THIS WEEK

THIS WEEK

“Cross-Straits couples have been contributing to the development of the relationship between the mainland and Taiwan, and the association should work to better serve these couples and protect their legitimate rights and interests.”

Wang Yi, Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, commenting at the inauguration ceremony of an association established to handle marriage and family affairs of couples from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on August 28

“Sports should play a much bigger role in school life for kids [in China] than they do now. The status of sports in school in our country has come to a halt. We should start over and make it about more than just keeping students fit.”

Former NBA All-Star center Yao Ming, calling for more sports in Chinese schools on August 26, as the primary school basketball season concluded in Leshan, southwest China’s Sichuan Province

“They cater to our society’s urgent need for heroes. The Chinese people have a long tradition of honoring heroes, but now we need more of them at a time when it’s toughest to be one.”

Wang Mingmei, head of the Association of Sociology in southeast China’s Jiangxi Province, commenting on the success of Hollywood blockbusters Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises in China. The two films premiered on August 27 on the Chinese mainland and took the top slots in most cinemas across the country

“When Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten. (He was) among the greatest of American heroes—not just of his time, but of all time.”

U.S. President Barack Obama, mourning the death of American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man ever to set foot on the moon, in a statement on August 25

Education Gap

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, on August 29 approved a string of new measures to narrow the gap in fundamental educational levels between the country’s urban and rural areas.

China has provided children with universal access to fundamental education, or the nine-year compulsory education system that covers elementary and junior high education, but the quality of education differs among regions and schools, according to an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The government pledges to raise educational investment in rural and poverty-hit areas. Educational facilities in rural schools such as books, laboratory equipment, accommodations and cafeterias will be improved, and excellent teachers will be encouraged to go to rural schools in order to ensure the equal allocation of educational resources.

Latch-key children, the children of migrant workers and orphans should be guaranteed equal rights in receiving education. Moreover, the measures require county-level governments to determine the locations of their elementary and primary schools in accordance with local population ratios.

The closing or merging of rural schools must strictly adhere to relevant rules and procedures, and parents and teachers should be invited to offer their suggestions, according to the measures.

ART IN THE SKY An aerobatics group flies in formation at the second Changchun Aviation Fair on August 26 in Changchun, capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province

The measures urge local governments to strictly implement the Regulation on School Bus Safety Management created in April by the State Council to ensure safe transportation for students.

Child Mortality

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, the mortality rate for children under the age of 5 dived from 61 deaths per 1,000 births in 1991 to 15.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 2011. The government has set a target of reducing the ratio to less than 13 deaths per 1,000 births by 2020.

However, the infant mortality rate in rural areas is nearly three times that of urban areas, with premature births, pneumonia, congenital heart disease and accidental asphyxia claiming many young lives.

DEADLY CRASH A burned-out bus is removed from the accident scene on August 26 after it collided with a methanol-loaded tanker on an expressway in Yan’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. Thirty-six people were killed

Academic Ambassador

Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, Under Secretary General of the UN, won an award for special contribution to Chinese books presented by the General Administration of Press and Publication of China on August 28, in a ceremony tied to the 19th Beijing International Book Fair.

Launched in 2005, the national award is given to foreign writers, translators and publishers with outstanding contribution to the promotion of Chinese culture and publications to the world. So far, a total of 33 people have received the award.

Born in 1937 in the United States, Reed was a graduate of Deerfield Academy and Yale University, Class of 1961. In 1987, he was appointed under secretary general of the UN for Political and General Assembly Affairs. In early 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed Ambassador Reed chief of protocol of the White House, where he served until late 1991.

Since 1990, Reed has been involved in a publishing project entitled The Culture and Civilization of China, initiated by Yale University Press and the China International Publishing Group. The planned 10-book series ranges from painting, architecture, ancient philosophy, sculpture, calligraphy, ceramics and silks. The project marks the largest cooperative publishing effort between China and the United States, garnering a great deal of attention in international publishing circles.

To narrow the yawning urban-rural gap, the Central Government launched a campaign to promote hospital births in central and western rural areas in 2000, expanding it nationwide in 2009. The campaign provides a subsidy of 400 yuan ($63) for women who choose to give birth in hospital.

From 2009 to 2011, the Central Government poured 7.9 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) into the program, raising the country’s rural hospital birth rate to 96.7 percent from 92.3 percent in 2008.

Emergency Alert System

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on August 24 that it had accelerated the building of an emergency alert system.

Sun Jian, Director of CMA’s Public Weather Service Center and also head of CMA’s emergency alert system, said that the country aims to build a multi-tier network, including one statelevel, 31 provincial-level and 342 municipallevel platforms. That will improve the function of the warning system.

The aim of the project is to ensure residents receive a warning within 10 minutes after messages are released via the Internet, text messages, telephone, fax, radio, electronic screens, loudspeakers in rural areas, marine radio and other channels, Sun said.

It is a key part of the country’s emergency response system and was initially set up in 11 provincial-level regions.

Investment in the system had hit 136 million yuan ($21.42 million), earlier reports said.

Medical Archives

China on August 24 launched a massive project to archive ancient medical books in order to promote the preservation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

The project, part of an ancient document preservation program introduced in 2006, will be the most comprehensive archival of TCM writings since 1949, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and State Administration of TCM.

The size of the project is not yet known, although a report issued last June said it will include at least 2,800 documents.

The statement said the project will also include medical writings by minority ethnic groups and writings from overseas.

Anniversary Celebration

The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York commemorated the 40th anniversary of “Ping-pong Diplomacy” during a reception on August 28.

Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, Jan Berris, Vice President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, George Braithwaite, one of the members of the U.S. table tennis team that went to China in 1971, and hundreds of members from Chinese and U.S. communities attended the reception.

“Ping-pong Diplomacy” refers to the exchange of table tennis players between China and the United States in the early 1970s. The friendly competitions marked a thaw in thenstrained China-U.S. relations, paving the way for the normalization of diplomatic ties.

“The exchange of visits of the Chinese and U.S. table tennis teams signified that ‘a(chǎn) small ping-pong ball can move the big globe ahead,’”said Consul General Sun Guoxiang. “Pingpong Diplomacy brought the two peoples closer, opened a new chapter in China-U.S. relations and brought about profound changes in the international political landscape. Those leaders’ great vision, wisdom, courage and commitment have continued to inspire us to this day,” he added.

Cross-Straits Hospital

A maternity hospital built jointly by medical institutions from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan—Baodao Healthcare—went into trial operation in Beijing on August 28.

Baodao Healthcare has a medical staff of 226 and provides 50 beds for expectant mothers.

Jin Dapeng, head of the Beijing Medical Association, said at the hospital’s opening ceremony that Baodao Healthcare had passed the association’s assessment and was operating in accordance with national standards.

Baodao Healthcare is the first joint mainland-Taiwan hospital to be registered in Beijing since the signing of the landmark Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in 2010. The hospital is scheduled to officially go into operation in October, expanding inpatient capacity to 100 beds.

New SEZ

China’s State Council, the cabinet, approved establishment of a state-level “new area,” a type of special economic zone, in northwestern Gansu Province, the fifth of its kind in the country.

Lanzhou New Area (LNA), located in Qinwangchuan Basin in the north of the provincial capital Lanzhou, will serve as an important industrial platform and growth engine to boost the economic development of China’s northwest, said an official with the provincial government on August 29.

LNA is expected to focus on strategic adjustment of the economic structure and develop a circular economy and energy-saving industries with local characteristics, according to the official.

Covering an area of 806 square km with a population of 100,000, LNA has attracted 90 investment projects so far, with a total value of 70.7 billion yuan ($11.13 billion), according to statistics released by its management committee.

Besides LNA, there are also Pudong New Area in Shanghai, Binhai New Area in Tianjin, Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing and Zhoushan Islands New Area in Zhejiang Province.

Chery’s Recall

China’s largest domestic automobile manufacturer and exporter Chery Auto announced on August 29 that it would recall over 18,000 vehicles from markets in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Singapore.

Company spokesman Jin Yibo said 18,875 vehicles, including Tiggo SUVs and A3 compact sedans, would be recalled from these markets as gaskets or exhaust systems installed in these vehicles contained small amounts of asbestos, which violated regulations set in these countries.

FIGHTING DESERT Visitors are shown the solar power station in Dalate Banner (County) of Erdos, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on August 26. China’s dusty, vast and windswept Inner Mongolia has been battling the creeping desert for decades and clean energy is expected to hold back the sand and boost local economy

The company performed inspections on all exported vehicles based on the regulations of different countries before announcing the recall, said Jin.

The inspection was carried out after Australian authorities found cancer-causing asbestos in the two models, forcing the company to recall 23,000 vehicles in Australia starting on August 15.

As small amounts of the substance are used in the engines, it will not threaten the health of drivers or passengers, but may do harm to maintenance personnel.

Jin said the company has established an operation standard for overseas after-sales service points to replace all related parts, based on local work safety protection regulations in Australia.

Chery Auto exported 159,000 vehicles last year, up 84.1 percent year on year, maintaining its status as a leading auto exporter in China.

CNOOC’s New Blocks

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the country’s largest oil and gas producer, said on August 28 it has opened 26 new offshore blocks for cooperation with foreign companies.

The blocks were the second batch made available by CNOOC for cooperation, with one block located in the Bohai Bay, three in the East China Sea, and another 22 in the South China Sea, according to a statement on CNOOC’s website.

The 26 blocks cover a total area of 73,754 square km.

It also said that foreign companies may access data concerning the blocks after applying. Data will be available for viewing until November 30.

In June, CNOOC opened a total area of 160,124 square km as its first batch of offshore blocks in the South China Sea for cooperation.

According to the semiannual report of CNOOC Ltd., the company is aiming to meet a production target of between 330 million and 340 million barrels of oil this year. Production in the first half totaled 160.9 million barrels, down 4.6 percent year on year.

Funding Fosun Pharma

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide 300 million yuan ($47 million) to Fosun Pharma to help the company expand its business, the IFC announced on August 29.

Fosun Pharma produces both generic and innovative medicines. It is also one of the largest suppliers of anti-malaria drugs to developing countries through international institutions like the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. It has so far provided anti-malaria drugs to more than 300 million people in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The loan will provide long-term funding to Fosun Pharma’s subsidiaries in China to help upgrade manufacturing facilities, including those located in less-developed regions, and further enhance product performance, according to a statement from the IFC.

The loan is the IFC’s second to the company. In 2006, it offered 320 million yuan ($50.79 million) through the issuance of a local-currency bond, which helped Fosun Pharma expand its manufacturing and distribution businesses.

The IFC is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. In the 2012 fiscal year, its investment reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, according to the statement.

Sealing Deals

The China International Publishing Group (CIPG) sealed two cooperation deals on August 30 at the 19th Beijing International Book Fair running from August 28 to September 2.

CIPG’s Foreign Languages Press (FLP) and Cengage Learning Group signed the memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation. Their first joint project was the English version ofSpeeches of Zhu Rongji. Cengage Learning will put the book into its Gale catalog, making online reading easier.

Boss Resigns

He Xiangjian, 70, Chairman of the Board and President of Midea Group, one of China’s largest home appliance producers, announced on August 25 he is leaving the top position with the privately owned electronics giant.

He’s resignation will be followed by a huge management restructuring, in which a group of younger managers will take leading positions in the corporation. However, He will continue to make contributions to Midea as its largest shareholder, the announcement said.

Midea’s leadership transition provides the long-awaited answer to whether it would continue to remain a family firm or grow into a publicly listed enterprise.

It is believed that the leadership change of Midea not only ushers in a new era for the corporation, but also offers a successful example for many other private enterprises in China. In the next 10 years, most Chinese private companies will face the challenge of leadership transition as their founders go into retirement.

In addition, FLP will work on the launch of the translation and international copublishing project of the English edition ofMao Zedong—A Biographywith Cambridge University Press and the Central Party Literature Press. The six-volume Chineselanguage book is 2.05 million characters in length. FLP will translate it into English and publish it in the Chinese mainland, while Cambridge University Press will publish the English version internationally.