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Commentary Violence must be punished to safeguard Hong Kong stability

(Peoples Daily Online)17:34, July 03, 2019

While people from all walks of life in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were immersed in festivities commemorating the return of Hong Kong to the motherland and the establishment of the HKSAR on July 1, in complete contrast, some protesters were storming the regions Legislative Council on the other side of the city.

The violent acts severely challenged the rule of law in Hong Kong, jeopardized the social stability of Hong Kong and blatantly challenged the bottom line of one country, two systems.

No country or society should tolerate such acts. The central government resolutely supports HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the HKSAR government to exercise their duty, investigate and punish the violations, and protect social order and public safety.

The rule of law has always been a core value cherished by Hong Kong. The HKSAR and Hong Kong residents have always been admired for their law-abiding spirit, and such spirit should never be crushed.

A society ruled by law needs to accommodate different voices, but it does not mean that a few people can carry out illegal acts, nor that violent crime should be tolerated.

Laws are to be abided by, and law-breakers must be punished. Only by safeguarding the authority of law and defending the dignity of law can we ensure the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, as well as the stability of the country.

Hong Kong is a pluralistic society. It is not strange that there are disagreements or major differences on some issues. However, if people become too politicized over various issues, and create confrontations, they will seriously hinder the economic and social development of Hong Kong.

Politicizing and even demonizing the HKSAR governments amending of related ordinances, creating social conflicts and inciting illegal activities have damaged Hong Kongs reputation as an international business metropolis and hurt the vital interests and fundamental welfare of residents.

It should be emphasized that Hong Kong is a society that upholds the rule of law, peace, rationality and tolerance. To seek consensus and eliminate discord within the framework of the rule of law is the collective responsibility of all residents who genuinely love Hong Kong.

Harmony brings good fortune, while discord leads to misfortune. Hong Kong, despite its strong economic foundation, faces enormous challenges as the global economic pattern undergoes drastic changes and competition becomes fiercer. Therefore, administering Hong Kong based on the rule of law is of extreme importance.

To strongly condemn violence is the common aspiration of patriots and people who love Hong Kong, as well as a requirement to promote the rule of law and safeguard the rule of law in Hong Kong.

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Mainland, HK to deepen cooperation in securities regulation

(Xinhua)08:48, July 05, 2019

BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) — Chinese mainland will deepen cooperation in securities regulation with Hong Kong to fully protect investors rights and interests.

The Ministry of Finance and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Wednesday.

The MoU made arrangements to grant the SFC access to the draft documents of Hong Kong accounting firms auditing Hong Kong-listed companies from the mainland.

The regulatory cooperation mechanism between the mainland and Hong Kong has also been improved in the MoU.

Strengthening cooperation is needed to promote the markets connectivity and deepen the financial reform since more enterprises from the mainland went public and issued bonds in Hong Kong, Deputy Minister of Finance Cheng Lihua said.

It is an important way to protect investors rights and interests, as well as a new start for deepening cooperation in securities regulation, said Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the CSRC.

It is the first time that the SFC signed an MoU with two mainland regulators at the same time, the SFC CEO Ashley Alder said, adding that the SFC has confidence in effectively cracking down on cross-border violations and better protecting the healthy development of the financial industry.

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China’s digital technology spurs online snack sales

(Peoples Daily Online)12:51, July 05, 2019

(Photo/pixabay.com)

New sales channels create new demands and business opportunities, Zhang Liaoyuan, founder of Chinese online snacks seller Three Squirrels Inc., told People’s Daily Overseas Edition.

With the internet and digital technology, Zhang says his company is bridging the gap between food producers and customers.

In China, digital technologies including mobile internet and AI technology have boosted the snack industry in recent years. Nuts, cereal, and other new snacks sold well during online shopping festivals such as the mid-year shopping spree on June 18.

Over the past 10 years, the annual output of China’s snack industry has grown substantially, exceeding 2 trillion yuan, according to a report on China’s snack industry recently issued by the Department of Circulation Industry Development under the Ministry of Commerce.

The number is expected to rise to 3 trillion yuan by 2020, the report indicates.

Three Squirrels, one of China’s fast-developing snack producers and sellers, has built a partnership with more than 500 companies through its cloud platform, and staff explained that it has also extended its production line with a supplier management system.

It is growing from an e-commerce company to a platform for digitalized supply chain, said Zhang, adding that the company will continue to explore the overseas market and open more brick-and-mortar stores.

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Average salary in 37 major Chinese cities reaches 8,452 yuan report

(Peoples Daily Online)13:31, July 05, 2019

(Photo/Chinanews.com)

A recent report on the demand and supply of white-collar workers in China during the second quarter of 2019 showed that the average monthly salary in 37 major Chinese cities rose to 8,452 yuan (about $1,230), an increase of 5 percent compared with the first quarter of this year, while average monthly wages in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen now exceed 10,000 yuan.

35.5 percent of positions released had a monthly salary of over 8,000 yuan, slightly higher than during the first quarter, while jobs with a salary ranging from 4,001 to 6,000 yuan accounted for 29.5 percent of the market, according to the report released by Zhaopin.com, one of China鈥檚 major job recruitment platforms, on July 3.

The number of jobs with a monthly salary between 6,000 and 8,000 yuan accounted for 23 percent of the total number of positions open during the second quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, 11.3 percent of jobs paid between 2,001 and 4,000 yuan per month. Only 0.6 percent of those employed received a monthly salary of less than 2,000 yuan, suggested the report.

According to the report, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, with an average monthly salary of 11,204 yuan, 10,662 yuan, and 10,088 yuan respectively, ranked top among the 37 major cities in the country.

Urumqi, capital of northwest China鈥檚 Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Taiyuan City, capital of north China鈥檚 Shanxi Province, saw growth of over 10 percent in average salary compared with the first quarter, representing the most significant growth in monthly average salaries of the 37 major cities in the country.

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IoT sensors and technologies help Chinese farmers

(Peoples Daily Online)17:03, July 04, 2019

(Photo/Xinhua)

“Moisture state, photosynthesis, growth rate, fruit weight and size, these can all be transmitted to farmers cellphones by these sensors,” said technician Sun Kai, adding that farmers can compare the data with the optimum conditions for growth, and use their phones to give instructions to add water, fertilizer or adjust other requirements as needed.

Sun has been working in an agricultural science and technology company as a technician for seven years. He installs and debugs Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensors and devices on crops.

IoT-based technologies and sensors have been applied in many agricultural bases across China. They can help test, alert, analyze, and make adjustments to the growing environment of plants, significantly saving water and fertilizer while reducing labor costs.

In the dendrobe planting base of the Internet-based agriculture park of Shishan Town, Haikou City, capital of south China’s Hainan Province, Sun’s team developed specialized algorithms and devices for the base, providing an effective solution to the local conditions.

Considering that dendrobes like a cool and humid environment, and the local area, though endowed with plenty of good quality soil, often suffers from water shortages, Sun’s team developed and installed specialized sensors to detect the moisture content of the plants and a smart irrigation system to irrigate the plants according to their needs.

Thanks to Sun’s team, the IoT-based agricultural park in Dayu Town, Hefei City, capital of east China’s Anhui Province now sees a significant improvement in efficiency as well as a dramatic reduction in irrigation and water costs.

In the past, it took efforts of at least 10 workers to irrigate or apply fertilizer to a vineyard covering an area of 100 mu (One mu equals 0.0667 hectares). Now the job can be taken care of by just one person.

Furthermore, by putting the drip irrigation system into use, people can save 70 percent of the water needed for irrigation. Moreover, applying fertilizer to the root area of the plants helps farmers reduce nearly 60 percent of the fertilizer required.

The company Sun works for has expanded into over 10 provinces in China, covering such areas as planting rice in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, an agricultural demonstration park in east China’s Zhejiang Province, greenhouse vegetables in east China’s Jiangsu Province, and tropical agriculture in Hainan Province.

“The installation and debugging of a sensor set can now be done within two to three hours,” said Sun. He explained that preparations used to take at least three days, as his team needed to develop a unique algorithm for each plant species, test the stability of the sensors, and then repeatedly check the data transmission conditions in advance of the installation.

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Six die, 190 injured as tornado hits Chinese city

(Xinhua)09:36, July 04, 2019

SHENYANG, July 3 (Xinhua) — Six people died and over 190 others were injured after a strong tornado hit a city in northeast Chinas Liaoning Province, local authorities said Wednesday.

The tornado, packing winds up to 23 meters per second, struck the city of Kaiyuan around 5:15 p.m, the publicity department of the city government said.

It touched down at the Jingouzi Township, rampaged through an industrial park and churned south. It lasted around 15 minutes.

The tornado, packing strong showers and hailstones, wreaked havoc on apartments, factory buildings and electricity poles.

Local authorities are checking losses. The city government said about 210 people have been rescued from damaged buildings.

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China establishing modernized weaponry, equipment system white paper

(Xinhua)13:16, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 24 — Chinas armed forces are optimizing the overall composition of weaponry and equipment and coordinating the efforts of all services and arms in this regard, a white paper said Wednesday.

The armed forces are promoting the balanced development of main battle equipment, information systems, and support equipment, with a view to comprehensively raising standardization, serial development and interoperability, according to the white paper titled Chinas National Defense in the New Era, released by the State Council Information Office.

Old equipment is being phased out, with a system created that mainly comprises new and high-tech weaponry and equipment, it said.

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White paper gives overview of reshuffled armed forces

(Xinhua)13:18, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 24 — A white paper titled Chinas National Defense in the New Era, released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office, gave a systematic introduction to the reshuffled Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the Peoples Armed Police Force (PAP) troops.

According to the white paper, the PLA Army (PLAA) plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining Chinas national sovereignty, security and development interests. It comprises maneuver operation, border and coastal defense, and garrison forces. Under the PLAA, there are five Theater Command army commands, the Xinjiang military command, and the Tibet military command.

The PLA Navy has a very important standing in the overall configuration of Chinas national security and development. It comprises submarine, surface ship, aviation, marine, and coastal defense forces.

According to the white paper, the PLA Air Force plays a crucial role in overall national security and military strategy. It comprises aviation, airborne, ground-to-air missile, radar, ECM, and communications forces.

The PLA Rocket Force plays a critical role in maintaining Chinas national sovereignty and security. It comprises nuclear missile, conventional missile and support forces, and subordinate missile bases.

According to the white paper, the PLA Strategic Support Force is a new type of combat force for safeguarding national security and an important driver for the growth of new combat capabilities. It comprises supporting forces for battlefield environment, information, communications, information security, and new technology testing.

The PLA Joint Logistic Support Force, as the main force for joint logistics as well as strategic and campaign level support, is an important component of the modern military force with Chinese characteristics. It comprises the support forces for inventory and warehousing, medical services, transport, force projection, oil pipelines, engineering and construction management, reserve assets management, and procurement.

The PAP shoulders important responsibilities in safeguarding national security, social stability and public wellbeing. China has adopted a Central Military Commission-PAP-Troops leadership and command system with the basic duties and nature of the PAP unchanged. The PAP is not in the force structure of the PLA. Following adjustment and reorganization, the PAP is mainly composed of the internal security corps, the mobile corps, and the coast guard.

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Chinas defense expenditure reasonable, appropriate white paper

(Xinhua)13:20, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 24 — Chinas defense expenditure is reasonable and appropriate, said a white paper released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office.

According to the white paper titled Chinas National Defense in the New Era, China attends to both development and security. It is making an integrated effort to build a prosperous country and a strong military, and striving for the coordinated development of national defense and the economy.

Following the principle of building the armed forces through diligence and thrift, China takes into consideration the development of the economy and the demands of national defense, decides on the appropriate scale and composition of defense expenditure, and manages and applies these funds in accordance with law.

It said that all in all, Chinas defense expenditure is open and transparent, and its spending is reasonable and appropriate. Compared to other major countries, the ratios of Chinas defense expenditure to GDP and to government expenditure, as well as the per capita defense expenditure of the country, remain at a relatively low level.

As the only major country yet to be completely reunified, and one of the countries with the most complex peripheral security environment, China faces serious challenges in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and maritime rights and interests, the white paper said.

China is moving closer to the center of the world stage, and the international community expects more international public security goods from the Chinese military, according to the white paper.

There is still a wide gap between Chinas defense expenditure and the requirements for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, for fulfilling Chinas international responsibilities and obligations as a major country, and for Chinas development. In step with national economic development, defense expenditure of China will maintain a moderate and steady growth, said the white paper.

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White paper states global significance of Chinas national defense

(Xinhua)13:22, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 24 — The global significance of Chinas national defense in the new era is actively contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind, a white paper said Wednesday.

The dream of the Chinese people is closely connected with the dreams of peoples around the world. Peace, stability and prosperity in China present opportunities and benefits to the rest of the world, said the white paper titled Chinas National Defense in the New Era.

A strong military of China is a staunch force for world peace, stability and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, it said.

Chinas armed forces advocate common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, uphold justice while pursuing shared interests, and actively participate in the reform of global security governance system, said the white paper.

Efforts are made to deepen bilateral and multilateral security cooperation, promote a coordinated, inclusive and complementary cooperation among security mechanisms, and contribute to a security architecture featuring equality, mutual trust, fairness, justice, joint contribution and shared benefits, it said.

Committed to the principle of win-win cooperation, Chinas armed forces will fulfill their international responsibilities and obligations, and provide more public security goods to the international community to the best of their capacity, according to the white paper.

Chinas armed forces actively participate in the UN peacekeeping operations, vessel protection operations, and international efforts in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, strengthen international cooperation in arms control and non-proliferation, play a constructive role in the political settlement of hotspot issues, jointly maintain the security of international passages, and make concerted efforts to respond to global challenges such as terrorism, cyber security and major natural disasters, thus making a positive contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind.