Bureau chief Gigi Grande, however, also said in her report that Sydney, the site of the gathering, remained on medium alert because no specific intelligence information about an attack had been received.

Special police powers are now in effect, giving policemen the right to search and detain anyone in the APEC-declared security zone whom they find suspicious.

Authorities are most concerned about two things: a terrorist attack and violent street protests.

A five-kilometer fence has been built to seal off Sydney's Opera House where most meetings are scheduled to take place.

Hospitals are also on standby.

About 200 prisoners serving minor offenses are being sent home for the weekend to make room for potentially violent protesters.

US President George W. Bush is set to arrive on Tuesday while the rest of the world leaders, including Mrs. Arroyo, are scheduled on Friday.

Climate change and the fight against terrorism are expected to top the agenda.

In Manila, a statement from the presidential palace in Malacañang said Mrs. Arroyo is all set to travel Down Under for the six-day meet.

The President will be accompanied by Cabinet and other agency officials. Meetings have been set with their counterparts from Australia and New Zealand with regard to free trade deals.

Business leaders and officials of the country's biggest companies will also be with the President during the gathering.

In a related report, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Australia Monday for a seven-day state visit focussed on the Asian giant's need for mineral resources to power its booming economy.

Hu was accompanied by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Commerce Minister Bo Xilai. Their planed arrived in the Western Australian city of Perth for a one-day visit on his way to attend the APEC meet in Sydney.

Hu's arrived ahead of a visit focused on the mineral and mining industry.

Hu will be the guest of honor at a dinner later Monday hosted by Western Australia Premier Alan Carpenter.

On Tuesday, he will visit the Australian Resources Research Centre near Perth, where he will hear a presentation by mining giant BHP Billiton.

China's importation of mineral resources, including uranium, to fuel its economic and industrial growth is blessing Australian miners with record profits.

China is Australia's second largest trading partner, while Australia is China's ninth. In 2006, trade between the two countries amounted to US$32.9 billion, up 20 percent from the previous year.

Hu will visit Canberra on Tuesday before heading on to Sydney where he is scheduled for a meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard later in the week. The two sides are set to sign a series of trade, energy, and mineral resource deals, the China Daily newspaper reported. 上海翻译公司 http://www.oktrans.net

written by  tonyyang123 on September 3, 2007 from Shanghai, China
from the travel blog: China Trip
tagged China
Send a Compliment

---

1 comment...

The anticipation for us kept growing and growing, especially as we came closer to the end of our final 11-hour flight back home, and I think everyone was happy and relieved to be back with family and friends.
上海同声传译 http://www.oktrans.net/industry/simultaneous.htm
Our trip -- in which we made two stops in Tokyo, stops in Hong Kong, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Wuhan, two in Beijing, and another in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia -- has definitely helped bring our team together. We were able to achieve the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of our trip.

We also have been able to gain a great perspective on what our peers will experience in the fall foreign term to China. Eighty-one Augustana students will spend roughly 10 weeks in and around China, going through many of the same things we went through on our trip -- language barriers, different food and a still-developing Asian society are just a few of the things they will have to adapt to. Our hats go off to them, as none of us could imagine how hard it would be to be that far from home for that long.
上海同传设备出租 http://www.oktrans.net/tongchuan
This trip was an unbelievable chance for all of us to learn about a culture different from our own and I think we took full advantage. We saw first-hand the widening gap between the modernizing parts of China and rural China; witnessed the strong work ethic and motivation of their culture; saw numerous glimpses into Chinese culture (from bargaining in the markets to peoples' polite nature); and even were able to sample some of the Chinese social life. It was just an amazing adventure that none of us will ever forget.

To end this diary, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank some of the more influential people who made our trip possible. First and foremost, we would like to thank all of our parents for allowing us to take this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Without you, we realize none of this could have been possible.
同传设备租赁 http://www.oktrans.cn/simultaneous
Next, thank you to our coaching staff for dreaming up this trip and allowing us to have a great balance of basketball and "down time" for these two weeks. To all of our family and friends that helped out leading up to the trip, and those of you who stayed in contact while we were gone, thanks to you as well.

Thanks next to Augustana College, most notably sports information director Dave Wrath, who generated the idea for this diary from square one, and Augustana president Steven Bahls, whose endorsement and recognition of this great opportunity were vital to us.

Also, I would like to thank The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus, most notably sports editor Marc Nesseler and sports writer Tom Johnston, for providing the medium for the diary and offering encouragement along the way. Lastly, let me thank Dr. Norm Moline and his wife, Janet, for offering their expertise on the trip, and without whom this trip could not have happened.

I hope this diary was interesting for everyone, offered some insight into our experience, and was as much fun to read as it was to write. I also hope to see you this winter in Carver Center when my Augustana teammates and I will be playing a little bit closer to home.
source: 同声传译 http://www.oktrans.cn/price/simultaneous-interpretation.htm

written by  tonyyang123 on September 3, 2007 from Shanghaimiao Muchang, China
from the travel blog: China Trip
tagged China
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

The 34 million Chinese that travelled overseas last year all act as unofficial brand ambassadors. In Australia, National Australia Bank has teamed with China Union Pay so that Chinese tourists can make EFTPOS purchases and ATM withdrawals with their credit and debit cards. Banks in the US, Germany and Egypt are among the others following suit.
There is a reason why travel industry calls China the single most important development in world tourism. The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates there will be 60 million tourists out of mainland China by 2010 and 100 million by 2015. The WTO believes the 100 million figure will be reached later, in 2020.
Last year, 15 countries and regions opened their doors to Chinese tourists. To date, Chinese travellers can visit 132 destinations. Among the newest to be approved are Oman, Morocco and Syria.
The news in the inbound travel sector is no less exciting. China can expect to receive 24 million foreign travellers this year, up from 22 million last year.
This year’s figures are already optimistic. Nearly 12.12 million foreigners came to the Chinese mainland for sightseeing from January to June, up 18.47 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest figures from the China National Tourism Administration. Tourism generated nearly $17.94 billion in foreign currency in the first six months, up 13.1 per cent year-on-year. More than half or $10.25 billion came from foreign tourists, up 19.64 per cent over the same period of last year.
The Chinese State Tourism Administration is working to “explore potential markets such as South America, the Middle East and Africa.”
Events such the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the World Expo in Shanghai in the year 2010 will only see those numbers grow.
Major international tourism businesses are being encouraged to enter China's tourism industry, an area covered by China's membership in the World Trade Organisation. The government plans to lift restrictions on foreign-funded travel services looking to set up branches in China from this year.
When it comes to the Middle East and China, it is a question of renewing old ties. More than 2000 years ago when silk probably first arrived in Europe, and the Romans believed that it came from India, the Arabs were sailing all the way to Guangzhou (Canton) in southern China, while merchants made their way overland to Xi’an in the Yellow River Valley. Middle East has trade ties with China since the medieval period.
And now, with many of Arab countries being granted the Approved Destination status for Chinese tourists, establishing free trade zones and China welcoming Middle East tourists, “a new, unlimited 'Silk Road' will be formed," according to the Chinese vice minister of trade.
There are several initiatives that will lead to this. When China and representatives of Arab League countries met in Beijing in 2006, they set a target of doubling the trade between them to $100 billion by 2010. Starting from a relatively small base, Chinese trade with the Arab world had soared tenfold in the previous decade, reaching $51.3 billion. Arab investment is welcomed in China, which attracted $20 billion from Gulf countries last year alone.
In the region, individually, various countries are stepping up efforts to attract people from the world’s most populated country. Most recently, Turkey is trying to set figures for attracting tourists from China. Turkey only receives between 40,000 and 50,000 of the 132 million Chinese travelling the world each year. Even if two per cent of them come to Turkey each year, they will form half the tourist population in Turkey.
Jordan also wants to strengthen its ties with China. The volume of trade relations between Jordan and China stood at $1.3 billion in 2006, a 15 per cent increase on 2005. Already China has 153 million worth of investments in Jordan.
The UAE and China are close to signing the Approved Destination Status agreement. Under ADS, Chinese nationals will be able to obtain a single-entry visa to the UAE, subject to the final agreement, provided the trip is organised by an approved operator.
Once in full effect, it will significantly enhance the growth of Dubai's tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) markets. Last year, the bilateral trade volume between China and the UAE rose to $ 14.2 billion, an increase of nearly 32 per cent.
China and the GCC have completed a round of talks on a free trade agreement as part of Beijing's efforts to boost long-term cooperation with states in the region.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud made his first hotel investment in China only this past May, by buying the leading hotel in the industrial city of Kunshan, near Shanghai. He paid $58 million for the 387-room hotel, a property that began operating only two years ago.
Now Kingdom Holdings has reportedly earmarked $1 billion for investment in China’s booming hotel industry.

written by  tonyyang123 on September 3, 2007 from Shanghainongchang, China
from the travel blog: China Trip
tagged Shanghai
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...