Online Information Leaks

Resumes for job applications are believed to be the biggest source of Internet privacy invasions.

A survey of 300 people by 1010job.com, a city-based online human resources agent, revealed that 75 percent of the respondents complained that personal information from their resumes had landed in the hands of unauthorized companies.

Insurance companies lead the list of the most unwanted recipients of this information, followed by real estate agents and investment companies.

But the majority of the respondents (most of whom live in Shanghai) agreed that they did not mind if employment agencies or headhunters obtained the information.

Last year, lawmakers began drafting laws to protect personal information, including the possibility that employers who carelessly discard resumes might face legal action.

Lucrative Panda Droppings

A giant panda research base in southwest China's Sichuan Province has come up with a novel way to profit from panda dung-craft souvenirs out of it.

Researchers at the Chengdu center have sculpted photo frames, bookmarks and panda statues out of the 300 tons of droppings produced by 60 giant pandas each year.

Jing Shimin, spokesman of the base, proudly declared that the souvenirs would be relatively odor-free. "They don't smell too bad because 70 percent of the dung is just remains of the bamboo that the pandas are unable to digest."

"We used to spend at least 6,000 yuan a month to get rid of the droppings but now they can prove lucrative as half of them will be sold as souvenirs," he said.

According to Jing, the panda dung is carefully selected then smashed, dried and sterilized at a temperature of 300 degrees Celsius to provide clean raw material for the manufacturers.

Health Collaboration

Joint Commission International (JCI) on July 31 announced a cooperative agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Health to improve the safety and quality of patient care through a series of initiatives in Chinese hospitals, clinics, laboratories and other health care settings.

This public-private partnership brings the expertise of JCI to the world's most populous nation. In addition to developing specific recommendations with the Chinese Ministry of Health to better improve the safety and quality of health services, JCI will create strategies to further strengthen additional areas including qualifications and training of hospital staff.

The partnership will also feature collaboration with medical facilities, research institutes and nongovernmental organizations to establish standard-based guidelines for blood safety, medication management and information management.

Training the Space Rescue Team

Xi'an Satellite Control Center, a major Chinese institution responsible for recovering satellites and spaceships, has started training its rescue and search teams for the third manned space mission, scheduled to be launched in 2008.

Yao Liang, head of the center's rescue and recovery team, said their work includes locating the space capsule that re-enters the earth's atmosphere, rescuing astronauts and transporting the capsule from the landing site to the control center.

Yao said initial training started after the Shenzhou 6 space mission in 2005 and dozens of workers are being trained for four hours per day.

He said the team had recruited more workers as there would be three astronauts on the next spacecraft. Two workers will be assigned to each astronaut.