IN BRIEF (Page 2)

ROK's Park leads delegation to Beijing

South Korean President Park Geun-hye led a business delegation comprising 128 companies to Beijing on Sept 2.

The presidential office said the visit also would push forward the early implementation of a free trade agreement between the neighbors.

Beijing and Seoul signed the free trade agreement on June 1 and it is expected to expand bilateral trade by $2.7 billion in the first year after taking effect. Last year, two-way trade reached nearly $300 billion.

Tianjin blast area 'normal after rain'

The area around the Tianjin blast site has remained normal despite rain over two days, authorities said on Sept 1.

The site, which is still being cleared, witnessed another fire on Aug 31 after chemicals that ignite in contact with water - magnesium and sodium metals - got wet. The smoke from the fire, which was brought under control, was not toxic, the authorities said.

As of Sept 1, the blasts at a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals had claimed 159 lives, including 95 firefighters, and left 14 missing. Some 321 people are still hospitalized, with four in critical condition.

Minister to oversee impact assessments

Pan Yue, the vice-minister of environmental protection, will again take charge of environmental impact assessments, returning to a position he held 10 years ago and raising expectations he will once more implement effective steps to control polluting projects.

The ministry has made no official announcement, but two sources within the ministry confirmed the change to China Daily on Sept 1.

Airline punished over cockpit fight

China United Airlines, a budget carrier, has been punished after a string of safety violations, including a fight between two of its pilots during a flight in June.

The civil aviation authority has reduced the airline's flight hours by 10 percent, starting on Sept 1, and barred it from launching new air routes or charter flights.

The airline on Aug 31 admitted the pilots had had a misunderstanding and that there had been "some physical contact", but said it did not escalate into a fight. Those involved were grounded for six months, it added.

Insurance to cover birth defects treatment

China's health authority has pledged to include diagnosis and treatment of birth defects under health insurance programs.

About 5.6 percent of babies born in China have birth defects, about 900,000 a year, with one born every 20 seconds, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The rate is 3 to 4 percent in most developed countries.

Health insurance programs in rural areas already cover some defects, such as hemophilia, congenital heart disease, and cleft lip or palate.

Soccer association to stand on its own feet

Guangzhou Sports Administration has said it will follow the national government's example by severing ties with the local soccer association, to speed up development of the game in China.

The Guangzhou Football Association will become an NGO, with independent administration and internal control of structure, finance, salaries and personnel, Xu Jianping, deputy director of the administration, said. The reshuffle is the first of its kind at a regional level.

High-speed rail link starts operating

A high-speed rail link between Dandong, on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea border, and Shenyang was launched on Sept 1.

The railway will cut the travel time between the two cities from more than three hours to just one, according to the Shenyang Railway Administration. Trains on the 208-kilometer line will reach 250 km/h.

Asian destinations lure mainland travelers

Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong were the most popular overseas destinations for tourists from the Chinese mainland during the peak summer tourism season, largely thanks to new visa policies and favorable currency exchange rates.

According to a report on Aug 31 by Tuniu, a Chinese online travel agency, outbound tourism in July and August increased 380 percent year on year.

Asian countries and regions still ranked as the most popular destinations. However, South Korea, the top choice in 2014, was affected this year by the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Amnesty for juvenile convicts, ex-soldiers

Prison inmates sentenced when they were minors will make up a large number of convicts to freed under a special amnesty, Hu Weixin, deputy director of research for the Supreme People's Court said on Aug 31.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the amnesty on Aug 29 after a weeklong discussion, granting pardons to four types of prisoners.

The deal, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, largely targets juveniles who committed crimes while under 18 and were sentenced to less than three years.

Overseas returnees share startup challenges

The top concern for overseas returnees who want to start businesses in China is dealing with local governments, a survey by the China Center for Globalization and recruitment website Highpin has found.

More than 29 percent said they didn't know how to deal with local authorities or had problems with the approval process, while 26.3 percent said they were unfamiliar with domestic markets or had difficulty in learning about development opportunities.

According to the Ministry of Education, about 1.8 million overseas students had returned to China by the end of last year, little more than half of the number studying overseas.

Juvenile offenders sent home to get help

Young people from Jiangsu province who commit crimes in Shanghai will be returned home for supervision as part of the first intraprovincial cooperation on juvenile prosecution.

The agreement will make minors more equal in judicial protection, said Yi Shenghua, a criminal lawyer in Beijing.

Since 2003, most juveniles who commit petty crime in Shanghai have been given an opportunity to wipe the slate clean instead of receiving a prison term. If the young offenders have guardians or a fixed residence in Shanghai, they can be supervised in communities instead of being arrested and prosecuted.

45 sentenced for illegal border crossings

Forty-five people have been sentenced in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for trying to go abroad illegally, or for helping people cross the border illegally.

Two people were sentenced to life in prison for smuggling 305 people to Vietnam. Others received sentences from four to 15 years for organizing, leading, participating in or sponsoring terrorist cells, or organizing people to cross the border illegally, the Xinjiang information office said on Aug 26.

Of the 10 cases tried in southern Xinjiang's Aksu, Kashgar and Hotan prefectures, northern Xinjiang's Ily Kazak autonomous prefecture, and the oil city of Karamay, two were handed to Xinjiang authorities by law enforcement authorities outside the region. Eighteen human traffickers from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were sentenced.

Second homes need lower downpayment

China has lowered the downpayment for people who use housing provident funds to buy a second home, signaling its intention to prop up the property market in a time of battered confidence.

In a joint statement by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development, Ministry of Finance and the central bank on Aug 31, the minimum payment for buyers who use their housing funds to buy a second home was lowered from 30 percent to 20 percent, as long as they had paid off their previous mortgage.

The statement said the four most expensive cities in China - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen - could decide autonomously whether to follow the move.

Rail service expected to boost Hainan tourism

A high-speed railway circle will start operation in Hainan province by the end of this year to further promote tourism.

Guangzhou Railway (Group) Co announced on Aug 31 that construction of the western part of the route was complete.

The eastern part of the circle started operation in December 2010, with an average occupancy rate of 90 percent. It is hoped the rail line will help ensure well-balanced tourism development of the island.

Police discover 620 smuggled turtles

Frontier police officers in South China have seized 620 turtles and tortoises, including 510 that are under state protection, smuggled from Vietnam.

The authorities said they heard "creeping sounds" when inspecting a truck supposedly carrying frozen seafood in Fangchenggang, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Fewer crimes to be subject to death penalty

China's top legislature has adopted an amendment to the Criminal Law to remove the death penalty for nine crimes and limiting the ability of those convicted of corruption from continually seeking reduced sentences. The revisions, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, will take effect on Nov 1.

Crimes that will no longer subject to the death penalty include smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials or counterfeit currency; counterfeiting money and fraudently raising funds; arranging for or forcing another person to engage in prostitution; obstructing military personnel from performing their duties; and fabricating rumors to mislead others during wartime.

When the law takes effect, the number of crimes subject to capital punishment will be reduced to 46.

Li: Government will boost positive factors

China will use more policy weapons to achieve this year's growth targets, Premier Li Keqiang said at a closed-door meeting with a small group of key officials on Aug 28. The government will do "whatever can be done" to boost "positive factors for growth", he said.

The country is facing a lingering slowdown in the manufacturing sector and continued anxiety in the stock market.

At the macroeconomic level, more effective and industry-specific policies will be adopted to offset the downward pressure troubling the country's transitional economy, Li told the officials. He said the government must be sensitive to subtle developments and adaptive in policy implementation, to make sure the economy will achieve its targeted annual growth of around 7 percent.

(China Daily European Weekly 09/05/2015 page2)