December
January 02,2020 By:
| China to further improve nutrition for rural students Chinese authorities require further strengthening the nutrition improvement program for rural students in compulsory education, according to a circular released on Dec.4. The circular, issued by five state organs including the Ministry of Education, demanded school officials accompany students to school meals as a way of ensuring food safety. Schools should also invite parents to accompany students to school meals if the facilities permit, it added. From：Xinhua China allocates lottery funds for poverty alleviation The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has allocated 2.06 billion yuan (about 292.1 million U.S. dollars) of central lottery public welfare funds to support poverty alleviation in old revolutionary base areas. The funds allocated will mainly be used for the construction of public welfare facilities in poverty-stricken villages of old revolutionary base areas, the MOF said on Dec.5. From：Xinhua China to take multi-pronged measures to keep employment stable China will take robust and multi-pronged measures to ensure that employment remains stable. The government will scale up support for flexible employment, boost job opportunities for people with disabilities, and tackle the stubborn issue of wage arrears affecting migrant workers with legal means. A host of steps was decided upon at the State Council's executive meeting on Dec.4 chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. From：Xinhua Chinese gov't solicits expertise for aged care services China's Ministry of Civil Affairs is recruiting experts in the field of elderly care services to promote the healthy development of the sector and better cope with an aging population. Personnel engaged in theoretical and policy research or practical aged care services in central and state organs, their affiliated policy research institutions, Party schools, institutions of higher learning and local civil affairs departments, among others, are eligible to apply, the ministry's elderly care service bureau said in a statement on Dec.10. From：Xinhua Enormous water project benefits over 120 mln people More than 120 million people in northern China have benefited from the world's largest water diversion project, which transfers water from the Yangtze River in the south to the drought-prone north, authorities said on Dec.12. Since coming into operation, the middle and eastern canals of the project have transferred nearly 30 billion cubic meters of water to over 40 cities and 260 counties in northern China, Vice-Minister of Water Resources Jiang Xuguang said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office. From: China Daily NE China province to increase nurseries for children under 3 Northeast China's Jilin Province recently introduced a new policy to encourage kindergartens, employers and resident communities to establish nurseries for children under three, local authorities said on Dec.14. The move is to further support the full implementation of the two-child policy and meet the needs of parents for childcare services, according to the Health Commission of Jilin Province. From：Xinhua China's employment stable in first 11 months China's job market remained generally stable in the first 11 months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Dec.16. A total of 12.79 million new urban jobs were created during the period, exceeding this year's target of creating over 11 million urban jobs, according to the bureau. From：Xinhua China to connect all townships, villages with paved roads by end-2019 All Chinese townships and administrative villages are expected to be connected by asphalt or cement roads by the end of this year, said an official with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Dec.17. As of Sunday, there was only one township and one administrative village in southwest China's Sichuan Province that had yet to finish the construction of paved roads, which were expected to be completed by the end of the year, said Sun Wenjian, spokesperson for the ministry. From：Xinhua China's pork supply, demand to balance for the Chinese New Year China's pork market may beat expectations with balanced supply and demand during the upcoming Chinese New Year, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) on Dec.17. Increased pork import, stacked hogs to hit shelves and reserved pork released from government and commercial inventory will expand supply for the staple meat during the holidays, Wang Junxun, a senior official with the MARA, told a press conference. From：Xinhua China to ensure smooth Spring Festival travel rush China will take multiple measures to ensure smooth travels during this year's Spring Festival, said China's top economic planner on Dec.18. About three billion trips are expected to be made during the 2020 Spring Festival travel rush between Jan. 10 and Feb. 18, according to a document on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission. From：Xinhua China unveils 10 major steps forward in child welfare, protection in 2019 Two Chinese institutions have released a list of 10 major events in 2019 regarding progress made in child welfare and protection, China Youth Daily reported on Dec.19. The 10 events, marking several "firsts" and the establishment of industrial standards, were published by the China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service and the Family and Child Research Center of Beijing Normal University. From：Xinhua Over 2,000 earthquake monitor stations to be built in SW China A total of 2,003 earthquake monitor stations will be built in Southwest China's Sichuan province by the end of 2020 to provide alarms seconds before the seismic waves arrive, the provincial earthquake administration said on Dec.19. The seismic intensity of the earthquake will also be available several minutes after the earthquake to help the local governments locate the areas that are hit and take responding rescue measures. From：Xinhua Chinese police to start six-month crackdown on sexual offences against minors Chinese police plan to launch a six-month crackdown on sexual offenses, especially those involving minors, in 2020 amid intensifying efforts on child protection, a senior official with the Ministry of Public Security announced on Dec.20. Chinese police will pilot a streamlined method of evidence collecting in sexual assault cases in the interest of underage victims and their privacy, said Gong Zhiyong, deputy director of the ministry's criminal investigation bureau, at a press conference. From：Xinhua China makes headway in promoting archives digitalization A total of 25 institutions for digital archive storage were established this year, the National Archives Administration said on Dec.23. In 2019, the administration issued a guideline for the construction of mobile archival service platforms, and initiated the building of a national service platform for consulting and utilizing files, said Li Minghua, head of the administration, at a national conference for archival work. From：Xinhua China speeds up renovation of dilapidated rural houses China's housing authorities on Dec.23 pledged to speed up efforts to renovate dilapidated rural houses as the deadline to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020 approaches. China will ensure that renovation work on 1.35 million dilapidated rural homes will be completed in 2020, Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said at a work conference. From：Xinhua China's top legislature opposes U.S. House approval of Xinjiang-related bill The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Dec.4 issued a statement, expressing strong indignation over and firm opposition to the passing of a bill on Xinjiang-related issues by the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019," or the UIGHUR Act of 2019, on Dec.3 local time, maliciously attacking the human rights conditions in Xinjiang, slandering China's de-radicalization and anti-terrorism efforts, making groundless accusations against the Chinese government's Xinjiang policies and grossly interfering in China's internal affairs, according to the statement. From：Xinhua China urges U.S. to learn lessons from 9/11 attacks, stop double standards on anti-terrorism China warned on Dec.4 if the United States continues to play with double standards on anti-terrorism or even try to infringe upon other countries' sovereignty and security, it will end up swallowing a bitter fruit with its own interests harmed. "It hasn't been long since the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. should not forget the pain as wounds heal," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference. From：Xinhua China installs 22,300 toilets at tourist destinations in 2019 A total of 22,300 toilets were installed or renovated at tourist destinations in China this year, accounting for 117 percent of the annual target, said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Dec.24. The number of newly installed or upgraded tourist toilets has reached 52,600 since 2018, or 89 percent of the 2018-2020 target, said Li Hong, an official with the MCT. From：Xinhua China spends 80 bln USD on people in need since 2016 China's central fiscal allocated 561.8 billion yuan (about 80 billion U.S. dollars) to help people in need from 2016 to 2019, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a report on Dec.25. The funds were used to help people in extreme poverty, orphans, and the homeless, among others, said the report on China's social assistance work. From：Xinhua China aims to ensure safety of Spring Festival travel rush China's Ministry of Public Security on Dec.25 unveiled measures to guarantee safe and smooth transport during the upcoming travel rush for the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. The ministry has asked police departments across the country to clear hazards of law violations by strictly controlling high-risk vehicles, as well as dealing with speeding, overloading and driving under fatigue. From：Xinhua China's fiscal spending on environmental protection sees fast growth: minister China's fiscal expenditure on ecological and environmental protection saw fast growth in recent years as the government stepped up efforts to fight against pollution. From 2016 to 2018, the fiscal spending in the sector amounted to 2.45 trillion yuan (about 349.67 billion U.S. dollars), according to Finance Minister Liu Kun, who delivered a report on Dec.25 at the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. From：Xinhua China's tax and fee cuts reach 1.96 trln yuan in Jan.-Oct. China's massive tax and fee cut measures saved enterprises and individuals over 1.96 trillion yuan (about 280.73 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of the year, an official said on Dec.25. Entrusted by the State Council, Minister of Finance Liu Kun briefed Chinese lawmakers on a report on tax cuts and fee reduction work at the third plenary meeting of the ongoing bimonthly session of the country's top legislature. From：Xinhua China sees improved air quality: official China has seen notable improvement of air quality in key regions thanks to its efforts in air pollution control since the beginning of the year, environmental authorities said on Dec.26. In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding regions, the number of days with good air quality in November jumped 18.6 percentage points year on year to 63 percent, data from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) showed. From：Xinhua China to launch national green development fund in 2020: official China will officially launch its national green development fund in 2020, amid efforts to improve the economic policy system for ecological and environmental protection, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on Dec.26. Environmental economic policies can stimulate the endogenous power of enterprises for pollution control and are an effective way to solve environmental problems, MEE official Xu Bijiu told a press conference in Beijing. From：Xinhua China to strengthen judgment enforcement in unpaid wages for migrant workers Chinese courts will further strengthen the enforcement of court judgments with cases involving unpaid wages for rural migrant workers, according to China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) on December 31. Aiming to protect the legitimate rights and interests of rural migrant workers, people's courts at all levels are required to take effective measures to help root out non-payment of wages, including an improved one-stop litigation service mechanism and a green channel to facilitate litigation services in related cases, the SPC said in a circular. From：Xinhua |
