Society

　　Smog Assessment

　　On May 27， the State Council， China’s cabinet， issued regulations on assessing local governments’ performance in their implementation of a nationwide action plan for air pollution control.

　　The Central Government is trying to tie local officials’ career progressions with their work on air pollution control in a bid to provide them with more incentive to carry out this essential work.

　　Under the action plan， which was put into practice in September 2013， the Central Government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities nationwide by 2017.

　　PM 2.5， a key indicator of air pollution， should fall by about 25 percent from 2012 levels in Beijing and its surrounding provincial areas by 2017， while the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions are expected to see reductions of 20 percent and 15 percent， respectively.

　　Provincial governments will be assessed annually in terms of their implementation of the plan by 2017.

　　Returning Students

　　More than 1.4 million Chinese overseas students returned to China after graduating over the past 35 years， according to statistics released by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on May 27.

　　The MOE cited figures that over 3.05 million people pursued degrees in foreign countries from 1978， the beginning of China’s opening-up policy， till the end of 2013.

　　Among the more than 1.65 million people who have not returned， 1.07 million are still studying or doing research abroad.

　　Along with its rising strength and economic development， China’s demand for skilled and talented minds is also on the rise， according to a statement issued by the MOE. It estimated that the number of students studying abroad and graduates returning to China will continue to grow rapidly.

　　Community Correction

　　China’s community correction centers had received more than 1.84 million offenders nationwide by the end of February since trials were launched 11 years ago， official data showed.

　　Among the offenders， around 60 percent have already been released， according to a joint statement issued by the Supreme People’s Court， the Supreme People’s Procuratorate， as well as ministries of public security and justice at a conference on March 27.

　　China first launched trials for community correction centers in 2003 in six cities and provinces， including Beijing and Shanghai， and has extended the scheme to other parts of the country since.

　　The correctional program has been imposed on offenders under surveillance， on probation， parole， and those temporarily out of prison. Social workers and volunteers are often invited to assist.

　　Environmental Court

　　A special court for environmental cases was opened on May 23 in southeast China’s Fujian Province. It is the country’s first such specialized judiciary organ.

　　The court affiliated to the Fujian Provincial Higher People’s Court has recruited 12 environmental， agricultural， marine and mineral experts as technical consultants.

　　Entrusted by the court， the consultants can appear in court to provide technical consultation and interpretation.

　　Fujian was approved as China’s first “ecological progress demonstration zone” in April to explore and pilot judicial protection of the environment.

　　Since 2009， several county- and city-level courts in the province have experimented in setting up divisions specializing in forestry， mining， water and resources， atmosphere and water pollution cases.

　　Drought Delay

　　A planned test run of the middle route of China’s ambitious South-North Water Diversion Project on June 1 is likely to be postponed due to a drought in the area from which the water is sourced.

　　Liu Song， deputy head of the Control Center of the Danjiangkou Reservoir Management Bureau， said that the water level in the reservoir was measured at only 140.1 meters on May 23， far from the required 170 meters.

　　The plan was for water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in central China’s Hubei Province to feed into the pipeline between June 1 and August 20 on a trial basis.

　　After 10 years of construction， the middle route water diversion system has linked the reservoir with 19 arid cities including Beijing and Tianjin and more than 100 smaller towns in north China.

　　However， drought affecting the Hanjiang River since winter has led to a decrease in the level of water stored in the reservoir， according to the bureau.

　　The Hanjiang River is the largest tributary of China’s longest river， the Yangtze. Hydrological experts believe its current drought does not suggest a long-term trend.

　　Overseas Patents

　　The growth in filings of Chinese patents abroad has increased significantly since 2000， according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

　　A WIPO report released on May 23 noted that between 2000 and 2005， the average annual growth rate of overseas patent filings by applicants from China reached 40 percent， and has continued to grow by 23 percent since 2005.

　　WIPO spokesperson Edward Harris attributed the increase to improved quality of innovations and inventions in China.

　　In terms of absolute numbers， the United States is the largest recipient of Chinese foreign-oriented patent filings， with close to 50，000 applications between 1970 and 2012， followed by Europe， Japan， the Republic of Korea and Canada.

　　Statistics also showed that almost 70 percent of Chinese patent families filed overseas were owned by firms， while the share of universities and research institutes claimed around 6 percent.

　　The report said that digital communication， computer technology， nanotechnology， semiconductors as well as telecommunications were the fastest growing fields among Chinese foreign-oriented patent families between 2000 and 2009.

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