SOCIETY

SOCIETY

DELICATE ART Visitors walk past a set of Chinese furniture during a preview of the Chinese Contemporary Arts & Crafts Biennale, which kicked off in Beijing on April 16

To the West

China plans to recruit 17,000 college graduates to live and work in the country’s western regions in 2012, up from last year’s quota of 10,000.

“The year 2012 is a key year to deepen and consolidate the country’s western project.Local of fi ces af fi liated with the project should make more efforts to encourage graduates to work in places where they are most needed,”said Zhou Changkui, a senior of fi cial with the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC).

Zhou made the remark on April 17 at a meeting for the volunteer campaign.

According to a statement released after the meeting, this year’s volunteers can apply to work in such sectors as basic education,agricultural technology, health care, grassroots youth work, social management and providing services in Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions.

About 10,000 of this year’s volunteers will serve in the regions where ethnic minority groups inhabit, said the statement.

Students can apply for the program from April 17 to May 25.

Stricter Customs

China plans to impose harsher punishments on customs of fi cials who are found to breach the customs rules, according to the latest penalty rules published on the website of the Ministry of Supervision on April 17.

The new rules state that customs staff who participate in, shield or condone smuggling operations will immediately be discharged from of fi ce.

Under existing customs regulations,staff who shield smuggling operations aren’t dismissed until the case becomes especially serious, for example, actively helping smugglers evade the law.

The new rules, jointly released by the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Supervision and the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, establishes 27 terms of disciplinary violations and corresponding punishments under 11 categories.

Staff members who impart information allowing smugglers to evade or get round customs checks will also be fired, according to the rules. The rules come into effect on May 1.

Music Festival Ambassador

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Lu Siqing, a renowned Chinese violinist, was chosen as ambassador for the annual May Music Festival at the National Center for the Performing Arts(NCPA) in Beijing.

Lu, 43, was born in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province. He began to play the violin at the age of 4 and was admitted by the Central Conservatory of Music at the age of 8, becoming the youngest student there. Lu won the gold medal at the 34th Paganini Competition, one of the most important violin competitions worldwide, when he was 17. Lu’s version ofButterfly Loversis widely acknowledged the best one in the world.

The NCPA will usher in the new May Music Festival from May 9 to 26. Besides 15 concerts staged by famous music groups and masters, the festival will go to communities, schools, museums and other venues for the first time, hoping to benefit common people and increase the public welfare.

Occupational Diseases

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on April 16 that it will upgrade its service network for the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases in line with a newly amended law.

China’s top legislature adopted an amendment to the Law on Occupational Illness Prevention and Control on December 31,2011, in order to better protect the legal rights of workers.

The amendment specifically requires governments at all levels to strengthen their ability to prevent and control work-related illnesses, as well as establish a comprehensive service system.

However, 44 percent of provincial jurisdictions have yet to comply with the initiative,according to a circular published recently on the ministry’s website.

It also noted that 27 percent of prefecturelevel regions lack the ability to diagnose and verify occupational diseases, while 43 percent of all counties cannot provide adequate occupational health evaluations.

Liaison Office

On April 16, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau announced the establishment of a liaison of fi ce to handle international law enforcement cooperation and foreign-related cases.

The Beijing Liaison Office of the International Criminal Police Organization(INTERPOL) National Central Bureau of China is an institution of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. It will receive guidance from the INTERPOL National Central Bureau of China, communicate between China and INTERPOL frame nations, deal with foreignrelated cases and collect criminal intelligence,according to the bureau.

With an increasing amount of crossboarder travels and foreign exchange transactions, entry-exit points and international crimes, Beijing police are facing greater challenges in investigating cases, collecting evidence and pursuing transnational criminals, said Fu Zhenghua, head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Statistics show that the number of people entering and exiting Beijing reached 18 million in 2011, while more than 120,000 foreigners reside permanently in Beijing.

Bird Flu

China’s northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region reported an outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird fl u virus in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on April 18.

More than 23,000 chickens on several farms in a village of Touying in the city of Guyuan in Ningxia showed symptoms of suspected avian fl u on April 13 and the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confi rmed the epidemic was a H5N1 bird fl u case after testing samples collected at those sites,according to the MOA.

The body said in a statement that a total of 95,000 chickens have been culled afterward.

“The epidemic is under control now,” it said, as a team was dispatched to the quarantined area to guide epidemic prevention.

Bovine Colostrum Ban

The Ministry of Health issued a ban on April 18 on the use of bovine colostrum or dairy products made of the material in the production of baby formula.

The ban, published on the ministry’s offi cial website, is seen as a response to formula manufacturers who include the ingredient in their products in order to reap greater pro fi ts,as some customers believe bovine colostrum is bene fi cial for the health of their children.

Bovine colostrum is the milk produced by healthy cows during the fi rst seven days after they give birth.

According to industry insiders, China is the world’s largest bovine colostrum consumer, although the health benefits of formula made with the material have yet to be determined.

The stipulation will take effect on September 1. Prior to that, related products made or imported in accordance with laws and regulations can still be sold before they expire.

The statement urged manufacturers of bovine colostrum-based dairy products to manufacture their goods in accordance with national and industrial standards.

HAPPY FESTIVAL Girls of the Dai ethnic group celebrate the water-sprinkling festival in Ruili of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture,southwest China’s Yunnan Province on April 13

AIMING HIGH Participants prepare to fl y their kites during a competition in Weifang, east China’s Shandong Province, on April 17