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CHANGSHA -- Chinese media have blasted an attempt by a Chinese city in Hunan province to set a world record for the longest string of firecrackers, labeling it "ridiculous" and a waste of money.A 20-km string of firecrackers, stretching from Dayao Town to the downtown area of Liuyang City, home to China's largest firecracker production base, went up in smoke on Friday afternoon, exploding for 68 minutes and littering the ground with red debris, as organizers sought to gain publicity for the city and its local fireworks industry.The event, organized by several firecracker plants and partly sponsored by the local government, cost more than 800,000 yuan (about US7,000), including 580,000 yuan for the firecrackers themselves and the remainder to stage the event and ensure the fire service was on standby."The production of firecrackers is one of the city's main industries. We hope the success of making the longest firecracker will increase the confidence of the producers and make our city well-known across the country," said Xu Qiangguo, head of the Liuyang Firecrackers Bureau.But the event, billed by local media as a Guinness World Record attempt, was not attended by an official Guinness World Records representative after it ignored a request from the organizers to attend.Instead, a representative from the unofficial Shanghai Great World Guinness Book of Records turned up to present them with a certificate bestowing upon the city the honour of having only "the country's longest string of firecrackers"."I can only ensure you that it's the longest firecracker in China and I dare not say it's the world's longest," said the Shanghai office's representative Wang Yizhuo."Firecrackers were traditionally used to ward off evils but burning crackers is more of a token of celebrations and festivals nowadays. I think this longest string of crackers reflect the happy and peaceful life of the people," he said.A flood of opinion pieces from newspapers around the country waded in with their assessments."Such a record is ridiculous, just like to sharpen the two ends of a tree and apply for the record of the longest toothpick," a journalist with the Jinan Times said.The Beijing Times said, "Unless the firecrackers are supposed to be part of a cinematic scene of raging war, what benefits would accrue from setting off 20 kilometers of fireworks?"The newspaper went on to bemoan the country's lack of creativity. "We are no less than a manufacturing base for the world. We may continue to set records in a similar manner, but that will not add a jot to our overall competitiveness," the article said.The Liuyang authorities also came under fire from a writer from the Guangzhou Daily, who called the event a "real burden for the local economy"."It's high time to call off applications for the professed 'longest' or 'most' records, such as 10,000 people eating hotpot and 10,000 people washing their feet together. They lack social significance as well as scientific and technical skills," he wrote."Some local governments like to spend a fortune creating a record in order to attract attention. But after the sensation only some meaningless numbers are left."But the man behind the spectacle Xu Qiangguo remained defiant and said he was considering applying for the official world record next year."I don't think it's a waste of money because we have got what we wanted: extensive media coverage and more orders," he said. "If you call that too luxurious, how about the existence of so many five-star hotels? They are even more luxurious."Several onlookers in Liuyang agreed. "The firecracker industry is the pillar industry of the city and making such a long one will promote our firecrackers' fame and maybe even make them world renowned," one said.Meanwhile the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of the Shanghai Great World Guinness Book of Records, which was established in 1992 and comes under the authority of the Shanghai branch of the Communist Party Youth League, continues.Guinness' official branch in China is Liaoning Education Press, based in the northeastern province of the same name.According to an article on the website of Liaoning Education Press, it has been the real Guinness Book of Records representative in China since Shanghai Great World Guinness and the Guinness Book of Records split in 1996.In 2003, a Hebei businessman from Beijing sued the Shanghai office after paying them a 1,800-yuan registration fee so he could set a world record for the first bungee jump from a moving aircraft, believing the organization to be affiliated to the Guinness publishers.After completing the jump from a helicopter 80 meters above ground, He later read in a Beijing newspaper that the Shanghai Guinness office was not an authorized agent of the Guinness Book of World Records and had been misleading the public. He also discovered that a German man had jumped 1,100 meters from a helicopter in 1997.

SHENYANG, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine descendants of the Chinese painter Qi Baishi have made agreements with one of 19 publishers and received books worth 100,000 yuan (14,051 U.S. dollars) as compensation over copyright infringement, a local court said on Thursday.     The Chinese Drama Publishing House contacted Qi's descendants and decided to give them books worth 200,000 yuan with a 50 percent discount as compensation after the court handed down the petition paper on Feb. 26, according to Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.     Qi's offspring will have 90 percent copyright of the pirated book "Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi's Seal Cutting" during the next 49 years and the publishing house has the remaining ten percent, according to their agreement.     Qi's descendants sued 24 publishers for 10 million yuan (1.3 million U.S. dollars) in damages for copyright infringement in December 2007. The court accepted 19 of them.     The claims were made against publishers based in Shanghai, Chongqing and other places, according to documents from the court.     Qi Bingyi, the painter's grandson said all the art works of his grandfather should enjoy the protection of copyright for 50 years after his death in 1957, but the publishers printed, published and sold the copies of the works without permission and also failed to pay contribution fees.     The largest damages claim ranged from 100,000 yuan to more than three million yuan.     The evidence that the plaintiffs collected included more than 100 items, including books, gold coins, paintings and seals.     The court began hearing four of the suits on Feb. 25 and a decision is yet to be handed down.

The newly approved Labor Contract Law will not undermine the investment environment although it will better protect workers' interests and rights, China's top trade union body said yesterday. Liu Jichen, director of the law department at the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, denied that the law - which goes into force from January 1 next year - is biased toward employees. "It not only protects workers' interests and rights, but also equally protects employers'," he told a press conference. The law, passed on Friday by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, had raised concerns that stricter contract requirements could raise business costs and give companies less flexibility to hire and fire employees. Liu, however, said that the law takes into account employers' interests. For example, he said, employers can sign non-competition contracts with workers, with a non-competition period of not more than two years to encourage innovation and ensure fair competition. So an employer can rest assured that an employee does not walk out at the end of the contract period and join a direct competitor. It also softens the terms under which employers can cut staff - if an enterprise switches to other production, adopts a major technological innovation or changes its mode of business. Liu stressed that the law will help create a harmonious labor relationship. "Labor protection is a worldwide trend," he said. "With working conditions improved and rights protected, employees will feel more secure, which leads to a higher productivity." Liu pointed out most labor disputes result from violations of workers' rights. Because of the huge supply of labor force, workers are in a disadvantaged position, he said. Liu said the federation has succeeded in keeping most of the items on protecting workers' rights and interests in the law. For example, the law makes mandatory the use of written contracts and strongly discourages fixed- or short-term contracts. It also stipulates severance be paid if a fixed-term contract expires but is not renewed without an appropriate reason. The law requires all employers to submit proposed workplace rules or changes for discussion to the workers' congress - concerning pay, work allotment, hours, insurance, safety, holidays and training. Employers and trade unions will then jointly decide on workplace agreements. It stipulates trade unions have the right to sign collective contracts with employers on behalf of workers. In a position paper released yesterday, the European Chamber of Commerce in China said it welcomes the law and its aim of improving labor conditions and creating workplace harmony. "A more mature legal environment should be considered as an advantage in attracting foreign investment," the statement said. However, the chamber said the key challenge remains compliance by employers and the enforcement by authorities of the existing laws.

A pedestrian walks past a branch of China Construction Bank in Shanghai June 3, 2007. [newsphoto]China's central bank is considering establishing a deposit insurance system in a bid to promote financial stability, news reports said on Monday. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) aims to push forward legislation on deposit insurance, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing information from a central bank meeting. PBoC has carried out research looking into this matter, according to the report. Deposit insurance is a measure introduced by policy makers to protect deposits, in full or in part, in the event of banks being unable to pay deposits. The insurance can maintain public confidence in the financial system and prevent bank runs, thus helping promote financial stability. The United States was the first country to establish an official deposit insurance scheme, during the Great Depression in 1934. Currently, nearly 100 countries have such an arrangement in place. The lack of deposit insurance in China is related to the fact that most of the banks in the country are State-owned, which offer confidence to depositors, analysts said.

China's production of natural gas rose 23.1 percent last year, faster than in 2006, to 69.31 billion cubic meters as the country used more "clean" energy, an industry association said.In 2006, output jumped 19.2 percent to 58.55 billion cubic meters, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) said. It also said that output would likely hit 76 billion cubic meters this year. China used 55.6 billion cubic meters of gas in 2006, an increase of 21.6 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics from BP.China has set a target of raising the proportion of natural gas in its total energy consumption to 5.3 percent in 2010 from 2.8 percent in 2005, amid efforts to curb pollution. Coal now accounts for about 70 percent of total energy consumption.The expansion of the natural gas infrastructure, including pipelines, reflected the rapid increases in output and consumption, the CPCIA said.China plans to start building a second east-west gas pipeline this year. The first such pipeline went into commercial operation in 2004.The new pipeline is scheduled to become operational in 2010 and will have a designed annual transport capacity of 30 billion cubic meters. It will mainly move natural gas from Central Asia to the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas, the country's two most developed regions.Construction on another pipeline, which will link the Puguang Gas Field in the southwestern province of Sichuan, one of the country's largest, with the Yangtze River Delta, started last August.