Emission Control

Tougher environmental controls reduced the amount of pollution in China in the first half of this year, Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian said on November 18.

Emissions of chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, totaled 6.74 million tons in the January-June period, 2.48 percent less than over the same period of last year.

In terms of air pollution, sulfur dioxide emissions, mainly from coal use, were 12.13 million tons, dropping 3.96 percent from last yearÕs amount, Zhou said.

ÒThe dual reduction was achieved through continued pollution-control measures, as well as the closure of some outdated plants that consumed too much energy,Ó Zhou said.

Food Watch

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened its first overseas office in Beijing on November 19, in an effort to better regulate food that is imported into the United States.

The office will mainly be responsible for building a system of food and drug safety inspections in China, said Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Leavitt came to Beijing with FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to attend two workshops with their Chinese counterparts to address food safety issues.

According to Leavitt, the FDA will also open offices later in Guangzhou and Shanghai. Eight inspectors and senior technical experts on food, medicine and medical devices have been appointed to work in the three offices.

Image Conscious

The Sixth Asia Communication and Media Forum launched by the Asia Media Research Center was held at Communication University of China in Beijing on November 15 and 16.

This yearÕs topic was about image, which was divided into two forums-the National Image Forum and the City Image Forum. More than 200 scholars and professionals in varying media areas from 18 countries and regions attended the two-day forum, providing in-depth academic analysis on the way China as a nation and Beijing as a city are represented to the outside world.