WHITE DESERT: Tourists riding on camels enjoy the snow-covered landscape in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, on November 30. Dunhuang welcomed its first snow of the year on that day (ZHANG XIAOLIANG)

Easier E-Banking

China's electronic banking service is required to provide easier access for the disabled, according to a set of guidelines co-issued by China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF) and China Banking Association on December 1.

The guidelines instructed banks to promote accessibility primarily for three kinds of disabled people using e-banking services such as phone and online banking.

For visually impaired users, e-banking should provide a specially designed shortcut touch menu, active ID recognition and easy verification codes.

For deaf customers, the primary concern will be offering multiple visual facilities and instant short message services.

For the physically disabled, the bank will establish a long-distance self-service system allowing them to open accounts from home, which traditionally requires a physical presence at the bank.

The guidelines come as a holiday gift for the 85 million disabled people in China, allowing them to avail themselves of the convenience of technology just ahead of the International Day of Disabled Persons observed on December 3 annually, said Lu Shiming, Vice Chairman of the CDPF.

Traffic Website

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) kicked off the first nationwide traffic management website on December 2, according to a ministry announcement.

Coinciding with the country's annual Traffic Safety Day that falls on December 2, the website www.122.cn will provide real-time traffic data to the public, especially useful for private car owners.

The website will base its data on the information collected and reported by the nation's 270,000 traffic policemen and video surveillance records to ensure traffic safety.

The public can instantly consult with traffic police online and learn about traffic control, said the head of the Traffic Bureau of the MPS.

The traffic department will make policy and enforcement adjustments in line with the suggestions submitted online, he said.

The website will also play a role in road safety education, giving traffic knowledge lectures and safe travel tips to the public.

There was no national official traffic information inquiry website in the past. Previously, the only option was to log onto local websites or go to the city's transport administration to inquire about records, causing inconvenience for the public and creating loopholes for information tampering.