BEIJING --?China's international tsunami warning center has opened, serving countries bordering on the South China Sea, oceanic officials announced Thursday.The center, built and managed by China, monitors major earthquake subduction zones -- where the Earth's plates converge -- in the South China, Sulu and Sulawesi seas and provides 24-hour uninterrupted warning services, said Wang Hua, a State Oceanic Administration (SOA) official.The South China Sea region is prone to tsunamis and littoral countries have, until now, relied on services provided by American and Japanese warning centers.The warning center was proposed in 2009. In 2013, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC/UNESCO) approved an SOA plan.Wang said the center was the result of practical maritime cooperation between countries around the South China Sea.Yuan Ye, director of the National Tsunami Warning Center, said China is now capable of warning the public of a tsunami eight to ten minutes after an earthquake.In 1897, a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the northern Sulu Sea killed more than 100 people. An earthquake measuring 8.0 magnitude in the Sulawesi Sea in 1976 resulted in nearly 8,000 deaths in the Phillipines.More than 80 percent of tsunamis occur in the Pacific.Numerical simulation shows that if a 8.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Manila Trench in the north, the tsunami it triggered would have severe effects in the Phillipines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and south China's coastal areas, said Yu Fujiang, director of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.China will hold trainings and provide tsunami warnings for countries surrounding the South China Sea, Wang said. wristbands canadafundraising rubber wristbandscheap silicone wristbands canadarubber band bracelet charmsrubber bracelets
File photo of Lu Wei, former deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. [Photo/People's Daily] BEIJING - The former head of China's internet watchdog has been dismissed from public office and expelled from the Party for multiple offenses, including taking bribes, the top anti-graft agency said on Tuesday. Lu Wei was director of the Cyberspace Administration of China and formerly deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which is tasked with rooting out corruption, said an investigation launched in November found that Lu had severely violated Party discipline. While appearing obedient, he had covertly refused to implement Party decisions, acted wantonly and issued groundless criticisms of Party policies, according to a CCDI statement on Tuesday. He also obstructed the central authority's discipline inspections, abused his power and public resources for personal purposes, and unscrupulously sought personal influence, it said. The CCDI said Lu had framed others anonymously and formed factions and cliques, as well as frequented luxurious venues, waywardly sought and used privileges, and acted peremptorily and arbitrarily. The acts all violated the Party's eight-point frugality code and mass line spirit, the statement said, adding that Lu had also failed to cooperate with investigators and had shamelessly traded power for sex. Anti-graft officials had found he was selective in implementing the CPC Central Committee's cyberspace management strategy and used his power for personal gains. Lu took advantage of his position to seek profits for others and received a huge amount of property, leading to suspicions he had accepted bribes, the statement said. As a senior Party official, Lu had lost his Communist faith and is extremely disloyal, it added. By completely betraying each and every important political requirement and major discipline for Party members, Lu is a typical example of duplicity, according to the statement. It said that even after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, he still showed no sign of restraint and his wrongdoings were of a grave nature and caused public outcry. The CCDI said Lu's illicit gains will be confiscated and his case transferred to prosecutors. Meanwhile, Ji Xiangqi, former vice-governor of Shandong province, has also been dismissed and expelled from the Party for serious disciplinary violations, including corruption and bribery. The anti-graft watchdog said on Tuesday that Ji embezzled large amounts of public property by taking advantage of his position and accepted property in exchange for helping others to obtain profit. He had served as vice-governor since Jan 2013 and was placed under investigation last month.
