The Chinese mainland has returned all letters and parcels it has discovered postmarked with the phrase "Taiwan's entry into the United Nations" back to Taiwan, said Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Stamping the postmarks is part of a campaign ahead of a referendum initiated by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian on whether the island should try to join the UN under the name of Taiwan.

"Taiwan authorities preaching ‘Taiwan independence' through the postal services has infringed on our Taiwanese compatriots' freedom of communication," said Fan in Beijing.

The mainland discovered letters with such postmarks and returned them to Taiwan, and Taiwan authorities must shoulder the consequences, she said.

Nuclear Ambition

China will double its nuclear power capacity by 2020, said Kang Rixin, General Manager of the China National Nuclear Corp., at the recent World Energy Congress in Rome.

At present, China's nuclear power capacity accounts for 2 percent of its total installed capacity. By 2020, the percentage of nuclear power is expected to rise to 4 percent and the country's total installed capacity will hit 40 million kw.

China currently has 11 nuclear power generation units in operation, eight units under construction, and another eight units in the preparation stage.

According to Kang, China plans to invest a total of 400 billion yuan ($54.1 billion) in building the 16 nuclear units. "Banks in China are being active in investing in the projects and there will be no shortage of funds," he added.

Trickle-down Charity

At this November's annual donation campaign, first initiated by Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2005, staff from the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the General Office of the State Council, and other Central Government departments, donated 13 million yuan ($1.76 million) to help people in disaster-hit areas and poverty-stricken regions.

Both state leaders and ordinary personnel from these organs have actively taken part in the donation campaign, which has come to its third year.

Apart from money, daily necessities were also donated, including wool or cotton-padded clothes as well as quilts and mattresses in a bid to help those in need to have a warm winter.

Yawning Gender Imbalance

The number of males of marrying age in China is 18 million more than the number of females, due to a long period of severely uneven sex ratios at birth since the 1980s, according to the country's family planning authorities.

The sex ratio at birth in rural areas was 122.85:100, higher than the national average of 119.58:100, and higher than the international normal sex ratio of 103 to 107:100, according to Zhang Weiqing, Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission.

By 2020, it is forecast that the number of males aged between 20 and 45 will be 30 million more than females in China, he said at a conference in central Henan Province.

Rural families still have a preference for boys as agricultural production currently relies mainly on laborers, according to Zhang. China will continue to crack down on illegal prenatal sex selection and will try to help people discard traditional ideas of a preference for boys, the minister said.