Midair Display

Jets of the Red Arrows， officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team， fly above Zhuhai， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on October 22.

The British aerobatic team will perform at the 11th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition， which is being held from November 1 to 6 in Zhuhai.

2030 Health Plan

China aims to increase its citizensaverage life expectancy to 77.3 by 2020 and 79 by 2030， up from 76.34 in 2015， according to a plan on health development spanning the next 15 years.

The Healthy China 2030 blueprint， released on October 25 by the Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Committee and the State Council， includes 29 chapters covering areas such as public health services， environmental management， the medical industry， and food and drug safety.

While acknowledging the countrys health achievements so far， the blueprint noted that industrialization， urbanization， an aging population， and environmental and life style changes have created new challenges to peoples health， and statelevel strategies are needed to solve“major and long-term health-related issues.”

Typhoon Haima

Typhoon Haima has caused direct economic losses of approximately 4.76 billion yuan （$702.65 million） in the three provinces of Jiangsu， Fujian， and Guangdong， the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） announced on October 25.

By 9 a.m. on October 25， about 114，000 residents had been relocated， 239，500 hectares of crops and 3，200 houses damaged， and another 600 houses destroyed by the typhoon， according to a MCA statement.

In Guangdong， the worst-hit province， Haima has displaced 95，000 people， and 62，000 people are in urgent need of basic living supplies.

Fox Hunt

Thanks to Chinas Fox Hunt 2016 campaign， police now have 634 fugitives in custody， including 16 listed on an Interpol red notice， after they fled China to avoid answering for their alleged crimes， according to the Ministry of Public Security （MPS）.

A document issued at an MPS meeting on October 24 said that of the 634 fugitives， 50 are implicated in duty-related crimes and 31 in smuggling. Forty-eight had been at large for more than five years， including 17 for over a decade.

The ministry said that despite the success of the campaign thus far， it will not rest on its laurels and international cooperation will be improved to ensure all criminals are brought to justice.

Rural Medical Services

North Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has launched a program to attract medical graduates to work in rural areas to tackle an acute shortage of healthcare workers.

Rural medical services are insufficient， although a program in effect since 2013 has provided on-the-job training for 12，000 medical workers.

A notice issued by the regional health department on October 23 showed that only 9.3 percent of the 20，633 health workers serving rural areas are licensed medical practitioners.

Under the newly implemented policies， vocational-school medical students willing to work in rural areas after graduation will receive tuition waivers for all three years of their schooling and will be provided with subsidies for school accommodation.

The regional government hopes the program will help channel 10，000 assistant medical practitioners into village clinics over the next five years.

War Crime Museum

A “comfort women” museum in Shanghai opened to the public on October 22 with displays of various items donated by researchers and survivors to expose the notorious crimes of Japanese troops during World War II （WWII）.

The museum， located at Shanghai Normal University， displays items such as photos， victimstestimonies， passports of victims who went to Japan to file lawsuits， and indictments from the first group of victims from the Chinese mainland to ask Japan for compensation.

Chen Liancun， a 90-year-old victim from south Chinas Hainan Province， and an 88-year-old survivor from South Korea attended the opening of the museum.

“The oral testimonies and abundant historical materials and evidence all prove that the ‘comfort women system was a national crime committed by Japan during war and was anti-humanitarian，” said Su Zhiliang， Director of the Research Center for Chinese “Comfort Women” at the university.

Some 400，000 women in Asia were forced into sexual servitude for Japanese military brothels as“comfort women” during WW II， nearly half of whom were Chinese， according to Su.

Seawater Desalination

Desalinated seawater has become an important source of water in China， according to an international conference in Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Yang Shangbao， an official with the National Development and Reform Commission， said at the event on October 25， that China has built 112 water desalination facilities with a combined daily treatment capacity of 1.08 million cubic meters.

“Seawater desalination has provided an important supplementary water source and a strategic reserve in China，” Yang said.

He said an industry had taken shape to make comprehensive use of seawater. About half of the current desalination facilities are used for providing water for public use， such as for water used in urban landscaping.

“Membrane technology has already made it feasible to recycle polluted water for drinking. With the technology， several water desalination plants in north China have begun to process seawater to ease acute water shortages，” said Xing Weihong， Vice President of the Nanjing University of Industry， at the three-day meeting.

The conference， the fourth China（West Lake） International Seawater Desalination and Water Reutilization Meeting， was sponsored by the China Water Desalination Association in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the International Desalination Association.

Fashion Week

Models present works by designer Zhang Zhifeng at a haute couture show during China Fashion Week in Beijing on October 25. The fashion week ran from October 25 to November 2.

Book Bars on the Street

Two readers have a talk in front of a mini book bar in Chenzhou， Hunan Province， on October 27.

More than 50 such book bars opened that day in the city. With the initiative of Sharing， Trust and Spread， these book bars aim to create a good reading environment for citizens and encourage people to read. Citizens can exchange a book from the bars with a book of their own.

Wild Siberian Tiger

A wild Siberian tiger was spotted in a forestry farm in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on October 23， according to forestry officials.

Forestry staff with the Xiaobeihu Forestry Farm found traces of the wild cat in a snowy area and sent pictures to the Feline Research Center under the State Forestry Administration， which confirmed that the cat was a male Siberian tiger.

Forestry staff later found CCTV footage of the large cat from June and September， and the tiger has been recorded numerous other times since 2015， indicating that it has settled in China.

One of the worlds rarest animals， the Siberian tiger is mainly found in east Russia， northeast China and in northern parts of the Korean Peninsula. Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers are believed to be left in the wild.

Capacity Reduction

By the end of September， China had accomplished more than 80 percent of its goals for steel and coal production cuts， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） said on October 25.

China is the worlds largest producer and consumer of steel and coal. But the two industries have long been plagued by overcapacity and have become a major drag on Chinas growth in recent years.

The Chinese Government has vowed to cut steel capacity by 100 million to 150 million tons by 2020， including a cut of 45 million tons in 2016. The coal reduction target is 250 million tons in 2016.

Capacity-cutting efforts have led to a recovery in both steel and coal prices. On October 21， the steel composite price index stood at 79 points， up more than 40 percent since the start of the year.

The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index， a benchmark index， rose to 577 yuan （$85） per ton in midOctober， the highest so far in 2016.

The price rises are seen as a positive development in Chinas struggle to tackle high corporate debt， with overall producer prices rising in September for the first time in nearly five years.

The NDRC said that it will continue efforts to eliminate unneeded production capacity in steel and coal to facilitate long-term structural change.

Trade Probe

The Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） on October 24 announced its decision to launch an anti-dumping probe into Polyformaldehyde Copolymer（POM Copolymer） imports from the Republic of Korea， Thailand and Malaysia.

The investigation is in response to applications filed by several domestic producers claiming that Copolymer products from those countries were sold to the Chinese market at prices below fair value， causing substantial damage to the local industry.

POM Copolymer is an engineering thermoplastic used in highperformance components， such as small gear wheels， sports equipment and construction materials.

MOFCOM said that the probe will cover the period from July 1， 2015 to June 30， 2016， while the assessment of damage to the local industry will cover the period from January 1， 2012 to June 30， 2016.

In China， such investigations usually last one year.

Commodities Fair

A toy racetrack is displayed at the 22nd China Yiwu International Consumer Commodities Fair， which opened in Yiwu， Zhejiang Province， on October 21. More than 2，000 Chinese and foreign companies from 14 industries participated in the five-day event.

New Power Plant

Chinas first molten salt solar thermal power plant has become operational， said the developer， based in north Chinas Tianjin Municipality， on October 23.

Known as concentrated solar power， solar thermal energy is believed to be the next generation of solar energy and an ideal green power source for energy-hungry countries like China. Molten salt solar thermal plants can harness solar energy by using molten salt as a heat transfer medium.

The Tianjin Binhai Concentrating Solar Power Investment Co. Ltd. said that its 50-megawatt Molten Salt Trough project in Aksay in northwest Chinas Gansu Province shows the maturity of the commercial development of solar thermal technology.

Board Chairman Guan Jingdong said that the company will carry out large-scale production with the technology in 2018， when it is scheduled to complete facilities with an annual output of 200，000 kilowatts.

The Aksay plant was among the 20 demonstration solar thermal plants approved by the National Energy Administration in September， as the government eyes the potential of renewable energy. High-Speed Trains A Chinese rail transportation equipment maker will start researching and developing a magnetic levitation （maglev） train that can run at up to 600 km per hour， faster than any other train of its kind currently in operation.

CRRC Corp. Ltd. said that it would build a maglev rail line no less than 5 km long to test the train.

The company will also develop maglev trains that travel at 200 km per hour， with the goal of establishing domestic technology and standard systems for newgeneration， medium- and highspeed maglev transportation that can be applied globally， said Sun Bangcheng， a CRRC official.

In addition， the firm will kick off research and development of crossborder high-speed trains that can run at up to 400 km per hour and alternate between different track gauges ranging from 60 cm to 1.676 meters.

Such trains will consume 10 percent less energy than the countrys 350-km-per-hour bullet trains currently in use， Sun said.

China has seen rapid development of its high-speed railways in recent years. As their total length exceeds 20，000 km， China has the worlds longest high-speed rail network.

The countrys first home-grown maglev rail line went into operation in May， with trains running at a maximum speed of 100 km per hour.

More FTZs

General plans for the third group of free trade zones （FTZs）， announced in August， will be approved soon， according to a report by Shanghai Securities News on October 24. The move is the latest step in the countrys efforts to expand its FTZ network.

In August， China approved the establishment of new FTZs in seven provincial-level regions including coastal Zhejiang and Liaoning and landlocked Henan， Hubei， Sichuan， Shaanxi and Chongqing.

The total number of FTZs in China now stands at 11， after the first one was founded in Shanghai three years ago and a second group was established in coastal areas Tianjin， Fujian and Guangdong in late 2014. According to Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng in August， Liaoning in northeast China will focus on market-oriented reforms to transform the old industrial base into a more competitive area， while Zhejiang is expected to explore liberalization of trade in commodities and improve its capabilities in global logistics services.

Central Chinas Henan will tap its potential in transportation and logistics， and Hubei will build hi-tech bases and facilitate the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The FTZs in Chongqing， Sichuan and Shaanxi， all in the countrys less developed west， are expected to help open the regions to bring out their economic vitality.

FTZs are part of government efforts to pilot reforms， including interest rate liberalization and fewer investment restrictions， to better integrate the economy with international practices.

One of the outcomes from the first two groups of FTZs has been the introduction of a “negative list，”which specifies investment sectors off-limits to foreign investors and allows industries not on the list to follow the same new investment rules as domestic firms.

Encouraged by the results， China is considering expanding the approach nationwide.

Cotton Harvest

A farmer picks cotton in Awat County， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， on October 25.

The Tarim Basin in Xinjiang is one of Chinas major cotton-producing areas. The seasonal harvest is coming to an end as temperatures fall.

Innovative Design

Fan Shizhong from Hunan University shows off his airborne fire engine， which won a special award at the 2016 Fujian Industrial Design （Jinjiang） Competition， on October 25.

A total of 30 entries from Chinese， Italian and South Korean companies and institutions received awards in the competition in five categories.

Modern Agriculture

China aims to achieve “marked progress” in agricultural modernization by 2020， according to a fiveyear plan released by the State Council on October 20.

The country will strive to ensure food security， improve the quality and efficiency of farm produce supply chains， and enhance the sectors international competitiveness by 2020， the plan said.

It also targets all-round moderate prosperity for rural residents and maintaining a beautiful countryside.

Modern agriculture should be established in eastern coastal developed regions， major citiessuburbs， state farms and several demonstration areas， according to the plan.

Fourteen key projects will be carried out to attain the plans goals. They include projects to cultivate high-standard farmland， integrate various sub-industries and ensure farm produce quality.

Fiscal and financial support will be given to the agricultural sector， while better land policies and farm produce market regulations will be introduced， the plan said.