Graduate Turned Editor in Chief

(CFP)

Jiang Fangzhou, a 23-year-old college graduate and famous youth writer, was hired as associate editor in chief of New Weekly magazine after graduating from Tsinghua University. Jiang's appointment spurred public disputes on whether it's appropriate for a fresh graduate to be a leader of a magazine.

Born in October 1989, Jiang started writing at the age of 7 and has published nine pieces of work including several novels. At the age of 9, when her peers were just learning to write, Jiang published her first collection of essays. She began her first novel at 11 and became a columnist for newspapers and magazines at 12. She earned first prize in a writing competition for teenage writers in 2004 and became the first president of the China Teen Writers' Association in 2005. In 2008, Jiang was accepted into the prestigious Tsinghua University.

Quake Warning System

Chengdu in Sichuan Province has started constructing the country's first urban earthquake early warning system, local authorities announced on July 11.

The system is expected to provide the public with timely information so they can avoid danger before destructive seismic waves arrive, said Wang Dun, Director of the Institute of Care-Life, a Chengdu-based organization that studies earthquakes.

There is no exact timetable for the completion of the system. It will go into operation after all related rules, technology and conditions have matured.

Early warnings will be publicized through a variety of channels, including local television stations, mobile phone messages and the Internet. The information will also be provided to subway and high-speed railway authorities so that they can halt services in response to possible danger.

Fifty-seven early warning stations are scheduled to be completed within this year. Most of the facilities will be located on fault zones. The warning system will use radio waves to detect comparatively slower seismic waves before they reach urban areas.

Disability Access

The Central Government issued a new regulation on July 10 to improve accessibility for physically challenged people.

Parking lots, commercial centers, living quarters, transportation facilities and other public infrastructure facilities must be accessible to physically challenged people, according to a regulation posted on the Central Government's website.

The regulation, which goes into effect on August 1, encourages public venues to offer free services for the less-abled.

Official statistics show that China has 85 million people with some form of disability. Last year, the government issued a five-year blueprint for improving their lives.

Reducing Recidivism

Judicial authorities are planning to introduce personalized correctional services and evidence-based practices for offenders in an effort to help them return to society.

According to the Ministry of Justice, these practices will complement other methods of corrections and help offenders readjust to society after being released.

The ministry's statistics show that community corrections services have been provided to inmates in more than 98 percent of cities, with a total of 1.02 million inmates receiving community corrections.

Community corrections refers to a range of alternatives to incarceration and services for non-violent offenders that are designed to help them boost their employment potential and ability to function in society after being released.

Since the community corrections system was established by an amendment to China's Criminal Law in May 2011, the amount of offenders receiving the service has increased by 8,000 to 10,000 monthly on average, according to the ministry.

Subsidies for Tombs

A senior finance official announced on July 10 that the government will provide solid financial support nationwide for the protection of "martyr tombs," or places where revolutionary heroes are buried.

Special subsidies for the protection and maintenance of these tombs, as well as the management costs of related facilities, should be included in government budgets in the future, said Wang Baoan, Vice Minister of Finance, during a video conference held to discuss the initiative.

During the conference, civil affairs authorities also reaffirmed their goals of relocating 300,000 martyr tombs and renovating 2,000 cemeteries by the end of this year.

The Central Government has pledged to subsidize 5,000 yuan ($786) for each tomb and 200,000 yuan ($31,446.55) for each cemetery, while the rest will be covered by local authorities.

The protection project was launched in 2011 after a national survey revealed that 610,000 martyr tombs are not located in cemeteries. A total of 12,000 memorial facilities were found to be in poor condition.

The project is expected to be finished by October 1, 2014, with a mechanism to be put in place for management and protection, according to a previous statement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Online Video Regulation

Chinese Internet and broadcasting authorities have ordered intensified efforts to regulate online video content.

The State Internet Information Office and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) jointly issued a circular asking online video content providers to closely examine their videos before making them available for viewing, according to a statement from SARFT on July 9.

According to the circular, video content providers will be held responsible for the videos posted on their websites.

The circular also instructed relevant industry associations to step up self-disciplinary efforts regarding video content.

The statement said that the circular was issued upon requests from the public, as videos with vulgar or obscene content are believed to have had a negative impact on young people and the development of online video content providers.

Low Birth Rate

China had a birth rate of 4.79 infants per 1,000 people in 2011, with 16.04 million newborns, according to a report released on July 9 from the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

According to the report, the gender ratio among newborns, which is used to calculate gender imbalances, dropped for the third year to 117.78 male infants for every 100 females born in 2011. The number of married women of child-bearing age reached 277.69 million in 2011, an increase of 4.42 million over 2010.

The report said efforts have been made to improve family planning services for migrant workers, with more than 85 percent of the country's migrant population having access to free family planning services in 2011.

More Parking Spaces

Beijing is planning to add 110,000 parking lots downtown by the end of 2013 in a bid to accommodate its 5 million cars, the Beijing Morning Post reported on July 7.

The national capital has only 2.48 million parking spaces for 5 million vehicles, according to the 2011 Development Report for Chinese cities.

To encourage the building of parking spaces, Beijing offers a one-time sum of 2,000 yuan ($314) for each parking lot built in new residential quarters, the report said, citing the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport (BMCT).

By September this year, about 9,000 parking spaces will be built in 68 downtown residential communities, BMCT said in a notice posted on its website on July 4.

Authorities in Beijing have tried to put the brakes on the number of new vehicles in the city. In 2011, the city began to distribute car plates by a lottery system, limiting the number of new cars to 240,000 each year.