03-11-08

中国承认逮捕西藏僧侣 (China Admits Arrest of Monks in Tibet)

中国政府承认拘留了星期一在西藏首府拉萨示威纪念反抗中国统治的起义49周年的60多名西藏僧人。

中国外交部发言人秦刚星期二说，那个示威是违法行为，危害了社会稳定。秦刚称参加示威的人是“无知的僧侣”，受到了“其他少数人”的教唆。

星期一是藏人一次失败的暴动49周年，那次暴动被中国军队镇压，迫使西藏精神领袖达赖喇嘛流亡到印度北部。

另外，印度北部的一大约100名流亡藏人星期二不顾印度警方命令，恢复了前往自己的家乡抗议北京主办夏季奥运会的步行抗议。

The Chinese government has acknowledged it detained more than 60 Tibetan monks who demonstrated in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa Monday to commemorate the anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday the demonstration was an illegal act that challenged social stability. Qin called the participants "ignorant monks," abetted by what he described as a "small handful of other people." 

Monday was the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising that was crushed by the Chinese military, prompting Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to flee into exile in northern India.

Also, a group of about 100 Tibetan exiles in northern India defied police orders Tuesday and resumed a protest march to their homeland to protest Beijing hosting the Summer Olympics.

中国二月份通货膨胀涨到十一年来新高 (China's February Inflation Soars to 11-Year High)

中国官员表示，2月份的通货膨胀率同比上涨到11年来的新高，达到8.7%。国家统计局星期二说，食品价格暴涨了23%，推动了消费者价格上涨，比1月份同比上涨的7.1%有大幅增长，超过了外界经济学家预测的8%的数字。

相比之下，2月份的非食品价格仅比去年同期上涨了1.6%。

从今年1月初开始、持续到2月的暴风雪天气重创了中国南方地区，庄稼被毁坏、货运瘫痪，一些炼钢厂和工厂被迫停产。雪灾地区的肉类和蔬菜的短缺迫使物价飙升。

Chinese officials say inflation jumped to an 11-year high of eight-point-seven percent in February. The National Statistics Bureau said Tuesday that the increase was driven by a 23 percent jump in food prices. It was a sharp increase from January's seven-point-one percent and exceeded the eight percent figure outside economists had expected.

By contrast, non-food prices were up by only one-point-six percent in February from one year earlier.

Snowstorms that began in early January and lasted into February devastated China's south, destroyed crops, paralyzed shipping and forced some steel mills and factories to shut down. Shortages of meat and vegetable in the snow-hit areas caused prices to soar.