SOCIeTY

Temporary Home

Landslide-affected villagers in Gaopo Village in Zhenxiong County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, wash dishes as they receive relief in a temporary tent settlement on January 14.

The landslide, which killed 46, hit Gaopo on January 11.

More than 500 villagers have been moved to makeshift tents near the village.Others have gone to stay with relatives and friends in other villages.

Plans to relocate and rebuild a village for 629 residents went into effect on January 12, just after rescue operations completed. Relocation will be completed within half a year.

The government has allocated 55 million yuan ($8.06 million)for disaster relief.

Family Planning

A senior of fi cial has said that China’s family planning policy should be unswervingly adhered to.

The policy should be longterm and its primary goal is to maintain a low birthrate, said Wang Xia, Minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, at a national conference on January 14.

The authorities will expand prepregnancy check services to reach all county-level areas across the country and ensure migrants’ equal access to related public services this year, according to Wang.

At present, such services are available in about 60 percent of county-level areas in the country,covering more than 80 percent of the target population.

Wang also pledged that efforts should be made to rectify the imbalance in gender ratio.

HARSH COMPETITIONJob seekers inquire recruiters for information at a job fair in Shenyang, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, on January 12. A total of 168 companies provided some 3,000 job vacancies at the job fair

GHG Bulletin

Greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions in China in 2011 increased to their highest level since networked stations began collecting data in 1990, according to China’s fi rst Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

Released by the China Meteorological Administration(CMA)on January 14, the bulletin showed carbon dioxide levels measured at 392.2 parts per million at Waliguan Station in sparsely populated Qinghai Province in northwest China, the highest since the station began operating in 1990.

The fi gures, revealed in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province, were also slightly higher than the global averages in all GHG components including atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides.

Power From The People

Xu Pengfei (left), China’s fi rst individual user of grid-connected photovoltaic(PV)power, introduces PV solar panels to his friend atop his fl at in Qingdao,east China’s Shandong Province, on January 13, 2013.

As Xu’s “personal power plant,”the eight pieces of PV solar batteries have a total installed capacity of 2 kw,with a grid-connected voltage of 220 v.

It not only provides electricity for Xu’s family, but also sells surplus electricity to the state grid, the fi rst unit to successfully do so in China.

The bulletin was based on data collected by seven atmospheric background stations established and operated by the CMA. Four of the stations have been listed in the World Meteorological Organization’s Global Atmosphere Watch Program directory.

The bulletin showed that the annual average GHG emissions observed by three regional stations set up in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Beijing and eastern Zhejiang Province were all higher than fi gures collected at the Waliguan Station.

Gun Crimes

Chinese police uncovered about 670 sites involved in the illegal production and distribution of guns last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Statistics released by the ministry on January 15 show that police authorities across the country investigated around 14,000 cases involving a range of illegalities in 2012,including the production, trade and possession of guns and explosives.

LI ZIHENG

More than 20,000 people were apprehended for suspected involvement in weapon violations and some 360 criminal organizations were busted, the ministry said.

Cross-Straits Cable

A submarine communication cable directly linking the two sides of the Taiwan Straits opened on January 18.

The cable makes it much easier for people on the two sides of the straits to communicate and is another important achievement in developing the “three direct links”of cross-straits mail, trade, and air and shipping services, said Yang Yi,a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Of fi ce.

With a length of 270 km, the cable connects the city of Fuzhou in Fujian Province on the mainland and Taiwan’s Tamsui.

According to Yang, several telecommunications operators on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have jointly invested in the project, which incorporates the most advanced transmission technologies.

Tip-off Rewards

China’s food and drug watchdog announced on January 15 that it will reward people and organizations for reporting violations to authorities.

Whistleblowers could receive up to 300,000 yuan ($48,256)per case, according to a circular publicized by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

NO PANTS IN SUBWAYA “No Pants” tornado sweeps Shanghai subway on January 13. “No Pants Day” originated in New York City

The move aims to “encourage the public to report illegal activities so as to determine, control and eliminate potential safety risks concerning food and medicine,” the SFDA said in the circular.

Depending on the accuracy of information provided and intensity of a whistleblower’s engagement in the investigation, the organization or individual behind a tip-off could receive 1 to 6 percent of the value of the food or medicine involved as a reward, according to the circular.

The new reward rule will replace the one released on November 27,2003, which only set down conditions for rewarding those who report illegalities concerning medicine and fi xed the award ceiling at 50,000 yuan ($8,043).

Mapping Diaoyu

China is to survey the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea as part of a program of mapping its territorial islands and reefs, it was revealed on January 15.

The fi rst stage of the island surveying and mapping was launched in 2009 and has fi nished the monitoring of islands located within 100 km of the coastline, according to a statement released by the National Administration of Surveying,Mapping and Geoinformation.

The second stage will cover islands including the Diaoyu Islands,the statement said.

It added that this program is part of the country’s efforts to safeguard its maritime rights and interests.

As of the end of last year, China has completed charting about 6,400 islands and more than 4,900 island maps of three different scales.

Standardizing TCM

China will accelerate the establishment and revision of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)standards in order to promote the tradition overseas, a health of fi cial said on January 10.

Wang Guoqiang, Vice Minister of Health and Director of the State Administration of TCM, said at a national TCM work conference that the standardization of TCM will enhance its development and guarantee its quality.

Wang said that the Chinese Medical Association has established 195 standards regarding TCM thus far.

Of fi cial statistics indicate that the Central Government spent 3.34 billion yuan ($537 million)to support TCM development in 2012.

TCM originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. Practitioners use herbs, acupuncture, massage and other methods to treat a wide range of illnesses.

Art Bridge

The Second Seminar on China-U.S.Cooperation on Performing Arts kicked off in New York on January 11.

Zhu Kening, Executive Vice Chairman of the Association of China Performing Industry, said at the forum that China has become one of the biggest performance stages in the world with 2 million to 3 million performances each year,including thousands by foreign troupes.

The association is open for more troupes from the United States.