AID FROM CHINA: A concrete pump vehicle with a 62-meter arm, which was donated by China's Sany Group, arrives at the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal on March 22, waiting to be transported to Japan to assist the work in the leaked nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture (CHEN FEI)

Smoking Ban

China will ban smoking in enclosed public locations starting May 1. The ban is part of the revised regulations on health management in public places.

Business owners of public places are required to set up obvious "Smoke Free" signs, carry out promotional activities about the harm of smoking and designate personnel to dissuade smoking.

The ban also stipulates smoking areas outdoors should not involve pedestrian walkways. Cigarette vending machines are not to be installed in public places.

Fines for offences, set in 1991 at anywhere between 20 yuan ($3) and 20,000 yuan ($3,000), have been increased to between 500 yuan ($76) and 30,000 yuan ($4,574).

Online Mapping Regulation

China has launched a nationwide crackdown on illegal online mapping services.

More than 1,000 violations had been recorded among the services since 2008, said sources with the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

Major violations include unauthorized disclosure of confidential information on maps and mistakes in drawing the country's border, especially on islands and coastal areas.

The bureau said on March 21 it had detected more than 14,000 websites providing mapping services.

China introduced a new licensing system for Internet mapping services in May 2010 and requires all existing providers to acquire license before the end of March.

State Compensation

On March 21, the Supreme People's Court, China's top judicial body, unveiled a regulation to facilitate the timely distribution of compensation to eligible claimants who had had their legitimate rights infringed upon by the state agencies.

Under the new regulation, which became effective on March 22, state agencies are obliged to prove the lawfulness of specific practices for which they have been asked to compensate claimants.

The latest move will further standardize trial procedures for state compensation cases, as well as better safeguard the rights of claimants.

Artificial Organs

Chinese scientists said on March 22 genetically modified pigs would be bred later this year to provide much-needed organs for transplants into humans.

Researchers with the Nanjing Medical University said organs from pigs were expected to be put on clinical trial within two to three years, depending on the type of organs concerned.

"We expect to take pig cornea and skin to clinical testing first, probably within two years. Major organs such as heart, kidney and liver could take up to five years," said Dai Yifan, lead researcher of the project.

There are about 1.5 million patients in China reportedly on waiting lists each year for transplant organs, but donors number only about 10,000.