JOYFUL FESTIVAL: Residents in Macao celebrate the Drunken Dragon Festival, a unique local tradition on the birthday of the Buddha observed on May 17 (ZHANG JINJIA)

Education Support

China on May 22 unveiled a plan to support universities in its less developed central and western regions.

The ministries of education and finance, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top planning agency, jointly issued the plan designed to train faculties and improve facilities of universities in central and west China before 2020.

Zhang Daliang, Director of the Higher Education Department under the Ministry of Education, said at a press conference that the weakness of these universities has hindered local higher education development.

The Central Government plans to inject 10 billion yuan ($1.62 billion) between 2012 and 2015 into 100 higher education institutions in central and west China where bachelor's degree programs are available, according to the official document.

Currently, the number of on-campus students studying for bachelor's degrees or junior college qualifications in central and west China account for 65.5 percent of the total nationwide.

Wildlife Survey

A wildlife field survey is under way in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, local forestry authorities said on May 20.

The four-year survey will focus on the distribution, habitats and populations of wildlife in Tibet, as well as habitat protection and wildlife breeding. It will create a database and enable a comprehensive evaluation of the region's wildlife resources.

Survey experts have divided the region into 19 geographical units consisting of all wildlife and their habitats, which include forests, grasslands, meadows, wetlands and deserts.

The survey is the second of its kind conducted in Tibet. The first one was conducted from 1998 to 2001.

Tibet has 795 species of vertebrates, of which 141 are under national- or regional-level protection.

State Compensation

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's highest procuratorial organ, on May 17 increased the compensation standard for individuals whose personal rights have been infringed upon by the state.

The new standard is set at 182.35 yuan ($29.7) per day, 9.7 yuan ($1.58) more than the 2012 standard, said a statement published by the procuratorate.

The adjustment of the standard was based on the increase in the average salary of state employees in 2012, which stood at 47,593 yuan ($7,753) last year.

According to the Law on State Compensation, where the personal rights of a citizen are infringed upon, the amount of money for compensation per day shall be calculated according to the average salary per day of the staff of the state in the preceding year.