IN BRIEF (Page 2)

China remains attractive to foreign investors

China is still one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investment because of its streamlined administration and trade facilitation, Premier Li Keqiang said on a trip to the Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone on Nov 21. The premier was speaking at a General Electric Co technology park. He said GE's choice has demonstrated that China is still one of the best destinations for foreign investors, and the country has 170 million people who have received higher and secondary education, which is a precious resource. On Nov 22, Li visited E&P International, an online port management company that runs the international trade single window in the pilot zone. The premier said customs clearance should boost the country's imports and exports, as exports have been declining due to weak demand from the international market.

City tops medical waste disposal list

Shanghai ranked top among 246 major cities that produced the largest amount of medical waste last year, followed by Beijing and Guangzhou, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Nov 22. The ministry released its annual report on solid waste, saying the cities produced more than 1.91 billion metric tons of solid waste from industrial production.

Ministry: Island's status not changed

China said its sovereignty and administration over Huangyan Island in the South China Sea "has not and will not change", and that China and the Philippines should strengthen dialogue and cooperation to make the South China Sea issue a positive factor for enhancing bilateral friendship and cooperation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the remark during a daily news conference on Nov 22 in response to reports that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will issue an order to ban all fishermen from fishing in the island's lagoon.

Researchers identify 1,445 new viruses

An international team led by Chinese virologists at the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention has reported the discovery of 1,445 new virus species. The findings were published in Nature magazine on Nov 24. The institute is part of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the past, people have discovered new viruses only after an outbreak. Some have remained unknown for decades, according to Zhang Yongzhen, one of the researchers. Beginning in 2011, the scientists undertook studies of more than 220 invertebrate species - a wide range of creatures such as insects that account for 95 percent of the world's animals. They discovered the new viruses in the process.

WHO head pays tribute to rescue team

Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, paid an inspection visit on Nov 22 to a Shanghai-based emergency rescue team, one of three such teams that became the first to join the WHO's Emergency Medical Team Initiative earlier this year and the only one in China. Chan urged the team, capable of providing mobile emergency field hospitals and staff members in response to natural disasters and disease outbreaks, to gain more practical knowledge from rescue teams that have been to the world's hardest-hit regions.

Sino-Malaysian military drills get underway

Exercise Aman Youyi 2016, a joint military exercise between China and Malaysia codenamed Peace and Friendship Exercise 2016, was launched in Paya Indah Wetlands in Selangor, Malaysia, on Nov 22. The exercise, involving about 300 military personnel from China and Malaysia, with observers from the Royal Thai Armed Forces, has a theme of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It will focus on indoor shooting, hostage rescue, combat skills, jungle tracking and survival skills.

Officials accountable for lax environmental efforts

China has held more than 3,000 governmental officials accountable for lazy environmental protection efforts, the latest move in fighting pollution and environmental degradation. In total, 3,287 officials in eight provincial areas, including Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Henan and Yunnan, had been held accountable by the end of September following inspections by the central government, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Nov 23. Punishments included some being removed from their posts, said the ministry. Fines totalling 198 million yuan ($29 million; 27 million euros; 22 million) have been slapped on violators, it added.

China gives shelter to 3,000 fleeing Myanmar

More than 3,000 people from Myanmar, some of them injured, have arrived at temporary shelters in Chinese border towns including Wanding, Yunnan province, after fleeing conflict along their country's border, said Pan Xuesong, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Myanmar. The injured, all Myanmar nationals, were taken to hospitals for medical treatment, Pan said on Nov 21.

Documentary series tells Great Wall history

Phoenix Publishing and Media Inc, a publishing and distribution enterprise in China, launched a Phoenix Chinese app and a Great Wall-themed documentary series at Gaudeamus International Book and Education Fair in Romania on Nov 19. The historical and cultural documentary series titled Great Wall: Story of China recreates scenes from history and shows the story of the Great Wall. It is a part of Phoenix Media's Great Wall-themed cross-media publishing project. Other Great Wall-themed exhibits displayed at the Gaudeamus fair included the newly-published book series Chronicles of the Great Wall of China and a book of photos recording the history of Great Wall, called Chasing after the Ghosts of the Great Wall.

New company to reform, run basketball league

The Chinese Basketball Association, together with 20 top-tier clubs, announced on Nov 22 the establishment of the CBA League (Beijing) Sports Co. Retired NBA basketball star Yao Ming was elected by 20 club shareholders as vice-chairman of the company. Its task will be to reform the administration of the domestic league through more professional approaches in commercial and athletic operations. Li Jinsheng, deputy head of the CBA, was named chairman of the company. The association, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, will control a 30 percent stake in the company, while each of the 20 clubs will have a 3.5 percent share.

China, S. Africa build on strategic partnership

South African President Jacob Zuma met visiting Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao in Cape Town on Nov 22, and both vowed to further advance the countries' comprehensive strategic partnership. Zuma said South Africa and China are best friends and comrades who are as dear to each other as brothers. He said the two countries hold the same or similar views on many issues and conduct frequent high-level exchanges frequently. Bilateral cooperation is strong in various fields and has potential that is yet to be tapped, Zuma said. China's investment in the COEGA Industrial Development Zone in Eastern Cape province and other major cooperative projects have helped create jobs in the country and contributed to its development, he said.

Ministry trains Africans in theater management

The Ministry of Culture hosted a seminar on theater management for people from five African countries, as part of an effort to train cultural sector workers from the continent. A total of 14 people from Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe participated in the event, which took them to venues such as the National Center for the Performing Arts and Beijing People's Art Theater. In addition to watching classic plays and conducting field studies, the attendees were briefed on the management and operation of China's theaters, as well as the development of Chinese culture, the ministry reported. They also visited the Palace Museum and the Great Wall during the training.

3,000 difficult Chinese characters digitized

Around 3,000 difficult Chinese characters have been digitized in accordance with a national standard and can be used in China and other areas of East Asia with software support for written Chinese. The project, known as the China Font Bank, seeks to make vast linguistic resources more accessible to Chinese and foreigners, academics said. The Chinese program aims to encode 300,000 Han characters, 100,000 characters from ethnic minority scripts and 100,000 more from rare and ancient writing styles, such as oracle bones, in the coming years, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Work set to start on communication network

China will start construction on a quantum communication line between Wuhan, Hubei province, and Hefei, Anhui province, bringing the nation a step closer to having the world's most secure communication network. The Wuhan-Hefei quantum communication line will be put into operation around the end of next year and will be connected with the 2,000-kilometer Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication network which is expected to be completed at the end of this year, according to a statement published by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp at a two-day laser technology forum that closed on Nov 23 in Wuhan.

Rare birds flock to nature reserve

More than 100,000 rare migratory birds have been spotted in the Yellow River Delta, a sign of an improved environment in the region. Experts at the Yellow River Delta National Natural Reserve in Dongying said on Nov 20 that five species of crane were discovered.

Ashes of fallen pilot return home

The ashes of pilot Yu Xu were returned to her hometown of Chongzhou and placed in a cemetery for revolutionary martyrs on Nov 20. Yu, who was among the first Chinese women to fly a J-10 fighter jet, died in an accident during a routine training operation on Nov 12.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/25/2016 page2)