Dancing With Joy

Dancers perform at a ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County， south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on November 18.

Population Database

China has completed its national population information database， recording 1.399 billion entries， the Ministry of Public Security （MPS） said on November 21.

The database covers Chinas whole population， using citizens ID card numbers as the only reference for access， according to the MPS.

The database has been used extensively for administration of social welfare， such as pensions and medical insurance， for services including marriage registration and for tasks like student status management， according to the MPS.

The database can also share citizens identity information with local governments and other national data exchange systems to streamline administration， the MPS said.

Construction of the database was led by the MPS， in cooperation with the Ministry of Education， the Ministry of Civil Affairs， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， and the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Between them， the agencies ensured consistency and accuracy of the information whose authenticity was hard to verify in the past， as different government departments used to collect the data separately， the MPS said.

Organ Donations

A healthcare offi cial said on November 21 that 4，529 organ donations had taken place in China this year， a 30-percent increase year on year.

The counts for 2015 and 2016 were 2，766 and 4，080 respectively， according to Guo Yanhong， an offi cial with the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Guo disclosed the fi gures while addressing the launch of a campaign to promote donor registrations.

A previous survey found 94 percent of participants willing to register for organ donation， while 46 percent of those who said no were just “unable to access or complete the complicated registration.”

China banned the use of organs from executed prisoners in 2015 and made voluntary donation the only legitimate source.

Left-Behind Children

From November 2016 to midNovember this year， 760，000 previously unsupervised “left-behind children” in Chinas rural areas were placed in the custody of guardians， the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） said on Universal Childrens Day， which fell on November 20.endprint

Left-behind children are those whose parents have become migrant workers in towns or cities， leaving their children either unsupervised or in the care of relatives or neighbors.

Since the campaign to help leftbehind children began in November 2016， 16，000 such children who had dropped out of school have resumed their education， and 177，800 who were previously unregistered have been registered in national household records， according to the ministry.

A total of 90，822 parents were cautioned for not fulfi lling their duties， 282 parents were warned， detained or fi ned by police， 16 were given criminal penalties， and 17 were deprived of their guardianship rights by courts， said the ministry.

A national information management system on left-behind children was launched in October which shares data with information systems listing impoverished households， people with disabilities and those receiving a subsistence allowance. The new system now has data on 1.3 million children with disabilities and 110，000 children from impoverished families.

China currently has 9.02 million left-behind children， according to a census published in 2016 by the ministries of civil affairs， education and public security.

Convenience for Tourists

China plans to install or upgrade 64，000 toilets at tourist destinations from 2018 to 2020 in an effort to remove a major nuisance for travelers and develop domestic tourism.

The three-year project should be able to provide good， clean toilets that are reasonably distributed and effectively managed， according to an action plan released by the China National Tourism Administration（CNTA） on November 19.

The plan comes on the heels of a three-year “toilet revolution”launched in 2015， which saw over 20 billion yuan （$3 billion） invested in installing or renovating 68，000 toilets at tourist sites， exceeding the target of 57，000 toilets.

Li Jinzao， head of the CNTA， said the “toilet revolution” is imperative for upgrading tourism.

“Compared with the rapid growth of the tourism industry and peoples increasing demands for a better life， the development [of toilets] is unbalanced and inadequate. Another three-year program is urgently needed，” Li said.

For the coming three years， authorities aim to add 47，000 toilets and renovate 17，000， according to the plan.

Toilets at Chinas tourist sites have a bad reputation， with visitors often angered by insuffi cient toilets， unhygienic conditions and lack of sanitation workers.endprint

Better Water Quality

Major Chinese rivers and lakes continued to see improvements in water quality last year， as the government channeled more energy into environmental protection.

Some 73.4 percent of inland waters reached national quality standards in 2016， up from 70.8 percent in 2015 and 67.5 percent in 2014， fulfi lling the yearly target， the Ministry of Water Resources （MWR） said at a press conference on November 17.

The ratio is expected to surpass 80 percent by 2020.

The government has been stepping up measures to control water pollution， toughening the environmental protection law and introducing a “river chief” system. But MWR offi cial Chen Mingzhong said the task is still challenging in some regions and more efforts are needed.

Apart from water quality， China has also set minimum “red line”standards on water use volumes and effi ciency and implemented rigorous supervision.

Progress has been made. In 2016， the nations water consumption dropped to 604 billion cubic meters from 610 billion cubic meters the year before， and water consumption per 10，000 yuan （$1，500） of GDP fell 7.2 percent year on year.

Smart Court System

The court system intranet has been extended to 3，523 local courts and 9，277 tribunals across China， enabling all judicial offi cers to access the same information when doing legal work， according to an offi cial from the Supreme Peoples Court.

“Based on advanced technology， the smart court system enables us to manage all of our work online， make judicial process information open to the public in accordance with the law， and provide comprehensive intelligent services，” said Xu Jianfeng， Director of the courts Information Center， on November 17.

Chinas national database of legal documents， the biggest in the world， now includes information on 122 million legal cases， more than 6 million trial records and 240，000 items of judicial personnel data.

“We will also cultivate legal technology professionals to help build the smart court [system]， modernize the judicial system and boost judicial capacity in the future，” said Xu.

China included the building of a smart court system in the State Informatization Development Strategy issued in 2016， elevating it to the level of a national strategy.

Enjoying Senior Life

Senior citizens play instruments at an elderly care service center in Yubei District of Chongqing， southwest China， on November 17. Several elderly care service centers have been set up in the district to enrich senior citizens lives.endprint

Soccer Robots

Robots controlled by human players play football during the 19th China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on November 16. More than 3，000 exhibitors showed the latest achievements in science and technology at the fair.

Improving Health

The health of women and children in China has been improving， according to the latest statistics.

In 2016， the national infant mortality rate was 7.5 out of 1，000， 76.7 percent lower than that in 2000. Meanwhile， the percentage of hospital births stood at 99.7 percent last year， 36.9 percent higher than in 2000， said Li Li， a researcher at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The average life expectancy of women in China reached 79.4 years in 2016， according to offi cial fi gures.

“The health of women and infants is extremely important for the health of mankind， and China has made improvements in this regard in recent years，” said Peng Jiong， Deputy Representative with the United Nations Population Fund.

Stable Home Prices

Chinas property market remained stable in October with home prices falling or posting slower growth in major cities amid tough control policies， the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） said on November 18.

On a yearly basis， new residential housing prices saw slower growth in 13 of the 15 major cities considered the “hottest markets，” NBS data showed.

On a month-on-month basis， new residential housing prices fell in nine of the 15 cities.

Of the 70 large and mediumsized cities surveyed， home prices in 50 cities rose month on month， compared with 44 in September.

NBS statistician Liu Jianwei said that housing prices were generally stable in major cities， as control policies in different cities continued to take effect.

New residential housing prices in the nations fi rst-tier cities dropped 0.1 percent compared with a month earlier， while second-hand home prices remained fl at.

On a yearly basis， both new and second-hand home prices in fi rst-tier cities reported slower growth for the 13th consecutive month in October.

The data provide fresh evidence that Chinas property market boom is running out of steam as the government continues taking measures to squeeze asset bubbles.

Since late 2016， dozens of local governments have passed or expanded restrictions on home purchases and increased the minimum down payment required for a mortgage.endprint

Earlier data showed that real estate investment growth also slowed in the fi rst 10 months to 7.8 percent year on year， down from 8.1 percent in the fi rst three quarters.

Fast and Smart

Visitors experience driving using virtual reality devices at the 15th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou， capital of south Chinas Guangdong Province， on November 17. The annual event， which attracted many international car manufacturers， ran from November 17 to 26.

ODI Drop

Chinas non-fi nancial outbound direct investment （ODI） fell 40.9 percent year on year in the JanuaryOctober period， as authorities curbed irrational investment overseas， according to data published by the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） on November 16.

Chinese investors spent a total of $86.3 billion on 5，410 enterprises in 160 countries and regions during the period， according to the MOFCOM statement.

“Irrational outbound investment was further effectively contained，”the statement said， noting the slightly milder decrease in investment and better industrial structure compared with the January-September period， when ODI dropped 41.9 percent year on year.

Such investment in the fi rst 10 months mainly went to the leasing and commercial services， manufacturing， wholesale and retail， and information technology sectors.

No new projects were reported in property， sport and entertainment.

Chinas ODI has seen rapid growth in recent years. However， noting an “irrational tendency”in outbound investment， Chinese authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully since 2016.

Driverless Vehicles

Baidu plans to launch “small-scale production” of fully autonomous mini-buses next July， according to Robin Li， CEO of the Chinese tech giant.

Baidu also plans to launch selfdriving cars in cooperation with manufacturers JAC Motors and Beijing Automotive Industry Corp.， Li said during his companys annual technology conference.

By connecting with the Internet of Vehicles， driverless vehicles will analyze information on signals and roads to improve traffi c effi ciency. Artifi cial intelligence （AI） is also expected to bring better road safety for vehicles driven by people.

“The monitoring system developed by Baidu can monitor whether a driver is tired or not. If the driver is tired， the system will issue a warning and perk up the driver with a cheerful song，” Li said as he demonstrated the feature during the conference.endprint

Baidus self-driving vehicles project was launched in 2013， featuring technologies such as precise mapping and positioning and intelligent decision making.

Green on the Road

Drivers stand next to green energy buses in Bengbu， east Chinas Anhui Province， on November 20. So far， the city has introduced 783 such buses.

Manufacturing Upgrade

China wants its private sector to play a larger role in the nations pursuit of high-end manufacturing， according to a government guideline.

The guideline， jointly released by 16 government departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission， said measures will be introduced to break the barriers that hamper private investment.

Privately owned enterprises will be encouraged to participate in the construction of manufacturing innovation centers or establish national technological innovation centers on their own， said the guideline.

Meanwhile， the government will support privately owned enterprises to enter sectors like smart manufacturing and help improve Chinas basic industrial capacities.

The basic telecommunication sector will be open to private investment in order to push for faster and more affordable Internet connections， it said.

Authorities should continue to optimize the range of government investment and treat all investors equally， said the guideline. Also， they should further cut corporate burdens， improve public services and increase fi scal support for the private sector.

In terms of fi nancial support， the government will set up a national fi nancing guarantee fund， encourage fi nancial institutions to provide services for private manufacturers， and help private fi rms to receive direct fi nancing through a multilevel capital market.

China is pushing its industries to move toward the mid- and highend of global value chains. In the fi rst 10 months of this year， private fi xed-asset investment into the manufacturing sector rose 4.1 per- cent year on year.

The private sector contributes more than 60 percent of Chinas GDP growth and provides over 80 percent of jobs.

Resource Tax

China has formulated a draft law on resource taxation in a bid to conserve natural resources and protect the environment.

The draft law was released on November 20 by the Ministry of Finance （MOF） and the State Administration of Taxation for public comment.endprint

“In order to give better play to the role of taxation in supporting resource saving and environmental protection， we must speed up work on a resource tax law， improve the legal system and make it more methodical， stable and authoritative，”said MOF in a statement.

Nearly 800 billion yuan （$120 billion） was collected in resource tax from 1994 to 2016， at an annual average growth rate of 14.8 percent， with 95 billion yuan （$14.3 billion） collected in 2016， according to MOF data.

The draft law basically maintains the current resource tax framework and rates formulated in a reform to levy such tax on most resources based on price instead of quantity， said MOF.

China began experimenting with price-based resource tax on such products as crude oil， natural gas and coal in November 2011， and expanded the reform to most products in July 2016.

Local governments will be authorized to set specifi c tax rates within certain ranges， according to the statement.

MOF said conditions are not yet ripe for legislation on a water resource tax， noting that further pilot reform is needed to improve the tax system. The nation is not yet prepared for resource taxes to be levied on forests and grasslands.

Under the draft law， Chinese and foreign companies jointly exploiting crude oil and natural gas reserves will pay resource tax instead of royalties.

Speedy Payment

A man uses a self-service ticket machine at a metro station in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on November 20. The Shenzhen Metros Line 9 started allowing passengers to pay for tickets via WeChat or Alipay at its stations on that day. The new choice of payment method will soon become available on the citys other metro lines.endprint