Beijing's Waste Headache
Oriental Outlook
October 16
According to a report by local environmental protection authorities, Beijing generated more than 6 million tons of waste in 2013, the highest in the previous five years.
As Beijing's population grows rapidly, people in the city are throwing away more and more expensive items, such as household electrical appliances. In 2013, the weight of TV sets discarded by Beijingers reached 24,000 tons.
Currently, both private companies and environmental protection departments are involved in waste transportation and processing in Beijing.
Beijing built its first landfill in 1994, marking the start of modern waste disposal in the city. After 20 years, Beijing has entered the second and third stages of waste disposal according to international standards, with the former featuring burying and electricity generation through burning the waste and the latter focusing on resource regeneration and recycling.
Reducing the garbage storage, which has been increasing for many years, will be a big challenge for Beijing. More modern and larger disposal facilities will be built. However, such problems as the low classification rate of rubbish needs not only the government's efforts but residents' heightened awareness of the low-carbon lifestyle.
Pursuing Corruption Abroad
China Newsweek
September 29
A campaign code-named Fox Hunting was launched by the Ministry of Public Security on July 22 in an effort to bring justice to economic crime suspects who have fled overseas, indicating that China's anti-corruption efforts have extended their reach abroad.
According to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which was cited in a report of the People's Bank of China in June 2008, the number of corrupt officials who were on the run overseas was estimated between 16,000 to 18,000, and these people had taken assets worth 800 billion yuan ($131 billion) with them. The destinations for fled officials are mainly Canada, the United States, Australia, as well as some European and Southeast Asian countries. In particular, Canada and the United States are regarded as a safe haven by corrupt officials for being developed countries that haven't signed an extradition agreement with China.
The Economic Crime Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security was established in 1998, with hunting down economic crime suspects who have fled overseas being one its missions. However, as the mission also involve procuratorial organs, foreign affairs departments, banks, customs authorities and several other government agencies, it had been ineffectively executed due to poor coordination between the aforementioned parties. In the course of the Fox Hunting campaign, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China acts as a leader, which coordinates the efforts of concerned parties.
As extradition and repatriation both require complicated legal procedures, persuading suspects to come back on their own is a preferred option among the three main measures utilized during the campaign.
Care at Home Deserves Support
Xinhua Daily Telegraph
October 14
The capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, which has 1.2 million senior residents but only 43,000 certified nurse aides for the elderly, has taken an incentive approach to filling the gap. According to a new regulation, the government will pay grown-up children of five categories of senior citizens, including the disabled and half-disabled, up to 400 yuan ($65.32) a month for looking after their parents at home.
The Nanjing Municipal Government has rolled out the measure in order to solve the elderly care problem. At present, many people struggling with high living and working pressures have little time to take care of their parents. They would rather send senior family members to nursing homes, which are often high-priced and scarce in number, than look after them themselves. Many elderly people choose to live in a nursing home in spite of their dislike for such institutions, so that their children can be fully devoted to their work.
Nanjing's policy gives children extra income and reduces their financial burden of providing care for their parents, which benefits both children and the elderly.
Additionally, relevant government departments in Nanjing have pledged to establish a supervisory system to ensure that children who receive the pay fulfill their duties.
However, to meet elderly care challenge, such a measure alone is far from adequate. More innovative methods need to be tried. |