Commemoration Ceremony

Local officials and residents pay tribute to a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen at the mausoleum of the renowned statesman in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province， on March 12， which marked the 91st anniversary of Suns death.

Born on November 12， 1866， Sun led the 1911 Revolution that ended imperial rule in China.

China will hold a series of events to mark the 150th anniversary of Suns birth this year.

Rights Protection

China has created a more efficient and fairer justice system to improve human rights protection， according to work reports from the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC） and Supreme Peoples Procuratorate （SPP）. The reports were submitted to the 12th National Peoples Congress， the national legislature， on March 13.

Courts upheld the principle of“innocent until proven guilty” and worked to protect defendants legal rights， said the SPC report. It revealed that a total of 1，039 suspects were found not guilty in 2015. In addition， a number of high-profile wrongful convictions were overturned last year， and the courts reviewed about 1，300 cases.

Prosecutors nationwide also worked to enforce procedural matters. They lodged protests against about 6，600 criminal court rulings and 3，500 civil rulings. They also pushed police to drop about 10，000 cases and worked to stop them from abusing their power and illegally collecting evidence in about 31，000 cases.

About 25，000 suspects were not prosecuted due to a lack of evidence or circumstantial facts， according to the SPP report.

The safety and well-being of women and children has also vastly improved. Chinese courts concluded the trial of about 5，400 cases involving the trafficking and sexual assault of women and children last year， with more severe sentences extended to the guilty parties， said the SPC report.

Scientific Literacy

The State Council， Chinas cabinet， has issued an action plan to raise the national scientific literacy rate over the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） period.

“Citizens scientific abilities are the foundation on which to build the strategy of innovation-driven development，” according to the action plan， which was made public on March 14.

The government will support the efforts， which will center on conserving energy and resources， protecting ecological environment， safeguarding safety and health， as well as promoting innovation， the document continued.

The action plan mentioned the urgency of building a comprehen- sive infrastructure and evaluation system on public scientific literacy. Furthermore， it stressed the importance of spreading knowledge of high and new technologies， green development and healthy lifestyles among the public， particularly teenagers， farmers， urban workers， officials and civil servants.

The overall aim is to increase the populations scientific literacy from 6.2 percent in 2015 to above 10 percent by 2020.

Supervision Reform

A new reform policy is in the works to ensure independent and effective law enforcement by local environmental watchdogs in China， Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining said on March 11.

The reform， which will occur at the provincial level， is aimed at tackling intervention from local officials by enforcing environmental supervision and prompting local governments to assume their responsibilities in environmental protection， he said.

A pilot program will be launched within the year with the entire reform expected to be complete before 2018.

The ministry is drafting a guideline with 17 provincial-level regions planning to carry out the pilot reform， Chen said.

The reform also deals with cross-regional environmental protection management， the minister continued.

Provincial-level environmental departments will be directly in charge of city-level watchdogs and allocate the budget， according to the new reform. County-level environmental protection bureaus will be abolished and supervision agencies will be set up in their place.

Tuition Support

All financially underprivileged students in China will qualify for financial support within the next five years， according to the Ministry of Education.

The government plans to phase out tuition fees for secondary vocational school students and exempt high school students who are financially disadvantaged from paying tuition fees， said Du Yubo， Vice Minister of Education， on March 11.

Assistance programs for preschool education fees will also be explored during the 13th Five-Year Plan period， Du added.

In order to improve the effectiveness of financial assistance， he suggested that local authorities allocate aid on a case-by-case basis.

State benefits for poor students have increased in recent years. A report released by the Ministry of Education in August 2015 showed that more than 142.1 billion yuan（$21.9 billion） was allocated to student assistance programs in 2014， up about 20 percent year on year.

Meanwhile， the number of students and children benefiting from programs funded by the government， loans and donations are also on the rise. More than 85.4 million students from the preschool to university level received financial aid in 2014， up 6.86 percent from the previous year， according to the report.

Satellite Data

Chinese satellites are providing more than 80 percent of the satellite data used in the country， according to a senior official responsible for the defense procurement policy.

Xu Dazhe， head of the State Administration for Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND）， made the remarks on March 10 at a press conference held to announce that a new national satellite data database has been launched. The system was developed as part of Chinas efforts to build its own satellite constellation as an alternative to the U.S.-operated Global Positioning System.

The database is part of the Sky Eyes project that will eventually launch seven linked high-definition Earth observation satellites into space. Three of them are already in orbit.

“This data will contribute to more accurate decisions by the government，” said Wu Yanhua， deputy head of SASTIND.

Companies can also apply to access the database.

“Industries such as land and resources， agriculture and meteorology will also benefit from the project，” Wu said.

The general public will get more detailed maps as a result of Sky Eyes， added Tong Xudong， the projects chief engineer.

Great Wall Repair

A 195 million yuan （$30 million） program to repair and protect western parts of the Great Wall in Gansu Province is nearing completion， local cultural relics authorities said.

Repairs of the Great Wall along Jiayuguan City， including the Jiayu Pass， started in May 2012.

About 95 percent of the renovation， including reinforcing wooden structures， restoring paintings， building drainage systems and installing flood and fire control facilities， have been completed， Wang Tuan， Deputy Director of Jiayuguan City Cultural Relics Bureau， said on March 12.

A few small repairs are needed to finalize the renovation， Wang said.

Most of the Great Walls western sections were built from mud rather than stone， and many parts have been eroded by sandstorms and exploited by farmers.

Experts created different types of mud as a substitute of the original materials to mend the damaged sections， according to Wang.

Jiayu Pass is the starting point of a section of the Great Wall constructed during the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644）. More than 1 million tourists visited the world heritage site last year.

The Great Wall was first built during the reign of Chinas first emperor， Qin Shihuang （259-210 B.C.） of the Qin Dynasty （221-207 B.C.）， to keep out foreign invaders.

It stretches over 22，000 km through 10 provincial-level regions in north China.

Fun Expo

Visitors experience an angling machine at the 2016 China Attractions Expo， which kicked off in Beijing on March 14.

Some 400 exhibitors in the amusement and entertainment equipment industry took part in the three-day event.

One-on-One Class

A community social worker teaches a senior resident how to operate a computer in Changchun， Jilin Province.

Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo revealed on March 15 that China needs nearly 1 million more professional social workers by 2020. Li said that poverty alleviation is the central task of professional social work.

Foreign Investment

Chinas non-financial outbound direct investment （ODI） in January and February surged 71.8 percent over the same period of 2015， according to latest official data.

The countrys ODI in the first two months of 2016 hit 195.97 billion yuan （$29.92 billion）， said the Ministry of Commerce in a statement on March 15. The ODI in February alone， reaching $17.9 billion， outnumbered the total for the first two months of last year.

The ministry attributed the rise to a more diversified investment portfolio. In January and February， nine of the 20 industries considered in the ministrys calculation contributed ODI of over $1 billion， compared to only four in the same period of 2015.

The Belt and Road Initiative also accelerated business cooperation between Chinese firms and their foreign counterparts. During January to February， Chinas ODI to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at $2.23 billion， an increase of 41.1 percent year on year. Meanwhile， non-financial foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland rose 2.7 percent year on year to 141.88 billion yuan （$22.52 billion） in the first two months of this year despite slowing overall growth.

Investment in the service sector accounted for 62.8 percent of total inflow during the period， reaching 89.16 billion yuan （$14.21 billion）.

FDI in the hi-tech service industry grew 156.6 percent year on year during the period to 15.91 billion yuan （$2.52 billion）.

New Stock Connect

Chinas securities watchdog said on March 15 that it hoped to launch a stock connect scheme between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses in 2016.

The scheme will allow investors to trade on both bourses under a quota system and is seen as a move toward a closer relationship between the financial markets of the Hong Kong region and the Chinese mainland， Fang Xinghai， Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission， said at a press conference.

China established the ShanghaiHong Kong Stock Connect in November 2014 to further open the mainland capital market to the outside world. It has operated steadily since its launch， paving the way for the Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect. The Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect was only one of the plans made with the aim to increase financial cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong， Hu Zucai， Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission， said at the same press conference.

Hu also stressed Hong Kongs important role in the Belt and Road Initiative， adding that China will unswervingly support Hong Kong in consolidating and elevating its position as an international financial， shipping and trade center.

Do the Locomotion

Two internal combustion locomotives prepare for a trial run in Dalian， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， on March 15.

After that， they will be sent to South Africa as the first shipment of an order of 232 internal combustion locomotives to the country. The order was received by CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. two years ago.

Price Indexes

Chinas producer prices continued to fall in February， but the decline has narrowed in a tentative sign of improved aggregate demand， data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on March 10.

The producer price index （PPI）， a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate， fell 4.9 percent year on year， narrowing from a 5.3-percent drop in January and 5.9 percent in December.

The reading also marked the 48th straight month of its decline as Chinas economic slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.

HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin attributed the easing contraction to stabilizing commodity prices during the period.

The data came along with the release of the consumer price index（CPI）， which rose to 2.3 percent as cold weather and Spring Festival demand pushed up vegetable prices.

But Qu pointed out that the rise in inflation was mostly caused by temporary factors， and downward pressure on non-food prices still looms large.

According to the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the annual legislative session on March 5， China aims to hold this years CPI growth at around 3 percent.

The target is unchanged from that for 2015， but the CPI only rose 1.4 percent last year， a six-year low.

E-Commerce Law

China has completed a draft version of the countrys first e-commerce law to guide the sectors sound development， a lawmaker said on March 10. The draft will be submitted as early as possible to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress（NPC） for review， said Uzhitu， Vice Chairman of the committee， at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session. After that， the draft e-commerce law will be presented to the NPC Standing Committee for further reading， Uzhitu said.

The legislation is necessary to deal with new problems in data protection and infringements upon customers interests， he said.

Green Taxi En Route

A driver recharges his electricity-powered taxicab near the Taiyuan South Railway Station in north Chinas Shanxi Province on March 15.

Huge Deal Expected

The acquisition of the U.S. hotel chain operator Starwood by the Chinese insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group， if successful， will increase the hotel groups global market share and ensure the continuity of its operation and brand， analysts said on March 15.

The consortium led by Anbang has offered $12.8 billion for the hotel operator， compared with an earlier offer by Marriott of $12.2 billion.

If completed， the transaction will be the largest acquisition made by a Chinese company in the United States， according to financial data provider Dealogic.

Analysts said that the combination of Starwoods extensive global hotel chain network and the pur- chasing power of affluent Chinese tourists will likely produce a successful deal.

“It will have a very positive impact on Starwoods global market share given the rapid growth of Chinas outbound tourism. Chinese tourists will naturally select hotel brands that are owned by Chinese，”said Michael Chin， Executive Chairman of WT Global Hospitality Investment Co. in Hong Kong.

‘Smart EnergyServices

Customers will be able to pay their gas bill with the press of just one button on their cellphone.

That is what could be achieved through a partnership between Chinas energy giant China National Petroleum Corp. （CNPC）， Alibaba and its Internet finance arm， Ant Financial， after the two sides signed an official agreement on March 10.

According to a statement published on CNPC website， the partnership will focus on online maps， logistics， Internet payment， and membership sharing.

CNPCs PetroChina already allows customers to add credit to their pre-paid gas cards through Alibabas Alipay， one of the countrys leading mobile payment systems.

This agreement is a new approach by CNPC in its battle against low oil prices and signals a desire by both sides to transform the oil and gas industry， the statement said.

CNPC and Alibaba are attempting to establish a system that improves customer experience by meeting their demands， the statement said.

For Alibaba， the partnership could also mean an expansion of its logistics network， with PetroChinas over 20，000 gas stations countrywide.

Robot Service

A robot waiter serves a table at a restaurant in Shenyang， capital of northeast Chinas Liaoning Province on March 15.

The robot can carry food weighing less than 7 kg and can work roughly eight hours with a fully charged battery.