LOVE YOUR TEACHER: Students present cards to their teacher before Teachers' Day on September 10 in Gongye Beilu No.2 Elementary School in Jinan, Shandong Province (ZHU ZHENG)

Insurance Coverage

The public medical insurance system on the Chinese mainland now covers over 1.25 billion people, or about 93 percent of the mainland's total population.

"The Chinese mainland's rural cooperative medical system has provided 835 million people with health care, while another 421 million are covered by basic medical insurance systems for urban dwellers," said Zhang Zongjiu, Director of the Department of Medical Service Supervision of the Ministry of Health, on September 4.

In the first half of 2011, the Chinese Government spent more than 245 billion yuan ($38.4 billion) on health care, up 61.4 percent year-on-year, according to a report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, in late August.

Gov't Micro-blogs

More than 10,000 government departments and officials across China had opened micro-blog accounts by August 1, according a survey by People.com.cn, an online news portal run by the People's Daily.

The survey was based on the micro-blog services provided by Shenzhen-based Tencent, one of China's leading Twitter counterparts.

In April, Shanghai-based Fudan University said in a report that there were 2,400 micro-blog accounts run by authorities and officials.

The total number of micro-bloggers in China soared to 195 million by the end of June this year, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

Rotten Apple

Five environmental protection nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in China have issued a report, accusing some of Apple Computer's suppliers of creating severe levels of pollution and threatening public health.

The report, The Other Side of Apple 2, which is based on data collected during a seven-month investigation, alleges that 27 suspected Apple suppliers in several Chinese cities discharged toxic materials that were harmful to local communities and the environment.

In January, the same NGOs released a report claiming that instances of manufacturing pollution had been found at China-based contract manufacturers of Apple's popular iPad.

Apple has expressed its willingness to communicate with the NGOs about the pollution problem.

TV Service Expansion

Direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), a special satellite TV service, will replace wireless signals for about 200 million rural families in China by 2015.

According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, since April, a pilot project has progressed smoothly in the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions and Hebei Province.

About 200 million rural households currently receive only six or fewer channels with poor image quality. With the DBS service, rural families will enjoy high-quality programs on more than 25 TV channels, 17 radio programs, and receive radio warnings when there are emergencies, the administration said.

Helicopter Test

China's domestically developed civilian freight helicopter, the AC313, successfully climbed to a height of 8,000 meters, an altitude that will enable the helicopter to reach the country's high plateau regions.

The AC313, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corp. of China, reached its maximum altitude during a trial flight on September 2 at Gonghe Airport in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the company said.

The helicopter, with a maximum takeoff weight of 13.8 tons, can be used for transportation, forest fire prevention, emergency search and rescue missions, disaster relief and medical aid.