Come on!

Students at a senior high school in Hengfeng County， Jiangxi Province， play a game for relaxation during their preparation for this years college entrance exam. The exam will take place on June 7-9.

Education Subsidy

The Chinese Government has allocated 134.5 billion yuan （$20.5 billion） to subsidize compulsory education this year， the Ministry of Finance said on May 24.

The funds， taken from the central coffer， increased by 3 percent from the spending in 2015， said the ministry.

China requires children to receive nine years of compulsory education， normally from the ages of 6 to 15.

The subsidy should be used to balance education resources between urban and rural areas.

More funds should go to boarding schools， small schools or those with inadequate resources， and those with a large number of students from rural migrant families， said the ministry

Part of the subsidy will also be spent on improving rural studentsnutrition and the livelihood of rural teachers in poverty-stricken areas.

Health Investigation

A nationwide health investigation of poverty-stricken people is under way， and the results are expected to lead to new policies to aid the countrys sickest and poorest citizens.

Official statistics show that there were 12.56 million households living in poverty directly due to unaffordable medical bills as of 2013， accounting for 42.4 percent of the total poor on record.

Starting in mid-April， the National Health and Family Planning Commission asked local health staff to collect information on these people， including their names， addresses， illnesses and medical costs.

A report will be written up by the end of July for the commission， which will decide how to best help them.

“Sickness is one of the most formidable obstacles standing in the way of the poorest population in China，” said Hu Meiying， a doctor at the Childrens Hospital of Jiangxi Province.

Chinas health budget for 2016 is 1.24 trillion yuan （$189 billion）， and aiding the poor is a key priority.

Cybersecurity Cases

A non-profit institution said on May 25 that more than 120，000 cybersecurity cases were reported in China last year.

There were 126，916 cases in 2015， up 125.9 percent year on year， with 99.6 percent of complaints coming from domestic users， according to a report released by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team and Coordination Center of China on May 25.

Around 60 percent of these cases were related to fake Web pages， while backdoors and hacking accounted for about 20 percent and 10 percent， respectively.

About 99 percent of the cases had been solved， the report showed.

Wu Yunkun， President of the cybersecurity company 360.com， attributed the growing problems with Internet security to increased personal information sharing due to popular online-to-offline services and companies lack of R&D and investment in cybersecurity protection.

Legislative efforts on a cybersecurity law were stepped up in 2015， when a draft cybersecurity law was submitted to the top legislature for the first reading in June.

Nuclear Emergency

The 320-person China Nuclear Emergency Rescue Team was officially founded on May 24. The team will be responsible for nuclear radiation protection and medical rescue.

In accordance with the framework of Chinas national nuclear emergency system， the team was established on the basis of existing military and nuclear industry emergency resources. It will lead rescue work for serious accidents， including international nuclear emergency rescues.

China has long prioritized the maintenance of a nuclear emergency system， ever since the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986. The country first established a national nuclear accident emergency committee in 1995.

Manuscript Protection

The Chinese Government has added 899 valuable ancient manuscripts to a catalog that is under state protection.

They include oracles， manuscripts on bamboo strips and silk scrolls， ancient paper copies of tablet inscriptions， rare manuscripts in ethnic minority languages and in foreign languages such as Latin and English， said Zhang Zhiqing， Deputy Chief of the National Library of China， at a press conference in Beijing on May 24.

The catalog of valuable manuscripts under state protection now totals 12，274. This is the fourth time the government has updated its contents.

Although the number of manuscripts in this round is smaller than previous rounds， the quality is higher， said Li Zhizhong， head of an expert committee that reviews the candidates.

Among them， 59 ancient manuscripts are from Tibet. Tibetan temples， libraries and museums have been very active in applying for state protection and many of their collections are valuable and wellpreserved， Li said.

There are also eight manuscripts owned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong， the first time the list has included collections from Hong Kong.

The government also selected 14 institutions as major guardians of rare ancient manuscripts， raising the total number to 180.

The Ministry of Culture said that it is working on a five-year plan for the conservation of ancient manuscripts （2016-20）， with priorities given to legislation， establishing the institutions and a mechanism for the survey and registration， repair and digitalization of rare manuscripts.

Teacher Recruitment

Authorities in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plan to recruit more than 11，000 teachers from around the country this year to ease its teacher shortage.

Of those， 60 percent will work in four prefectures in the southern part of Xinjiang， where a dearth of bilingual teachers poses a challenge for education. The recruits in these areas should be able to speak Mandarin as well as a language of the local minorities.

Xinjiang has hired 72，600 teachers in the past five years， with about 62，400 of them being bilingual.

Rapid Response

Emergency workers take part in a drill that simulated a workplace accident involving dangerous chemicals in Cangzhou， Hebei Province， on May 25.

Document Inscription

The family documents of Confucius have been listed as documentary heritage by the seventh general meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific（MOWCAP）， which took place in Hue， Viet Nam， from May 18 to 21.

The archives， running to over 9，000 volumes， are records from 1534 to 1948， one year before the founding of the Peoples Republic of China and contain details of the familys history during feudal times.

The documents are important for research into Chinas feudal patriarchal system， said Li Yuchun， Deputy Director of the Cultural Relics Management Committee of Qufu， Shandong Province. Qufu is the hometown of the ancient sage， Confucius （551-479 B.C.）.

Qufu plans to apply for the inscription of the documents into the Memory of the World register， Li added.

Established in 1998， MOWCAP is the regional forum for UNESCOs global Memory of the World （MOW） Program to protect and allow access to documentary heritage， especially that which is rare or endangered.

The Confucius family is regarded as the worlds biggest recorded family in terms of the number of generations it contains. The 2009 version of the Confucius family tree records 83 generations， more than 2 million people.

China has 10 inscriptions in the MOW， including documents on the Nanjing Massacre， the Compendium of Materia Medica， a classic of Chinese medicine， and The Yellow Emperors Canon of Internal Medicine， Chinas earliest medical text.

Her Voice

Lakshmi Puri， Assistant Secretary General of the UN and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women， addresses the Women-20 Meeting in Xian， Shaanxi Province， on May 25. The two-day meeting was part of activities in the lead up to the Group of 20 Summit to be held in China this September.

Boosting Private Investment

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） announced its next round of local-level inspections on May 20， putting the implementation of policies related to private investment under scrutiny. Six teams will be sent to 12 provincial-level regions， the NDRC said on its website.

In the previous round， nine teams were dispatched by the State Council to 18 provinces and autonomous regions.

“We aim to improve pro-private investment policies， which respect and maintain enterprises principal position in the market and advocate entrepreneurship，” according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting earlier this month.

The growth of private investment， which is considered an important supporting power for stabilizing growth， adjusting structure and boosting employment， has decreased recently.

Poverty Reduction

Vice Premier Wang Yang said on May 23 that China aims to lift more than 30 million rural residents out of poverty from 2016-20 through industrial development.

In a national poverty reduction teleconference， Wang asked officials to develop industries according to local conditions and engage poor people in these industries so that they can share the benefits.

Local governments should spend more on poverty relief-related industrial development， improve financial support， and create a favorable market environment for these industries.

At the end of 2014， China had 70 million people living below the nations poverty line of 2，300 yuan（$350） in annual income， almost all of whom live in the countryside. China aims to eliminate poverty by 2020， when its 13th Five-Year Plan（2016-20） is completed.

Artificial Intelligence

China will boost growth of the artificial intelligence （AI） sector in the next three years， said a statement issued by the NDRC on May 23.

By 2018， China shall build platforms for fundamental AI resources and innovation and make break- throughs on basic core technology， said the three-year implementation program for “Internet Plus” AI.

The country shall be in line with global AI technology and industries by 2018， it said.

The program will involve key projects such as intelligent home appliances， smart automobiles， intelligent wearable devices and robots.

Government departments shall map out supportive fiscal policies for the sector and boost international cooperation， it said.

China has been promoting the robotics industry as it strives to upgrade its manufacturing sector and address its labor shortage.

Cargo Train Deal

A subsidiary of the China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. （CRRC） has won a deal to make 800 freight cars for Pakistan， the company said on May 19.

The deal， with expected sales revenue of over 200 million yuan（$30 million）， is the largest overseas order for CRRC Jinan Co.， said a manager with the company.

The trains will include 780 coal hopper cars and 20 cabooses， said the manager.

Founded in 1910， CRRC Jinan Co. is one of the oldest train makers in China. Its products， including cargo trains， wind power equipment and intelligent machines， have been exported to more than 40 countries and regions.

The CRRC， formed from the merger of CNR Corp. and CSR Corp.， has been actively bidding for contracts in overseas markets in recent years and has sold equipment to more than 100 countries and regions.

Joy Ride

A permanent magnet straddle-type monorail train comes into use in Qingdao， Shandong Province， on May 19.

It can carry 1，448 passengers， reach a top speed of 80 km per hour and has a service life of roughly 30 years. It can also save 10 percent of energy costs.

New Smartphone Factory

Foxconn Technology Group， the worlds largest computer manufacturer and supplier to Apple Inc.， is reportedly building a new factory for Huawei Technologies in southwest Chinas Guizhou Province.

Foxconn has been bolstering its operations in Guizhou over the past few years as a result of cheaper operating costs in the region. It has also been building and expanding its low heat emission data centers in the province since 2014.

Industry experts believe Huawei will become an important client for Foxconn in the years ahead， with Apple growth slowing down， and Huawei enjoying robust growth.

Huawei is a major Chinese client for Foxconns subsidiary FIH Mobile， which also manufactures phones for Huaweis competitors Xiaomi and Oppo.

Experts also say Foxconn is looking to shift its business from reliance on contract electronics manufacturing to developing its own hi-tech products and marketing them to a wider audience.

Flower Power

Farmers are pruning hydrangeas at a solar greenhouse belonging to the Yiren Flower Specialized Cooperative in Xingqing District of Yinchuan， capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， on May 23.

To support the development and upgrading of its local flower industry and help solve financing problems for enterprises， the local government， enterprises and cooperatives jointly set up a flower industry development fund.

Mining Acquisitions

China Molybdenum Co. Ltd. has announced a bid to buy two metal mines， as it accelerates overseas acquisitions to increase its share in global metal mineral reserves.

The company plans to raise up to 18 billion yuan （$2.77 billion） through a non-public offering to purchase a niobium-phosphate mine in Brazil and a copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo， according to a document filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on May 21.

It has already announced a number of other similar bids worth$4.15 billion for mines in the two countries this year.

“It is a golden opportunity to buy these high-quality assets at such a low price， and it is also in line with our strategy，” China Molybdenums Board Chairman Li Chaochun said.

The mining company will become one of the worlds biggest rare metal producers if the purchases are completed.

Overseas Alumina Production

China Hongqiao Group， the worlds largest aluminium producer by capacity， formally commenced its 1-million-ton-per-annum alumina production line in Indonesias city of Borneo on May 21， in a bid to boost the production capacity cooperation between China and Indonesia.

The production line is part of a 2-million-ton-per-year smelting plant with a total investment of $1 billion-1.5 billion， which is operated by the PT Well Harvest Winning Alumina Refinery， a joint venture in which Hongqiao holds a 56-percent stake. The factory processes locally sourced bauxite into alumina， a key material for the production of aluminium.

Zhang Shiping， President of Hongqiao， said at the opening ceremony that the plant is both Hongqiao and Chinas first overseas investment in alumina refining as well as the first alumina factory in Indonesia.

Sun Xiushun， President of the Winning International Group， the shipping arm and shareholder of the joint venture， said that the alumina will be mainly used to supply the raw material needs of Indonesian local smelters， while the remainder will be exported to China， the Middle East and other regions.

Indonesia， the worlds main nickel ore exporter and supplier of bauxite， banned raw ore exports in early 2014 to encourage the development of smelters and to shift exports from raw materials to highervalue products.

The Hong Kong-listed Hongqiao aims to produce 6 million tons of aluminium by the end of 2016， up from 5.19 million tons last year. Hongqiao enjoys much lower production costs than its rivals as it has its own power plants， in-house upstream materials and other production facilities.

Connecting Up

Two sections of the Yachi River Bridge in Guizhou Province are linked together on May 20.

The 1，450-meter-long and 800-meter-wide bridge is the longest steel truss girder cable-stayed bridge in the province.