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Minister warns of rising jobs pressure

China's employment market could come under greater pressure this year as the country faces a record number of college graduates and is expecting economic growth to hit a 25-year low, a government minister said on March 10.

Urban employment fell by a large margin year-on-year in January and February, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said at a news briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing National People's Congress annual session.

About 15 million young people are expected to enter the labor market this year, including an estimated record number of 7.49 million college graduates.

"The large numbers in the new workforce will pose immense pressure (on the labor market) and there is also an acute structural imbalance," Yin said.

In his annual Government Work Report to lawmakers at the opening of their annual plenary session on Thursday, Premier Li Keqiang pledged that another 10 million jobs will be created this year.

IS recruiting Xinjiang residents

A top official from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region confirmed for the first time on March 10 that Xinjiang residents have joined the radical group Islamic State.

"Some Xinjiang residents have crossed the border illegally to join IS. The group currently has a growing international influence, and Xinjiang is affected by it, too," said Zhang Chunxian, the region's top leader.

"We recently broke up a terrorist cell run by those who returned from fighting with the group," Zhang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual National People's Congress session.

He said IS, which has seized large areas of eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq, is a threat to countries worldwide and joint international efforts are needed to fight it.

Xinjiang has been hit by religious extremism, leading to an increasing number of terrorist attacks in the region and elsewhere in China in recent years.

Last year, Chinese authorities arrested some of those attempting to cross borders illegally to join terrorist or extremist groups.

In southern Xinjiang's Hotan prefecture, some people have been influenced by IS, but measures taken to eliminate religious extremism can handle the new situation, according to Eziz Musar, the prefecture's commissioner.

Domestic jet 'to make maiden flight this year'

The COMAC C919, China's homegrown passenger jet, will make its maiden test flight before the end of the year, according to a senior official, who said assembly of the first prototype is progressing well.

The fuselage and major parts of the C919 have been assembled, Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said on the sidelines of the annual meetings of China's top political advisers and lawmakers.

The narrow-body airliner is being manufactured in Shanghai by the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, also known as COMAC.

Installation of equipment is scheduled to be completed later this year, Li said, adding that aviation authorities will work with the manufacturer to ensure the plane makes its maiden flight before the end of December.

"The administration will place every production process and each component under the strictest scrutiny to ensure the aircraft is safe and reliable," Li said.

Going green for St. Patrick's Day

The embassy of Ireland in China is planning a series of celebrations to give Chinese people a taste of Irish culture to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17.

Music is an important part of the Irish culture and world-renowned Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon will perform in Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall on March 10 and Shanghai Grand Theater on March 12.

Popular Irish folk singer Cara Dillon will tour the country for the second time since her first visit to China in 2013. This time she is bringing her new album A Thousand Hearts to her Chinese fans in five cities - Chengdu, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan from March 11 to 15.

Irish folk music group Cuisle will be giving a concert in Beijing on the night of St. Patrick's Day. They will be playing together with students from China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing on March 18, and take part in an informal traditional Irish music session in Beijing on March 20.

Another highlight of the celebration is Ireland's Global Greening Initiative, where landmarks around the world turn green on St. Patrick's Day.

This year, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai and the Canton Tower in Guangzhou will turn green.

Art exhibitions "Golden Fleece" and a "Meditation in a Time of War" will take place in Beijing this month, both of which present visual art inspired by the poems of Ireland's W.B. Yeats.

Protecting nature tops agenda

Achieving ecological civilization tops the agenda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which, under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, has strived to enhance environmental qualities, Xinhua News Agency said on March 10.

Xi has stressed the importance of environmental protection by saying that "we should protect the environment like we protect our eyes and treat the environment like it is our lives," according to Xinhua.

The president also said the demands of development and the need to preserve the Earth's limited resources form an enduring conflict.

"The conflict also occurred in China," Xi said. "The environment in China did not turn bad in one day. All the Party members should have the determination that we should not make it become worse."

The environment has been given unprecedented importance in decision-making since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in 2012, wrote the establishment of ecological civilization into the CPC Constitution for the first time.

Review agencies face tighter controls

The national environmental watchdog will tighten the reins on assessment agencies having close relationships with the ministry officials, a move to fight corruption, the new minister of environmental protection said.

"We will never allow these agencies to make illegal money during the environmental assessment process by taking advantage of their close relationship with the officials and the ministry," Chen Jining said in a news release on March 7.

The eight environmental assessment agencies affiliated with the ministry will transfer their work to commercial companies this year, Chen said, adding that the ministry will promote these reforms gradually, cutting the relation between the local branches and environmental authorities.

On Feb 9, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued statements leveling criticism at the Ministry of Environmental Protection for problems including violations of the law, lax supervision and corruption.

It said that some leaders, officials and their relatives interfered with the environmental assessment process of projects and went so far as to set up agencies to seek illegal profit from projects in return for an environmental assessment.

Workplace death toll 'too high'

More than 66,000 Chinese died in workplace accidents last year, a death toll that is "too high", a senior official in charge of the country's work safety issues said.

Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said the death toll has seen a sharp drop compared to its peak in 2002, when 240,000 people died in 1.07 million workplace accidents.

Citing his experience during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, Yang said society should pay more attention to workplace safety and suggested journalists should, too.

A common practice is that when senior officials from key government departments walk through the so-called minister's passage close to the north gate of the Great Hall of the People, they are often intercepted by reporters who stand nearby for interviews.

China supports Mali peace agreement

China has welcomed a peace agreement signed between the Mali government and rebel groups, calling for an early restoration of peace in the country.

"We appreciate and support the efforts of the international community, especially of the Algerian government, to resolve the Mali crisis and realize peace and stability in the region," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, referring to the deal signed in Algiers on March 8. The United Nations-brokered deal seeks to end decades of violent uprisings in northern Mali.

Algeria has been working to mediate in the peace talks since July, and negotiations have been held in the country since September.

"Meanwhile, we hope all sides in Mali will bear in mind the overall situation, safeguard the nation's unity and sovereign integrity, and grasp the opportunity to achieve peace, stability and development of the nation as soon as possible," Hua said.

China calls for settlement to South Sudan crisis

China called on the two warring parties in South Sudan on March 10 to reach a settlement as soon as possible.

"We will continue to keep contact with mediating parties, such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to jointly seek an early and proper settlement of the crisis," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.

Ethiopian Prime Minister and the IGAD chief mediator Hailemariam Desalegn recently announced that the two conflicting parties in South Sudan had failed to reach a deal to end the ongoing violence that erupted in late 2013.

"Currently, the South Sudan peace process has entered a crucial stage," said Hong, urging the two warring parties to put the interest of the nation and its people first.

He warned the two parties not to miss this opportunity of establishing peace. The spokesperson also called for the international community to back IGAD mediation efforts.

South Sudan plunged into violence when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar at the end of 2013.

The conflict soon turned into war with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee.

Chinese foundation donates vehicle to Kenya

A Chinese organization donated on March 10 a vehicle to a conservancy in southwest Kenya to facilitate anti-poaching efforts.

Zhuo Qiang, founder of Mara Conservation Fund, said during the ceremony that the vehicle donated to Ol Kinyei Conservancy will help the fight against poaching and be used to study the movements of big cats such as lions.

"We used to patrol by walking. Now with this vehicle, it is easier for us to track sick animals," said Philip Tompoi, a ranger at the conservancy.

Simon Nkoitoi, senior warden with the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, said the vehicle has come at a good time.

"We now can cover our whole conservancy in a short time. The vehicle will enhance our wildlife monitoring and management. It will also help us fight against poaching and minimize illegal grazing," Nkoitoi said.

Last year, Zhuo and his foundation, established in 2011, donated a motorcycle, cameras and mobile radios to the conservancy to facilitate patrol and anti-poaching efforts. It also donated four vehicles and other equipment, like GPS devices and spotlights, to the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Kenya Wildlife Services in 2013.

The foundation, which is located at the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, is the first wildlife organization run by a Chinese in Africa. It is dedicated to protecting the big cats, saving wildlife habitats, reducing human-animal conflict and raising public awareness.

Beijing's slogan banners out of step, scholar says

Beijing's big Chinese-character slogans, seen at many intersections and subway stations, have been criticized as creating confusion about the city's international image.

Adding to the confusion are the many foreign-language signs, mostly in English, that include mistakes, wrong information or words that might be misunderstood, said Xu Lin, the director of China's overseas Chinese-language teaching program who is among the nation's political advisers now meeting in Beijing.

Slogans painted in Chinese in public places stem from the political campaigns of half a century ago. They are usually ideologically charged and don't fit Beijing's current identity as an open, and dynamic international city, said Xu, director-general of the Confucius Institute headquarters, or Hanban, and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Official calls remarks by Dalai Lama 'blasphemy'

The 14th Dalai Lama's recent claim that the religious tradition of reincarnation should be abolished with his death is a blasphemy to Tibetan Buddhism, a senior Tibetan official said on March 9.

"The Dalai Lama has made several different claims about reincarnation in the past. He once said he will reincarnate outside China, and he now says the system of reincarnation should cease with his death," said Padma Choling, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet autonomous region's People's Congress.

"The fact is that it is not up to him, and it is a blasphemy to Tibetan Buddhism," Padma said during a news conference on the sidelines of the annual National People's Congress.

The Dalai Lama, 80, made the comment in December. It goes against the Tibetan Buddhism tradition that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child upon his death, said Padma, noting that the reincarnation system has been honored for hundreds of years in Tibet.

Padma said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow strict historical conventions and the required religious rituals of Tibetan Buddhism, and should also be approved by the central government.

Optimism seen for organ donations

Former vice-minister of health Huang Jiefu, a CPPCC member, said China's organ donations won't fall further short of demand after the suspension, which began in January, of using executed prisoners as a source of organs.

In fact, Huang said, the country's organ donation situation in the first two months since the change has given him reason to be optimistic.

About 380 people donated organs between Jan 1 and March 3, with a total of 937 organs donated. Huang said he is confident that there will be more than 10,000 organs donated this year.

Due to insufficient organ donations, executed prisoners had long been the main source of organs to ease the demand, although in recent years they were no longer the major source.

Since the controversial, decades-long practice ended in China on Jan 1, all organs now come solely from voluntary donations from citizens. This has prompted concerns about a greater shortage.

Due to organ scarcity, the organ transplant system has been troubled in the past, with illegal trade frequent on the black market and in some hospitals.

Advisers say nation will weather slowdown

The economy is tough enough to adapt to a lower growth rate without suffering a sharp slowdown provided there is sufficient support for innovative industries, some of the country's policy advisers said on March 9.

"The government and enterprises have the ability to transform the development model in line with market changes, but the government should leave room for the market to self-adjust," said Qian Yingyi, dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The last thing the government should do is launch a stimulus policy that would only distort the economic balance by temporarily boosting demand, he said.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/13/2015 page2)