A JUBILANT RETURN

Tourists visit Ocean Park in Hong Kong on June 13. Hong Kongs iconic theme park resumed operations on June 13 after being closed for more than four months due to the novel coronavirus epidemic.

To ensure the health and safety of visitors， employees and animals in the park， the maximum in-park capacity has been limited to 9，000 people， 25 percent of the usual level， for the fi rst two weeks after the reopening.

Creating Jobs

A workshop for producing toughened glass in Tianzhu， a county in Guizhou Province in southwest China. Over 30 enterprises have set up factories there， providing employment for impoverished people relocated from areas unsuitable for living.

Legislative Session

The Standing Committee of the 13th National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， held its 19th session in Beijing from June 18 to 20.

The legislators would deliberate draft laws， including the laws on administrative discipline for government employees， rural vitalization， and support for veterans， Yue Zhongming， spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee， said on June 16.

According to Yue， improving legislation on public health has been part of the NPC Standing Committees 2020 work plan. It includes revising the Wildlife Protection Law， Frontier Health and Quarantine Law， Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and Emergency Response Law.

HK Symposium

A symposium on upholding and improving the “one country， two systems” principle was held in Shenzhen， a city in south China， on June 15 to mark the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR）.

Organized by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies， the symposium was attended by about 200 people from the Chinese mainland， Hong Kong， Macao and overseas， including offi -cials from Chinas central authorities.

The NPCs decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for HKSAR to safeguard national security and the ensuing legislation by the NPC Standing Committee are the best ways to commemorate the 30th anniversary， Deng Zhonghua， deputy head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Offi ce of the State Council， said.

Once enacted， the new law， with unchallengeable status and authority， will be a key component of the laws of HKSAR and no local law of HKSAR can contradict it， he said.

Participants from Hong Kong， Macao and overseas joined the symposium via video link due to the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19） pandemic.

Safe Communication

A team of researchers has demonstrated secure quantum communication between two ground stations with a record distance of 1，120 km and no intermediate security relays. This is seen as a new step toward the practical application of quantum communication.

Quantum key distribution （QKD） is seen as a secure way to allow the exchange of encrypted messages between remote users.

Pan Jianwei， renowned quantum physicist and corresponding author of the research， said that the endeavor increases the secure distance of QKD without trusted relays on the ground tenfold， and ensures secure communication even when the satellite is compromised. This is a signifi cant improvement in the practical application of quantum secure communication.

Warmer Tibet

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， often called the “roof of the world，” has become warmer and wetter during spring. This has been occurring since 1981， according to the regional climate center.

During the 1981-2020 period， the regions average temperature in spring rose by 0.28 degree Celsius every 10 years， while precipitation during the season was up by 5.2 mm on average every decade， according to a report by the center.

Tibets average temperature during the spring of 2020 was 4.2 degrees Celsius， 0.5 degree lower than in normal years， and the lowest recorded in the past 19 years.

The average spring precipitation was 100.7 mm this year， around 26.7 mm more than in normal years and the highest in the past decade.

Zhoima， an expert with the climate center， said frequent rain in spring this year led to relatively lower temperatures but the climate trend still shows signifi cantly rising average temperature during spring.

Rainy Days

More than 1.38 million people were affected by continuous downpours in Hunan Province in central China as of 7 p.m. on June 16， according to local authorities.

Five bouts of heavy rains starting from May 29 have led to the evacuation of 53，000 people. A total of 1，605 houses have collapsed in the rains， which also damaged more than 140，000 hectares of crops， according to the provincial fl ood control and drought relief headquarters.

The meteorological department forecast that rains would reappear after June 18， warning of a grim situation in terms of fl ood control.

Hazard Cleared

The last three asymptomatic cases in Wuhan， once hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic， were released from medical observation on June 15 after their nucleic acid tests were negative.

Wuhans health commission said on June 16 that the city had no asymptomatic cases as of June 15， and there were no more close contacts under medical observation.

Young Cub

A keeper at a zoo in Jinan， Shandong Province in east China， feeds a 1-month-old white lion on June 14.

Air-Ground Vehicle

Chinese scientists have developed an intelligent， autonomous airground vehicle which can be used for deliveries and rescue missions.

Developed by a team from Tsinghua University， the unmanned electric vehicle can switch between driving mode and flying mode. It has a four-wheel drive system and is equipped with a rotor to enable flight.

The vehicle， which is 1 meter long， 0.6 meter wide and 0.6 meter high， can conduct three-dimensional path planning， and is capable of vertical takeoff and landing， spatial planning， hovering in the air and fl ight obstacle avoidance， according to the team.

When it encounters obstacles or terrain that cannot be bypassed on the ground， the vehicle can switch to fl ying mode and fi nd a more suitable area for driving on the ground.

The vehicle has been tested in both urban environment and mountain areas with complex terrain.

It can be used for delivering goods and in rescue missions and can be integrated into intelligent transportation systems in smart cities.

Promising Vaccine

China has unveiled the results of the phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate， which shows promising results in both safety and effi cacy， according to the China National Pharmaceutical Group （Sinopharm）. The vaccine， developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Biotec Group affi liated to Sinopharm， involved 1，120 volunteers aged between 18 and 59 in its clinical trials， which started on April 12.

The results revealed a good safety record， with no cases of severe adverse effects found in the clinical trials. The vaccine receivers inoculated with two injections in different procedures and doses have all produced high titers of antibodies.

For those receiving two middledose injections at intervals of 14 days and 21 days， the seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies reached 97.6 percent. For those receiving two middle-dose injections at an interval of 28 days， the seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies reached 100 percent.

Voluntary Blood Donor

A resident donates blood in Zaozhuang， a city in Shandong Province in east China， on June 14， World Blood Donor Day.

Investment in Hainan

Hainan Free Trade Port in south China has inked 35 key investment projects， including eight foreignfunded ones， as the province is attracting investors at home and abroad with its opening up.

An on-site and online signing ceremony for the projects was held in Haikou， capital of Hainan， on June 13， with the total value surpassing 6.4 billion yuan （$903 million）. They cover free trade port construction， industrial development and public services.

French energy giant EDF， the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and China Eastern Airlines were among the participating enterprises.

On June 1， China released a master plan for the Hainan Free Trade Port， aiming to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally infl uential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

Airport Construction Underway

An aerial photo taken on June 15 shows the Chengdu Tianfu International Airport site in Chengdu， Sichuan Province in southwest China. The fi rst phase of the airport construction includes three runways and a 600，000-square-meter terminal.

Cloud Canton Fair

The 127th China Import and Export Fair， popularly known as Canton Fair， kicked off online on June 15， a fi rst for the decades-old trade fair traditionally held in Guangdong Province， south China.

This years online fair， which lasted for 10 days， attracted around 25，000 enterprises in 16 categories with 1.8 million products.

The fair provided round-theclock services， including online exhibitions， promotion， business docking and negotiations， according to Li Jinqi， Director General of the China Foreign Trade Center.

Started in 1957， the Canton Fair is seen as an important barometer of Chinas foreign trade.

E-Commerce + ICH

E-commerce giant Alibaba launched its fi rst shopping festival designed to promote intangible cultural heritage（ICH） on Chinas Cultural and Natural Heritage Day， June 13.

The opening ceremony was broadcast live on Taobao.com. The e-commerce platform of Taobao has seen the number of ICH-themed product sellers growing rapidly thanks to more than 2 million livestreaming shows a year.

Along with the increasing penetration of the Internet and the popularity of smartphones in China， live-streaming has become an effi cient way to promote ICH-related products.

Alibaba Groups Vice President Zhao Ying said that innovation was the best way to pass on intangible cultural heritage， adding the group would keep contributing to ICH protection and development via digitalization and its platforms.

China started building ICH workshops across the country to help with the battle against poverty in 2018. The initiative has led to the creation of more than 2，200 projects with nearly half a million jobs.

Data from Taobao.com showed that some 100 million users placed orders online for ICH-themed products in the past year. More than 25，000 Taobao sellers sold ICH handicraft products worth nearly 3 billion yuan （$423 million） during the period.

Stable Job Market

Chinas job market remained generally stable in May， with the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas standing at 5.9 percent， offi cial data showed on June 15.

The fi gure went down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month， according to the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

A total of 4.6 million new urban jobs were created in the fi rst fi ve months of 2020， down 1.37 million compared with the same period last year.

The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59， the majority of the labor market， stood at 5.4 percent in May， down 0.1 percentage point from April.

The surveyed rate in 31 major cities was 5.9 percent last month， up 0.1 percentage point from April.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas， including migrant workers in cities.

Fu Linghui， a spokesperson for the NBS， said the reasons for a drop in the unemployment rate were an improving economy， implementation of supportive policies， and more employees returning to their workplaces.

The recovery in production has laid the ground for job market expansion and stability， Fu said， citing a positive trend in other May economic indicators including the value-added industrial output and service sector production.

He， however， acknowledged that the pressure on the employment situation cannot be overlooked， which stems from total employment pressure， underemployment， and the employment of key groups such as college graduates， which is expected to reach a historical high of 8.74 million this year.

China will give priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring living standards this year， aiming to add over 9 million new urban jobs and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 6 percent， according to the government work report.

Green Hope

A farmer picks tea leaves at a tea garden of the Wulilu tea cooperative in Hainan Province in south China， on June 10. With nearly 26.6 hectares of tea garden， the cooperative has helped 362 poor households get rid of poverty.

Bank Card JV

Chinas central bank on June 13 announced that it has approved an application by American ExpressChinese joint venture to conduct bank card clearing operations in the country.

The joint venture should start bank card clearing operations within six months， the Peoples Bank of China （PBC） said.

The decision， jointly made by the PBC and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission， represents a concrete step by China to further open up its fi nancial industry.

The opening of the bank card market will help improve payment and settlement services， the internationalization of the Chinese currency， and facilitate all industry players， according to the PBC.

The PBC said it would continue to push forward the opening of the bank card market while improving the regulatory system to maintain fi nancial stability.

Housing Demand

China continued to see a generally stable housing market in May， with home prices in 70 major cities showing mild month-on-month increases， offi cial data showed on June 15.

New home prices in four fi rst-tier cities—Beijing， Shanghai， Shenzhen and Guangzhou—rose by 0.7 percent month on month in May， 0.5 percentage point higher from a month earlier， according to data from the NBS.

Second-tier cities saw a monthon-month increase of 0.6 percent in new home prices， up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month， while third-tier cities witnessed a month-on-month rise of 0.7 percent in new home prices， compared with a 0.6-percent increase reported in April.

In May， prices of resold housing in fi rst-tier cities edged up 1.1 percent month on month， unchanged from a month earlier.

In second- and third-tier cities， prices of resold housing increased by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent from the previous month， respectively.

With the resumption of production， the housing demand was further unleashed in May， Kong Peng， a senior NBS statistician， said.

Double Harvest

Workers examine photovoltaic （PV） power generation facilities at a fi shery farm in Fengnan District in Tangshan， Hebei Province in north China， on June 14. The modern farm is designed to raise fi sh and at the same time generate electricity with PV panels.