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	Chinese Premier on Post-Flood Reconstruction Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said that the reconstruction of the flooded areas on the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River should be combined with the aim of eliminating future flood threats. Zhu made the statement during an inspection tour of the provinces of Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan and Sichuan, and the Municipality of Chongqing, which are all on the upper or middle reaches of the Yangtze River, from September 7 to 12. "The most urgent tasks right now are to make sure that the people displaced by the flood can survive the winter and to combine the reconstruction of the flood-devastated areas with work to guard against and prevent future floods," Zhu said. First of all, he said, "we must take various measures to rebuild schools, health-care facilities and residential houses destroyed by the floods." At the same time, greater efforts must be made to do a good job in the next three or more months of accomplishing this year's economic growth target, he said. He stressed that efforts to rapidly restore life and production in the flood-hit areas should be combined with the aim to harness the rivers and accomplish the long-term goals.
	Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemnin Signs an Order to Award Wu Liangzhu an honorable Title of "Anti-Flood Iron-Steel Soldier"
	Vice-Premier Li Lanqing Inspects Flood-Hit Areas Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing has called for still greater efforts to ensure good sanitatary conditions and prevent diseases and epidemics in the flood-stricken areas. During an inspection tour of northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces and northern Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region on September 11--13, Li also said that a good job must be done to reconstruct primary and middle schools destroyed by floods so that teaching can be resumed.
	A Commentator's article headed "Energetically Spread Common Spoken Chinese" calls for greater efforts to popularize the use of standard Chinese, commonly known as putonghua or Mandarin. The article notes that the popularization of putonghua is a landmark of the development level of both material as well as socialist ethical and cultural progress, and is of major importance for promoting economic growth and social progress. With the in-depth progress of China's reform and opening up, as well as more frequent exchanges both internally and internationally, an increasing number of people have come to recognize that the barriers caused by dialects have become detrimental to social development. The practice of many developed countries has also proved that the popularization of common spoken languages and the standardization of language are basic conditions for the universalization of education, the development of science and technology and the promotion of the modernization drive. The spread of putonghua is not aimed at abolishing dialects, which on specific occasions have their own uses and cultural values, the article says. The article urges governments at all levels to put the promotion of putonghua high on their work agenda, noting that putonghua should be used as the common teaching and campus language. "We should strive to seize this opportunity to promote putonghua in order to make it the common speech throughout the country by the middle of the next century," the article says.
	China's Economy Picks Up in August A State Statistics Bureau (SSB) monthly report shows an overall economic rebound in August. The report reveals that China generated an industrial added value of 158.2 billion yuan in August, up 7.9 percent on an annual basis or 0.3 of a percent point higher than in the previous month. The accumulated industrial added value for the first eight months totaled 1.2 trillion yuan, representing a 7.8 percent rise from the same period of last year. The country's industrial sales-output ratio in August reached 97.6 percent, representing the highest rate of the year. The state sector recorded 158.1 billion yuan of fixed-assets investment during the period, up 26.9 percent over the corresponding month of last year and 4.1 percentage points higher than in July. This brought the total for the first eight months to 894.3 billion yuan, up 17.4 percent on a yearly basis. In the first eight months of the year, 513.8 billion yuan of investment went to infrastructure projects, 176.8 billion yuan was used as renovation capital and 157.3 billion yuan went into real estate development. The report also shows that the social retail volume in August amounted to 231.5 billion yuan-worth, an annual rise of 9.3 percent. Foreign trade posted a slight fall in August, with exports dipping 2.9 percent to 15.6 billion US dollars' worth and imports edging down 1.7 percent to 10.9 billion dollars' worth. A trade surplus of 4.7 billion dollars was reported. In August, the consumer price index was still 1.4 percent lower than the previous year's level.
	At the invitation of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will pay an official visit to China from September 14 to 18. Photo: Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
	Persist in Principle of Development Without Relaxation----A Report From Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Photo: A bird's view of Nanning, Capital of Gaungxi.

	Reporting from a national autumn farming meeting held earlier in Shandong, a staff correspondent reported that the present farming work and the operations in the villages are basically steady nationwide. The meeting called for great efforts to grapple with autumn and winter agricultural work and organize self-help in production in the vast flood-hit villages.
	A short note extols the function of the peasants' cooperative bodies and specialized associations in the Yichun region in Jiangxi Province.
	Viewing Scrambling for Trademark Registration from Another Perspective> A note says that the trademark right is a civil right and enterprises should take the initiative to apply for trademarks and protect their invisible assets according to law. The note is criticizing the Foreign Trade Center Co. in Shenzhen for registering trademarks of other enterprises as its own and transferring these registered trademarks for high profits. The note also points out that there is a loophole in the existing Trade Mark Law in China because in examining the applications for trademarks from enterprises, the approving authorities merely examine the graphics, wording and outer looks of the trade marks and are not entitled to turn down the applications even if when false contents are found in the contents of the trade marks.
	l0th Dalian International Garment Fair Opens in Dalian
	A Photo showing Director of Tianyi-H Steel Factory Checking up on Products Quality together with Workers

	NPC Standing Committee Inspects Enforcement of Laws Concerning Agriculture in Yunnan
	The Supreme Procuratorate Begins Shutting down Its 4 Corporations. The move was taken following the Chinese government's decision to revoke corporations run by the armed forces, the armed police and political and legal institutions.
	State Council's Counselors Study Deng Xiaoping Theory at Discussion Meeting
	A Photo Showing doctors Sent by Public Health Ministry to cure cataract for Tibetans

	The Anhui Provincial Government Sticks to Rebuilding Homelands with High Standards and Creating New Conditions for the Recovery and Development of the Economy in the Flood-Hit Areas.
	The Frontier Police Forces Crack Down on Smuggling of Guns and Drugs By the end of August, the national frontier police troops have broken up 594 drugs and 71 guns smuggling cases.
	Photo: The residents from two villages in Daqing, Heilongjiang Provinces, are digging wells. These two flooded villages merged to one so as to solve the problems such as winter livelihood and diseases prevention.
	Photo: Zubin Mehta conducts the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Verdi's "Requiem" for a benefit performance, jointly held by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the People's Daily, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, September13. Zubin Mehta has donated US$ 20,000 to the flood-ravaged areas and all the income from this performance will be donated to the flood victims in China.

	Cultural Exchange in the Information Age---Roundup of Beijing International Book Fair The 7th Beijing International Book Fair ended. More than 120,000 visitors attended the six-day fair.
	Heilongjiang Province, seriously ravaged by flood disasters, took urgent measures to prevent snail fever epidemics and work on planning for children's immunization.
	Hunan Province's Yanzhi Middle School, Alma Mater of Anti-flood hero Gao Jiancheng, was renamed Gao Jiancheng Middle School. Meanwhile, Guangdong Lizhu Group donated 1 million yuan to the school's construction.
	The Beijing municipal government and Beijing Bureau of Environmental Protection have banned the use of high-sulfur coal to improve air quality.
	1,709 people have been selected to study abroad on the China Fund for Overseas Studies.
	Chinese Encyclopedia on Sex Sciences Comes off the Press

	China has made significant contributions to the economy in Asia and the rest of the world, says Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern right before his visit to China. In a written interview with a People's Daily reporter in London, the Irish Prime Minister said that China has played a stabilizing role in the regional monetary turmoil and shown its genuine strength.
	In a phone call to US President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin reassured that Russia's foreign and reform policies will not change.
	A staff reports' dispatch from New York reminds the Taiwan authorities that the unification undertaking of the Chinese nation is irresistible, there is no way out for any splitting activity and any support to the splitting activity will be doomed to failure. The dispatch is commenting on the Taiwan authorities' attempt to make inroads into the United Nations.
	US President Bill President in a televised speech on September l2 called on Congress to focus on economic and national security issues and pass bills to help Asia and Russia solve financial crisis.
	Iran will stage a larger military exercise along the Iranian-Afghan border.
	Taliban overtook the city of Bamyan in Afghanistan on September 13.
	Algerian President announced that Algeria will advance the general election to March next year.
	Helen Rosen's memorial ceremony was held in New York on September l2. Helen Rosen is an old friend of China.
	Deeply Concerned With the Students in the Flood-Afflicted Areas The Chinese Students in the Netherlands and Belgium have been making their efforts in soliciting donations to the students in the flood-afflicted area in the motherland. They have put a circular on the Internet for donations for the students and tried many other ways for this purpose.
	The 2nd General Election in Bosnia-Herzegovina Starts
	Summary: The 2nd General Election Takes Place in Bosnia-Herzegovina The 2nd General Election started on September 12, under the Dayton Accord. About 2.74 million people have registered for the three-member presidency and the national parliament elections.

	There is no reason to be pessimistic about the world economy, says Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank in a speech in Frankfurt on September 11.
	Economic News From East Asia: Japanese Economy Has Worsened. The Import and Export Volume of Thailand Dropped Continuously in August. *Bad Debts of Thai Commercial Banks Have Increased.
	Germany's export shifts focus to China in Asia. The export volume to China in the first half of this year was 5.5 billion marks, up 25 percent over the same period in 1997.
	Photo: A set of stamps "the Forbidden City and the Louvre Museum" were issued jointly by the Chinese and French post administratons on September 12.
	Software Industry Is the Core of the Knowledge Economy -- a special article contributed by Academician Yang Fuqing, dean of the Computer Department of Peking University

	The statistics of the Organizing Committee for the 13th Asian Games shows that Thailand will send 815 contestants to the Games. This is the largest ever group Thailand has sent to the Asian Games. The number of contestants sent by China to the Games comes next. The 13th Asian Games will be held in the Thai capital of Bangkok from December 6 to 20.
	The 21st Round Matches of the Chinese Soccer League Division A Marlboro Chinese Soccer League Division A concluded the 21st round matches on September 13. The results are as follows (with the home teams first): Beijing Guo'an beat Wuhan Hongjinlong 2-1; Dalian Wanda defeated Sichuan Quanxing 6-1; Yanbian Ao'dong beat Chinese Army 5-0; Qingdao Hainiu beat Vanguards 1-0; Shandong Taishan beat Guangzhou Apollo 2-0; Shenzhen Ping'an tied Shanghai Shenhua 0-0; Guangzhou Songri beat Shenyang Haishi 2-0.
	Standings of the Chinese Soccer League Division A after the 21st round matches on September 13
	The finals of the World Women's Volleyball Grand Prix concluded in Hong Kong on September 13. Brazilian team beat the defending Russian champion 3-0 after gaining a victory over Cuba in the semifinals. China lost to Cuba 1-3 in the finals and got the fourth place.
	China won the first places in women's team and singles obstacles swimming on the third day of the 46th Military Pentathlon World Championships.
	'98 Weida Cup Cross-Straits Bowling Championships ended in Wuhan on September 13. Li Mei from Kunming and Xiong Guoliang from Shanghai respectively won the women's and men's champions.
	Jiangsu and Hunan women's teams were qualified while Guangdong men's team missed the chance to play the semifinals of '98 National Badminton Championships.

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