White Festival

A winter Naadam as well as a fire sacrifice festival kicks off on December 23， 2014， in Old Barag Banner （county） of Hulunbuir， a city of north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Human Rights Plan

China has been working effectively toward goals set by the National Human Rights Action Plan （2012-15）， with most quantitative targets being at least halfway to fulfilled in the past two years， a senior official said on December 23， 2014.

“China has made considerable progress in human rights protection，”said Cai Mingzhao， Director of the State Council Information Office （SCIO） at an interim review meeting on the action plan.

In 2013， disposable income of urban residents grew 7 percent while percapita net income of rural residents rose 9.3 percent， and the poor rural population fell by 16.5 million compared to 2012. Community-level self-governance improved， as over 98 percent of village level party committees are now directly elected. Meanwhile， the interests and rights of ethnic minorities， women， children， the elderly and disabled have been better protected， and international exchanges and cooperating in the field of human rights have also progressed， said Cai. The Chinese Government publicized the National Human Rights Action Plan （2012-15） in June 2012， promising to address challenges and work for the happiness and dignity of every citizen. The plan is Chinas second national plan for human rights protection and serves as a policy document for advancing human rights.

Chinas Keywords

On December 19， 2014， “China Keywords，” a multilingual and multimedia platform for understanding Chinas political discourse， was launched. Currently， the database has recorded interpretation to 77 popular phrases， such as the “socialism with Chinese characteristics，” “important thought of Three Represents，” “community of common destiny” and “Three Areas of Confidence.”

The keywords have been culled from important documents of the Chinese Communist Party and the government and the speeches and works of state leaders.

The program was initiated by the China International Publishing Group（CIPG） and the China Academy of Translation and implemented by the Translators Association of China and the International Communication Research Center at CIPG.

Minority Officials

In a document released on December 22， 2014， the Central Government promised to cultivate and appoint more officials from minority groups and ensure they are given “full trust.”

The document gives special attention to the cultivation of intellectuals in ethnically diverse regions， especially those from minority backgrounds.

The guideline also outlines promoting understanding among different ethnic groups and the cultural identity of the Chinese nation.

China officially has 56 ethnic groups speaking more than 80 languages. Ethnic autonomous areas account for 64 percent of the countrys total land territory.

A statement after the conference said different regional policies should be applied to border areas， impoverished regions and ecological preservation areas.

Rich Get Richer

Chinese mainland super-rich are closing the wealth-accumulation gap with overseas Chinese millionaires， according to a report released on December 22.

The report compared mainland super-rich and their overseas counterparts in regions of Southeast Asia， Europe， Taiwan and Hong Kong.

From 2008 to 2013， the incomes of the top 180 richest people on the mainland expanded four times faster than that of the top 180 richest overseas Chinese expatriates， said the report， which also referred to research by the Hurun Report and Forbes lists.

The report was first published by Huaqiao University in 2010， this is the fourth time the study has been undertaken.

Railway Standards

The National Railway Administration（NRA） on December 22， 2014， officially unveiled the countrys first design specification standards for high-speed rail links.

The administration laid down standards for nearly 20 fields involved in the design and construction of lines for bullet trains running at the speed of 250-350 km per hour.

The NRAs specifications come from domestic experience as well as advice from foreign experts.

China has seen rapid development in the construction of high-speed railways and it is now eyeing selling equipment and technology it has developed to foreign markets.

Taking effect on February 1， 2015， the specifications will lay a solid foundation for railway enterprises to explore the overseas market， according to the NRA statement.

Smartphone Users

China boasts more than half a billion smartphone users， an official with the State Internet Information Office （SIIO） said.

The country has 1.3 billion cellphone users， said Wang Xiangrong， Deputy Director of the website information broadcasting department under SIIO， Chinas Web regulator.

With smartphones becoming more affordable and improved telecommunication services， three of every 10 smartphone users in the world are Chinese， Wang said on December 18， 2014， at an Internet industry conference held in Beijing.

“More than 40 percent of Chinas citizens will access the Internet through their cellphones in 2015，” said Wang.

Under Investigation

Ling Jihua， a senior Party official and national political advisor， is now under investigation for “suspected serious disciplinary violation.”

The Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced the investigation in a brief statement on December 22， 2014.

Ling， 58， is vice chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference National Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Between 2007 and 2012， Ling served as head of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

Smoking Victims

Figures from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that nearly 1.1 billion Chinese people are either smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke.

About 356 million people above the age of 15 are smokers， while another 738 are passively smoking. Smoking-caused cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases have imposed economic burden of more than 223.7 billion yuan （$35.9 billion） for people at or above the age of 35.

New Nature Reserves

China has set up 21 new state-level nature reserves， increasing the countrys total conservation area to nearly 10 percent of the countrys land territory.

A circular approving the new reserves was issued on December 23， 2014， by the State Council General Office.

The newly established nature reserves， with a total area of more than 6，200 square km， are scattered across 15 provinces and autonomous regions， including Liaoning， Fujian and Henan provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The reserves will become sanctuaries of 35 state-level endangered animal species， such as the Manchurian tiger， giant panda and golden monkey， as well as 12 kinds of rare wild plants.

The number of national nature reserves has now reached 428， covering 930，000 square km.

The reserves are important in protecting biodiversity and implementing international conventions， the circular said.

Revised GDP

China revised its 2013 economic data， adding 3.4 percent for a final total of 58.8 trillion yuan （$9.61 trillion）.

The upward revision， based on more comprehensive data on the manufacturing and service sectors following Chinas twice-a-decade economic census， will not affect economic growth this year， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said in a statement on its website.

This marks an increase of 1.92 trillion yuan （$308.41 billion） from the previous count.

“The revision of 2013 GDP will affect the size of 2014 GDP， but basically will not affect GDP growth for 2014，” NBS said， adding that it was still revising GDP figures for previous years but the work had not been completed.

Despite impressive growth over the past few decades， Chinas economy was still 56.5 percent the size of the United States after the revision， based on average exchange rates in 2013， according to the NBS. Its per-capita GDP in 2013 was raised to $6，995 from $6，767， but this was only about two thirds of the worlds average level， the bureau said.

Solar Power Drive

Workers test distributed solar panels in Shandong Hongli Anywhere Environmental Science & Technology Group. So far， there have been more than 200 distributed solar power generation projects in east Chinas Shandong Province， with a capacity of 135，000 kilowatts.

Formidable Home Prices

More than half of Chinese citizens surveyed said homes were too expensive for them， in the latest national poll by the Peoples Bank of China.

The survey showed that 58.8 percent of 20，000 people surveyed in 50 cities believe current home prices were “too high to accept” in the fourth quarter of 2014， down 0.7 percentage point from the previous quarter.

The property market cooled in 2014， with authorities loosening controls on purchases， mortgage rules and interest rates to avoid an even sharper slowdown. Home prices—especially in large cities—are still too high for most new graduates.

Of urban residents， 52.9 percent considered current prices “too high，”down 1.1 percentage points， as the con- sumer price index， the main gauge of inflation， edged up 1.4 percent year on year in November， the slowest increase since November 2009.

Government Net Assets

The total net assets of the Chinese Government， including government executive departments， legislative departments and justice departments was 55.3 trillion yuan （$9 trillion） in 2013， according to research published on December 20.

In a broad measurement that also included government-backed public institutions and associations， the governments net assets stood at 92.3 trillion yuan （$14.83 trillion） in 2013， according to the finance research institute under the Peoples Bank of China.

The total net assets of Chinas public departments， including the governments net assets as well as governmentcontrolled companies， stood at 106.9 trillion yuan （$17.17 trillion）.

“Given Chinas relatively huge foreign exchange reserves， the Chinese Government has a good foundation for economic control，” the finance research institute said.

It added that the governments net assets were substantial and also demonstrated structural stability and fitness.

Connect Karst Regions

Construction of Chinas first high-speed railway running through the countrys southwest karst regions was completed on December 21.

The 857-km railway linking Guiyang， capital of landlocked mountainous province of Guizhou， with south Chinas economic powerhouse Guangzhou， is expected to become operational on December 26.

Guizhou has the worlds most typical karst plateau landscape， which was inducted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone.

Stretching through the complicated karst clusters， the railway has half of its length run through 238 tunnels， two of which are more than 14 km long， said Zhang Jianbo， General Manager of Guiyang-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway Co.

It took builders four years to drill through the two longest tunnels. Construction was often disrupted by breaking rocks， rupturing strata and water infiltration， Zhang said.

The construction company applied for six national patents covering their shockproof technology， which was adopted to reduce the vibration that occurs when a train travelling at 250 km per hour runs through mountain tunnels.

Rural Market Valued

Chinas leading e-commerce giants have stepped up expansion of online retail business in rural areas in hopes of tapping the new territory to offset a saturated urban market.

JD.com Inc.， a Nasdaq-listed firm， announced on December 18 it would set up a county-level operating center in south Chinas Guangdong Province.

The move followed the e-commerce decision to open a physical shop in a small county in north Chinas Hebei Province in November to help farmers purchase home appliances via its online shopping store.

Plagued by poor transport and less purchasing power， rural buyers have remained mostly untouched by the wave of online shopping that swept across China in recent years.

However， the situation is changing as the burgeoning market in villages has shown great potential and intrigued the countrys major e-commerce businesses.

A report published by a research center under Alibaba Group， Chinas largest commerce company， forecast the value of the rural online sales market will grow to 180 billion yuan （$29.4 billion） this year and 460 billion yuan（$73.89 billion） in 2016.

Rural buyers on Taobao.com， Alibabas online sales website， made up nearly 10 percent of total sales of the site in the first quarter of this year， up from a proportion slightly higher than 7 percent two years ago.

More Airports in Xinjiang

China vowed on December 20 to make more efforts to support the develop- ment of civil aviation in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Civil Aviation Administration of China （CAAC） said in a guideline that it will improve aviation infrastructure in Xinjiang by supporting the expansion of established airports and construction of new ones.

The CAAC will speed up preliminary study of a new airport in Urumqi， capital of Xinjiang. It also backed the city to apply for a 72-hour visa-free entry for international transit passengers.

In addition， the administration encouraged airlines to operate more routes connecting Xinjiang cities with Chinas eastern areas as well as foreign countries.

Xinjiang currently has 16 civil airports， with 46 domestic and foreign airlines operating 184 routes. It has the most airports and longest airways among Chinas provincial-level regions.

From January to November， Xinjiang saw 238，000 civil flights and throughput of over 20 million passengers and 163，000 tons of cargo and mail， up 20.5 percent， 9.8 percent and 8.8 percent year on year， respectively.

Disneylands New Rival

Chinese real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin said on December 20 that his Dalian Wanda Group plans to compete with Disneyland and will probably open theme parks in the United States in the future.

Wang， founder and President of Dalian Wanda， revealed his ambition at the opening ceremony of a movie park in Wuhan， capital of central Chinas Hubei Province.

Although real estate comprised the bulk of Wandas revenue， Wang said that the group is seeking more growth engines as rapid expansion in Chinas property sector comes to an end.

Wang said Wanda will unveil a transformation plan in January and turn to businesses in culture， tourism， finance and e-commerce for further growth.

In a move toward the transformation， Wanda launched the “cultural tourism city” program to construct building complexes for tourism， entertainment， shopping， dining and other purposes in a number of Chinese cities.

Testing the Waters

A 38，500-ton bulk cargo ship developed by Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd. sails smoothly in the water in Qinhuangdao， north Chinas Hebei Province.