Mission Accomplished

A tugboat approaches Xuelong， Chinas primary icebreaker and polar research vessel， to welcome the return of the Chinese Antarctic expedition team at the mouth of the Yangtze River near Shanghai on April 9.

The team completed its 163-day mission after travelling roughly 30，000 nautical miles aboard Xuelong.

Occupation Pension

China announced detailed standards of occupational pension for government employees on April 6 as a move to build a multi-level and sustainable pension mechanism.

The welfare fund， as a supplementary part of the basic pension system and commercial insurance， will require a government department to pay 8 percent of its total salary and a government employee to contribute 4 percent of their taxation-based salary， according to an announcement released by the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

The benchmark of payment bases are the same as basic pensions and the fund sources also include related investment yield and other legal contributions.

The fund will be left to qualified institutions such as securities houses， asset management companies， as well as insurers to manage the pension and conduct investments.

The introduction of occupational pensions are expected to retain talent as recent reforms in the basic pension system for government institutions might compromise their employees welfare. China started pilot reform programs in government organizations that require them to pay social insurances and pension fund like other private employers back in 2008 to promote fairness. Before that government employees only had to pay income tax.

Ban on Vehicles

Beijing will ban gasoline-powered vehicles that fail to meet the National Emission Standard II starting January 1 of next year to cut pollution， the local environmental authority said.

The vehicles will be banned from entering the citys Sixth Ring Road， according to the municipal environmental protection bureau， which held a pollution prevention and control conference on April 8.

Beijing currently imposes the National Emission Standard V for ve- hicles， similar to the Euro V standard in Europe. The city imposed the National Emission Standard I in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II in 2004. With each new standard， actual pollutant amounts have dropped by 30 to 50 percent per vehicle.

Beijing scrapped 1.44 million old vehicles between 2011 and 2014. More than 90 percent of those vehicle owners bought new vehicles， contributing 8.1 billion yuan （$1.3 billion） in taxes to the municipal government， according to the bureau.

Beijing currently has 5.57 million vehicles， which discharge 700，000 tons of pollutants annually. Vehicle discharge is the top cause of pollution in the city， accounting for 31 percent of the total.

Licensed Lawyers

China had more than 271，000 licensed lawyers working at around 22，000 law firms by the end of 2014， according to statements made by the Ministry of Justice on April 8.

About 90 percent of lawyers are full-time professionals， with the rest including professionals in government agencies and companies.

The ministry also revealed in the statement that around 74，000 of the lawyers were members of the Communist Party of China.

It said there were 330 offices set up in China by 265 foreign law firms from 21 countries and regions by the end of 2014.

In 2014， lawyers working in China handled more than 2.8 million lawsuits. They also took care of 360，000 cases requiring legal assistance.

In a separate statement， the ministry said there were a total of 3，006 notary services， employing 12，960 notaries， in China.

Journalism Report

The English version of a report on the future of journalism in China was released on April 7， highlighting an emphasis on new media.

Issued by the All-China Journalists Association （ACJA）， the Chinese journalism development report was released in Chinese at the end of 2014.

The English version， available in full at www.zgjx.cn， will help “the international community， especially the overseas press” acquire a detailed and accurate understanding of the Chinese press， the ACJA said in a statement accompanying the report.

News organizations on the Chinese mainland employ approximately 1 million people. Over 250，000 of them hold official certification as journalists， 55.9 percent of whom are male.

Over the past few years， authorities have regulated journalistic practice and promoted higher journalistic standards by setting up ethics committees.

In response to strong public concern， a campaign launched in March 2014 took blackmail and false reporting as focal points. As a result， a number of companies and news workers were investigated and publicly sanctioned.

Rural School Teachers

Chinas Ministry of Education on April 2 said the country has added some 358，000 new teachers to rural primary and middle schools in the past year. In a report on the “balanced development of Chinas compulsory education，” the ministry said it will also allocated 4.4 billion yuan （$710 million） to provide professional training for Chinese teachers and organized exchange programs for more than 500，000 teachers in 2014.

The figures came just one day after central authorities approved a plan to support rural teachers over the next five years by improving teachers political and moral awareness， increasing their income， and persuading urban teachers to work in rural schools， among others.

Red Moon

A total lunar eclipse is witnessed in Jinan， capital city in Shandong Province， on April 4.

The eclipse， which took only 12 minutes， was the shortest one to happen this century so far.

A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon because of the red color that is cast upon it by light refracting from Earths atmosphere.

Cycling Abroad

Globe-trotting cyclists Lai Likun （right） and Zhang Hui pose at Heroes Square in Budapest， Hungary， on April 6. Hungary is the 46th country Lai has visited by bike， and the 23rd for Zhang.

Body Donation

The southern city of Guangzhou has passed a regulation to allow donors to bypass family consent requirements in the latest effort to alleviate a severe shortage of donations for Chinas medical schools.

The regulation passed by Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province， removed a provision that said consent from all direct relatives must be obtained before a body is donated， Ouyang Binghui， Deputy Director of the Red Cross Society of Guangzhou， told Xinhua News Agency.

The family consent provision， which has been adopted in a number of Chinese cities， is thought to have led to many failed donations as traditionally minded family members can veto the wishes of deceased donors.

The latest regulation also allows institutions， including nursing homes and residents committees， to donate the bodies of elderly people who have elected donation but have no children or spouse to carry out their wishes after death.

The traditional belief that ones body must remain complete after death has long hampered organ donations in China. Many medical students complain that they have little or no experience coming out of university due to a lack of donated bodies.

Urbanization Plan

On April 5， China unveiled a plan to develop city clusters along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River， the countrys longest waterway， in a move to create a new economic growth engine and promote further urbanization.

The plan will mainly involve areas near Wuhan in Hubei Province， the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city group in Hunan Province and regions around Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province， which cover a combined area of approximately 317，000 square km.

They will constitute a pillar of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and will also be key areas to implement the Rise of Central China strategy， the State Council， Chinas cabinet， said in a statement.

Priority will be given to coordinated development between urban and rural areas and connectivity of infrastructure， such as transportation construction， water conservation and energy projects， it added.

China put forward the Rise of Central China strategy in 2004 amid efforts to achieve more balanced development. Last year， a program was launched to create an economic belt along the Yangtze River to promote better coordination in industrial development and more efficient allocation of resources among provincial regions along its route to the sea.

Easing Control

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE） on April 8 released rules to further relax foreign exchange controls for foreign-invested enterprises in China.

Starting from June 1， foreign-invested enterprises can make settlements of foreign exchange capital without submitting proof of use of funds in advance， according to a SAFE circular.

The new regime will replace the current payment settlement system that has been introduced to prevent speculative exchange settlements.

The move aims to further promote the use of the Chinese currency yuan and boost international trade and financing activities as well as increase the flexibility and convenience of exchange settlement， said the SAFE.

The practice has been piloted in Shanghais free trade zone since 2014 and achieved good results with a stable capital inflow， according to the circular.

Expansion Underway

A shop truck flattens the tracks for a section of the Harbin-Suifenhe Railway in Mudanjiang， northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， on April 7.

The lines expansion project started in July 2010 and is expected to be completed in August.

Lowering Taxes

China will reduce resource taxes on iron ore to aid industrial upgrades and ensure sufficient supply， the State Council said on April 8.

The resource tax on iron ore will be reduced from 80 percent of the taxation payment base to 40 percent， effective on May 1， according to the State Council.

Iron ore firms have been suffering from sluggish prices and production since 2014. Now only about 60 percent of domestic iron ore firms are in production.

China， the worlds biggest steel producer， has been heavily dependent on low-cost foreign ore. According to the China Iron and Steel Association， the countrys imports last year rose 9.7 percentage points to 78.5 percent of total ore.

Poultry Row

China launched a litigation at the World Trade Organization （WTO） on April 8 to challenge the EUs on poultry meat customs quota management.

The EU signed up a quota assignment treaty with Brazil and Thailand on poultry meat products in 2012， which took effect in March 2013. The move is believed to have violated WTO rules， according to Sun Jiwen， a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce of China.

The treaty dented the interests of Chinese poultry meat exporters and failed to ease concerns after Chinas repeated calls for proper settlement， Sun said.

China hoped that the dispute could be settled within the WTO mechanism to protect the interests of domestic market players， he added.

Nuclear Technology

The fifth and sixth units of the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Chinas Fujian Province， which uses the Hualong One reactor design， known as the third-generation nuclear technology， got a green light from the National Development and Reform Commission on April 8， signaling one step closer to the export of Chinese nuclear technology.

“Though the project still needs final approval from the State Council to start construction， the go-ahead will aid the bidding process in overseas countries， as it shows confidence in Chinas capabilities to develop its own nuclear technology，” said an unidentified source at a state-owned nuclear company.

Experts said that the Chinese Government is likely to approve more new nuclear power projects this year， as the country hopes to leverage its home experience to export nuclear technologies with proprietary intellectual property right.

China currently has 22 nuclear power reactors in operation with a combined installed capacity of about 17 gigawatt. A further 26 units are under construction， with a combined capacity totaling almost 30 gigawatt.

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan four years ago， China suspended approval for nuclear plants in order to revise its safety standards. It lifted the ban at the end of 2012， and said it would only approve projects proposed for coastal areas within 2015.

Auto Expansion

Alibaba Group， Chinas largest e-commerce firm， announced on April 8 that it has set up an auto business division aimed at providing one-stop services ranging from sales， second-hand car transactions to motor financing.

The new division will integrate all motor-related businesses within the group and provide car owners with a variety of O2O （online-to-offline） motor services， Alibaba said.

The move comes as Chinese Internet giants move into the motor services.

Alibaba and SAIC Motor Corp. announced on March 12 the establishment of a 1-billion-yuan （$163 million） fund to develop Internet-connected vehicles.

Also in March， another Chinese IT giant Tencent launched a partnership with Taiwans Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and luxury car dealer China Harmony Auto Holding to explore a business model to manufacture and sell smart electric cars.

New Business in Town

People view helicopters for sale at a newly opened sales center in Ningbo， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on April 8.

Cheaper Power

China will lower prices of coal-fired power and power consumption for industrial and commercial purposes to reduce business costs， the State Council said on April 8.

Prices for coal-fueled electricity will be cut by around 2 yuan （$0.33） per 100 kWh， and commercial electricity consumption will also enjoy lower prices with a reduction of about 1.8 yuan（$0.29） per 100 kWh， said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The adjustment aims to reduce business costs amid falling coal prices and sluggish production activities.

The government will continue to charge more for large energy consumers and enact harsher electricity price punishments for high energy consuming and polluting productions， the statement said.

The price cut is expected to ease structural problems to encourage more environmentally friendly power generation methods to reduce emission and air pollution.

China cut coal-fired power price both in 2013 and 2014 to encourage power plants to take more denitration， dedusting and other environmentally friendly technologies in electricity generation.