HARSH COMPETITION: Job seekers inquire recruiters for information at a job fair in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on January 12. A total of 168 companies provided some 3,000 job vacancies at the job fair (XINHUA)

Family Planning

A senior official has said that China's family planning policy should be unswervingly adhered to.

The policy should be long-term and its primary goal is to maintain a low birthrate, said Wang Xia, Minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, at a national conference on January 14.

The authorities will expand pre-pregnancy check services to reach all county-level areas across the country and ensure migrants' equal access to related public services this year, according to Wang.

At present, such services are available in about 60 percent of county-level areas in the country, covering more than 80 percent of the target population.

Wang also pledged that efforts should be made to rectify the imbalance in gender ratio.

GHG Bulletin

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China in 2011 increased to their highest level since networked stations began collecting data in 1990, according to China's first Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

Released by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on January 14, the bulletin showed carbon dioxide levels measured at 392.2 parts per million at Waliguan Station in sparsely populated Qinghai Province in northwest China, the highest since the station began operating in 1990.

The figures, revealed in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province, were also slightly higher than the global averages in all GHG components including atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides.

The bulletin was based on data collected by seven atmospheric background stations established and operated by the CMA. Four of the stations have been listed in the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmosphere Watch Program directory.

The bulletin showed that the annual average GHG emissions observed by three regional stations set up in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Beijing and eastern Zhejiang Province were all higher than figures collected at the Waliguan Station.

Gun Crimes

Chinese police uncovered about 670 sites involved in the illegal production and distribution of guns last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Statistics released by the ministry on January 15 show that police authorities across the country investigated around 14,000 cases involving a range of illegalities in 2012, including the production, trade and possession of guns and explosives.

More than 20,000 people were apprehended for suspected involvement in weapon violations and some 360 criminal organizations were busted, the ministry said.

Cross-Straits Cable

A submarine communication cable directly linking the two sides of the Taiwan Straits opened on January 18.

The cable makes it much easier for people on the two sides of the straits to communicate and is another important achievement in developing the "three direct links" of cross-straits mail, trade, and air and shipping services, said Yang Yi, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

With a length of 270 km, the cable connects the city of Fuzhou in Fujian Province on the mainland and Taiwan's Tamsui.

According to Yang, several telecommunications operators on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have jointly invested in the project, which incorporates the most advanced transmission technologies.