Rescuers deliver sand bags for rebuilding a dam damaged after a heavy rainstorm in Maoming， Guangdong Province， on May 19.
　　Rainstorms have lashed large swathes of south， southwest and central China since May 17， affecting more than 1 million people and leaving at least 15 people dead and seven others missing.


　　 Pollution Reports
　　China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection said it has received close to 1，500 reports of alleged violations by enterprises of the country’s environment law， with most concerning air pollution.
　　Regional environment protection administrations said they have given a deadline to those involved in 465 of the cases to make necessary changes， 321 to stop operations， and 234 to pay a fine.
　　Air pollution remains one of the most serious concerns in China with 78 percent of the reported cases， followed by water pollution and noise pollution at 31 percent and 25 percent， respectively. Most of the cases were found in east China. Progress has been reported in pollution control efforts in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， with reported cases in Hebei Province dropping from 312 in 2013 to 88 in 2014.
　　Twenty-eight percent of the reported cases involved chemicals， 15 percent smelting and metal processing.
　　 Chemical Fertilizer Use
　　China is scaling back the use of chemical fertilizers to cut costs and improve efficiency of its agriculture.
　　Starting from this year， pilot fertilizer-reduction programs will include corn grown in the northeast and parts of north and central China， vegetables produced in north China’s greenhouses and apples grown in the northwest and Bohai Bay area， He Caiwen， an official with the Ministry of Agriculture， revealed on May 19.
　　Excess fertilization is an issue plaguing the country’s high valueadded produce such as vegetables and fruits， said He.
　　The application of precision fertilization technologies and increased use of new types of fertilizers such as or- ganic fertilizer will be some of the ways to reduce chemical fertilization， he said.
　　 Volunteer Care Workers
　　China established a national volunteer association to further help the disabled on May 20， according to the China Disabled Persons’ Federation （CDPF）.
　　A statement from the federation said the launch meeting approved the rules that will guide the association. The event also elected the first council of the association and its leadership. 　　Statistics from the federation showed China has about 85 million disabled people， accounting for about 6 percent of the total population.
　　The CDPF opened the 12385 hotline to provide consultation and guidance for disabled people earlier this month.
　　In April， Beijing announced it will add 800 more barrier-free cabs to its taxi fleet in 2015 to the existing 70， which were left over from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
　　 An Aging Society
　　The number of societies for senior citizens in both urban and rural communities in China had reached 490，000 by the end of 2014， according to a statement of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on May 19.
　　They cover about 74 percent of the urban and rural communities.
　　To improve coverage and better fund them， the ministry and the office of the China National Committee on Aging jointly released a circular on May 19， proposing easier registration rules and including these societies in government budgets.
　　Pilot programs will encourage local governments to purchase services provided by societies of the elderly.
　　The circular also encouraged colleges， schools and enterprises to organize volunteers to help.
　　The number of senior citizens in China passed 200 million in 2013 and is expected to hit 248 million by 2020.
　　 Field Survey
　　The largest field surveys in China’s remote western Hoh Xil Nature Reserve has been launched with aims to evalu-ate the area’s natural resources， the reserve said on May 16.
　　The surveys will involve evaluation of the reserve’s bio-diversity， its geographical and geological situations as well as its water resources， commented Wang Hailin， a publicity official for the reserve.
　　In addition， researchers will also reevaluate the region’s infrastructure owing to an increasing number of newly formed lakes posing a flood risk to nearby roads and power transmission lines， said Wang.
　　The surveys will provide data support for Hoh Xil’s application for world natural heritage status. It started the application work last November.
　　The reserve covers an area of 45，000 square km that encompasses China’s largest area of uninhabited land. It is home to several endangered species， including Tibetan antelopes.
　　More than 40 researchers are conducting the three-week surveys in the reserve. The work will finish on May 29.
　　 Early Warning Center
　　China established a national early warning information center on May 18 to better inform the public of natural disasters and other emergencies. 　　The center is intended to issue advance warnings of natural disasters and other public health and security emergencies， according to Zheng Guoguang， head of the China Meteorological Administration.
　　Early warning information released by the center will include coverage of typhoons， rainstorms， sandstorms， geological disasters， marine disasters， forest fires， heavy pollution and security emergencies.
　　 College Cooperation
　　The University of Edinburgh announced it would enter into a biomedical science degree partnership with China’s Zhejiang University.
　　The collaborative biomedical science degree， which was unveiled on May 19， will be taught entirely in English by Edinburgh and Zhejiang academics at Zhejiang’s new international campus in Hangzhou， a press release from the University of Edinburgh read.
　　The four-year undergraduate course in integrative biomedical sciences is expected to attract 600 students from China and throughout the world. The course curriculum will be codevised by academics from Edinburgh and Zhejiang.
　　The degree program will offer a curriculum including infectious diseases， neuroscience， pharmacology， physiology and reproductive biology.
　　The first influx of students for Edinburgh’s new degree at Zhejiang University are expected in 2016， according to the press release.
　　 Nourishing Thoughts
　　Wang Xuefang （right）， an official from the local family planning association in Tianxin Village of Wuyishan， Fujian Province， promotes breastfeeding knowledge to new moms on May 20， National Breastfeeding Awareness Day.
　　 Systems Operational
　　An advanced patrol vessel is delivered and commissioned in China’s southernmost city of Sansha on May 20.
　　The No.1 law enforcement ship of Sansha， Hainan Province， is 97.5 meters long and 14 meters wide and has seven levels. With a 2，600-tonne capacity， the vessel has a designed speed of 22 nautical miles per hour and is capable of sailing 6，000 nautical miles.
　　The new ship will increase the law enforcement range of Sansha and play an irreplaceable role in maritime salvage and material supply for islands and reefs.
　　 Housing Prices
　　China’s real estate market remained largely anemic in April， but the faint price recovery in top-tier cities offered a sign of improvement in a sector whose fortunes are deemed to be crucial to the economy.
　　Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）， 48 saw new home prices dip in April from the previous month， down from 50 in March， according to data released on May 18. 　　Year on year， 69 cities reported new home price drops， with Shenzhen in Guangdong Province being the only outlier， with a 0.7-percent gain.
　　For existing homes， 34 cities saw price declines in April on a monthly basis， eight reported flat prices， while 28 cities posted gains.
　　According to NBS calculations， China’s top-tier megacities， including Beijing and Shanghai， saw average home prices up 1 percent on a monthly basis in April， whereas those in smaller second- and third-tier cities declined 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent， respectively.
　　China’s property market took a downturn in 2014 owing to weak demand and a surplus of unsold homes. The cooling has continued into 2015， with both sales and prices falling and investment slowing.
　　To lift the sagging sector， the government in March reduced down payment levels for second home buyers to 40 percent from the previous 60 to 70 percent， and exempted business tax for sales of homes purchased over two years ago. On the back of such policies， home sales in some large cities have picked up. But in less developed areas where inventories remained high， the policies’ effects seemed muted.
　　 Industrial Ambition
　　China’s State Council on May 19 unveiled a 10-year program， Made in China 2025， designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.
　　The program is the country’s first action plan focusing on promoting manufacturing， according to a State Council notice.
　　The document will be followed by another two plans in order to transform China into a leading manufacturing power by the year 2049， which marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
　　Nine tasks have been identified as priorities： improving manufacturing innovation， integrating technology and industry， strengthening the industrial base， fostering Chinese brands， enforcing green manufacturing， promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors， advancing restructuring of the manufacturing sector， promoting service-oriented manufacturing and manufacturing-related service industries， and internationalizing manufacturing.
　　The 10 key sectors mentioned in the program are new information technology， numerical control tools and robotics， aerospace equipment， ocean engineering equipment and hightech ships， railway equipment， energy saving and new energy vehicles， power equipment， new materials， medicine and medical devices， and agricultural machinery. 　　To fulfill the tasks， Made in China 2025 will focus on five major projects， including establishing a manufacturing innovation center and boosting intelligent manufacturing， said the notice.
　　 Internet Services
　　China vowed on May 20 to invest heavily in the coming years to increase Internet speed and expand broadband access in rural regions.
　　The country plans to spend more than 430 billion yuan （$69.4 billion） this year and more than 700 billion yuan （$113 billion） in 2016-17 on Internet infrastructure， according to a set of guidelines issued by the State Council.
　　It said that China will accelerate the construction of high-speed broadband networks and improve Internet access in more than 14，000 villages by the end of 2015.
　　By the end of 2017， the average cable broadband speed for users in major cities will be increased to 30 megabytes per second （Mbps）， more than triple the current speed， while that in smaller cities will be upgraded to 20 Mbps.
　　According to the guidelines， the telecom market will continue to be opened and more competition will be encouraged， through policies including expansion of a pilot scheme for broadband services this year.
　　The State Council also declared a plan to expand the 4G mobile network to cover the whole of the country by the end of 2017. It urged telecom operators to improve services and cut charges for Internet usage.
　　 Female Power
　　Peng Lei， Chief Human Resources Officer of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group， makes a speech at the Global Conference on Women and Entrepreneurship on May 20 in Hangzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province.
　　The goal of the conference is to spark dialogue and action on what can be done to encourage more women to pursue their professional and personal ambitions. Over 800 female high achievers attended the event.


　　 Green Move
　　China announced on May 18 that newenergy cars and ships will be exempted from vehicle and vessel tax in a bid to save energy and combat pollution.
　　Cars exempted include pure electric cars， plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuelcell cars， according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Finance， the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
　　In addition， vehicle and vessel tax will be halved for users of energy-saving cars and ships， said the statement. 　　China’s new-energy vehicle production jumped threefold year on year to 25，400 in the first quarter owing to intense government promotion and support.
　　In March， the Ministry of Transport set a target of 300，000 new-energy vehicles on China’s roads by 2020—200，000 buses and 100，000 taxis and delivery vehicles.
　　 Bank Acquisition
　　China’s Bank of Communications（BOCOM） announced on May 19 its decision to acquire an 80-percent stake in the Brazilian bank BBM.
　　According to the agreement BOCOM reached with BBM， the Chinese bank will pay 525 million reais （$173 million） for the majority share. The deal is subject to approvals of both nations’regulatory bodies.
　　“The acquisition of the BBM bank will be BOCOM’s first purchase abroad. It also marks the first step in the bank’s expansion plans in Latin America and a milestone in the bank’s internationaliza- tion，” said President Niu Ximing.
　　Founded in 1858， BBM is one of Brazil’s oldest financial institutions， focusing on corporate lending and private banking. Shareholders with 18-percent stakes in BBM will have the option to hold on to their shares or sell to BOCOM.
　　BOCOM， founded in 1908， is one of China’s largest state-owned banks. Its total assets exceeded 6.6 trillion yuan（$1.07 trillion） at the end of March.
　　 Strangers on a Train
　　Jiang Li （right）， who runs a startup park in Dalian， Liaoning Province， talks to a waitress of a coffee shop in the park on May 20. The park， which is composed of repurposed train cars， has attracted eight businesses run by college graduates to move in.


　　 Investment Funds
　　China has established a new investment company to help domestic enterprises invest abroad and encourage the export of the country’s advanced industrial capacity， said the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） on May 20.
　　The new company has been approved by the Central Government to run as a subsidiary of state-owned China Investment Corp. （CIC）， one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds， and has started operation， the NDRC said.
　　The company was established with initial capital of $5 billion and is likely to outvalue the Silk Road Fund， an infrastructure-oriented fund established in 2014， said Gu Dawei， an official in charge of the NDRC’s Department of Foreign Capital and Overseas Investment.
　　 Rail Cooperation
　　China Railway Group Ltd. （CRG） has signed a framework agreement with an LRT company in Kazakhstan’s capital to help build a new light railway transportation system.
　　The new deal will see 22.4 km of rail built in Astana， capital of the Central Asian country， with 18 stations and one depot. The design speed for trains running on the light rail will be 80 km per hour， the Chinese company said on May 15.
　　China will also provide 19 trains for the project， CRG said， without disclosing details about the project’s total value.
　　Under the framework agreement， the project is expected to be finished by 2017 when Astana hosts Expo 2017.