August 2019

China to further raise pension benefits for retired soldiers

China will further increase pension and living subsidies for disabled veterans, Red Army veterans and families of martyrs starting Aug. 1, China’s Army Day.

Pension allowances for disabled soldiers, police officers and militia members, as well as families of martyrs and deceased soldiers, will be increased by 10 percent from last year, according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

From: Xinhua

China sees progress in improving accessibility for disabled

China has registered progress in improving accessibility for persons with disabilities or physical challenges since the release of a set of regulations on the initiative in 2012.

Adopted by the State Council, the Regulations on the Building of an Accessible Environment took effect on Aug. 1, 2012.

 

From: Xinhua

China to install more elevators for persons with disabilities

The China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) has called for further improving accessibility for the persons with disabilities, underlining the urgency to install more elevators.

A program was launched at a press conference on Aug. 2 in Beijing to push for the installation of more elevators for old residential buildings.

 

From: Xinhua

China to build child sex offender database

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) announced on Aug. 2 that a national database of child sex offenders will be established.

The SPP will also promote the building of relevant inquiry and restriction mechanisms for candidates seeking employment related to minors, said Shi Weizhong, a senior prosecutor with the SPP, at a video conference on inter-agency protection of rural left-behind children and children living in difficulties.

 

From: Xinhua

Employment training programs for disabled receive donation

The China Foundation for Disabled Persons (CFDP) received 1 million yuan ($144,500) of donation on Aug. 5 to sponsor employment training of persons with disabilities.

The donation was from a Beijing-based foundation attached to 58.com, which will jointly launch a charity program with the CFDP, the CFDP press release said.

 

From: Xinhua

43 Tibetan kids with heart disease to receive free treatment

Forty-three Tibetan children suffering from congenital heart disease will receive free surgery treatment in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, according to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF).

Together with the 7 th People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou, the CRCF initiated this congenital heart disease screening program in Shigatse, the second largest city in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, from Aug. 1 to 5. A total of 206 children in the area received the screening.

 

From: Xinhua

China stipulates national standards for disability nursing home care

China on Aug. 7 issued its first national standards for nursing home care services for people with disabilities.

The standards, to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, apply to nursing home facilities for working-age persons with intellectual, mental and severe physical disabilities.

The standards include service contents, requirements and procedures, as well as

management and service evaluation.

 

From: Xinhua

Measures to improve lives, boost demand

China will take more measures, including improving services for people’s daily lives and encouraging cultural and tourism consumption, as part of efforts to better meet the need for consumer sector upgrades to further unleash the potential of domestic demand.

The decision was made on Aug. 7 at the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

 

From: Xinhua

Beijing court sets up judicial education bases in schools

Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court has set up judicial education bases in three schools on Aug. 8 to strengthen protection for juveniles.

The court said it will organize various judicial activities, including law lectures and juvenile-related case sharing, with the Capital Normal University High School, High School Affiliated to Beijing Institute of Technology and Beijing Shijingshanqu Experimental Primary School through the bases.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has invested nearly 1.15 billion yuan (about 163 million U.S. dollars) to improve nutrition for rural students in the first half of this year.

The regional education department said on Aug. 12 that about 1.44 million rural students have benefited from the program, which aims to improve nutrition for rural elementary and middle school students, especially those living in poverty-stricken areas in southern Xinjiang.

 

From: Xinhua

China allocates 300 million yuan for Typhoon Lekima relief

China allocated 300 million yuan (42.73 million U.S. dollars) of central fiscal funds on Aug. 12 to help with rescue and relief work in three provinces affected by Typhoon Lekima.

A total of 150 million yuan was allocated to eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, following a 30-million-yuan relief fund previously given to the province, where Typhoon Lekima made landfall on Aug. 10, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM).

 

From: Xinhua

Chinese charity donates 50 water tanks to poverty-stricken area

A total of 50 water tanks are set to head for people in poverty-stricken regions in the city of Hechi, southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation said on Aug. 15.

The foundation was established by the Central Committee of China National Democratic Construction Association in 2007, to prompt enterprise engagement in poverty relief and other charity projects.

 

From: Xinhua

China releases white paper on vocational education and training in Xinjiang

China released a white paper on vocational education and training in Xinjiang on Aug. 16.

There are six chapters in the white paper: urgent needs for education and training, law-based education and training, content of education and training, protection of trainees’ basic rights, remarkable results in education and training, and experience in countering extremism.

The white paper, published by the State Council Information Office, said that terrorism and extremism are the common enemies of humanity, and the fight against terrorism and extremism is the shared responsibility of the international community.

 

From: Xinhua

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Aug. 19 stressed the importance of stabilizing employment while presiding over a symposium in Harbin, capital city of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

Employment is pivotal to people’s wellbeing. Governments should realize the arduousness of job creation and put stable employment at a more prominent position, Li said.

 

From: Xinhua

Relocated town in Kashgar gains access to power supply, better road conditions, health care

Once living in Kosirap Township in the remote area of Kunlun Mountains, 1,194 households were relocated to Tongan Township, 94 kilometers away from the original spot, in Aug. 2018. As a series of favorable measures were taken, the relocated town has gained access to power supply, better road conditions and health care. Furthermore, local authorities boost villagers’ income by attracting investment and developing courtyard economy. By the end of 2019, a total of 160 thousand farmers and herders in the poverty-stricken areas will be relocated to new houses subsidized by government on plain or near oasis.

 

From: Xinhua

Xi highlights significance of ecological civilization

President Xi Jinping encouraged efforts to protect the environment and biological diversity in a congratulatory letter on Monday to a forum on national parks.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that building an ecological civilization bears great significance in the development and progress of human civilization.

The first National Park Forum, themed “Establish the Mechanism of Nature Reserve Areas with National Parks as a Major Component”, opened on Aug. 19 in Xining, capital of Qinghai province.

 

From: China Daily

Traditional Tibetan medical services available in 89 percent of Tibet’s township clinics

Traditional Tibetan medical services are available in 89 percent of township clinics in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, according to a forum on Tibetan studies held on Aug. 20.

Figures also showed that Tibet now has 43 public-funded healthcare institutions of traditional Tibetan medicine and 13 private-run hospitals of traditional Tibetan medicine.

 

From: Xinhua

 

Chinese authorities have promised to crack down on acts that disrupt school order and law-based settlement of disputes over school accidents in a guideline released on Aug. 20.

Such acts include attacking people, intentionally damaging public properties, putting up banners on campus, blocking school gates, and stalking school officials, according to the guideline jointly issued by five departments including the Ministry of Education, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Public Security.

 

From: Xinhua

Concern group against school bullying set up in Hong Kong

A concern group against school bullying was set up in Hong Kong on Aug. 21 amid the escalated violent acts from radical protesters in recent months.

The aim of setting up this group is to provide an extra channel for students and parents in need to report school bullying cases, said Chan Wing-Kee, convenor of the newly formed School Bullying Concern Group.

 

From: Xinhua

China vows to maintain stable drug prices

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration said on Aug. 22 that it will establish and improve a long-term mechanism for drug prices to ensure the supply of clinical medicines at reasonable prices.

The administration’s deputy head Chen Jinfu said at a press conference that measures including price monitoring, credit rating and legal punishment will be taken to make sure the drug prices are set reasonably by the pharmaceutical firms.

 

From: Xinhua

China plans to add 128 drugs to basic healthcare insurance

China plans to add 128 medicines to the list of those that are covered by basic healthcare insurance, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA).

The new drugs are 109 modern medicines and 19 traditional Chinese medicines used in treating cancer, rare diseases, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes, the NHSA said on Aug. 22.

 

From: Xinhua

The long-lasting unsolved problem of gun violence in the United States has aggressively trampled on human rights

The China Society for Human Rights Studies on Aug. 24 issued an article titled “The Long-Lasting Unsolved Problem of Gun Violence in the United States Has Aggressively Trampled on Human Rights.”

 

From: Xinhua

 

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has seen marked drop in the number of families in poverty due to medical bills, thanks to government health care programs, according to the regional health authority on Aug. 26.

There were 40,000 families in poverty due to medical bills in Xinjiang at the beginning of Aug., which was 22,000 fewer than the previous year, Mutalifu Rouzi, director of the health commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

 

From: Xinhua

China strengthens compulsory education support for poor students

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development recently released a work plan to support compulsory education and promote education poverty alleviation, the MOE said on Aug. 29.

According to the plan, children of school age from impoverished families should not drop out of school and should be guaranteed affordable education.

 

From: Xinhua

September 2019
 

China will unswervingly implement a strict intellectual property protection system and continuously build a satisfactory innovation and business environment, said the head of the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) on Sept. 2.

 

From: Xinhua

Strengthened security urged at nation’s schools

The education supervision office under the State Council, China’s Cabinet, has issued an urgent circular asking education authorities, kindergartens, and elementary and secondary schools across the country to strengthen campus safety measures after eight students were killed at a primary school in Hubei province on Sept. 2.

 

From: China Daily

China regulates educational apps

China’s Ministry of Education joined seven other governmental departments to roll out a guideline on the use of educational apps in schools, following consideration of teacher and parent opinions, according to a news conference in Beijing on Sept. 5, 2019.

 

From: Ecns.cn

 

An international seminar on anti-terrorism, de-radicalization and human rights protection was held in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sept. 6, 2019.

Over 60 experts and scholars from 18 countries and international organizations including France, India, Turkey, Afghanistan and China attended the seminar, sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies.

 

From: Xinhua

Foreign scholars applaud China’s anti-terror efforts

Many foreign scholars who visited the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region said the efforts made by the local government in combating and preventing terrorism are effective, and could be learned by other countries.

They positively viewed the local measures taken to deal with these challenges, and called for further international cooperation in counterterrorism and de-radicalization.

From Sept. 4 to 6, more than 60 scholars from the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Council of the United Nations and 17 countries including Serbia, Sri Lanka, France, Indonesia and Italy attended the International Seminar on Counterterrorism, De-radicalization and Human Rights Protection, which was organized by the

China Society for Human Rights Studies, in Urumqi, the regional capital.

 

From: Xinhua

Xinjiang, as a core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, is enjoying the best period of prosperity and development in its history under the Belt and Road Initiative, which is undoubtedly the biggest achievement in the region’s fight against terrorism as well as the best answer to the protection of human rights in China, a senior Chinese

official said.

Jiang Jianguo, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said that in the fight against terrorism and extremism, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region had set up vocational education and training centers in accordance with the law to eliminate terrorism and religious extremism, and that these centers are a “useful experience,” all about the “protection of human rights.” These comments were made at the opening ceremony of the International Seminar on Counter-terrorism, De-radicalization and Human Rights Protection on Sept. 6.

 

From: Global Times

Officials say China makes great human rights achievements over 70 years

China has made great achievements in human rights over the past 70 years, officials said on Sept. 9 during the opening ceremony of a human rights exhibition.

China’s economy and society are growing more robust, Chen Xu, head of the Chinese mission to United Nations (UN) at Geneva, said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled “Pursuing Happiness for the People: 70 Years of Human Rights Progress in China” at the Palais des Nations.

The exhibition, jointly sponsored by China’s State Council Information Office and the Permanent Mission of China to UN at Geneva, captures 70 years of happy moments in the country since the People’s Republic of China was founded in October 1949.

 

From: Xinhua

China to deepen efforts in integrating medical, elderly care

The Chinese government will deepen the integration of medical and elderly care by streamlining approval procedures, providing favorable tax and fee policies, and developing insurances for such integrated services, in an effort to better meet the needs of senior citizens for health and aged care.

The decision was made on Sept. 11, 2019 at the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

 

From: Xinhua

Women representative condemns violent unlawful acts in Hong Kong at UN session

Pansy Ho Chiu-king, chairperson of the Hong Kong Federation of Women, on Sept. 11 condemned the “increasingly escalating violent acts” in the Chinese city.

In an oral statement delivered at the ongoing 42 nd session of the UN Human Rights Council here in Geneva, Ho said that since June 6, HK people have been plagued with over 130 protests in which 110 ended in unprovoked violence and unlawful acts, driving hundreds of small businesses to close down and many workers

jobless.

 

From: Xinhua

Diplomats from African countries visit Xinjiang

A delegation from 16 African countries and the African Union visited Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from Sept. 9 to 12 at the invitation of the regional government.

Diplomats from countries including Burundi, Uganda, Lesotho, Sudan and Zimbabwe went to the cities of Urumqi and Turpan, where they visited communities, mosques and companies.

They praised the Chinese government’s efforts to promote social harmony, safeguard citizens’ freedom of religion and inherit the traditional culture of ethnic minorities, saying that China and African countries should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in combating terrorism and eliminating extremism.

 

From: China Daily

 

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Sept. 16 pledged to enhance medical service safety and better protect patients’ health rights ahead of the first World Patient Safety Day that falls on Sept. 17, 2019.

The slogan of the day in China will be “Patient safety involves everyone,” aiming to draw the attention of hospital staff, patients and their families as well as the public to patient safety and encourage them to make joint efforts, said Zhou Changqiang, an official with the NHC at a press conference in Beijing.

 

From: Xinhua

China sees steady employment in January to August

China’s job market remained generally stable in the first eight months of the year, with the number of newly created jobs achieving 89.5 percent of this year’s target.

A total of 9.84 million new urban jobs were created during the January-Aug. period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept. 16, 2019.

 

From: Xinhua

China sees progress in integrating medical, elderly care

China has made significant progress in deepening the integration of medical and elderly care, according to a press conference held by the National Health Commission (NHC) on Sept. 17, 2019.

Currently, China has nearly 4,000 institutions providing integrated medical and elderly services, while over 20,000 medical institutions have established contracted cooperation with elderly care institutions.

 

From: Xinhua

China publishes white paper on progress of women’s cause in 70 years

China issued a white paper on the progress of women’s cause in the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Sept. 19, 2019.

The white paper, titled “Equality, Development and Sharing: Progress of Women’s Cause in 70 Years Since New China’s Founding,” was released by the State Council Information Office.

From: Xinhua

China issues white paper on human rights progress over 70 years

China published a white paper on its progress in the field of human rights over the past 70 years on Sept. 22, 2019.

The white paper, titled “Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China,” was released by the State Council Information Office.

 

From: Xinhua

 

MFA: Enabling 1.4 billion people to live a happy life is China’s greatest contribution to the 2030 agenda

Enabling 1.4 billion people to live a happy life free from poverty, hunger and displacement in a land of 9,600,000 square kilometers is China’s greatest contribution to the global implementation of the 2030 agenda, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press conference on Sept. 24, 2019.

 

From: MFA

China says measures in Xinjiang blocking terrorism

China’s de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang have proven effective and are preventing terrorism, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sept. 25 at the United Nations.

Wang spoke about preventive counterterrorism and de-radicalization measures that China has been taking in the western region of Xinjiang during a ministerial-level debate in the Security Council on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese people’s livelihood greatly improved in 70 years

The Press Center for the Celebration of the 70 th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) held a press conference on the improvement of people’s livelihood over the past 70 years on Sept. 26, 2019.

With the development of the country, Chinese people have witnessed great improvement in daily lives, including education, job employment, social welfare, healthcare and housing conditions, according to officials attending the press conference.

 

From: CGTN

China Focus: White paper published to enhance understanding of China’s development

China published a white paper, titled “China and the World in the New Era,” to help the international community better understand China’s development on Sept. 27, on the occasion of the 70 th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Issued by the State Council Information Office, the white paper systematically introduced China’s achievement and path of development, as well as where China is going, according to Xu Lin, director of the State Council Information Office.

 

From: Xinhua

China enhances crackdown on environmental violations: official

China’s revised environmental protection law has effectively enhanced the crackdown on environmental violations, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE).

 

Since it went into effect in 2015, the revised environmental protection law was known as “the strictest” in history, said MEE Minister Li Ganjie at a news conference on Sept. 29, 2019.

 

From: Xinhua