Society

Fight against the deadly A/H1N1 flu virus kept intensifying in China. Vice Premier Li Keqiang inspected the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products here on Monday, which further highlighted the government's resolve to carry on the influenza vaccination campaign amid the growing infections.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, 30 people on the Chinese mainland had died of the flu among nearly 60,000 confirmed cases, figures from the Ministry of Health showed.

And the virus has claimed more than 6,000 lives across the world as of Nov. 1, according to the World Health Organization.

China raised the nationwide alert and began to take preventive actions to curb the influenza epidemic several months ago, but its recently promoted vaccination program grasped more social attention.

Now, the vaccination has been in its full swing, especially since Premier Wen Jiabao called on, during his inspection visit to the Beijing Children's Hospital on Oct. 31, an energetic effort in fight against the virus by "encouraging the inoculation, but on a voluntary basis."

Wang Zhiguo (R front), the commander of the Chinese naval 3rd escort fleet, speaks with Pieter Bindt, commander of the European Union (EU) navy 465 formation during the latter's visit to the Chinese "Zhoushan" Warship at Wang's invitation at the Gulf of Aden Nov. 8, 2009.

"Competition between military forces is developing towards the sky and space, it is extending beyond the atmosphere and even into outer space," said the chief of the Chinese air force in the Nov. 2 edition of People's Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of China's military. "This development is a historical inevitability and cannot be undone."

What cannot be undone is the effect of General Xu Qiliang's words. Chinese state media, however, tried to do just that, contending that the foreign media misinterpreted him. Then Chinese diplomats got in on the act. "China has never and will not participate in an outer space arms race in any form," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu on Nov. 5. "The position of China on this point remains unchanged."