Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regions first visually impaired candidate for the national college entrance exam takes the exam in a separate room on June 7.

The No.2 High School in Yinchuan， capital of the northwestern region， set up an exclusive exam room for visually impaired students. The questions were given and answered in Braille while the time limit was extended by 50 percent.

To better accommodate candidates with special needs sitting the exam， the Ministry of Education issued a set of regulations governing conditions for the participation of these candidates earlier this year， the first such policy adopted by the Central Government.

Social Assistance Work

The Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） and the Ministry of Finance issued a set of guidelines on the modern social assistance system， according to a notice on the MCA website on June 10.

Social assistance aims to ensure that those at risk and people in poverty are helped to attain social and economic empowerment. However， the system cannot be sustained solely through government funding.

The guidelines called for the drafting and implementation of a new model by 2020， a process which will now involve the private sector.

Services provided by institutions and social workers include social inclusion， access to assistance， counseling and promotion.

In terms of social inclusion， social institutions and social workers can help people to cope with family and social relations， eliminate discrimination， rebuild support networks， and adapt to the community environment.

The guidelines also called for better understanding of those who need social assistance， building the system from the grassroots up， with the support of professionals and the employment of well-managed and recognized services providers.

Senior Population

There were 212.4 million people aged 60 or above at the end of 2014， 15.5 percent of the total population， the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on June 10.

Of that number， 137.6 million were 65 or above， or 10.1 percent of the total population， according to the statistics report on social development in 2014， which was published on the ministrys website.

According to international standards， a country or region is considered to be an “aging society” when the number of people aged 60 or above reaches 10 percent or more. China has had over 10 percent of people aged 60 since 1999.

China has more than 94，110 nursing homes， with about 5.78 million beds， 17 percent more beds than a year earlier. However， there are still only 27.2 beds for every 1，000 senior citizens.

Foundations in China

China had a total of 4，117 foundations by the end of 2014， an increase of 16 percent from the year before， statistics by the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed on June 10.

According to a bulletin on the ministrys website， there were 1，470 publicly funded foundations and 2，610 privately funded foundations by the end of 2014.

The bulletin also showed there were nine foundations involving overseas interests and 28 representative offices run by overseas foundations.

It said public-funded and privatefunded foundations received donations of 37.43 billion yuan （$ 6.03 billion） in 2014.

Maternal Death Rate

Chinas maternal mortality rate has shrunk by 75 percent over the last 25 years， according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission on June 10.

Maternal death rate was 21.7 per 100，000 in 2014， compared with 88.8 per 100，000 in 1990， a 75.6 percent drop.

The commission attributed the decrease a more equitable medical care and allowances provided for rural women to give birth in hospitals.

Hospital delivery rate in rural families was merely 36.4 percent in 1990， while by 2014， the rate had increased to 99.6 percent.

Health authorities have also reduced the birth defect rate by providing free pre-pregnancy check-ups and medical care.

University Rankings

China has overtaken Japan as Asias No. 1 nation for world-class universities， according to the Asia University Rankings 2015 published on June 10 by Times Higher Education.

Some 21 universities from the mainland of China enter the top 100 of the rankings， up from 18 last year， with Peking University taking fourth place and Tsinghua University being fifth.

Chinas special administrative regions also did well， with six universities from Hong Kong （two in the top 10） and one from Macao represented in the top 50.

Although the University of Tokyo remains Asias No 1 institution， Japan slipped to second place with 19 representatives in the prestigious top 100， down from 20 last year.

The Asia rankings use 13 performance indicators to examine each universitys strengths against its core missions： teaching， research， knowledge transfer and international outlook， according to Times Higher Education， a weekly magazine that provides information about higher education.

Sight Care

The Jilin Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine offers free eye tests for citizens on June 3-13， for National Eye Care Day， which falls on June 6 each year.

Senior Official Sentenced

Zhou Yongkang， former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee， was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 11. He will be deprived of his political rights for life and his personal assets will be confiscated for the crimes of accepting bribes， abusing his power and deliberately disclosing state secrets， the Tianjin Municipal No.1 Intermediate Peoples Court ruled.

The court heard his case on May 22. Involving disclosure of state secrets， the trial was not open to the public. Zhou pleaded guilty and will not appeal.

Zhou was convicted of taking bribes to the value of approximately 130 million yuan （$21.3 million）， said the court judgment.

According to the court， Zhou took advantage of his position to profit five persons identified as Wu Bing， Ding Xuefeng， Wen Qingshan， Zhou Hao and Jiang Jiemin， and personally accepted money and property worth 731，100 yuan （$117，919） from Jiang.

Money and property worth 129 million yuan （$20.8 million） was accepted by his wife Jia Xiaoye and son Zhou Bin. Zhou was informed about the bribes after the fact.

In his final statement， Zhou accepted the charges. “The basic facts are clear. I plead guilty and repent my wrongdoing，” he said.”Those involved， who bribed my family， were actually coming after the power I held， and I should take the main responsibility. I broke the law and Party rules incessantly， and the objective facts of my crimes have resulted in grave losses to the Party and the nation. The handling of my case in accordance with Party rules and the law reflects the authorities determination to govern the Party strictly and advance the rule of law，” Zhou added.

Fox Hunting

A total of 214 suspects had been returned to China by the end of May from overseas since the Fox Hunt 2015 operation began in April， the Ministry of Public Security said on June 9.

Among the 214 fugitives involved in economic crimes， 27 are also faced with corruption charges.

Fox Hunt 2015 is part of the larger Sky Net operation and targets economic crime suspects， many of them corrupt officials in government departments and state-owned enterprises.

The latest campaign has once again made it clear that corrupt officials have no place to hide and will be tracked down and brought to justice.

As a result of Fox Hunt 2014， 680 fugitives were returned to China.

Trade Shrinks

While Chinas narrowed export decline in May was an encouraging sign， customs data showing unexpectedly weak imports added to concerns about the countrys trade prospects.

Exports slipped 2.5 percent year on year to $191 billion in May， recovering from a 6.4-percent drop in April and a 15-percent slump in March， data from the General Administration of Customs showed on June 8.

The improvement， which beat market forecasts， was mainly driven by warming trade with the United States， Japan and the eurozone， HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin said.

His views were echoed by Liu Liu， an analyst with a research team at the China International Capital Corp.， who said the data showed external demand may be stabilizing thanks to stronger performance in the three economies.

Given a lukewarm global trade climate， HSBC has downgraded its 2015 export growth forecast for China from 7.1 percent to 4.2 percent.

Nevertheless， Chinas exports did perform better in May， but imports painted another picture.

Official data showed imports slumped 17.6 percent from a year ago to $131 billion， dragging total foreign trade down by 9.3 percent.

The decline extended the contraction from Aprils 16.2-percent drop， falling short of market expectations for a marginal improvement.

HSBCs note said the contraction widened even as commodity prices started to stabilize， pointing to soft domestic demand.

China bought more bulk commodi- ties of crude oil and grain in the first five months， but imports of iron ore， coal and refined oil products shrank， with prices of major goods down.

CPI and PPI

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 1.2 percent year on year in May， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said on June 9.

The reading fell from the 1.5 percent posted in April.

Falling prices of vegetables， fruits and eggs owing to seasonal factors were the main cause of the CPI decline in May， NBS statistician Yu Qiumei said.

The producer price index （PPI）， a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate， slid 4.6 percent year on year in May， the 39th straight month of declines， NBS data showed on June 9.

The year-on-year drop in the PPI matched Aprils， according to the NBS.

Silk Road Trade

Visitors buy gifts in a specialty hall in Ningbo， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， where products from central and eastern European countries are on offer.

The hall， which covers an area of more than 1，000 square meters， made an important part of the first ChinaCEEC Investment and Trade Expo opened in the city on June 8.

Infrastructure Projects

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） announced on June 10 it has approved feasibility reports on seven new infrastructure projects， a sign of quickened fiscal spending to spur slowing growth.

The projects， including railways and airports， have a combined investment of over 120 billion yuan （$19.7 billion）， according to NDRCs website.

The four airport projects are in the provinces of Hainan and Heilongjiang， and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. One railway project is planned for Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， and another will link Shangqiu of Henan Province to Hefei of Anhui Province and Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province.

The NDRC also approved an experiment base for China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology Center for Aviation Safety Technology.

The projects will be funded by the central budget， local fiscal funds and bank loans， according to the NDRC.

The government is looking to boost infrastructure investment to support faltering growth.

Earlier this year， railway construction was upgraded， including the raising of planned fixed-asset investment to 800 billion yuan （$128.88 billion）， putting 7，000 km of new railways into operation and kicking off 64 new railway projects.

Agriculture Investment

China has earmarked a large fund to invest in agricultural industrialization projects this year， the Ministry of Finance （MOF） announced on June 8.

The Central Government plans to provide 4.93 billion yuan （$805.98 million） to finance a total of 4，238 agricultural projects， including 1，445 planting bases， 1，369 breeding bases and 914 product processing items， the MOF said in a statement posted on its official website.

Leading agricultural enterprises， superior or distinctive agricultural products involving livestock breeding， grain and oil as well as vegetables were listed as priorities for gaining access to the support， said the MOF statement.

The MOF said the central fund will spur further investments of 2.58 billion yuan （$415.64 million） from local governments and 10.39 billion yuan （$1.67 billion） from self-raised funds and bank loans.

When Life Gives You Melons

Villagers help tourists pick melons in an orchard in Zouping County， east Chinas Shandong Province， on June 7. In recent years， ecological tourism has evolved into a new growth point for local rural economy.

Anti-Dumping Duty

The Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said on June 8 that Australia has issued an anti-dumping notice on silicon metal exported from China after an investigation into dumping and subsidization.

Following the investigation the Australian Government Anti-Dumping Commission set dumping and subsidy margins for Huaan Linan Silicon Industry Co. Ltd. and Guizhou Liping Linan Silicon Industry Co. Ltd. at 18.3 percent and 6.3 percent respectively. Both companies will be subject to an effective rate of combined interim countervailing duty and interim dumping duty of 12 percent， according to a statement by the MOFCOM trade remedy and investigation bureau.

The commission announced a dumping margin and subsidy margin for “uncooperative， and all other exporters” of 27 percent and 37.6 percent respectively， with an effective rate of combined interim countervailing duty and interim dumping duty of 58.3 percent.

Australia began its investigation in February last year after allegations of dumping and subsidization of silicon metal goods that originated from China with a total value of $12.78 million， according to the MOFCOM.

More Air Routes

More air routes linking China with Japan will be launched over the next few months to cater to an upsurge of Chinese travelers during the coming summer holidays.

Chinas budget carrier Spring Airlines announced a new air link between Harbin， capital city of northeastern Heilongjiang Province， and Nagoya， Japan， on June 29.

It is the first direct air route linking the city with the central area of Japan. The three-hour flight will fly every Monday， Wednesday and Saturday.

In addition， Chinas Xiamen Airlines said on June 7 that it will open a direct air link between Fuzhou， capital city of east Chinas Fujian Province， with Osaka.

The Boeing 738 flight will operate every Monday， Tuesday， Thursday and Saturday beginning on July 16， the airline said.

The airline will also open a roundtrip flight to connect Xiamen， where the company is based， with Tokyo in August.

In the first half of this year， Japan became a popular tourist destination for the Chinese. The popularity is expected to continue in the coming summer holidays， said Mao Yi， head of the publicity department of Spring Airlines.

Last year， more than 2.4 million Chinese tourists visited Japan， a substantial increase from previous years.