Jumping for Jordan

Chinese acrobats perform in an open-air theater in Jerash, an ancient city of Jordan, on July 10.

At the invitation of the Organizing Committee of the 27th Jerash Festival, a 30-member team from Chinas Hebei Acrobatic Troupe visited the city and presented a stunning performance for a local audience.

“I believe that we can realize the target of 1,000 kg yield per mu(1 hectare = 15 mu). Scientifically speaking, Chinas hybrid rice has the potential.”

Yuan Longping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering known as the “father of hybrid rice,” expressing his confidence in the development of hybrid rice during an interview with Xinhua News Agency on July 5“Chinas huge market can be both a blessing and a curse for local information technology firms. Its a blessing in that its usually difficult for foreign firms to navigate and compete, and it is a curse in thesense that its size makes it difficult for a firm to enter the overseasmarket once it has successfully optimized for the Chinese market. Lee Kai-Fu, Founder of Innovation Works and former President of Google China, at the Future China Global Forum in Singapore on July 9“Films cant always be about entertainment. During the past decade, Chinese films have been too focused on solely entertaining. It is unhelpful to children.”

Feng Xiaoning, a renowned film director, during an interview with Qilu Evening News on July 6“Although oil is an important part of our economy, it is not the Achillesheel of the Iranian economy and it never will be. Irans GDP totaled $930 billion in 2011. A total economic boycott of a country with that kindof economic volume is practicallyimpossible.”

Hassan Tajik, newly appointed Iranian ambassador to Austria, asserting that the West would be unable to back Iran into a corner with its sanctions in an interview with the Austrian Press Agency in Vienna on July 11

Quake Warning System

Chengdu in Sichuan Province has started constructing the countrys first urban earthquake early warning system, local authorities announced on July 11.

The system is expected to provide the public with timely information so they can avoid danger before destructive seismic waves arrive, said Wang Dun, Director of the Institute of Care-Life, a Chengdu-based organization that studies earthquakes.

There is no exact timetable for the completion of the system. It will go into operation after all related rules, technology and conditions have matured.

Early warnings will be publicized through a variety of channels, including local television stations, mobile phone messages and the Internet. The information will also be provided to subway and high-speed railway authorities so that they can halt services in response to possible danger.

Fifty-seven early warning stations are scheduled to be completed within this year. Most of the facilities will be located on fault zones. The warning system will use radio waves to detect comparatively slower seismic waves before they reach urban areas.

Disability Access

The Central Government issued a new regulation on July 10 to improve accessibility for physically challenged people.

Parking lots, commercial centers, living quarters, transportation facilities and other public infrastructure facilities must be accessible to physically challenged people, according to a regulation posted on the Central Governments website.

The regulation, which goes into effect on August 1, encourages public venues to offer free services for the less-abled.

Official statistics show that China has 85 million people with some form of disability. Last year, the government issued a five-year blueprint for improving their lives.

Reducing Recidivism

Judicial authorities are planning to introduce personalized correctional services and evidence-based practices for offenders in an effort to help them return to society.

According to the Ministry of Justice, these practices will complement other methods of corrections and help offenders readjust to society after being released.

The ministrys statistics show that community corrections services have been provided to inmates in more than 98 percent of cities, with a total of 1.02 million inmates receiving community corrections.

Community corrections refers to a range of alternatives to incarceration and services for non-violent offenders that are designed to help them boost their employment potential and ability to function in society after being released.

Since the community corrections system was established by an amendment to Chinas Criminal Law in May 2011, the amount of offenders receiving the service has increased by 8,000 to 10,000 monthly on average, according to the ministry.

GO! A farmer takes aim in a mounted archery competition during the Ongkor Festival, celebrated annually by farmers praying for harvest, in Gonggar County of Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, on July 5

NEW ART ZONE The 791 art zone opens in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, on July 9. A total of 68 art organizations and more than 50 well

known artists have settled in the art zone

Graduate Turned Editor in Chief

Jiang Fangzhou, a 23-year-old college graduate and famous youth writer, was hired as associate editor in chief of New Weekly magazine after graduating from Tsinghua University. Jiangs appointment spurred public disputes on whether its appropriate for a fresh graduate to be a leader of a magazine.

Born in October 1989, Jiang started writing at the age of 7 and has published nine pieces of work including several novels. At the age of 9, when her peers were just learning to write, Jiang published her first collection of essays. She began her first novel at 11 and became a columnist for newspapers and magazines at 12. She earned first prize in a writing competition for teenage writers in 2004 and became the first president of the China Teen Writers Association in 2005. In 2008, Jiang was accepted into the prestigious Tsinghua University.

Subsidies for Tombs

A senior finance official announced on July 10 that the government will provide solid financial support nationwide for the protection of “martyr tombs,” or places where revolutionary heroes are buried.

Special subsidies for the protection and maintenance of these tombs, as well as the management costs of related facilities, should be included in government budgets in the future, said Wang Baoan, Vice Minister of Finance, during a video conference held to discuss the initiative.

During the conference, civil affairs authorities also reaffirmed their goals of relocating 300,000 martyr tombs and renovating 2,000 cemeteries by the end of this year.

The Central Government has pledged to subsidize 5,000 yuan ($786) for each tomb and 200,000 yuan ($31,446.55) for each cemetery, while the rest will be covered by local authorities.

The protection project was launched in 2011 after a national survey revealed that 610,000 martyr tombs are not located in cemeteries. A total of 12,000 memorial facilities were found to be in poor condition.

The project is expected to be finished by October 1, 2014, with a mechanism to be put in place for management and protection, according to a previous statement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

HIGH IN THE SKY J-10 jet fighters of the 8-1 Aerobatic Team of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force stage an air show in Xian, Shaanxi Province, on July 11

Online Video Regulation

Chinese Internet and broadcasting authorities have ordered intensified efforts to regulate online video content.

The State Internet Information Office and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) jointly issued a circular asking online video content providers to closely examine their videos before making them available for viewing, according to a statement from SARFT on July 9.

According to the circular, video content providers will be held responsible for the videos posted on their websites.

The circular also instructed relevant industry associations to step up self-disciplinary efforts regarding video content.

The statement said that the circular was issued upon requests from the public, as videos with vulgar or obscene content are believed to have had a negative impact on young people and the development of online video content providers.

Low Birth Rate

China had a birth rate of 4.79 infants per 1,000 people in 2011, with 16.04 million newborns, according to a report released on July 9 from the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

According to the report, the gender ratio among newborns, which is used to calculate gender imbalances, dropped for the third year to 117.78 male infants for every 100 females born in 2011. The number of married women of child-bearing age reached 277.69 million in 2011, an increase of 4.42 million over 2010.

The report said efforts have been made to improve family planning services for migrant workers, with more than 85 percent of the countrys migrant population having access to free family planning services in 2011.

More Parking Spaces

Beijing is planning to add 110,000 parking lots downtown by the end of 2013 in a bid to accommodate its 5 million cars, the Beijing Morning Post reported on July 7.

The national capital has only 2.48 million parking spaces for 5 million vehicles, according to the 2011 Development Report for Chinese cities.

To encourage the building of parking spaces, Beijing offers a one-time sum of 2,000 yuan ($314) for each parking lot built in new residential quarters, the report said, citing the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport(BMCT).

By September this year, about 9,000 parking spaces will be built in 68 downtown residential communities, BMCT said in a no- tice posted on its website on July 4.

Authorities in Beijing have tried to put the brakes on the number of new vehicles in the city. In 2011, the city began to distribute car plates by a lottery system, limiting the number of new cars to 240,000 each year.

PRETTY STONES Visitors look at jade jewelry at the 2012 China (Kunming) Pan-Asian Stone Expo, which kicked off in Kunming, Yunnan Province, on July 10

CHEAPER FUEL A worker updates the oil price table at a gas station in Hefei, capital of east Chinas Anhui Province, on June 9. China cut retail prices of oil by about 5 percent on July 11, the third cut since May

Export Slowdown

Chinas exports rose 11.3 percent year on year to $180.21 billion in June, slowing from the 15.3-percent spurt in May, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Imports increased 6.3 percent to $148.48 billion, against a growth of 12.7 percent a month earlier.

Trade surplus jumped 42.9 percent year on year to reach $31.73 billion in June, surpassing market expectations.

In the first half of 2012, total foreign trade reached $1.84 trillion, a rise of 8 percent year on year, lower than the 10-percent increase targeted by the government for the whole year.

Combined trade surplus surged by 56.4 percent year on year to $68.92 billion in the first half.

GAC attributed the trade slowdown to the persistent impact of the global financial crisis, saying Chinas trade with the EU and Japan almost stalled in the first half.

“We are still facing a more complicated and severe situation in foreign trade,” said GAC spokesman Zheng Yuesheng at a press conference on July 10. “But Chinas core competitiveness in manufacturing will not see significant changes in the short term.”

“If the world economy, particularly the European debt crisis, does not become worse, we will hopefully achieve the 10-percent growth goal in foreign trade this year,” Zheng added.

WTO Complaint

The Ministry of Commerce announced on July 8 that it would soon start formal talks with the United States on 22 countervailing measures against Chinese exports.

A consultation request was filed by China to the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO on May 25. It is the first stage of a formal dispute settlement.

According to WTO rules, China can apply to set up a WTO panel to hear and rule on the case, if the two countries fail to produce satisfactory results in 60 days following the request.

The consultation will run from July 18 to 19, and 22 product categories, including steel, solar cells and paper, worth $7.29 billion collectively, are involved, according to the ministry.

Li Chenggang, head of the ministrys Department of Treaty and Law, said the case reflects persistent wrongdoing by the United States in violating WTO rules.

Under the WTO mechanism, the United States has received 116 complaints from nations including Japan, South Korea and India, 60 of which are on its trade remedy measures, he noted.

Regarding a U.S. complaint on Chinas anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on cars imported from the United States, Li said its normal for trade partners to solve disputes through multilateral rules.

But he argued that, no matter how the case ends, the United States will not be able to achieve its multiple ambitions placed on the case, which include seeking to strengthen trade enforcement and boost auto sector jobs.

Money for Publishing

China will continue to push private capital into the publishing industry to boost the cultural sector, said the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) on July 10.

GAPP vowed further support for private investment in establishing printing and publishing enterprises, as well as in publication distribution businesses.

GAPP will also support digital publishers, including online gaming, mobile reading, ebook and software industries.

Numbers

73

A total of 73 Chinese firms joined the ranks of Fortune Global 500 for this year, 12 more compared with that of 2011, according to a list released by fortunechina.com on July 9.

16.04 million

China had a birth rate of 4.79 per 1,000 people in 2011, with 16.04 million newborns. The birth rate has remained stable and low, according to the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

1.28 trillion yuan

Tourism revenue totaled 1.28 trillion yuan ($202 billion) in the first half of this year, up 17.3 percent from last years same period, the National Tourism Administration said on July 11.

500,000

China has set a target of producing and selling 500,000 energy-efficient and alternative-energy vehicles annually by 2015, and 5 million such units by 2020, according to a blueprint released by the State Council on July 9.

Under the condition that state-owned capital accounts for more than 51 percent of the total share, authorities will encourage private funds to go to marketing and advertising businesses of official newspapers and magazines.

Private investments are also welcome in listed state-owned publications and media organizations via the stock market.

The government will support non-governmental publishers in expanding their overseas businesses.

Boosting Investment

The 16th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) will be held from September 8-11, in Xiamen, southeast Chinas Fujian Province.

As Chinas only international investment promotion event aimed at facilitating bilateral investment, the fair is the largest of its kind approved by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

The fair will include investment and trade exhibitions, authoritative investment forums and seminars, and investment project matchmaking symposia.

“Over 70,000 business people from over 120 countries and regions are expected to come to this years fair and over 1,000 investment institutions are expected to meet there,”said Ni Yuefeng, Vice Governor of Fujian Province.

“A major highlight of 2012 CIFIT is the international investment forum, which aims at integrating resources and discussing hot topics worldwide,” said Wang Chao, Vice Minister of Commerce.

Overseas Expansion

Chinese automaker FAW Group will broaden its market in South Africa and Russia through exporting technology and capital.

FAW has invested 500 million yuan ($78.54 million) to establish a plant in South Africa in March this year, which will produce 5,000 trucks a year, said Xu Jianyi, Chairman of FAW.

The plant will be expanded as an overseas manufacturing base with an annual output of 50,000 passenger vehicles.

“The program of developing a manufacturing base in Russia is ongoing, and Western Europe as well as the United States have also showed willingness to cooperate with our company,” said Wang Lizhi, General Manager of FAW Jiefang Automotive Co. Ltd., a truck-making subsidiary of FAW.

Founded in 1953, the state-owned enterprise is now one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in China and ranks among the top 500 corporations worldwide.

Freethinking Philanthropist

Huang Nubo, Chairman of Chinese real estate giant Zhongkun Group, revealed in an interview with Forbes magazine that he would donate half of his wealth to Peking University, his alma mater, in a snub to government-run charities.

“Most of the charity organizations in China are run by government agencies,” said Huang in the interview. “It seems like you have to beg them for an opportunity to donate. I no longer trust them.”

The 56-year-old entrepreneur made a donation of 900 million yuan ($141.3 million) worth of assets to Peking University in June 2011.

Huang ranked as Chinas 161st richest man in Forbes in 2010, with a net worth of $890 million. He graduated from Peking University in 1981, and worked in government outfits before entering the business world. Huang is also a productive poet. He has published many collections of poems, which have been translated into English, French, Japanese and Mongolian. He is also an adventure-seeker, having traveled to the North and South poles and climbed the Mount Everest.