Society

　　Elderly Homes

　　Chinese authorities published a regulation on March 12 encouraging homes for the elderly to insure against risks in their services.

　　The regulation， jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs， the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China National Committee on Aging， pledged to promote liability insurance in the country’s nursing homes and create a risk-pooling mechanism in the sector.

　　It will also help nursing homes strengthen their sense of responsibility as well as their internal management， better protecting senior citizens’ rights and interests， it said.

　　According to the document， a floating premium rate system should be adopted to encourage the insured institutions to work hard in risk prevention.

　　Moreover， the regulation said， allowances for the premium fees meted out by financial authorities as well as relevant costs of government-sponsored nursing homes will be earmarked in the public budget.

　　Prior to the regulation， insurance projects for elderly care homes had already been launched in several Chinese regions including Beijing， Shanghai and Guangdong.

　　Green Island

　　China’s experiment in developing a green economy on Chongming Island in east China’s Shanghai has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a recommended model of green economic development.

　　The UNEP published its evaluation report on the ecological status of Chongming on March 10. The island is the world’s largest alluvial island and the least developed district of Shanghai.

　　Covering an area of 1，267 square km， Chongming was approved as a national development zone for sustainable development in 2010， and the UNEP was invited by the Chinese Government to evaluate the eco-island construction project.

　　Development on the island， which has a population of around 600，000， has effectively integrated social， environmental and economic perspectives， according to the UNEP’s evaluation.

　　The UNEP suggested that the Chongming model be promoted in China as an example in developing a green economy for less developed regions.

　　Organ Donation

　　China has set up a special committee to supervise organ donations and transplants， the health authority announced on March 7.

　　Jointly founded by the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC)， the new committee is the result of a merger of the Organ Transplant Committee and the China Organ Donation Committee， the NHFPC revealed in a statement.

　　The committee will be in charge of coordinating and guiding different systems including donation acquiring and distributing， clinical transplant services， postoperative registration， and transplant supervision.

　　China has the world’s second-largest demand for organ transplants. About 300，000 patients suffer from organ failure each year， but only around 10，000 organ transplants are performed due to a lack of donors.

　　The country introduced an organ donation system in 2010， with the non-governmental RCSC serving as an independent third party for supervising and facilitating donation procedures.

　　Retirement Age

　　China will introduce its plan on raising the retirement age before 2020， a senior official has pledged， as the government looks to push ahead with the overhaul so as to cope with a shrinking workforce and an aging society.

　　“As raising the retirement age is among the major tasks that were outlined in the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee last November， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will definitely introduce the plan before 2020，” Minister Yin Weimin said on March 10.

　　Yin pledged to carry out the reform in progressive and tiny steps， but he did not elaborate on policy details.

　　China’s retirement age is 60 for men， 55 for female white-collar workers and 50 for female blue-collar employees.

　　The latest official data showed China’s working-age population dropped by 2.44 million to 919.54 million in 2013， the second straight year of decline， while the number of those aged above 60 reached 202.43 million.

　　Bird Flu Vaccine

　　Vaccines for H7N9 bird flu could hit the market as early as May， a Chinese expert on infectious disease said on March 7.

　　The vaccine is currently being submitted to drug control authorities for tests， said Li Lanjuan， an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

　　According to official statistics， H7N9 has infected more than 120 people in China and killed at least 36 of them so far this year.

　　Li said there has not been any substantial evidence for consistent human-to-human infection of H7N9， adding that poultry markets remained the primary source of infection.

　　Internet Museum

　　China will build its first Internet museum to chronicle the development of the Internet in the increasingly wired country， China’s Internet network watchdog said on May 7.

　　The museum will display the history and fruits of China’s Internet development， with a portion of the exhibition open to the public in early April， according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)， one of the museum’s major organizers.

　　Many digital technologies will be used to color the show， including social networking platforms to interact with netizens， with the introduction of a mobile app to enable a virtual trip within the museum， said Li Xiaodong， Executive Director of CNNIC.

　　China now has over 600 million netizens， with mobile Internet users having expanded to 500 million. E-commerce and gaming are booming as informatization becomes key to updating the economy.

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……