China Handles 168,000 Cases of Financial Crime in 2016

Chinese police closed 168，000 cases of financial crime and recovered 35.6 billion yuan （5.2 billion U.S. dollars） last year， the Ministry of Public Security announced.

According to the ministry， the frequency of financial crime is still high in China. Cases of illegal fund-raising， pyramid selling， online peer-to-peer fraud， securities and futures crime， counterfeit money and bank card fraud have infringed on the interests of investors and undermined market stability.

Credit card crime has surged in China， with more than 63，000 cases filed in 2016， accounting for one third of all financial crime.

Last year saw new methods of writing false value added tax invoices and defrauding export tax rebates. A case in east Chinas port of Xiamen involved nearly ten billion yuan， seriously disturb- ing national tax order.

The ministry pledges to continue to strike hard against financial crime and calls for the public to report any knowledge of financial crimes to public security authorities.

China to Develop Culture into Pillar Industry by 2020

China is planning to develop its cultural industry into a pillar of the national economy by 2020 by upgrading its industrial structure， fostering major brands and boosting consumption， according to a government blueprint made public.

Issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and the State Council，the outline for the 13th five-year program （2016-2020） on cultural development and reform said the country will help create cultural enterprise groups with core competitiveness and high market share.

“Several of them should strive to be among the top in the industry globally by 2020，” it said.

The government will promote both mergers among state-owned cultural enterprises and cross-ownership mergers and acquisitions.

Newspapers and magazine resources should also be merged or reorganized and news and publishing organizations with long-term financial and operational difficulties should be shut down or revamped， according to the outline.

China vowed to lower the threshold for private capital to access the sector and said it will boost and guide development of non-public cultural companies and support medium-， small- and micro-sized cultural enterprises that are innovative or specialized.

The country will develop a new Internet-based cultural market， according to the document.

State-owned cultural enterprises are encouraged to use the capital market to grow stronger if conditions allow， it said， adding that asset securitization will be promoted in the industry.

In addition， efforts will be made to run major cultural assets and equity exchange platforms well， and encourage state-owned cultural assets to conduct transactions and test exchanges of TV dramas on these platforms， said the outline.

In an effort to boost cultural consumption， trial programs will be carried out to provide subsidies for the poor to buy cultural products.

Support should also be given to build cultural and recreation complexes， art streets， bookstores and small theaters in big and medium-sized cities， according to the outline.

China to Expand Public Hospital Reform

China will expand reform within the countrys public hospitals nationwide this year， the National Health and Family Planning Commission （NHFPC） announced.

The hierarchical medical system pilot program will also be expanded to reach at least 85 percent of prefecturelevel regions， according to documents released by the commission.

More policies will be issued regarding the hierarchical medical system， hospital management， medical insurance， medicine supplies and comprehensive supervision by the end of the year.

Liang Wannian， an NHFPC official， said that system reforms covering medical services， insurance and medicine should be advanced in a coordinated manner.

China has earmarked over 1.4 trillion yuan （203 billion U.S. dollars） in its budget for health and medical expenditure this year.

China to Boost Development of Online Media

China will boost the development of online media by encouraging eligible websites to go public and create new mainstream media institutions and groups during the 2016-2020 period， according to a government blueprint.

Issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and the State Council， the outline for the 13th five-year program （2016-2020） on cultural development and reform vowed to gradually set up a modern communication system by 2020.

As a major project to “build public opinion fronts” online， efforts will be made to improve the communication abilities of major news websites and on-line radio and TV stations and develop a system for communication on the mobile Internet.”

“Eligible websites will be encouraged to go public，” it said.

Authorities will give support to mainstream media institutions in developing their websites and new media. It will step up efforts to guide and standardize investment in the Internet cul- tural sector with both state and private funds.

Meanwhile， existing laws and regulations on news and publishing will be extended to cover the management of online media， according to the document.

“The licensing mechanism on sources of online news should be improved， while management over news gathering and reproduction qualifications should also be strengthened，” it said.

The outline also vowed to set up a sound system for online copyright.

Aiming to ensure a good order for communication， the government will intensify management over search engines， instant messaging tools and news Apps and clarify operators responsibilities for the content disseminated via microblog or WeChat， it said.

It also promised severe punishment for online rumors， harmful information， news extortion， as well as fake news， fake media institutions and fake journalists.

China to Improve Peoples Livelihood in Border Areas

China will take targeted measures to improve peoples livelihood in the border areas.

The government will improve local infrastructure and public services including education， medical care， oldage care and employment， according to a statement following a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

Border villages will have access to roads， electricity， telecommunication service， drinkable water， medical service and safe houses by 2020， according to the five-year development plan for boosting peoples livelihood in border areas passed by the State Council.

The government will also offer preferential policies to support the border areas and encourage development of cultural tourism and other sectors and more exchanges and cooperation with neighboring regions， the statement added.