This is the first time I’ve written an entry about American president election. Usually, I write entries about life.

This afternoon (China Standard Time), Barack Obama was elected to the Oval Office as the first African-American. He succeeded. He made a history. It’s the first time in American history that a black man elected to be the president. As his successful election, discussion about racialism will be reported more and more. Form now on, how will people judge of racial discrimination in US? Has racial discrimination in US disappeared? And will his being president be helpful to relax American racial problems?

I don’t know much about Obama himself. I don’t know much about President-election this time. I don’t know whether his election good to China, either. But I really think that it’s worth celebrating for Obama’s election. At least, a black man being chosen as president represents certain progress, to some extent. Just like Bush said, “All Americans can be proud”.

There’re many questions the world wait for the answers. And now that a black man can be president, some people began to talk about the time of the first Chinese-American president. I don’t know whether it will come true. I just know one can never be successful if he just thinks about being an official. We all know that it’s not democracy. It also disobeys essence of American politics.

“It’s history”, CNN used this as the title while broadcasting Obama’s fans celebrating the victory.

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Sen. Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, after winning the race for the White House Tuesday night (local time). The following is an exact transcript of his speech.

Obama:

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.

Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 22069 nationwide as of 2:00 p.m. Friday, while 168669 people were injured.

Altogether 21577 people were killed in Sichuan, close to 2000 up from Thursday, and 159006 were injured.

In Sichuan's neighboring regions, 364 were killed in Gansu, 109 in Shaanxi, 15 in Chongqing, 2 in Henan, one in Yunnan, and one in Hubei.

The earthquake destroyed or heavily damaged 436000 properties leading to 4.8 million homeless, according to official figures.

And the TV news said there were estimated to be totally more than 50000 deaths.

The rescue work is still keeping on. The death toll is still rising. We have no idea that how many people could survive.

"Saving lives is still our top priority, as long as hope of survival still exists," Premier Wen Jiabao said. He have tried everything he could to help his country and people. He has done his best.

Rescuers are still trying their best to find and save people. But hope is now running out of many trapped under tons of debris.

The earthquake and some other factors caused these deaths, even if many of them were kids. Let's pray for those who died from this disaster. And hope the injured people would get recovered soon.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. Monday. A previous figure of 7.6 was revised by the State Seismological Bureau.

The epicenter of the quake was located 31.0 degrees north latitude and 103.4 degrees east longitude, the bureau said.

With a population of 111800, Wenchuan lies in the southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, 146 km to the northwest of Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan Province.

The ground shook in Beijing, which is 1528 km from the epicenter. An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale jolted Tongzhou District, Beijing at 2:35 p.m. Monday. Earthquake was felt in Beijing. And according to the reports, it was also felt in many other provinces of China.

In many cities, people rushed out of homes and offices and took to the streets.

Still no advanced news on deaths and injures. Pray for people who live in the epicenter.

A geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey said, "it was a very dangerous earthquake".

Premier Wen Jiabao has been on his way to the area to direct the rescue work.

Hope everything will be fine soon.

Two passenger trains collided in eastern China's Shandong province Monday morning, killing at least 70 and injuring 420, the Xinhua said.

CCTV, China's state television station, said four French citizens were among the injured.

One train on its way from Beijing to Qingdao, a city in eastern China, derailed and crashed into a train which was traveling from the Shandong city of Yantai to Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu Province, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The wreck happened in the city of Zibo in Shandong Province at 4:43 a.m., the report said. Xinhua said the collision was the deadliest train accident in the country since 1997.

"It [the train] toppled 90 degrees to one side and then all the way to the other side," a passenger named Zhang was quoted in Xinhua. "When it finally went off the tracks, many people fell on me and hot water poured out of their thermos flasks."

Xinhua said investigators had ruled out terrorism as a cause of the crash. Its English report said it was human error, while its Chinese-language report attributed the crash to negligence. Human error was to blame for China's worst train accident in more than a decade, China's official news agency reported.

Additionally, one of the trains was traveling over its speed limit, Chinese authorities were quoted as saying in the official Xinhua News Agency.

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I didn't mean to put up this news here. After all, it's not good news. It's a piece of totally sad news.

Actually, I read this accident firstly from BBC. This afternoon, I was watching TV programs of BBC World channel. Suddenly, a piece of news titled China Train Crash came into my eyes. I couldn't believe my eyes at that moment. But when I watched the screen seriously, I found it's a fact. It really happened!

"Unbelievable! How could it happen?" I asked myself.

Luckily, and to my surprise, China's official media reported this accident in time. They didn't "conceal" those deaths and injures.

Someone or some one must be responsible for the accident. They may lose their positions. Or some may even be sent into jail. But who could really be responsible to people who were dead from the crash? Who could save their lives?

They lost their lives just because of this crash. Their families lost them just because of this crash.

What exactly resulted in this crash? Are human error and overspeed enough?

P.S. Trains are the most popular way to travel in China. The nation's rail network carried 1.36 billion passengers last year, according to The Associated Press. While accidents are rare, the government is trying to extend and upgrade the state-run rail network and introduce more high-speed trains.

Update -- The railway reopened to traffic at 2:16 a.m. Tuesday morning after more than 20 hours of interruption caused by the crash.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled the moon image captured by China's lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 during an unveiling ceremony at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, Nov. 26, 2007. China published the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Monday morning, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe project.

At the beginning of this month, I wrote an entry to comment on this lunar exploration program. Click here to read that entry -- Advantages & Disadvantages. I believe that advantages and disadvantages will take on as time passes by.

Let's wait for more surprises that Chang'e-1 will bring to the world.

The full text of Hu Jintao's report at 17th Party Congress has been published by Xinhua News Agency. According to this text, I created a pdf file. So this file is for reference only.

All the details please refer to the authoritative version.

Click here to download Hu Jintao's Report at 17th Party Congress.

The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m., Oct.24 from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.

The above photo shows a rendering picture of China's lunar orbiter Chang'e I.