Rescue at a Risk

A rescue squad heads to quake-hit Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area， southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， on August 12. They were sent to continue searching for survivors after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the area on August 8.

For Better Water

Chinas water quality is improving overall， the Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP） said on August 14. However， the progress is uneven， with some regions f niding it hard to meet the annual quality improvement targets.

In the f rist half of 2017， the proportion of monitored surface water reaching Grade III or above—meaning water which can be used for drinking—rose to 70 percent across the country， up 1.2 percentage points from the same period in 2016， according to MEP.

The ratio has surpassed the 68.3-percent target set for 2017.

The proportion of water deemed“inferior to Grade V，” the worst in Chinas water quality grading system and “too polluted for any purpose，” stood at 8.8 percent， down 1.7 percentage points from the same period in 2016.

The goal is to lower that to 8.4 percent this year， which means further efforts are needed.

Despite the general improvement， eight regions， including Hebei， Jilin and Fujian provinces， reported a drop in the proportion of highquality water， while fi ve regions， including Heilongjiang and Jiangxi provinces， reported a rise in the proportion of polluted water.

Decades of breakneck growth have left much of Chinas water seriously contaminated by factory waste and agricultural fertilizers， causing the government to step up efforts to address the widespread pollution.

In December 2016， China began to appoint “river chiefs” whose responsibilities include resource protection， pollution prevention and control， and ecological restoration. They are held accountable for any environmental damage in the bodies of water under their supervision.

Ponzi Crackdown

Four key members of Shanxinhui， a company suspected of organizing and leading a pyramid scheme， have been detained by police in south Chinas Hainan Province.

According to Hainan police on August 14， Shanxinhui allegedly manipulated people into taking part in the scheme and cheated them out of huge amounts of property under the guise of helping the poor.

Several suspects including Zhang Tianming， the mastermind， have been put under measures which may include being summoned by force， bail， residential surveillance， detention or arrest.