TOP 10 NATIONAL EVENTS

TOP 10 NATIONAL EVENTS

CHEN FEI

1 Development Goals Defined

China’s 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2011-15) was approved by the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, on March 14.

Focusing on building a green economy, China plans to cut energy consumption and carbon dioxide em issions per 10,000 yuan ($1,576)of the GDP by 16 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Other key targets include maintaining a 7-percent annual GDP grow th on average, realizing an urbanization rate of 51.5 percent,increasing expenditure on research and development to 2.2 percent of national GDP, expanding pension schemes to cover all rural residents and 357 m illion urban residents, building 36 m illion affordable apartments for low-income fam ilies and conducting comprehensive reforms in monopoly industries which w ill allow for more competition.

2 Party Anniversary Comm em orated

A gathering comm em orating the 90th anniversary o f the found ing o f the Comm unist Pa rty o f China is he ld in Beijing on Ju ly 1

A grand gathering marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing on July 1. Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a keynote speech.

Hu said that the CPC has accomplished three major feats since its formation: W ith reliance on the people, completing a newdemocratic revo lution to w in national independence and liberation for the people;completing the socialist revolution and establishing the basic socialist system; carrying out a great new revolution of reform and opening up, and creating, upholding, and developing socialism w ith Chinese characteristics.

Hu said that the CPC, now with a membership of more than 80 million, will “actively yet prudently” carry out political structural reform in order to achieve the Party’s fundamental goal, a situation where the people are able to determ ine their own destiny, and where the CPC is able to fully tap the initiative of the people.

WANG PENG

3 Boosting Cu ltural Industry

The 17th Central Comm ittee of the CPC concluded its sixth plenary session in Beijing on October 18, adopting a decision on deepening the reform of China’s cultural system and promoting the development of the cultural industry.

A statement issued by the session said that developing the cultural industry is a key priority for the Chinese Government. According to the statement, the country should not only provide its people w ith a com fortable material life, but also a healthy and rich cultural life.

More resources w ill be devoted to boosting public cultural services and speeding up the reform of the cultural industry, according to the statement.

A food sa fety regu la to r con fiscates shoddy food p roduc ts in a w arehouse in Shanghai on Ap ril 12

4 New Food Safety Regu lation

The M inistry of Health announced a ban on the production of two food additives commonly used to “bleach” flour on March 1.

The two additives, benzoyl peroxide and calcium peroxide, were banned am id public concerns that China’s current food processing techniques cannot mix the additive evenly and excessive use of the additive might become “a hidden peril.”

The ban is part of China’s tightened efforts to improve food safety.

National and local crackdowns on food safety-related crimes have been launched throughout the country. Between January and October,courts at various levels tried a total of 173 cases related to food safety and 255 people were sentenced to prison terms.

In March, an investigation into the safety of pork was launched in Henan Province after several farms were found using clenbuterol, a banned chemical that makes pork leaner but can be harmful to humans, in pig feed. Eventually a total of 113 people received sentences for selling and using the chemical.

In August, the police initiated a nationw ide food safety campaign to curb the illegal production and sale of “gutter oil” or illegally recycled cooking oil.By the end of November, more than 700 suspects had been detained during the investigation of 128 cases.

5 Damaged Charity Credibility

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) came under fi re after a credibility scandal erupted on the Internet on June 21. Netizens were infuriated when, Guo Meimei, a 20-yearold m icro-blogger claim ing to be the general manager of Red Cross Commerce, flaunted wealth by posting photos of her extravagant lifestyle.

A lthough both Guo and the RCSC later denied having any ties to one another, further leaks concerning poor accounting and waste at the RCSC continued to flood the Internet.

Dona tions to charities in China have p lunged as a result of the scandal.

In response, the RCSC p ledged to increase transparency and establish channels to allow better communication with the public.

The State Council released a statement on October 19, saying that the country will establish a social cred it system nationw ide to create an honest and trustworthy society over the next five years.

WANG YONGZHUO

6 A Space Breakthrough

China successfully concluded its first space rendezvous and docking mission, upon the safe return of the unmanned spacecraft,Shenzhou 8, to the Earth on November 17. China is the third country to master space docking technology after the United States and Russia.

Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on November 1,Shenzhou 8successfully rendezvoused and tw ice docked w ith theTiangong-1space lab module on November 3 and 14. Launched on September 29,Tiangong-1w ill remain in orbit to await future docking attempts w ithShenzhou 9andShenzhou 10spacecraft in 2012. At least one of these two missions will carry astronauts.

The 49-day space-docking mission paves the way for China’s establishment of a permanent manned space station by around 2020.

7 Poverty Alleviation

At a national poverty alleviation meeting on November 29, the poverty line in China’s rural areas was raised to an annual per-capita net income of 2,300 yuan ($359), up by more than 80 percent from the 1,274 yuan ($199) standard set in 2010.

The sharp increase brings China’s poverty line closer to the international standard of $1.25 a day, which was established by the World Bank in 2008. It w ill make 128 million people eligible for government anti-poverty subsidies.

The Chinese Government has set the goal to adequately feed and cloth the country’s impoverished people by 2020. Their access to compulsory education, basic medical care and housing w ill also be ensured.

The State Council Information Office released the Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-10) on July 14.

It says that all the measures stipulated in the action plan,the fi rst of its kind in China that was published in April 2009,had been put into practice, and all the goals and tasks set out in the plan had been fulfi lled by the end of 2010.

“Over 50 percent of the targets concerning people’s livelihoods were met ahead of time,” says the report.

At present, the second National Human Rights Action Plan of China, which is expected to guide the country’s human rights work from 2012 to 2015, is being formulated. The new plan will cover economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights.

LUO SHA

8 Worst Oil Spill

Spills first reported on June 4 at the Penglai 19-3 Oilfield operated by ConocoPhillips China, a subsidiary company of U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips, polluted around 6,200 square km of water in north China’s Bohai Sea, resulting in the country’s worst offshore maritime pollution accident in history.

A fter an investigation into the cause of the spills, the State Oceanic Administration said on November 11 that the spills resulted from defects in ConocoPhillips China’s production and management faults. The company was accused of violating the original protocol of exploitation and failing to take necessary precautions when there was a high risk of a spill.

In the wake of the spills, legal experts and environmentalists have called for an emergency response mechanism to tackle environmental accidents.

On December 13, more than 100 Chinese fishermen filed a lawsuit seeking total compensation of 490 m illion yuan ($76.6 m illion) from ConocoPhillips China. They blamed the oil spills for damaging their sea scallop and sea cucumber catches.

9 Success ful Wenchuan Reconstruction

The Chinese Government announced on May 10 that three years after a devastating earthquake in Wenchuan County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, official reconstruction targets have basically been met.

On May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan. The number of dead and missing totaled more than 80,000 people, and millions lost their homes. Neighboring provinces, such as Gansu and Shaanxi, were also affected.

At the end of September 2008, rescue and relief work in the quakeaffected area shifted its focus toward reconstruction, and the Chinese Government made a three-year plan for the area’s redevelopment.

As of May 95 percent of reconstruction projects had been completed,w ith the remainder to be finished by the end of September.

By the end of April, more than 38,000 projects of a total 41,130 had been completed at a cost of 885.1 billion yuan ($138 billion).

The rebuilt Yingxiu Tow n in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province

XINHUA

10 Aircraft Carrier’s Debut

China’s first aircraft carrier set out on its low-profi le maiden sea trial on August 10 and returned to port on August 14.

The vessel, anAdmiral Kuznetsclass aircraft carrier w ith a displacement of 58,500 metric tons, was originally built by the former Soviet Union and was formerly calledVaryag. A fter the former Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991 Ukraine, which had the ownership of the unfinishedVaryag, disarmed the ship and removed its engines before selling it to China.

The vessel has been totally refi tted for its new role as a research and training platform for the Chinese military.

The aircraft carrier conducted its second sea trial between November 29 and December 11.