Anniversary of Japanese Invasion

Veterans who fought in the War Against Japanese Aggression from 1937-45 participate in a bell-ringing ceremony held in Shenyang， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， on September 18 to mark the 83rd anniversary of the September 18 Incident.

Air raid sirens were sounded at 9：18 a.m. across Shenyang， where the incident occurred， along with other cities throughout the province. More than 1，000 people attended the bell-ringing ceremony.

The September 18 Incident refers to the seizure of Shenyang on that date in 1931 by Japanese invaders， a step toward their occupation of the whole of northeast China.

Chinese Teachers Abroad

China has trained more than 5，000 overseas students pursuing Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages （MTCSOL） degrees.

Since the MTCSOL was set up in 2007， a total of 5，052 students from more than 100 countries have studied in China， and most of the approximately 3，500 graduates have returned to their home countries to teach Chinese， according to the Confucius Institutes on September 14. The Confucius Institutes were established in 2004 to help nonnative speakers learn the Chinese language.

Another 15，741 Chinese students have also reportedly pursued the degree.

Early Mammals

Paleobiologists have identified three new species from the Jurassic period that were unearthed in northeast China， which may push back the origin of mammals by millions of years， Xinhua News Agency reported on September 11. Mammals are generally believed to have originated in the Middle Jurassic period between 174 million and 164 million years ago. The newly discovered fossils date back to 160 million years ago， which implies， according to Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Wang Yuanqing， that mammals may have appeared in the Late Triassic period， perhaps around 208 million years ago. The three are collectively known as Haramiyidans， a group that has previously been difficult to classify， owing to a lack of sufficient specimens. The fossils in question show， for the first time， the complete skull， jaw and postcranial bones of the species. The vast majority of previously discovered fossils were merely teeth.

Wang said the three species—shenshou lui， xianshou linglong， xianshou songae—show bones in the middle ear and a thoracic diaphragm， which is characteristic to all mammals.

Around the size of squirrels and rats， they weighed from 40 grams to 300 grams. Scientists also believe they had foot stingers similar to those of the platypus today and probably ate insects， fruit and nuts.

Tumor Data

China will compile a second edition of its cancer atlas to optimize the use of medical resources.

The new edition of the atlas， first published in the 1970s， will redefine the regions with high cancer rates that are in need of more prevention and treatment， the Ministry of Science and Technology said on September 15.

According to the ministry， a database of cancer deaths will be established at the county level.

Research by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will be based on tumor registrations， cause of death surveys and demographic material.

According to a 2012 report， 8，550 people are diagnosed with cancer every day， roughly one every six minutes.

Growing Wealth

The personal fortunes of 300 Chinese topped 10 billion yuan （$1.63 billion） as of the end of 2013， according to a new annual ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China.

The Hurun Report on September 11 released its China Rich List， showing that 20 more Chinese had fortunes topping 10 billion yuan in 2013 compared with the previous year.

The wealth of 160 of the multibillionaires is in the form of invisible assets， according to the report.

It also counted 8，300 Chinese with wealth reaching 1 billion yuan （$163 million）， 200 more than a year earlier. The number whose wealth tops 10 million yuan （$1.63 million） also surged by 40，000 to 1.09 million.

The Hurun Report， a monthly mag-azine best known for its annual rich list， attributed the increases to the countrys overall GDP growth and appreciation in the value of real estate.

It forecast that the number of people in China with personal wealth topping 10 million yuan would reach 1.2 million in the next three years.

Kungfu Fraud

Shaolin Temple in central Chinas Henan Province on September 12 denied accusations of it teaching kungfu for money.

American author Matthew Polly said in his memoir American Shaolin that Shaolin Temples abbot Shi Yongxin accepted him as his first foreign student after taking 1，111 yuan （$181） as a gift. He claims to have paid an annual tuition fee of $1，300 to learn kungfu at the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Center.

“No martial arts halls or centers with the name ‘Shaolin Temple have any connection with the Songshan Shaolin Temple. Songshan Shaolin Temple has never recruited any students， and improper conduct by martial art schools has nothing to do with the temple，” said the temple in a statement.

Shi Yanchong， a monk with the Shaolin Intangible Asset Management Center， said that judging from his book， Polly could not tell the difference between the Shaolin Temple and nearby commercial martial arts schools， adding that some laymen in the schools have posed as monks to cheat people out of their money.

Located on Songshan Mountain in Dengfeng， the 1，500-year-old Shaolin Temple is regarded as the cradle of Chinese kungfu.

Water Damages

Local residents in Changshou District， Chongqing Municipality， clean up a mudcovered market on September 15 after flood water receded.

At least 10 people were killed when severe downpours battered southwest Chinas Chongqing and neighboring Sichuan Province on September 12-14， local authorities said.

In the worst hit Changshou， precipitation reached 200 mm. More than 60，000 people were affected by the rainstorms and 8，279 people had to be evacuated to safe places.

Terror Trial

Three men and a woman stood trial on September 12 for their involvement in launching a terrorist attack in Kunming， capital of southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， earlier this year.

The three men—Iskandar Ehet， Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad—were sentenced to death by the Kunming Municipal Intermediate Peoples Court for leading a terrorist organization and intentional homicide.

The woman， Patigul Tohti， was given life imprisonment for participating in the attack as well as intentional homicide.

The court said that Patigul Tohtis criminal acts were extremely severe， but since she was pregnant when she was detained， the death penalty cannot be applied to her according to law.

On March 1， a group of assailants armed with knives attacked civilians at a station in Kunming， causing 31 deaths and injuring another 141. Police shot dead four of the attackers and detained the four who were recently sentenced.

Commemorative Stamps

A philatelist shows a set of nine Yangtze River special stamps at a postal office in Suzhou， Jiangsu Province， on September 13. The stamps were issued by China Post to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China on October 1.

Slowed Production

Chinas value-added industrial output expanded 6.9 percent year on year in August， down from the 9-percent growth in July， the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed on September 13.

On a monthly basis， the industrial output in August expanded by a fractional 0.2 percent from July. In the first eight months， total value-added industrial output grew 8.5 percent from the same period last year.

August marked the second monthly retreat of the growth rate after industrial output grew 9.2 percent in June， the largest increase since January.

“An obvious drop was seen in the growth of industrial output for August，”said Jiang Yuan， a senior analyst with the NBS， citing reasons ranging from weak external demand to tempered growth of auto and cellphone production.

Property Cools

The growth of investment in the property sector continued to slow in August， according to the NBS on September 13.

NBS data showed real estate investment rose 13.2 percent year on year in the first eight months to 5.9 trillion yuan（$959.44 billion）， 0.5 percentage points lower than the growth in the JanuaryJuly period.

Investment in residential property， which accounted for 68.1 percent of the total， rose 12.4 percent year on year， compared with a 13.3-percent growth rate for the first seven months.

The slower growth was accompanied by a faster decline in the area and volume of property sales.

The total area of property sales dropped by 8.3 percent from a year ago， 0.7 percentage points steeper than the decline seen in the January-July period.

Property sales volume fell 8.9 percent year on year during the period， compared with a drop of 8.2 percent in the January-July period.

Chinas property sector has been cooling since the beginning of the year， with key indicators such as investment slowing for seven months straight and an increasing number of cities posting falling house prices.

On the other hand， the government has stepped up construction of affordable housing and shantytown renovation projects to help boost regional growth. By the end of July， 3.4 million units of affordable housing had been completed， or 70 percent of the governments annual target.

Yuan Bonds in London

China Development Bank （CDB）， a state-owned policy bank， said on September 15 that it had issued 2 billion yuan （$325.5 million） of renminbi bonds in London.

This is the first time such quasisovereign yuan bonds have been issued in the London market， the bank said in a statement.

The bonds have three-， five- and 10-year maturity periods， with fixed interest rates of 3.35 percent， 3.6 percent， and 4.35 percent， respectively.

CDB Vice President Zhang Xuguang said that the bonds， backed by Chinas central bank and the National Development and Reform Commission， were important for offshore yuan market development， as China steadily expands the global reach of its currency.

The statement also said that Europe accounted for around 30 percent of bond purchases.

Standing to Attention

The opening ceremony of the 11th China-ASEAN Expo is held in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on September 16.

FDI Drops

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland dropped 14 percent in August from a year earlier， settling at$7.2 billion， the Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） said on September 16.

The data， following a 17-percent slump in July， marked the lowest volume in nearly five years. It is a sign that investors are growing more cautious over the softening of the worlds second largest economy.

For the first eight months， FDI， which excludes investment in the financial sector， stood at $78.34 billion， down 1.8 percent from the same period last year， the ministry said.

In response to a question on whether foreign capital is leaving China， MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang said there are no current statistics to support that claim.

“We are still analyzing related investment and trade flows. Currently， there are no abnormal changes，” he noted.

FDI from major economies slipped， including a 16.9-percent drop from the United States and a 17.9-percent fall from the European Union. Investment from Japan went down 43.3 percent to$3.16 billion in the first eight months.

In contrast， Chinas outbound FDI by non-financial firms surged 112.1 percent to $12.62 billion in August. For the January-August period， outbound FDI totaled $65.17 billion， up 15.3 percent.

On a Roll

Construction site of the Chaka-Golmud expressway in northwest Chinas Qinghai Province on September 16. The 474-km expressway is to be completed by the end of 2015.

Huaweis R&D Center

Chinas leading telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei opened a new research and development （R&D） center in south France on September 12.

According to Huawei， the decision to open the new R&D site at the Sophia Antipolis Technology Park， 25 km southwest of Nice， was prompted by the fertile IT ecosystem of the hub， as well as the availability of skilled engineers in the area， who are world renowned for their know-how in the fields of electronic devices and software.

The R&D center will mainly focus on improving the quality of smartphone cameras， building the best Image Signal Processor and also developing Huaweis expertise in the fields of microelectronics and software.

Huawei plans to integrate the first chipset developed by its engineers in Sophia Antipolis in its terminals by 2015.

“We are very proud of this R&D site， which represents perfectly what France can provide in terms of skills in the global IT market，” said Song Kai， General Director of Huawei France.

Train Ticket Sales

Sales of train tickets reached a new daily high on September 12 ahead of the weeklong National Day holiday（October 1-7）， the China Railway Corp.（CRC） said on September 14.

A total of 9.69 million tickets were sold on September 12， the highest level ever on a single day. The CRC said 55.8 percent of them were sold on the Internet and 10.8 percent by mobile phone.

A daily average of 8.32 million tickets were sold between September 9， when tickets for the holiday went on sale， and September 13—1.19 million more than in the same period last year.

Tickets are available 20 days ahead of the “golden week” holiday， which will see the annual travel peak.

Plateau Airport

The Huatugou Airport located in the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi in northwest Chinas Qinghai Province is under construction. It will cover an area of 180 hectares， the Qinghai Airport Co. claimed on September 14.

Investment in the airport has reached 700 million yuan （$114 million）.

The airport will have 3，600 meters of runway， with its terminal covering an area of about 3，000 square meters， according to the airports project plan.

Flight tests at the airport are expected to start after construction is completed before yearend.

The airport is located in Chinas major production base for petroleum and potash fertilizer. It is expected to support local development and improve the aviation network on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The airport is situated on the border region between Qinghai and Xinjiang. Multiple air routes will link the region to major cities in the province and neighboring Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.