IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Telescope's 'retina' undergoes final test

Scientists carried out the last step in testing a key component of China's gigantic radio telescope on Nov 21. After its scheduled completion next September it will be the largest such telescope in the world.

A team successfully tested the installation of the telescope's "retina", a mechanism weighing 30 metric tons and suspended 140 to 160 meters above the half-finished reflector dish, which will collect signals from the universe.

The telescope, 500 meters in diameter, is composed of 4,500 mostly triangular panels with sides measuring 11 meters that create a parabolic shape or hemisphere. The motion of the panels alters the collective shape of the antenna, which is capable of reflecting radio signals from the universe to a focal point, where the receiver dome sits.

Xi cites Hu Yaobang as a role model

The Communist Party of China Central Committee held a symposium on Nov 20 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of Hu Yaobang.

President Xi Jinping spoke about Hu's "glorious achievements", saying Hu, the former general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, had made outstanding contributions to national independence and liberation, socialist revolution and exploration and creation of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Li seeks to calm waters in region

Premier Li Keqiang has urged countries outside the region to avoid taking action that may cause tension in the South China Sea.

They should respect and support the efforts by countries in the region to uphold peace and stability in there, Li said.

Raising a five-point proposal on the South China Sea at the 10th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, he called for outside powers to "play a positive and constructive role and refrain from taking action that may cause tension in the region".

His remarks came after the United States sent military ships and warplanes close to Chinese islands in recent weeks to assert its "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.

Pledge to lift rural millions from poverty

The top leadership of the Communist Party of China has pledged to increase its efforts to eliminate poverty in rural areas and defeat regional poverty by 2020.

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee hosted by President Xi Jinping said 50 million people would be pulled out of poverty in five years through industry support, labor migration and education.

More than 20 million people who have lost or partially lost the capacity to work will be included in the rural subsistence allowance system.

City to build largest animal cloning site

Tianjin is expected to build the world's largest animal cloning factory next year for the cloning of beef and dairy cattle, dogs and racehorses, said Boyalife Group Ltd, a leader in stem cell and biological medicine.

Boyalife Group said 200 million yuan ($31.3 million; 29.3 million euros) will be invested in the factory after its subsidiary, Yingke Boya Gene Technology (Tianjin), signed an agreement on the project with the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation of South Korea and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.

The factory will include a 15,000-square-meter laboratory, an animal center, a gene bank and a science and education exhibition hall, it said.

The factory is expected to clone 100,000 cattle for beef and milk in its first phase, said Xu Xiaochun, chairman of Jiangsu-based Boyalife Group, the only commercial provider of cloned animals in China.

Drones face restrictions on where they go

The drone maker DJI Technology Co says it has changed its flight systems to ensure its drones keep out of restricted areas, such as over Tian'anmen Square in Beijing and the White House in Washington.

DJI of Shenzhen, which claims 70 percent of the world's drone market, said its Geospatial Environment Online system will provide DJI drone users with up-to-date guidance on locations where flights may be restricted by regulation. It can also raise safety concerns.

The new system will allow users who have verified DJI accounts to temporarily unlock or self-authorize flights in some of those locations "to accommodate the vast variety of authorized applications".

The system will be launched first in North America and Europe, while other regions will continue to use a no-fly zone geo-fencing system the company introduced more than a year ago.

China makes a mark on world of plastic surgery

China's cosmetic surgery industry will be valued at 400 billion yuan by the end of this year and is expected to double in size to 800 billion yuan by 2019.

If growth continues as expected, China would be the world's third-largest market after the United States and Brazil by 2019, says the latest industry trend report issued by the China Association of Plastics and Aesthetics

The report said more than 7 million Chinese, mostly women, went under the knife in the name of beauty last year. About 60,000 of them chose to go to South Korea. Ten percent more foreigners have come to China for plastic surgery year-on-year for the past five years, the report found.

Nation's poor soccer results trigger apology

The Chinese Football Association has apologized for the national team's poor performances in qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The association said it took full responsibility for the team's lackluster displays and apologized for letting supporters down.

It made the statement after Guangzhou Evergrande's 1-0 aggregate victory in the AFC Champions League final against Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates on Nov 21.

New ship to ferry supplies to islands

The ground force of the People's Liberation Army commissioned its largest ship in Sansha, Hainan province, on Nov 23, planning to use it to transport materials to islands in the South China Sea.

PLA Daily reported that the ship is a new-generation logistics support vessel for the PLA Army. It is 90 meters long and has a full-load displacement of 2,700 metric tons, making it the largest ship in the army's watercraft fleet, the report said.

The ship is capable of ferrying heavy-duty weapons and accommodating a helicopter. It will be used to transport supplies, weapons and equipment to places in the South China Sea and to conduct search-and-rescue operations, the report said.

Xi'an's famous dishes to be given protection

As Xi'an cuisine gains in popularity, the ancient city's industrial standards authority has said it plans to regulate the recipes for its most-famous dishes.

Xi'an Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau said on Nov 24 that it is soliciting public opinion, especially from those in the food industry, to create standards for five foods, including roujiamo, also known as the Chinese hamburger, and yangroupaomo, pita bread in mutton soup.

Yang Yihui, an official with the bureau, said the government wants to specify the basic requirements for making these foods to support the branding power of Xi'an cuisine.

Southern cities more friendly to elderly

A study of 150 cities across China has shown that southern coastal cities are more age-friendly than those in the north.

Biaozhun Ranking, a research institute based in Beijing, has released its latest Top 50 Age-friendly Chinese Cities list, with the popular tourist resort of Xiamen in Fujian province ranking first. Among the top 50, 39 cities are located in the southern part of China. Zhejiang province has eight cities on the list, Guangdong has six, and Jiangsu has five.

All of the top 10 cities are on China's south coast.

Consumption will be given another boost

China will increase imports, make it easier for overseas shoppers to receive tax refunds and allow foreigners to visit more of the country for 72 hours without visas, the central government said on Nov 23. Outlining a number of measures aimed at encouraging consumption and stabilizing the economy, the State Council said the country will start to import more advanced equipment and daily consumer goods.

Internal trade barriers to fall

China will accelerate reforms to remove internal barriers to both foreign and domestic trade, the State Council said on Nov 23. It said on its website that it is seeking to "eliminate all kinds of conspicuous and hidden administrative monopolies" and "strengthen anti-monopoly laws" in an attempt to remove protectionist policies between provinces.

Media groups could start 'golden age'

Exchanges between Chinese and British media will promote healthy and stable relations, Jing Junhai, vice-minister of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Publicity Department, said in London on Nov 23.

Jing was speaking at the opening ceremony of the first China-UK Media Roundtable. He called on media organizations from both countries to seize the opportunity and bring about a "golden age of cooperation".

Fifth panda released into the wild

Hua Jiao, a 2-year-old female panda, was set free at Liziping National Nature Reserve in Shimian county, Sichuan province.

"It was the fifth time a captive panda has been released into the wild with the intention of enlarging the wild panda population," said Zhang Guiquan, a panda expert with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/27/2015 page2)