Quake Anniversary Marked

A woman pastes a paper flower beside the names of her relatives killed in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake on a memorial wall in Tangshan， north Chinas Hebei Province， on July 27.

In the early hours of July 28， 1976， one of the deadliest earthquakes of the 20th century leveled Tangshan in 23 seconds， with 96 percent of the citys buildings destroyed. More than 240，000 people were killed， and another 160，000 were injured.

New Regulation

The Chinese Government has amended a regulation on ethnic minorities to better protect them from discrimination and help them assimilate into local communities.

City governments should promptly deal with complaints related to discrimination and ensure ethnic minorities suffer no injustice， according to the draft revision to the countrys regulation on ethnic work in cities.

The regulation， which was promulgated in 1993， cannot effectively address many of the new problems emerging as a result of the mass migration of people， said officials with the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

As the urban ethnic minority population has grown， contravention of policies related to ethnic minorities and encroachment upon ethnic minorities rights and interests have increased， the officials said.

The draft revision aims to better regulate and serve the urban ethnic minority population. Opinions on the draft are being solicited.

CPC Plenum

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee is scheduled for October， the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee announced after a meeting on July 26.

Key agenda items of the plenum in Beijing will include a work report delivered to the CPC Central Committee by the Political Bureau， discussion of key issues concerning the comprehensive and strict management of the Party， mapping out regulations on intraParty political life， and revising an intra-Party supervision regulation， said a statement released after the meeting.

Disaster Casualties

Natural disasters across China have left at least 1，074 people dead and 270 unaccounted for since the beginning of this year， an official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） said on July 26.

The most notable events were floods， heavy winds， hail and various geological disasters， said Yang Xiaodong， deputy head of the ministrys Disaster Relief Department. So far this year， natural disasters have caused a total of 298 billion yuan （$44.69 billion） in direct economic losses， with about 400，000 houses destroyed and 6.24 million residents relocated. Most of the disasters have occurred since June.

Total damage resulting from natural disasters has been much heavier in the first seven months of this year than during the same period in recent years， Yang added.

Natural disasters since June have left 833 people dead and 233 missing， the largest casualty numbers over the same period since 2011， and have caused an estimated 253 billion yuan （$37.94 billion） in direct economic losses.

According to the MCA， the Central Government has allocated more than 1.67 billion yuan （$250 million） this year to help people in disaster-hit areas with emergency relocation， resettlement and reconstruction as well as to assist those who have lost loved ones.

This year， the MCA and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent 17 emergency teams to assist relief work in affected areas.

Protection on Sansha

Sansha City in south Chinas Hainan Province has decided to allocate 5 million yuan （$750，750） annually to maritime environmental conservation over the next three years.

A first round of special environmental funding worth 1 million yuan （$150，150） was earmarked on July 23 for exploration of the newly confirmed worlds deepest underwater sinkhole， or blue hole， in the Xisha Islands. Situated in a major coral reef， the blue hole， known as Longdong， or Dragon Hole， is 300.89 meters deep.

The funds will be used to support scientific research and development of new methods and equipment in environmental protec-tion， said Shi Guoning， a senior official with the Land Resources and Environmental Protection Bureau of Sansha.

Over the past four years， Sansha has invested more than 30 million yuan （$4.5 million） in the treatment and restoration of reefs and islets， according to the bureau.

The city has organized the breeding and release of fish and sea turtles into the sea six times and has cracked down on the illegal capture of seabirds， according to Xu Zhifei， Vice Mayor of Sansha.

Sansha was officially established in 2012 to administer the Xisha， Zhongsha and Nansha islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

Broadband Report

The number of broadband Internet users in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region exceeded 12 million at the end of 2015， with the penetration rate ranking first among the provinciallevel regions in central and west China.

According to a report released by the Xinjiang Regional Computer Network Emergency Response Center on July 26， 12.62 million， or 54.9 percent， of the northwest regions population had access to broadband Internet at the end of last year， an increase of 10.8 percent year on year.

Xinjiangs broadband Internet penetration rate ranks ninth nationally， the report said， and more than 18，000 websites have been registered in the region， including nearly 1，800 in minority languages such as Uygur， Kazak and Kyrgyz.

The report also said that the region saw a boost in mobile Internet users， reaching almost 15 million—up 12.2 percent year on year.

Volunteer Service

The Chinese Government has vowed to support the growth of nonprofit volunteer service organizations（VSOs） with financial and registration assistance. To encourage more VSOs to register with authorities， a joint guideline issued by eight government departments on July 25 asked local administrations to review their requirements for such organizations in terms of registered capital， full-time employee numbers and location.

While China has over 180，000 VSOs， supported by over 66 million volunteers， only 25，000 of the organizations have registered with their local civil affairs authorities， according to official statistics.

The guideline also called on local authorities to outsource social services to VSOs， including work related to poverty reduction， care of the elderly， disaster relief and medical assistance.

New Supercomputer

Scientists have started to develop a prototype machine that will play a part in the development of a new-generation supercomputer， researchers said on July 26.

Chinas National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin is developing the exascale supercomputer with the National University of Defense Technology， said Meng Xiangfei， the centers Assistant Director.

The aim is to produce by 2020 a computer capable of a quintillion calculations per second， which will be 200 times faster than Chinas Tianhe-1 supercomputer and even faster than the current worlds most powerful supercomputer， he said.

Chinas Sunway TaihuLight， which is capable of 93 quadrillion calculations per second， is currently the worlds fastest supercomputing system， according to an announcement at the 2016 International Supercomputing Conference held in Germany.

The sample machine will hopefully be ready by early 2018， said Meng. The new-generation computing system will mark a huge advancement in terms of calculation intensity， single-chip capacity and data transmission rates， he added.

Ethnic Festival

Equestrians perform at the opening ceremony of the 27th Grassland Nadam Fair in Hohhot， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on July 23.

Archery， horse racing， wrestling and other traditional activities were held in the seven-day event. Nadam， which means entertainment and playing in Mongolian language， is a folk festival of the Mongolian people.

Rally Ending

An international motor rally named “International Silk Road Rally” ends in Beijing on July 24.

Nearly 130 race cars from 30 countries participated in the competition. This years 15-session rally covered 10，000 km， traversing Russia， Kazakhstan and China.

Sovereign Wealth Fund

The China Investment Corp. （CIC）， the countrys sovereign wealth fund， announced on July 22 that its total assets had grown to over $810 billion by the end of 2015， up from $200 billion of registered capital in 2007， when it was founded.

The annualized growth rate of the companys state-owned capital reached 15.3 percent over the eight years， according to the companys 2015 annual report released on July 22. This is the first time that CIC， one of the worlds largest sovereign wealth funds， has disclosed the cumulative growth rate of its capital since its inception.

Headquartered in Beijing， CIC was established as a vehicle to diversify Chinas foreign exchange holdings and seek maximum returns for its shareholders within a tolerable range of risk. The government injected $49 billion in additional funding into the company in 2011.

In CICs overseas investment portfolio， public equity， fixed income， absolute return， long-term assets and cash products accounted for 47.47 percent， 14.44 percent， 12.67 percent， 22.16 percent and 3.26 percent， respectively， according to the report.

Due to volatility in global financial markets and foreign exchange losses triggered by an appreciating U.S. dollar， CICs overseas investments had a U.S.-dollar-denominated earnings yield of minus 2.96 percent in 2015， said CIC， adding that it had enjoyed a net cumulative annualized return of 4.58 percent in overseas investments.

CIC also said that it ramped up in 2015 investments in assets that generate stable returns such as real estate and infrastructure.

Preparing for Liftoff

Amphibious plane AG600 comes off the production line in Zhuhai， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on July 23. The plane， the worlds largest， is designed for firefighting on land as well as rescue missions at sea.

Anti-dumping Probe