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Thailand’s newly Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday threatened to remove any Cabinet member who fails to implement the government’s policies.

He said he had reached an agreement with all coalition partners that if they fail to carry out their work, they would be removed.

Right now the cabinet line up has got endorsement from the king.

Abhisit was elected as the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand on Dec. 15 to replace Somchai Wongsawat, who was ruled to step down by the Constitution Court on Dec. 2.

Thailand’s anti-government Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) protesters on Sunday morning started to gather in front of the parliament, in an attempt to prevent the coalition government to delivery its policy statement on Monday.

Amplifiers and protesting stages were set up at the opposite side of the parliament. However, traffic conditions around the area were normal and no roads were blocked.

Policemen were monitoring the DAAD demonstration. About 50 security officers were maintaining order at the parliament.

One of the DAAD core members from Chiang Mai province, Kanyapak Maneejak, said about 600 protesters from Thailand’s northern provinces already arrived in front of the parliament and they will continue protesting to pressure the government to step aside or dissolve the parliament.

She said the protest will not resort to violence or create any obstruction.

Meanwhile, 400 DAAD protesters from Thailand’s northeastern provinces arrived at the site, and more of them are expected to gather later during the day.

Deputy Interior Minister Bunjong Wongtrairat said the number of anti-government protesters could exceed 10,000 on Monday.

Bunjong, referring to official reports, said the protesters did not carry weapons into Bangkok.

The Thai government will present its policy to Parliament on Monday and Tuesday.

Parliament President Chai Chidchob expressed on Saturday concern over a planned protest by DAAD protesters on Monday, saying the policy debate may be delayed if the situation spirals out of control.

But Chai said he has not yet considered an alternative meeting venue.

The 2009 East Asian Games (Hong Kong)Limited has set up four additional on-site box offices to boast ticket sales.

The new ticketing arrangement was launched at 4pm on Thursday when tickets for table tennis competitions of the 5th East Asian Games were sold to the public at the newly set up on-site ticket counter at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai.

A spokesperson of the East Asian Games (EAG) Company said that under previous arrangements, tickets were generally offered for advance bookings at designated outlets. but in view of public requests for getting tickets from on-site box offices after conclusion of the first day’s EAG events, the company has speedily introduced new ticketing arrangements.

At present, tickets for eight competitions including table tennis, volleyball, tennis, hockey, badminton, football, rugby sevens and weightlifting and the closing ceremony are still available. Tickets for the opening ceremony have been sold out.

The opening ceremony of the 5th East Asian Games will be held on Saturday. Some 2,300 athletes and officials from China, Hong Kong of China, Macao of China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, DPRK, Mongolia and Guam will take part in the 22-sport games which will end on December 13.

China’s domestic demand will continue to grow next year, with fixed asset investment up 25 percent from a year earlier and retail sales up 18.5 percent, the State Information Center (SIC) forecast in a report issued Tuesday.

However, domestic consumption may not grow as quickly as this year considering the inflationary expectations, the SIC stated.

China’s urban fixed-asset investment rose 32.1 percent year on year in the first 11 months to 16.86 trillion yuan (2.47 trillion U.S. dollars), while China’s retail sales rose 15.8 percent year on year to 1.13 trillion yuan in November, according to data released earlier this month by the National Bureau of Statistics.

South Korea and Japan failed to pin down the exact date to resume bilateral free trade negotiations during the latest talks, despite of mutual understanding in the need for further discussions, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting government officials.

According to the trade ministry, South Korea and Japan held working-level bilateral free trade talks here on Monday to review on resuming and spurring the negotiation process.

During the talks, the fourth round since June 2008 when the two sides resumed discussions, both sides agreed that more efforts are needed to achieve the circumstances necessary to resume South Korea-Japan FTA negotiations, the ministry said.

The two countries, however, had a dispute over the issue of whether to open Tokyo’s market to agricultural and fisheries goods, according to Yonhap.

While the South Korean side requested their counterparts to compromise on the issue, Japanese negotiators said it should be dealt when formal negotiations begin, Yonhap said, quoting its source.

Originally launched in December 2003, bilateral free trade talks were continued to November 2004 in six rounds, but later were deadlocked for over four years on disputes over whether to open agriculture and fisheries markets in Japan.

Currently, South Korea has free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore and the European Free Trade Association, as well as a similar pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Reaching a free trade deal with the European Union recently, South Korea also wrapped up its free trade talks with India, settling the so-called comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in August.

With respect to the free trade deal with the United States, signed in June 2007, both countries are waiting for legislative approval.

South Korea is also seeking similar trade deals with Australia, Canada, and Mexico.

The Hong Kong government will study in detail a proposal on providing social security recipients allowances for using the services of Chinese herbalists in private practice, Director of Social Welfare of Hong Kong Paul Tang said here Monday.
Tang hoped the administrative costs involved will not be high, adding that the application procedures should be simple.

Speaking after a visit to the St. James’ Settlement in Wan Chai,Tang said the department of Social Welfare will look into the issue with the Hospital Authority and the Health, Welfare and FoodBureau of Hong Kong.

He noted social security recipients now enjoy free medical services at public hospitals, including Chinese medicine services offered by several clinics managed by the Hospital Authority.

On the social security adjustment to be implemented on Oct. 1, Tang said he is fully aware of recipients’ concern, in particular that of the aged and disabled. The Social Welfare Department will contact them to better understand their needs and offer help when necessary.

He reiterated the social security revision only involves the standard rate and recipients may continue to apply for a wide range of allowances. Assistance will be offered to those with urgent needs.

Tang also revealed the social security scheme will be evaluated.In the review, ways to encourage the able-bodied to find jobs and improvements to arrangements on disregarded earnings will be considered.

The department is also reviewing the spending pattern of families receiving social security with the Census and Statistics Department, he added.

Five men and two women, aged between 24 and 31, who were members of a Loco London Silver fraud syndicate, were sentenced at the Hong Kong District Court Tuesday for conspiracy to defraud.
The terms of imprisonment for the five men ranged from four years to two years and two months while the two women were sentenced to imprisonment of two years to 19 months, both with suspension for three years, according to a press release of the Police Tuesday.

The court heard that between September 2000 and April 2002, thesyndicate advertised on newspapers to lure applicants for the job of office assistants in their sham companies.

Ten women and two men, aged between 31 and 56, were being recruited in different sham companies located in Tsim Sha Tsui andWan Chai. They were later enticed into investing in Loco London Silver trading, resulting in a loss of over 4 million HK dollars(512,820 US dollars).

A total of six men and two women, aged between 24 and 36, were arrested between September 2000 and July 2002 at various locationsin Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai.

After intensive investigations, officers of the Police Commercial Crime Bureau charged the eight arrested persons with conspiracy to defraud on Feb. 19, 2004. They first appeared at District Court on Oct. 13 but one of the defendants, a 36-year-oldman, had absconded.

The remaining seven defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and

Thailand’s stock market is expectedto embrace a bright prospective in 2005 with more companies’ growing need for capital, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand(SET).

Local companies will raise more than 70 billion Thai baht(about 1.75 billion US dollars) through initial public offerings(IPOs) alone next year, assuming that 90 to 100 firms will go public, SET Senior Executive Vice President Sopawadee Lertmanus-chai was quoted on Tuesday by newspaper Nation as saying.

She noted that estimate could fall far short since as many as 230 firms have expressed interest in raising cash on the primary equity market next year.

Among those, 32 have already submitted listing applications with stock regulators.

Sopawadee expected that some 140 billion baht(3.5 billion US dollars) worth of capital would have been raised by the end of this year from the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment(MAI).

The growing interest in IPOs is believed to have stemmed from current business expansion and the corporate income tax breaks that are due at the end of 2005.

“The country’s economic growth- predicted at 5 to 5.5 percent next year- is a driving force encouraging companies to raise funds to broaden their business,” said Sopawadee.

A high-speed ferry collided with a cargo vessel off southwest Tsing Yi Thursday morning, injuring 102 people, two were admitted in serious condition, according to the Hong Kong government Thursday.

Acting Director of Marine of Hong Kong government R F Tupper said in the press conference that the department has appointed an official to investigate the accident.

Generally, the report of the investigation will be finished within two months, the Marine department official said.

According to the government, the catamaran, heading for Nansha with 156 passengers and nine crew, hit the vessel about 8:00 a.m., shortly after departing the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Police, Fire Services and Marine Department launches went to the scene, and 59 men and 43 women were sent to Queen Elizabeth, Kwong Wa, Caritas Yan Chai, Princess Margaret and United Christian hospitals. Of them, two were admitted in serious condition.

Energy-hungry Beijing has officially kicked off a conservation-minded program to build a recycling-based economy, aiming at trying and using the fewest possible resources to gain a sustainable development.

The municipal government on Monday released a long-term guideline on energy conservation that runs up to 2010, which is the first of its kind in the national capital, a city where 94 percent of energy was imported from other provinces and regions.

Chai Xiaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, said the city would try to reduce its energy consumption in economic development, which is measured by the amount of standard coal consumed in yielding every 10,000 yuan(1,200 US dollars) of gross domestic product(GDP).

Last year, the city used 1.3 tons of standard coal to generate 10,000 yuan of GDP, three times that of the United States, said Chai, quoted by Tuesday’s China Daily.

The city will cut the figure down to 0.89 ton by 2010, according to the guideline.

In 2010, the water consumption to yield every 10,000 yuan of GDP will not exceed 53 cubic meters. The figure was 81 cubic meters last year.

To meet these goals, the city will not only work out relevant regulations and educate the public to save energy, but also set up special supervision institutions and subsidize the research and development of energy-saving devices and techniques, said Chai.

“Besides low energy consumption, making full use of resources is another important point to build a recycling economy,” said the official.

The city would build three recycled water plants, four garbage disposal factories and four special power plants that use rubbish as fuel this year.

Around 100 kilometers of recycled water pipeline will be laid in the urban areas and the city will use 250 million cubic meters of this moderately treated sewage water this year.

When all the eight garbage-related plants are built, more than 1.7 million tons of garbage, taking up 40 percent of the city’s total garbage produced annually, will be disposed of or burned as fuel rather than being merely buried underground. Meanwhile, 600 million kilowatt-hours of power will be generated through garbage burning annually.

The city will also carry out several recycling programs to reuse old electric appliances, automobiles, tires, plastics and paper, said Chai.

Zhang Mao, vice-mayor of Beijing, said resources shortage has become a bottleneck for the city’s economic development.

Among the city’s energy consumption, said Zhang, 100 percent ofnatural gas and petroleum, 95 percent of coal, 70 percent of power and 80 percent of gasoline are imported from other provinces and regions.

The city’s total energy consumption last year was equal to 51 million tons of standard coal, rising 11.3 percent year-on-year, which is the fastest growth since 2000.

“Transforming the economy into a recycling and sustainable one is vital for the city,” said Zhang.