Tag Archives: China

Cobi, a giant panda named after the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, died this month at the age of 25 at a zoo in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Cobi passed away on Feb. 2, despite two days’ of emergency treatment after he suddenly fell into a coma on Jan. 31, the Chengdu Zoo announced Thursday.

The age of the male giant panda is equivalent to about 75 human years. He was healthy before his sudden illness though he had some symptoms of aging such as loss of appetite.

Cobi was named by Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee. He was born on July 26, 1992 Beijing time, coinciding with the opening day of the 25th Olympic Games in Spain.

He fathered nine cubs, most of whom have further descendants.

The average lifespan of wild pandas is 15 years, but those in captivity usually live longer due to better nutrition and living conditions.

A survey found China with an estimated 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity in 2013.

China plans to develop the smart health and elderly care industry in the next four years to grants universal access to health management services and home-based elderly care, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Thursday.

According to an action plan jointly made by the MIIT, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China will build a smart health and elderly care industry with more than 100 industrial leading enterprises and a number of brands by 2020.

The country will also have more than 100 model bases for the industry in the next four years, said the plan.

Efforts should be made to make breakthroughs in core technologies and promote the development of intelligent analysis technologies such as real-time health status analysis and health trend analysis based on big data, so as to provide more types of health-care services to the public.

The government will also encourage the development of advanced health devices such as health management wearables, portable health monitors and home service robots, it said.

The MIIT said the it will build a unified information sharing system to improve the quality and security of the service network of the smart health and elderly care industry.

China is hoping to make the internet available in aircraft cabins, high speed trains or even remote mountainous areas, thanks to six communication satellites it’s planning to send into orbit this year, according to China National Radio. The first sate… read more

Police in south China’s Hainan Province have seized 1,060 kilograms of methamphetamine, sometimes referred to as ice, the largest ever haul of the drug in the province, police said Thursday. Nine suspects, including the alleged ringleader, surnamed Zh… read more

With the development of drones, airliners’ safety has been threatened in recent years. Since the beginning of 2017, the safety of some airliners was influenced by drones.

Huang Hao, vice-general manager from Baiyun International Airport, said they are designing an electronic fence to block unmanned aircraft from flying in sensitive areas.

Huang also said they will establish the electronic fence to block UVA within airport boundaries. Once UVA enters into its boundary, the electronic fence system will disturb the UVA system and make it return automatically. Also, the Baiyun International Airport will cooperate with the local government and the police to strengthen the safety campaign and the daily monitor.

Yang Jieqiong, the deputy secretary-general of Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, said that there are more than 50,000 unmanned aerial vehicle (UVA) players in China, and more than half of them are in the Pearl River Delta region. The number of the UVA players is still increasing rapidly. Most of players do not have qualifications for UVA operation.

Technical measures could be taken to block UVA from the airport, said Yang. However, these technical measures have not been used in airports in Guangdong Province. Moreover, Yang calls for strengthening law enforcement and establishing real-name registration system for UVA players to ensure the safety of airliners.

The electronic fence is expected to be launched within the year.