Society

Lower Public Spending on Travel， Vehicles， Receptions

The central government spent RMB 5.373 billion on official overseas trips， official vehicles， and official hospitality last year – RMB 943 million less than the budgeted figure， Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said on June 29 when delivering a State Council report on the final accounts for 2015 to the National Peoples Congress， the countrys legislature.

Taken as a whole， around RMB 1.744 billion was expended on overseas visits – RMB 194 million less than the budgeted figure， RMB 3.087 billion on the purchase and maintenance of government vehicles – a RMB 372 million drop， and RMB 542 million on official receptions， a decrease of RMB 377 million.

The total sum for these three items was RMB 7.015 billion in 2013 and RMB 5.88 billion in 2014.

Human Rights at New Stage

The Information Office of the State Council released on June 14 its evaluation report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China（2012-2015）. The report stated that the country has met its major goals and completed the key tasks laid down in the plan， and that Chinas human rights have reached a new stage.

The report stated that during the 2012-2015 period Chinas annual GDP achieved an average growth of 7.4 percent. Per capita disposable income growth among urban residents was 7.5 percent， while that for rural residents was 9.2 percent. Registered urban unemployment remained below 4.1 percent. The rural povertystricken population fell by 66.63 million， and the urbanization rate climbed to 56.1 percent. Cities and towns saw construction of 24.28 million more units of public housing. More than 95 percent of the population had basic medical insurance， and more than 80 percent basic endowment insurance.

Whats more， educational equality is more effectively enforced， the populations health has markedly improved， and new progress has been made in environmental protection. Moreover， the rights of ethnic minority groups， women， children， elders and people with disabilities are better protected.

All-Gender Toilets

Many Beijing bars have started displaying the “All-gender Toilet” sign， so to declare their open attitude to gender distinctions， reported qdaily.com. The sign shows three figures： one in a dress， one in trousers， and one wearing half dress and half trousers.

All-gender toilets， or gender neutral toilets， are for people of all sexes， including transgenders.

The Beijing Gender Health Education Institute （BGHEI）， a nongovernmental organization， launched the campaign on May 17 –International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The UN Women and UN Development Program also participated， along with more than 30 organizations， mostly cafes， bars and NGOs.

Transgender groups， or parents with children of different genders， can use the allgender toilets to prevent embarrassment to themselves or others， said Yang Gang， the person in charge of the campaign.

The organization plans to compile a map of gender neutral toilets and provide consulting and training for organizations willing to join the campaign. This was the first such promotion across the nation on such a scale， the BGHEI said.

Long-term Railway Network Plan Approved

A State Council meeting on June 29 presided over by Premier Li Keqiang approved， in principle， the Long- and Medium-term Plan for the Railway Network. It vows to extend rail infrastructure and link it to that of highways， waterways and aviation. Its goal is to cut the time taken to drive between neighboring big and medium-sized cities to 1-4 hours， and that between cities within city clusters to 0.5-2 hours.

According to industry insiders， Chinas projected investment this year in fixed railway assets is a staggering RMB 800 billion， and spending on urban rail transport is expected to reach RMB 1.84 trillion within the next five years.

As at the end of 2015， the operational mileage of Chinas railways totaled 121，000 km. This includes 19，000 km high-speed lines， representing more than 60 percent of the world total， so giving the country an unrivaled global status as regards size and growth. But the meeting cautioned that the density of Chinas rail network still lags behind that of developed countries， and that the railway distribution needs to be improved， especially taking into account the low level of development in this respet in central and western China.

Activity

Traditional Chinese Chamber Music

Date： August 7， 2016

Place： Shanghai Concert Hall

Price： RMB 80/100

A brand new series of Traditional Chinese Chamber Music Concerts has been created for the Shanghai Concert Halls 2015-16 season. Bearing the mission to promote Chinese folk music， the series features exquisite solos， duets， and trios of traditional Chinese musical instruments to showcase the elegance of this Chinese folk art form.

The Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts

Date： August 19-20， 2016

Place： Guangzhou Opera House

Price： RMB 80/180/280

The Magic Piano tells the story of Anna and her cousin Chip-Chip aboard a magical flying piano when they make a journey across Europe in search for her father. The concert also features some of Chopins études. ChineseAmerican pianist Derek Wang will perform in Shanghai. He gave the first recital of The Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts in North America at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2012.