ART OF JADE: Visitors appreciate jade carving works competing for the 2013 Baihua Jade Award at an exhibition in Beijing on September 6. The award, launched in 1983, is the only national honor in China's jade carving industry (JIANG XIAOYING)

Cleaner Air

A government plan released on September 12 says that China will take a multi-faceted approach in tackling the country's air pollution.

The government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities nationwide by 2017.

PM 2.5, a key indicator of air pollution, should fall by about 25 percent from 2012 levels recorded in Beijing and surrounding provincial areas by 2017, according to the plan.

The plan also says that the Yangtze Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions in the south of China will see reductions of 20 and 15 percent respectively, from their 2012 levels over the same period.

The plan lists strategies to cut coal use, shut down major contributors to air pollution and promote cleaner production methods.

Carrying out the plan will require an injection of funds amounting to around 1.75 trillion yuan ($286 billion) according to estimates from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Medical Subsidies

The Chinese Government announced on September 11 a raise in medical insurance subsidies for rural residents.

The annual government grant for each participant in the New Rural Cooperative Medical Program will rise from 240 yuan ($39.22) to 280 yuan ($45.75), according to a statement by the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Under the program, the annual premium paid by individuals will be 70 yuan ($11.44), 20 yuan ($3.27) more than that in 2012.

China launched the rural insurance scheme in 2003 to ensure that the country's rural residents all have access to affordable medical treatment and to reduce poverty induced by medical fees.

The number of people covered by the program has increased from 80 million to more than 800 million, or 99 percent of the country's total rural population, the commission's figures showed.

Human Rights Forum

The Sixth Beijing Forum on Human Rights was held in the Chinese capital on September 12-13, with the theme being the building of a sustainable environment for human rights development.

The forum was co-organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies, the largest human rights academic group in China, and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development, a major civil group. It discussed ties between human rights and the rule of law, social development, as well as regional security.

The annual event was first held in 2008 and has grown to be a key platform for human rights exchange internationally.

Diaoyu Islands Patrol

A seven-ship fleet from the China Coastguard patrolled the Chinese territorial waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands on September 10, according to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

It marked the 59th Diaoyu Islands patrol by Chinese law-enforcement vessels since September 2012, when Japan announced a plan to "purchase" the islands.

Chinese ships have conducted regular patrols around the Diaoyu Islands and have circled the islands at a minimum distance of 0.28 nautical miles, the SOA said.