IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Rural doctor training

The third session of the "Red Cross Angel Plan - Rural Doctor Training Course" was officially launched at the end of March. Chinese Foundation of the Red Cross organized the program with cooperation from the training center of Peking Union Medical College.

The training is sponsored by Taiyuan Diabetes Hospital with 3000,000 yuan and offers 15-day training for 100 doctors from 20 counties and villages of Shanxi province.

Launched in 2006, the program provides free training to 10,000 rural doctors within eight to 10 years. Another three to four sessions are expected to be held this year.

A toast to Zhou Enlai

To commemorate the 110th birthday of premier Zhou Enlai, Yibin, Sichuan-based Wuliangye Group, one of China's best-known liquor brands, has donated bottles of limited-edition Wuliangye liquor to Zhou Enlai memorial museums in Tianjin municipality and Huai'an of Jiangsu province.

According to the company, the donation is to memorialize Zhou's efforts to promote the development of China's national brands. Thanks to Zhou's guidance and encouragement, Wuliangye says won many global brand awards and accessed into over 60 overseas nations and regions.

HIV/AIDS education

A United Nations program on HIV/AIDS and the Red Cross Society of China have joined forces recently to promote HIV/AIDS education and prevention in China.

The joint program hopes to educate 27 million people about HIV/AIDS and offer support for 90,000 families with AIDS patients.

French connection

South Beauty Group, one of China's leading dining chains, is a major sponsor for the third Sino-French Spring Cultural Exchange - a program held annually since 2006. It showcases the visual and performing arts of the two nations in an effort to promote cultural interaction.

This year's program began on April 3 and will go until June 15 in 18 Chinese cities. South Beauty Group will provide a platform for French master chefs to show their arts.

In addition, the restaurant chain help organize a French art exhibition - Referencing Paris: Art and Design Exhibition - to be held in September in Shanghai.

Yangtze River aid

China's Ministry of Education and UNESCO launched a water conservation project last month to protect the Yangtze River.

The Water School for a Living Yangtze aims to restore the ecological integrity of the Yangtze River through public participation and sustainable water resource management.

(China Daily 04/07/2008 page8)