Society

Environmental Protection Law Revised

The Standing Committee of the 12th National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， voted on April 24 to adopt revisions to the Environmental Protection Law， the first major change to the law in 25 years. The revised law will go into effect on January 1， 2015.

With 70 articles， compared to the 47 in the original， the revised Environmental Protection Law further defines government obligations to monitor and manage the environment， giving enterprises a bigger share of responsibility in preventing and controlling pollution， and handing out harsher punishment for violations. It improves the legislation of fundamental environmental protection systems concerning the ecological “red line，” emission-levels control， environmental monitoring and assessment， cross-regional collaboration on pollution prevention and response， etc. The revised law also includes prescriptions for information transparency on the part of government and business， as well on public participation in environmental protection.

Kubuqi Designated an Eco-Economy Demonstration Zone

The United Nations Environment Program （UNEP） announced on April 22 – 45th Earth Day – the designation of Chinas Kubuqi Desert as an ecological economy demonstration zone. Researchers will evaluate the deserts ecology and try to spread successful desertification-control initiatives to other countries， said Gemma Shepherd， a UNEP program officer. The ecological improvement of Kubuqi will be an example to other desert areas， she said.

Covering 1.45 million hectares in northern Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， Kubuqi is the countrys 7th biggest desert. Twenty years ago， the barren and sandstorm-stricken desert had no roads， no vegetation and no means of transportation. Over 100，000 residents lived there， suffering sandstorms and drought.

With support of the local government and enterprises， a “marketization， industrialization and public welfare-based” strategy for desert control was explored， planning transformation of the Kubuqi Desert into an oasis.

China Releases National Security Blue Paper

The Center for International Strategy and Security Studies at the University of International Relations， and the Social Sciences Academic Press jointly released the 2014 China National Security Studies Report， the first blue paper on this topic. The report concludes that China faces a generally stable and sound security situation. Internationally， China works with major countries in the world towards long-term healthy and stable relations； its efforts to build friendly ties with neighboring countries have shown positive results. Domestically， its increasing comprehensive national power offers China better defense. Yet the report also stresses the many grim security challenges the country faces. These include persistent structural conflicts with a few big powers， escalating territorial contention with some neighbors， and unconventional menaces such as terrorism and threats to Internet security and the environment.

China to Join the High-Income Club by 2020

At a news conference on the drafting of the 13th Five-year Plan （2016-20）， Xu Lin， director of the Department of Development Planning of the National Development and Reform Commission， said that China hopes to approach or surmount the high-income country threshold by the end of the period. By World Bank criteria， countries with a per-capita gross national income （GNI） of more than US $12，616 are categorized as high-income. With a US $5，720 per-capita GNI in 2012， China is in the middle-income range， but 42 cities in the country have already reached the highincome bar.

Activity

Joris van den Berg& Marijn Willers Duo Concert

Date： June 17， 2014

Place： Chongqing Guotai Art Center Concert Hall

Price： RMB 80/180/280/380

Joris van den Berg met Marijn Willers in 2006 in Amsterdam during the preparations for the first Dutch National Cello Competition of the Amsterdam Cello Biennale. Joris van den Berg won first prize in the competition and found in Marijn Willersan an enthusiastic practicing partner. The two young musicians decided to keep working together. In 2012， they were selected as laureates for Dutch Classical Talent， organized by Amsterdam Concert Hall and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra， and began touring the Netherlands and Europe. Their first album Dialogo was released in 2013.

L.A. Dance Project Reflections

Date： June 14-15， 2014

Place： National Center for the Performing Arts

Price： RMB 80/100/120/240/300/350/400/500

L.A. Dance Project is an artist collective founded in 2012 by renowned choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied. At the age of eight， Millepied began his dance training and later studied at the School of American Ballet. He quickly rose to the rank of Principal Dancer of New York City Ballet in 2001. In 2010， he became a Chevalier in Frances prestigious “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.” The same year， he choreographed and starred in Darren Aronofskys film Black Swan. Programs of the L.A. Dance Project include full-length evenings in traditional theater venues as well as various modular performances in nontraditional environments.