Heroic Driver

(XINHUA)

Government officials have honored a bus driver who saved the lives of 24 passengers after being mortally wounded by a flying piece of metal.

Wu Bin, the 48-year-old driver, was traveling from east China's Jiangsu Province to Zhejiang Provine on May 29 when the accident occurred. He was struck in the chest by a large metal fragment that flew through the bus's windshield. Video from the bus showed Wu slowed the bus to a stop, turned on the hazard lights, put on the parking break, opened the door of the bus and asked passengers to evacuate. He died three days later.

Wu was honored with the title martyr by the Zhejiang Provincial Government and model worker by the Ministry of Transport. People took to the Internet to show their respect for Wu, praising his courage and urging authorities to investigate the accident and take care of Wu's family. Wu's family declined to accept donations that poured in after Wu's story was widely reported in China.

Sustainable Development

China released a report on sustainable development on June 1, ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20-22.

The report focuses on the efforts and progress China has made since 2001 in implementing sustainable development strategies. It also analyzes existing gaps and challenges, puts forward future strategic initiatives, and clarifies China's positions for the upcoming conference.

From 2000 to 2010, the number of Chinese people living below the poverty line decreased from 94.22 million to 26.88 million, with the poverty rate dropping from 10.2 percent to 2.8 percent, according to poverty relief standards that have since been revised.

Meanwhile, China has managed to raise energy efficiency year by year in major energy-consuming industries. Compared with 2005, the energy consumption per unit of industrial added-value had a cumulative decline of 26 percent by 2010.

While outlining China's progress in promoting sustainable development, the report also acknowledges a range of challenges ahead.

China's per-capita GDP ranks 100th in the world and there are still 122 million people living in poverty according to the updated standard.

Moreover, given the severe resources and environmental constraints on economic development, pronounced unevenness in development among regions, and weak scientific and technological innovation capacities, China still faces an arduous task of improving people's livelihood, the report says.

Flexible Pension System

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in a written statement posted on its website on June 6 that it is conducting research into a more flexible retirement and pension system to keep a balance between employment and an expected shortfall in retirement payments in China. But it did not clarify detailed plans.

In China most men retire at 60 and women at 55. Almost all employees in China, in both private and state-owned organizations, have an individual pension account, to which both employee and employer have to make a monthly contribution. The employee cannot withdraw any funds until he or she retires.

However, the country is facing a ballooning deficit in its retirement pension funds due to an aging population. For example, in line with the current contribution ratio, the pension funds only pay women about 40 percent of their working wage monthly for 15 years after retirement.

Transparent Charity

Volunteers, donors, Internet users and reporters were invited to visit the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) on June 6, and were briefed on the organization's recent work.

The move is one of the organization's efforts to boost transparency in the charity system and dispel public concerns over the possible misuse of donations.

Zhao Baige, Executive Vice President of the RCSC, said that the organization would set up a public supervision committee and invite credible public figures to participate in and supervise the organization's major charity projects.

An internal monitoring organ and an accountability mechanism would also be established to ensure that donations are used properly, Zhao said.

The RCSC came under fire last year after a woman calling herself Guo Meimei posted pictures on her micro-blog detailing her lavish lifestyle. She, falsely, claimed to be general manager of "Red Cross Commerce," a group that the RCSC said does not exist.

Mental Health

The Ministry of Health (MOH) plans to establish a treatment network for serious mental diseases that will cover at least 95 percent of counties and cities nationwide by 2015.

According to a draft guideline on the country's mental health work for 2012-15, released by MOH on June 6 for public feedback, China has 16 million people suffering from schizophrenia and other severe mental diseases, but services and treatment facilities for them are inadequate.

Serious mental illnesses mainly include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and mental retardation. People suffering from such disorders may find it difficult to control their behavior and may become a threat to others and public security, according to the ministry.

The guideline looks to ensure formal supervision of 70 percent of patients diagnosed with severe mental diseases while 60 percent are targeted to receive regular treatment by 2015.

In addition, the draft sets the goal to equip 90 percent of community health service centers with personnel specializing in mental illness treatment by 2015. Psychological crisis intervention teams will be set up in at least 90 percent of provincial-level regions and 60 percent of cities.

The guideline also urges mental consultation and education services for enterprises, elderly groups and other social organizations.

Asian Beach Games

Haiyang City in east China's Shandong Province will host the Third Asian Beach Games on June 16-22.

The games will feature 49 events in 13 sports, including beach soccer, cliff climbing, windsurfing, powered paragliding, beach volleyball and beach basketball.

Great Wall Survey

China's existing Great Wall, one of the country's signature relics, is 21,196.18 km long, according to the latest survey released by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) on June 5.

An archeological survey jointly conducted by the SACH and the former State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping since 2007 found that the Great Wall structures span the country's 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

A total of 43,721 heritage sites were identified nationwide during the survey, including stretches of the wall, defense works and passes, as well as other related Great Wall facilities and ruins.

This was the first time such a figure had been released, as a preliminary survey in 2008 only showed that the Great Wall structures built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) extended more than 8,850 km.

Construction of the first Great Wall dated back to the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) and, over subsequent centuries, walls were built by later dynasties in scattered, but strategic areas to fend off northern nomadic tribes. It was put on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's list of world heritage sites in 1987.