AUCTION SEASON: A visitor looks at auction items during a preview of the 2013 Spring Auction of the International Auction Co. of China in Beijing on June 12 (LUO XIAOGUANG)

Tax Control

The government is likely to bring individuals under stricter control in accordance with a draft amendment on the Law on the Administration of Tax Collection, which calls for including all individuals in a compulsory taxation category.

In China, compulsory individual taxation currently targets people who run profitable businesses.

Once the amendment is adopted by the legislature, tax collection authorities will monitor all individuals, business people and otherwise, to see if they have been engaged in any activity that should be taxed.

Under the amendment, employers and banking institutions will be obliged to report the incomes of their employees to taxation departments, while people who fail to pay due taxes on time could have to pay a fine equal to 20 percent or less of the unpaid part of their income.

Cross-Straits Justice

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have made notable progress in joint law enforcement, said a mainland spokeswoman on June 9.

The two sides of the Taiwan Straits have together cracked more than 10,000 cases of phone fraud and arrested about 4,700 suspects since a cross-Straits agreement on judicial cooperation was signed in April, 2009, said Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference.

Police from both sides have also worked together in several big drug trafficking cases, leading to the seizure of about 1,720 kg of narcotics by mainland police over the past four years, according to Fan.

Under the judicial cooperation agreement, the mainland and Taiwan agreed to jointly crack down on severe crimes such as murder, smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and terrorist activities.

Peace Vessel

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy's Peace Ark medical vessel set off on June 10 for a Harmonious Mission to eight Asian countries and the Gulf of Aden.

The 103 doctors and nurses on board the vessel are able to perform more than 30 different types of surgery and treat 130 common diseases.

The vessel will take part in multi-national disaster relief and reduction drills as well as cross-border naval medical services. It will also provide medical services to foreign soldiers and officers on patrolling missions in the Gulf of Aden.

It is the third time that the Peace Ark will go on a Harmonious Mission. The previous missions were carried out in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Plant Conservation

Forty-eight botanical gardens in China have established an alliance to protect the country's indigenous plant species.

China has more than 200 botanical gardens nationwide but no mechanism to facilitate their coordination, said Chen Jin, president of the new alliance.

Only 66 percent of China's indigenous plant species and 34 percent of rare and endangered plant species are being conserved in China's botanical gardens, according to Chen.

The alliance aims to ensure the conservation of 80 percent of China's indigenous plant species and 70 percent of its rare and endangered plant species within five years.