IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Culture

Warsaw gets a taste of Tibet

The Tibetan Culture Week in Warsaw will bolster China-Poland relations, provide rich insights into the culture and art of the autonomous region and broaden Polish understanding of Tibet, officials and scholars from both countries say.

The weeklong expo features photography, Tangkar - a type of Tibetan scroll painting, exhibitions, a gala of Tibetan folk songs and dances, and academic exchanges between Chinese and Polish scholars.

In a letter addressed to the event, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, called the event a key part of the cultural exchanges between China and Poland.

The photography and Tangkar exhibitions present more than 200 works by well-known Chinese and foreign photographers as well as more than 40 Tangkar paintings by Tibetan artists.

Business

All roads lead to Shanghai

More than 60 multinational corporations have set up their Asia-Pacific or Asian headquarters in Shanghai, much more than any other city on the Chinese mainland, according to data published on Nov 4.

The statistics from the city's commerce commission also showed that 32.6 percent of the multinational corporations with regional headquarters in Shanghai are enterprises from the United States. European enterprises account for 25.4 percent, and those from Japan for 23.7 percent.

Population

Labor force 'at turning point'

The number of people of working age in China will decrease by almost 30 million before the end of this decade, posing serious challenges to economic growth, according to an expert with a top think tank.

According to the World Bank, the country's demographic dividend - when the largest section of society is of working age and the dependency ratio is low - has contributed more than 30 percent to the country's rapid economic growth.

However, Cai Fang, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says that the dividend reached its peak in 2010.

The last census, carried out in 2010, recorded 940 million people of working age - 15 to 59 - against the total population of 1.34 billion. Cai estimates that by 2020 the number of people of working age will fall by as much as 30 million.

Science

Satellites put maps in sharp focus

A navigation system, capable of almost pinpoint accuracy, will cover more than 100 cities and benefit at least 200 million people across the nation, Vice-Minister of Science and Technology Cao Jianlin said.

The Xihe system, named after a god in ancient China, will be introduced by 2020. Recent tests showed that it was accurate to within one-tenth of a meter outdoors and three meters in enclosed spaces.

Xihe integrates technology to receive and send signals from all four major navigation satellite systems - China's Beidou, the Global Positioning System from the US, Russia's GLONASS and the EU's Galileo. Once connected to all the major navigation satellites, the Xihe system will increase the accuracy of all four systems and cut the cost for users of mobile devices.

Society

Wealth, health matter for Chinese

Income continues to be the most dominant factor in China that determines happiness and confidence about the future, says a recent survey.

The survey, conducted by the China Youth Daily, showed that more than 11,400 people, accounting for 53 percent of the total target group, are confident about their lives over the next 10 years and want more income to help sustain the confidence.

More than 70 percent of people surveyed were between 23 and 42 years old, with 30 percent earning less than 3,000 yuan ($480; 376 euros) a month and nearly 40 percent earning 3,000 to 10,000 yuan a month. Income is the biggest factor that affects Chinese people's happiness, followed by health, marriage, family, housing and social security, the survey found.

Health

Smoking threatens young women

Nearly two-thirds of reproductive-aged women on the Chinese mainland are routinely exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke at home, and more than half are routinely exposed at their workplaces, according to a survey by organizations including the World Health Organization.

The data were included as part of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, with the China content produced in 2010 by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States CDC and the WHO.

According to the findings, exposure to secondhand smoke among women aged 15 to 49 years old on the Chinese mainland is among the highest of the 14 low and middle-income countries surveyed, such as Bangladesh, India and Mexico.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/09/2012 page2)