China morning round-up: Railway denies bail-out call

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Two CRH380 high speed trains are seen at the Hongqiao High-Speed Railway Centre in Shanghai, China, 16 June 2011
Image caption,
Reports suggest China's railway debt totals 1tn yuan

China's Railway Ministry - which is heavily in debt - has yet again came under spotlight of Chinese media.

The ministry has denied previous reports that it is seeking help from the central government to facilitate some 800bn yuan of its 1tn yuan debt ($157.4bn; £98bn).

However, a report from China Securities Journal suggests that yearly spending on rail construction in the current five-year plan could shrink to 500bn yuan between now and 2015.

That report, citing an unnamed source, says the ministry is adjusting its current network development plan as instructed by the cabinet, but there is yet to be any conclusion.

Premier Wen Jiabao's activities in St Petersburg are still the major feature in the national newspapers.

His participation in the prime ministers' meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) draws comment from the China Daily and his talk with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also features in other state-run papers.

Coverage on the latest detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain by Japan has attracted relatively low attention.

Citing an international affairs pundit, the Chinese edition of Global Times described this latest arrest as "understandable" as it took place in Japanese water, but the scholar appeals for a solution based on humanitarian grounds.

News of a "fake gold" scandal has made eye-catching headlines in some local papers, as a few former Chinese Olympic gold medallists found out that a "golden can trophy" that they received back in 1992 is made with no gold.

Among the 17 recipients are former female judo champion Zhuang Xiaoyan, who says she's been recently been told that the can is made of aluminium that is worth only 50 yuan while 19 years ago it was said to worth 40,000 yuan ($6,303; £3,926).

Jianlibao - a sports drink producer in southern Guangdong province who gave out these trophies after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics - told Xinhua news agency that they have reported the incident to the police.

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