The General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee announced Wednesday that it has adopted a legal counsel and public office lawyer system.

Appointment letters and certificates were issued to the first group of counsels and lawyers at a meeting held by the office.

It is a major step in promoting the rule of law and strict governance of the general office, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a guideline last year, which ordered the adoption of a legal counsel system at governments and Communist Party committees above the county-level as well as state-owned enterprises (SOE).

Government and Party organizations should listen to the opinions of legal counsels before making major decisions, involve them in the process of decision-making, formulation of major government policies and intra-Party rules, and the handling of legal cases and emergency situations, said the guideline.

Legal counsels are also required to participate in negotiations involving government or party organizations and deal with other legal matters.

Hou Rong wept with happiness when she heard that China Tuesday unveiled the overall plan for establishing its national park system and the Giant Panda National Park spanning three provinces is to be created by 2020.

After studying and protecting giant pandas for two decades, she learned the proposed park will unite pandas isolated on six mountains in Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, helping the endangered animals mingle and enrich their gene pool.

“Many years of conservation have paid off. Their numbers in the wild rose by 17 percent between 2003 and 2013. That’s why the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) reclassified the giant panda in 2016 from endangered to vulnerable,” said Hou, director of the research center of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

However, like many endangered species, pandas still suffer habitat loss and fragmentation due to natural disasters, climate change and human activity.

Some sub-populations number is fewer than 10. This makes them vulnerable to disease and reproductive problems, and less able to adapt to a changing environment.

Multiple administrations in the three provinces worsen the situation. When a panda crosses a provincial boundary, jurisdiction becomes blurred.

Following a pilot scheme begun earlier this year, the park will cover 27,134 square kilometers, three times the area of the United States’ Yellowstone National Park. It will have four major zones: a core protection area; an ecological restoration area; a tourist and education area; and a breeding center. It will protect pandas in 67 current reserves as well as another 8,000 endangered animals and plants.

China started captive-breeding programs in the late 1990s and a reintroduction program in 2003, which proved effective in keeping the species on the map.

“But increasing the wild population requires a large protection area and an upgraded ecosystem. The park will do the job,” said Hou.

China is creating the national park system over several years. At the end of 2015, a leading group on reform decided up to nine such facilities should be included in the system, including two parks to protect rivers.

Over six decades of nature protection, China has established 2,740 nature reserves, covering 14.8 percent of its territory, but insufficient funding and a lack of a unified plan and protection ability rendered many reserves ecologically unviable.

“The national park system will alter such sporadic protection and usher in a new established nature protection scheme,” said Cui Guofa, professor of the School of Nature Conservation of Beijing Forestry University.

While the parks paint a wonderful picture for the conservation of wildlife and the restoration of the ecological system, they also face challenges – the conflict between protection and development being the most pressing.

Nangou Village, Hunchun City in the northeastern Jilin Province, is near a Manchurian tiger habitat and is included in the proposed Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park.

At least two villagers were attacked by tigers in 2016, so when it’ s time to harvest mushrooms and wild vegetables, they avoid the hills.

Yin Zhaohai runs a cattle farm near the village. Since May, tigers have killed six of his cattle and another 20 have disappeared.

“Tigers are endangered animals, but cattle and humans also need to be safe,” said Yin.

Conflict is inevitable. When tigers attack humans or their cattle, the local set traps for them.

“Harmonious coexistence between people and wild tigers and leopards, and development that values both ecological protection and economic growth are a big challenge for the local government,” said Li Zhixing, secretary-general of Hunchun-based Tianhe Manchurian Tiger Protection Association.

Jilin Province has offered compensation for those who suffer injury or property damage since 2006. This alleviates conflict and strengthens protection.

In 2008, with the help of two international conservation associations, Hunchun Manchurian Tiger National Nature Reserve began a new plan that established cattle breeding and beekeeping cooperatives for villagers without charge.

Villagers’ incomes have risen and they now patrol to protect wild tigers and leopards. They regularly remove traps in the nearby mountains and report poaching and traces of the animals.

“We are familiar with the mountain environment and wild tigers’ habits and we are earning more by raising cattle on the cooperatives. We won’t harm tigers,” said one villager.

The creation of national parks will lead to the relocation of many people. For example, at least 170,000 people in Sichuan will have to move so that pandas will be able to roam freely between far-flung habitats.

Qubie Mazi of Yi ethnic group has lived in Sichuan’s Shanfeng Village for 40 years, earning a living by growing potatoes and collecting herbs. A panda reserve in the village is a key corridor connecting populations in Liangshan Mountain.

Poverty once drove the villagers to poach pandas, but after a penalty and bonus system was introduced, they learned to value them.

Asked how he feels about making way for pandas, Qubie Mazi said, “I will move if I get a new home and a new job.”

Hou Rong said people should be taught to protect the environment. “People can live outside the core protection area and find jobs in the park such as guides. They won’t risk poaching wild animals once they have a decent job and steady income.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked writers and artists across the country to focus on the people, and keep producing excellent works.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a written instruction on cultural and ideological progress.

As the world is plagued by mounting global security challenges, both old and new, the new proposal by Chinese President Xi Jinping on international security has given a boost to global stability.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 86th Interpol General Assembly on Tuesday, Xi proposed better cooperation and innovation, upholding the rule of law and seeking mutual benefit to build universal security for mankind.

Security and stability are fundamental to peace and development across the globe, and the world is far from tranquil.

Global security is facing challenges such as widespread terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime, which all threaten national security, social stability and economic development around the world.

In an increasingly interconnected world, security problems go beyond national boundaries. A security flaw in one country can easily become an Achilles’ heel for regional and even global security.

Security of a country cannot be ensured by an individual or single country; rather, joint efforts of different governments are needed to improve cooperation and combat crime.

As Xi put it, “Countries should adopt a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and jointly respond to security challenges.”

With its remarkable progress in combating crime and the development of a sophisticated law enforcement and crime prevention system over the years, China today enjoys sustained economic growth and social stability, and its people lead a happy and peaceful life.

More and more people believe China is one of the most secure countries in the world, which in turn has contributed to global security.

While focusing on its own security and development, China has helped its neighbors, sharing its experience and making its due contribution.

The country has actively participated in global law-enforcement and security, working with other countries in extradition, international telecom fraud and drug trafficking.

China resolutely supports the international fight against terrorism, and has been engaged in in-depth cooperation with more than 70 countries and regions in combating cybercrime.

The country has sent 2,609 peacekeepers to serve in UN missions in nine regions, including South Sudan, Darfur in Sudan, Mali and Liberia, making it the largest contributor of troops among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The Chinese president also unveiled concrete action to support Interpol in the next five years, with a special focus on underdeveloped countries and regions.

Measures listed include giving support to joint global actions against terrorism, cybercrime and new organized crime each year, and upgrading Interpol communication systems and criminal investigation labs for 100 developing countries.

The Chinese government also plans to set up an international law enforcement college under its Ministry of Public Security to offer training to 20,000 law enforcement personnel for developing countries.

Ensuring global security is an arduous, complicated and prolonged mission.

While Interpol observes its motto of “Connecting Police for a Safer World,” China’s proposal and action may well serve as solutions to international security cooperation and a safer world.

By 2020, the size of resident population in Beijing should be controlled to within 23 million and kept at this level thereafter, according to a city planning document for Beijing issued by China’s central authorities.

Moreover, construction land in the city should be reduced to about 2,860 square km by 2020 and to 2,760 square km by 2035, the document said.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council has approved the general city plan for Beijing during the period between 2016 and 2035, submitted by the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Beijing municipal government.

The approval was made public on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s document said the environmental and resource capacity is the rigid limit for the city’s size and measures should be taken to reduce the stress of the city.

The document said control of population and construction will force the city to transform its development mode, upgrade and transform industries, and optimize and adjust its city functions.

The document pledged a “strictest” management of water resources.

Also, the height of the buildings in the city center should be strictly controlled, the document said.

Noting that Beijing is the capital of China and a center of politics, culture, international exchanges and scientific and technological innovation, the document stressed security of the city to ensure a good environment for the work of central authorities.