Heroic Intern

Li Boya, a 20-year-old student at Railway Police College from Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province, risked his life in an attempt to save a suicidal man from being hit by a train while working as a summer intern at Changli Railway Station in Qinhuangdao, northern Hebei Province. On July 9, seconds before a train arrived, Li saw a man jump onto the tracks and ran to pull him to safety. Despite making an emergency stop, the train ran over Li, severing his right foot and his left leg below the knee.

Li is in stable condition at the Second Hospital of Qinhuangdao after undergoing surgery. Li's lower left leg was amputated and his right foot damaged. Doctors are hopeful the right leg can be saved and have his left foot transplanted to the right leg so he will only need one artificial leg in the future.

According to a report by The Beijing News, his mother, Yin Li, asked her son if he regretted what he did. Li responded he would still try to save others in similar circumstances.

The Beijing railway police authority has rewarded Li with 200,000 yuan ($31,700) for his heroic act and promised him a job when he finishes his studies in Zhengzhou.

Li has also won much admiration and public sympathy. There have been many offers of donations for medical expenses.

Police Honored

The Chinese police received a top award on July 17 from the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) for their "outstanding contributions" in combating forgery.

The "highest contribution award" for 2012 was given to the Economic Crime Investigation Department under the Ministry of Public Security by GACG President John Anderson at the awarding ceremony.

In the first five months of the year, Chinese police solved 15,000 forgery cases and apprehended 16,000 suspects during a crackdown, according to figures from the ministry.

From November 2010 to November 2011, a total of 44,000 cases related to IPR infringement and forgery were solved, involving assets of 24.15 billion yuan (about $3.79 billion).

Established in 2002, the award has been presented annually by the GACG to law enforcement organs around the world.

Greenhouse Gas Check

A monitoring system for greenhouse gas concentrations has been launched in north China's coal-rich Shanxi Province as local authorities hope to better deal with climate change by using first-hand emission data.

It is the first such monitoring system that has been built among provincial-level regions in the country.

Shanxi's coal output accounts for about one fourth of the country's total. It is a large energy-consuming province with high carbon emissions.

The system can monitor the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, oxynitride and particulate matter in the air and publish the data in a timely manner, said the Shanxi Provincial Meteorological Administration.

Construction of the monitoring system began in November last year, with an investment of 10.25 million yuan ($1.61 million) for its first phase.

It operates a central monitoring station and three sub-stations in the cities of Taiyuan, Datong and Linyi.

Software Campaign

A senior Chinese copyright official said on July 17 that foreign providers received equal treatment during a massive government procurement of licensed software.

From late 2010, Chinese central and provincial governments had spent more than 1 billion yuan ($156.96 million) on 158,823 operating system licenses, 506,693 copies of office software, plus anti-virus and other special-purpose software in a national anti-piracy campaign which ran till the end of June.

The campaign did not give preference to domestic software providers, said Yan Xiaohong, Deputy Director of the National Copyright Administration, adding that Chinese and foreign companies took similar shares in the project.

Yan said that with regards to operation systems, foreign companies have a notably larger market share, while Chinese domestic firms took about two thirds of the office applications but still earned less than their foreign counterparts due to lower pricing.

The gross income of China's software sector topped 1.8 trillion yuan ($282.52 billion) in 2011, accounting for about 15 percent of the global market.

Severe Penalties

About 14.21 percent of 1.05 million convicts in criminal cases last year received penalties more severe than five-year imprisonment, according to a report on the development of China's legal system released on July 17.

The number included the convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and death, said the annual report issued by the China Law Society. It did not give the exact number of people sentenced to death.

Last year, courts at all levels closed about 11.49 million cases, including 840,000 criminal ones.

Criminal cases related to food safety received a higher priority in court last year while corruption cases remained a top priority, the report said.

Vocational Training

China will strengthen vocational training for the disabled population and help them find jobs through a variety of rehabilitation programs, according to a joint notice issued on July 16.

The notice, issued by the China Disabled Persons' Federation and two ministries, requires relevant government agencies to subsidize training programs and offer free information and employment services for the disabled.

Local administrations are urged to formulate mid- and long-term as well as annual training plans for the disabled.

Official statistics show that China has 85 million people with some form of disability.

Outbound Travelers

The number of Chinese mainland residents going overseas reached 38.56 million in the first six months of the year, up 19.75 percent year on year, official statistics showed.

The number of exit and entry across the Chinese border reached 208 million in the six months, up 6 percent from the same period last year, according to a statement of the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security.

The numbers of mainland residents, Hong Kong and Macao and Taiwan citizens, and foreigners crossing the border during the period was about 76.7 million, 105 million and 26.78 million, respectively, the statement said.

The first five destinations reached by mainland residents are Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, it said.

Young Leaders Forum

The Africa-China Young Leaders Forum East African Chapter was established recently by East African delegates who attended the Second Africa-China Young Leaders Forum held on June 18-19 in Beijing.

The East African Chapter aims to enhance practical and mutual understanding in the progress of Africa-China exchanges, as well as cooperation in politics, peace, economy, trade, agriculture, culture, education, science and technology, natural resources, infrastructure, bilateral trade, and China's investment in Africa.

Delegates hope the chapter will help address the concerns and visions of young East Africans, and that it will emulate the East African Community framework.

Over 100 youth leaders from 38 African countries participated in the Second Africa-China Young Leaders Forum, which ended with the launch of the Beijing Declaration.