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Countries urged to step up ivory battle

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature and the African Wildlife Foundation have called on countries, including the United States, to emulate China's leadership in curbing illegal ivory trade.

"More leadership is needed, not only from China, but also from the US," said Ginette Hemley, senior vice-president of the WWF. "The US continues to drag its feet on enacting long-overdue regulations to better control its own sizeable ivory market.

"Major ivory-consuming countries hold the key to saving Africa's elephants. We urge the strongest possible measures from governments to prevent an unthinkable ending for one of the planet's most iconic species.

Patrick Bergin, CEO of the AWF, said: "It's clear the Chinese government is taking ever-greater responsibility over the potential role of its citizens in the illicit ivory trade, and for that we commend them."

The statements came a day after China destroyed 662 kilograms of illegal ivory, the second public destruction after 6.1 metric tons were destroyed in Dongguan, Guangdong province, last year.

In February, the State Forestry Administration also placed a one-year ban on ivory imports.

In addition to China, Kenya, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Congo have together torched more than 36 tons of illegal ivory this year.

New Nigerian leader in China pledge

Muhammadu Buhari, the new president of Nigeria, has pledged stronger ties with China after talks with a Chinese government representative at his inauguration in the capital, Abuja.

After being sworn in, Buhari said he met with China's Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu, President Xi Jinping's special envoy, and "reached a consensus on issues of bilateral ties and shared interests".

Officials from the two countries also held a meeting about infrastructure, electricity and agriculture, areas Buhari said he expects more fruitful collaboration.

Trade between China and Nigeria was $18.1 billion last year, and Nigeria is China's second-largest export market in Africa.

Official: South Africa near nuclear decision

The South African government will finalize the nuclear procurement process by the end of this year in a fresh bid to meet the country's growing energy demand, a senior official said on June 2.

The authority has invited prospective nuclear vendor countries to demonstrate how they would participate in its nuclear program, said Zimamele Mbambo, deputy director-general of nuclear energy at the Energy Department.

South Africa has signed intergovernmental agreements with prospective vendors, including Russia, the United States, France, China and South Korea, although Mbambo said this did not mean concrete deals have been signed.

This only meant bilateral agreements were reached based on the interest shown by prospective bidders, Mbambo told a parliamentary portfolio committee on energy in Cape Town.

"We have concluded the pre-procurement phase by concluding demonstrations by all prospective countries that have expressed interest in participating in our nuclear program, to ensure the process is transparent, open and fair, and allows all the governments to submit their proposals," he said.

The South African government committed to providing 9,600 megawatts of nuclear power in its integrated energy plan (2010-30).

The first of six, small nuclear plants is expected to come on stream by 2023.

Government, companies help boost education

The Chinese government and companies have impressed African people with their enthusiasm for developing education.

On June 1, International Children's Day, the Chinese consulate and business community in South Africa donated books, stationery and food to Emdeni Secondary School in Soweto, Johannesburg, as part of their celebrations.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Sun Dali, the Chinese consul-general, said the gifts will boost the education of underprivileged children.

The Chinese community in South Africa has paid special attention to underdeveloped communities and has made donations to communities and schools in Alexandra, Soweto and Lanseria over the past eight years.

Ntombi Mekgwe, speaker of the Gauteng provincial legislature, thanked the Chinese government for helping South Africa achieve its dream of delivering quality education for all.

China has done much more than donate textbooks. It has built 150 primary and secondary schools in Africa, and trained 47,000 people in various professions since 2012.

In 2012, China announced its three-year African Talents Program, aimed at training 30,000 personnel, and offered 18,000 government scholarships. In that year alone, China offered 6,717 government scholarships to African countries.

Chinese sprinter cracks 10-second barrier

A young Chinese sprinter who broke the 10-second mark in a 100m race in the United States has rekindled the Chinese public's enthusiasm for track and field.

Chinese athlete Su Bingtian made history on May 30 after finishing third in 9.99 secs in the men's 100m final at the Eugene Grand Prix in Oregon, the first Asian-born sprinter to crack the 10-second mark.

Former world champion Tyson Gay of the United States won the race in 9.88 seconds, while compatriot Mike Rodgers finished second on 9.90.

Su's groundbreaking performance stirred a sensational response on Chinese social media.

Ancient city introduces tourist fees

Visitors to the ancient city of Dali, in Southwest China's Yunnan province, will be charged an entrance fee from Sept 1 to cover maintenance costs, the government has announced.

Tourists visiting the site as part of a tour group will be charged 30 yuan ($5), and the city will collect 1 percent of business income generated by traders in the city, according to the Dali Ancient City Protection Administration Bureau.

Individual travelers are exempt unless they enter specific scenic spots.

Official: Poll plan rules out opposition minority

The proposal to elect Hong Kong's next chief executive by universal suffrage excludes certain opposition members who view the region as an "independent" entity, distort the meaning of the Basic Law or subvert the central leadership, a central government official said on May 31.

Wang Guangya, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, sent a clear message to the city's lawmakers at a meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, attended by 14 of the 27 members of the opposition camp in the Legislative Council.

The meeting came about two weeks before Hong Kong's legislature votes on the electoral reform package. It requires a two-thirds majority to pass, but opposition members have pledged to combine and veto the proposal.

Wang said the proposal, drawn up to conform with parameters crafted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in August, seeks to exclude a minority of opposition members appearing on the ballot for the chief executive election.

Hackers hit govt agencies, report says

An overseas hacking group knoqn as Ocean Lotus has organized Internet hacks targeting the Chinese government's maritime administration, marine construction sector, research institutions and shipping companies, according to a new report by Qihoo 360 Technology's SkyEye.

The report said some of the most dangerous and persistent hacking probably had the support of overseas governments, as it requires significant financial resources.

Since April 2012, SkyEye said it had captured more than 100 examples of Trojan programs related to Ocean Lotus. It said nearly 30 provincial administrations had been affected.

Prosecutors target judicial interference

The Supreme People's Procuratorate issued an order on May 31 to investigate and punish high-ranking officials who abuse their powers to pervert the course of justice.

Officials who attempt to influence or interfere in judicial proceedings beyond his or her authority will receive a disciplinary warning or administrative penalty, or even face criminal charges, the order said.

PLA deploys inspectors to scrutinize finances

The People's Liberation Army has sent inspectors to the seven headquarters of its military commands to check their financial affairs and management practices, PLA Daily reported on June 2.

"The inspectors' reports show all PLA units are actively performing self-examinations and steadily rectifying problems and improving money management," the newspaper said. However, some unit commanders had misunderstood the intent of the campaign.

To push inspections forward, the PLA said in a notice that commanders must lead financial checks, and warned that anyone who falsifies evidence, conceals facts or refuses to return irregular expenses or income will be subject to internal discipline or criminal investigation.

Airports monitor flights to prevent MERS

Chinese airports have strengthened quarantine inspections on inbound passengers from countries with confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, which has infected 25 people and caused two deaths in South Korea.

Beijing Capital International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport said on June 2 they had adopted anti-epidemic measures at the request of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The Beijing airport will use infrared thermometers to monitor the temperatures of inbound passengers, while Chinese tourists returning from South Korea and the Middle East have been urged to report to authorities if they have a fever, cough or difficulty breathing.

Crack-down on cheating ahead of college exam

Agencies covering education, the Internet and law enforcement are increasing efforts to prevent cheating in this year's college entrance exam, known as the gaokao.

A campaign has been launched to crack down on the sale of wireless devices used for cheating, improper gaokao content online, and substitute exam candidates, the Ministry of Education said on June 2.

Police detain scalpers in railway ticket campaign

Railway police said on June 2 they have been running a campaign against scalpers of train tickets to the Tibet autonomous region, in preparation for the peak tourist season.

The five-month campaign, launched on April 15, has so far resulted in the detention of 11 suspects and confiscation of almost 1,000 tickets.

Commission: Postal fees based on market

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said on June 1 that postal fees for "competitive parcels" - including express mail, postcards and parcels weighing less than 10 kilograms - will be market-based rather than fixed.

Postal enterprises can set charges, standards and methods according to market supply and demand, the commission said.

Central bank says it expands lending facility

The People's Bank of China said it expanded the Pledged Supplementary Lending facility by 262.8 billion yuan ($42.9 billion) in the first five months. Total PSL funds stood at 645.9 billion yuan as of the end of May. The credit extended via the PSL facility is being used to support urban renewal projects, the central bank said, adding that it will announce monthly figures for the facility starting this month.

Construction starts on natural gas pipeline

China started pipeline construction last week to receive Russian gas from the Power of Siberia pipeline, Russian state gas company Gazprom said on Tuesday. Russia and China signed a gas deal worth $400 billion last year, which requires construction of the pipeline. It requires $55 billion in investment for the Russian part only, including bringing new gas fields.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/05/2015 page2)