Robot Competition

The team from Northeastern University takes a group picture with their robot after winning the championship of the 15th Robocon， which finished on June 26.

The 15th Robocon was held in Zoucheng City of Shandong Province. Delegation teams from eight universities throughout the country entered the finals.

New Round of Inspections

The next round of anti-corruption inspections， which will run over the next few months， will focus on the Party leaderships of 32 state and Party organs， the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI） said on June 22.

Inspection teams will be dispatched to the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， and the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， the top political advisory body， the CCDI said in a statement.

They will also visit the Foreign Ministry； the Ministry of Public Security； the Ministry of Finance； the Ministry of Housing and UrbanRural Development； the National Audit Office as well as State Council organs in charge of legislative affairs and work related to Hong Kong and Macao， and overseas Chinese.

Party organizations， such as the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee， the International Department of the CPC Central Committee， and a central leading group for the prevention and handling of cults， will also be scrutinized.

In addition， this round of inspections will include a reexamination of Tianjin Municipality and the provinces of Jiangxi， Henan and Hubei， all of which have been inspected in previous rounds.

Online Spamming

Chinese Internet users lost 91.5 billion yuan （$13.93 billion） due to online spam and leaked personal information in the past year.

It means each Internet user lost approximately 133 yuan （$20.4） on average from July of last year to the first half this year. Nine percent lost more than 1，000 yuan （$154） each， according to the Internet Society of China on June 23.

Each netizen spent an average of 3.6 hours dealing with spam and personal information theft， according to the society， whose membership covers Chinas major Internet service providers and telecommunications operators.

A netizen on average received 18.9 junk e-mails， 20.6 junk messages and 21.3 spam phone calls every week in the first half of the year. About 76 percent of netizens received information on “prizes，” which tried to direct them to fake websites masquerading as banks， Internet firms and TV stations， and they also received fake information from the “police” or“social security，” it said.

Such schemes hoodwinked 37 percent of netizens， it said. China had an online population of 688 million by the end of 2015， about half of the total population， according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

Civil Code

Citizens are on their way to attaining a civil code， as a draft of rules stipulating the codes basic principles was submitted to Chinas top legislature for the first reading on June 27.

The civil code， a collection of laws designed to cover private law， will be implemented once the legislation is complete.

Li Shishi， head of the NPC Standing Committees Legislative Affairs Commission， said that the drafts general rules are expected to be approved in March 2017 and the whole civil code adopted in March 2020.

The drafting began in March 2015 and was carried out by a panel comprising of officials from the Supreme Peoples Court， the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate， and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. Jurists from Chinas academic circles were also involved.

The major principles of Chinas Civil Code include equality， fairness， and good faith， according to the drafts general rules， which also define natural persons， legal persons， civil rights， unincorporated organizations， civil liability and limitation of civil actions， among the key terms.

Legal Participation

More than 13，000 jurors have been selected to participate in a two-year pilot program to increase public participation in legal proceedings and improve the standing of court rulings， according to the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC） on June 28.

Since the launch of the pilot program in April 2015， jurors at 50 courts in 10 provincial regions including Beijing， Hebei， Shandong and Chongqing have participated in hearings concerning 10，002 criminal cases， 59，616 civil cases and 4，711 administrative cases， accounting for 73.2 percent of first trial cases， said the SPC in a statement.

Unlike the jury system in the United States， where jurors are randomly selected， jurors in China are chosen from a group of candidates that are recommended by local communities or authorities.

The reform program increased the minimum age for jurors from 23 to 28 but lowered education requirements. It also changed the selection procedure to allow more people from different walks of life. In the program， at least three jurors are required to sit on major case panels， up from the previous two.

There were 1，341 vocational colleges for higher education in China in 2015， according to the Ministry of Education （MOE） on June 28.

Vocational Education

Vocational colleges were attended by 10.48 million students in 2015， accounting for 41.2 percent of all college undergraduates. These vocational institutes also provided on-the-job training to 20 million people in 2015.

“Vocational colleges offer occupational courses， and are important in transforming higher education from an elite area to one for the masses，” said Ge Daokai， Director of the Department of Vocational and Adult Education with the MOE.

As of 2015， all the provincial regions in China had established financial support systems for vocational colleges. Annual financial subsidies for each student should be no less than 12，000 yuan （$1，806） in 2017， according to the MOE.

A budget of 5 billion yuan （$770 million） from the government is also expected from 2016 to 2020， to promote the combination of production and study and to build a modern vocational education system.

Panda Cubs

A female panda called Xingya gives birth to the worlds first pigeon pair of pandas on June 23 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan Province.

The newborns came hot on the heels of this years first twin cubs， also born at the base， on June 20.

National Fitness Program

The Chinese Government announced the National Fitness Program for 2016-20 on June 23， saying the total spending on sports in 2020 will reach 1.5 trillion yuan（$228 billion）.

By 2020， 700 million people will take part in physical exercise at least once a week， with 435 million as regular exercisers， according to the program.

“Compared with the program for the last five years， we have changed our perspective on sports. Now we believe that sports should be integrated with the education， culture， tourism and medical industries，” said Liu Guoyong， an official at the General Administration of Sport of China.

Cancer Research Collaboration

The Chinese version of the Physician Data Query （PDQ） website was launched on June 29 in a bid to facilitate Chinese medical profes- sionals and patients cancer-related information research.

The version for ordinary people will be launched soon. Initiated in 2012， the project is the latest result to bear fruit in joint efforts between Chinas National Cancer Center and the U.S. National Cancer Institute（NCI） to fight against cancer. Created in 1977， PDQ is the NCIs comprehensive source of cancer information.

Ceremony for the One

Sun Qixin， President of Northwest A&F University， turns the tassel for Wang Gongna during a special graduation ceremony held at her home of Zhongshan Village， Zhashui County， Shaanxi Province， on June 26.

Wang became an undergraduate student in the university in 2010 but got spinal cord injuries in 2013. Wang managed to successfully finished her study by the universitys online teaching system and her graduation thesis defense by video this year. The university decided to hold a graduation ceremony only for her at her home.

AIIBs First Lending

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Banks （AIIB） board of directors has approved its first four loans， totaling $509 million， announced AIIB President Jin Liqun at the first Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB in Beijing on June 25.

The loans are to provide financing for four projects， including a power distribution system upgrading and expansion project in Bangladesh， a national slum upgrading project in Indonesia， a motorway project in Pakistan， and a border road improvement project in Tajikistan.

Three of the four projects were co-financed with other mul- tilateral development banks. The road improvement project from Tajikistans capital city， Dushanbe， to its border with Uzbekistan was cofinanced with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Pakistans motorway project was cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank， and Indonesias national slum upgrading project was co-financed with the World Bank.

The AIIB board of directors also authorized the setup of a project preparation special fund， which will provide grants to the AIIBs less developed member countries for preparation activities， including environmental， social， legal and technological assessments and analyses.

China has agreed to contribute$50 million， becoming the first donor to the fund. It is expected to be operational this autumn， and the AIIB will seek other donations to ensure the funds continual operation.

More Flexible Yuan

Chinas central bank governor， Zhou Xiaochuan， said that China would continue to promote an exchange rate mechanism which meets higher market economy standards in the next stage.

In this regard， China will continue to promote a more flexible exchange rate， free flows in capital and current accounts， facilitate smoother convertibility between the Chinese currency and foreign currencies， and provide more riskmanagement instruments for both domestic and international investors， Zhou said at the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture held by the International Monetary Fund （IMF） on June 24.

In the question and answer session， Zhou said that these moves could also help deepen the connection between the Chinese economy and the global economy， as China was becoming more integrated into the world economy.

China is reducing unnecessary controls over the exchange rate market and introducing more riskmanagement instruments， such as foreign exchange swaps and derivatives， to help Chinese businesses and citizens prepare for the possibility of a more volatile exchange rate market， said Zhou.

The IMF last year approved the inclusion of the Chinese currency， the yuan， into its Special Drawing Rights （SDR） basket as a fifth currency along with the U.S. dollar， the euro， the Japanese yen and the British pound， marking a milestone in the yuans global march.

Zhou said that China is expecting the wider use of the SDR and is taking measures to promote the freer use of the yuan in trade， investment and financial markets in an effort to reduce barriers for SDR users.

Maiden Flight

Staff members dressed up as pandas commemorate the launch of the domestically made ARJ21-700 on June 28.

An ARJ21-700 plane flew from Chengdu， capital of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， to Shanghai on June 28， marking Chinas first regional commercial aircraft coming into commercial operation.

Direct Currency Trading

China allowed direct trading between the Chinese yuan and the South Korean won on its inter-bank foreign exchange market on June 27.

The move will lower exchange costs， facilitate the use of the two currencies in trade settlement and investment， and boost bilateral financial cooperation， the China Foreign Exchange Trade System said in a statement.

China and South Korea signed a free trade agreement in June 2015 after three years of negotiations. Under the deal， the two countries will eliminate tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods within 20 years.

China is South Koreas largest trading partner. Bilateral trade stood at $275.9 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $300 billion in 2016.

Tax Refund Promoted

South Chinas Guangdong Province started issuing overseas tourists with tax refunds on July 1. According to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance， overseas tourists will enjoy value-added tax（VAT） refunds at certain ports of departure on purchases from specific shops.

Foreign tourists and those from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan who stay on the Chinese mainland for fewer than 183 days are entitled to an 11-percent rebate on goods bought at designated department stores. Two percent of the VAT will be deducted as a handling charge， meaning this translates into a 9-percent rebate.

The minimum purchase for the rebate is 500 yuan （$75） at one store in one day. The refund is valid for purchases made within 90 days before departure.

The ports of departure covered by the scheme are Guangzhou Baiyun Airport， Guangzhou Nansha Port and Jiuzhou Port in Zhuhai. The province plans to gradually increase the designated ports and stores.

A pilot tax refund program began on the southern island province of Hainan on January 1， 2011， while Beijing and Shanghai rolled out the policy in July 2015. It has since been expanded to more destinations nationwide.

Hearing Aid

Hearing expert Dr. Yang Xinyi shows Phonak hearing aid devices with Chinese language processing in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Phonak is to launch the first mainstream lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aid. Headquartered near Zurich， Switzerland， Phonak is a member of the Sonova Group and offers a broad portfolio of hearing solutions.

New High-Speed Rail

Track-laying started on June 26 in Yangxin County in central Chinas Hubei Province for a high-speed railway linking Wuhan， the provincial capital， and Jiujiang in east Chinas Jiangxi Province.

With 19.4 billion yuan （$2.95 billion） of investment， the 198-km line broke ground in 2014 and will become operational in the first half of 2017. It is designed to support trains traveling at up to 250 km per hour.

When completed， it will only take an hour to travel between Wuhan and Jiujiang， instead of about three hours at present.

Asset Appraisal Opened Up

More people will be allowed to provide asset appraisal services under a draft law submitted to the top legislature for a fourth reading on June 27.

The draft， submitted to a bimonthly session of the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee， allows certified apprais- ers who have passed national exams， as well as others who have expertise and hands-on experience in asset evaluation， to provide such services.

Under a previous draft， only certified appraisers were allowed to practice asset appraisal.

Practitioners must provide appraisal services and sign appraisal reports in accordance with the law， according to the draft.

The draft also stipulated that for matters involving state-owned assets or public interests， an appraisal would be a legal requirement. Appraisal agencies should assign at least two certified appraisers to the job who will sign appraisal reports.

Appraiser qualification exams will be organized by national appraisal industry associations， according to the draft.

China has more than 14，000 appraisal agencies， with more than 130，000 certified appraisers and 600，000 others employed in the industry， according to official figures.

Ready for Operation

Station employees receive etiquette training in the departure hall of Urumqi Railway Station in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on June 27.

A new high-speed railway station located in the north of Urumqi came into trial operation on July 1.