OVERSEAS DISPLAY: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan (first right) visits the booth of China North Industries Corp. during the Defense Exhibition and Conference 2013 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on February 18 (XINHUA)

Groundless Accusation

Chinese military authorities said on February 20 that the country's armed forces had never backed any hacking activities, denouncing the U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant's report as groundless both in facts and on a legal basis.

Chinese law forbids any activities disrupting Internet security and the Chinese Government sternly punishes all cybercrimes, said Geng Yansheng, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, at a briefing.

Mandiant on February 18 released a report, alleging that a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai was behind years of cyberattacks against U.S. companies.

Geng said that Mandiant's report was groundless in fact because the report came into the conclusion that the source of attack came from China only with the discovery that attacks were linked to IP addresses based in China.

Mining Halted

China's safety watchdog said on February 19 that it will suspend or shut down operations in more than 5,000 non-coal mines that do not meet safety standards in 2013.

The government will take steps to reduce the death toll of accidents in non-coal mines below 900 this year, according to a statement released by the State Administration of Work Safety.

The administration said that it will order mines to enhance safety measures, improve their emergency response mechanisms and build monitoring systems.

China's hundreds of thousands of non-coal mines, most of which are operated at a small scale with poor safety conditions, are major targets of work safety campaigns.

Overseas Adoptions

More than 3,000 Chinese mainland children were adopted by overseas parents in 2012, according to figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Citing adoption registration statistics, the ministry said on February 20 that a total of 24,635 Chinese mainland children were adopted in 2012.

Of the adoptees, 87 percent were adopted by people on the mainland, while the remaining 3,311 children were adopted by Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan residents, Chinese nationals living in foreign countries or foreigners.

The ministry added that around 74 percent of children adopted by overseas parents in 2012 were disabled or older children.