Society

　　Purified Seawater

　　Construction of a desalination project that will deliver purified seawater to Beijing from its neighboring Hebei Province’s coast will start at the end of the year， local authorities announced on April 16.

　　The project will be located in Caofeidian， the second largest port in Hebei， with a daily desalination capacity of 1 million tons of seawater， said Wang Xiaoshui， director of the seawater desalination department of Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd.

　　After the project goes into operation in 2019， Beijing will receive more than 300 million cubic meters of desalted Bohai seawater annually， about 10 percent of its current water consumption volume.

　　“Beijing residents will be able to enjoy desalinated seawater，” said Wang.

　　The project will include a facility and a 270-km-long pipeline extending to Beijing.

　　University Cooperation

　　Duke Kunshan University (DKU)， a Sino-American joint venture university in east China’s Jiangsu Province， will officially open in August， local authorities said on April 15.

　　DKU， in the city of Kunshan， was jointly created by U.S.-based Duke University and Wuhan University in China’s Hubei Province. The Ministry of Education formally approved its establishment last September.

　　“We plan to enroll the first 100 students， including 50 Chinese， offering master’s degree programs in global health， medical physics and management studies. Graduates will be granted degrees from Duke University，” said Liu Jingnan， chancellor of DKU.

　　In addition to academic degree programs， the university will provide non-degree courses for undergraduate students. Students who successfully complete the program will receive Duke University course credit that can be transferred to other degree-granting institutions.

　　China currently has about 1，500 Sino-foreign joint institutions and programs， including Shanghai New York University， Wenzhou-Kean University and DKU.

　　Crop Insurance

　　China will intensify its efforts to promote crop insurance， with insured farm produce expected to cover 60 percent of the country’s cultivated land by 2020， the country’s top insurance regulator said on April 14.

　　The country will improve its crop insurance mechanisms， especially services for the animal husbandry and planting sector， in a bid to guarantee food security， said Wang Zuji， deputy head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

　　Insurers will be encouraged to cover farm produce prices， rural houses and infrastructure， according to Wang.

　　The bureau is also considering subsidies for insurers to promote agriculture-related business， he said.

　　China had 1.11 billion mu (74 million hectares) of crops insured last year， accounting for 45 percent of the overall seeded area. A total of 33.67 million rural households received combined compensation worth 20.9 billion yuan ($3.4 billion).

　　Robot Replacement

　　Guangzhou， south China’s economic powerhouse， has set a goal of having 80 percent of the city’s manufacturing production done by robots instead of human labor by 2020.

　　According to an industrial development guideline issued by the Guangzhou Municipal Government on April 15， the use of industrial robots will be encouraged in mechanical and automobile manufacturing， food processing and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical， electronic and dangerous products.

　　The document says that there will be subsidies of up to 30，000 yuan ($4，800) for those who purchase or rent a robot， and a maximum one-off subsidy of 500，000 yuan ($82，000) for companies that introduce a complete set of automation equipment in Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province.

　　The municipal government believes the rising human resource costs and increased demand for sophisticated manufacturing have provided an opportunity for an accelerated roll-out of robots.

　　Electricity on Everest

　　The base camp at Mount Qomolangma， also known as Mount Everest， which is located at 5，200 meters above sea level， now has access to reliable electricity， the Tibet Branch of the State Grid Corp. of China said on April 16.

　　More than 160，000 people in the four counties at the foot of Mount Qomolangma will benefit from the project， which cost 570 million yuan ($92.7 million).

　　The Chinese Government and the State Grid will invest 8.1 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) to bring power to places without electricity in Tibet and upgrade the existing rural grid between 2013 and 2015， according to the Tibet Branch of the State Grid.

　　An additional 440，000 Tibetans will have access to electricity when the projects are completed.

　　Bear Welfare

　　A black bear farm in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， where bears are raised for their bile， will be turned into a rescue center under an Animals Asia project.

　　The animal welfare group made the announcement jointly with the Nanning-based Flower World Bear Farm in Beijing on April 15.

　　Bear farms profit from taking bile from live bears and selling it for making medicine. The practice， which inflicts pain and damages the health of bears， has drawn criticism from animal rights activists and the public.

　　Under the Animals Asia project， the organization will invest $5 million to send 28 sick bears raised on the farm to Animals Asia’s Bear Rescue Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province for treatment. Over the next three years， it will also transform the Flower World Bear Farm， where 130 bears live， into its second rescue center in China.

　　There are an estimated 10，000 bears being raised in pens for their bile. According to Animals Asia， they are living in cages with damp floors.

　　Animals Asia， founded in 1998， is devoted to ending the “barbaric practice of bear bile farming.” According to its figure， the organization has rescued 285 black bears from Chinese bear farms thus far.

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