Hello, and welcome to this edition of "CRI Roundup". I'm XYee in Beijing.
Let's take a look at some of the major events that have happened in China and around the world during the past week.
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A senior Chinese anti-doping （抵制兴奋剂）official said that Beijing is ready for doping tests at the upcoming Olympics. He said that the country promises to host "clean" games.
Wu Moutian, deputy director of the Chinese Anti-doping Agency, said reliable testing methods will be used, as China has invested in building the most sophisticated anti-doping laboratories in the world.
"The methods have passed qualification tests by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The new tests can also precisely detect HGH（人体生长激素）, or human growth hormone, in athletes."
According to the official, dope testing at the Olympics began on July 27 and will run through the end of the games.
A total of 4,500 doping controls, including 900 blood tests, are planned for the Beijing games, a 25 percent increase over the Athens Olympics four years ago.
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Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of coal production and a stable electricity supply during his recent inspection of coal-rich Shanxi Province.
Li Keqiang said sufficient energy supply is the keystone（重点） of stable economic development.
He added that coal mines should strive to increase supply while being mindful of safety to guarantee the success of the coming Beijing Olympics and meet daily consumption demands.
Shanxi Province produced over 600 million tons of coal last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the nation's total output.
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A designer of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has assured spectators from all over the world that the ceremony will be full of surprises.
Zhang Jigang is the deputy director of the opening ceremony.
"I think the gala on August 8 will definitely have many surprises for the spectators, though I can't reveal the details right now. So far, the major tasks for the ceremony have all been accomplished; there are three rehearsals to go in the coming nine days."
International audiences enjoyed a small glimpse of what the 2008 performance might look like during the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics four years ago.
The theme of the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony is a closely guarded secret, but the directors have promised to outdo Athens's show this summer.
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China has been encouraging consumers to buy low-emission cars to promote the idea of an environmentally-friendly society.
But the country's sales volume of high-emission cars such as sport-utility vehicles increased nearly 50 percent in the first half of this year.
Su Hui, general manager of Beijing's largest car trading market at Yayuncun, explains the reasons behind.
"The country has not scheduled when it will start levying fuel taxes or raise the tax on use and consumption of high-emission（排放） cars. Also, compared with international fuel prices, the price of gas in China is relatively low."
China has become one of the world's leading SUV consumers. In the first four months of this year, the country imported more than 70,000 SUVs, double the figure from the same period of last year.
Zhao Ying, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suggested China learn from other countries' experiences and levy fuel taxes based on mileage to encourage citizens to buy low-emission cars.
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As the Beijing Olympic Games draw near, many drivers in Beijing are sporting national flags on their cars to celebrate.
However, some of the flags are poor quality, with inappropriate colors, sizes, and displaced stars.
Liu Feiyu, a law professor at Beijing's Renmin University, says that it is a violation of China's laws to make national flags without following relavant government regulations.
"The national flag is an emblem of the country, and no one is allowed to produce their own copies of the national flag. It is also people's responsibility to pay respect to the national emblem, and they should not use broken, stained, faded or unqualified national flags."
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In other parts of the world:
World Trade Organization talks, based on seven years of efforts to open up the global economy, collapsed in Geneva.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy confirmed the failure, which officials have blamed on some of the major economies for failing to agree on import rules.
"I think it's no use beating around the bush. This meeting has collapsed. Members have simply not been able to bridge their differences."
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for warring parties around the world to observe a truce for the duration of the Beijing Olympic Games.
"The call for warring parties to lay down their arms while athletes from the community of nations meet under the noble flame of the Olympic torch, I call on all those engaged in hostilities to respect it. May the Olympic flame light the path for peace everywhere."
Ban Ki-Moon said such a truce, while limited in duration, could provide a pause in which to reconsider the heavy costs of war, as well as an opening to initiate dialogue and provide relief for suffering populations.
He added that the truce can also demonstrate to the world that peace is possible in even the most seemingly intractable(难解决的) situations if people truly work towards it.
The Olympic truce will be observed according to customs from the ancient Olympic Games.
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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 Web site at crienglish.com. I am XYee in Beijing. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more on China Radio International.
