Hello and welcome to this edition of "CRI Roundup". I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing.
China's Paralympic delegation to the Beijing Paralympic Games has declared their determination to achieve good results.
Head of the delegation, Wang Xinxian, said on Thursday that the Chinese Olympic team's excellent performances have inspired his Paralympic team to set higher goals.
"We will exert our utmost sincerity, passion and determination when taking part in the upcoming Paralympic games."
Nearly 70 percent of the 332-member delegation is participating in the games for the first time.
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The 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces last weekend had claimed 38 lives and injured some 800 people as of Thursday morning.
Over 150 schools have suffered various degrees of damage. Tang Ruijin, an education official in Panzhihua city, says temporary classrooms have been built.
"The damaged school area amounts to over 120,000 square meters in our county. Based on our assessments on the damages, we will reinforce schools in danger, or set up tents. We want to see our students getting into the schools safe and sound."
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Chinese individual investors, who looked to stock and real estate markets to feel the pulse of the economy, were discouraged during the Olympics.
The country's stock market failed to live up to wide expectations of a bullish run, and reported more than a 15 percent decline in almost a month before and after the Olympics.
Economists say the performance of the market was not directly linked to the Olympics. Instead, they believe share prices would go towards a more reasonable range as investor confidence returned on the back of a strong economy with steady profits revealed in the half-year reports of listed companies.
Meanwhile, property prices, which had been soaring since early 2001, seemed to have come to a standstill. But analysts are optimistic, saying that more people will move into cities and create new demands because the country's urbanization is below the world average.
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Urban students in China have joined their rural counterparts in welcoming the compulsory education free-of-charge with the start of new semester on Monday.
The free compulsory education policy will benefit about 28 million urban students. Bai Shulan, principal of the Beijing Chongwen primary school, further explains her school's policy.
"For students from low-income families, their tuition fees will be exempted and we'll provide them free textbooks. We will also offer living allowances to boarders."
The 9-year compulsory education policy has been used in China since 1986. Last year, China cancelled all tuition fees for compulsory education of its 150 million rural students.
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China voiced hope on Thursday for the international community to "create favorable conditions" to promote a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Georgia conflict through dialogue.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remark at Thursday's press conference in Beijing.
She also called on international efforts to be conducive to the peace and stability in the South Ossetia region.
Russia suspended consular operations on Wednesday at its embassy in Tbilisi to stop Georgians visiting Russia.
The move came after Georgia announced its breaking of diplomatic ties with Russia on Wednesday.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda stated his decision to resign at a hastily-summoned press conference at the prime minister's official residence on Monday.
"Putting the livelihoods of the people as the top priority, with the current state of political bargaining creating a political vacuum, we must end this situation of no political progress. Considering that (one) must look forward to creating new policies under the guidance of a new leader, I have decided today to resign."
The prime minister, who has been beset by a sluggish support rate, said he made the decision to resign over the weekend.
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Thailand's Cabinet agreed on Thursday to hold a referendum to solve the ongoing political chaos. A law will first have to be passed by the Senate, as there is no provision for holding a referendum under the present statutes.
Thai government spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrat said once the law is passed, it would take about a month to hold the vote.
"After a month-long campaigning, we will immediately hold the referendum. As for the questions, we have also assigned a judicial body to begin to work on the drafting."
Bloody rioting between supporters and protesters of the government left one dead and dozens injured on Tuesday.
Embattled Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok following the violence.
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And that concludes this edition of CRI Roundup. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to listen to any of our other programs, you can visit our website at crienglish.com. I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more on China Radio International.
