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This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
China has experienced an increase in cases of online data leaks in the past few years due to the development of the "cyber black market". That&`&s according to a report by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences&`& Institute of Information.
The report is entitled "The Annual Report on Development of Cyberspace Security in China". It says cases relating to information leaks have become more frequent since last year, including the high-profile case involving Gfan, China&`&s largest online platform for Android systems. In the case, data of the platform&`&s more than 23 million users, including their names, passwords and email addresses, were made public on the internet.
An estimated 560,000 people were engaged in the industry in the first six months of this year.
From June last year to June this year, economic losses resulting from text message spam, online scams and information leaks totaled 91 billion yuan, roughly 13 billion U.S. dollars.
Such losses were attributed to the cyber black market, a commercial chain where participants including hackers and network operators gain profits illegally. The industry is a growing multi-billion-US dollar economy.
Experts say the most effective way of addressing the problem is to pass legislation on protecting information and clarify governmental departments&`& obligation on law enforcement and supervision.
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Northeast China has seen a population loss of more than 1 million people in the last ten years. Among them, many are high income earners and well-educated who are seeking better jobs and lifestyles outside the region.
The National Development and Reform Commission released the information to counter earlier reports that northeast China was losing a population of one million people each year.
Northeast China refers to the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. It had long been one of China&`&s industrial heartlands. But in recent decades, northeast China is seeing a slower economic growth, which is a major concern of the regional governments.
Wage levels for college graduates are similarly uncompetitive due to a relatively poor economy. The average salary levels in the region are one of the lowest in the country.
The National Development and Reform Commission says many talents in the region have turned to companies elsewhere in China which offer better terms and conditions of employment.
But some commentators suggested that it is not all about money; and the system has long applied restrains to the development of individuals.
A low birth rate has also in contributed to the downward trend in the population growth in northeast China.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei said he heard mysterious knocks during his trip in space.
Yang recalled his experience in space during a recent interview with China Central Television. He said the unusual situation he was met with in space were non-causal knocks that appeared from time to time during his travel in the spaceship more than ten years ago.
He explained the noise often suddenly appeared without any rhyme or reason. "It neither came from outside nor inside the spaceship, but it sounded like someone was knocking on the spaceship, as if someone was using a wooden hammer to hit an iron bucket."
Those were Yang&`&s words when he was talking about how he was nervous at first, and how he moved close to the porthole to try to find out what the noise was. However, nothing out of the ordinary appeared on both the inside and outside of the spaceship.
After returning to earth, he told technicians about the noise, and tried to imitate it with some instruments so as to solve the mystery. But upon reflection, Yang has said he has never heard the exact noise again.
But the same noise was heard by astronauts onboard other spaceships including the Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 7 space crafts.
In October 2003, Yang returned to earth in his re-entry module after a 21-hour trip in space. After his trip, Yang became the world&`&s 241st human being to visit outer space.
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Public facilities across Beijing will soon have their own QR codes so that the public can access the "identity information" and interact with the city management.
From things like dustbins to street signs and even bus stop boards, all facilities in Beijing will have their own QR code displayed on them before 2018.
Currently, 50 streets including Beijing&`&s central thoroughfare, the Chang&`&an Avenue, have major public facilities with QR codes on them. When scanned, the code opens an information page on the smart device. The information tells people whom to contact to report any damage to public facilities or whoever is responsible for maintenance and repair.
People can also use the social-networking app WeChat to report any issues to the management or search for the nearest metro stations or public restrooms.
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China&`&s top economic planner has approved a plan to build an intercity railway network linking Beijing and neighboring city Tianjin as well as Hebei province.
The blueprint targets the year 2020 as its initial phase. The whole system consists of nine rail lines with a total length of 1,100 kilometers. The National Development and Reform Commission estimated the total investment to be 250 billion yuan. That&`&s roughly 36 billion U.S. dollars.
The network is a major infrastructure project of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integrated development plan.
Three major lines will connect Beijing, Tianjin and the capital of Hebei Province with high-speed trains traveling at up to 350 kilometers per hour. The commuting time between any pair of the three cities will be cut down to less than an hour.
Last year, China passed the Outline of Collaborative Development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province. The outline proposed removing some of Beijing&`&s noncapital functions to neighboring areas to control pollution and improve transport conditions.
Experts say the new railway network will greatly boost real estate development in the area.
The preparatory work of certain lines, including that from Beijing to Tangshan city, has already started.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That&`&s [email protected]. Now the news continues.
Plans are in the pipeline for an animated movie featuring the prehistoric Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China&`&s Sichuan Province.
The film, "The Golden Mask", tells the story of a golden mask found during the excavation of some mysterious ruins.
The movie features fantasy, adventure and also time travel. It is said to be produced and screened on 3D and IMAX screens and will be released in 2019.
With an investment of 20 million U.S. dollars, the movie has secured copyright certificates from China and the United States. The crew includes a director, an art designer and a composer from Hollywood.
A spokesperson said in a recent news release that the movie aims to spread the mysterious culture that surrounds Sanxingdui Ruins.
The ruins are located some 40 kilometers from Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan. They are believed to be remnants of the ancient Shu Kingdom that disappeared for unknown reasons some 3,000 years ago.
Sprawling over an area of 12 square kilometers, the ruins are listed among China&`&s top 10 archaeological findings of the 20th century, and are seen as representing the origins of ancient Chinese civilization.
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Gripping tiny slices of sheer rock and hoisting himself up 3,000 feet with only his strength, Adam Ondra quietly inched his way up one of the world&`&s most challenging rock walls and into the record books.
Ondra, a 23-year-old from the Czech Republic, took eight days to finish the free-climb up the Dawn Wall of the famed El Capitan in California&`&s Yosemite National Park.
Ondra&`&s recent accomplishment was the second-ever free assent of the wall.
Nearly two years ago, U.S. climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson were first to chart and conquer the route, a feat that took the pair 19 days.
Jorgeson said it&`&s like being a proud parent, in a way, because he feels honored that Ondra was drawn to the challenge. He said that is the point: To raise the bar so someone else can do the same thing and stand on your shoulders.
Unlike climbers who need more elaborate equipment, free-climbers use their strength and ability to grasp tiny cracks and lips in the granite rock with their fingertips and toes. They use ropes and harnesses only for safety to catch if they fall.
Throughout the climb, Ondra took to social media to post about the cold, soaking rain and the pain from the granite wearing down the skin on his fingers. He also celebrated victories.
He wrote on Instagram as he neared the top that it was hard to find the words to describe how he felt. One of his posts said that he had made it up the Wino Tower and had no more hard pitches to guard his way to the top. He said this made him feel that he could not ask for a better day.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
Stone helmets, armor and animal remains are among the latest archaeological finds at Emperor Qinshihuang&`&s mausoleum in Xi&`&an in northwest China.
The items have been found in the celebrated site, which is home to China&`&s iconic Terracotta Warriors.
During a recent excavation, archaeologists have found out about the mausoleum&`&s general structure, which was previously unknown.
A large number of new pits have been discovered. Among them, more than 400 were located within the mausoleum and dozens of small tombs were found near the site.
Experts believe the stone helmets and armor were not for wearing, but their real functions remained unknown. The finds also include several thousand pieces of animal remains and other animal-related objects, making it the largest number of animal-related discoveries ever found in a single site.
One of the most commonly seen animals unearthed at the site were horses. Horse images can be found on pottery and copper wares. Other animals include some very rare bird species and beasts.
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A total of 160 items originally received by public servants as business gifts went up for auction recently in central China&`&s Hubei Province.
The gift items were turned in by staff from almost 30 government organs, public institutions and state-owned enterprises in the past two years in Wuhan, the provincial capital.
China does not allow public servants to receive gifts. Those who take business gifts must hand them in and register them within one month. The auction was seen by many as showing the local government&`&s determination to fight corruption.
Jewelry, paintings, watches and electronic devices were among the items for the auction. The initial bidding price of all items totaled almost 600,000 yuan, roughly 86,000 U.S. dollars.
Around 200 people showed up at the event and almost the auctions were successful.
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This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan has hailed China&`&s ever-strengthening anti-tobacco efforts, saying she expects to see more progress in the right direction.
The World Health Organization director-general said "China has done well" tightening tobacco controls. She made the remarks on the sidelines of the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion which was held in Shanghai.
At least 16 Chinese cities have passed tobacco control rules. Shanghai, a leader of the campaign, is set to ban smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces and on public transport from March next year.
Chan believes China "is moving at the right direction, doing well, but needs to do more".
She encouraged mayors to introduce regulatory or fiscal measures, including increased taxes, a ban on tobacco advertisements on television and in the print media, as well as the cessation of tobacco sponsorship in sports events.
Chan said tobacco kills six million people every year. These are avoidable deaths. It&`&s a tragedy that people don&`&t prevent smoking from causing death and devastation on health.
During the four-day long conference, more than 100 mayors from cities across the globe pledged to integrate health in their key policies.
Meanwhile Chan has stressed that public health should be given priority in China&`&s development strategy.
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Acknowledging Zika is "here to stay", the United Nations health agency has lifted a 9-month-old emergency declaration and prepared for a longer-term response to the mosquito-borne virus that can result in severe neurological defects in newborns whose mothers were infected.
The World Health Organization was quick to note that the move does not mean the agency is downgrading the threat of the virus that has spread across Latin America, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Almost 30 countries have reported birth defects linked to Zika, with more than 2,100 cases of nervous-system malformations reported in Brazil alone.
The officials also emphasized that the now-lifted "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" was declared in February, when Zika clusters were appearing and a sharp increase in research was needed - with the looming Rio Olympics in mind.
The World Health Organization said the emergency measures had led the world to an "urgent and coordinated response". But the virus has continued to spread. The agency acknowledged "many aspects of the disease and associated consequences still remain to be understood, but this can best be done through sustained research.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Parents of children whose mouths were taped shut by a Russian teacher at a private school in Shanghai are demanding the tuition fees they paid be refunded.
K & H International School&`&s branch in Changning District earlier issued a statement apologizing for the incident on Nov 15. During the incident, the female teacher used double-sided adhesive tape to seal the mouths of a number of children who were being disruptive.
The district education department subsequently ordered the branch to cease all activities.
The school said that an apology had been issued to all parents, and the teacher involved had been dismissed.
In another development, a Spanish man who was working as an English language teacher at another training institute in Shanghai has been detained for drug trafficking offences.
The 28-year-old, identified only as Anthony, flew from Spain to China on Oct 14 with 277 grams of marijuana in his stomach, in 24 separate packages.
He later visited a hospital in the city&`&s downtown area, complaining of severe stomachache, after he was unable to excrete the drugs naturally.
Hospital officials alerted the police and the man was prepped for surgery, but he passed the drugs naturally later.
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Foreign residents are now entitled to borrow and return books without charge at any public library in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China&`&s Sichuan Province, the first such arrangement of its kind in the country.
From November, after passport registration, foreign residents can freely use the unified loan and return system, which links all 21 public libraries in Chengdu. They can also have free access to the libraries&`& remote digital resources.
The unified loan and return system in Chengdu was rolled out in 2014 and gives local residents free access to all public library resources at all branches.
It is the first time an entire public library system has covered foreign residents.
Previously, foreign residents could only return books to the library branch where the books were loaned out.
Deputy Chief Librarian in Chengdu, Xiao Ping, said the city has seen a growing number of foreigners in recent years; and as public libraries, they should provide services for all residents of the city, including foreign residents.
More than 14,000 foreigners were living in Chengdu as of October this year.
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Many seniors are trapped in the dilemma of staying with their family or receiving professional care, but now, a new solution means they can go to a day-care nursing home.
Seniors in Harbin, the capital of Northeast China&`&s Heilongjiang province, can take a shuttle bus to a day-care nursing home in the morning and commute back home in the evening to be with their family for the rest of the day. Just like others go to work, the nursing homes open every working day between 8 am and 5 pm.
The nursing homes provide professional care, along with fitness training, as well as calligraphy and music sessions specially designed for senior citizens.
There were almost 2 million seniors aged 60 or older in the city last year. Most seniors live at home, with less than 10 percent choose to go to a nursing home. Loneliness and a lack of care are the major problems facing the stay-at-home seniors.
Reports found that almost half of the people in the city who have retired parents support the idea of their parents going to a day-care nursing home.
The fees for the nursing homes vary according to the physical condition of senior applicants, but the costs generally stand at around 2,000 yuan, roughly 290 U.S. dollars a month.
An industry insider said the city still needs quite a number more of the nursing homes to meet the demand.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That&`&s [email protected]. Now the news continues.
A Spanish language learning program for Chinese speakers in Argentina has marked its 10th anniversary.
As an initiative of the University Language Center in the capital Buenos Aires, the program was established to promote closer cultural ties between the Argentine and Chinese people.
The Director General of the language center Roberto Villarruel told Chinese reporters that he saw the potential for the Spanish language to grow in China.
The director general said he visited China a decade ago and since then, the program has drawn Chinese students who have completed their university degrees in Argentina and have stayed on to work in the country.
He said he has learned about the new needs and demands of students in China, along with the expansion of ties between the two countries.
The center also helps to train staff working for top Chinese firms operating in Argentina, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and tech-giant Huawei.
Currently, 50 Chinese students are studying in the program. With an annual average enrollment of 70 to 80 students, the program has trained more than 1,000 students so far.
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China has published a collection of rare ancient medical books that were once thought lost in China until they were discovered overseas.
The collection incorporates 430 ancient traditional Chinese medical books into 400 volumes.
At the launch event recently, the editor-in-chief of the collection said that since the 1990&`&s, he and his team had traveled to many countries including Japan, Germany, France and Britain, to collect the books.
China has developed unique medicine theories and practices, and a great deal of books and works have been published on the subject, some of which ended up in other countries while others have been lost.
The publication is a milestone in traditional Chinese medicine study and has been welcomed by researchers in the field.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
It may have sounded like a great idea: Forget passwords, and instead lock your phone or computer with your fingerprint. It&`&s a convenient form of security - though it&`&s also perhaps not as safe as you might think.
In their rush to do away with problematic passwords, Apple, Microsoft and other tech companies are nudging consumers to use their own fingerprints, faces and eyes as digital keys. Smartphones and other devices increasingly feature scanners that can verify your identity via these "biometric" signatures in order to unlock a gadget, sign into web accounts and authorize electronic payments.
But there are drawbacks: Hackers can still steal your fingerprint - or its digital representation. Police may have broader legal powers to make you unlock your phone. And so-called "biometric" systems are so convenient they could lull users into a false sense of security.
A computer science professor at Michigan State University in the United States said people may expect too much from biometrics. Professor Anil Jain has helped police unlock a smartphone by using a digitally enhanced ink copy of the owner&`&s fingerprints. He said that no security systems are perfect.
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Toys that teach aren&`&t a new thing, but a growing number are calling for kids to build with blocks, circuits or everyday items before reaching for a tablet screen.
Play is how children learn about the world around them, whether it&`&s a toddler throwing a ball or teenagers playing video games. It&`&s about seeing how things work and what happens when they do something. And over the years, toys have become more high tech to keep screen-obsessed children engaged with such play.
But there&`&s growing worry among parents and educators that toys are moving too far in that direction. Educational toys that have a math and science leaning marketed under the umbrella of STEM - are now trying to get back to basics: less screen time, more hands-on activities.
Pramod Sharma, CEO of one such toy company, Osmo, said that when children use their hands, their outcomes are much higher, and it&`&s very different than if they&`&re just staring to screen watching TV.
With Osmo, children learn everything from spelling to coding not by touching a screen, but by snapping together magnetic blocks. A screen is still part of it; an image is beamed onto an iPad through its camera. But the idea is to have children learn first with their hands, and then see their creation move to the screen.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
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This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
The most advanced weather satellite ever built in the United States has rocketed into space, part of an 11-billion-dollar effort to revolutionize forecasting and save lives.
The new GOES-R spacecraft will track U.S. weather as never before including hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, volcanic ash clouds, wildfires, lightning storms, and even solar flares. Around 50 TV meteorologists from around the country converged on the launch site, along with 8,000 space program workers and guests.
Scientists said what is exciting is that they&`&re going to be getting more data, more often, much more detailed, and with higher resolution. They said that in the case of tornadoes, if people can have another 10 to 20 minutes, more lives will be saved.
The scientists associated with the project said that one should think superhero speed and accuracy for forecasting, like super high-definition TV versus black-and-white. For the American public, that will mean faster, more accurate weather forecasts and warnings. That also will mean more lives saved and better environmental intelligence for government officials responsible for hurricane and other evacuations.
Airline passengers also stand to benefit, as do rocket launch teams. Improved forecasting will help pilots avoid bad weather and help rocket scientists know when to call off a launch.
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While last month merely tied for the world&`&s third warmest October in history, 2016 is still on track to be the hottest year on record.
The United States&`& National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the globe averaged almost 15 degrees Celsius, which is 0.7 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th-century average but not as warm as Octobers in 2015 and 2014.
From May last year to August this year, Earth set monthly heat records for 16 straight months.
Scientists blame continued man-made climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, goosed by a now-gone El Nino. El Nino is the occasional natural warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide.
The first 10 months of this year have been the hottest to date, averaging 15 degrees Celsius. That beats 2015 by 0.1 degrees Celsius.
U.S. climate scientists said it is likely that this year will eclipse last year as the hottest year on record. If November and October are just average for the 21st century, it will set a new record. But the scientists said a weak La Nina, the cooling flip side of El Nino, provides a small possibility that this year will slip slightly behind last year.
Still, 2016, 2015 and 2014 will go down as the three hottest years on record. Records go back to 1880.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
China will start building research vessel Dayang Erhao, or Ocean No.2, and a support ship for manned submarine Jiaolong, both expected to be put into service in March 2019.
The China Ocean Mineral Resources Association has signed contracts with two ship manufacturers to begin construction on the research vessels with plans to finish the projects in around 28 months.
According to the association, the Ocean No.2 will have a displacement of 4,000 tonnes and measure 98 meters long and 17 meters wide.
It will contain more than 400 square meters of laboratory space and will be equipped with over 70 types of research devices.
Ocean No.2 will be capable of conducting scientific missions, including water and atmospheric research, deep-sea extreme environment detection, as well as observations on marine geology and ecology.
The new support ship, with a displacement of around 4,000 tonnes, is designed to provide support and maintenance to Jiaolong&`&s deep sea diving tasks.
At 90 meters long and 17 meters wide, the support ship will have different types of laboratories filling more than 300 square meters.
The support ship&`&s research system will be able to complete exploration tasks for Jiaolong&`&s diving activities as well as process and conduct on-site analysis of data and samples.
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The permanent shiplift at China&`&s Three Gorges Dam has started its round-the-clock operations after a first phase of two-month trial operation that ended recently.
The shiplift began trials in September and lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The round-the-clock trial will last until the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir falls to 145 meters. Tests for night operations were conducted a week earlier.
The shiplift was designed by a team of Chinese and German scientists, and is the largest and most sophisticated of its kind in the world.
It has been installed to complement the five-tier ship lock next to it, for the world&`&s largest hydropower project on the Yangtze River, China&`&s longest river. The trial operation will last for a year.
The vertical-hoisting elevator helps ships with a maximum displacement of 3,000 tonnes, to traverse the dam. The water level behind the dam is up to 113 meters higher than the downstream river.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
Almost every morning since their father&`&s stunning victory on Election Day, three of Donald Trump&`&s grown children walk through the Trump Tower lobby and board an elevator. But are Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric going to the campaign office on the fifth floor? Or are they going to their business offices on the 25th floor, or the president-elect&`&s penthouse on the 56th floor?
That uncertainty highlights the multiple roles the children play for their father. For the past year, the lines were constantly blurred between political campaign and business empire, raising questions about a possible conflict of interest between Trump&`&s White House and his sprawling business interests.
The children are poised to wield incredible influence over their father, even if they don&`&t follow him to Washington. Trump said consistently during the campaign that if he won, those children would stay in New York and run his business. But the three, plus Ivanka&`&s husband Jared Kushner, were all named to the transition team&`&s executive committee.
The U.S. Congress passed an anti-nepotism law in 1967 that prohibits the president from appointing a family member to work in the office or agency they oversee. The measure was passed as a reaction to President John F. Kennedy appointing his brother Robert as attorney general.
But the law does not appear to prevent the children from serving as unpaid advisers or providing informal counsel. Now they stand poised to be the most influential presidential children in decades.
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In what may be his last significant act as U.S. President Barack Obama&`&s surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy has released a report, calling for a major cultural shift in the way Americans view drug and alcohol addiction.
The report, entitled "Facing Addiction in America", details the toll addiction takes on the nation. Seventy-eight people die each day from an opioid overdose; and 20 million have a substance use disorder.
The report explains how brain science offers hope for recovery. While its findings have been reported elsewhere, including by other federal agencies, the report seeks to inspire action and sway public opinion in the style of the surgeon general&`&s landmark report on smoking.
With President-elect Donald Trump taking office, it&`&s uncertain whether access to addiction treatment will improve or deteriorate. Trump and the Republican-led Congress are pledging to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which made addiction treatment an essential health benefit.
Murthy said in an interview recently that he hasn&`&t spoken to Trump but looks forward to working with his administration to save lives with expanded access to treatment.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That&`&s [email protected]. Now the news continues.
A zoo in central California in the United States is showing off a new lion cub and asking visitors to choose his name.
Reporters got a glimpse of the 5-week-old cub recently at Fresno Chaffee Zoo as he rolled in his enclosure and napped on his mom, Kiki.
Kiki gave birth to three cubs on Oct. 11, but only the unnamed cub survived.
Voting on its name runs through Nov. 27, and the little lion will likely get his public viewing a month or so later.
Zoo staff have selected six Swahili names to choose from, namely Enzi, which means powerful, Kijani, meaning warrior, Asani, which means rebellious, Erevu, meaning clever, Mansa, meaning king, and Bwani which means gentleman.
Visitors can buy a token and place it in a box corresponding to the name they like best.
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This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
A clinical trial of a gene-editing technique on advanced lung cancer patients in China has aroused world attention in medical circles.
The potentially revolutionary CRISPR technique allows scientists to selectively edit genome parts and replace them with new DNA stretches, in the hope that certain diseases including cancer could be cured.
CRISPR is a collection of DNA sequences that direct a certain gene where to cut and paste. The gene can edit DNA, allowing the alteration of genetic patterns by genome modification.
The trial began in late October as a group of oncologists at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University started injecting genetically modified cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer.
The editing therapy treatment will last from eight to 13 weeks, while the whole trial could last more than a year.
Experts around the globe have been discussing the pros and cons of the groundbreaking medical technology.
Carl June, a clinical researcher in immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, told the journal Nature that the Chinese scientists' trial is "an exciting step forward".
The United States is also planning trials that would use CRISPR for cancer treatment. U.S. experts applauded the work of the Chinese scientists and hoped that China's research, as well as the healthy competition worldwide, could improve modern medical science and finally benefit patients.
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Renowned Chinese developer of hybrid rice Yuan Longping has set a new world record. A hybrid rice project headed by Yuan has achieved an annual yield of 22 tonnes per hectare of farmland.
According to authorities in south China's Guangdong Province, the amount of the double-cropping rice is equal to that produced over three seasons in the past, marking a big breakthrough.
An academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering told the Xinhua News Agency that this is the fifth generation of hybrid rice technology, and the quality of the rice is as good as Japan&`&s renowned Koshihikari rice.
Known as China's "father of hybrid rice", Yuan began theoretical research around 50 years ago and continued to set new records in the average yields of hybrid rice.
The Ministry of Agriculture officially launched a hybrid rice breeding program in 1996.
Around 65 percent of Chinese people depend on rice as a staple food.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
The International Space Station has gained three new residents, including the oldest and most experienced woman to orbit the world.
A bit of Mars also arrived, courtesy of a Frenchman who brought along a small piece of a Mars meteorite.
Launched from Kazakhstan, the Russian capsule docked at the 250-mile-high outpost and delivered a U.S. astronaut, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. They joined three men already on board, one American and two Russians.
This is the third space station mission for NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson who, at 56, is older than each of her crewmates.
She already holds the record for the most time spent in space for a woman, almost 400 days during her various missions. By the time she returns next spring, she should have broken the record for any American, man or woman.
A biochemist by training, Whitson will celebrate her 57th birthday in the orbiting lab in February. Until Thursday, no woman older than 55 had traveled into space.
November 20 marked the 18th anniversary of the launch of the first space station piece. Now the space station is as big as a football pitch, with a mass of 1 million pounds and eight miles of electrical wiring. Whitson and company represent its 50th full-time expedition crew.
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Scientists in the United States have hacked a plant&`&s genes to make it use sunlight more efficiently, a breakthrough that could eventually dramatically increase the amount of food grown.
Scientists say photosynthesis is how plants convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food. But it&`&s a very inefficient process, using less than 1 percent of the energy available.
By genetically modifying part of the plant&`&s protective system, which kicks into gear when too much sunlight beams down, scientists were able to increase leaf growth between 14 and 20 percent in experiments with tobacco plants. The study has been published in the journal Science.
Lead author the study Stephen Long said it won&`&t be too difficult to do it with other crops too; and if the technology is applied to crops around the world, it would increase the yield of many millions of tons of food.
Long said that&`&s still at least 15 years away, but this is the first time scientists have been able to do something like this.
An agriculture professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said the study makes sense, but cautioned the yield might not be quite so high for conventional food crops. But he added that still, the study remains a breakthrough.
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Shanghai will implement stricter tobacco control rules, banning smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces and public transport from March next year.
The Standing Committee of the Shanghai People&`&s Congress, the local legislature, has passed an amendment to existing smoking control regulations that took effect six years ago.
While the existing version allows designated areas for smokers in indoor areas of hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, as well as airports, trains and ports, the amendment closes such loopholes.
In addition, smoking will be prohibited outdoors at certain public venues visited by children, including schools, after-school education institutions and children&`&s hospitals. Outdoor auditoriums in stadiums are also subject to the ban.
China has 300 million smokers, with another 700 million exposed to second-hand smoke. Last year, more than 700,000 people in China were diagnosed with smoking-related lung cancer.
At least 16 Chinese cities, including Beijing, have passed their own tobacco control rules.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That&`&s [email protected]. Now the news continues.
The island nation of Kiribati has established a large shark sanctuary that will help ensure the creatures are protected across much of the central Pacific.
Vice President Kourabi Nenem said at the sanctuary&`&s launch ceremony that his country was committed to protecting sharks from exploitation and overfishing.
Kiribati has banned commercial shark fishing in the sanctuary which is about the size of India.
Palau established the first shark sanctuary in the region in 2009, followed by the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia and other countries.
One hundred million sharks are killed each year by commercial fisheries. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because they&`&re slow to mature and reproduce.
Sharks are prized by some for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup.
Ben Namakin, who was born in Kiribati and has pushed for the sanctuary, said he first began to consult elders and community groups with the idea four years ago. He said some people were resistant at first because Kiribati has a tradition of catching and eating sharks.
But he said the elders didn&`&t like the way commercial operators were fishing for the creatures and understood their plight more when they were told of their unusual biology.
Namakin said they came to realize that the shark sanctuary was important to protecting their culture.
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In a ghost town of dead coral off a remote Pacific island, scientists have found a bit more life.
In excursions a year ago and then last April, scientists examined the normally stunning coral reefs around the island of Kiritimati and pronounced it mostly a bone yard of dead coral. Around 85 percent of the coral was dead, 10 percent was sick and bleached but still technically alive, and only 5 percent was doing OK.
The same scientists returned this month and found that 6 to 7 percent of the coral is alive and not bleached.
Many of the fish that rely on the reef and had been absent seem to be back.
Hot water, mostly from El Nino, the natural occasional warming of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide, and man-made global warming had made the area one of the worst hit coral spots in the world. Later, nearby Jarvis Island was even more damaged. And the death of 85 percent of the coral of the better known and much larger Great Barrier Reef has been reported.
Scientists say that despite the mass mortality, there are a few small signs of hope, and it is clear that coral reefs have great resilience and the coral there is trying to recover.
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The skeleton of a dodo bird is about to take flight, at least at an auction in the U.K.
Summers Place Auctions is selling what it describes as a rare composite skeleton of a dodo bird, a creature once found on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
Sailors hunted the species into extinction in the 17th century and it has come to symbolize the harsh impact human beings can have on the world&`&s ecosystems. The bird&`&s name recognition was enhanced by Lewis Carroll, who included a dodo in "Alice&`&s Adventures in Wonderland".
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
The government of north China&`&s Shanxi Province has published a circular with details of more than 4,000 Great Wall sites in the region in an effort to enhance protection.
The circular includes the names, location, dates, and protection areas of the Great Wall sections, as well as areas where construction is strictly controlled. The sites are spread across 40 counties and districts in eight cities in the province.
Within the protected areas, no dismantling or reconstruction of the Great Wall is allowed. Construction projects and underground mining are also prohibited.
Within the construction control areas, construction projects should not affect the historical style of the Great Wall, and construction blueprints should be approved before projects begin.
The Great Wall was built between the third century B.C. and the Ming Dynasty that ended in 1644. With a total length of 9,000 kilometers, the existing sections of the Great Wall were mostly created during the Ming Dynasty some 400 years ago.
In 2006, a national regulation on Great Wall protection was released, but the sheer size of the structure has posed a challenge to enforcement. Less than 10 percent of the wall is considered well-preserved, while around 30 percent has disappeared.
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This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
The Ministry of Education is drafting a national English proficiency test and rating system.
The ministry says the draft of the rating system has been completed and will be officially released next year; and a detailed plan about the national tests will be carried out step by step before 2020.
The education department announced in 2014 that a better assessment system on foreign languages would be established. A series of reforms in English tests after that, including reform of the national college entrance exam, represented steps in that direction.
A vice-president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies said a unified evaluation system with consistent standards is needed in China to regulate current wide-ranging English teaching and testing approaches.
China now has 300 million English learners, and many different English tests.
But the syllabus is not consistent, and there&`&s no national standard to appraise the learners&`& performance against uniform benchmarks.
To solve the problem, the new system will connect with mature English teaching and evaluation systems around the world.
The system envisions assessment of English proficiency from a low to high level, with nine grades. Each grade has its own requirements for language skills, including listening, speaking, writing and translating.
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Chinese authorities have pledged to reform the income system for medical and healthcare workers as part of its efforts to provide citizens with better public services.
According to a guideline forwarded by the authorities, the reform aims to inspire medical workers to better perform their duties; and it will be conducted in line with the nature of the sector.
The guideline says a public-benefit-oriented evaluation system will be established for medical workers, and their income will see a proper rise.
Moreover, the current recruitment procedures for professional personnel and high-level staff will be streamlined. More high-level talent will be encouraged to work in local hospitals.
The guideline noted the achievements made in the reform of the medical and health sector in recent years. It says 80 percent of Chinese citizens are able to access medical services within 15 minutes, and Chinese citizens&`& average life expectancy has reached 76 years of age, up from 74 in 2010.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
A young Jack Ma look-alike has won the heart of the founder of Alibaba Group that is the real Jack Ma.
Fan Xiaoqin, or "mini Jack Ma", is 8 years old and lives in east China&`&s Jiangxi Province. Fan comes from a very poor family as his mother has polio; his father suffers from a missing leg and his grandma has Alzheimer&`&s disease.
"Mini Jack Ma" came to fame after a villager posted a video of him online last year. The internet exploded in remarks over how the two looked alike.
Once again, during this year&`&s Singles Day online shopping festival, "mini Jack Ma" won the hearts of internet users once again. They urged that Jack Ma should help Fan and his family.
The attention and buzz caught Ma&`&s attention. He has announced that he will financially support Fan until the time he graduates from university.
The Singles&`& Day is an entertaining festival widespread among young Chinese people to celebrate the fact that they are proud of being single. The date, November 11th, is chosen because the number "1" resembles an individual that is alone.
This festival has gradually become one of the largest online shopping events in the world. Sales in Alibaba&`&s sites Tmall and Taobao were valued at 14 billion U.S. dollars at last year&`&s festival event.
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This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
Chinese authorities could freeze assets and take other actions against foreign hackers threatening the country&`&s infrastructure under a revised draft of a new cyber security law.
The law has been submitted for its third and final reading by the Standing Committee of the National People&`&s Congress, China&`&s legislature.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the draft would allow police and other agencies to freeze assets and apply "other necessary punishment" against foreign hackers. It will also require expanded security measures for industries including public communications, energy and finance.
The Associated Press reports that Cyber security has been a top source of friction between China and the United States, with both saying they suffer hacking attacks originating from the other. Chinese officials have long characterized their country as the top victim of hacking and have called for expanded law enforcement powers and more stringent regulations on imported technological equipment.
If passed in its current form, the cyber security law could introduce new rules about how Chinese citizens&`& data is stored, as well as expand data access and censorship powers for law enforcement.
Foreign technology companies, particularly Silicon Valley giants with a stake in the Chinese market, worry that the rules have a secondary motive of protecting the domestic technology sector by discouraging Chinese buyers in both the private and public sectors from purchasing foreign products.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the commercial planting of two types of potatoes that are genetically engineered to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.
The approval covers Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Company&`&s Ranger Russet and Atlantic varieties of the company&`&s second generation of Innate potatoes.
The company says the potatoes will also have reduced bruising and black spot, enhanced storage capacity, and a reduced amount of a chemical created when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures which is a potential carcinogen.
A company spokesman says the company is very proud of the development.
The potatoes next must clear a voluntary review process through the Food and Drug Administration as well as get the OK from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The company says it expects those approvals in January with the potatoes entering the market next spring.
The two varieties join a third variety with the same traits called the Russet Burbank that has already attained approval from the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration, with the Environmental Protection Agency approval also expected in January.
The company said the potatoes contain only potato genes, and that the resistance to late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine, comes from an Argentinian variety of potato that naturally produced a defense.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
For the third time, the U.S. firm "Johnson & Johnson" has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
A St. Louis jury awarded 70 million U.S. dollars to Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2012. Giannecchini, who was then 59 years old, said she had used Johnson&`&s Baby Powder for more than 40 years to keep her genital area dry, as many women do. She blamed it for her cancer and accused "Johnson & Johnson" of negligence.
Two other jury trials in St. Louis reached similar outcomes earlier this year, awarding the plaintiffs 72 million and 55 million dollars respectively.
But in Johnson & Johnson&`&s home state of New Jersey, a judge recently threw out two other cases, ruling there wasn&`&t reliable evidence to prove talc causes ovarian cancer, a relatively rare disease.
"Johnson & Johnson" says its product is safe, and it is appealing all three losses. And investors don&`&t seem worried that Johnson & Johnson is in financial trouble, even though the company faces an estimated 2,000 similar lawsuits.
The next trial is set to start in January, also in St. Louis.
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This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
China&`&s plans for a permanent space station remain firmly on track with the successful launch of its new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket that will enable ambitious future missions, including a planned trip to Mars.
The Associated Press reports that the towering rocket that blasted off recently will be used to launch components for the Tiangong 2 space station and other massive payloads.
China launched the Tiangong 2 precursor facility in September and sent up two astronauts in mid-October to live aboard the space station for 30 days. The station&`&s 20-ton core module will be launched in 2018. The completed 60-ton station is set to come into full service in 2022 and last at least a decade.
The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace", stations are considered stepping stones to an unmanned mission to Mars by the end of the decade.
The Long March 5&`&s next mission will be lofting the robotic Chang&`&e 5 probe to the moon next year to land a rover before returning to Earth with samples.
The 57-meter-long two-stage rocket is China&`&s largest, capable of carrying 25 tons of payload into low-earth orbit and 14 tons to the more distant geostationary transfer orbits.
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Many nations have reached out to China, seeking to play a part in its future manned space station.
A senior space industry official from China said there is a wide range of fields suitable for such international collaboration and these prospective cooperation projects will have huge potential.
Fu Zhiheng is vice-president of China&`&s Great Wall Industry Corporation, a State-owned enterprise that is China&`&s only authorized firm for international space collaboration.
Fu said that in fact, they are in talks with some foreign countries in this regard. He spoke with China Daily on the sidelines of the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in Guangdong province.
Fu said his company has been pushing forward with related efforts. He did not name any of the nations involved.
China will start launching parts of its permanent manned space station starting in 2018 and put the space station into service around 2022.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
China has been tightening regulations on pollution control under a revised law that took effect last year. This is a move to protect the environment by introducing harsher punishments and stricter law enforcement.
The country&`&s top legislation has issued a report, saying that prosecutors and judges have made significant contributions to the handling of pollution-related cases since the revised law came into effect on Jan 1 last year.
Last year, Chinese public security authorities recorded a total of 6,000 pollution-related cases and arrested more than 12,000 suspects, marking a year-on-year increase of 16 and 42 percent respectively.
Police, courts and prosecuting departments joined the fight against pollution last year through harsher punishments and stricter law enforcement.
Chinese courts at all levels accepted 167,000 environmental disputes from January last year to June this year, of which 148,000 have been concluded.
The report said that thanks to the revised law, public-interest lawsuits brought by NGOs have been allowed, with the number of such litigations rising rapidly.
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State legislators said the central government will need to provide financial support to private schools if a revised law banning them from making a profit is passed.
A draft amendment to the law on private education aims to block schools from profiting from tuition fees for children eligible to receive the country&`&s nine-year compulsory education.
A member of the National People&`&s Congress Standing Committee said he hopes the government can provide necessary guidance to ensure private schools can keep developing and making a contribution" to the education system. He said the schools have good educational resources and have produced a number of talented students.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
Taking a cue from competing online services which let workers chat and share information on the job, Microsoft is adding a new program called "Teams" to its Office 365 suite of internet productivity software.
Analysts say Microsoft is catching up to a trend in which a host of tech companies, including even Facebook, are competing to offer specialized online networks for organizations. The move came as workers increasingly find that email and simple document-sharing services are too limited for communicating and collaborating.
Like competing services, Microsoft&`&s new "Teams" product provides a central place online for workplace groups to chat, share files and perform other tasks. But unlike its competitors, Microsoft is offering the ability to easily transition into other widely used Microsoft programs, including Outlook for emails and calendars, and Skype for voice and video conferences.
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A German music industry group says it has signed an agreement with YouTube on licensing fees for its members&`& work, a deal that should mean far fewer blocked videos for viewers in Germany.
GEMA, which represents some 70,000 German composers, songwriters and music publishers, said the agreement with YouTube after seven years of "tough negotiations" will assure its members of payment for the use of copyrighted works. It didn&`&t specify financial details.
GEMA said that the agreement covers not just the future but also the period stretching back to 2009.
The German group said it and YouTube still have differing views on whether YouTube or the people who upload videos are responsible for licensing works, and called on politicians to "create a clear legal framework".
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That&`&s [email protected]. Now the news continues.
A simple Pap smear may one day offer a way to screen for birth defects a little earlier in pregnancy than today&`&s prenatal tests.
In the United States, women typically get a Pap during early pregnancy. Wayne State University researchers report that they can capture enough fetal DNA from the cells that test extracts to check for genetic abnormalities.
Researchers say the new study is very small, and much more research is needed. But if the approach eventually pans out, it might be possible to use as early as five weeks into the pregnancy and detect more disorders noninvasively.
Aside from better known chromosome abnormalities including Down syndrome, there are around 6,000 other genetic disorders which scientists currently have a hard time to assess noninvasively and as early.
Today&`&s main options are invasive tests that analyze a sample of amniotic fluid or placenta tissue. They carry a small risk of miscarriage.
A blood test offers a slightly earlier and less invasive option by analyzing small amounts of fetal DNA that float in a pregnant woman&`&s bloodstream. Worrisome results are supposed to be verified by an invasive test. Early diagnosis isn&`&t just about deciding whether to go forward with the pregnancy but can affect prenatal care and what care a baby might need at birth.
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Hollywood star Johnny Depp is about to enter a world of magic. The actor is set to be part of "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling&`&s "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in a secretive role.
According to a Warner Brothers&`& representative, Depp will appear in a cameo in the first film, which opens on Nov. 18, and have a bigger role alongside star Eddie Redmayne in the sequel in 2018.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is based on Rowling&`&s book of the same name and set 60 years earlier than Harry Potter in 1926 New York. There are five films planned in the Warner Bros. franchise.
Depp is no stranger to franchises, having led both the live-action "Alice" films and "The Pirates of the Caribbean", both for Disney.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
Investigators in the United States discovered a third body on the property of a Southern Carolina man who is now linked to seven deaths and the kidnapping of a woman who was found chained inside a storage container.
Authorities said 45-year-old Todd Kohlhepp became a suspect after the woman was found chained by her neck and ankle in a metal storage container on his 95-acre property near rural Woodruff.
The body of her boyfriend was found a day later. The couple had been missing for around two months.
The other remains were found near one another in the following couple days and authorities are not sure who they are. Investigators were expected back at the property, but police said they didn&`&t think there were any more bodies.
Following Kohlhepp&`&s arrest, he confessed to a 2003 quadruple slaying at a motorcycle shop in the small town of Chesnee. His confession came a day before the 13th anniversary of the crime, which many feared would never be solved.
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Four manatees rescued near Florida in the United States have arrived at an Ohio zoo.
Officials at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium say two of them are twins rescued after their mother was killed in a boat strike last month in the Florida Keys. They are named Millennium and Falcon.
The others were rescued from Outer Clam Bay in Naples and Stuart Canal.
As part of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership, the zoo provides a temporary home for the rescued manatees until they are ready to be returned to the wild.
It recently transferred a male manatee rescued in 2014 to the Miami Seaquarium. The animal is expected to be released in Key Largo in January.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says the wild manatee population is decreasing and the species is considered vulnerable.
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This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.

A policy of promoting and standardizing the transfer of the right to use farmland from rural residents to commercial entities is expected to raise the efficiency of agricultural production in China.

According to the policy, rural residents will enjoy greater freedom of transferring the land they have been contracted, while their right to collectively own the land remains unchanged.

Most of China's farmland is owned collectively by the people who work on it. As the rural workforce migrated to better paid jobs in the big cities, China began, in 2008, to allow farmers to rent out, transfer and merge the land they have contracted, amid a reform to bolster modern farming and reuse unattended land.

The use of farmland is a big issue in the world's most populous country where food security and the well-being of both current and former rural residents are matters of high priority.

As China becomes increasingly urbanized, many farmers are migrating to the cities, leaving their farmland unattended. There has been a growing demand from rural residents for the transfer of farmland to others for management and production.

The new policy will lead to the formation of mechanisms that will make the transfer more standardized, while the land owners' rights will be better protected.

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When China relaxed its four-decade-old one-child policy at the start of this year, there were a variety of predictions on whether the change in family planning rules would encourage enough people to have a second child.

Some said there would be too few to offset the effects of an aging population, citing reluctance by urbanites to increase the size of their families in the face of increased costs and new lifestyles. Others predicted a baby boom.

Now the numbers are in: In the first half of this year, the proportion of Chinese newborns who were second children grew to 45 percent of total newborns.

That's an increase of some 7 percentage points over the proportion of second-child newborns for the whole of last year, which was 38 percent. A total of 8 million newborns were registered nationwide this year by the end of June.

Some regions, mostly large cities, are beginning to see second children comprising more than half of local newborns.

Available data indicate it's the highest proportion of second children since China introduced its family planning policies in the late 1970s, limiting most couples to just one child.

The universal two-child policy was adopted by China's top leadership in October last year, and it began to be implemented nationwide this year.

You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.

Leading environmental authorities in China have released a new report suggesting a quarter of all of China's cities are living with excess levels of noise.

An official of the environmental ministry said it means a quarter of cities go to sleep in noise; and the lack of clear definitions about who should be responsible within the government is making it harder to solve the problem.

Environmental, cultural, traffic, industry and commerce departments, as well as urban inspectors and local police all have the power to control noise. But when confronted with a specific problem, it remains unclear which department has jurisdiction.

An environment official from the southern province of Hainan says that as such, the top priority is to distinguish who has the responsibility.

Statistics from the central authorities show that 350,000 complains were received about noise nationwide last year, making up 35 percent of all environmental complains through the year.

Construction noise was the biggest complaint, accounting for 51 percent, while noise from industrial companies made up 17 percent. Other complaints were related to human-generated noise and vehicle traffic.

Last year, 60 percent of all noise complaints received occurred in eastern China.

The World Health Organization estimates that noise has become another environmental factor affecting human health, and may result in increased mental health issues and coronary disease.

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The Palace Museum in Beijing will build a new gallery in the northern part of the city to showcase more items, as current exhibits displayed each year account for less than 1 percent of its collection.

The curator of the museum made the announcement during the International Smart Tourism Conference in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. He said the Palace Museum, which is a tourist destination and a cultural education institution, cannot display its abundant collection in full.

Major museums around the world usually display around 10 to 20 percent of their collections, while the Palace Museum is able to display just 0.5 percent of its entire collection over around 80 exhibitions each year.

The plan to build a new museum has been approved by the authorities and is already underway.

The new museum, which is 25 kilometers from the current site, is in a picturesque area near other tourist attractions, north of the Old Summer Palace, and south of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.

Cover an area of 12,500 square meters, it will showcase a large number of exhibits with different themes, and the public will be able to view the process of cultural relic restoration.

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Development of the internet of things in China faces a major challenge from a lack of industry standards.

According to a white paper released recently, the central government has put much effort into building the Internet of Things, a network of devices or objects fitted with software that allows data exchanges.

The document cited a favorable policy environment and pilot projects in sectors including agriculture, transportation, environmental protection and healthcare.

It said a coordinated multilevel working mechanism has been created on the standardization of the Internet of Things, or IoT.

However, the research and formulation of IoT standards still needs further improvement to meet the demand.

The document said IoT involves many industries, and each of them is at different development levels. The development of industry application standards is lagging behind.

A vice-president of the Wuxi IoT Industry Research Institute said creating the standards will require the combined efforts and wisdom of various departments. He said developing standards not only includes technology, but also industry knowledge.

In addition to developing more IoT standards and forming a complete system, the white paper suggested China play an active role in developing international standards.

You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]. That's [email protected]. Now the news continues.

Ireland is seizing opportunities to boost student exchanges with China.

According to Irish education officials, the recently concluded China Annual Conference for International Education saw Irish higher education institutions sign partnership agreements with their Chinese counterparts.

Niamh Madden is a Beijing-based education market executive from Enterprise Ireland, a government agency focused on accelerating the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets.

The conference, the 17th of its kind, was held in Beijing in October. It was aimed at improving mutual knowledge and cooperation on education between China and other countries.

Irish Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, described the conference as a "very important milestone" for Ireland-China relations.

Ireland has been made the country of honor at the conference.

Statistics from Education in Ireland showed that more than 5,000 Chinese students are studying in Ireland, forming the second-largest international student group there after the United States.

Education in Ireland is managed by Enterprise Ireland under the Ministry for Education and Skills. Its mission is to promote Irish higher education institutions overseas.

This year, more than 1,800 Chinese students applied for visas to study in Ireland, a 10-percent rise from last year. And the visa acceptance rate has grown from 96 percent to 98 percent.

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Higher education institutions and companies in Denmark are seeking Chinese students and graduates to learn and work in the European country to improve its communications with China.

Six Danish companies and a dozen higher education institutions and universities have participated in "Denmark Day" events held at Peking University in Beijing, offering education and career opportunities to Chinese students.

The event marked the sixth annual Denmark Day, and was also celebrated in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Denmark's ambassador to China A. Carsten Damsgaard said "Denmark Day" has become an important initiative for his country, in tandem with ongoing massive and fast development of research, higher education and talent in China.

The ambassador made the remarks during the Beijing event, adding that Denmark's competitiveness depends on its companies being able to recruit qualified candidates with international experience.

One Chinese student in Demark, Mei Zhu is on the staff of an industrial association at China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. She is studying for a master&`&s degree in Copenhagen.

Zhu said Denmark is highly internationalized. She participated in many international events and made friends from all around the world during her stay. It helped her to gain a global perspective on things.

You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.

China's top health authority will take steps in the next few years to improve maternal health, as mortality rates have risen following the adoption of the universal second-child policy in January.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said that 89,000 obstetrics beds will be added to hospitals across China, and local health authorities will be guided to optimize their resources.

The commission will also help local authorities improve their ability to save pregnant women and newborn babies in critical condition and better equip hospital obstetrics and pediatrics departments to deal with emergencies.

The commission will select some national training bases for midwifery techniques and organize emergency training to help pregnant women in critical condition. The commission will cooperate with other departments in the training of obstetricians and midwives, aiming to produce 140,000 more in the next few years.

More than 8 million babies were born in the first half of this year in China.

The maternal mortality rate in China in the first half of the year was 180 deaths per 1 million people, a rise of more than 30 percent over the same period last year.

The rate is slightly higher than that in the United States which was 140 deaths per million last year, but far less than the average maternal mortality rate in developing countries globally.

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The first textbook designed specifically for male pupils in primary schools has received positive feedback from parents, students and education professionals.

Earlier this month, the Shanghai Educational Publishing House unveiled the book, entitled Xiaoxiao Nanzihan or Little Man in English, aiming to help male students in the fourth and fifth grades understand sexual physiology and psychology, as well as enhance their self-protection.

The textbook, focusing on the mental health of male pupils, comes as nationwide discussion about what is called the "boys' crisis" are rife.

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This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.
China will increase the number of beds in obstetrics units and train more midwives to meet the rapidly growing demand for maternal services resulting from the universal second-child policy.
China&`&s top health authority said in a guideline released recently that it will speed up training of obstetricians and midwives to produce 140,000 such professionals before 2020.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission also urged local health authorities nationwide to add a total of 89,000 beds in obstetrics units in the next few years to help close the gap between supply and demand of maternal services.
The guideline is intended to improve basic maternal healthcare services to ensure the universal second-child policy, implemented at the beginning of the year, is smoothly carried out.
There is a severe shortage of obstetricians and midwives in China, with just 30 midwives for every 1 million pregnant women, far below most other countries.
The birth rate has increased with the new second-child policy, especially in big cities, causing great strains on maternal resources and a shortage of medical professionals.
Occupation rates of beds in obstetrics units at major hospitals in Beijing reached an average of 108 percent last year before the policy was implemented. The commission said this means that all beds were in use and temporary solutions were required to meet demands in such hospitals.
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A century-old railway station in Beijing has been put out of service due to the construction of an intercity railway linking Beijing and Zhangjiakou city in Hebei Province.
The Qinghuayuan Railway Station, built in 1910, will be preserved as the station still retains some of its original features.
Local residents near the station have come and taken photos of the site. Some bought a ticket as a keepsake.
In addition, the Beijing North Railway Station has also suspended ticket sales to coordinate with the construction of the new intercity railway.
According to the Beijing Railway Administration, information of the affected trains and stations will be released to the public as early as possible to minimize any potential inconvenience caused by the changes.
The new intercity railway is expected to be finished in 2020 and to serve by 2022 for the Winter Olympic Games co-hosted by the two cities.
The railway will allow a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It will take only 50 minutes to travel from one city to the other, a distance of approximately 170 kilometers.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.
（完整文稿见周日微信。）

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
Work to remove air quality monitoring stations from local government control is almost complete. The move came after officials in northern China were accused of tampering with pollution data.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the plan is to separate all 1,500 monitoring stations nationwide from provincial, city and county bureaus and place them under the operation of companies that will report directly to the central government.
Preparation work to become independent has been completed at 92 percent of stations nationwide, while all stations in 18 areas, including Beijing, have transferred to third-party companies.
The independent monitoring network will be expanded to cover water and soil by 2018; and China plans to build a comprehensive environmental monitoring and information sharing network by 2020.
The network is intended to prevent inference from local authorities and guarantee authentic data.
Three senior environmental protection officials in Xi&`&an in Shaanxi province have been detained on suspicion of altering monitoring data.
The officials are accused of having a duplicate key made without authorization so they could gain access to air quality monitoring equipment. They are accused of masking the equipment with cotton yarn to filter the air and lower pollution data to avoid punitive actions.
This is Special English.
Departments and ministries under the State Council, China&`&s cabinet, have responded to a series of public concerns on issues including agricultural modernization and civil service examinations.
The State Council recently issued a five-year plan for strategic agricultural modernization for the period spanning 2016 to 2020. The plan has clearly defined the importance of agricultural modernization.
According to Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu, the sector has a solid basis for modernization and is entering a development stage.
According to the plan, by 2020, food security will be effectively guaranteed and rural residents&`& livelihoodS will be improved.
Civil service examination applications for central government organizations, and subordinate agencies, will be stopped in Oct next year.
Although civil service posts are popular, there are still some posts that only a few, or even no, candidates apply for.
The State Administration of Civil Service has recently issued an announcement to the public, which summarizes the posts attracting few, or no qualified, candidates.
The administration reminds applicants to rationally choose posts.
It also reminds applicants to avoid peak times of application, often, just days before the deadline, in order to boost their chances of acceptance.
You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Beijing&`&s transport authority has said that the city will limit the number of cars on the road to 6 million by 2020, as part of efforts to reduce traffic congestion.
According to Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the number of new license plates available to registered drivers, currently handled through a monthly lottery, will be reduced from the current 150,000 a year to 100,000 in 2018.
The total number of cars on the road in Beijing was 5 million at the end of last year.
The city has seen car numbers grow by 300 percent from 1998 to 2013, with many major roads plagued by severe congestion.
Since 2004, the city has adopted a set of measures to solve the problem, including introducing a plate lottery, encouraging the use of public transport, and using traffic control based on license plate numbers.
This is Special English.
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