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Weather change drives out smog

A strong cold front has swept across northern China and helped disperse smog that had covered a vast part of the country.

The cold air brought rain and snow in some parts of the northern and northeastern regions. Strong winds have also caused the temperature to drop up to 14 C.

Smog in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province was dispersing on Feb 27 after covering northern and central China for almost a week.

The National Meteorological Center had issued 12 smog alerts since Feb 20, including 9 yellow and 3 orange alerts. China's meteorological alerts are labelled blue, yellow, orange and red in order of ascending severity.

Violent crime on the rise last year

Terrorism and violent crime became frequent last year, seriously affecting social stability, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report on Feb 24.

In 2013, terrorism-related crime was still the key factor that threatened people's safety and disturbed the country's public order, according to an annual report by the academy on China's rule of law.

As international terrorism unfolded last year, terrorist attacks in western areas of China, especially in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, also became frequent and serious, said Ji Xiangde, a researcher at the academy's Institute of Law.

Japanese firms sued over forced labor

Thirty-seven Chinese citizens filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court on Feb 26 demanding Japanese apologies and compensation for forced labor during World War II.

It is the first time that Chinese forced laborers, including Zhang Shijie (pictured), 88, and their relatives have lodged such a class-action case in a Chinese court. Observers said the case will increase pressure on Japan to correct its interpretation of its militarist history.

The forced laborers and their relatives want apologies to be carried in mainstream media in China and Japan, as well as compensation from Mitsubishi Materials and Mitsui Mining and Smelting.

Kang Jian, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit is aimed at safeguarding the victims' dignity and human rights.

Dozens of wartime compensation suits have been filed by Chinese and South Korean citizens in Japan, but Japanese courts have rejected almost all of them.

The bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Feb 27 passed the draft decisions to designate two new national days, one on Sept 3, to mark victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the other on Dec 13, to commemorate more than 300,000 Chinese killed by Japanese aggressors during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre.

(See more on page 24)

Obama and Dalai meeting decried

A meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama on Feb 21, which took place despite China's warnings, has prompted sharp criticism from the Chinese government and observers.

Obama hosted a closed meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House on the morning of Feb 21, defying repeated protests from Beijing since the meeting was announced on Feb 20.

Beijing voiced immediate opposition after the meeting, decrying Washington for meddling in China's domestic affairs.

Calling the Tibet autonomous region a "sacred and inalienable part of China", Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang criticized Washington for "grossly interfering in China's internal affairs" and reaffirmed that it allows no foreign interference in Tibet-related affairs.

Year of the Horse brings baby boom

Storks are busy delivering newborns in cities across China as the Year of the Horse bolts from the stable and couples try to have their child born in what they consider an auspicious year.

According to Zhu Li, matron of Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital's maternity department, more than 500 babies were born in the hospital in the first 10 days of the Year of the Horse, an increase of 30 percent on the same period last year.

"Normally about 60 babies are born in the hospital each day, but on the first working day after the Spring Festival break, the number surged to 87," Zhu said.

Many people believe that babies born in the Year of the Horse, which began on Jan 31, 2014, will be endowed with good luck.

Growth drop not a cause for alarm

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei has dismissed concerns that recent data showing a weakening manufacturing sector indicate a possible deep slide in the country's economic growth, saying a strengthening service sector points to a "reasonable restoration".

Responding to worries of a hard landing for China at a time of fragile global recovery, the minister said over the weekend of Feb 22-23 that the past rapid expansion of China's manufacturing industry was "unsustainable".

He said the weaker role played by manufacturing in the past year is a positive sign for China's economy.

Speaking at a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Sydney, Australia, Lou said: "The manufacturing sector once took up nearly 60 percent of the economy and contributed to more than 50 percent of global growth. This brought along pollution and overcapacity and is unsustainable."

Gaokao accepted by overseas universities

International horizons have opened up for students sitting the national college entrance exam as an increasing number of overseas universities have accepted the exam's scores, according to educational analysts.

Up to 60 percent of colleges and universities in Australia now accept gaokao results after the University of Sydney led the way in 2012.

Students need to submit their gaokao scores, and if these are accepted, they have to satisfy English language proficiency requirements before enrolling.

For instance, the University of New South Wales launched its gaokao policy this year, with its entry requirements based on the percentage average of all attempted subjects in the exam.

Company cars put up for auction

Wuliangye Group, one of China's leading liquor producers, recently held a public auction of its company cars, as a part of its efforts to streamline operations.

A total of 343 cars went up for auction, including two Hummers, worth about 300 million yuan ($49.4 million; 35.7 million euros). The second round of auctions will be held at the end of February. Auctions of public cars are being held by companies in other cites, such as Shenyang in Liaoning province. However, some under-the-table deals are also done at these auctions.

Toshiba's product recall excludes China

Toshiba Corporation has recalled products worldwide due to a risk of spontaneous combustion in its washing and drying machines, but China was not included.

There are 30 models, totalling 583,000 machines sold between July 2005 and Nov 2011 listed in Toshiba's announcement, some of which were also sold in the Chinese market.

Reports said that China had been neglected due to a lack of relevant laws and regulations, People's Daily reported.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 02/28/2014 page2)