Army Day

Officers and soldiers line up to form the number “89” on the Chinese missile destroyer Xian to celebrate the 89th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） on August 1.

The warship was part of a Chinese fleet participating in the Rim of the Pacific multinational naval exercises in the area of the Hawaiian sea.

Maritime Jurisdiction

The Supreme Peoples Court（SPC） on August 2 issued a judicial interpretation to clarify Chinas jurisdiction over its territorial seas.

The document， which took effect on August 2， is based on Chinas laws， the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and judicial practices. It states that Chinese citizens and foreigners will be pursued for criminal liability if they engage in illegal hunting or fishing or killing endangered wildlife in Chinas jurisdictional seas.

According to the interpretation， jurisdictional seas not only include inland waters and territorial seas， but also cover regions including contiguous zones， exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.

It also addresses Chinese citizens or organizations operating in fishing zones or the open sea under co-management between China and other countries according to signed agreements.

The interpretation specifies the standards of conviction and punishment for illegal marine fishing： Those who illegally enter Chinese territorial waters and refuse to leave after being driven away， or who re-enter after being driven away or being fined in the past year， will be considered to have committed “serious” criminal acts and will be fined and sentenced to less than a year of imprisonment， detention or surveillance.

This penalty also applies to those who illegally enter Chinas territorial seas to fish but do not engage in “illegal fishing” under the law， it says.

Poverty Relief

Around 1，000 technical schools in China will provide free technical training to impoverished people from 2016 to 2020， according to a circular jointly issued on August 1 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Anyone from a poverty-stricken household who is able to work will be eligible for the training， and families involved in the project should receive an annual subsidy of 3，000 yuan （$450） per student from a poverty-relief fund.

Local governments should implement national policies on student subsidies and free tuition and formulate regional policies on the deduction and exemption of other fees as well as on offering living allowances， the circular said.

Presently， more than 3.2 million people， over 75 percent of whom come from rural areas， attend 2，454 technical schools nationwide.

Transparency Monitor

Social groups working in China must publicize specific key information， or they may be banned from operating， according to a draft amendment to an administrative regulation.

The draft amendment， which was released on August 1 by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in order to solicit public feedback， aims to safeguard peoples freedom to set up social groups and to better protect social groups interests.

The social groups subject to the amendment—non-profit social organizations such as environmental protection agencies or mental health assistance associations—must publicize details of their members and leaders as well as donations they receive and other required information， according to the draft amendment.

At the end of 2015， China had nearly 329，000 registered social groups， which play an important role in “promoting economic development， improving social governance and expanding exchanges with the outside world，” according to the ministry.

S. China Sea Site

A website devoted to the South China Sea was launched on August 3.

Run by the National Marine Data and Information Service， the Chinese language site has 10 sections that cover basic information， news， historical archives， development and management， expert opinion， law and regulations， a timeline of major events， pictures and videos， and Q&A.

“The South China Sea has drawn huge attention， but some information online is not accurate，” said Zhang Haiwen， an official with the State Oceanic Administration （SOA）.“We hope that this website will enable domestic and overseas people to better understand it and learn about the truth behind the ‘disputeover it.”

The website contains not only maps and archives but also exclusive analysis and expository articles based on experts research of thousands of maps.

Zhang said that new findings will be published on the website once verified.

According to the SOA， information on the website must first be reviewed by an expert panel and be “comprehensive， authoritative， detailed and accurate.”

The website has six domain names， including www.thesouthchinasea.org and www.china-nanhai. org， due to “information unification and security concerns，” according to the SOA.

Cancer Assistance

The 18th Beijing Hope Run will take place at 9 a.m. on September 10 in the citys Chaoyang Park.

The non-competition charity event was organized by the Cancer Institute and Hospital （CIH） under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in partnership with the China Cancer Foundation. The Canadian Embassy to China was among the contributors in the coordination efforts. Other places including Chongqing Municipality as well as Hebei and Hunan provinces will also host their own Hope Run， to show solidarity in fighting against cancer.

The Hope Run was inspired in part by the Terry Fox Run， which was the largest single-day cancer fundraiser in the world. The international activity has been held in memory of Terry Fox， a Canadian bone cancer patient who ran 5，373 km across Canada in 143 days whilst battling the illness in order to raise funds for cancer research in 1980.

According to He Jie， President of the CIH， more than 290，000 people have participated in the Beijing Hope Run since 1999， and over 10 million yuan （$1.5 million） has been raised in China through the annual event.

Human Gene Editing

Chinese scientists will initiate the worlds first genetic-editing trial on humans later in August in an attempt to find a cure for lung cancer.

A group of oncologists at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University in Chengdu， Sichuan Province， will inject patients with cells modified using the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR， which is short for “clustered， regularly interspaced， short palindromic repeats，” was named the“2015 Breakthrough of the Year” by the U.S. journal Science.

The technique allows scientists to selectively edit genome parts and replace them with new stretches of DNA. Cas9 is an enzyme that can edit DNA， allowing the alteration of genetic patterns by genome modification. CRISPR is a collection of DNA sequences that direct Cas9 where to cut and paste.

“We plan to select 10 volunteers， all advanced lung cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy， radiation therapy and other types of treatment. We have received a lot of applications， and were busy screening and drawing up our final list，”said Lu You， Director of the Chengdu hospitals Thoracic Oncology Department， who leads the trial.

Doctors will extract T-cells， a type of immune cell， from each patients blood and then knock out the gene that encodes a protein known as PD-1， which normally limits a cells capacity to launch an immune response. The edited cells will be multiplied in the lab before being returned to the patients.

Panda Theme

A panda-themed train debuts on July 31 in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province.

The trains carriages have handles shaped like panda heads， while the pole grips are painted to resemble bamboo. Seats and walls are decorated with panda patterns and pink bear footprints speckle the floor.

For the Winter Event

The Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics launches an international contest to find an emblem for the games at the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing on July 31.

Beijing and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province won the bid to co-host the 2022 games on July 31 last year.

PMI Data

The manufacturing sector posted a slight drop in July due to the effects of the flood season and weak demand， according to official data released on August 1.

The purchasing managers index（PMI） came in at 49.9， slightly lower than Junes 50， according to the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion while below 50 reflects contraction.

NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said that floods that hit much of the country during July disrupted manufacturing activities and transportation.

In addition， slowing market demand and weak investment sentiment in the private sector contributed to the contraction in the manufacturing sector， he added.

The sub-index measuring production stood at 52.1， 0.4 percentage points lower than a month ago.

The sub-index for new orders settled at 50.4， 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month， declining for the fourth month in a row.

While the manufacturing sector slowed， the service sector expanded faster in July.

NBS data showed that the index for services grew 0.2 percentage points to 53.9， its highest level this year.

Mutually Beneficial

Solar panels installed on farmland in Leqing， east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Electricity generated will go to the national grid in late August while crops are grown underneath the panels—a combination of power generation and farming.

China-Britain FTA

China is willing to take on an open attitude as it works with the British Government to conduct a feasibility study for a bilateral free trade agreement （FTA）， the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said on August 2.

Shen Danyang， a spokesman for the ministry， said that as Britain is a major global economy， China will respect its wishes if it wants to launch FTA talks.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said recently that his country has already started preparing for the launch of FTA talks with China.

Trade in goods between China and the EU amounted to $564.85 billion in 2015， while that between China and Britain reached $78.54 billion， data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed.

China and the EU have already started negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty， which is expected to give easier market access to EU companies looking to enter the Chinese market. Both sides wish to conclude talks by the end of this year.

China has already signed an FTA with two non-EU members—Iceland and Switzerland. China and Norway are in talks to reach a free trade deal as well.

Because China has not signed a single deal with an EU member， the British Government is currently studying the details of the ChinaNew Zealand FTA， as well as considering which Chinese products would have a large impact on Britains national security， according to information posted on the China FTA Network， a website administered by MOFCOM.

Tourism Boom

The tourism industry raked in 2.25 trillion yuan （$346 billion） in revenue in the first half of the year， up 12.4 percent year on year， official statistics showed on August 1.

Domestic tourists made 2.24 billion trips in the same period， an increase of 10.5 percent from a year ago. Inbound and outbound trips edged up 4.1 percent year on year to 127 million， the China National Tourism Administration （NTA） said.

Tourism has become a strong engine for economic growth. The sector contributed 10.8 percent to the countrys GDP last year and created a job increase of 10.2 percent， according to NTA data.

Chinas spending in the tourism sector is likely to triple by 2020 to 3 trillion yuan （$450 billion）， said NTA head Li Jinzao during the First World Conference on Tourism for Development in May.

China invested more than 1 trillion yuan （$150 billion） in the tourism sector last year， an increase of 42 percent from one year before， according to Li.

New Regulation

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has ceased sales of medicines on its Tmall platform as the government tightens control over the nascent e-pharmacy industry.

Tmall， the business-to-consum-er site of Alibaba， said in a statement that it will “adjust its business model based on new regulatory requirements in order to provide better service to customers.”

The change in regulation， effective on August 1， put an end to the experiment in selling pharmaceutical products directly to consumers via online third-party platforms. The ban also applies to other websites such as Yhd.com.

Bank Listed

The yuan-denominated A-share market saw the first initial public offering of a regional commercial bank on August 2—the Bank of Jiangsu. It was the first of such to occur in China since the global financial crisis in 2008.

It is also the first listing of bank shares in six years.

Some of the banks 1.1 billion shares became tradable on the Shanghai Stock Exchange， bringing in an expansion of more than 7 billion yuan （$1.05 billion） to its capital base， according to the banks prospectus.

The stock， opening at 6.27 yuan（$0.95）， was off to a 44-percent surge to finish at 9.03 yuan （$1.36）， during which trading was temporarily halted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Founded in 2007， the Bank of Jiangsu had total assets worth 1.29 trillion yuan （$194.6 billion） after three years of cumulative growth of 70 percent by the end of last year， making it the countrys third-largest municipal commercial bank.

Regional banks have been vying to go public in recent years as they seek to raise funds to improve their capital adequacy ratios and reach the required supplementary capital level due to rising bad loans.

Auto Show

Visitors look at cars on display at the 19th Harbin International Auto Show， which kicked off in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， on August 1.

A total of 466 domestic and foreign automakers showcased their latest car models and technologies at the event.

E-commerce Education

Online-to-offline （O2O） giant Meituan & Dazhongdianping has announced a plan to set up a college to train e-commerce personnel. The college， named Internet Plus University （IPU）， is the first of its kind in the e-commerce sector to focus on developing business models， technology and skills to promote Chinas Internet Plus strategy.

It will integrate the companys training departments to establish several schools to train internal staff and business partners on upgrading e-commerce， the company said on July 30.

E-commerce platforms should not only focus on marketing and transactions， but also expand to other upstream services， according to Wang Xing， CEO of the company， noting that the essence of the Internet Plus strategy is focused on improving efficiency and reducing costs across all sectors by integrating the Internet with more industries.

Formed by the merger of group-buying platform Meituan. com and review service Dianping. com in October 2015， Meituan & Dazhongdianping offers a range of O2O services， from food delivery to movie ticket sales.

Setting Out

Ships sail off to fish in Zhoushan， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on August 1， after a two-month fishing ban in parts of the East China Sea ends.

Urbanization Trend

Sponsored by the China Center for Urban Development， the China Smart City Annual Forum 2016 was held in Beijing on July 29， based on the theme of innovation， coordination， openness， ecological awareness and sharing.

Rapid progress has been made in urbanization， and the urban population is expected to rise from the current 760 million to 900 million as of 2030， said Li Tie， Director General of the China Wisdom Cities Industry Alliance. He believes that urban construction will generate huge demand， and that the development of smart cities will encompass urbanization efforts， the Internet and the Internet of Things.

Lis view was echoed by Zhang Wang， Deputy Director of the Internationalization Development Department of the Office of the Cyberspace Administration of China. Besides meeting peoples demand， Zhang suggested that the development of smart cities should be driven by both advanced technology and innovative mechanisms. He also said that different methods should be applied to different cities， and a high level of attention needs to be paid to cybersecurity.

According to statistics from the Blue Book of Cities in China， during the 12th Five-Year Plan （2011-15） period， the urbanization rate in China went up by 5 percentage points and reached 56.1 percent. By the end of 2015， there had been over 500 smart city pilots in China， creating 248 billion yuan （$37.41 billion） of investment in information technology.