News » China » China's rural poor population declines

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• China's rural poor population declines
• Chinese lawmakers commend last 5 years of legislation
• Top Chinese political advisor meets Azerbaijan National Assembly deputy head
• China, WHO to boost health service equality
• Europe reaps the benefits of investment
• Tourists besiege Palace moat with trash
• Retailers sentenced for skirting import tax
• Postnatal care centers' popularity booms
• AIDS patients get help in Anhui
• Medical reform in crucial stage
• Dialogue necessary for Korean Peninsula nuclear issue: FM spokeswoman
• PLA plans military drills to boost combat readiness
• Press center ready for China's annual political sessions
• Draft rules stress educational rights for disabled
• China refutes Japan's sea buoys accusation
• Fog in east China halts traffic
• Computer factory accused of polluting river
• China becomes world's biggest agricultural machinery maker
• Government streamlining to be discussed at 2nd plenary session of 18th CPC Central Committee
• Suzuki to recall 13,227 faulty vehicles in China

China's rural poor population declines Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:12 AM PST China's impoverished population has declined for the first time since the poverty line was raised in 2011, although poverty alleviation work remains arduous, a government office said Tuesday.

Chinese lawmakers commend last 5 years of legislation Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:10 AM PST Members of China's top legislature, which will end its current term next month, on Tuesday expressed satisfaction regarding legislative efforts over the last five years and voiced high expectations for their successors.

Top Chinese political advisor meets Azerbaijan National Assembly deputy head Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:07 AM PST Top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Tuesday met with Ziyafat Asgarov, deputy head of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan.

China, WHO to boost health service equality Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:05 AM PST More Chinese people will get equal access to medical facilities and public health services through a cooperation plan between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

Europe reaps the benefits of investment Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST Chinese investment has been rising rapidly in both the United States and the European Union, but the EU has attracted almost twice as much investment as the US in recent years, according to a report from an organization that monitors global financial trends on Monday. This was due in part to the eurozone's thirst for investment and a difference in security concerns between the US and the EU, analysts said. Chinese investment in the EU hit more than $10 billion annually for the past two years, according to a report from Rhodium Group in New York. The figure for the US soared to $6.5 billion last year, a massive increase in the annual investments of less than $1 billion before 2010. On Monday, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp said it will spend $1.02 billion to buy half of Chesapeake Energy Corp's Mississippi Lime oil and gas properties in Oklahoma to increase its presence in the booming North American shale gas industry. Europeans have extended a warmer welcome to Chinese investors than their US counterparts, according to Rhodium's research, especially in the high-tech sector. The eurozone debt crisis has presented investors with a number of opportunities. According to Rhodium, investors from China spent $6 billion on the industrial machinery and vehicle sector in Europe, compared with less than $3 billion in the equivalent sectors in the US. "Europe is a comparatively freer market than the US, exerting less interference on commercial and business activities," said Huo Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce. Huo also said the European debt crisis eases access for Chinese investors. "The region has world-leading manufacturers but many are struggling for capital," he said. Changsha-based Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd purchased German concrete pump maker Putzmeister last year for 360 million euros ($475 million). EU countries also attracted investment in utilities and transportation infrastructure. Through 2012, Chinese State-owned enterprises and sovereign investment bodies put more than $5 billion in those industries, including a stake by China's sovereign-wealth fund in Heathrow Airport in London. The US attracted almost no investment in transportation infrastructure and the $3 billion of Chinese investment in utilities targeted companies with assets mostly outside the US. Executives of China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp repeatedly said the company will seek investment opportunities in the European infrastructure market. Differences in European and US security concerns are also a factor, the report said. US skepticism about Chinese capital is due to the fact that investment ties between the countries are seen in the broad context of geopolitical relations, said Karl Sauvant, resident senior fellow at Columbia University's Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment. "The strategic competition between the two countries has influenced the view with which Chinese investment is being seen here," said Sauvant, a German national who has lived and taught in the US for decades. Strategic competition with China isn't an issue in Europe, he said. R. Mason Cargill, a partner in Jones Day law firm in Washington, told China Daily that the US government welcomes Chinese investment in general but "national security concerns will be a major challenge to Chinese investors in the US in addition to cultural differences concerning business." Li Zhongzhou, a senior trade and investment expert and former official from the Ministry of Commerce, said the US need not be too concerned because the scale of Chinese investment is quite small. "But the US government should change its mindset about China," said Li. "Chinese companies could help to create jobs in the US, rather than what is feared, steal technology and jobs." Huo agreed by saying that the US "didn't make any sense in many of its arguments toward Chinese investment." A report by two members of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee last October cited two Chinese telecom equipment firms, Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp, as posing a potential national-security threat to the US. Both companies operate in Europe. That followed US President Barack Obama's executive order in September for Chinese-controlled Ralls Corp to divest its wind farm investment near a US Navy weapons-testing facility in Oregon. Ann Lee, an adjunct professor at New York University and author of What the US Can Learn from China, said Europeans are less concerned because their political leaders, unlike those in the US, aren't trying to defend their position as the world's lone superpower. "The US must always have an enemy to maintain its high moral ground among its citizens," she said. The Rhodium report, however, finds that the US has outpaced Europe in attracting Chinese investment for several high-tech clusters, including aviation and information-technology services. The report by New York-based Rhodium also found greater Chinese interest in the advanced-services sector in the US. Last year saw the $2.6 billion purchase of movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings by China's Dalian Wanda Group and the $4.2 billion Chinese takeover of International Lease Finance Corp from insurer American International Group. Contact the writers at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com.cn Li Jiabao contributed to the story.

Tourists besiege Palace moat with trash Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST The moat that served as the last defense of Chinese emperors since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is now under attack — by trash. The moat that surrounds the Forbidden City in Beijing is turning into a river of rubbish because of rampant littering by tourists. Rubbish, mostly plastic packaging, flows on the surface of the half-frozen river. "We can only send workers to clear the rubbish when the sun thaws the ice on the river because the trash is now frozen into the ice," said Ji Tianbin, deputy head of the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City. "Nothing can be done before then." Tongzi River, the Forbidden City's moat, was designed and built along with the imperial palace during the Ming Dynasty and served as the last-ditch line of defense for the emperors. Today, the moat has become a popular spot for Beijing residents to take a stroll with family. "The rubbish peppering the river is like numerous small patches on a exquisite quilt," said Wang Xiuqin, a 23-year-old Beijing resident. "This really spoils the cityscape." Aki Takashima, a 31-year-old Japanese tourist who visited Beijing in 2012, said he was shocked by the litter, especially around historic relics. "This is disrespect for the ancient relics," he said. "It's not beneficial to Beijing, because the cultural relics serve as a window on the city and the whole country." According to Ji, the Palace Museum is surrounded by trash almost every winter. "It's very dangerous to have the staff pick up rubbish in the winter when the river is half frozen, so we just wait until spring when the ice melts," he said. Staff members paddling in a boat in the summer pick up food packages and empty bottles floating in the moat, making the museum look better. "Even if there is a trash bin meters ahead, some tourists won't hold onto their trash for another second and simply toss it into the river," Ji said. Ji said in addition to sending more staff members to clean the palace and encouraging tourists to put the trash where it belongs, the only thing they can do now is set up more trash bins inside the museum and by the moat. The Palace Museum is not alone in its fight against littering. According to Jiang Li, director of the landscape maintenance in the Yuanmingyuan Park, or the Old Summer Palace, the park has also been bothered with rubbish. "We send out staff members to pick up the food packaging floating on the river and the green area every summer," she said. "But some tourists just ignore the trash bins along the river and the warning signs." Zhang Hui, a professor of tourism at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that despite Beijing's efforts in making the capital a world tourism city, there is a lot of room for improvement. "The city needs to further improve its service system in the tourist attractions, as well as methods of regulating tourist behavior," he said.

Retailers sentenced for skirting import tax Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST A Shanghai court on Monday sentenced two female shop owners to one year in prison, suspended for 18 months, for buying duty free goods in South Korea and bringing them into China to sell online in 2012, avoiding tens of thousands of yuan in import taxes. The sentence, which includes fines for the two smugglers, recalls the high-profile case of former flight attendant Li Xiaohang, who has launched an appeal against her 11-year prison term imposed by a court in Beijing for her evasion of 1.09 million yuan ($170,000) in taxes when transporting cosmetic products from South Korea to China on numerous occasions between 2010 and August 2011. Li is still waiting for a decision by the High People's Court of Beijing. Li's case has been hotly debated, and her sentence is widely considered too harsh. Legal experts said law enforcement departments should not be arbitrary or selective when deciding who to charge with criminal offenses, because overseas purchase services are rampant. It is estimated there are 100,000 such purchasing agents across the country. They also urged lawmakers to review customs taxes which are much higher than the world average, giving rise to overseas purchasing services. According to the No 1 Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai, the two suspects, identified as Liu Xinxin and Fan Lin, were convicted of smuggling goods. In addition to their suspended prison terms, Liu was fined 100,000 yuan and Fan was fined 81,000 yuan. This is the first case in Shanghai convicting overseas buyers, the court said. Fan carried 473 cosmetic products, wristwatches, bags and small medical instruments — including 411 pieces commissioned by Liu — in her luggage and did not declare them as imported goods at customs in Shanghai Pudong International Airport in April 2012. One month later, Liu was caught carrying 307 cosmetics, wristwatches and bags without declaring them to customs officials when flying to Shanghai from Seoul. Both are shop owners on Taobao, the country's largest online trading platform, where they sell products that are first ordered on the website of a duty-free shop in South Korea and later picked up from the country, the court said. Liu evaded 99,000 yuan in taxes and Fan 80,000 yuan, according to the court, which took into account the smugglers' attitude, confession to the court and the nature of their crimes when determining the sentence. Both women said they would not appeal their sentences. Zhang Yan, a lawyer who represented the former flight attendant Li, said on Tuesday that the Shanghai court's decision is more objective and fair than in his client's case. "In the Shanghai case, it is quite clear that the two suspects were caught crossing the line, and the court handed down the judgment based on what police found," said Zhang, who works for Beijing-based Yida Law Firm. But the 11-year prison term for his client Li, 30, is partly based on Li's confession of the total amount of goods she smuggled in that period, not on what police caught her doing. "That's very controversial," Zhang said. Zhang said courts must be consistent in their sentencing because there cannot be a situation where a few people can be convicted while the majority of smugglers are given administrative penalties. "When law enforcement is not universal, all you can do is pray criminal charges won't be laid against you," he added. You Yunting, a partner at Debund Law Offices in Shanghai, said on Tuesday that the popularity of overseas purchases reflects China's duty import costs, which are higher than the world average, especially on cosmetics. You said lawmakers should review whether the cost is too high. He also called for overseas producers not to use differentiated pricing methods to sell their products at a higher price in China than in their home countries. "Both of those can be called systematic loopholes that need time to mend," he said. "But in the short term, purchasing agents should stop their illegal services because the sentences in Beijing and Shanghai show the country is taking notice and is serious about tackling the offense."

Postnatal care centers' popularity booms Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST Postnatal care centers are the modern answer to the Chinese tradition of zuoyuezi, which is based on the idea that mothers should enjoy a month of absolute rest after delivering a child. With their popularity booming among the country's middle class, the future looks bright for the burgeoning sector. Yet after reports of health scares at centers in recent years, parents and care experts have begun to question their safety, with some calling for improved regulations to ensure mothers and babies are protected. Until a few weeks ago, Zhang Qian was all set to book a 30-day stay at a nearby postnatal center. "My husband and I didn't want to burden my family," said the 30-year-old Shanghai bank clerk, whose child is due in mid-July. "We also wanted our baby to be cared for in a more scientific way." However, she quickly shelved her plan after it was revealed that five newborn babies had contracted a viral infection at one of the city's postnatal care centers. "Now I'm undecided," she said. "I'm not sure about the safety conditions of the centers." News of the outbreak at the Baby Garden Nursing Center in Jing'an district surfaced on Jan 14, shortly after a parent reported to authorities that her baby had rotavirus, which can lead to inflammation of the intestines. Jing'an district's center for disease control and prevention launched an investigation and found that five newborns had shown symptoms of the illness, such as fever and diarrhea, and had been diagnosed at Shanghai Children's Hospital. According to Liu Haifeng, a pediatrician at the hospital, rotavirus can be the result of unsanitary conditions. However, a spokesman for Baby Garden Nursing Center, who gave his name only as Jia, said it is hard to pinpoint the specific reason for the infections. "We will draw a lesson from this case," Jia said, adding that the center had established a long-term contact with Jing'an district's CDC. "We're still open, but of course this case has had an effect on our business, and on the sector as a whole." This was not the first case to put the spotlight on conditions at postnatal centers. Xinhua News Agency reported that in 2010 a mother wrote online that her baby had caught pneumonia at a center, while other netizens have complained of worms in rice and spiders in cots. Renewed tradition The tradition of zuoyuezi, which literally means sit for a month, dictates that new mothers must stay indoors and leave work to others during that period, usually elderly female relatives. Yet as incomes have grown in cities, families began to hire nannies, either for just that month or on a long-term basis. Postnatal care centers started to spring up in the last five to eight years as one-stop shops staffed by nurses, gynecologists and obstetricians, pediatricians, nutritionists and psychologists. Some even boast five-star services, including swimming pools for babies and early education courses, but prices can be hefty too. Chen Ye, 32, said she paid 110,000 yuan ($17,480) last year to stay at a center in Shanghai. "The service was generally good," she said. "I didn't have to do anything. The center handled everything for me." According to the China Domestic Service Association, there are now about 200 postnatal centers nationwide, mostly in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. However, experts say that regulations have failed to keep up with the sector's development. "Postnatal centers are not even required to register with health authorities. They fall under a government's industrial and commercial office," said Liang Yun, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Domestic Service Association, who also works with the China Healthcare Association. "Plus, they are still regarded as a new service, and there is no specific registration category." This creates a serious problem when it comes to supervision, he added. "Many businesses cut corners by registering under the category of healthcare or maternity care, but they don't have a special health license to open such a center." CareBay Maternity Services, established in 2007, was among the first postnatal centers in China. It has three branches, two in Shanghai and one in Beijing, and a fourth is planned for Shenzhen. It charges from 70,000 yuan to 580,000 yuan for a month's stay. Like many others involved in the sector, the center's publicity director Guo Ailin said the company understands that caring for mothers and their babies requires a strictly controlled environment, from temperatures to hygiene to nursing standards. But there are still no national guidelines the centers need to adhere to, she said, which results in "many people thinking it's easy money and jumping into the market to take a piece of the cake. Most fail because they do not ensure quality". She said CareBay has a long-term partnership with several hospitals to guarantee top medical care and regularly sends air samples for testing. "We invite third-party, independent bodies to examine our work and sanitary conditions," she said, adding that the centers receive on average 100 women a month. Zhang Wenkang, president of the China Maternal and Child Health Association, agreed that the authorities urgently need to update the regulations on postnatal centers. "We need guidelines and standards to remove risks to new mothers and newborns," he added.

AIDS patients get help in Anhui Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST "Relax; it takes time for the drug to take effect," Zhang Zhenjiang gently reassured a patient as he took her pulse. "Trust me. You'll be OK." The woman, who was lying on a long wooden chair receiving an infusion at the doctor's home, was one of dozens of AIDS patients Zhang has cared for over the past 17 years in Lixin county, Anhui province. "I usually treat patients at my house, because taking care of them at the village clinic would put some off," the 58-year-old said. Although medical advances have lessened fear of the deadly virus, discrimination against HIV and AIDS patients has not been entirely eliminated in his native Liuran village. Zhang's career started in 1995, when HIV was detected in his and many nearby villages. Several years before, what was thought to be a mysterious disease had been found in many residents. Zhang said many people started to "become thinner every day, and parts of their bodies became infected and would not recover after repeated treatment". No one knew what the disease was until authorities announced the discovery of HIV years later and started to treat patients, he said. "The news caused panic," Zhang recalled. "We didn't know what to do. I remember three people died on the same day in a neighboring village." The HIV epidemic was caused by poor villagers in Lixin selling their blood in the early 1990s, according to the county's center for disease control and prevention. The center later screened more than 200,000 people and found more than 1,000 had HIV. Fearing infection, no village doctor would dare treat patients — except Zhang. "I decided to try. I saw these patients dying every day and no one treating them," he said, although he admitted that taking care of HIV and AIDS patients is not easy and requires great courage. "One of my earliest patients was paralyzed and large parts of his hips had festered. I was terrified and had to ask my wife to clean and sterilize the area before applying medicine on the wound." Zhang gradually got used to the treatment, but like the patients, he has also suffered discrimination due to a lack of knowledge about the disease among villagers. "What distressed me most was that, for several years, few people in my village would have any contact with me. Even my daughters refused to see me," he said. "But I just couldn't abandon these patients, because no one paid attention to them. "I live with them in the village, and I know they became infected because their poverty led them to sell blood instead of turning to drugs or prostitution. They shouldn't have to live in shame." To ease the concerns of the villagers, he invited his patients to dinner to prove common physical contact would not transmit the disease. The county government has made great efforts to prevent HIV and provide treatment and education through various channels, including television and radio. More than 500,000 pamphlets had been distributed to residents by the end of last year, authorities said. HIV and AIDS patients are entitled to free anti-viral treatments and basic living allowances. Their children can receive free compulsory education. The mortality rate of AIDS patients has been reduced to around 3 percent, from as high as 25 percent in 2002, the county's CDC said. "As a village doctor, it's my duty to do my best to treat patients, including those with HIV," he said. "The government policies have also made my work much easier." Due to Zhang's efforts, most of the first HIV and AIDS patients to be diagnosed have survived, including some who have lived with the virus for 20 years, he said. Attitudes toward HIV and AIDS have also changed. "Most villagers don't fear patients and don't avoid them any more," the doctor said. "Patients are gradually being accepted." Zhang said he plans to retire in a few years and has decided to send his son for training so he can take over his work. "Doctors like Zhang are essential," said Lu Hongzhou, a public health expert at Fudan University's Huashan Hospital in Shanghai. "A major obstacle to AIDS prevention and treatment at the grassroots level is a lack of qualified doctors, and we hope through our training programs they can better serve the people." Lu will train Zhang's son for two months this year. The young man graduated from a medical school in 2008. "I'm greatly relieved to see my son will receive good training and continue my job," Zhang said. "I hope all AIDS patients can receive proper treatment and can live like other patients, without facing discrimination." Contact the writer at wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn

Medical reform in crucial stage Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:37 AM PST China's ongoing medical reform has already entered its most difficult stage, Minister of Health Chen Zhu said on Tuesday. He made the remarks at the launch of the China-World Health Organization Country Cooperation Strategy 2013-15. The strategy outlines a medium-term framework for cooperation between the Chinese government and the WHO to improve the health and well-being of Chinese people. "By 2015, when all county-level hospitals are reformed, the program will be expanded to large city hospitals, which will be very difficult," Chen said. As China has nearly achieved universal healthcare by covering about 95 percent of the population under some form of health insurance, reforms to public hospitals will be on top of the working agenda, he said. The essence of the reform is to cut public hospitals' financial dependence on drug sales, a mechanism that easily results in excessive examinations and prescriptions, health policy experts said. Zhang Liming, deputy director of the WHO collaborating center for primary healthcare in Shanghai, said the reform is aimed at improving public access to affordable medical care at public hospitals. "Public hospitals should serve as a base providing essential healthcare to the people rather than a profiting institution," he said. However, finding a proper way to compensate them is crucial, Zhang pointed out, proposing government support. According to Chen, by the end of the year, about half of the nation's county-level public hospitals will be reformed and for that, the government would largely subsidize their operation. At present, 70 percent of the nation's population, mainly farmers, get medical care at county-level hospitals, the Ministry of Health said. Given that county-level hospitals are relatively small and totally subject to the control of health administrations, "they were chosen as the starting point of the reform", explained Wu Ming, assistant director of the Peking University's Health Science Center. "The reform will surely reach large hospitals in cities by 2015 when all county-level ones finish it," Chen vowed, urging more support from large hospitals for the reform. As sporadic experiments, several major hospitals in cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen launched the reform in July, previous reports said. Under the pilot program, the long-established 15 percent markup on drugs was scrapped while the fees for seeing the doctor were raised. "That's more like a restructuring to the insurance payment pattern," Zhang explained. In fact, the government didn't pay extra for the change, he added. "The annual revenue of large hospitals usually amounts to hundreds of millions yuan, and that's impossible for the government to absorb," he said. Huang Jiefu, vice-minister of health, said the success of China's medical reform lies in medics' hands, thus it's important to find ways to compensate their potential losses and encourage their enthusiasm for work. Contact the writer at shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn

Dialogue necessary for Korean Peninsula nuclear issue: FM spokeswoman Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:47 AM PST A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that all concerned parties should use negotiation to find a solution to the complex Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

PLA plans military drills to boost combat readiness Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:44 AM PST The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct 40 military exercises in 2013 in order to improve its combat abilities, according to the Military Training Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.

Press center ready for China's annual political sessions Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:31 AM PST A press center for China's upcoming annual legislative and political consultative sessions opened on Tuesday.

Draft rules stress educational rights for disabled Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:28 AM PST Educational coverage for people with more types of disabilities, such as autism and cerebral palsy, will expand, according to a draft revision to the regulation on the education of the disabled.

China refutes Japan's sea buoys accusation Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:14 AM PST China on Tuesday said deployment of buoys in waters around the Diaoyu Islands are for maritime meteorological observation.

Fog in east China halts traffic Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:58 AM PST Heavy fog blanketed eastern China on Tuesday, delaying flights and prompting traffic control measures.

Computer factory accused of polluting river Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:57 AM PST In Shanghai, a computer parts manufacturer has been told to suspend some of its operations over allegations it was dumping industrial waste into a small river.

China becomes world's biggest agricultural machinery maker Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:47 AM PST The total industrial output value of China's agricultural machinery industry reached 338.2 billion yuan (53.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012, ranking first globally, a senior official said Tuesday.

Government streamlining to be discussed at 2nd plenary session of 18th CPC Central Committee Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:45 AM PST The CPC Central Committee is due to meet from Tuesday to Thursday. General Secretary Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders are reportedly discussing plans to streamline the government.

Suzuki to recall 13,227 faulty vehicles in China Posted: 26 Feb 2013 02:41 AM PST Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor Corp. will recall 13,227 Jimny vehicles in China to fix flaws that may pose safety risks, China's consumer quality watchdog said on Tuesday.

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