China: What kind of dragon?, Page 21

Record Chinese Apply to US Graduate School | China: What kind of dragon? | Scoop.it

From www.chinadaily.com.cn - April 12, 2012 1:32 PM

"Postgraduate schools in the United States have seen a record-breaking number of Chinese applicants over the past year, a new survey showed.

The Council of Graduate Schools, a US organization dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research, recently published a new survey that said Chinese applicants increased by 18 percent for the 2012 fall semester, marking the seventh successive year of double-digit growth in applications from China.

Applications from India increased by 2 percent, following an 8 percent increase in 2011. South Korea’s 2 percent gain last year was followed by a decrease of 1 percent this year.

'The overall growth in applications is encouraging, but there are interesting variations between individual countries and regions,' said Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, in a written statement.

'We need to ensure that US graduate education attracts students from around the globe by increasing outreach efforts and pursuing policies that would allow those graduates who want to remain in the United States and contribute to our economy to do so,' she added."

China, Philippines Both Send Ships as Dispute Simmers | China: What kind of dragon? | Scoop.it

From www.reuters.com - April 12, 2012 9:51 AM

"China and the Philippines deployed on Thursday ships to a disputed area of the South China Sea as a standoff simmered despite efforts by both sides to resolve the disagreement diplomatically.

China has territorial disputes with several countries in the region, including the Philippines, over areas of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas and is crossed by important shipping lanes.

China has sought to resolve the disputes on a one-on-one basis but there is concern among its neighbors over what some see as its growing assertiveness in staking its claims over the sea and various islands, reefs and shoals.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said a third Chinese vessel had arrived at the Scarborough Shoal, a small group of rocky outcrops.

"Some time today, this morning," Del Rosario told reporters when asked when the Chinese ship had arrived.

"It's a bureau of fisheries Chinese civilian ship," he said.

Both sides traded diplomatic protests on Wednesday over the dispute in an area straddling shipping lanes between East Asia and Europe and the Middle East, with China alleging harassment by the Philippine navy of its fishermen and Manila complaining of illegal fishing."

Record Chinese Apply to US Graduate School

China, Philippines Both Send Ships as Dispute Simmers