US declines China’s offer
WASHINGTON, May 2, (Agencies): The United States on Friday swiftly rejected a suggestion by a top Chinese military official who said that disputed South China Sea islands could be used for international rescue and relief operations.
Beijing has been roundly criticized by the West for construction work on islands in the South China Sea, including the building of an airstrip and other structures.
The Wall Street Journal and other US news organizations, citing a report on the Chinese Defense Ministry website, said Admiral Wu Shengli made the offer to his US counterpart, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, in a video conference.
Wu said China’s reclamation work on the disputed islands “will not threaten freedom of navigation and overflight” and will enhance the capacity for weather forecasting, maritime search and rescue and other public goods, and help to protect international maritime security, The Journal said, quoting the Chinese defense ministry report.
Facilities
“We welcome international organizations, the US and relevant countries to use these facilities, when conditions are ripe, to conduct cooperation on humanitarian rescue and disaster relief,” the Chinese admiral was quoted as saying.
State Department acting deputy spokesman Jeff Rathke said Washington was not interested.
“Building facilities on reclaimed land in disputed areas will not contribute to peace and stability in the region,” Rathke told reporters.
“This is true even if, as some Chinese officials have stated, the facilities in question were used for civilian disaster response purposes.”
He added: “If there is a desire to reduce tensions, China could actively reduce them by taking concrete steps to halt land reclamation.”
Beijing should “work with existing multilateral mechanisms for humanitarian and disaster relief,” such as one under the umbrella of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
ASEAN issued a statement Monday at the close of a summit in Malaysia expressing “serious concerns” over China’s land reclamation on reefs whose sovereignty is contested.
Beijing insists it has sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by several other Asian nations.
The construction work has triggered fears of tightening Chinese control over the seaway.
Chinese authorities have detained ten people for spreading rumours online damaging to the military’s image, including the presence of gangs and infighting, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
The ten were investigated by military and public security departments for spreading rumours on China’s Internet forums and mobile messaging apps, the Ministry of National Defence said in a notice on its website.
Rumours
“Using the Internet to create and spread rumours about the military is illegal and we will continue to investigate and crackdown on this. We hope that Internet users will abide by the law,” the ministry said in the notice.
It said the ten confessed to fabricating rumours and expressed remorse after they underwent “administrative detention”, a term which normally applies to 15 days behind bars, and “education”.
Chinese-style square dancing is running circles around other hobbies for the elderly, with millions taking to parks and plazas across China, swivelling their hips and rolling their arms - but it’s not to everyone’s liking.
Every evening through the year, hundreds of grannies gather on a large square outside the Master Centre in west Beijing to dance with their instructor, who puts them through the motions of side steps and rotations to help them keep fit and, in the bitter winters, to keep warm.
“There are several benefits,” said Yan Fuzhi, 71, who has been dancing on the square for five years. “First off, it helps me lose weight. Secondly, it’s good for my health and it gets rid of bad habits...
“I used to sit watching TV, which is bad for my heart and causes high blood pressure. But I’m really happy when I dance, listening to the music, chatting and laughing. All my problems go away.”