FRENCH JOURNALIST EXPELLED

Ursula Gauthier， a Beijing-based correspondent for the French news magazine LObs since 2009， had the renewal of her press credentials refused by the Chinese Foreign Ministry for declining to apologize for a report on terrorism in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. That means that she would have to leave the country by December 31， 2015.

In her article published on November 18， less than a week after the Paris terror attacks that claimed more than 130 lives， Gauthier questioned Chinas “ulterior motives” in expressing solidarity with France after the attacks. In the article， Gauthier described a bloody terror attack in Xinjiang as a revolt against “ruthless government oppression.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on December 28， 2015 that Gauthiers article “overtly advocates for acts of terrorism and killings of innocent civilians， and caused public outrage among the Chinese people.”

Since Gauthier chose not to apologize for her wrong words， it is no longer appropriate for her to continue working in China， said Lu.

China ensures the legal rights of foreign media organizations and journalists covering China stories， but will never tolerate those speaking for terrorism， Lu added.

Making Cities More Habitable

Beijing Times December 24， 2015

China plans to transform urban development patterns and improve its city management system to make the cities better places to live in， according to a statement released after the Central Urban Work Conference held in Beijing from December 20-21， 2015. The last time China held such a meeting was in 1978， when urban population accounted for only 18 percent of its total population. Now more than half of Chinese people live in urban areas.

Habitable cities should be the central goal of Chinas urban planning， and urban development should be focused on creating environments where people can live in harmony with each other and nature. Most Chinese cities are getting larger in both area and population， bringing about many opportunities for citizens and significant social and economic changes. At the same time， urban ailments such as traffic jams， air and water pollution and expensive housing， are on the rise. The urban lifestyle has become inconvenient to its residents.

To address these problems， the Central Urban Work Conference detailed Chinas urban planning vision. To build adequate cities， habitability will be the top priority in city development and management. Also， the size of a city shall not exceed the available resources or the environmental capacity of the area. City management will be improved to meet needs of residents， including rural migrant workers.

New Growth Engine For the SCO

Oriental Outlook December 24， 2015

The 14th prime ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） was held in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on December 14-15， 2015. Production capacity cooperation has become a heated topic for SCO members， since cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has proven fruitful with a number of projects already—or about to be—launched in fields such as steel， glass and cement.

The SCO， first founded as the “Shanghai Five” in 1996， now consists of six member states—China， Russia， Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan， Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It aims to promote peace， cooperation and development. But due to economic， environmental and development gaps between its members， the SCO has not fully played its role in boosting regional economic and trade cooperation.

The Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative， proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013， is offering new opportunities. Notably， unbalanced development—which has long been a bottleneck for the SCO—has now become the foundation for regional cooperation.

Production capacity cooperation between China and other SCO members is promising because China can help these countries revamp their modernization and urbanization efforts with its manufacturing prowess. China is willing to provide them with mature technology， equipment and contracting services.

In fact， China has launched large-scale intergovernmental production capacity cooperation with 17 countries. Production capacity cooperation， as a new model of collaboration， is gaining recognition across the international community.

An Evolving Family Planning Policy

Changjiang Daily December 28， 2015

Chinese lawmakers adopted an amended family planning law on December 27， 2015 to allow all couples to have two children， two months after the Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed a universal two-child policy. The new law took effect on January 1.

China introduced the family planning policy in the 1970s to curb the population explosion at the time. It was made a basic national policy in 1982， and restricted most urban couples to only one child. The policy effectively helped control Chinas population and reduce the pressure on resources and the environment. In recent years， however， problems relating to aging and the lack of human resources have emerged. There have been growing calls for the adjustment of the policy.

Beginning in 2002， couples across the country—who are themselves only children—were given permission to have two children. Restrictions were further loosened at the end of 2013 by allowing parents to have a second baby if at least one of them has no siblings. Every adjustment was made in order to keep pace with changes in society at the time， reflecting the flexibility of Chinas policymaking.

It is worth noting that the concept of a one-child family has taken root in the minds of younger generations. They may now be reluctant to raise two children due to the rising cost of child rearing. To promote the two-child policy， the government should provide better public services in terms of education， healthcare， employment and social security.

TELECOM CHAIRMAN UNDER PROBE

Chang Xiaobing， Chairman of China Telecom， is being investigated for suspected “severe disciplinary violations”—often a reference to corruption-related crimes—as announced on December 27， 2015 by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China. He is the highest-ranking official from the telecom sector to date to be investigated under the anti-graft campaign.

Chang took the helm of the state-owned company last August after heading China Unicom， the countrys second largest carrier， for 11 years.

It is reported that the investigation of Chang may be related to his tenure at China Unicom， where he led the company to develop thirdgeneration communication networks.

In November last year， two senior executives from China Unicom were investigated for suspected violations of laws and regulations.

“While home-based care needs to be improved， the government should also step up community services.”

Wang Naikun， Executive Vice President of the China Disabled Persons Federation， on December 25， 2015

“An all-out effort is urgently needed to advance the public health campaign against smoking.”

Wang Yu， head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention， in response to a survey that found that 27 percent of adults smoked in 2015， the same as in 2010

“Structural reform， especially cutting overcapacity， will inevitably affect the employment status and income of some people， but thats a step we have to take.”

Yang Weimin， Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs， on December 26， 2015

The United Arab Emirates （UAE） has signed an agreement with China to set up a clearing hub for the Chinese yuan （renminbi）， UAE media