FREE DAY: The national flag flies on the Potala Palace during the celebration of the Serfs' Emancipation Day on March 28 in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (CHOGO)

Support for Xinjiang

The Central Government pledged greater support for the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in achieving prosperity and stability.

At a meeting on the development of Xinjiang held in Beijing on March 29 and 30, Vice Premier Li Keqiang called for collaboration between ministries, designated provinces and municipalities and Xinjiang's regional government to transform the region into a moderately affluent society within the next decade.

Xinjiang's development and stability are at a critical juncture, Li said, and national support for the region would be instrumental in its development and essential to its long-term peace and order.

Li said the government aimed to fully launch the support project in 2011 following a year of research, planning and personnel training, and planned to achieve remarkable results for major tasks within the next five years.

Transit Security Tightened

Beijing beefed up the city's subway security on March 30, while Shanghai's preparations for the World Expo meant thousands of police were already safeguarding the underground rail system, according to China's senior public security officers.

Fu Zhenghua, Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, confirmed that security in the capital city had been increased after the double suicide bombing in Moscow's subway system on March 29.

"The number of police patrols accompanied by sniffer dogs was increased at subway stations, where police would make more frequent inspections and cross-examine suspicious passengers," he said.

Song Youguo, Director of the Operation Center of the Rail Branch under the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, told Xinhua that Shanghai had a very tight security regime with 10,000 police monitoring the city's subway system, as well as 400 security staff, in preparation for the World Expo starting in May.

Funding Rural Schools

China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) on March 29 announced the allocation of 4.29 billion yuan ($629.4 million) to finance building maintenance for primary and high schools in China's central and western rural areas.

Local authorities should enhance their awareness of school building safety and adopt effective maintenance measures to ensure school structures are in good condition, the MOF said in a statement on its website.

China's less prosperous central and western regions comprise 18 provincial areas, including the provinces of Sichuan and Hubei, and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Mainland Students Welcomed

Approximately 2,000 Chinese mainland college students are expected to attend Taiwanese universities in September and study with local students in the same classes for a semester, an official with the China Senior College Exhibition Organization Committee (CSCEOC) said.

All 73 private universities in Taiwan would be open to applications from mainland students, and the credits they earn in the autumn term will be acceptable on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, said Shan Yangzhong, Director of the Shanghai branch of the CSCEOC.

In early March, CSCEOC signed a memorandum with the Taiwan Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology, allowing mainland college students to attend Taiwanese private universities. Both sides also reached agreement with regard to conducting teacher exchanges and academic cooperation.