THIS WEEK SOCIETY

THIS WEEK SOCIETY

RESCUE VOYAGE TO GO Rescuers attend a ceremony on October 31 to deliver the Dong Hai Jiu 101, China’s largest rescue and salvage vessel with a loaded displacement of 6,513.13 tons

Greater Police Transparency

The Ministry of Public Security has issued a new decree that will increase the public’s awareness of the job responsibilities of police offcers.

The move, which will come into effect on January 1, 2013, is meant to ensure more transparency regarding police actions, said the ministry on October 30.

The ministry has issued the new rules based on information obtained in recent years by police departments in some localities. These departments have tried new methods of law enforcement, such as Internet-based information services and case-handling activities.

Soil Pollution Control

The Chinese Government has pledged to launch a national program on soil protection as part of ongoing efforts to improve the environment.

The pledge came out of an executive meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on October 31.

A six-year government-led study found that the country’s soil has been vastly polluted by human activities in the industrial, mining and farming sectors.

Actor Awarded

Chinese actor Chen Jianbin won the Most Popular Actor award at the fourth China Image Film Festival in London on October 28 for his starring role in the film People Mountain People Sea, directed by Cai Shangjun.

The film is adapted from the true story of five brothers in southwest China’s Guizhou Province who travel across the country by motorbike to track the murderer of their youngest brother. In the film, Chen plays farmer Lao Tie. It also won the Silver Lion at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival.

Chen said that it was not difficult for him to take on his first role as a farmer because of his experience as a child living in a village with his grandparents. Playing the role of Lao Tie made him reconnect with the essence of being a farmer, he said.

The China Image Film Festival was established in 2009 with the purpose of introducing more Chinese films to Britain and is the country’s only Chinese-language film festival.

The State Council decided to strictly protect the soil of cultivated land, bring pollutants under control, strictly monitor and control risks threatening the soil environment, and carry out programs to control and rehabilitate polluted soil.

Food Inspections

Chinese authorities uncovered 169 batches of substandard imported food in September, according to fgures released by China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on October 30.

The substandard food, which came from 31 countries and regions, covered 14 categories, mainly dairy products, pastries, biscuits and beverages, said the administration’s spokesman Li Yuanping.

The administration also uncovered seven batches of substandard cosmetic products imported from three countries or regions, which carried wrong labels, contained unqualified additives, or did not match their certifcates.

These products were either sent back or destroyed and did not enter the Chinese market, Li said.

Safe Water

A FEAST FOR THE EYES AND TONGUE An eagle carved from pumpkin is displayed at the 2012 China Jiangsu International Food and Catering Fair in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, on October 27

About 298 million more rural residents in China will hopefully have access to safe drinking water by 2015, said a water resources offcial on October 29.

Resolving water safety problem for these rural residents and 114,000 schools in the countryside is listed as one of the govern-ment’s priority projects, said Yan Guanyu, Deputy Director of the China Irrigation and Drainage Development Center under the Ministry of Water Resources.

China will invest 175 billion yuan ($28 billion) by 2015 to ensure supplies of safe drinking water in rural areas, according to a report in June by Vice Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying.

Over the past decade, China has spent 178.6 billion yuan ($29 billion) on projects to improve water quality across the countryside, benefting 326 million rural residents, according to data from the ministry.

Smart Nursing Homes

China plans to build 100 hi-tech nursing homes for its ageing population within 10 years, the China National Committee on Ageing revealed on October 31.

The hi-tech system will feature modern communication and computer technologies. It will provide various services for the elderly, including medical care, education and entertainment facilities, said Zhu Yong, deputy head of the committee.

The system can also offer customized rehabilitation and mental care, Zhu said.

Construction of the frst facility began on October 29 in Beijing, and will cover an area of 86,115 square meters.

China had about 185 million people above the age of 60 at of the end of last year. The fgure is expected to surge to 221 million in 2015.

Electricity Across Tibet

A solar power project is expected to bring electricity to villages in remote regions in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, marking one of the fnal steps in the government’s efforts to provide electricity to all rural Tibetans, a government offcial said on October 29.

Liu Qinghong, an official with the Tibet Regional Development and Reform Commission, said solar panels will be installed in 1,630 villages in Tibet by year’s end, bringing power for the first time to schools, monasteries, public venues and homes in remote areas.

The Golden Sun solar project, estimated to cost 1 billion yuan ($160 million), started in 2008. The government has pushed for full power coverage in Tibet by extending major grids, building small hydropower stations and installing solar panels in remote areas.

Human Genetic Research

China on October 31 began soliciting public opinion on a draft regulation over materials related to genetic research that highlights improved protection.

The 50-article draft was designed to replace the existing interim measures on human genetic research, which was introduced in 1998, according to a statement posted on the Central Government’s website on October 31.

The draft proposes the all organizations involved in the collection and storage of human genetic resources be licensed.

Such organizations must set up internal ethics supervisory boards and submit annual work reports to provincial science and technology authorities, according to the draft.

As defined in the draft, “human genetic resources” refer to genetic materials such as human organs, tissues, cells, DNA and DNA products, which contain the human genome, genes or gene products, as well as information extracted from such genetic materials.

The draft is open to feedback until November 29.

Massive Telescope

Scientists unveiled a new radio telescope in Shanghai on October 28.

The telescope, located on Sheshan Mountain, will be used to track and collect data from satellites and space probes.

The newly-built radio telescope can pick up eight different frequency bands and also track deep space probes, said Hong Xiaoyu, head of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.

The telescope will be used for the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy, to collect data and increase its angular resolution during astronomical observation.

China’s VLBI system is made up of four telescopes found in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Kunming and Urumqi, and includes a data center in Shanghai.

FILM AWARD Han Sanping, Board Chairman of the China Film Group, receives an award honoring his achievements in flm at the opening of the Eighth Sino-U.S. Film Festival in Los Angeles on October 26

STORMY WEATHER Strong winds hit Sanya, Hainan Province, on October 27, bringing rainstorms and gale-force winds to China’s southern coastal areas

A NEW BRIDGE The foor paving of the Yangtze River Bridge in Huanggang, central China’s Hubei Province, is completed on October 31, which is expected to open at the end of 2013

Easing liquidity

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, conducted a massive repo injection through open market operations on October 30.

It injected a record high 395 billion yuan ($62.7 billion) into the financial system via reverse repos in order to ease a cash squeeze at the end of the month.

The central bank conducted seven-day reverse repos worth 290 billion yuan ($46.49 billion) and offered 105 billion yuan ($16.83 billion) in 14-day contracts. Bid interest rates remain stable at 3.35 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, said the bank.

Shi Lei, an analyst with Ping’an Securities, said the central bank’s massive repo injection demonstrates its intention to stabilize market rates and bring them down to its target range.

The central bank conducted reverse repos when easing money supplies to prevent a rebound in housing and commodity prices.

“Open market operations will become the central bank’s most important policy tool in managing liquidity,” said Guo Tianyong, a banking researcher at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

Manufacturing Rejuvenates

China’s manufacturing activity got a boost in October, offcial data showed on November 1.

The purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a key gauge of manufacturing activity, rose to 50.2 percent in October from 49.8 percent in September, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A level above 50 percent indicates expansion.

“I think the October PMI will help support our expectations for better economic performance in the fourth quarter than in the third,”said Wang Jin, a macroeconomic analyst at Shanghai-based Guotai Junan Securities.

“Signs of stabilizing external demand, faster infrastructure investment and a thawing property market all bolstered a recovery in factory activity,” he added.

Profits Decline

Net profits of Chinese listed companies dropped 2 percent year on year in the first three quarters, according to Wind Information Co. Ltd. (Wind Info), an integrated information service provider.

In the first nine months of the year, the country’s 2,471 listed companies posted a total net profit of 1.49 trillion yuan ($238.8 billion).

Numbers

100

The number of outlets Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to open in China over the next three years, which will create roughly 18,000 jobs, according to the U.S.-based retail giant on October 30.

4.94 trillion kwh

The estimated electricity consumption in China in 2012, up 5 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Electricity Council on October 30.

The 2,455 non-bank listed companies registered a net proft of 681.44 billion yuan ($109.23billion), down 18 percent year on year.

In sharp contrast, 16 listed banks posted a total net proft of 812.77 billion yuan ($130.29 billion), up 17 percent year on year and accounted for 55.4 percent of the total profts of the 2,471 listed companies.

The iron, steel, cement, coal and chemical industries suffered the most due to sluggish demand.

Credit Ratings

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. Ltd., China’s leading rating agency, on October 30 maintained both the local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings for Russia as A.

It also rated the local and foreign currency sovereign credit of Iceland as BB and BB-.

Despite recent fluctuations, the export price of oil will remain high and help Russia stabilize its economic growth and achieve fscal balance. It will also guarantee its current solvency, Dagong said.

Given mounting global economic uncertainty, Russia’s fiscal strength is not strong enough, and its ability to withstand the risks of fuctuations in global oil prices looks relatively weak, thus preventing the country from acquiring a better rating, Dagong said.

As for heavily indebted Iceland, Dagong said that although the economy is recovering, the country’s debt repayment ability still faces challenges. There were enormous risks in the banking sector and high levels of liability in the private sector.

Shares Unlocked

Chinese shares will be unlocked for trade in the country’s equity markets in November.

According to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, more than 190 billion yuan ($30.16 billion) worth of shares in 74 listed companies will be tradable on the markets in November.

This marks the second largest amount of shares released for trading in a month this year.

The expiration of lock-up periods of initial and additional offerings will free 185.29 billion yuan ($29.7 billion) of shares. The country’s reform of non-tradable shares will contribute to 4.77 billion yuan ($764.6 million) worth of newly tradable shares, according to data from the brokerage frm Southwest Securities.

The market value of the newly tradable shares surged nearly 82 percent from October, according to Southwest Securities.

Of the 74 companies, the newly tradable shares in Jiangsu-based liquid maker Yanghe Inc. reached 45.08 billion yuan ($7.23 billion) in market value, according to its closing price on October 29.

MONEY-MAKING PLANTATION Farmers look after fowers at the Jiacun Village of Wangdu County, Hebei Province. The village has been actively developing its plantation sector, bringing in some 150 million yuan ($23.8 million) in annual income

Champion Coach

World famous Italian football coach, 64-year-old Marcello Lippi, won his first championship title in China when his Guangzhou Evergrande team defeated Liaoning, winning the second consecutive Chinese Super League championship this season.

Lippi, nicknamed the “Silver Fox,” is one of the most successful football coaches in the world. He won the championship title in the Serie A league in Italy for five consecutive seasons from 1995 to 2003. In 2006, Lippi won the World Cup championship as the head coach of the Italian football team.

On May 17, Lippi was officially appointed as head coach of Guangzhou Evergrande, beginning his new career in China. Lippi is the first world-class football coach to lead a Chinese football league and hopes are high that he can boost China's frail football scene.

57.5 million tons

The estimated number of China’s soybean imports in 2012, a record high and up 9.3 percent year on year, said the Ministry of Agriculture.

13.4 times

The average price Chinese are willing to pay for an apartment is 13.4 times their annual family income, said a survey by house.ifeng.com, Horizon Research Consultancy Group and World Union Property Ltd. on October 29.