FUN SPORT: Two participants dressed as the figures in The Croods run in the 2014 Beijing International Marathon on October 19. This year, 26,000 runners participated in the full-race marathon and the half marathon was open to 4,000 entrants (WANG ZHEN)

Wellbeing Pledge

Chinese leaders called for continued efforts to fight poverty on October 17, the country's first Poverty Relief Day.

In instructions given during a teleconference, President Xi Jinping asked authorities to mobilize all social forces to join the war against poverty as the most arduous task in building a well-off society is in the impoverished regions.

China should keep innovating and take differentiated and targeted steps to deliver more people from hunger, he said.

Although China lifted around 660 million people out of poverty from 1978 to 2010, some 82 million people remain in poverty in rural areas as of the end of 2013, according to official data.

Rural people with an annual net income per capita of 2,300 yuan ($375) or less are classified as poor under standards adopted in 2011.

Premier Li Keqiang stressed the task of relieving poverty has entered a new stage that requires deeper reforms and innovative mechanisms.

"We should bring together social support to crack the hard nut and win the war," he said.

Fund Management

China will reform state research fund management, delegating power to independent institutes in a bid to curb academic corruption and sharpen innovation, Xinhua News Agency reported on October 20.

The government will no longer be in direct charge of research projects. Instead, professional institutions will manage state funding in a transparent manner, according to a new rule that will be unveiled soon by the ministries of science and technology, and finance.

China already has such agencies, including the National Natural Science Foundation that was established in the 1980s, said Zhao Lu with the Ministry of Finance. He said more professional institutions will be set up.

"All the organizations should be professionally qualified for managing research projects. Meanwhile, an effective supervision mechanism is needed," Zhao added.

Academic corruption has been seen in China's universities and research institutes, where misuse of government funds is common.

According to the latest report, Li Ning, a leading scientist in transgene biology and a member of the elite Chinese Academy of Engineering, was arrested for suspected misuse of state funds in his research project on new transgene biological species.

He was among seven professors from five universities found obtaining over 25 million yuan ($4.09 million) of state funds by false means, according to the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Ebola Prevention

Health authorities and hospitals have been urged to fully prepare for potential Ebola cases, as the virus keeps spreading.

Hospitals designated to treat Ebola cases should secure supplies of apparatus, medicines, disinfectants and protective gear for necessary treatment as well as ambulances for patient transfers, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement on October 20.

Hospitals were urged to map out detailed work flows to guide medical workers as emergency responses to the virus, it said, stressing effective quarantine measures and safe disposals of medical wastes.

According to the commission, health institutes should have ample research facilities and materials for Ebola case analysis.

So far, no confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in China.