Category: Society

(Xinhua)08:47, June 27, 2019

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) — Finlands largest airline Finnair would add capacity to Beijing with three weekly flights to the new Beijing Daxing International Airport, the airport said on Wednesday.

Besides its daily flights to Beijing Capital International Airport, Finnair will operate to the Daxing airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays as of November 3, 2019, with an Airbus A330 aircraft, according to the airport.

Our aim is to continue to grow our presence in China. The new Beijing Daxing International Airport will become a key hub for international travel to and from China and will serve our customers well, said Finnair chief commercial officer Ole Orver.

The Beijing Daxing International Airport is located 46 km south of downtown Beijing and was designed to take the pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburb.

The new airport is expected to see its highway completed by the end of this month and scheduled to be operational before Sept. 30.

(Xinhua)09:34, June 27, 2019

BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) — Chinese railway police seized about 203 kg of narcotics in 2018, the National Narcotics Control Commission said.

Railway police have improved their network against drug trafficking in the past few years and achieved major progress, said a statement from the railway police on Wednesday.

They have stepped up surveillance over stations and trains with high incidence of drug trafficking and trained officers in the field to more efficiently spot suspicious passengers and activities, the statement said.

In May, railway police exposed a drug trafficking ring that employed drug mules — individuals who hide drugs inside their body to avoid being caught — to ferry drugs from Myanmar to the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. Ten suspects were detained and 3.73 kg of drugs seized.

On the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking that fell on Wednesday, railway police across the country also launched various awareness programs on the train, the statement said.

(China Daily)09:49, June 27, 2019

A farmer in Gansu province is busy harvesting potatoes. [PHOTO BY WANG JIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

National auditors have called for government departments to better regulate poverty alleviation funds and build a mechanism to ensure the long-term benefits of the achievements.

Local governments have made great efforts in lifting people out of poverty in the past year, Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office, said while making an annual audit report to the top legislature on Wednesday. However, auditors had still found some irregularities, such as the improper use and management of the funds designated for poverty relief, Hu said.

For example, 46 counties were found to have spent 2.21 billion yuan ($319.6 million) of poverty alleviation funds on real estate development or urban constructions.

We also found some funds and projects that had been planned to help the poor were actually not put in use, she told members of the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee.

A total of 287 poverty alleviation projects in 69 counties, involving 375 million yuan, were left idle. Another 890 million yuan of poverty relief funds in 41 regions remained unused for more than a year, according to the report.

Corruption and fraud still exist in the poverty alleviation sector, Hu said, adding that 187 officials in 39 counties made use of their work positions to improperly aid family relatives and friends or even embezzle the funds.

In addition, some local government officials were found doing superficial jobs, such as landscape improvement and building decoration instead of properly using the designated funds, the report said.

Forestalling and defusing major risks, carrying out targeted poverty alleviation and preventing and controlling pollution have been identified as the three major battles China must win in the coming years.

The report also identified problems that are impeding the countrys efforts in commercializing scientific and technological achievements.

Hu said auditors randomly checked 69 scientific research institutes nationwide and found 32 of them made less than 10 million yuan in commercializing their research achievements between 2015 and 2017. Twelve of these institutes did not commercialize any of their research results.

Inadequate regulations and ineffective implementation are the main reasons behind the institutions low success in turning academic achievements into commercial gains, she said.

Voluminous paper work and repetitive inspections are also hampering the efficiency of commercializing scientific and technological output, according to the audit report.

(Peoples Daily Online)13:46, June 27, 2019

(Photo/pixabay.com)

The Internet of Things (IoT) has brought various intelligent products and services into our daily lives, such as bicycle-sharing and mobile payments. For the further application of this technology, skilled technicians are of vital importance, especially when it comes to installation and debugging.

IoT installation and debugging professionals refer to those who use special instruments and tools to install, configure and debug IoT products and equipment. By operating on IoT products, they can build a network and provide people with easier access to intelligent living, according to a report released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Chinas IoT has already formed a preliminary yet integrated industrial system, which generates new occupational choices for graduates majoring in IoT, information technology and electronic information engineering, to name a few.

A relevant survey revealed that the income of Chinas IoT business increased by 72.9 percent in 2018 compared with the previous year, and the number of employees in IoT-related industries exceeded 2 million.

Current equipment installation and debugging practitioners are now mainly distributed in large cities, 5G pilot cities, and economically developed regions. Employment prospects will improve as more cities adopt 5G technology and build their own IoT industry.

By 2020, the value of the IoT industry will reach 2.2 trillion yuan, 30 times larger than the internet industry. In the next five years, the IoT industry will be in demand of nearly 5 million professionals, market consultancy ASKCI Consulting Co. predicted.

(Xinhua)15:55, June 27, 2019

BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) — Beijing has banned gender discrimination practices in recruitment to boost career opportunities for women, according to a document released Thursday.

No requirements for gender should be included in any recruitment plans or interviews, according to the document from the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

It is also forbidden to ask about the marital or fertility status of female candidates during interviews, and pregnancy testing should be off the list of pre-employment health examination.

Those found in violation will be fined from 10,000 yuan (around 1,488 U.S. dollars) to 50,000 yuan if they refuse to correct their practices. HR service providers may have their licenses revoked for serious offenses, according to the document.

In February, Chinas Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and eight other government agencies pledged to ban discrimination against women and build a sound mechanism to supervise employers and offer legal aid to women employees.

(Xinhua)10:01, June 28, 2019

NANJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — A Chinese network security laboratory has proposed a 24-hour online testbed, welcoming cyber attacks from any individual or organization globally.

The permanently online and globally open testbed, which is called Network Endogens Security Testbed (NEST), would accept public tests with a total reward of 1.5 million yuan (218,000 U.S. dollars), according to the Purple Mountain Laboratory for Network Communication and Security.

The Nanjing-based laboratory said Wednesday that authorized users can get corresponding bounties based on their test results.

Current network security relies on software patches or antivirus programs, which is like taking pills after getting ill, said Wu Jiangxing, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

As the proposer of Cyber Mimic Defense Theory, Wu said the next generation information technology should be equipped with improved autoimmunity in the first place.

Wu said that NEST could effectively suppress security threats caused by hidden vulnerabilities or virus Trojans without relying on external defense measures. The more it is attacked, the more protective experience it can accumulate.

NEST will provide a global public test platform for all kinds of network equipment and information systems to measure their security indicators, and offer skill training for network security practitioners, according to the laboratory.

Whether the network is safe or not, hackers have a say. They are also welcomed to challenge it, Wu said.

(Xinhua)14:07, June 28, 2019

GUANGZHOU, June 28 (Xinhua) — Police in south Chinas Guangdong Province Thursday sent a Red Notice fugitive on a plane back to the Republic of Korea (ROK) at the request of the ROK law enforcement authorities.

The fugitive, surnamed Kim, cheated over 300 Korean residents out of a total of 2 billion Korean won (1.7 million U.S. dollars) using the excuse of low interest loans from January 2015 to January 2018, and was later listed on the Interpol Red Notice.

On May 15, the Consulate General of the ROK in Guangzhou made a request to the local police for the arrest of Kim, whose residence permit in China had expired.

After receiving the request, Guangdong police carried out an investigation into Kims whereabouts immediately and captured the fugitive. Under the deployment of Chinas Ministry of Public Security, local police cooperated with the National Police Agency of ROK to send Kim back.

(Xinhua)16:48, June 28, 2019

CHONGQING, June 28 (Xinhua) — The first high-speed railway direct service linking southwest Chinas Chongqing Municipality and Hong Kong will be available on July 10, according to Chongqings railway authorities Friday.

The bullet trains for the service are coded G319/320. The train will depart Chongqing West Railway Station at 8:20 a.m. and arrive at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at 3:57 p.m., while another train will leave Hong Kong at 2:53 p.m. and arrive in Chongqing at 10:26 p.m.

The service is part of a new train diagram starting July 10. Under the diagram, a new batch of high-speed trains will be put into use, and several stops will be adjusted to optimize the countrys passenger transport services.

The high-speed railway stops linking the mainland and Hong Kong will be increased to 58, according to sources from China Railway.

(Xinhua)13:51, June 29, 2019

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — Beijing police destroyed a total of 1.6 tonnes of drugs which were seized in recent years Friday.

These drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, e, marijuana and some new-type drugs were poured into a high temperature incinerator, according to the anti-drug team of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Beijing police have cooperated with the municipal customs authorities, railway departments and postal administration to prevent drugs from entering the capital.

Beijing police have busted over 900 drug cases and seized nearly 70 kg of drugs since 2018.

(China Daily)15:55, June 29, 2019

China United Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, announced on Friday it will transfer operations to Beijing Daxing International Airport ahead of the airports official opening, which is expected to be no later than Sept 30.

The move will make China United Airlines the first to fully move into the new airport from its old headquarters at Beijing Nanyuan Airport, and thus the first carrier to fly its aircraft at the new airport.

Though the exact date of the new airports opening is still not disclosed, we have been poised for the transfer to Beijing Daxing International Airport, said Liu Beige, vice-president of China United Airlines, at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.

All of our staff and aircraft, including more than 4,000 employees and over 60 airplanes, will be moved to the new airport within a short period, estimated to last only one day, ahead of the official launch day of the new airport, Liu added.

With China United Airlines move already scheduled, Beijing Nanyuan Airport, the carriers headquarters since 1986, will close after the transfer is completed.

Tickets sold in advance for flights departing from Nanyuan Airport and with flight dates after the transfer will be accommodated. We will try our best to deal with any delays, Liu said.

According to China Eastern Airlines, the subsidiarys transfer is part of its plan to shift focus to the new airport to achieve business expansion with more air routes.

China Eastern Airlines will transfer 10 percent of its flights from Beijing Capital International Airport to Beijing Daxing International Airport before the summer flying season of 2020, said Zeng Yongchao, China Eastern Airlines executive deputy managing director of marketing and sales. By the summer flying season of 2020, apart from 46 daily flights between Beijing and Shanghai, all other flights, accounting for 80 percent of our total in Beijing, will be moved to the new airport.

By the summer of the next year, China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiaries are expected to have more than 334 daily flights at the new airport, with 150 routes connected to 115 destinations across the globe, Zeng added.

We will open more routes connecting major markets around the globe, especially those participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, and help build Beijing Daxing International Airport into a top international airport in our nation, Zeng said.

China Eastern Airlines has built its new Beijing headquarters near the new airport to better support its business in the city.

According to the carrier, the project, which cost about 13.2 billion yuan ($1.92 billion) and has a construction area of 1.17 million square meters, will mainly be used to provide services for flights, including scheduling, aircraft maintenance and ground services. The airline announced on Friday that the first phase of the project was completed.