12 arrested for spreading pornography online

Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of using a live-streaming mobile app to spread pornography, authorities said Tuesday.

As part of the “Clean Internet 2017” campaign, China has increased efforts to address online pornography, according to the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.

The public can provide information on individuals or companies suspected of violating pornography laws by calling 12390 or visiting shdf.gov.cn, the office said.




National anthem law calls for respect

People will have to think twice before setting China’s national anthem as a ring tone, since the behavior could violate a law being drafted that standardizes the song’s uses.

The proposed law will be submitted for an initial reading in June.

Due to the lack of legal restraints, there are some occasions when the national anthem is not solemnly played.

In recent years during the annual two sessions, some deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have made proposals and suggestions about drafting a law regarding the national anthem.

Yu Hai, a CPPCC National Committee member and former head of the military band of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, has for 10 consecutive years submitted a proposal to draft a national anthem law.

“The national anthem is the symbol of our country’s voice, which should be protected by law,” Yu said.

The national anthem should not be abused by being played as entertainment or at business events such as weddings, funerals, dance parties and vulgar celebrations. And on major occasions, the attendees who keep playing or are not properly dressed when the national anthem is played will be held liable.

Setting the national anthem as a ring tone and tampering with the lyrics of the song will be punishable. The law also covers playing the song not reverently.

Some Chinese internet users worry about whether they will break the law if they cannot sing the song well since they are tone-deaf.

This is a misunderstanding, Yu said.

“The national anthem legislation urges that the song should be played solemnly on formal occasions to show respect to the Chinese nation. Besides, only the approved national anthem can be played in public since there are many versions of it. And on important occasions, attendees shall pay respect to the song. So whether one can sing the song well or not doesn’t result in breaking the law,” Yu said.

China is not the first country to draft laws about national anthem. Some foreign countries and regions including Russia, Canada and Malaysia, have made specific laws about their national anthems, while some other countries and regions, including Japan, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines, have made laws regarding their national flags, national emblems and national anthems.

The national anthem is March of the Volunteers, with lyrics by poet Tian Han (1898-1968) and music composed by Nie Er (1912-1935).

Authorities issued a regulation on proper etiquette for the national anthem in 2014, banning the song from being performed at weddings, funerals and entertainments, such as balls or other non-political functions.

Respectively in 1990 and 1991, China adopted laws covering etiquette regarding its national flag and national emblem.




Li stresses reform, innovation to support development

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed administrative reform and industrial innovation to attract investment and boost the country’s economic development.

Li made the remarks during an inspection tour on Monday and Tuesday to central China’s Henan Province, where a pilot free trade zone (FTZ) was set up on April 1, 2017.

Visiting a part of the FTZ in Kaifeng city, Li praised local efforts to streamline business registration that shortened the time needed for registering a company from more than 50 working days to only a few.

Li said amid increasingly fierce market competition, local governments should reduce institutional transactions costs, delegate powers and improve regulations and services.

“In this way, they will be able to attract more investors and people will be more willing to start businesses and make innovations,” Li said.

In a visit to Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Li urged the company to seize the opportunity of the country’s “Made-in-China 2025” drive to upgrade the manufacturing sector.

The company should value innovation and craftsmanship and work on core technology for important equipment, the premier said.

In electronics manufacturer Foxconn’s Zhengzhou technology park, Li said that China is still a magnet for overseas investment, and investors should set up both production bases and research centers in China to realize win-win development.

Li also went to a floodplain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, home to about 2 million people from Henan and Shandong provinces, and met with local authorities on poverty alleviation through relocation.

Relocation is necessary for both the safety of regions along the Yellow River and for helping residents in the region out of poverty, Li said.

Local authorities should complete relocation of people from low-lying and extremely dangerous areas within three years, he added.

The premier also underlined the restoration of ancient cities, saying that cultural relics should be protected.




China targets crimes related to ‘silk road’ rail lines

China’s top procuratorate has declared war against crimes related to international freight and passenger railway services along the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Smuggling and human trafficking by international trains and crimes endangering railway safety were highlighted in a guideline issued by the railway division of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Tuesday.

China now has express freight services to 28 European cities.

Procuratorial organs will also exert more strength in investigations into cases regarding the erosion of state assets in overseas railway projects, the guideline said.

The Belt and Road Initiative is China-proposed trade and infrastructure plan connecting Asia with Europe and Africa.

China will host the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14 and 15.




Medical schools launch organ donation, transplant courses

China performs the world’s second largest number of organ transplants, but a shortage of qualified transplant doctors is impeding progress. Now the country has sped up training of doctors, with the help from the international community.

Seven Chinese universities will conduct postgraduate training in organ donation and transplants this year.

The laKeTLOD (Knowledge transfer and leadership in organ donation from Europe to China) is co-founded by the European Commission and Chinese universities. Launched Tuesday at Shanghai Jiaotong University, laKeTLOD expects to enroll 20 postgraduate students in a course on organ donation and transplants this autumn.

Specialists from three universities in France, Italy and Spain will offer training in accordance with European guidelines.

Twenty-two Chinese doctors have already been through a three-month online course and will be in Spain from May 21 for a week of further training. They will then offer courses on what they have learned to 140 healthcare postgraduates over two years in universities in Beijing, Kunming, Nanchang, Nanning, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Marti Manyalich, President of Spain’s Donation and Transplantation Institute (DTI), said at the launch that training is not just about sharing knowledge, but about transferring the course to China, adapted to local needs and delivered in Chinese.

“Seven universities are not enough. We must train more Chinese professionals in the next decades,” said Manyalich.

Spain has more organ donations per capita than any other country. It has been at the forefront of training on the subject for thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide since the 1990s.

China has the largest number of organ donations per year in Asia, and the second number of organ transplants globally after the U.S., but lags far behind on a per capita basis.

“But China is changing,” said Francis Delmonico, representative of the World Health Organization and former president of the Transplantation Society.

Organ donation is a challenge in China due to lack of training and health professionals, said Wang Qian, Dean of International Cooperation Office of China’s Capital Medical University, one of the participants in laKeTLOD.

Currently, 169 Chinese hospitals can perform transplants with the number expected to reach 300 in the next five years.

“We are waiting for the Chinese versions of textbooks and more medical specialists to join the program,” said Chen Xiaosong, who will teach the course at Shanghai Jiaotong University.