST China and Japan hold high-level maritime talks on Wednesday expected to focus on a group of uninhabited islands that are at the heart of an ongoing territorial row between the two countries. China and Japan have long had strained relations, often triggered by rival sovereign claims in the East China Sea over gas fields and the disputed islands - known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu ]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST A slew of bleak data has raised fears China's economy is cooling faster than previously thought, but analysts say Beijing has only limited means to prevent a politically damaging slowdown. The government has set a growth target of 7.5 percent for 2012, fearing that anything below that level could trigger mass unemployment and cause widespread unrest in the world's second-largest economy. ]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST The State Grid Corp. of China has started construction on what it says will be the world's largest capacity power transmission line. The $3.7 billion, 800-kilovolt power line will be capable of transmitting 37 billion kilowatts on average annually, state-run news agency Xinhua reports. At 1,373 miles long, it will connect the energy base of the Hami prefecture in eastern Xinjiang]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST China and Croatia vowed over the weekend to strengthen economic and political ties as the two countries marked 20 years of diplomatic relations. Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao exchanged messages of congratulations Sunday on two decades of friendly international ties, which have included an ambition by Zagreb to serve as China's gateway to Eastern Euro]]> Wed, 16 MAY 2012 20:27:57 AEST