Chinese Daily Photos, 2011 to 2019!

Donald Tsang (4th L， back)， chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China， attends the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong port construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in Hong Kong， south China， Dec. 14， 2011. (Xinhua/Wang Pun Keung)

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HONG KONG, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong finally began on Wednesday construction of its part of the world's longest cross-sea bridge linking the city with Macao and Zhuhai, after the project was delayed for a year by a legal challenge over its environmental impact.

The city government held a brief launching ceremony in the morning on the eastern side of Hong Kong International Airport, which was attended by Chief Executive Donald Tsang, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong Guo Li, Secretary for Transport and Housing of the city government Eva Cheng, and other officials and representatives from contractors.

The Hong Kong section of the massive bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao includes three major projects -- Hong Kong boundary crossing facilities, the Hong Kong Link Road as well as the detailed design of Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link and Tuen Mun Western Bypass. In total, the three projects are expected to cost 48.5 billion HK dollars (6.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Wednesday's ceremony marked the beginning of the construction of Hong Kong boundary crossing facilities, which was the most important project with the largest investment among the three projects. Its budget was 30.43 billion HK dollars.

An 150-hectare artificial island would be built in the waters northeast of Hong Kong International Airport to house the boundary crossing facilities.

Tsang said although the start of the works has been delayed for a year, the city government would catch up on the progress through the compression of programs, and by implementing additional machinery and manpower. Construction of the Hong Kong section would be completed on schedule, enabling the bridge to be operational in 2016, he said.

Construction of the Hong Kong section had originally planned in late 2010. But it was delayed after a retired resident living near the bridge site challenged the city government's decision on the bridge work in a judicial review.

On April 18 of 2011, Hong Kong's Court of First Instance ruled that the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department had failed to offer a proper environmental impact assessment. As a result, the environmental permit issued to developers was quashed. In May, the Department filed an appeal to Hong Kong Court of Appeal. On Sept. 27, the Court of Appeal made the final judgment in favor of the city's government.

Tsang said the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is strategically important, which will facilitate further the economic integration and development of Hong Kong, Macao and the Mainland.

The bridge will significantly reduce transportation time by 60 percent to 80 percent for travelers and goods on roads, as well as reduce transportation costs, according to the official statistics.

Upon completion of the bridge, western Pearl River Delta cities will fall within a reachable three-hour commuting radius of Hong Kong, Tsang said, adding that Hong Kong investors will have plenty of business opportunities in western Pearl River Delta, which was rich in human and land resources.

In the long run, commissioning of the bridge is set to create a new era in transportation link between Hong Kong and the Mainland, inject new impetus to Hong Kong's long-term economic development, and to generate new opportunities for Hong Kong's main industries such as tourism, finance, trade, commerce and logistics, he said.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, with a total length of 29.6 km, will be the world's longest cross-sea bridge. It is estimated to cost 11.5 billion U.S. dollars in total and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. The cost would be shared by the authorities of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

Construction began in December of 2009 at the Zhuhai section of the bridge

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A family member feeds a child infected with hepatitis C virus who is being treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, capital of Anhui province. The child is one of the 86 people who contracted the virus in a suspected case of hospital-caused mass infection. Xinhua

BEIJING - Eighty-six people, including more than 20 children, in two townships have contracted hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a suspected case of hospital-caused mass infection, government investigations have confirmed.

Authorities are looking into the possibility that the source is a family-run clinic in Maqiao township, Yongcheng city, Henan province.

Of those proven infected, 63 were from Maqiao township, and the rest from Dancheng township, Guoyang county, in Anhui province, said Deng Haihua, a Ministry of Health spokesman, at a regular news conference on Tuesday.

"None of them were showing any symptoms, but they have received proper treatment. Further investigation, mainly by health authorities in the two provinces, are ongoing and the final results will be made public when they are ready," he said.

Jia Jidong, who leads the Beijing Friendship Hospital's liver-research center, told China Daily that the actual number of cases might be larger than reported ones, because 30 to 50 percent of those infected could clear their systems of the virus within six months and would test positive only for HCV antibodies.

Zhang Yinping, of Anhui's Guoyang county, said his 2-year-old son, who had previously tested positive for HCV antibody, tested negative during HCV RNA screening on November 30.

"Doctors said that he had spontaneously cleared himself of the virus," Zhang told China Daily on Tuesday.

According to Jia, those whose RNA test results come back negative could still test positive for the antibody after clearing their systems of the virus.

When the scandal first broke out, many, including Anhui health authorities, suspected that the family-run clinic in Maqiao township, about 8 kilometers from the border between the two provinces involved, may have been reusing infected needles.

But an initial probe in Maqiao found no contaminated needles at the clinic, said a statement issued online by the local government on Sunday.

However, Wu Zunyou, director of the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control and Prevention, has indicated that the needles might have been discarded or sterilized right before the investigation.

The statement said the investigation at the clinic continues, and the local health authority would increase supervision of hygiene and disinfection, particularly at grassroots village clinics.

"Subsequent analysis conducted among confirmed HCV patients would help identify similarities, such as clinics they may have all frequented before contracting the virus, and that would be significant for the investigation," Wu said.

"Other factors, like the patients' ages, have to be considered, too, before drawing any conclusion," he said.

The probe at Maqiao found that most of those confirmed to have been infected were age 45 and older, said a statement issued by the city of Yongcheng.

"For them, it is also possible that they were infected in the botched plasma-selling scheme in the mid 1990s," Wu said.

But the HCV incidence rate at Maqiao township, the probe found, stands at 1.22 percent, far higher than the national average of 0.43 percent. At the village of Shenlou in the township, the incidence rate reached 4.6 percent.

"Based on the surprisingly high incidence rate, we can tell that something must be going wrong there," Wu noted.

Li Jian, deputy director of the health bureau of Guoyang county, Anhui province, however, was cautious in discussing the latest findings of their probe.

Unlike Yongcheng in Henan, Li's bureau had not released detailed investigation results by Tuesday.

"We are still working on it, and, so far, it's too early to say the clinic in Maqiao is the culprit," he told China Daily on Tuesday.

But he disclosed that most of the 23 people confirmed infected in Dancheng were children, and local people had no contact with the plasma-selling scheme in the mid 1990s.

"Moreover, we've found that many of the infected children often went to the Maqiao clinic for treatment," he said.

HCV infections related to medical procedures are not rare on the mainland.

In late August, six officials in central Henan province were removed from their posts after a medical incident in which eight people contracted HCV.

Eight uremia patients got infected during blood dialysis at the Xin'an County People's Hospital in Henan province.

Lei Zhenglong, deputy director of the ministry's disease prevention and control bureau, said hepatitis C transmission through medical practices like blood transfusions, dialysis, and organ transplants are a concern, and the ministry would regularly conduct field inspections at health institutions across the country.

But he also conceded that clinics in rural areas are hard to manage and can hold a greater risk of infecting patients.

Currently, of the estimated 6 million hepatitis C patients on the mainland, "a majority acquired their infections before health authorities required mandatory HCV screenings in blood transfusions in 1993," said Jia Jidong.

"Most of the patients I received at my hospital got infected in the early 1990s, and we've not seen a lot of new infections in recent years," he said.

But susceptible groups, including AIDS patients and intravenous drug users, are hit harder, he added.

Sixty to 90 percent of China's reported AIDS patients are also infected with HCV.

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN - DECEMBER 13: Patty Hou attends a commercial event for L'Oreal on December 13, 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan of China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN - DECEMBER 13: Hebe of S.H.E attends LEVI'S 2012 Spring/Summer Fashion Show on December 13, 2011 in Taipei, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN - DECEMBER 13: Actress Annie Chen attends Gucci 2012 Spring/Summer Fashion Show at Gucci flagship store on December 13, 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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SHANGHAI, CHINA - DECEMBER 13: Model Zhang Xinyu attends a fashion show of Xin Hee (Xiamen) Fashion Co., Ltd at Shangri-La Hotel on December 13, 2011 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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SHANGHAI, CHINA - DECEMBER 13: Actress Ady An attends a fashion show of Xin Hee (Xiamen) Fashion Co., Ltd at Shangri-La Hotel on December 13, 2011 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 13: Singer Zhang Mi and her daughter Luo Yi arrive at the red carpet of 2011 China Trends Awards at BTV Grand Theater on December 13, 2011 in Beijing, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

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BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 08: Chinese Actress Li Xiaolu poses as she arrives at 2012 LAN YU Wedding Dress Show on December 8, 2011 in Beijing, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

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China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming (C) gestures prior to the opening of a World Trade Organization ministerial conference delayed due to technical problems, on December 15, 2011 in Geneva. Russia's 18-year bid to join the WTO will take centre stage at the trade body's ministerial conference, amid morose prospects for a free trade pact.

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CHENGDU, CHINA - DECEMBER 14: Rescuers search for trapped workers after scaffolding collapsed at a construction site on December 14, 2011 in Chengdu, China. The collapse happened at around at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, killing one and injuring three.

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This picture taken on December 14, 2011shows authorities investigating one of two illegal dye production workshop after the Jian River turned into a bright sanguine shade of red on December 13 in Luoyang, north China's Henan province. The cause of the river becoming apocalyptic in character was red dye being dumped into the city's storm water pipe network, by two illegal dye workshops, according to the Luoyang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, as authorities said they were working to shut down the workshops, and to disassemble the workshops' machinery.

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A train attendant pushes passengers into the coach to close the train door at a railway station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province December 15, 2011. China's railways are expected to see a record 235 million passengers making trips across the country during the 40-day spring travel rush that begins on January 8, Xinhua News Agency reported.

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A pizza delivery man wearing a reindeer helmet rides an electric bicycle crossing a road junction in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2011.

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Armed Chinese police in riot gear man a roadblock on a route to the village of Wukan in Guangdong province in southern China on December 14, 2011. Residents of the village surrounded by police after protests over the death in custody of a community leader vowed December 14 to continue their fight for land rights.

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Sexy TV hostess Liu Yan attends an activity in Beijing. [Photo/Shangdu.com]

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In this photo taken on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, villagers hold a poster with a Chinese word for "injustice" as they march around their village during a protest in Wukan village, in China's Guangdong province.

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Protesters hold a picture of Xue Jinbo, who before his death had been one of Wukan village's representatives in tense negotiations with officials over the land seizure, during a protest near the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. Xue, a man from the southern Chinese fishing village whose death in police custody helped spark a rare revolt, was given a hero's farewell Friday as thousands of tearful residents mourned what they called his sacrifice for them.

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A Chinese dentist waits for customers beside a novel tooth display at her clinic in Beijing on December 17, 2011.

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In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, newly-launched 3,000-ton-class Chinese patrol ship "Haijian 50" takes part in a joint sea and air patrol in the East China Sea, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. The patrol was launched Saturday by China Marine Surveillance, involving patrol ships "Haijian 50", "Haijian 66" and the "Haijian B-7115" helicopter, Xinhua said.

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In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, mechanics fix rotor blades of the "Haijian B-7115" helicopter on board the "Haijian 50" patrol ship before a joint sea and air patrol in the East China Sea, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011.

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BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 16: Delegates attend a conference as they commemorate the 20th Anniversary of The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits at the Great Hall of the People on December 16, 2011 in Beijing, China.

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A woman pushes a bicycle across a road in Beijing on December 16, 2011.

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A man smokes a cigarette as he cooks sausages at a roadside stall in Beijing on December 16, 2011. Food stands are a familiar sight in China's capital city, often serving widely popular egg, lettuce and sausage sandwiches, and various spicy crepes.

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Cars are reflected in the window of a bus in Beijing on December 16, 2011. China defended its decision to hike tariffs on some US car imports, and challenged the United States to bring the case to the World Trade Organization if Washington begged to differ.

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PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 16: Xiaoli Wang and Xufeng Huang of China compete in the 470 Women's Two Person Dinghy fleet on the Centre course during day 14 of the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships on December 16, 2011 in Perth, Australia.

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Dozens of homeowners protest outside the headquarters of a Chinese property developer over discounts that came after they paid for their own apartments in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. The government has said it will keep policies aimed at cooling the property market in place to help bring prices down to more affordable levels, but news that first-time homeowners may be allowed lower-interest mortgages may signal an easing for real estate developers stressed by tight credit and falling sales.

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People First Party (PFP) Chairperson and presidential candidate James Soong (L) shakes hands with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (R) as Taiwan President and Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou looks on before a televised debate ahead of the 2012 presidential election at the Taiwan Public Television station in Taipei December 17, 2011.

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A cutout depicting incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou as a service man for Taiwan is seen at the ruling KMT, Nationalist Party,campaign headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. Taiwan's presidential candidates began their final month of campaigning Thursday, in a race that is being closely watched in Beijing and Washington. The presidential election is to be held on January 14, 2012.

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A massive campaign poster hangs next to the ruling KMT, Nationalist Party, headquarters showing incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou, left, and his running mate Premier Wu Den-yih under the translation that reads "Taiwan Go! Go!"

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A Taiwanese couple passes a campaign flag of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen on the roadside in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011.

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The new Shanghai Shenghua French coach Jean Tigana, right, and Zhuo Jun, Shanghai Shenhua's director, left, hold the team jersey during a press conference to announce the signing of Tigana with home club Shanghai Shenhua Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011 in Shanghai, China.

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Placards featuring the photograph of jailed Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng lie on the ground in front of a police station before protestors walk to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative on December 18, 2011. The city's pro-democracy political camps have regularly called for the release of political dissidents detained by Beijing, as well as lobbying for reforms in mainland China. Gao was arrested in February 2009 and has been held incommunicado by the authorities.

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A taxi driver waits for customers near a busy shopping street in Beijing on December 18, 2011. Beijing authorities said they had met their target of 'blue sky' days for 2011, amid growing public criticism that officials are underplaying the pollution problem in the Chinese capital. The city had 274 days of 'grade one or two' air quality compared with 252 days in 2010, according to a statement on the Beijing government's official news portal.

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Sotheby's Asia Deputy Chairman Nicolas Chow poses with the "Famille rose peach box and cover" at a preview by auction house Sotheby's in Hong Kong February 25, 2011. Despite giddy Chinese art prices showing some strain from global economic uncertainty, collectors think value will continue to rise due to limited supply and continued strong demand as Asian collectors become more affluent. Hong Kong has played a key role in Asia's art market boom. Its auction market turnover -- anchored by Sotheby's and Christie's -- skyrocketed 300 percent from 2009 to 2010, powered by a wave of Chinese millionaires buying art with avid fervour. Picture taken February 25, 2011.

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Cyclists stand behind their foldable bicycles as they prepare to cycle along Victoria Harbour in support of a new cycle path, in Hong Kong on December 17, 2011. Approximately 200 cyclists attended the 20 km ride as they urge the government to approve a cycle path running from the west of the island to the east, following the waters edge along the harbour.

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Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group honorary chairman Cheng Yu-tung (C), leaves after the debut of the company at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange December 15, 2011. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, the world's largest jewellery retailer, fell on its trading debut in Hong Kong on Thursday after raising $2.02 billion in its initial public offering.

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Photo taken on Dec. 18, 2011 shows an Airbus A380 landing at Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China. The second Airbus A380 ordered by China Southern Airlines arrived at the airport on Sunday after more than 10 hours' flight from France. [Xinhua/Wang Jianhua]

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Stewards at Shanghai Railway Station's Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail section are trained to provide passengers with an innovative "5S" service: Smile, Standard, Special, Speed and Satisfy. [China.org.cn]

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A steward at Shanghai Railway Station's Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail section provides passengers with an innovative "5S" service: Smile, Standard, Special, Speed and Satisfy. [China.org.cn]

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Cheng Chaoyang (R) and his mother embrace each other after a paternity test in Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Dec 17, 2011. Cheng was abducted 23 years ago at the age of four from his hometown Jia county in Henan province. He was sold to a household in the Labao town of Liuzhou at a price of 3,000 yuan. After his foster parents recently told him the truth, he worked with the Liuzhou police, who contacted three families in his hometown that reported a missing child in 1988, and set a paternity tests for Dec 17. The DNA results showed that Cheng is the son of Ding Chucai and Lian Huazhen, and his real name is Ding Sheng. [Photo/CFP]

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