| Troubled Skater Returns
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(XINHUA) |
The Chinese short-track speed skater Wang Meng will finally return to the track after the lifting of a 13-month ban for a notorious brawl with a national short track team manager.
Wang was suspended from the national team and banned from domestic and international competitions last August for punching team leader Wang Chunlu during a scuffle after breaking the team curfew and coming back to the team base drunk. After being expelled, Wang returned to her hometown to practice with the provincial team, self-reflect and accept her punishment.
Wang became a household name in China after claiming four gold medals in the past two Winter Olympics. Her outspoken manner has caused trouble for the national team's management. Last year's debacle was not the first time she's been penalized. She was also kicked off the team in 2007 after a public conflict with head coach Li Yan.
The Ozone Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Program honored the Chinese Government for its contribution to ozone layer protection in an event marking this year's International Ozone Layer Protection Day on September 16.
Zhang Lijun, Chinese Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, said at the event that China has phased out more than 100,000 tons of ozone depleting substances (ODS) since 1991, an amount that accounted for around half the total disposed of by developing countries.
Since signing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1991, China has continued to improve its management over ODS and phase out ODS production and consumption, contributing greatly to global efforts in ozone layer protection, Zhang said.
He admitted that China will face an "extremely arduous" task in meeting the goal of the next phase of ODS elimination set by the protocol.
Ozone shields the Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.
China will accelerate the development of broadband Web access in a bid to shore up the country's economic and social development, according to a government statement released on September 18.
In the statement issued on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Vice Minister Liu Lihua said that China aims to have more than 250 million broadband users by the end of 2015, with Internet access speeds in urban and rural areas reaching 20 megabits and 4 megabits, respectively.
Broadband service coverage in China's rural areas is expected to hit 95 percent by 2015.
The MIIT will formulate more regulations to ensure fair competition in, and the smooth development of, the broadband industry, Liu said.
China had about 505 million Internet users by the end of 2011, and about 150 million of them are broadband users, according to data from the Internet Society of China.
The Chinese Government published the Regulation on Educational Inspections on September 17, aiming to improve quality and fairness in education.
The regulation, which is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, dictates procedures to be used during such inspections, as well as specifies qualifications and disciplinary measures for inspectors.
Inspections will focus on the management of faculty, safety and hygienic conditions, compulsory education and the fair distribution of education resources, the regulation states.
It also gives inspectors authorization to review the financial records of schools within their jurisdiction, as well as calls for additional access to other related documents.
Any failure to assist inspectors may result in disciplinary punishment for the heads of schools, says the regulation, adding that inspection reports should be made public.
An inter-ministry committee for education inspection has been established under the State Council, China's cabinet, to coordinate the initiative across the country.
A total of 509 babies suffering from a congenital metabolic disorder have received free medical help and formula powder under China's first program to help infants with the disease.
The infants suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU) are from less developed central and western regions.
According to statistics, as of June this year, 94 percent of grant-aided PKU infants have been kept in treatment and more than 90 percent are developing normally both physically and mentally.
PKU is a metabolic genetic disorder that can cause an excessive amount of phenylalanine in the body. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid and can be detected in urine.
If left untreated, heightened levels of phenylalanine can affect brain development, causing mental retardation, brain damage and seizures. However, the disorder can be treated with a diet low in the amino acid.
China successfully launched two more satellites into space for its domestic global navigation and positioning network at 3:10 a.m. Beijing time on September 19, the launch center said.
They were the 14th and 15th satellites of the Beidou system. The satellites, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, were boosted by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
China started to build up its own satellite navigation system to break its dependence on the U.S. Global Positioning System in 2000.
Between October 2000 and May 2003, the country set up a regional satellite navigation system after launching three Beidou geostationary satellites.
From April 2007 to April this year, China launched another 13 orbiters to form its Beidou-2 system, which will eventually consist of 35 satellites.
The network will provide satellite navigation, time and short message services for the Asia-Pacific region within 2012 and the world by 2020.
Some 339,700 Chinese went overseas for further study in 2011, leading the world in terms of students sent overseas with a proportion of 14 percent.
The Report on the Development of China's Overseas Study, issued on September 17 by the Social Sciences Academy Press, cites growing incomes, inadequate domestic education resources and favorable policies as the source of Chinese students' enthusiasm for studying abroad.
The report notes that a growing number of students from renowned high schools are choosing to skip China's college entrance exams to begin higher education overseas.
Figures show that 76,800 senior high school students began overseas studies in 2011.
Several countries, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and France, have tightened immigration standards, which has encouraged more Chinese studying abroad to return to their home country, the report said. | 
