Society

　　Property Registration

　　The State Council，China’s cabinet，on February 28 approved setting up a cross-ministry joint conference working on the establishment of a unified property registration system.

　　The conference will coordinate major issues concerning the establishment and implementation of a proposed property registration system.

　　Chaired by the Ministry of Land and Resources，the conference is intended to hammer out guiding principles and policy suggestions，and conduct research on the drafting of related laws and regulations.

　　China aims to build a unified property registration system as part of its efforts to curb excessive speculation on the property market.

　　Corruption Blow

　　China investigated and punished 829 judges and other court staff for corruption in 2013，up 42.3 percent year on year，the Supreme People’s Court (SPC)，the country’s highest judicial organ，announced on March 2.

　　Of the 829 court officials，157 were transferred to judicial organs for prosecution，the SPC said in a statement.

　　The SPC revealed that 683 judges and court staff turned over illegal gains including cash，securities and payment documents，with a value of 3.32 million yuan ($543，000)，in 2013.

　　The authority will continue to maintain their “high-handed posture” in the fight against judicial corruption，according to the statement.

　　Aid for the Homeless

　　A total of 2，031 relief organizations have been set up to safeguard the basic interests and rights of the homeless，Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo announced on February 28.

　　In 2013，2.35 million homeless people received help，including 159，000 juveniles，Li revealed at a press conference. “Pilot programs have also been launched in 20 regions to protect juveniles with a focus on family custody，” he added.

　　According to Li，providing social relief to the homeless has been written into the social assistance regulation，which will come into effect on May 1. The regulation is the country’s first legal document to coordinate and regulate the fragmented social assistance system.

　　The regulation also calls for open，fair and timely help for the needy.

　　Map Control

　　China is looking to crack down on sales or uploads of classified maps on the Internet in an effort to curb geographic information leaks，authorities announced on February 28.

　　The campaign will focus on online trade in classified surveying and mapping results，and digital navigation maps without any confidential treatment，the National Administration of Surveying，Mapping and Geoinformation said in a statement.

　　People found illegally selling or providing classified maps will be harshly punished，while websites containing sensitive geographic information will be shut down，according to the statement.

　　The administration will also check maps providing tourist or traffic information to make sure they do not carry excessive commercial advertisements，it added.

　　Anti-Smog Aircraft

　　Tests of the first China-made parafoil aircraft in tackling recurring smog will be conducted later this month，its manufacturer announced on March 4.

　　The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)，which is equipped with gliding parachute，is manufactured by a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China and will perform its first test flights in airports or ports after discussion by industry experts.

　　The new plane has flexible wings with an aerodynamic structure，which affords ease of control as well as making it able to carry three times the cargo weight of common planes，according to Ma Yongsheng，CEO of the company.

　　It was also reported that China is considering building two outdoor facilities to help research smog.

　　On March 2，The Beijing News quoted He Hong，a researcher from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences，as saying that the plan to build atmospheric simulation chambers has been submitted to the economic planning body for approval. He is in charge of the project’s preparatory work.

　　The chambers，each with a volume of about 300 cubic meters，are part of a broader environmental project to be built in Beijing’s outer Huairou District to study the formation of smog and develop techniques for controlling it，according to He.

　　Island Topography

　　Detailed topographic information and images of all China’s islands have been collected using aerial remote sensing，a method allowing the capture of data from a distance.

　　The completion of the project marks the country’s first “systematic and comprehensive” move to collect surveillance information on the more than 10，500 islands within its territory，said the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on February 28.

　　The surveillance plan，which was mapped out by the SOA in 2011，requires China Marine Surveillance to conduct remote sensing and collect data on all reachable islands every three years，and also stipulated that such efforts should focus on islands listed for development，rehabilitation and protection.

　　Barley Genome

　　Chinese scientists revealed on March 3 that they have sequenced the entire genome of highland barley，an achievement that can help cultivate better breeds of Tibet’s staple food and increase yields.

　　The genome-mapping project，which the scientists said has produced the world’s first genetic map of highland barley，was launched in 2012 by researchers with Tibet’s Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences and BGI Tech Solutions in Shenzhen，Guangdong Province.

　　Highland barley，known in Tibetan as ne，has been grown on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for nearly 4，000 years.

　　It makes up 70 percent of all cereal crops harvested in the autonomous region，home to the world’s leading barley production base as well as a center for barley diversity research.

　　Space Shuttle Bus

　　China is expected to launch an upper-stage aircraft this year that can be used as a “space shuttle bus” to propel payloads into space，according to sources with the country’s leading rocket research institute.

　　The Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper-stage aircraft，which would be attached to a carrier rocket，can carry aircraft using its own power system after reaching an initial orbit，said Liang Xiaohong，an official with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology，on March 3.

　　Yuanzheng-1，which will use liquid propellant，will be able to fulfill several missions while in space and operate as long as 6.5 hours in orbit，said Liang.

　　Yuanzheng-1 will play an important role in future space exploration as well as orbital transfer and clearing of space debris.

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……