Month: June 2020

(Xinhua)10:37, July 13, 2019

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) — China will step up efforts to make sure its entire impoverished population is covered by basic health insurance, critical illness insurance and medical assistance system.

At a nationwide teleconference on poverty alleviation through improving healthcare on Thursday, central authorities stressed the need to guarantee basic medical care for people in poverty-stricken areas.

According to the conference, the set standards should be upheld in building up the capacity of hospitals and healthcare institutions at the primary level. It also underlined the importance of disease prevention for poor populations.

(Xinhua)15:00, July 13, 2019

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) — A mainland spokesperson on Friday slammed Tsai Ing-wen and the administration of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for disregarding Taiwan peoples wellbeing and banking on foreign forces to build themselves up.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks when responding to a question about Tsais transit in the United States.

For their own selfish purposes, Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP administration has attempted to challenge the one-China principle with the help of foreign forces and seriously damaged peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, he said.

The DPP administration has wrongly judged the situation and turned against the will of the people, and will not escape the fate of being abandoned by the people, he said.

No element should underestimate our resolve and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Ma added.

(China Daily)15:09, July 13, 2019

Shandong University has apologized for the negative social impact caused by its buddy program that implies local female students will be selected to aid male foreign students who live and study at the school.

The university said in a statement on Friday that online comments on its buddy program aroused public attention recently.

Due to insufficient checks during the implementation of the program, the improper expression, making friends with foreigners of the opposite sex appeared on the application form, the statement said.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for people from all walks of life concerning the development of Shandong University, and be sincere about the criticism and suggestions of the vast number of netizens, the statement said.

The buddy program, which was introduced in late 2016, has not been reviewed properly, the statement said.

On Thursday, netizens strongly criticized the program after a Weibo posting said three local students, including women, had been selected to assist one foreign student.

The university denied the claim, but conceded the program had flaws because of insufficient reviews.

The university will conduct an overall assessment on the buddy program to improve the programs performance, said the statement.

The buddy program aims to promote study and cultural exchanges between international and Chinese students, the statement said. Students who join the program carry out activities in teams and students are required to strictly obey its regulations.

The program, which matches students with common interests and hobbies, has been welcomed by both domestic and foreign students, the university said.

The program is actually a win-win situation for both parties. Its the best opportunity for learning about new languages and cultures, Mohammad Rasheduzzaman, a student from Bangladesh studying at the university, said.

A temporary regulation published by the schools international affairs office in 2016 shows the longest time a student can join the program is one year.

After that the student has to present a written application to continue in the program.

(Xinhua)16:20, July 13, 2019

BERLIN, July 13 (Xinhua) — Trash separation is the talk of the town in China these days as the government unveils a list of 46 pilot cities to build up a garbage sorting and processing system by 2020.

Mandatory schemes on household garbage sorting have already emerged in metropolises like Shanghai in order to improve its recycling rates.

Moreover, an investment of 21.3 billion yuan (about 3.1 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated to speed up building the recycling system, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Many European enterprises, with their advanced technology and rich experience, have seen enormous markets and are eyeing a share in Chinas ongoing green efforts.

DRIVE TO BUILD ECO-CITIES

Germanys ALBA group has brought one of its specialities to the southern Chinese city of Jieyang in Guangdong Province.

A complicated yet precise ingenuity was seen at one garbage processing plant.

After removing heavy metals, plastics, harmful waste, sand, rocks, water, step by step, recyclable substances were taken out, smashed and reshaped to fuel blocks.

The unique technology turns household garbage into green fuel, said Chang Guang, project manager for the garbage processing plant, a joint venture of ALBA Group, Zhongde Metal Group and Guangdong Rising Assets Management Co., Ltd.

Chang said calorific value of the fuel block equals that of brown coal and can be used as alternative fuel in power or cement plants.

It is more environmentally friendly. Compared to burning coals, our fuel block emits about 70 percent less CO2, Chang added.

The project has received support from the local government, as dealing with mountains of garbage has always been a headache for many cities including Jieyang.

The daily total volume of garbage in the mid-sized Chinese city has rocketed from 600 tons in 2005 to 1,500 tons in 2018.

The plant, which started its test run in 2018, will be capable of handling 1,000 tons of garbage per day after completing its first phase of construction and 2,000 tons after the second phase.

Pei Albrecht, head of ALBA Groups China affairs, said many other cities have already shown interest in waste recycling technologies and the market potential in the coming years are beyond imagination.

ALBA Group was invited to work out some plans for garbage disposals in cities like Taiyuan (in northern China). Theyre determined to solve their problems, said Pei.

Commenting on Chinas trash recycling efforts, Jurijs Trosenko, a regional manager of Solid Environmental Technologies company in Finland, said China has started to tackle the problem before it becomes too critical.

He said it is good for the vast country to set an example for all developing countries.

VALUABLE EUROPEAN KNOW-HOW

In Sweden, a small city called Hammerby, some 8 km south of the capital city Stockholm, has seen many Chinese delegations seeking advanced technologies in environmental protection in recent years.

Hammerby is now an eco-city model with large stretches of woods and lawns, as well as crystal clear rivers.

Some 30 years ago, the city was called a garbage city as it was heavily polluted with household garbages.

As part of the citys reincarnation efforts, biodegradable plastic bags were in place for garbage sorting, and vacuum underground tubes were built to send the sorted trashes to different processing centers.

ENVAC Group, an enterprise that took part in this drive, also went to China for business opportunities.

In March, ENVAC signed a contract with the White Peak Real Estate to supply its system to a new, smart eco-community in Chinas eastern coastal city of Yantai.

Sustainable development and environmental friendliness is the feature (of the eco-community). We are trying to solve a myth that urbanization level is rising but peoples sense of happiness is dipping, said Jesper Jos Olsson, president of the White Peak Real Estate.

With an eye on Chinas green future, Chinese enterprises are investing big in relevant European businesses.

China Everbright International acquired NOVAGO Sp. Z o.o., a major Polish waste management firm, in 2016.

Established in 1992, NOVAGO is said to be the largest independent waste treatment company in Poland.

NOVAGOs advanced waste-to-energy technologies, turning organic waste to methane and combustible waste to alternative fuel, are highly valued for the Chinese market.

The method will contribute to lessening dependence on traditional fossil fuels and help reduce the most harmful emissions, such as particulates, sulphur and ash, serving the crucial and ultimate goal of protecting the environment. Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Zhang Yuan, Lian Zhen in Berlin, Zhai Wei in Brussels, Wang Pan in Guangzhou, Li Jizhi in Helsinki, He Miao in Stockholm, Zhang Zhang in Warsaw contributed to the story.)

(Xinhua)16:21, July 13, 2019

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) — A total of 19,760 Chinese students applied to study at British universities this year, up 30 percent from the previous year, China Daily reported Saturday.

It was the first time that the number of would-be students from China exceeded that from Northern Ireland, which was 18,520 this year, read the paper citing statistics from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

The number of students from the European Union (EU) and outside of the EU choosing the United Kingdom as a study destination respectively increased by 1 percent and 8 percent to 50,650 and 81,340. Enditem

(Xinhua)08:32, July 12, 2019

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese top legislator Li Zhanshu has called for a new law to define the boundaries of biotechnological development in the country.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, made the call at a symposium held on Wednesday to hear advice on drafting a biosecurity law.

Li expected such a law to establish fundamental institutions and principles of biosecurity, highlight risk prevention, and help safeguard the countrys biosecurity and peoples lives and health.

(Peoples Daily Online)14:52, July 12, 2019

A cinema in Beijing (Photo/Xinhua)

The box office revenue in China has slumped by 2.8 percent, and the number of movie-goers has fallen by 10.5 percent, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

In the first half of the year, 806 million moviegoers were registered at theaters, while the figure in the same period last year was 901 million. The box office revenue in this period was 31 billion yuan, compared with 32 billion in the same period last year.

The Broadway Cinema on Wangfujing Street, Beijing, sold only six tickets for a screening of the Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming, starting 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The ticket was priced at 50 yuan ($7.28), data provided by a third-party movie-ticketing platform showed. No tickets were sold for the screening of the movie starting 9:20 p.m. that same day.

The cinema downturn is partly related to rising movie ticket prices. The average movie ticket price in the first half of the year was 37.8 yuan (service charge included), up 7.6 percent year on year, according to data from Dengta, a film analytics platform backed by Alibaba Pictures.

The lack of high-quality films is another reason. This year, the number of movies that recurred box office revenue of more than one billion yuan was much smaller compared with that of the same period last year. As a result, many people have resorted to other entertainment channels.

(Xinhua)08:23, July 11, 2019

HANGZHOU, July 10 (Xinhua) — One person died and three injured after a small plane made an emergency landing in east Chinas Zhejiang Province on Wednesday, local authorities said.

At 11:37 a.m., authorities in Anji County of Zhejiang received a report that a small plane with four people on board had gone missing.

Nearly two hours later, a rescue team found that the plane had made an emergency landing 2 km away from a local airport. The four were rushed to a hospital.

A woman later died at the hospital despite emergency treatment. The three others were in stable condition.

An investigation is underway.

(Xinhua)13:20, July 11, 2019

WUHAN, July 10 (Xinhua) — A set of official souvenir coins and stamps of the 7th Military World Games were issued at the 100-day countdown here on Wednesday.

Issued by the Peoples Bank of China, the set of souvenir coins consisting of one gold and five silvers, are the legal tender of the Peoples Republic of China.

The coins were designed with emblems of the Games, including the official mascot Bing Bing and landmarks of the host city of Wuhan.

Issued by China Post, the set of souvenir stamps have venues and sports programs of the Games printed with special inks to create a theme of military.

Being the first international military multi-sport event to be held in China, the 7th Military World Games has over 10,000 military athletes from 105 countries and regions signed up to participate.

(Peoples Daily Online)13:29, July 11, 2019

The manufacturing sector has become the hottest industry for last year’s Chinese graduates to secure a job in, according to an employment report of Chinese college graduates recently issued by China’s Northeast Normal University.

The report covered 232 four-year colleges in China, or 28.4 percent of the total, receiving 79,855 valid questionnaires.

It said that 14.8 percent of the respondents landed their jobs in the manufacturing industry, while those who chose information transmission, software and information technology accounted for 13.8 percent. The construction industry ranked at the third hottest destination for fresh graduates of 2018, receiving 10.2 percent of the students.

Development prospects, salary, stability, location and personal interest were the five largest factors determining the graduates’ decisions, the report said. 75.5 percent of the college students who graduated last year are doing jobs related to their majors in university.

For those choosing to start their own businesses after graduation, culture, sports and entertainment were the hottest fields, followed by education, wholesale and retailing.

82.6 percent of this group had worked part-time as a student, and 92.4 percent of them had experiences of social practices, according to the report.