Free Republic

HUAIAN COUNTY, CHINA—So you think struggling home from Ontario’s cottage country was tough? Think again. And consider, if you will, the case of Chinese trucker Pang Laisuo. On Sunday his coal-laden transport truck was caught in a traffic jam near here, about 240 kilometres north of Beijing. Pang knew he’d have something of a wait. What he didn’t know was that it would last 18 hours. “Everyone who pulled up at 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon ended up being stuck there until 10 o’clock Monday morning,” says Pang, a lean and grizzled man in his 50s speaking at a roadside stop...

N. Korea's Kim apparently in Chinese port city near Beijing: source BEIJING, May 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appears to have stopped by the eastern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Wednesday morning on his way to Beijing, where he is expected to hold a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao, a source said. Kim's train left the port city of Dailan Tuesday night, ending the first leg of his trip to China. During the visit, he is expected to seek economic support from Beijing and discuss ways for his country to rejoin stalled six-nation nuclear talks....

Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

1,200-year-old scholar tree discovered in Tianjin Chinese archeologists have confirmed a 1,200-year-old scholar tree in the northern port city of Tianjin is probably the oldest in the entire north China region. Chinese archeologists have confirmed a 1,200-year-old scholar tree in the northern port city of Tianjin is probably the oldest in the entire north China region. The ancient tree is growing in a small courtyard in Xizui village of the centuries-old town of Yangliuqing. It is more than 20 meters tall and 1.5 meters in diameter. Archeologists believe the tree must have been planted in the Tang Dynasty (618 -...

An important U.S. high-tech manufacturer is shutting down its American operations, laying off hundreds of workers and moving sophisticated equipment now being used to make critical parts for smart bombs to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Insight has learned. Indianapolis-based Magnequench Inc. has not yet publically announced the closing of its Valparaiso, Ind., factory, but Insight has confirmed that the company will shut down this year and relocate at least some of its high-tech machine tools to Tianjin, China. Word of the shutdown comes as the company is producing critical parts for the U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 10/7/02 - Irbil, Yemen, Limburg, Kabul, Bagram, Baghdad, Calcutta BREAKING: Irbil, Iraq, Kurdistan government, BREAKING: Ramallah, Nefarious Red Cross, BREAKING: Darwin visits Tianjin, China BREAKING: Yemen, Limburg explosion, Kabul, Bagram, Baghdad, Calcutta, Tarpan ========= Kabul ========= In Kabul, freed by the USA, girls raise their hands in English class. In Kabul, downtown. In Kabul, at the local bank. In Kabul, sacks of dry leaves to burn for fire are sought. In Kabul, SF stand guard. ========= Bagram ========= In Bagram, important workers in the kitchen feed 7000 heroes. In southeastern Afghanistan, a...