Authorities in the United States say they have seized more than USD76 million worth of counterfeit Cisco Systems computer equipment manufactured in China.  Officials say the discovery was made during a joint operation conducted by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with the aid of Chinese authorities.  The US Justice Department says by intercepting the counterfeit hardware at ports of entry and dismantling illegal supply chains in the US, the operation has achieved significant successes.  It says the operation protected the public from the risk of network infrastructure failures associated with the counterfeit computer equipment.  The Justice Department says the ongoing initiative has resulted in more than 400 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network equipment.

The number of people facing drinking water shortages in China has more than doubled to 5.9 million because of a severe winter drought.  The number of livestock without sufficient drinking water jumped to 5.67 million from 1.89 million.  Northeastern parts of the country have been hardest hit by the drought, accounting for 60 per cent of the drought-hit area, with rainfall in northern China down 70 per cent this winter.  Severe water shortages are being felt across China.  Drought has seen parts of the Yangtze river hitting their lowest water levels in at least 140 years, leading to more than 40 ships running aground since October.

Families of victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre have appealed to Chinese lawmakers to open a dialogue, saying such a move would send the right message ahead of the Beijing Olympics.  In an open letter released through the New York-based Human Rights in China, the "Tiananmen Mothers" want parliamentarians to issue a public apology to families of those killed on June 4, 1989.  The Tiananmen Mothers group also wants the National People's Congress, whose annual session opens next week, to designate prosecutors to investigate the killings.  Nearly 19 years after the harsh crushing of the student led democracy demonstrations, the subject remains taboo and the leadership has rejected public calls to overturn its labelling of the movement as "counter revolutionary. "

The World Health Organisation says there are no indications that bird flu is becoming a bigger problem in China despite the deaths of three people from the disease this year.  Spokesman Hans Troedsson says the recent cases were not unexpected considering the winter season and the fact that it is known the virus is still circulating in the environment.  China is regarded as a potential flashpoint for the disease because it has the world's biggest number of poultry, with tens of millions of chickens reared in densely populated rural areas where epidemic controls remain spotty.

China has opened the doors on its latest Olympic creation, a high-tech airport terminal.  Until now Beijing airport has barely been able to cope with an ever-increasing load as the Chinese economy booms.  But it is hoped that the huge new terminal, designed by acclaimed British architect Norman Foster, will change all that.  Six airlines will begin flying into the terminal Friday (2/29), while others will switch from the other two terminals in March.  SB120426886198802697

The bosses of Chinese companies that pollute waterways could be docked half their salary, in the latest proposal to tackle the country's environmental problems.  Xinhua news agency says a draft law, which will hold company heads directly responsible for water pollution, will be submitted for review by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - the country's top legislature.  As it currently stands, only the firms - not individuals - can be fined for any water pollution they cause.  Three decades of unchecked industrialisation have led to massive contamination of China's water supplies.  According to previously released government figures, more than 70 per cent of the China's waterways and 90 per cent of its underground water is polluted.  Greening China Delays Polluters' IPOs  2/26  SB120396371965190911

China Eats Crow Over Faked Photo Of Rare Antelope  2/22  SB120363429707884255

Thousands of Apple iPhones are being produced in and exported from China, and then are smuggled back in to the country and sold to consumers for well above U.S. retail prices, The New York Times reported.  Drawn by the iPhone's novelty value, Chinese buyers often pay USD450 to USD600 for a phone, plus extra to have the digital lock broken so it can work on local cellular networks and to add software that supports the Chinese language, the Times reported. The phone typically sells in the U.S. for around USD400.  Talks between the Cupertino, Calif., technology giant (AAPL) and China Mobile (CHL), the dominant mainland carrier, broke down in January, delaying the unveiling of the iPhone in China.  The growing usage of these unlocked phones undermines Apple's business model, which relies upon exclusive partnership deals, such as its U.S. agreement with AT&T.

A 22-year-old man from central China has died of bird flu - the country's first known fatal case of the year.  The Health Ministry says the man, who was from Hunan, died more than three weeks ago.  It says a specimen from the victim was later sent to a central government laboratory and confirmed as containing the H5N1 virus on Sunday (2/17).  At least 18 people have died of bird flu in China.  The country's last fatal case was a 24-year-old man in the eastern province of Jiangsu, who died in December. 

Water supplies to about 100,000 residents in a southern Chinese city were suspended at the weekend after a two-kilometre oil slick tainted a local river.  Domestic water supplies to about half of the population of Foshan in Guangdong province were cut for about six hours on Saturday (2/16).  Local environment officials says the water is now safe to drink after the oil pollution scare forced restaurants and businesses to close and sparked a surge in bottled water sales.  No information has been given as to how the oil slick emerged on the river, but environmental authorities have launched an investigation. 

China's meteorologists have admitted being 10 years behind world standards after a surprise spell of freezing winter weather paralysed the country and killed more than 100 people.  The China Daily quotes National Meteorological Centre deputy director Duan Yihong as saying there is a 10-year gap between the Chinese weather forecasting model and advanced foreign models.  He says a lack of equipment also hindered meteorologists' forecasting skills, with the problem especially acute in remote mountainous areas.  China's weather forecasters have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after large swathes of the country were hit with the coldest temperatures in decades.  The nation was unprepared for the weather, which was particularly severe in southern China, and led to the deaths of at least 107 people and more than USD15 billion in economic losses.  The three weeks of ice and snow storms, which occurred as the nation was preparing for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday early this month, crippled power and transport supplies.  This prevented millions of rural migrant workers from returning home for the festivities, which for many was their only opportunity for the year to see their families, causing much social tension. 

Reports in China's official media say about 100,000 migratory birds have disappeared in recent fierce snow storms in the east of the country.  Each year, about 95 per cent of the world's white cranes, half of the white-naped cranes and 60 per cent of swan geese are believed to migrate to a nature reserve at Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province.  Poyang is China's biggest fresh water lake.  Reserve authorities say no mass deaths have been uncovered and the birds could have migrated elsewhere.

China has emerged as a major market for Canada's wild trapped furs.  The Fur Harvesters Auction North Bay, Ontario says it's a major shift because 20 years ago the big markets would have been North America and Europe.  Canada is renowned for its fine beaver, lynx, sable, wolf, bear and other pelts.  The wild pelts are hipped to China, where they're made into garments and then exported to North America or to Russia.  Since the 1980s, animal rights campaigns helped stem the demand for fur in Western nations. 

It may be the Year of the Rat, but that hasn't made authorities in Beijing any more sympathetic to the rodents.  The Olympic host city has announced it's launching an extermination campaign later this month to rid the capital of its disease spreading rat population in time for the Summer Games.  Health officials say the campaign will target Olympic venues, training facilities and areas surrounding them within a kilometre radius.

A Chinese activist faces jail after calling for human rights instead of the Olympics.  Yang Chunlin is an unemployed factory worker from Northeastern China who last year helped organise a petition demanding that disputed land be returned to local villagers.  The petition included the phrase, "We don't want the Olympics; We want human rights".  He's also written articles on the internet criticising corruption in the Communist Party and calling for democratic reforms.  Yang Chunlin has now been charged with "inciting subversion of state power".  The 51-year-old faces trial next week and could be sent to jail for several years, and there's no guarantee his family will be allowed to attend the trial. 

China is preparing to appoint a controversial Tibetan leader to high office.  According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Panchen Lama is second only to the Dalai Lama.  After the previous Panchen Lama died in 1989, the exiled Dalai Lama chose a boy said to be his reincarnation, but the 6-year-old then disappeared.  The Chinese Government chose a rival Panchen Lama who turned 18 this week.  It has been reported that the Beijing-selected Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, is about to be appointed to the Standing Committee of China's Parliament.  Our Beijing correspondent says his elevation could coincide with National People's Congress annual session in three weeks time.  He'd become the youngest person in China to hold such a high rank.

South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his ban from running at this year's Beijing Olympics with artificial limbs.  The International Association of Athletics Federations ruled last month that Pistorius could not compete against able-bodied athletes because carbon-fibre blades attached to his legs gave him an unfair advantage.  Pistorius won gold and bronze at the Athens Paralympics in 2004. 

Over 100 House members urged China to use its influence to end violence in Darfur.

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of the Chinese government's policy on Sudan and the conflict in Darfur.  Mr Spielberg says (2/12) that his conscience will not allow him to continue business as usual.  In a statement, he says his time and energy must be spent on doing all he can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur.  In April, he wrote a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao, joining other people who have protested against China's involvement with the Sudanese government over the crisis in Darfur.  Spielberg Severs Olympics Tie  2/13  SB120285499475363491  Olympians Turn Up Heat Over Darfur  2/14  SB120295380068867123  SB120293873852766289  OJ: One Olympic Victory  2/20  SB120344568679177411  SB120338432062875839  OJ: MIA FARROW  2007/12/11  SB119734196706620420  Darfur Group Grades Olympic Companies  2007/11/27  SB119614759964605102  史提芬史匹堡決定辭去零八北京奧運藝術顧問。史提芬史匹堡發表聲明，指因為不滿中國政府未有積極處理蘇丹達爾富爾的內戰，良心上不容許他繼續擔任這個職位。他認為北京有責任亦有能力運用同蘇丹政府在經濟、外交和軍事上的關係敦促蘇丹政府在達爾富爾問題上作出改善。他會出力協助處理達爾富爾的人道問題，而不是將時間和精力放在奧運儀式上。史匹堡去年四月曾去信國家主席胡錦濤並提出希望與胡錦濤會面但未獲回應。China's Response  2/15  SB120299941917068527  Spielberg's announcement came as Nobel Prize winners and Olympic athletes (among the signatories is IOC President Jacques Rogge) separately urged Chinese President Hu Jintao in a letter to pressure Sudan to end atrocities in Darfur.  The United Nations estimates 200,000 people have died in Darfur from the combined effects of war, famine and disease since 2003, when a civil conflict erupted pitting government-backed Arab militias against non-Arab ethnic groups.

The European Union's executive arm has demanded that China provide proof that their rice products do not contain a genetically modified strain.  EU officials say they found an unauthorised genetically modified organism in rice from China late last year - despite measures to stop GMOs from reaching Europe.  The demand for compulsory certification means that only certain consignments of Chinese rice products will be able to enter the EU from April 15.  Chinese rice products will be laboratory tested and accompanied by an analytical report to assure they do not contain the GMO strain, Bt63.  The EU says it will review the measure in six months. 

Russia and China are proposing a new treaty to ban the use of weapons in space.  Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has addressed a conference on disarmament in Geneva.  He says without preventing an arms race in space, international security will be wanting.  The existing 1967 treaty bans the build up of weapons in space, but not the shooting down of satellites.  Concerns over a new arms race in space have been growing since China tested an anti-satellite missile in January 2007.  中俄兩國在日內瓦裁軍談判會議共同提出草案，禁止在外太空部署武器及軍備競賽，維護太空和平安寧；外長楊潔篪在書面致辭強調，防止外太空軍備競賽符合各國共同利益，中方希望會議盡早就草案開展實質性討論達成共識，在今年取得積極進展。美國在研製太空武器處於領先地位，一直堅持反對制定防止外太空軍事化協議，北京在去年初成功試射反衛星導彈，外界認為，其中一因素是向華府施壓。

Two Chinese business groups and a US firm have been charged with manufacturing and importing tainted ingredients used to make pet food that led to the death of thousands of cats and dogs in the United States.  The US attorney's office in Kansas City says they were indicted over the import of more than 800 tonnes of wheat gluten falsely labelled to avoid inspection in China and tainted with melamine, an unsafe food additive.  The charges stemmed from investigations in the wake of a massive recall of pet food last year.  The US Food and Drug Administration says about 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating contaminated pet food. 

Scientists and police have exposed a major Asian trade in life-threatening fake malaria drugs.  Hundreds of thousands of tablets have been seized and a dealer arrested in southern China.  Interpol and international researchers have conducted combined investigations.  They say up to half of the malaria tablets they sampled in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and on the Thai Burma border were counterfeit.  The tablets were disguised with authentic-looking packaging, including 16 different types of fake holograms.

A former Boeing engineer has been arrested on charges of stealing trade secrets for China about several aerospace programs, including the US Space Shuttle.  The 72-year-old Dongfan 'Greg' Chung is accused of espionage - involving economic secrets, conspiracy and other charges.  If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of more than 100 years in prison.  Mr Chung is said to have held a secret security clearance when he worked at the aerospace firm, Rockwell International, where the defense and space unit was acquired by the Boeing Company in 1996.  It is alleged that Mr Chung had responded to requests for information from the Chinese aviation industry by stating a desire to help the 'motherland'.  Three other people have also been arrested on charges passing US defense documents to China. 

Millions of people have swamped China's overcrowded transport networks as they begin the long trek back to work at the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.  The journey home comes amid warnings of more bad weather.  According to the China Daily, the two main train stations in Beijing expect the number of incoming passengers to top 100,000 on both days.  The Xinhua news agency says the Spring Festival transport season, is an "annual test" to the transport system.  The railways alone are expected to carry a record of 178.6 million passengers during this year's 40-day travel season, up from 156 million last year.  The transport system has been under unprecedented strain not just because of the millions of extra passengers, but also because it has had to cope with the most ferocious winter weather in at least five decades. 

Premier Wen Jiabao says "final victory" is in sight with transport returning to normal, after the worst winter in decades.  Power shortages, however, remain a problem for millions.  Most trains are now said to be running according to schedule, while the main north-south highway is also clear and almost all airports are operating normally.  This is allowing a huge backlog of passengers left stranded by weeks of severe weather to be cleared ... just in time for the Lunar New Year, China's most important holiday.  So far, the ruling Communist Party has portrayed the official response to the disaster as quick and resolute.  But the party has now warned that officials found to have been lax will face "severe penalties." 

China's chief meteorologist has admitted the country wasn't prepared for the severe winter weather that has stranded millions of people struggling to get home for Lunar New Year.  The blizzards and icy temperatures that have lasted nearly three weeks have left millions stuck at airports, train stations and bus depots across south, central and eastern China.  China Meteorological Administration chief, Zheng Guoguang, says it wasn't expected that the snowy weather would last so long.  He says as a result the authorities were not prepared there is a lack of equipment for removing ice in the south, which is experiencing its worst winter weather in decades.  He says the situation became more difficult because the extreme weather coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday when tens of millions of migrant workers rush home to be with their families had only made things worse, he said.  Heavy fog descended Monday (2/04) on southern China, complicating the task of helping stranded travellers.  The fog reduced visibility to less than 100 metres in some places, as meteorologists warned a new wave of snow, rain and sleet would likely hit in the next two days.

Millions of travellers remain stranded by China's unusually harsh winter storms and supplies of petrol and food reserves are reportedly dwindling.  Predictions of a looming humanitarian crisis in southern China are being fuelled by the expectation that more bad weather could see the situation deteriorate.  Widespread blackouts and water shortages have hit more than 160 counties and cities. Cooking oil and vegetables are also running low across the region, driving prices up. 250 thousand soldiers have been mobilised to help with disaster relief and more than 60 people have died already.  President Hu Jintao has visited coal workers, urging them to boost production to ease the country's power crisis.  Authorities in China are stepping up efforts to deal with some of the worst winter weather in half a century.  Heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures across much of the country have left more than 50 people dead, cut power supplies and hit millions of people trying to go home for the main holiday of the year.  Premier Wen Jiabao (1/29) is now overseeing the disaster relief effort, travelling to one of the worst-hit areas in central Hunan province to meet those affected and inspect repair work.  Earlier, the Finance Ministry announced it would be offering more than USD13 million in emergency aid to those suffering from the winter weather in a number of badly hit provinces.  The government has also ordered all insurance firms to award compensation as quickly as possible.  The worst snowfalls in a decade have caused traffic chaos across much of China as millions of people tried to head home for the important Lunar New Year holiday.  Tens of thousands of travellers were left stranded as transport in several regions across the centre, east and south of the country were hit by the bad weather.  State media reports several highways and airports have been shut.  The worst-hit provinces were Anhui in the east, central Hubei and Hunan, which host millions of migrant workers who work in the cities and return to their families to celebrate Lunar New Year.  Severe Storms Beleaguer China  1/29  SB120154503981222803

- -

Read more: JANUARY

Olympic Hopes: Complete Coverage

-0-