SOCIETY

Subsistence Allowances

China has set aside 69.6 billion yuan ($11.13 billion) from the central budget to pay for subsistence allowances for needy rural and urban fam ilies next year, the M inistry of Finance said on October 12.

Of the fiscal spending, 35.1 billion yuan($5.61 billion) will be used for urban allowances, while the rest w ill be distributed to rural areas, according to a statement from the ministry.

The Chinese Government has earmarked 87.5 billion yuan ($13.99 billion) for m inimum living allowances since the start of the year, w ith 44.36 billion yuan ($7.09 billion)given to poor urban fam ilies, according to the statement.

China established the subsistence allowance system in the late 1990s. The allowances are given to those whose per-capita household income falls below the local minimum subsistence level.

Last year, the average monthly urban subsistence level was 287.6 yuan ($45.98) per person, up 14.5 percent year on year. The figure for rural areas was 143.2 yuan per person($22.89), up 22.4 percent.

M ilitary Zones

China is considering protecting its defenserelated scientific, technological and industrial facilities as m ilitary zones, according to a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer.

Some key organizations w ill be zoned as forbidden or restricted military areas, said Ma Yifei from the PLA’s Headquarters of the General Staff on October 17.

National defense organizations related to science, technology and industry have a direct bearing on the country’s national security and defense strengths, thus requiring good security, confidentiality, air exclusion and electromagnetic environment conditions, Ma said.

However, such organizations are offlim its to the protection of military installations under current law and regulations, and many of them face a complicated surrounding environment, Ma said, adding that such situations have resulted in some information leaks and undermined the efficiency of these facilities.

Eco-friendly Railway

The M inistry of Environmental Protection said on October 16 that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has passed its environmental impact assessment.

The ministry launched the assessment of the world’s highest rail system in early October and announced the results to be “satisfying.”

ANNIVERSARY SHOW Visitors tour airc raft at an exhibition featuring the achievem ents o f Nanjing University o f Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, capital o f east China’s Jiangsu Province, on Oc tober 16

CALLIGRAPHY LESSON Students p rac tice calligraphy at a p rim ary school in Xiaohuang Town in Dongxiang County,central China’s Jiangxi Province,on Oc tober 15

The w ildlife paths, protection of vegeta-tion, frozen earth, marsh and scenery, as well as anti-pollution measures have met expectations, and realized the harmony of projects and the environment, according to the m inistry.

Environmental supervision started before construction of the 1,956-km railway and continued after its fi rst operation on July 1, 2006.

Island Nam ing

China is planning to name the country’s undesignated islands and islets, according to an official newspaper w ith the State Oceanic Adm inistration.

The administration has also ordered provincial authorities to complete local island census and compile information w ith names and locations of the islands and islets by the end of April 2013, the new spaper said on October 16.

By the end of last year, China had given official names to 1,660 islands and placed marks, such as stone tablets, on these territories, the newspaper said. The naming and marking of another 1,664 islands w ill be completed by August next year.

According to the official, China has more than 7,300 islands measuring 500 square meters or larger.

RECORD SETTER Som e 900 tents are p laced in the shape o f a d ragon during the Golden Beach Cam ping Festival in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, on October 13. The Guinness World Record organization dec lared it the largest tent m osaic ever, covering an area o f 3,400 square m eters

Afforestation Goals

China is expected to raise its forest coverage to 21.66 percent by 2015 in a bid to improve the country’s ecological environment, said Sun Zhagen, Deputy Director of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), on October 14.

China w ill beef up its afforestation efforts to cope w ith global climate change, Sun said.

China’s forest coverage reached 20.36 percent in 2009, up from 18.21 percent in 2006, w ith 20.54 m illion hectares of forests restored, according to SFA figures.

The Central Government earmarked a total of 46.2 billion yuan ($7.39 billion) from 2008 to 2011 to subsidize farmers whose farm land was reclaimed and turned into forests.

Bio-diversity Protection

More than 1.3 m illion hectares of wetland w ill be transformed this year into habitats to protect the bio-diversity of Poyang Lake,China’s largest freshwater lake, local authorities announced on October 16.

HORSE FESTIVAL Contestants attend a horse race during the Eighth Naadam Fair in the Mongo lian Autonom ous Prefec ture o f Bayingolin in Korla,Xinjiang Uygur Autonom ous Region,on Oc tober 13

W ith an investment of 15 million yuan($2.4 m illion), the project w ill include returning vegetation to wetlands, dredging aqueducts, setting up boundary markers,building patrol trails and weather monitoring facilities in Poyang County, east China’s Jiangxi Province.

Another 50 m illion yuan ($7.99 m illion)has already been pumped into environmental protection of the Poyang Lake wetlands,including radioactive assessment and water quality improving, officials said.

Poyang Lake is Asia’s largest destination for w inter m igrant birds. About 95 percent of the world’s white cranes, 50 percent of its white-naped cranes and 60 percent of its swan geese spend the w inter there every year.

Civil Service Recruitment

The Chinese Government has prom ised to recruit more university graduates who have taken on leadership roles in the countryside in a bid to encourage more college students to work in rural communities after graduating.

Next year, 10 to 12 percent of new ly recruited civil servants in the country w ill be college grads who have experience working as “village officials,” according to the State Adm inistration of Civil Service.

The number of university students w ith official positions in rural communities is expected to increase to 600,000 by 2020 from the current 200,000, officials said.