Complied by Nathan Wakelin-King, an intern with the English department, and Paul Pennay

 "I hope the seminar can help further the depth of reporting and advance the cooperation and development of developing countries in the media fields,"

 - Wang Chen, head of the State Council Information Office, referring to a recent seminar held in China between media officials of 23 developing countries.

He did not specify exactly what this would entail for the conduct and content foreign media outlets involved in said cooperation. It coincides with the resolution at the sixth plenary session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), to increase China’s soft power abroad.

Xinhua

"We should reasonably, favorably and appropriately conduct a struggle for international public opinion. This is of vital importance for preserving national interests, security, social stability and ethnic unity,"

- Wang Chen

AP

"China is willing to work with Russia to positively fulfill the agreements reached by the two countries' leaders, and comprehensively strengthen law-enforcement and security cooperation as well as cooperation in other fields."

Meng Jianzhu, China's State Councillor and Minister of Public Security, after meeting his Russian counterpart on Wednesday.

Global Times

"It's undeniable that local government debt has created some hidden risks due to the lack of supervision and regulation of local government financing vehicles [...]

 China's public debt was around 50% of GDP at the end of 2010, still below the warning level of 60% and lower than the rate in U.S. and European countries where the debt crisis arose,"

Liu Mingkang, chairman of China's Banking Regulatory Commission

Wall Street Journal  

”I really like people cursing me”
- 106 year old Zhou Yougang, economist turned linguist, founder of the Chinese Pinyin Romanisation and now turned dissident, speaking about the reaction to his outspoken liberal views.

National Public Radio

"A lot of people are now saying that I'm doing it to get famous, and to get money. Even my neighbours are now saying so!" she said. "That really wasn't my intention, and I'm so afraid of hearing what people are saying that I don't dare to watch the news. I'm not out for fame or money."

 - Chen Xianmei, the 58 year-old scrap peddler famous for rescuing an abandoned toddler in Foshan that was critically injured after a hit-and-run road accident.

Shanghaiist

“First of all, our home prices are very low, our cost of living likewise is very low…Our manufacturing labour costs are lower than those of most of our competitors, and the cost of utilities are also lower than most other states. Georgia is a right-to-work state, and labor union membership is extremely low,”

Nathan Deal, governor of the US state of Georgia, trying to entice Chinese manufacturers to take their businesses offshore – to the US.

Financial Times
 

“If you are interested, I am offering these islands to China,” said Fitial according to Reuters. “Lease these islands so that I can have enough financial resources to provide for more full employment for my people.”

- Benito Fitial, governor of the US’ Mariana Islands, offering to lease some of his islands to China for non-military purposes.

Financial Times

“Despite the persistence of the border problem, both countries have agreed that peace and tranquillity should be maintained along the border. Therefore, by and large, sometimes something appears in the newspapers in our country, something appears in the newspapers in China, that I think invites comments, but overall our relations are quite good.'

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

The Hindu

"China doesn't like being told to do a lot more to combat climate change when it sees itself as doing a lot more already,"

Tom Grieder, the Asia-Pacific energy analyst at IHS Global Insight.

The National


"A lot of other baijiu cocktails have attempted to mask the flavour. I wanted to bring out the flavours that make baijiu more interesting,"

Beijing-based "drinks expert" Paul Mathew, describing his (commissioned) creation of the the Shui Jing Fang Grapefruit Sour, a baijiu- based cocktail which uses fresh lemon juice, pink grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup and the white of an egg.

Agence France Presse


“The minor incident was unfortunate, that was a result of unforeseen circumstances,”

Zosimo Paredes, a Phillipines defense department spokesman, regarding a recent collision between a Chinese Fishing boat and much larger Philippine naval vessel.  The incident occurred in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The China Post