Society

Recycling Innovations Encouraged

The National Development and Reform Commission recently released a plan to advance a circular economy in China. One of its key points is to promote innovative approaches to recycling， introducing Internet technologies into recycling operations， and supporting intelligent and automated recycling， among other new methods.

Chinas circular economy has made steady headway in the past few years， but progress in the system construction of resource recycling and reuse is sluggish. The waste reuse rate has been on a downward trajectory since 2011， the contraction for waste steel salvage having dropped 6.6 percent in 2013， that for scrap copper down 8.2 percent， and that for discarded aluminum 0.9 percent less. Many of the countrys recycling facilities are operating below capacity.

Experts blame the phenomenon on Chinas habitual mode and conventional concept of resource use， as well as the lag of its system construction.

New Measures to Accelerate Gasoline Quality Upgrading

A State Council meeting decided that from next year， all vehicles in the 11 provinces and municipalities of eastern China must use fuels， including gasoline and diesel， that adhere to Chinas leading National V standard， with sulfur content within 10 ppm （parts per million）. Previously， the regions under this condition included only Beijing， Tianjin and Hebei， and major cities in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

Fuels in line with the National V standard are scheduled to be supplied nationwide as early as January 2017， one year earlier than previously planned. From July 2017， provisions of National IV automobile standard diesel， with no more than 50 ppm of sulfur content， will be available all over the country. Nationwide provisions with National V fuels will start from January 2018.

To fulfill these tasks， oil refineries will have to increase their investment in technological upgrading by about RMB 68 billion， which will further mobilize investment and production of related industries such as refining equipment.

Number and Income of Migrant Workers Rise

According to the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics on Chinas migrant workers， their number continued to grow in 2014， reaching 273.95 million， up 5.01 million， or 1.9 percent， over the previous year. The growth， however， has been on a steady decline since 2010， dipping 1.0， 0.5， 1.5 and 0.5 percentage points respectively year-on-year over the 2011-2014 period.endprint

Men constitute the majority of migrant workers， at 67 percent， and the share of young adults has kept falling. The average age of this group edged up from 35.5 years old in 2010 to 38.3 years old in 2014.

As for their occupations， 42.9 percent work in the tertiary industry， gaining 0.3 percentage points from 2013， and 56.6 percent work in the secondary industry， 0.2 percentage points lower than in 2013. The average monthly salary of migrant laborers is now RMB 2，864， increasing RMB 255， or 9.8 percent.

Cultural Aid to Xinjiang Tops RMB 1.1 Bln 2011-15

According to figures from the cultural authorities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， during the 12th FiveYear Plan period （2011-2015）， 19 provinces and municipalities from the rest of the nation have funneled RMB 1.15 billion into the frontier region for its cultural development， bankrolling more than 300 programs. This excludes funding for personnel training and cultural exchanges. The funding has enabled the construction of a number of cultural facilities at the grassroots， including museums， libraries， and cultural centers， which have significantly improved Xinjiangs capacity for public cultural services. The partnership with other regions has produced several quality productions including musical dramas Han Duke Ban Chao and Love of Shule， which is based on the folklore known as the Uygurs Romeo and Juliet. They have breathed new life into Xinjiangs cultural market， and given the region more publicity nationwide.

Activity

Concert of the Sch？nbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna

Date： June 14， 2015

Place： Shanghai Oriental Art Center

Price： RMB 80/180/280/380/580/680

The Sch？nbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna is led by noted conductor Matthias Fletzberger. Promising violinist Lidia Baich plays solo. The orchestras repertoire focuses on Viennese-style works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart， Johann Strauss， and other Austrian composers.

Brad Little Concert

Date： June 13， 2015

Place： Wuhan Qintai Grand Theater

Price： RMB 50/100/180/280/380/480

Brad Little is an American musical theater actor who has appeared in a number of Broadway productions including West Side Story， Les Mis-érables， Beauty and the Beast， Evita， and South Pacific. He is one of the only four men in the world who have played the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera for over 2，000 performances.endprint