Divine Artistry

A ceremony is held to unveil a giant painting of the Buddha during the annual traditional Shoton Festival at Sera Monastery in Lhasa， capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.

More than 200，000 Buddhists and other believers on August 14 thronged Lhasa for the start of the Shoton Festival， also known as the Yogurt Banquet Festival， a week-long event held since the 11th century. This years festival was held from August 14 to 20.

WWII History Book

The English edition of a history book about Chinas resistance against the Japanese forces during WWII has hit shelves.

The book is a translation of The Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression published by the Peoples Publishing House in May， said the Central Compilation and Translation Press in a press release.

It introduces important historical facts about Chinas resistance against Japanese invaders in the 1930s and 40s. With an objective approach， detailed historical materials and a wealth of statistics， the book presents a multidimensional account of the main developments of the war， the press release said.

The book， which includes approximately 50 rare photographs from the war， details how Chinas resistance was an important part of the global war against fascism， as well as the tremendous losses incurred upon and extraordinary contributions made by the Chinese people in achieving their victory.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the end of WWII.

Drug Prevention

A three-year program has been announced aiming to reduce the number of underage drug users and increase awareness among juveniles， according to a televised meeting on August 18.

According to the plan， jointly made by 14 departments including the National Narcotics Control Commission（NNCC） and the Ministry of Education， the program will focus on people aged from 10 to 25 to achieve a “notable reduction” in new drug users.

Liu Yuejin， Deputy Director of the NNCC， called for more than 200 million students nationwide to receive drug-prevention education in order to increase awareness on a grand scale.

As of June， about 1.89 million registered drug users across China were younger than 35， accounting for 58.4 percent of the total.

Donation for Cataract

The China Foundation for Disabled Persons （CFDP） on August 18 received a donation of 55 million yuan （$8.59 million） to be used in treating impoverished cataract patients.

With the funds donated by medical company Yuanchengshijie， operations to restore eyesight will be provided to 50，000 cataract patients under the poverty line over a five-year period， the CFDP said.

The plan is part of a cataract campaign the CFDP initiated in 2006. Since then， the CFDP has raised donations of nearly 100 million yuan （$15.87 million） from corporations， individuals and through various charity activities.

Nearly 110，000 cash-strapped cataract patients have thus far received operations nationwide.

Crop Yield

Chinese scientists have discovered a gene that can help crops become more tolerant to heat and disease while increasing yields.

In a thesis published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on August 18， it is conveyed how a team led by He Zuhua with Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， found that the ERECTA （ER） gene in transgenic rice and tomatoes improved heat tolerance in greenhouse and field tests at multiple locations across China over several seasons.

The detrimental effects of climate change on crop productivity threaten to reduce the worlds food supply. Although plants responses to changes in temperature have been comprehensively studied， genetic modification of crops to improve thermotolerance has experienced little success to date.

The overexpression of the gene can also help improve yield while making the plants more resistant to diseases.

Prior studies had detected no such genes that could accomplish the two aforementioned feats.

Soccer Reform

The soccer reform of China entered a historic new era on August 17 as a detailed plan to overhaul the sports governing body was published. The plan aims to boost the management and status of the organization in the future.

Focused upon the reform of the Chinese Football Association （CFA）， the plan will cut existent ties between CFA and the national sports department. It aims to give CFA the full autonomy， covering the bodys financial matters， its system of personnel and international communications.

The plan is a key step toward pushing forward the overall reform plan for Chinese soccer issued earlier this year.

The larger plan， passed in February by Chinas central reform group， demonstrates the governments resolve to meet the needs of fans of the sport and to popularize the sport across the country， with the end goal of improving the level of the Chinese national team.

Goals set out in the plan include enabling the womens team to return to the top flight of international soccer as a mid-term aim and bringing the mens side to world-class level over the long run. Bidding to host the FIFA World Cup is listed as an additional long-term goal.

Every Other Day

A 15-day period of traffic restrictions comes into effect in Beijing on August 20.

The restrictions exclude private vehicles whose registration numbers terminate in either odd or even digits on alternate days.

This coincides with the start of the IAAF World Athletics Championships， and will cease to be in effect after the massive parade on September 3 to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War.

Newlyweds

A couple kiss after receiving their marriage certificate.

Many couples chose to get married on August 20， the Chinese traditional Qixi Festival， also referred to as Chinese Valentines Day. The festival falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Beidou Operation

After more than 10 days in space， Chinas 19th Beidou navigation satellite is now working autonomously and has set up a link with another satellite.

The two satellites were launched on the same day by a Long March III-B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province on July 25.

Xie Jun， chief designer of the Beidou navigation satellite system， said China has successfully tested the autonomous control technology of the Beidou global navigation satellite constellation， an alternative to U.S.-operated GPS， marking a solid step toward building a system with global coverage.

China plans to set up a complete constellation of 35 satellites， achieving global coverage by 2020.

Housing Market Rebound

Chinas housing market continues to recover from a prolonged downturn， with new home prices in July dropping in fewer cities for a fifth consecutive month amid improved market confidence and lower interest rates.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed， new home prices climbed in 31 in July， up from 27 in the previous month， while 29 reported monthon-month price declines， down from Junes 34， according to data released on August 18 by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

For existing homes， 18 cities saw price declines in July on a monthly basis， 13 reported flat prices， while 39 cities posted gains.

According to NBS statistician Liu Jianwei， home prices in first-tier cities， where demand is high， saw strong growth， while in second-tier cities， prices for both newly built and existing homes recorded weaker growth and in third-tier cities， home prices continued to decline. Chinas housing market took a downturn in 2014 owing to weak demand and a surplus of unsold homes. The cooling has continued into 2015， with both sales and prices falling and investment slowing.

Tax Breaks

The State Council on August 19 decided to extend tax breaks to more small businesses to facilitate their roles in generating jobs and growth.

From October 1 to the end of 2017， companies with annual taxable income under 300，000 yuan （$46，890） will have their corporate tax halved， said a statement released after a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. Previously， the threshold was 200，000 yuan （$31，260）.

The meeting also extended tax breaks to companies with a monthly revenue of 20，000 yuan to 30，000 yuan （$3，126-4，689） from the end of 2015 to the end of 2017. Such companies will be exempted from valueadded tax and business tax.

The move is the latest attempt to help small businesses， as they provide nearly 80 percent of urban jobs.

In the first six months， about 2.39 million small and micro enterprises in China paid reduced taxes， saving them in total about 8.6 billion yuan （$1.3 billion）， according to figures from the State Administration of Taxation.

Anti-Dumping Measures

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce will impose anti-dumping measures on optical fiber preforms after ruling that Japanese and U.S. companies are engaged in dumping.

A probe， launched on March 19 in 2014， found the two countries dumping activities were damaging the interests of Chinese optical fiber producers， and that there was a causal link between the dumping and the damage incurred.

The ministry told domestic importers of fiber optics from the two countries to pay anti-dumping tariffs ranging from 8 percent to 41.7 percent to customs.

The ruling will exclude those with a diameter smaller than 60 millimeters.

Optical fiber preforms are pieces of glass used to make optical fibers.

Ready for Takeoff

The fuselage of the Xinzhou-700， a China-developed short-haul aircraft， on display.

A total of 185 orders have been placed for the aircraft from domestic and foreign airlines， the manufacturer announced on August 18.

A major Chinese plane manufacturer， Xian Aircraft Industry Co. （XAC） of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China， said it has secured deals with 11 airlines， including Beijing-based Okay Airways， Hybrid Aviation in Pakistan and Segers Aero headquartered in South Africa.

The turboprop aircraft is a new-generation regional jet， notable for a more effective body design and its advanced technological features. It is capable of carrying up to 70 passengers.

FDI and ODI

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland rose 5.2 percent year on year in July to 50.6 billion yuan （$8.2 billion）， official data showed on August 19.

The growth accelerated from the 0.7-percent rise recorded in June， the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said.

In the first seven months of 2015， FDI grew 7.9 percent to 471.1 billion yuan （$76.63 billion）.

Foreign investment in the Chinese hi-tech service sector surged 63.3 percent to $4.9 billion in the January-July period. Intel Corp. spent 6 billion yuan（$937.8 million） to buy 20 percent of the stakes of a subsidiary of the Beijingbased Tsinghua Unigroup.

Hi-tech manufacturing attracted$5.5 billion of foreign investment in the first seven months， up 0.1 percent. The European Union invested $4.5 billion in the January-July period， up 18.4 percent.

On the other side of the equation， Chinas non-financial outbound direct investment （ODI） rose sharply in the first seven months of 2015， thanks to fewer government restrictions and strong ODI increases in countries including the United States， according to data from the MOFCOM.

The ODI rose at a brisk pace in the January-July period， with the amount surging 20.8 percent to $63.5 billion.

Under the Roof

Farmers plough the land in an eco-agriculture greenhouse in Julu County， north Chinas Hebei Province， on August 19. Solar panels are installed above the roof of the greenhouse to generate power， while corn and millet are planted under the roof， representing a perfect marriage between agricultural production and clean energy.

Tencent Investment

Chinas Tencent Holdings Ltd. has taken a $50-million stake in Kik Interactive， an investment that values the Canadian mobile messaging company at more than $1 billion， Kik said on August 19.

Kik， an Ontario-based company whose chat platform is popular with U.S. teens， has long said it aims to emulate the success of Tencents WeChat， which has expanded from messaging to facilitating commerce in China.

The investment from Tencent， Chinas biggest social network and online entertainment company， helps to consolidate that ambition， Kik CEO Ted Livingston said.

Kik faces stiff competition in the mobile chat arena， with Snapchat targeting the same teenage audience and Facebook Inc.s Messenger and WhatsApp claiming the lions share of users. But Livingston is betting on a growing number of add-on services to keep its 240 million users engaged.

While not disclosing the size of the Tencent stake， Livingston said Kik is“part of the so-called unicorn club，” a term describing private companies with valuations in excess of $1 billion.

Made in India

Chinas technology heavyweight Lenovo Group Ltd. announced on August 18 that it was establishing a smartphone assembly unit in India， becoming the largest Chinese company so far to respond to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis campaign to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse.

Partnering with contract manufacturer Flex， previously known as Flextronics， Lenovo said in a statement that it is working on a new assembly line in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Using imported parts， it will have an annual production capacity of 6 million smartphones and employ 1，500 people. Production of its MotoE range of smartphones has already commenced， it added.

Another Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi also said it was joining forces with Taiwan-based tech giant Foxconn to start assembling phones in India.

India is the worlds fastest growing smartphone market， but lacks decent suppliers and infrastructure. Most of its over 100 phone companies import from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Payment Agreement

UnionPay International， the Chinese card payment system， and the Thai Bankers Association （TBA） signed an agreement on August 18 to make UnionPay the standard chip card for local banks across the Thai banking industry.

The agreement means UnionPay cards can now be used in nearly all automatic teller machines and almost 70 percent of merchants across Thailand， including large department stores， airports and duty-free shops.

It makes Thailand the first foreign country to adopt UnionPay as its standard chip card. Banks in Thailand are required to issue all debit cards and some credit cards with chips by 2016.

Ge Huayong， Chairman of UnionPay， said its chip cards are compatible with Europay， Mastercard， and Visa standards， and that its chip and magnetic composite cards are accepted around the world.

According to Ge， China is the largest source of international tourists for Thailand， more than 1 million UnionPay cards have been issued in the Southeast Asian country， and nearly 6 million UnionPay cardholders from China are expected to visit the country this year.