BUILDING MEDIA BONDS: Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan (center) speaks at a forum on cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani media organizations in Beijing on July 14. The forum, jointly organized by the China International Publishing Group and the Embassy of Pakistan in China, was part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of Sino-Pakistani diplomatic relations (CIPG)

Tibet Investment

The Chinese Government plans to invest 138.4 billion yuan ($21.45 billion) in Tibet over the next five years.

The investment will primarily support 226 major construction projects in Tibet that will involve a total investment of 330.5 billion yuan ($51.24 billion), according to a statement issued on July 20 after a State Council meeting approved the plan.

The projects will cover construction of facilities for the region's public services, as well as infrastructure such as railways, highways, airports and hydropower plants.

The investment will also be used to promote the region's local industries and protect the environment, the statement said.

Terrorist Attack

Local police opened fire on a group of rioters after they attacked a police station in Hotan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sources with the Ministry of Public Security said on July 18.

According to ministry officials, rioters rushed into the police station, took hostages and set fire to the station. The police quickly converged on the scene and shot a number of rioters while freeing six hostages. A member of the armed police, a security guard and two hostages were killed during the disturbance.

The national counter-terrorism office of China has dispatched a working team to Xinjiang.

Disaster Warning

About 85 percent of China's rural areas are covered by a natural disaster warning system, the China Meteorological Administration said.

The system consists of 22,000 weather information stations and 437,000 weather messengers. Local meteorological authorities alert rural weather messengers through text messages and the Internet. The messengers then pass on the warnings to rural residents. Warnings are also issued through radio broadcasts and electronic displays.

Flood Control

China has allocated 3.8 billion yuan ($584.6 million) to reduce flood risks in mountainous areas through non-structural measures, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.

The fund was spent on strengthening flood forecasting, enhancing flood warning and emergency response systems across 1,100 counties nationwide.

The construction of most of these projects has already started, and the measures prevented casualties during the floods in Hunan, Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces that took place earlier this year, said the headquarters.

Free Insurance

More than 400,000 orphans and children from underprivileged families in China have been given free insurance to cover 12 critical illnesses, according to the China Children Insurance Foundation (CCIF), a charity that aims to extend insurance coverage to all China's vulnerable children.

In cooperation with the ministry, the foundation launched a joint program in 2009 to give all 712,000 orphans registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, under the age of 18, free medical insurance.

The 12 major illnesses covered include malignant tumors, illnesses requiring organ or stem cell transplants, acute kidney failure, aplastic anemia, acute hepatitis and infantile paralysis.