IN BRIEF (Page 8)

South Korean aid for China

The South Korea-based healthcare equipment manufacture Ceragem recently donated 2 million yuan to Yanji, a city in Northeast China's Jilin province, to support local education.

The money will be used to set up scholarship, provide aid for poverty-stricken students and support training of local teachers.

Jogging to fight cancer

More than 200 employees of US-headquartered special materials provider Rohm and Haas took part in the 11th Annual Shanghai Charity Jog to raise funds for the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Research Center.

The company has been involved in the charity event for nine years. Funds raised are pooled into research and development of anti-cancer drugs and technologies.

New govt charity department

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has set up the Social Welfare and Charity Causes Promotion Department focusing on welfare lotteries, charity and social donations, welfare for the elderly and the disabled, and children's welfare.

Wang Zhenyao, the former director of MCA's Disaster and Social Relief Department, will be the director of the new department.

The new department will promote an all-round social security system with insurance, welfare, and charity causes working together.

The former Charity Causes Coordination Office founded in December 2007 by the MCA will also be under the auspices of the Social Welfare and Charity Causes Promotion Department.

Epson helps quake victims

More than 150 people from Baoji and Hanzhong cities of Shaanxi province, who were affected by the May 12 earthquake, have begun their new jobs in Tianjin Epson Co Ltd.

In mid July, Epson began recruiting in Baoji and Hanzhong, and made offers of employment to about 400 people. Epson (China), Hong Kong Epson Foundation and Seiko Epson Headquarters have donated more than 1 million yuan for the earthquake relief work in China. It also offered printing equipment and services.

In addition to Epson, many other multinational corporations and large State-owned enterprises in Tianjin have offered more than 6,300 jobs to people in Shaanxi. Tianjin is the pairing-assistance municipality for Shaanxi.

Collective wage talks urged

Zhejiang province is urging enterprises set up collective wage negotiations to protect the rights of employees.

The local government has issued documents and aims to ensure that 70 percent of all enterprises and 100 percent of State-owned and collective enterprises adopt the system by the end of 2010.

(China Daily 10/06/2008 page8)