IN BRIEF (Page 2)

First lady backs anti-AIDS drive

China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, has pledged to support health programs in Africa to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Speaking at an event in Johannesburg on Dec 5, she said China would consistently support efforts by countries, the World Health Organization and the United Nations to improve disease prevention and control on the continent.

First ladies from 10 African nations attended the event along with Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, and Margaret Chan, WHO director-general.

Peng was in South Africa with President Xi Jinping, who was attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit.

African Union to send ambassador to Beijing

The African Union will send an ambassador to China to help promote bilateral ties, AU Commission spokesperson Jacob Enoh Eben said on Dec 9.

The dispatch of the ambassador, whose name was not given, will be a boost to the implementation of agreements between the AU and China, Eben said.

Republic of Congo hails China's aid to Africa

Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou N'Guesso has praised China's pledge to support Africa's development.

The president spoke in Brazzaville after returning from the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which he called historic.

"In recent years, we have seen that China is on the ground, providing massive support to development efforts in African countries. There are statistics to prove this. The projects are visible, from one country to another," Sassou N'Guesso said, adding that the Brazzaville airport was constructed through Chinese support.

He said that during the FOCAC summit in South Africa on Dec 4 and 5, both China and Africa expressed the political will to raise their cooperation to a higher level.

Steps taken to combat fake Living Buddhas

China is to set up a online database of Living Buddhas to crack down on imitators, the government has said. Living Buddhas are specially gifted and high ranking Tibetan monks.

Conmen posing as Living Buddhas have posed threats to national security, as they use money they collect to sponsor illegal or even separatist activities in Tibet, according to the authorities. There have also been reports of imitators cheating people out of their savings and committing sexual assault.

131 elected to top science academies

Scientists from innovative enterprises have been awarded the highest honor of the Chinese science community, representing new research directions in 3-D printing, big data and next-generation Internet.

On Dec 7, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced the results of a new membership election. Sixty-one scientists were elected members of the science academy, and 70 were elected to the engineering academy.

Sick panda rescued from the wild

A giant panda with a lung infection has been rescued from the wild, the China Research and Conservation Center of the Giant Panda said on Dec 7. The 16-year-old male was discovered on Nov 30 lying in a gully in Ya'an, Sichuan province. It was later taken to the center's Dujiangyan base for treatment.

Web opens horizon for Confucius Institutes

A combination of online and offline instruction will optimize the teaching of Chinese language and culture, experts said at the 10th Confucius Institute Conference in Shanghai on Dec 6.

According to experts, the geographic distribution of Confucius Institutes is multilayered, diversified and widespread. This year, 25 institutes and 149 Confucius Classrooms for primary and secondary school students were set up, bringing the total to 500 and 1,000 respectively. These institutes and classrooms are located in 134 countries and have more than 1.9 million registered students.

Couple confesses in death of baby

Two young lovers confessed to stabbing a newly-born baby to death during their trial on Dec 8 at the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court, officials said.

Wang Pei, 23, was charged with homicide, and her boyfriend, Qiao Yang, 21, was charged with destruction of evidence, according to the Beijing No 1 People's Procuratorate.

Wang, a native of Hebei province, allegedly stabbed the baby boy with scissors, after the birth at around 8 am on April 23, the prosecutors said, adding that the infant was confirmed dead at noon.

After the baby's birth, Wang called Qiao, a college student in Hebei, and asked him to pack the infant in clothes and bed sheets. Later, they moved to a hotel near Wang's apartment, prosecutors said.

The next morning, Qiao allegedly discarded the baby in a dustbin next to the hotel, aiming to destroy evidence, prosecutors said.

Olympic champion joins faculty amid controversy

The appointment of former Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping as an adjunct professor at China University of Political Science and Law was confirmed on Dec 6.

Deng won four Olympic gold medals - in 1992 and 1996 - but recently found herself in the spotlight again when the university said it would hire her to help build the varsity table tennis program.

Some questioned the procedural legality of the move as well as Deng's competency for an academic role. The school said proper procedures for faculty appointments were followed.

SCO to tackle economy, terrorism challenges

Government leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will lay out "important plans" to tackle regional challenges including terrorism and the economic downturn, Vice-Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said Dec 8.

Cheng made the remarks at a news conference about the 14th SCO prime ministers' meeting, to be held in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, on Dec 14 and 15.

The SCO meeting will lay out a series of plans on the "top priority fields and the most urgent tasks" in regional cooperation, including merging China's Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of countries in the region, Cheng said.

Tu's residence listed as historical site

The childhood home of Chinese Nobel laureate for medicine Tu Youyou has been listed as a historical site in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

Tu, 85, lived at the house until she went to a university in Beijing in the 1950s. It forms part of a complex of 37 traditional buildings covering 2,200 square meters, which were transformed into a high-end art and commercial zone in 2011.

More than 400 sites were designated by the Ningbo government as historical ones on Dec 8, including Tu's former home, which is owned by Ningbo Real Estate Inc Co, the contractor for the transformation project.

Campaign against graft to intensify

China's top anti-graft watchdog will intensify inspections of government departments and state-owned organizations next year.

The Central Commission of Disciplinary Inspection has completed eight rounds of inspections since late 2012, and will finish inspecting financial institutions by the end of this year, said Luo Liping, a CCDI official in charge of organizing inspections.

Industrialization plan underway in Africa

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Dec 5 the implementation of the China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Strategy has started in three countries in East Africa and has been expanded to South Africa and Egypt on a trial basis.

Speaking at the conclusion of the recent landmark summit of Chinese and African leaders as part of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Wang said Beijing was willing to be the ideal partner of Africa in achieving its desire to grow economically and politically. Wang said a project has already started in Kenya, which includes helping build new industrial parks with firms operating in several sectors, including manufacturing for export.

In Ethiopia, China has built industrial parks that are now producing footwear for both domestic and export markets.

Foreign economists to advise on new plan

The State Council has said that for the first time it is seeking advice from top foreign economists on China's new five-year plan.

The move is aimed at ensuring the development blueprint, which covers 2016 to 2020, will meet the reality of local conditions and help China to avoid the "middle-income trap", Premier Li Keqiang said at a seminar during a visit to the National Development and Reform Commission on Dec 7.

International economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, and Jonathan Woetzel, Shanghai office director for McKinsey and Co, took part in the seminar.

Power for ministries to be clarified

Chinese leaders decided on Dec 9 in an unprecedented move to introduce binding rules setting limits on officials' power.

This will be carried out through the publication of a list for all ministries of the State Council, or China's Cabinet.

The decision was announced along with several other reform initiatives for next year at a meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping and attended by Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders. A date for the publication of the power lists for all ministries was not announced as a part of a statement released after the meeting.

Major overhaul of govt auditing set

China's top policymakers issued a guideline on Dec 8 for building up an extensive auditing system by 2020 to facilitate the country's modern governance.

The document calls for efficient auditing mechanisms to be established that target the use of public funds and state assets, exploitation of state-owned resources and government officials' role in economic affairs.

The move is intended to safeguard national economic security, restructuring, the rule of law and clean governance, the document said. It also stressed the importance of the independence and supervision of the audit system.

Nation's gold holdings continue to rise

China increased its gold holdings for the fifth consecutive month in November, the fastest growth rate since June, to back a stronger currency in the global financial system, according to central bank data on Dec 8.

The country's total foreign exchange reserves, however, shrank by $87 billion last month, the biggest fall since August's record-high monthly drop of $93.9 billion.

Statistics from the People's Bank of China showed gold reserves rose by 670,000 fine troy ounces, or 20.84 metric tons, to 56.05 million ounces, or 1,743.35 tons, at the end of November.

CPI increase of 1.5% fueled by food costs

The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.5 percent year-on-year in November, up from a rise of 1.3 percent in October, official data showed on Dec 9.

The reading was slightly higher than a 1.4 percent increase for the first 11 months, China's National Bureau of Statistics said.

The bureau attributed the increase mainly to rising food prices, as vegetable prices surged 9.4 percent year-on-year last month, while prices for meat and poultry products rose 6.2 percent. On a monthly basis, consumer prices stayed flat.

Aging of population risks workforce cuts

The number of working-age adults in China could shrink by more than 10 percent by 2040, a World Bank report said on Dec 9. It would mean a net loss of 90 million workers.

East Asia is aging faster than any other region in history, according to the report. The bank warns the rapid pace and sheer scale raises policy challenges, economic and fiscal pressure, and social risks.

China's nuclear output to grow by year-end

China is forecast to have 30 nuclear reactors in operation by the end of 2015, with plans to promote inland nuclear projects over the next five years, a senior official said on Dec 8.

Liu Baohua, head of nuclear power for the National Energy Administration, said 27 plants are already in operation, but that number would rise as another three units are undergoing testing and likely to be commissioned this month.

"By then, the total installed capacity would hit 28.3 gigawatts," he said.

Qomolangma glaciers shrink 28% in 40 years

Glaciers on Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, have shrunk by 28 percent over the past 40 years due to climate change, a report claims.

The glacier area on the south slope, in Nepal, has decreased 26 percent since the 1980s, according to the report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan University of Science and Technology, and the Qomolangma Snow Leopard Conservation Center.

Kang Shichang, a researcher with the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, said the data is based on long-term remote sensing and on-site monitoring.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/11/2015 page2)