Troublemaking Referendum

Chinese Central Government has condemned Taiwan authority's declaration to hold a "referendum on UN membership in the name of Taiwan" on March 22 as a move to disturb peace in the region.

The decision of the Taiwan authority to hold the "referendum" is a significant step in its attempt to change the status quo that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one China and attain "de jure independence" of Taiwan, said the statement released by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council with an authorization.

It said any issues involving China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be decided by all 1.3 billion people of China, Taiwan compatriots included.

Safer Roads and Waterways

China is determined to have a better network of road and water transport and an emergency response system in place by 2010, in order to reduce the number of accidents.

The system is expected to help cut the death rate per 10,000 commercial vehicles by 40 percent and reduce the rate of major accidents per 10,000 vessels by 10 percent, compared to the figures for 2005, the Ministry of Communications said.

The measures will include improving highway design, setting up more injury-prevention facilities and keeping overloaded vehicles off the roads. Efforts will also be made to improve maritime rescue and salvage operations.

Living Subsidies Increase

China has increased the monthly minimum living allowance by 15 yuan ($2.1) per person in urban areas and by 10 yuan ($1.4) for rural residents, whose living costs are lower, since the beginning of 2008.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued a circular ordering much importance should be attached to the impact of consumer price increases of basic life necessities on poor families. The allowances should be delivered on time, it said.

The average monthly allowance in 2007 was 182.4 yuan ($25.3) in urban areas per person and 70 yuan ($9.7) in rural areas.

Victory for Press Freedom

Zhang Zhiguo, party head of Xifeng County in northeast Liaoning Province, has been ordered to resign for having police subpoena a Beijing-based reporter in retaliation for a story about the local justice system.

Reporter Zhu Wenna from Faren magazine published a story on January 1, in which she claimed that Xifeng officials were not following procedures in a court case against a businesswoman, who lost her gas station due to the construction of a market, and receive meager compensation. The report angered Zhang, who in turn dispatched local police to subpoena Zhu in Beijing.

The ensuing nationwide protest on the side of the reporter forced Xifeng police to withdraw the investigation against Zhu on January 9.

Better Manners in Beijing

Less littering, spitting and queue jumping is making Beijing a more pleasant place to live, according to a report by Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

Last year, the city's "civilization index," which provides a gauge of public behavior of Beijing residents, was 73.38 (out of 100), up 4.32 points on 2006 and 8.17 on 2005, according to Sha Lianxiang, a professor at Renmin University and head of the research team.

Between 2005 and 2007, the survey monitored 320 public places, and interviewed 10,000 locals and 1,000 foreign residents. Of the people observed at public locations, the number of litter bugs fell from 5.3 percent in 2006 to 2.8 percent last year, while incidents of spitting fell from 4.9 percent to 2.5 percent. Instances of not queuing at bus stops also fell from 15 to 5 percent.