Society

Action Plan to Address Water Pollution Adopted

An official from the Ministry of Environmental Protection disclosed that the State Council has adopted the much-anticipated Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan， and that its implementation will be a priority of his ministry this year.

Liu Zhiquan， deputy director general of the ministrys Department of Science， Technology and Standards， said this action plan will impose the most rigorous measures so far to protect water sources and rehabilitate their ecosystems. It aims to ensure control over pollutant discharge， save and preserve water resources， safeguard the security of Chinas water ecosystem and give full play to the role of market mechanisms. It will also define the obligations of all concerned parties.

With a funding of RMB 2 trillion， the plan has three goals on wastewater treatment， Liu said. First， to accelerate the construction of waste treat-

More International Students Coming to China

Close to 380，000 foreign citizens came to the Chinese mainland to study last year， a 5.77 percent increase over 2013， the Ministry of Education said. The 377，054 students represented 203 countries and regions. The number of students from Oceania and Africa spiked last year， while those from the Americas fell a little. A total of 6，272 students came from Oceania， a 32.24 percent rise from 2013， while those from Africa – 41，677 – went up by 24.93 percent year on year. The numbers coming from the Americas dropped by 2.45 percent， but the ministry gave no reason for this. ment facilities in towns and cities， where the daily treatment capacity is expected to grow some 42 million tons by 2015. Second， to upgrade and renovate existing wastewater treatment facilities. And third， to promote the use of recycled water， accelerate the construction of slurry disposal installations at urban wastewater treatment plants and improve the plants management.

Chinese Purchase of Boeing Planes Hits New Record

The Boeing Company delivered an unprecedented 155 airplanes to Chinese customers in 2014， the second year in a row it has sold more than 140 within the country. Also， last year it received orders or promised orders for at least 400 aircraft from a dozen Chinese customers.

The new-generation Boeing 737 made up the majority of the 155 planes delivered， with 119 units. The 777 model accounted for 26. Five newly established Chinese operators – the budget airlines Donghai Airlines， Ruili Airlines， Urumqi Air， Fuzhou Airlines and 9Air – all added new Boeing 737s to their fleets. To meet the Chinese aviation industrys growing demand， the Boeing Company plans to deliver more 737 jetliners to the market this year.endprint

Stronger Hiring Underway

A survey by a leading Chinese job site， 51job， found that 82.3 percent of surveyed employers intended to do more hiring in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same period last year. Almost half（47.2 percent） of the respondents planned to take on more people with at least a bachelors degree than last year， and 43.9 percent said they had the same number of openings as in 2014. Only 8.9 percent intended to hire fewer people compared to last year.

The survey showed that the strong growth of the Internet economy has created many jobs in innovative industries， design and other professional services. This is opening up new opportunities for fresh college graduates who， numbering at least seven million annually， face cutthroat competition on the labor market. According to the survey， the strongest talent demand comes from the Internet/e-commerce， computer software and finance sectors， which have increased their job offers by more than 88 percent year on year. As many as 75 percent of surveyed employers planned to hire people with work experience of two years or less， a historical record domestically.

Activity

Thomanerchor of Leipzig Concert

Date： May 2， 2015

Place： Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre

Price： RMB 180/280/380/480

The Thomanerchor of Leipzig （St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig） was founded in 1212. Johann Sebastian Bach was its choirmaster from 1723 to 1750. The choir has expanded from 16 chorists to todays 92. Their ages range from nine to 18 years old. Their first European tour in 1920 was a resounding success. These days the choir gives 31 performances on its annual world tour.

Voca People Musical Comedy

Date： May 16， 2015

Place： Shenzhen Concert Hall

Price： RMB 100/180/280/380

Voca People is an ensemble that performs vocal theater， and combines cappella and beat box vocals in replicating the performance of an entire orchestra. Music throughout the show is sung rather than played on musical instruments or produced from sound effect technologies. The performers often get the audience to join in their songs， and change or add to them depending on the country they are in. So far they have performed in 26 countries， including the U.S.， the U.K.， Germany， Hungary， Israel and Japan.endprint