TOP OFFICIAL SACKED

Su Rong， Vice Chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference National Committee， has been put under investigation for suspected disciplinary violations， according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China （CPC） on June 14.

Su is the most senior Chinese official to be probed for graft since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012.

Su， 66， served as Vice Secretary General of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and Secretary General of the CPC Qinghai， Gansu and Jiangxi Provincial Committees from 1998 to 2013.

All Roads Lead to Brazil

China Newsweek June 9

Though the Chinese national football team did not make it to the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil from June 12-July 13， China is still managing to take part in the event.

Chinese machinery， for example， has been used to build a number of Brazilian football stadiums. Eighty percent of underground and commuter trains running in Rio de Janeiro are produced in Changchun， capital of northeast Chinas Jilin Province. This years mascot， Fuleco， and the official instrument caxirola are both made in China. During the games， many wealthy Chinese families can be found watching from VIP boxes in Brazil， while young Chinese sports commentators cover the event online and on the evening news.

Even when Team China isnt in the running for a trophy， an international love of football keeps Chinese fans cheering on their favorite World Cup teams.

China Newsweek interviews a worker with China CNR Co. Ltd.， construction machinery and equipment providers ， and Chinese football fans who plan to go to Brazil to watch the games.

Migrant Children

Oriental Outlook June 12

According to the sixth national population census conducted in 2012， there are 35.81 million migrant children under age 18 in China. More specifically， four out of every 10 children living in Shanghai and three out of every 10 children living in Beijing are the offspring of migrant workers.

Living in large metropolises， though， these children face numerous problems.

First， education resources open to migrant children are limited. Although most have access to compulsory schooling， still around 3 percent—or some 2 million children—dont.

Second， the relationships between working parents and their children become warped. According to a survey done in Guangdong Province， one-third of migrant workers spend fewer than seven hours with their children every week； some even less than one hour. Only one tenth of the children said their parents often took them out to play.

Finally， such barriers as permanent residence permit requirements can cause problems for migrant teens when applying to high schools and universities. Even for rich families， this insurmountable difficulty causes many 14- and 15-year-old children to drop out of school.

In an aging China， children under 14 years old will be the most important human resource in the next 20 years. Offering comprehensive schooling， positive role models， and increased access to higher education for Chinas migrant children are vital steps to creating success for future generations.

Xinhua Daily Telegraph June 17

In response to widespread media coverage of 300 children suffering from lead poisoning in Hengdong， central Chinas Hunan Province， the local government shut down a chemical plant suspected of being responsible for the poisoning. It was also requested that a local public security bureau investigate its owner. The chemical plant is suspected of discharging untreated water and dust.

However， the measures taken by the government to investigate this lead poisoning incident cannot remedy the miseries already suffered by these children and their families. The highest lead density recorded in the local children was 322 micrograms per liter of blood， far above the national standard of 100 micrograms per liter for children.

This lead poisoning case is only one in a slew of pollution incidents that have come to light across the country in recent years. Local governments neglect of environmental protection is to blame.

In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring， local governments should strengthen supervision of factories. This includes assessing a factorys environmental impact at the time of its launch and supervision of its production process thereafter. Officials must bear in mind the publics health and actively protect the environment as opposed to taking action after serious pollution incidents occur.

HEROINE TEACHER

Qin Kaimei， a primary school teacher in central Chinas Hubei Province， offered herself up as a hostage on June 10 when a man armed with a knife， a homemade bomb， and bottles of gasoline broke into her classroom during school. When she and her 50 sixth-grade students were taken hostage， Qin entreated the man to let her stay while releasing her students. The man agreed. Later， a local official replaced Qin before police came and shot the suspect dead.

Despite 18 years excellent work in the school， Qin is still a substitute teacher because shes not fully qualified under local policy. A local official hinted that discussions about promoting Qin to regular teacher status were being held following the hostagetaking incident.

“I force myself to eat every day， because I still believe my daughter is alive and I have to stay strong to wait for her to come home.”

Zhang Lixia， a single mother from Heilongjiang Province whose 27-year-old daughter was aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370， on June 16， which disappeared on March 8.

“The study of healthy life expectancies will be conducted every three years， and people should be instructed to increase healthy life choices to make their later years more comfortable and rewarding.”

Deng Ying， Director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control， on June 16， drawing on the first research on healthy life expectancy in Beijing. It shows that Beijingers can live， on average， 58.17 years in full health， about 10 years fewer than the average in most industrialized countries

“Female officials show slight differences in committing duty-related crimes compared to their male counterparts. They are more apt to conspire with male partners， as well as trade sex for power.”

Li Chengyan， a researcher from Peking University， on June 16， commenting on the investigation of 12 female officials in key posts who were announced as being under investigation for duty-related crimes by central and provincial anti-graft watchdogs in the first half of 2014

“An increasing number of educated Chinese women tend to date and marry Western men， as they believe that compared with Chinese men， foreign men care less about womens appearance and age.”

Zhou Xiaopeng， a marriage specialist from dating website baihe.com， on June 17