He said that from a long-term perspective, populat
ion determines economic growth. Even though it will take some time, the large number of people i
Air tickets, homestays sold out for May Day holiday
A travel rush is expected for the upcoming May Day holiday, a
s air tickets and high-speed railway tickets on multiple routes were sold out, while ho
mestay hotels at destinations including Beijing and Shanghai were fully booked.
While only one week away, the May Day holiday this year is extended to fo
ur days – one day more than last year – and will see a travel craze comparable to that ty
pically seen during China’s Spring Festival, a traditional holiday for family reunion.
According to Qunar, one of China’s largest online travel agencies, quite a few people chose to take a few days off before or af
ter the May 1 to 4 holiday, so that they can enjoy a journey lasting upwards to nine days.
The travel rush is expected to come as early as April 27, and will reach a climax on April 29 and 30.
A PLA Navy carrier battle group sails in formation. en active in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy has been active in pr
oviding security products for the international community since its founding, Qiu said.
The navy has paid over 100 visits to 94 countries and 138 ports, and has held more th
an 60 joint military drills with foreign navies over the 70 years, according to Qiu.
Since 2008, the navy has sent 32 escort fleets, 103 vessels, 69 helicopters and more than 27,000 officers and soldiers to escor
t over 6,600 vessels, more than a half of which were foreign merchant ships, he added.
Since 2010, the naval hospital ship Peace Ark has traveled to 43 countries and regions and provided free medical servi
ces to over 230,000 people, Qiu said.Under the current IPO system, new shares are subject to approval from t
Politburo upbeat on economic datag Motors on the assem
China’s economy grew better than expected in the first quarter and market confidence was raised in
an outstanding way, according to a statement from a meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping on Friday.
During the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central
Committee, members analyzed the current economic situation and made plans for economic work.
In the first quarter, government departments pushed forward high-quality growth, deepene
d supply-side structural reform and carried out positive fiscal policy and stable monetary policy, the statement said. Main mac
roeconomic figures were in proper range, and reform and opening-up was pushed forward continuously, it said.
The statement said lots of difficulties and problems remain in economic development, with m
ore tension in the external economic environment and downward pressure on the domestic economy. Government departments shou
ld remain steadfast and be brave in overcoming difficulties in economic development, it said.
The meeting highlighted the importance of implementi
ting the spirit of December’s Central Economic Work Conference.
Macro policies should be stable, micro policies should be flexible and social policies should guarantee the basic needs of the grassroots
people, the statement said. Macro policies should focus on promoting high-quality growth and stimulating market vitality.
The importance of manufacturing’s high-quality development in stabilizing economic growt
h was stressed. Traditional industries should be guided to upgrade, and new industries should grow stronger.
The development of small and medium-sized companies and private businesses should be supported through measures like s
peeding up the supply-side structural reform of finance and providing better loan services, the stat
ement said. It also reaffirmed that houses should be used for living rather than for profit.
Reform should be further deepened and opening-up boosted, and forei
gn capital should have bigger access to the Chinese market. Poverty reduction is a key meas
ure of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, which must be achieved by the end of next y
Other revisions in the draft are made in light of new
progress of reforms and new developments of the capital market.
A draft amendment to the law was previously submitted to the top legislature for first reading
in April 2015, mainly to meet the legislative demand of reforming the IPO system toward a registration-based one.
The first draft also improved rules on developing a multi-layer capital market system, strengthen
ing investor protection, promoting securities industry innovations and enhancing regulation.
New revisions were submitted for a second reading in April 2017 to im
prove regulation on such areas as stock trading, acquisitions of listed firms, information disclo
sure and investor protection. The second draft also demanded the State Council to gradually advance the IPO sys
tem reform in accordance with authorization granted by the top legislature.
Chinese Navy to send huge fleet to take part in sea parade
Chinese Navy will send 32 warships and 39 aircraft to take part in a joint sea parade in waters near Qingdao.
Nearly 20 ships from about 10 countries will participate in the sea parade on Tuesday, deputy commander of the PLA Navy Qiu Yanpeng said.
A Singapore Navy frigate arrived on Friday in Qingdao, Shandong province, becoming the first for
eign warship to arrive ahead of a grand event to honor the 70th birthday of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
The PLA Navy will hold multinational naval activities in Qingdao and nearby waters from Mo
nday to Thursday to celebrate its founding anniversary. They will include a joint sea parade, high-level sy
mposiums, public tours of ships, military music performances and other cultural exchanges.
A press center opened on Wednesday in Qingdao for the upcoming multi
national naval activity.eputy commander of the PLA Navy, attends a press conference for the u
pcoming multinational naval activity to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy at t
All these questions need answers. The draft amendment
comes in time because, if passed, it will provide better regulations of the gene-editing activities over embryos.
Besides, the draft law did not list clearly the definition of gene-edited em
bryos. Technically speaking, if a fertilized egg is genetically edited and grows into an embr
yo, the total process should be considered gene-editing of embryo and put under the regulation of the law.
Zhang Dake, an associate researcher at Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
In the past, “health rights” mainly referred to the right to stay healthy and free from injuries. T
he draft amendment this time follows the latest progresses in genetic technologies by extending its defin
ition to cover genetic resources, and will be a guiding principle for relevant disputes in the future.
More importantly, the civil code is a guiding law for all laws in the ci
vil sector. If the draft amendment passes, more related laws, regulations as well as sta
ndards will be amended or drafted in the future, which is a major progress in legislation.
The situation is very much like the ceiling of a roo
m in which airborne particulate matter is present. The lower the ceilin
g is, the higher the density of pollutants which then mix with the cleaner air.
With a low mixing layer, Taihang mountain range to the west and the Yanshan mountai
n range to the north serve as walls that form a semi-closed “room” in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.
The high level of emissions is the major reason for air pollution in th
e greater Beijing area, and meteorological conditions also play a key role as an exte
rnal factor, said Xu Xiangde, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences.
Zhang Xiaoye, Xu’s colleague, said the “marked effect” of continuous pollutant accu
mulation on meteorological conditions could make overall pollution even worse.
“After the accumulation reaches a certain level, it will further wor
sen the meteorological conditions, which then will further affect air quality, causing explosive
Its partial loss is a terrible blow to a proud country
and to the world more widely,” said Macfarlane, the King’s College historian.
A woman identified only as Marie, who has lived in Paris for 20 years, said: “This is a monument b
