China Chronicles March 4, 2013
- Uncle Mau and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World 2/6
- Uncle Mau and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World 3/6
johey24 has added a photo to the pool:
It is love, aayaa, love, ayaaaa ...
Let's just laugh, and love. - Montag ,04.Maerz 2013 ;Blickfang auf dem Weg zur Firma
Kalle-aus-China has added a photo to the pool:
- Montag ,04.Maerz 2013 ;Blickfang auf dem Weg zur Firma
Kalle-aus-China has added a photo to the pool:
- Montag ,04.Maerz 2013 ;Blickfang auf dem Weg zur Firma
Kalle-aus-China has added a photo to the pool:
- How to feed China as farmers move to cities?
CHINA'S seasoned farmers are busy searching for helping hands ahead of the spring planting, as their own children are heading to cities amid the country's urbanization wave.
Right after the Spring Festival in February, 62-year-old Liang Shuhua of Nong'an County, Jilin Province, watched his two sons depart for work in cities, leaving about 1 hectare of farmland at home unattended.
Earnings from raising crops are not enough to keep young people at home and on the farm, even in Jilin, the northeastern province that is China's major producer of commercial grains.
"They want to move into the city and lead an urban life," Liang said.
Liang's two sons are among China's 263 million migrant workers, and as many as 163 million work in cities that are far from their rural homes.
China's urban population hit 711.82 million by the end of 2012, accounting for 52.6 percent of the country's total, up 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Fast paces of urbanization and industrialization have put China's grain supply and demand in a "tight balance," according to analysts.
This was echoed in a blue paper released in January by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which pinpointed the labor force as a key factor restricting China's agricultural development.
Urbanization consumes high-quality arable land and sucks up the rural labor force, pushing up labor costs, explained Han Jun, deputy chief of the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet.
Moreover, more grain is needed to produce animal feed to satisfy China's growing appetite for meat as the population's dietary structure changes, Han added.
At a key economic work conference in December, the central government vowed to take "active and steady" steps to promote urbanization in China, as it will help unleash the country's enormous consumption potential.
Many believe it will also be a key topic at this year's annual sess! ions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), its top political advisory body.
On the other hand, agricultural development also remains an important task on the central government's agenda. For ten years in a row, the first annual policy documents issued by the government have targeted rural problems.
This year, the document listed ensuring grain security and supplies of major farm produce as a top priority, while stressing large-scale farming and the development of modern agriculture.
Ren Kejun, head of Jilin's provincial agricultural committee and an NPC deputy, said large-scale agricultural operations are important for raising farmers' income and keeping them on farmland.
The government should take various measures to "modernize" farmers, said CPPCC member Li Chenggui.
Li, a Beijing municipal government official in charge of rural work, suggested the government encourage recent graduates and migrant workers to practice modern agriculture by providing them with relevant technological training.
In addition to moves to appeal to more farmers to grow crops, attention should be given to developing an efficient and intensive agricultural production system, said Li Changping, a scholar of rural issues.
Li said some farmers' excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers to increase yields has affected the quality of both the grain and soil.
"Grain security not only means the security of grain output, but that of grain quality and agricultural sustainability," Li said.
- How to feed China as farmers move to cities?
CHINA'S seasoned farmers are busy searching for helping hands ahead of the spring planting, as their own children are heading to cities amid the country's urbanization wave.
Right after the Spring Festival in February, 62-year-old Liang Shuhua of Nong'an County, Jilin Province, watched his two sons depart for work in cities, leaving about 1 hectare of farmland at home unattended.
Earnings from raising crops are not enough to keep young people at home and on the farm, even in Jilin, the northeastern province that is China's major producer of commercial grains.
"They want to move into the city and lead an urban life," Liang said.
Liang's two sons are among China's 263 million migrant workers, and as many as 163 million work in cities that are far from their rural homes.
China's urban population hit 711.82 million by the end of 2012, accounting for 52.6 percent of the country's total, up 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Fast paces of urbanization and industrialization have put China's grain supply and demand in a "tight balance," according to analysts.
This was echoed in a blue paper released in January by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which pinpointed the labor force as a key factor restricting China's agricultural development.
Urbanization consumes high-quality arable land and sucks up the rural labor force, pushing up labor costs, explained Han Jun, deputy chief of the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet.
Moreover, more grain is needed to produce animal feed to satisfy China's growing appetite for meat as the population's dietary structure changes, Han added.
At a key economic work conference in December, the central government vowed to take "active and steady" steps to promote urbanization in China, as it will help unleash the country's enormous consumption potential.
Many believe it will also be a key topic at this year's annual sess! ions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), its top political advisory body.
On the other hand, agricultural development also remains an important task on the central government's agenda. For ten years in a row, the first annual policy documents issued by the government have targeted rural problems.
This year, the document listed ensuring grain security and supplies of major farm produce as a top priority, while stressing large-scale farming and the development of modern agriculture.
Ren Kejun, head of Jilin's provincial agricultural committee and an NPC deputy, said large-scale agricultural operations are important for raising farmers' income and keeping them on farmland.
The government should take various measures to "modernize" farmers, said CPPCC member Li Chenggui.
Li, a Beijing municipal government official in charge of rural work, suggested the government encourage recent graduates and migrant workers to practice modern agriculture by providing them with relevant technological training.
In addition to moves to appeal to more farmers to grow crops, attention should be given to developing an efficient and intensive agricultural production system, said Li Changping, a scholar of rural issues.
Li said some farmers' excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers to increase yields has affected the quality of both the grain and soil.
"Grain security not only means the security of grain output, but that of grain quality and agricultural sustainability," Li said.
- Doctor uses roller skates to help more patients
A female doctor in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, has started using roller skates to save time while on duty as she needs to shuttle between various hospital departments to treat patients, earning admiration from members of the online community.
The woman surnamed Cui, a cardiovascular physician at First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhu Meical College, said she was exhausted after running around the hospital all day and the roller skates made it a lot faster and easier.
Zhang Huaiqin, Cui's leader, was the first one to post her story online.
"The new hospital is 20 times larger than before and cardiac physicians have so many urgent consultations," he said.
Zhang said their own department has capacity for 153 patients, but they are frequently required to care for patients in other wards because there are a large number of elderly patients with high blood pressure and heart problems.
Doctors are expected to reach consultation offices within five minutes, according to a Ministry of Health rule. To save time, most physicians run between different hospital departments, Zhang said. Doctors can run up to 12 kilometers a day, he said.
Some netizens expressed admiration for Cui's devotion to her job.
"I have seen waiters with roller skates, but never doctors in a hospital. It's a good idea and should be advocated among physicians," a netizen said.
The hospital said it doesn't encourage others to follow Cui's example due to safety concerns.
- China to issue new baby formula regulation
IN a bid to guarantee food safety, China will issue a specific regulation on baby formula in the near future, an official said Monday.
Zhou Bohua, director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, told Xinhua that the new regulation will target the entire chain, from production to circulation in the market.
A slew of stricter supervisory measures will be adopted to handle the improper conduct of breeders, milk powder producers and salespeople, ensuring people's access to safe milk powder products, according to Zhou.
Zhou admitted that a lack of administration and supervision over the dairy industry is to blame for past food safety incidents.
Zhou also mentioned the Sanlu scandal in 2008, in which six babies died and 3,000 others were sickened after consuming the company's melamine-tainted milk powder products.
As for the recent controversy over Hong Kong's regulation prohibiting mainland consumers from taking more than 1.8 kg of baby powder purchased in Hong Kong back to the mainland, which went into effect on March 1, Zhou said, "We should not be astonished."
"Encouraging the mainland dairy industry is the fundamental solution to the problem," Zhou said, adding that the regulation in Hong Kong should be supported and observed. - Lions captured after escaping from zoo cages
Two lions that ran away from their cage in the city zoo of Chongqing in western China around 8am this morning had both been captured by 11:40am, local police announced.
Riot police, snipers and zoo workers with tranquilizers quickly arrived to capture the two big cats and the zoo was temporarily closed to visitors.
Police said the two lions were wandering inside the zone of predators that is segregated from the outside.
The officers said both lions were narcotized before being moved back to their cages.
None was injured during the capture.
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