Leaders Visit Fukushima in Solidarity

Premier Wen Jiabao of China and President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea arrived in Japan on Saturday for a two-day meeting that was expected to focus on resolving differences over Japan’s handling of the nuclear crisis.

China and South Korea have criticized Japan for spilling radiation into the air and sea, and have banned imports of farm products from areas near the plant, citing what they call inadequate checks for radiation. Japan says the restrictions are unjustified.

Before the meeting began in Tokyo on Saturday night, the Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, took the leaders to visit a refugee shelter in Fukushima, 40 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Before entering the shelter, a converted gymnasium, Mr. Kan steered the group to a table displaying strawberries, cucumbers and other produce grown in Fukushima Prefecture.

The leaders, who did not appear to have been surprised by the photo op, smiled and nibbled gamely.

“Very delicious,” Mr. Wen said.

He said later that China was ready to ease import restrictions on Japanese farm goods if they were safe, but did not offer specific steps.

Japan bans the sale of some produce from areas affected by the nuclear accident, but produce from many parts of Fukushima Prefecture has been deemed safe by a government testing program.

Before meeting Mr. Kan, the two visiting leaders also paid separate visits to the city of Natori, which was devastated by the tsunami.

“The warm feelings of the two leaders came through in their visits to disaster areas and an evacuation center,” Mr. Kan told reporters. “I’m glad they came.”

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China Allows Dissident Artist’s Wife to Visit Him

The attorney and family friend, Liu Xiaoyuan, said he had met on Monday with Lu Qing and that she said her husband appeared to be in good physical condition. Mr. Ai also asked about the health of his mother and family, he said, but the circumstance of the supervised visit offered no chance to discuss how his captors were treating him or other details of his confinement.

News service reports stated that Mr. Ai, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was receiving needed medications.

Ms. Lu said that Mr. Ai was not being held in a hospital or a jail but did not further describe his living conditions. “It appears he’s not in handcuffs, he was not wearing prison clothes and he was allowed to move freely within where he is living now,” Mr. Liu said. “So I guess it’s a form of house arrest, under supervision.”

Chinese authorities have yet to bring any charges against Mr. Ai, 53, who was seized at Beijing’s main airport on April 3 as he prepared to board a plane to Hong Kong. The government has since said that he was suspected of committing economic crimes, and tax investigators have searched his office records, Mr. Liu said.

A number of foreign governments, human rights organizations and art groups have denounced Mr. Ai’s detention, saying it was clearly linked to his sharp criticism of China’s government on a number of fronts. An internationally recognized artist and architect, Mr. Ai has used his art and leveraged his fame to criticize socials and political conditions in China, from restraints on freedom of expression to official corruption.

Mr. Ai’s mother said on Monday that she was relieved to learn that her son appears to be in good health but she said the family remains in the dark about why authorities are holding the activist.

“It is a huge relief to know that he was not tortured,” Gao Ying, 78, said in a telephone interview. She said Ms. Lu told her that “Weiwei seemed healthy and calm” and that “they seem to be treating him a civilized way.”

Ms. Lu was not allowed to ask her husband about his case during the visit, which lasted less than half an hour, Ms. Gao said.

Mr. Liu, the lawyer, said that Ms. Lu was taken by police to a location she did not recognize and talked with Mr. Ai across a table while police officials looked on.

Mr. Ai has emerged in recent years as a scathing critic of abuse of power by the Chinese government. He is the most prominent individual to be picked up by authorities in the biggest crackdown on dissent in years, apparently prompted by concerns that the revolts that have swept the Arab world would spill over into China.

Mr. Ai has not been charged with a crime, and his lawyer said police have not informed him or the family of the status of their investigation. Scores of others have been detained or put under house arrest since late February, many of them cut off from outside communication.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 16, 2011

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misspelled Lu Qing's name as?Lu Quing.

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Tight Race for Congress Prompts Visit by Boehner

 

John A. Boehner, the House speaker, plans to visit upstate New York on Monday to support the struggling campaign of a Republican candidate who is running for a vacant seat in Congress.

Mr. Boehner’s appearance underscores the national stake in the race, and reflects the changing fortunes of the candidate, Jane L. Corwin, a popular state lawmaker who experts in both parties had once thought would win handily in the 26th Congressional District, which is heavily Republican.

In recent weeks, Ms. Corwin has watched her advantage in the race all but disappear as her Democratic rival, Kathy Hochul, seized upon public uneasiness over the House Republicans’ plan to overhaul Medicare, the federal health insurance program for retirees.

Ms. Hochul, the Erie County clerk, has repeatedly attacked the plan, introduced last month, as a threat to the elderly and has called on Ms. Corwin to reject it. Ms. Corwin has remained steadfast in her support of the Medicare plan.

Ms. Corwin’s position has placated conservatives, who stand to play an important role in the election, as both campaigns rely on their political bases to generate turnout in a special election that may not register with the larger electorate.

The personal interest shown in the race by Mr. Boehner — who will host a fund-raiser for Ms. Corwin and also make a public appearance with her — reflects the growing concern among Republicans about a race that they had not expected to be so competitive.

The visit also comes as national Democrats, who had all but written off the race a few weeks ago, now view an opportunity to turn it into a referendum on the House Republican agenda in advance of the battle for control of the House in the election next year.

With the Medicare debate clearly providing Ms. Hochul momentum, her campaign has signaled it has no intention to drop it. While Mr. Boehner meets with Ms. Corwin at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens restaurant in Depew, Ms. Hochul plans to hold a news conference nearby with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The district includes the northeastern suburbs of Buffalo and the western suburbs of Rochester, as well as Albion, Batavia, Lockport and North Tonawanda. It has about 30,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats and is considered one of the state’s more conservative regions.

The election, on May 24, is to fill the seat of Christopher Lee, a Republican who resigned in February after he e-mailed a woman a shirtless photo of himself that appeared on the Web.

 

Royal couple on pre-wedding visit

 11 April 2011 Last updated at 08:06 ET Miss Middleton sheltered from the rain under a large umbrella Prince William and Kate Middleton have travelled to Lancashire for their final public engagement before their wedding.

They are visiting the Darwen Aldridge Community Academy, where Prince William will formally open the new school.

The couple received a warm welcome from hundreds of well-wishers gathered outside the school, despite heavy rain.

Prince William and Miss Middleton are then due to travel to Witton Country Park, in Blackburn, where crowds of up to 15,000 people are expected.

The royal couple were cheered as they arrived at the community academy. The prince led the way, waving to the well-wishers as he headed to the officials.

Miss Middleton, who was wearing a navy blue jacket and skirt, was a few paces behind him sheltering from the rain under a black umbrella.

The royal couple met staff and young people before the launch of the SkillForce Prince's Award.

The prince is patron of the education charity. From summer 2012, it will present the new honour to teenagers who show significant character or make a major contribution to the community.

'Looking smart'

Brendan Loughran, principal of the academy, said: "We want all our students to aim high - Prince William and Catherine's visit will inspire them to aim even higher.

"We will give them a really exciting day in Darwen, showing them how entrepreneurial thinking is securing real improvements."

The academy, jointly funded by the Aldridge Foundation and the Department for Education, opened in September 2008.

It moved into new buildings in the centre of Darwen in September 2010.

Hundreds of well-wishers turned out despite the rain

Pupil Jessica Dootson said: "Everyone's really excited about the royal visit.

"There's loads of people coming round today.

"Everyone is looking smart today - not like usual."

Moving to Witton Park, the couple will meet local civic dignitaries, view sports activities on the athletics field and see youngsters taking part in a football skills session.

The prince is to sign a deed to protect Witton Country Park as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge.

The scheme is designed to protect permanently 2,012 outdoor recreational spaces around the UK in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, next year.

Prince William and Miss Middleton are due to marry at Westminster Abbey on 29 April.

Since announcing their engagement last year, the pair have met well-wishers in Anglesey in North Wales, visited their former university - St Andrews in Fife, Scotland - and flown to Belfast.