Job Bonanza

Job seekers interact with employers at a job fair during the 17th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on April 14.

The event attracted some 4，000 agencies and organizations from more than 50 countries and regions， as well as more than 40，000 government representatives， experts and top-level professionals.

Protecting Riverheads

China plans to invest 900 million yuan （$134 million） this year to protect Sanjiangyuan， the cradle of the Yangtze， Yellow and Lancang rivers in Qinghai Province in the northwest.

The fund is to be used for wildlife protection and ecological restoration of grasslands， lakes and glaciers in the area on the QinghaiTibet Plateau， said the Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission on April 15.

Between 2005 and 2018， China invested more than 18 billion yuan（$2.68 billion） in ecological protection in the region， one of the largest ecological investment projects over the past seven decades. The project covers 395，000 square km.

Li Xiaonan， Deputy Director of the commission and Director of the Administration Bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park， said the effort aimed to curb the deteriorating ecology and restore damaged ecological functions.

The program began in 2005 with 7.65 billion yuan （$1.14 billion） invested during the fi rst phase that lasted until 2013. The second phase started in 2014.

It has helped increase vegetation and expand water areas， sending more clean water downstream. With ecological improvements， herders can also spot more rare wildlife specimens， like snow leopards.

Sanjiangyuan has been suffering environmental deterioration since the 1970s due to climate change and human activity. The Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve was established in 2000， and the Sanjiangyuan National Park is scheduled to open in 2020.

Elderly Care

The State Council General Offi ce has released a regulation to improve elderly care services and meet the diverse needs of the aged.

The regulation， consisting of 28 measures， stresses the need to establish a supervision system for the services， deepen reform of public-funded institutions， and improve precise investment by the government.

It requires extending channels for investing and fi nancing， and expanding employment and entrepreneurship.

A system will be formed to recognize the skill of caregivers and provide them with more education and training opportunities， the document says.

The regulation asks all regions and departments involved to improve their related work systems. Enforcement of policies would be assessed by the government annually.

The regulation has made it clear that a long-term care and service system will be created while enabling public-funded institutions to play their due role， said Gao Xiaobing， Vice Minister of Civil Affairs， at a State Council news briefing on April 16.

In order to expand social capital in elderly care services， the document pledges to streamline the procedures for the establishment of elderly care institutions， he said.

The number of people in China aged 60 and above has reached 250 million.

Medicine Supply

The National Health Commission（NHC） will improve its mediation among different sectors to ensure suffi cient supply of essential medicines， said a senior health offi cial on April 16.

The NHC will try to monitor the market more closely， increase the supply of bulk drug substances and regulate pricing， said Zeng Yixin， NHC Vice Minister， at a press conference.

“Last year we saw shortages of some medicines， but only temporarily or regionally，” Zeng said. “The shortages were mostly caused by the structural imbalance between supply and demand， the monopoly of certain bulk drug substances or ineffi cient distribution.”

The health department will play a better role in coordinating among pharmaceutical fi rms， drug stores， hospitals and other regulatory agencies， he said.

In 2018， the government adopted a number of policies to ensure the supply of essential medicines， such as requiring pharmaceutical fi rms to report medicines they no longer produced and establishing a state catalogue for medicines in short supply.

Regulators also stepped up a crackdown on malpractice in the pharmaceutical market. In January， two pharmaceutical fi rms were fi ned 12.43 million yuan （$1.85 million） for monopolizing the supply of a bulk substance widely used in fl u medicines.

Ivory Seized

Customs seized 7.48 tons of smuggled ivory during an operation on March 30， the General Administration of Customs of China（GACC） said in a press release on April 15.

It is the largest seizure of smuggled elephant tusks by Chinese customs in recent years， the GACC said. An international ivory smuggling gang was busted during the operation.

So far this year， customs have seized 8.48 tons of ivory and ivory products and over 500 tons of endangered species in 182 smuggling cases involving 171 suspects， according to the press release.

Meanwhile， the police have strengthened efforts to crack down on the smuggling of endangered species. More than 200 items of smuggled ivory products and over 830 kg of other endangered species have been seized through border controls since 2018， said the Ministry of Public Security.

The police have also intensifi ed the hunt for fugitive smugglers overseas. So far this year， two fugitives involved in a high-profi le ivory smuggling case were arrested and repatriated from Nigeria， and in a separate case， another from Viet Nam was caught and repatriated after staying overseas for eight years.

In the past three years， the police have assisted customs authorities in capturing 18 fugitives suspected of smuggling elephant tusks and other endangered species， the ministry said.

China imposed a complete ban on ivory trade for commercial purposes on January 1， 2018， as part of its commitment to protecting wild animals.

Bright Eyes

A doctor cleans the eyes of a patient who had cataract surgery at a hospital in Hulun Buir City， north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on April 11. As part of the Bright Journey free cataract surgery program under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， 59 people from Mongolia and 73 from Chinas Inner Mongolia had the surgery in the city on April 9-11.

Dust Monitor

Beijing has set up a surveillance network to monitor coarse particles in 1，020 sites to reduce 6.5 tons of dust per square km every month throughout 2019， local authorities said on April 16.

With the surveillance network， the environmental protection authority can monitor dust density in the city around the clock， according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau.

Beijing has been making efforts to curb air pollution， including tightening supervision on car emissions， encouraging new-energy vehicles and shutting down polluting companies. Dust in Beijing comes mainly from construction， roads and barren land. Last year， the city reduced an average of 7.5 tons of dust per square km every month.

Online Authors

China had 8.62 million online authors as of 2018， a signifi cant increase from 4.8 million in 2015， according to a recent national conference on digital reading.

Among digital reading materials， original online works took up 79.8 percent last year， up from 69 percent three years ago， but Liu Shu， Vice President of Amazon China， said that e-book readers still love classic works.