Agriculturist's Pledge

(XINHUA)

Yuan Longping, known as the "father of hybrid rice," has outlined a goal of raising the crop's yield to 15 tons a hectare in 10 years when celebrating his 80th birthday on September 7.

As the world's population is growing and about 10 million hectares of farmland are reduced each year, the human race could face food shortages, said Yuan. He said hybrid rice developed in China is still the most cost-effective and efficient way to raise the yield of rice.

Hybrid rice is produced by crossbreeding different kinds of rice. Yuan developed the first Chinese hybrid rice varieties in 1974. The second-generation super hybrid, which was released commercially in 2006, yields 9 tons of rice a hectare on average.

Yuan's hybrid rice has been exported to many other developing countries and has become a successful crop in Thailand and Viet Nam.

If half of the paddy fields around the world were planted with hybrid rice varieties, Yuan said, global rice yield could be increased by 150 million tons—and that could feed another 400 million people every year.

Yuan's achievements have won him many honors, including the State Science and Technology Award of China in 2000, and the Wolf Prize in agriculture and the World Food Prize in 2004.

Ex-Spokesman's New Role

(XIE HUANCHI)

Qin Gang, a former spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has taken over as minister or deputy chief of mission at China's Embassy in the UK.

This is Qin's third stint in London, after working there as third and second secretary at the Chinese Embassy in 1995-99 and counselor in 2002-05.

When introducing Qin on his London debut on September 13, Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming described the 44-year-old diplomat as an expert on UK affairs and said he wanted him to make a greater contribution to China-UK relations because of his knowledge, insight and experience with Britain and its people.

Former Football Head's Case

(CNS)

Xie Yalong, former chief of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), is being investigated on suspicion of bribery and match fixing, said the police on September 12. Sources with the Ministry of Public Security said police and prosecutors had obtained clues after receiving tip-offs with the help of the General Administration of Sport.

Xie is the third former senior CFA official thought to be involved in a football corruption scandal. Former CFA vice presidents Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were arrested earlier this year on related charges.

Xie, 55, was appointed vice president of the CFA and chief of the Chinese Soccer Administrative Center in 2005. During his tenure, Chinese men's and women's football teams suffered a string of defeats in international competitions, including the FIFA World Cup tournament, the Asian Cup and Olympic Games. He stepped down in 2009 and later became board chairman of the China Sports Industry Group, the only listed company of the General Administration of Sport.

Two subordinates of Xie at CFA—Wei Shaohui, former manager of men's national team, and Li Dongsheng, former chairman of the CFA's Referee Commission—are also being investigated.