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Warning to women on online encounters

Judges from the nation's top court urged female university students to be more aware of their safety and suggested they refrain from disclosing their personal information online.

The appeal came after several young women were murdered or disappeared in recent months.

On Oct 21, the Supreme People's Court disclosed seven cases in which women and girls were defrauded, kidnapped, raped or killed after meeting Internet acquaintances. The court warned women not to trust strangers or those they meet in cyberspace so easily.

"All convicts in these cases made use of the trust established online to commit their crimes," said Yan Maokun, deputy chief judge of the Criminal Department of the Supreme People's Court.

The number of such cases has risen since the introduction of instant messaging tools such as QQ and WeChat, Yan said.

Three defendants in the seven cases were sentenced to death for kidnapping, rape and murder.

In June last year, Xiao Kechen, from Foshan in Guangdong province, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping a 15-year-old he met through WeChat and robbing her of 20,000 yuan ($3,270) and a cellphone.

HK election 'must adhere' to law

The central leadership has its constitutional rights and responsibilities regarding the political structure of Hong Kong, the city's chief secretary told a group of protesting students who have blocked city streets for three weeks.

Voters in Hong Kong can select their leader for the first time by universal suffrage in 2017, according to a resolution adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Aug 31.

The "ultimate aim" of universal suffrage is enshrined in the Basic Law, in which nominees for the city's next leader will be produced by a "broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures".

Protesters who have camped out unlawfully on Hong Kong's main streets since Sept 28 want this decision rescinded to allow public voters to nominate candidates for the 2017 election. This method has been officially ruled as unconstitutional.

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, speaking to core members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students on Oct 21 during students' two-hour talks with government officials, maintained that the arrangements for the 2017 election must adhere to the constitutional framework.

Pollution choking China's inbound tourism

China's inbound tourism market is still struggling to bounce back in the midst of rising concerns about issues such as air pollution, according to a report from the China Tourism Academy.

The number of inbound tourists reached 129.08 million last year, down 2.5 percent year-on-year, the report said.

About 75.4 percent of inbound tourists were satisfied with their visits in 2013, down 11.4 percent compared with the previous year. Some tourists from overseas expressed dissatisfaction with the water supply, air quality and barrier-free facilities.

"Since the first quarter of 2012, the number of inbound tourists has been down for nine consecutive quarters both on an annual and quarterly basis, and there is no sign that it will bounce back soon," said Dai Bin, head of the academy. "China's inbound tourism market is in a grave situation unseen before."

"Besides the economic situation and international relationships, issues of weather, environment and terrorism have cast a shadow on the industry."

Government steps back from research fund

In a move to curb academic corruption and encourage innovation in research, the government will stop managing the state research fund and hand over power to a third-party agency.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance are leading the reform measure. A third-party agency supervised by the government, possibly the National Natural Science Foundation, will take over.

"Researchers will no longer need to make frequent visits to the government to gain funding," said Zhang Xiaoyuan, the director of the department of facilities and financial support at the Ministry of Science and Technology. Professional institutes will decide which researchers gain funds, Zhang said.

At present, the government has the power to both distribute State research funds and supervise how they are used, which can lead to corruption. In addition, more than one ministry may be involved and, due to the lack of a communication mechanism, some corrupt researchers use one project to apply for multiple funds from different sources, which leads to an abuse of government funds.

Beijing adopts strict food policy for APEC

Beijing has adopted a stringent food-security policy during preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting next month by regulating providers of raw food materials and suspending sales of healthcare products at several hotels.

Part of the security supervision will be to provide Halal foods.

To ensure the quality of food prepared for the summit, about 20 companies, including Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, were named the providers of raw ingredients. All 34 hotels serving the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting have to buy food from the designated companies.

"If providers cannot meet demand, hotels can purchase raw materials from their own sources, but they have to report the details to us," said Zhang Fengping, deputy director of the Beijing Food and Drug Administration.

"Hotels also need to check the quality of beauty and hair supplies for guests," Zhang added. "During the APEC meeting, all sales of healthcare products in hotels with important guests will be suspended."

African people's push for women's rights

Experts credited the African people for helping to carry out a Beijing declaration that aims to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In 1995, 189 United Nations member states adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the 4th World Conference on Women held in the Chinese capital.

A two-day consultation consisting of the "Beijing+20 civil society organizations" kicked off on Oct 21 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was held to provide African CSOs and networks a forum to review how they have worked toward establishing gender equality.

Thokozile Ruzvidzo of the African Center for Gender Social Development Policy Division at UNECA told reporters at the opening of Tuesday's meeting that the review process in Africa started in January and that 52 member states submitted reports on their performances to improve women's rights.

She underscored the role African civil society plays in efforts to accomplish the commitments made in 1995.

China, US to train Afghan diplomats

A group of young Afghan diplomats began a two-week training session in Washington on Oct 20 as part of a program organized by the United States and China.

The program, now in its third year, has seen the US and China train early-career Kabul diplomats in diplomatic, communications and management skills.

In a two-week session in May held in Beijing, the group will learn more about US policy regarding Afghanistan, US-China relations, and the way foreign policy is conducted in the US.

"I'm happy that the US and China have come to see that support for Afghanistan's sovereignty and economic development as an area of common interest and action," US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dan Feldman said.

The joint program is a "good example of how the new model of major-country relationship between China and the US can contribute to the region," said Wu Xi, minister of the Chinese embassy in the US.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/24/2014 page2)