IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Retrials ordered to safeguard rights

Courts across the country will retry controversial cases that might involve improper expropriation of land and houses in an effort to better protect property rights, the nation's top court said on Nov 29. The move by the judicial system follows a guideline aimed at better protection of property rights that was released jointly on Nov 27 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's cabinet. The guideline says that property rights, whether public or private, will receive equal protection. It is the first time that China has issued a state-level guideline on the protection of property rights. It also calls for the review - and correction, if necessary - of some property disputes that have received wide public attention.

China, Laos to push joint projects

China is willing to work jointly with Laos to push forward major cooperative projects in areas including railways and economic development zones, Premier Li Keqiang said on Nov 28. Li met with Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in Beijing, and the two leaders witnessed the signing of two cooperative documents covering border trade and the joint development of an economic cooperation zone. The two countries should enhance cooperation in areas including production capacity, investment, agriculture, finance and national defense, Li said, adding that China would like to connect the country's development strategy with that of Laos.

Xi mourns Castro during embassy visit

President Xi Jinping visited the Cuban embassy in Beijing on Nov 29 to mourn the passing of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, whom he called a "great friend of the Chinese people". It was the first time that Xi has gone to a foreign embassy to express condolences for the passing of a foreign leader since he became president in 2013. Xi noted that Cuba was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic ties with China. China is willing to make joint efforts with Cuba for the steady development of bilateral ties, Xi said.

Rules for foreign NGOs are clarified

China's top security authority has issued a guideline for foreign NGO operations on the Chinese mainland, providing detailed rules for them to register a representative office and organize events. The Ministry of Public Security published the guideline on Nov 28, saying the document was rolled out in accordance with a law on the management of overseas NGOs that was passed by the top legislature in April. The law, which will take effect on Jan 1, gives the Ministry of Public Security and provincial police authorities responsibility for the registration and management of the NGOs.

Coast Guard saves pair of fishermen

China's Coast Guard rescued two Philippine fishermen after their vessel encountered rough seas off Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, and is continuing to search for other missing fishermen, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Nov 29. Philippine Coast Guard officials said on Nov 28 that a search and rescue operation was underway for five Filipinos who had failed to return to port after a typhoon struck. The Philippine Coast Guard was coordinating operations with its Chinese counterpart.

Endangered animals seized in police raid

Forestry police in Ledong county in Hainan province said on Nov 29 that they had seized 53 endangered wild animals from a villager, surnamed Zhang, who was detained recently. During the raid at the suspect's house, police seized 34 live cobras, seven boa constrictors, five Oriental ratsnakes, one dead leopard and six dead masked palm civets. An investigation into the case is ongoing.

Old paper predates accepted invention date

Li Xiaocen, an archaeologist at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, has announced new findings about an ancient scrap of paper, likely the earliest paper on record, dating to 250 years before Cai Lun revolutionized paper-making technology in China. The scrap, about 5 centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide, was unearthed three decades ago in Fangmatan, an archaeological site in Gansu province. A crude type of paper was used as early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). However, Cai Lun, a eunuch in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), greatly refined the paper-making craft and is regarded as the inventor.

Shanghai sculpture said to be a copy

Authorities in Shanghai are investigating a sculpture along the Huangpu River that some say is a copy of an iconic statue in London. The sundial-shaped artwork, located in Pudong New Area's Dongchang Riverfront Garden, is said to be a copy of British artist Wendy Taylor's work Timepiece near the Tower Bridge. Local officials are trying to find out who the artist is and which department is responsible for the artwork in the garden, according to a publicity official with the Pudong New Area Planning and Land Authority. The garden was built in 2006, but the department took charge of the area in 2009 the official said.

Hungary speeds up visa process for Chinese

Hungary has decided to speed up its visa procedure for Chinese travelers to attract more investment and tourists from the world's second-largest economy. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during a joint news conference with his visiting Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Beijing on Nov 30, announced that Chinese business travelers will be able to get a two-year, multiple-entry visa within 24 hours of applying. Chinese tourists will be able to get a visa within 72 hours, Wang added. China has invested more than $3.1 billion (2.92 billion; 2.47) in Hungary, making it the top destination in Central and Eastern Europe for Chinese investment.

Party rules trim benefits of leaders

The Communist Party of China rolled out measures on Nov 30 to regulate benefits enjoyed by Party and State leaders to further cut privileges and promote frugality. Detailed requirements have been made on the housing, vehicle use, transportation, entourage and vacation arrangements of these leaders, according to a statement released after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the top decision-making body. Leaders are required to strictly regulate family members and staff, cut vacation time spent outside Beijing and strictly follow rules on the use of business vehicles. Retired leaders should return to their offices in a timely fashion, the statement said.

Local governments must set debt limits

The Ministry of Finance issued a guideline on Nov 30 to regulate local government debt levels, the latest top-level document issued after an emergency plan to fend off debt risks came out in early November. The guideline requires local governments to set their own limits to avoid breaking the debt ceiling approved by the nation's top legislature. The Ministry of Finance set this year's debt financing limit at 1.18 trillion yuan ($171 billion; 161.3 billion euros; 136.6 billion) - 780 billion yuan-worth of municipal bonds and 400 billion yuan in construction bonds.

Separatists lose appeal over disqualification

The Court of Appeal in Hong Kong on Nov 30 rejected the appeal of two separatist legislators-elect and upheld a previous ruling that disqualified them and vacated their seats in the Legislative Council. Dismissing the main argument submitted by the defense counsels for the duo, Sixtus Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching, who declined to take the official oath during their swearing-in ceremony on Oct 12, the appellant court said in its 41-page judgment that oath-taking by LegCo members - the city's legislature - is a constitutional requirement stipulated under Article 104 of the Basic Law, rather than a LegCo affair.

Mainland-Taiwan flights to be expanded

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have agreed to arrange more flights across the Straits during the coming Spring Festival to ensure people on both sides can return home for family reunions during the Chinese New Year, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Nov 30. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, both parties have agreed to increase the number of flights between Jan 14 and Feb 11. The first group of increased flights will be authorized before Dec 14 to enable travelers to plan their trips in advance.

Polluting companies face tougher fines

China has fined polluting companies more than 686 million yuan ($99.7 million; 94 million euros; 79.6 million) in the first 10 months of the year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Nov 30. Over the same period, environmental authorities seized the equipment of more than 6,000 companies that were contaminating the environment, a year-on-year increase of 90 percent, the ministry said. In addition, at least 1,700 people responsible for pollution were detained, up 86 percent compared with the same period last year, it added.

SCO to join forces to combat terrorism

China has called for intensified intelligence sharing and evidence collecting with Shanghai Cooperation Organization members to prevent Chinese people from traveling to the Middle East to receive military training and then return to conduct terrorist attacks. Chinese prosecutors will enhance law enforcement cooperation with their counterparts in SCO countries, including information exchanges and joint investigation of major and individual cases to crack down on cross-border organized terrorist groups and cut off their sources of funding, said Cao Jianming, prosecutor-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

24 Solar Terms added to UNESCO heritage list

China's Twenty-four Solar Terms, a knowledge of time considered to be the country's fifth great invention, were added to UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Nov 30. The addition was announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, at the 11th Session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which opened on Nov 28 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The inscription of the Twenty-four Solar Terms extended the number of Chinese items on the list to 31. The ancient Chinese divided the traditional lunar calender into 24 solar terms. The season-synchronizing system was based on people's observations of the sun's annual motion and its influence on climate, mostly carried out at the lower reaches of Yellow River where Chinese civilization was born.

Ancient pentagon house discovered

Archaeologists have found the ruins of a pentagonal structure believed to have been a tribal meeting hall or a leader's office 6,000 years ago, authorities said on Nov 28. The semi-subterranean house, discovered at the Neolithic ruins in Linfen city's Taoyuan village, covers a total area of 90 squaremeters, with remaining walls reaching a maximum height of 50 centimeters, according to the Shanxi provincial institute of archaeology.

Clergy to lead battle against extremism

Religious extremism has started to spread into inland provincial areas from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, according to China's top religious affairs official, who urged the China Islamic Association to step up services for Muslim migrants and lead the fight against extremist thoughts. Wang Zuo'an, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, said at the National Congress of the China Islamic Association recently that the infiltration of extremist thoughts into eastern and central areas deserves close attention, and that the Islamic clergy) should stand in the front line in the fight to curb religious extremism and "put in time and energy to convert the mind-set of those people influenced by extremist thoughts," he said.

Forbidden City walls getting major repairs

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, began a restoration project to keep its walls from collapsing, after a survey on the condition of the 3,437 meters of walls showed some sections have been hollowed out over time, and are sagging. Grass and tree roots that have infiltrated gaps pose another major threat. The original structure of the Forbidden City dates to 1420. Its walls are around 9.3 meters high and 8.55 meters thick. They have an earthen core, protected by outer bricks.

Great Wall restoration to be monitored

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage will accelerate drafting of a plan to protect the Great Wall and implement more rigid supervision of the UNESCO World Heritage site, according to Liu Yuzhu, director of the administration, on Nov 30, adding that a national-level supervision platform to oversee and manage protection of the wall is being constructed. A detailed plan to coordinate efforts in different provinces nationwide will be released by the end of next year, according to Liu, who made the remarks during an event at the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall in Chengde, Hebei province, to mark the 10th anniversary of a national rule to protect the Great Wall.

Titanic replica aims to attract visitors

A solemn ceremony was held in the county of Daying in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Nov 30, which was attended by British former deputy prime minister Peter Mandelson and several US designers, who witnessed the laying of the keel of a full-scale replica of the RMS Titanic. To boost development of the local tourism sector, Daying is building a life-size replica of the cruise ship by the Qijiang River with an investment of 1 billion yuan ($145 million; 136.8 million euros; 115.8 million).

(China Daily European Weekly 12/02/2016 page2)