FEMALE PILOT DIES IN ACCIDENT

Yu Xu， one of the nations first female fighter pilots， died in an accident on November 12 during flight training in north Chinas Hebei Province. The black box and engine of the crashed J-10 jet were recovered on the same day and the causes of the accident are under investigation.

Born in 1986 in Chongzhou， southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， Yu enrolled at the Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） Air Force Aviation University in 2005 and became one of the first 16 Chinese female pilots qualified to fly fighter jets following her graduation. Beforehand， all of the Air Forces female fliers had been transport aircraft pilots.

Yu， a member of the Bayi Aerobatic Team of the PLA Air Force， took part in the National Day parade on October 1， 2009， flying a JL-8 trainer jet above Tiananmen Square.

Public Safety in Rural Areas

China Youth Daily November 15

The death of a six-year-old boy， who fell into a 40-meter-deep dry well in Baoding in north Chinas Hebei Province in early November， has raised widespread concern over the safety of public spaces in rural areas.

The tragedy， which has prompted many to ask who should bear responsibility for the accident， has been blamed on the lax management of village wells. The local water resource and agricultural authorities have both disclaimed responsibility for managing the well. In actual fact， wells in rural areas are managed by villagers themselves， few of whom would seal off an abandoned well due to the cost involved.

Safety of public spaces often doesnt receive as much attention in rural areas as it does in cities， where urban management authorities erect barriers and warning signs around drains without lids. Besides dry wells， rural ponds and rivers also pose serious safety risks. Every summer， media reports surface of children drowning in such locations.

Rural public management should be enhanced in order to avoid these tragedies. Village committees should take stock of all their abandoned dry wells and put lids on or seal them. Owners of the wells should also assume their responsibilities and assist the process. Moreover， parents should give priority to their childrens safety education and warn them against possible dangers.

Facilitating Infrastructure Connectivity

Outlook Weekly November 7

Over 100 countries and regions have taken part in the Belt and Road Initiative to date. By July， Chinas investment in these countries and regions had reached $51.1 billion， and infrastructure construction contracts worth$279 billion had been signed with them. However， its complicated to build regional infrastructure networks， and more needs to be done to facilitate the process.

First of all， the funding channels for infrastructure construction should be expanded. More sovereign wealth funds—pools of money derived from a countrys reserves and set aside for investment purposes—should be utilized to compensate for the lack of funding in infrastructure construction. Domestic institutional investors should be properly guided and encouraged to make overseas investments. Funding by other countries along the Belt and Road routes should be sufficiently used， including low-interest loans and bonds. Cooperation with international financial institutions such as the World Bank， the Asian Development Bank， the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank should be stepped up in order to widen financing sources.

In addition， new mechanisms should be formed to address differences. For instance，a coordination committee on infrastructure interconnectivity may be founded in order to conduct negotiations on uniform safety， design and environmental protection standards for infrastructure projects， in order to reduce hurdles to connectivity.

Moreover， China should provide economic aid in the forms of grants， concessional loans， zero-interest loans and debt exemptions to less developed countries while undertaking commercial projects in such places.

Draft Nuclear Safety Law Needs Improvements

Peoples Daily November 14

A draft law on nuclear safety was recently submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress， Chinas top legislature， for its first reading. After coming into force， the law will fill a gap in nuclear legislation in China and play an important role in ensuring nuclear safety.

The draft law was completed with the involvement of government departments， nuclear power plants and nuclear energy experts. However， nuclear safety not only concerns national interests and the interests of the nuclear sector， but also peoples life， property and environmental rights. Although the draft law has specific stipulations on establishing a national nuclear safety supervisory body and formulating strict safety management systems in enterprises， it doesnt specify the role of public participation in nuclear safety.

The draft law leaves unaddressed public concerns over whether the government and enterprises should publicize information about planned nuclear facilities， and whether enterprises will reduce safety expenditure to improve profitability.

Some suggested improvements to the nuclear safety draft law follow： First， the law should grant the public the right to participate in nuclear safety management， such as the right to make suggestions to the nuclear safety governing authority and have their suggestions respected. Second， a communication mechanism on nuclear risks should be established between the government， enterprises and the public. Third， the law should have specific regulations on a compensation system for any nuclear damage incurred.

As the draft law is due to pass through three readings， there is still time and room to make modifications and improvements.

FIRST CHINESE INTERPOL CHIEF

Vice Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei was elected president of the International Criminal Police Organization （Interpol） for a four-year term during the 85th Interpol General Assembly in Bali， Indonesia， on November 10， becoming the first Chinese person to take the post.

Meng promised in a speech to work together with all Interpol member states to build the international group into a stronger platform for global police cooperation. Headquartered in Lyon， France， Interpol is the second largest international organization after the UN， with 190 members.

While serving as vice minister of public security， Meng， born in 1953， has since 2004 headed Interpols National Central Bureau of China-—a permanent branch of the organization in China responsible for facilitating cooperation between law enforcement agencies in China and in other Interpol member states. The 86th General Assembly of Interpol will be held in China in 2017.

“We cant rule out the new U.S. Government endorsing the AIIB or indicating interest to become a member.”

Jin Liqun， President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）， in a recent interview with Peoples Daily after Donald Trump won the presidential election in the United States

“A lack of awareness among citizens about diabetes prevention has led to the diseases increased prevalence.”

Wang Guoqiang， Vice Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission （NHFPC）， commenting on the latest NHFPC statistics that show the total number of diabetics in China has reached 100 million and is still growing

“China has faced obstacles in signing mutual recognition agreements on organic standards with other countries， given some enterprises controversial practices.”

Jia Huai， a researcher at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， commenting on November 14 on the signing of a landmark agreement between China and New Zealand in which the two countries recognize each others organic produce standards， Chinas first such agreement

“The links between our two countries are extraordinarily diverse， and higher education institutions across a wide range of disciplines lie at the heart of this.”

Guy Dru-Drury， head of the China Office of the Confederation of British Industries （CBI）， the UKs leading independent employers organization， speaking about a CBI report released on November 14 that said further progress in university links is a key part of China-UK relations