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Chinese courts reverse verdicts in 12 cases

Chinese courts corrected the highest number of wrongful charges and verdicts last year.

Verdicts were reversed in 12 cases in which victims and their relatives had fought for years to overturn initial rulings with repeated appeals. Of these cases, nine were retried, while prosecutors withdrew charges for the remaining three.

For each of the 12 cases, it took an average of nearly a decade to receive final judicial rulings.

In the case of Hugjiltu, a resident from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, who was wrongly charged with rape and murder and sentenced to death in 1996, it took 18 years for a court to declare him innocent and for his parents to receive state compensation. Another suspect in the case is now on trial.

In 2013, the country awarded 87.35 million yuan (roughly $14.1 million; 11.84 million euros) in compensation for 2,045 cases, according to recent data. In 2012, state compensation of about 50 million yuan was paid in 2,035 cases.

Bowhead whales may hold clue to longer life

To learn the secret of aging gracefully, you may want to check out the bowhead whale, a denizen of Arctic waters that can live for more than 200 years.

On Jan 5, scientists unveiled the genetic blueprint for the bowhead, a genome full of clues behind the creature's exceptional longevity and remarkable resistance to disease.

Comparing it with other mammals, the scientists discovered differences in the whale's genes related to DNA repair, cell cycle, cancer and the aging process that may help explain its life span and vitality.

"This is the biggest animal whose genome has been sequenced so far and the first big whale to be sequenced," said University of Liverpool geneticist Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, who led the study published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

"By identifying novel maintenance and repair mechanisms, we hope to learn the secret for living longer, healthier lives and may be able to apply this knowledge to improve human health and preserve human life," Magalhaes added.

Bowhead whales, which live longer than any other mammal, are among Earth's largest creatures.

Multinationals hunting for legal services

Demand from multinational companies for legal services on managing compliance risks in China will continue to rise in coming years, according to legal industry sources.

They said such services will be needed amid intensified government efforts to combat graft and monopolies.

"An increasing number of multinational companies in China have stepped up their internal compliance efforts and are looking for more related legal services from outside law firms," said Leon Liu, a partner at MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.

The company is among the first group of law firms in the country to engage in the compliance sector. Legal services on compliance are designed to help companies ensure that their operations conform to laws and regulations.

In 2013, British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was embroiled in a bribery scandal. Last year, US semiconductor company Qualcomm was slapped with an antimonopoly investigation by Chinese authorities.

Asthma cases in China rise over past decade

Asthma cases have risen dramatically in China over the past decade in line with the increasingly harmful air pollution, according to leading respiratory specialists.

Nationwide, the prevalence of asthma stands at 1 to 2 percent, while in some cities it can reach more than 10 percent, a leading pulmonary physician said.

Lin Jiangtao, director of the China Asthma Alliance and a physician at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, was citing results from the first nationwide epidemiology survey on asthma, which he led.

The potentially fatal disease has risen quickly across the nation, with Shanghai recording the fastest increase in prevalence of 190 percent over the past decade.

"Given that air pollution is a major risk factor in asthma, the disease is still rising," Lin warned.

In a widely reported case, Chinese mother Shang Yujun moved her son to three different Chinese cities to escape air pollution before finally settling in London to control his asthma.

Lin suggested that patients with the disease refrain from outdoor activities and heavy exercise on days with high concentrations of pollutants.

Asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization among children in China and imposes a significant burden on their families. Patients with the condition have increased rates of work absenteeism.

Moderate growth needed: Li

A moderate level of economic growth is necessary to prevent multiple risks to the nation in 2015, Premier Li Keqiang said during his New Year's trip to Guangdong province, China's traditional economic powerhouse.

Li said the Chinese economy has to expand within a reasonable range, otherwise economic and social problems will emerge.

"It's like rocks being nearer the surface when the tide recedes," he said. "Ships could hit them."

He was speaking at a meeting with Guangdong officials on Jan 5 to gauge the economic pulse of the region.

Development remains the key solution to problems the world's second-largest economy, has encountered on its path to modernization, Li said.

Li urged Guangdong, China's largest provincial economy representing 10 percent of the country's economic output, to keep its economic growth above the national average. But that growth should be generated from reform and restructuring, rather than from an outdated economic model, he added.

China signs three key deals with Costa Rica

The young ties between China and Costa Rica were strengthened on Jan 6 as the two countries sealed three agreements in Beijing.

The agreements, signed after talks between President Xi Jinping and Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis, dealt with economic and technological cooperation, food inspection and quarantine and the creation of a joint special economic zone.

Xi called for both sides to formulate a 2016-20 cooperation plan, and to push forward cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, digital television, mobile technology and clean energy.

He urged Costa Rica to simplify visa procedures for Chinese citizens, saying China is willing to assist with the nation's Chinese language teaching and tourism.

The country welcomes more Chinese teachers, scientific researchers, artists and sports coaches, he said.

Solis started his weeklong visit to China on Jan 4, kicking off his first state visit to China since he took office in May 2014.

Nation eyes linking HK, Shenzhen bourses

China is considering a stock trading link program to allow Hong Kong and Shenzhen investors to buy and sell shares on each city's bourses.

The move is part of efforts to integrate Guangdong province, the Chinese mainland's reform front-runner, with two special administrative regions.

Experts said the proposal, a key step in building the Guangdong Free Trade Zone, will further promote China's financial openness, following the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in November.

Premier Li Keqiang made the announcement on Jan 5 during a visit to Nansha New Area, one of the three areas in the Guangdong FTZ.

"One reason the central government approved the Guangdong FTZ is the geographic proximity to Hong Kong and Macao," he said.

"So the first step in building the FTZ is to deepen integration with the two special administrative regions."

Zhu Xiaodan, the Guangdong governor, proposed issuing a list of areas off limits to foreign investors, as the Shanghai FTZ currently does.

(China Daily European Weekly 01/09/2015 page2)