News briefs

The Italian delegation cheers at the opening ceremony of the 26th Summer Universiade held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Aug 12. [Guo Yang / Xinhua]

Universiade starts in Shenzhen

Young people from all over the world started their sports gala in Shenzhen, as Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the 26th Summer Universiade open in the southern city on Aug 12.

With the slogan of "Start here, make a difference", the Shenzhen games have attracted more than 7,800 athletes from 152 countries and regions. It will be the largest-ever games in the history of Universiade.

It is the second time China has hosted the Universiade, the first was held in Beijing in 2001.

Environment

Seawaters contaminated

Radioactive materials emanating from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant are contaminating sea waters in China, the nation's ocean watchdog said.

According to monitoring results released by the State Oceanic Administration on July 29, the first group of seawater samples collected from the area contained 300 times the amount of radioactive cesium that is found in nature and 100 times the amount of strontium.

The State Oceanic Administration's environmental protection department said China will strengthen its monitoring for radioactive substances in the waters east of Fukushima, where the nuclear plant is, and in the East China Sea. By doing so, they hope to forecast what effect the radiation released by the plant will have on the marine environment and the safety of marine food.

Oil spill firms may face legal action

China's maritime watchdog said on Aug 16 that it plans to sue ConocoPhillips China for oil spills in Bohai Bay that caused widespread environmental damage, the first litigation of its kind by a government agency.

The North China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) will file the lawsuit against companies responsible for a series of spills that began in June, the SOA said in a statement.

It also dismissed media reports that ConocoPhillips China, a subsidiary of Houston-based US energy giant ConocoPhillips, will be fined 100 million yuan ($15.6 million) for the spills, saying that the amount had not yet been determined.

Law

Citizens' rights ensured

The highest court in China says citizens have the right to sue any government department that refuses to release information that the law makes open to the public.

According to a judicial interpretation that was enacted by the Supreme People's Court on Aug 13, citizens can file suit against government departments if they turn down or ignore requests to disclose non-classified information or to correct information that has already been published.

That change is seen by many as the government's latest attempt to make itself more transparent and to protect citizens' right to know about public matters.

Adoption rules to be tightened

The government is toughening rules to tackle the scourge of child trafficking, including making orphanages the only institutions that can offer abandoned children for adoption. "Illegal adoption", whereby adults can adopt without official registration, will also be targeted.

The draft of the rules, due to be introduced by the end of the year, will force adults to go through official channels and reduce the demand for abducted children.

Data

China's aging population rises

A government report released on Aug 16 showed that the number of China's citizens at and above 60 years old had increased to 177.65 million.

The aging population made up 13.26 percent of the total population, according to the report by the administration department of the National Working Commission on Aging.

The report was about the development of China's aging service and aging industry last year. It was the second report released by the administration on the issue since last year.

Railways

Safety checks for high-speed train

Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang on Aug 16 urged a thorough overhaul of China's high-speed railways to prevent major accidents.

The checks, to run from mid-August to mid-September, aim to "thoroughly eliminate risks" concerning high-speed railways and "effectively prevent and resolutely curb" major railway accidents to ensure the safety of rail traffic, Zhang said at a mobilization meeting for the checks.

The safety of the country's high-speed railways was questioned after two high-speed trains on a line near the Eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou collided on July 23, leaving 40 people dead and 191 injured.

China Daily