介绍:
This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
China is studying the possibility of introducing medical insurance fees for retirees, a move that has split expert and public opinion.
In an article for "Seeking the Truth", the official Party magazine, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the government should look at the option as a way to tackle rising pressure on the national health system. Unlike in most countries, retirees in China are not required to pay health insurance.
By the end of 2014, around 280 million Chinese were included in the employee medical insurance program, a main pillar of the national system.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the national insurance system currently has a surplus of 670 billion yuan, roughly 103 billion U.S. dollars, a figure that has continued to rise in recent years. Yet experts warn that China's rapidly aging society means a deficit will occur if expenditure keeps rising at the current pace.
An expert at Peking University says that in the West, the biggest threat to national health insurance systems is an aging population. But in China, in addition to that factor, pressure also comes from the fact that reimbursement levels need to be increased. The expert said that this is the reason why retirees need to contribute.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
As China scrapped its one-child policy, the existing social tracking system, a sort of credit rating for parents, was expanded in south China's Guangdong Province to help deter a third baby.
Now, the reports will indicate that a couple has exceeded the limit.
Couples who have a third child in violation of the rules will have difficulty applying for a loan, buying an airline ticket or benefiting from other social services under Guangdong's amended family planning regulation.
The rule was approved by the provincial legislature on Dec 30, three days after the top national legislature approved the two-children rule. Guangdong Province, which has a reputation for bigger families, was the first to add the number of children to its social credit reporting system at the local level.
Children born in violation of the rule will still obtain a hukou, or household registration, and can attend school. But their parents will face barriers in receiving some services in the future.
The current social maintenance fee will remain in place for births that exceed the legal limit. If the parents pay the fee, they will face no barriers.
Under China's new law, couples no longer need to ask for a birth permit beforehand for two children, though they are required to report and register their newborns.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Five minor planets have been named after top Chinese scientists, including the country's first Nobel laureate Tu Youyou.
Minor Planet No. 31230 was named after Tu, who won last year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering artemisinin to treat malaria and saved millions of lives.
Minor Planet No. 12935 was named after Zheng Zhemin, a prominent dynamicist and one of the founders of the field of explosion mechanics.
Others include scientist Zhang Cunhao, who is the founder of the field of high-energy chemical lasers in China and one of the pioneers in the field of molecular reaction dynamics.
The five scientists also include Xie Jialin, a renowned physical scientist and the founder of particle accelerators in China, as well as Wu Liangyong, an architect, city planner and educator.
The five minor planets were discovered between 1995 and 1999 by the Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at an observation station in northern China.
You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
National forestry and weather authorities have dismissed rumors that trees planted as windbreaks have worsened air pollution in northern China by slowing air movement.
Since November, severe smog has frequently engulfed northern China, including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, partly because there have been more windless days.
In recent weeks, the average wind speed in the region was around 6.8 kilometers per hour, which is 5 percent lower than the annual average.
But experts say the slower wind has no relation to the windbreaks. Windbreaks can affect the wind speed, but only at the surface. Trees can slow wind only to a distance around 10 times their height. For example, if a tree is 20 meters high, it could affect wind within 200 meters.
Windbreaks, also known as shelter belts, were created to guard against desertification and soil erosion. The closest major tree belt to urban Beijing is located 200 kilometers from the capital.
The authorities say wind is weaker this winter because cold air fronts levels have been below average.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Drones and other high-tech surveillance measures have been making a big impact in the fight against drugs and related crimes in Huidong County in Guangdong province. The place was once known as a major production base for the so-called date-rape anesthetic ketamine.
Five drones have provided accurate data for police planning raids on drug labs, while also helping deter drug producers and traffickers.
The drones fly every day, mainly over local mountains, forests, large orchards and other target areas where police officers find it difficult to patrol and where secret drug dens might be hidden.
The police cracked down three major gangs that were active in the county and the eastern coastal areas of Guangdong during a special operation in October 2013. More than 1,000 officers participated, dealing a heavy blow to the illegal drug trade.
Following the success, the local government invested another 100 million yuan, roughly 15-and-a-half million U.S. dollars recently, in a sustained crackdown.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Unequal treatment of male and female scholars has been found in an online survey by a group of Chinese professors.
The results showed that only a quarter of 170 professors interviewed believe the gender ratio is balanced in their institutions, while 67 percent said the number of female professors is "quite low".
The survey received almost 1,600 responses from more than 40 academic institutions in November.
Fifty-eight percent of female interviewees said they had experienced gender discrimination in their academic life. Sixty-seven percent of male interviewees denied stereotyping in academic work.
The survey also found that most female professionals feel they are being discriminated against, while very few males feel the same way.
Experts say that the discrimination is not a fixed policy or standard, but involves social judgments.
The survey found that 77 percent of female professors believe that if they had been born male, their academic careers would have developed further.
Among the 1,080 college students interviewed, only 20 percent of females said they would continue their academic career, while 33 percent of the males said likewise.
You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging onto NEWSPlusRadio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.
Among the most talked-about topics in foreign language education in China last year was the reform of English requirements for college entrance tests.
A recent report says the proper priority for English and the drafting of a national standard has a great impact on foreign language education in China.
The Beijing Foreign Studies University compiled the annual report of China's foreign language education which was released recently.
The debate on English test reform in college entrance exams ended in 2014, when the State Council outlined a new plan in this regard. Under the plan, the Chinese language, English and math would be equally weighted.
Previously, many people worried that English was losing its status in the country's educational thinking. Policy changes have been seen in foreign language studies.
For example, many universities and colleges have added elective courses for Korean language learning. The Korean language studies have gone beyond traditional means of listening, speaking, reading and writing. But more emphasis has put on general education and cultural competency.
The School of Arabic Studies at Ningxia University has revised its curriculum to include lectures for economics and management, political science and the humanities in its Arabic studies.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Scenic attractions associated with Chinese philosophers Confucius and Mencius are now free of charge for the country's 15 million teachers, in an effort to promote traditional culture.
Three tourist venues, the Confucius Temple, his Family Mansion and the Cemetery of Confucius, are located in Qufu City in Shandong Province.
Born near the present-day town of Qufu, Confucius lived 2,500 years ago. He founded a school of thought that influenced later generations and became known as Confucianism. He was the first person to set up private schools to teach children including those from poor families.
A top party official in the city says Confucius is the teacher for all, and free access could make more teachers learn from him and become good teachers.
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994, the three scenic attractions, the Confucius Temple, his Family Mansion and the Cemetery of Confucius, received around four million visitors last year and in previous years.
Meanwhile, the Temple and Family Mansion of Mencius, in Zoucheng City in the province have also begun offering free access for teachers, except during national holidays. The two spots are also on the country's key protection list.
Mencius lived 2,300 years ago and was a student of a grandson of Confucius. Mencius traveled across the country all his life promoting Confucianism.
You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
A documentary series on China's deep sea exploration has been aired on China Central Television, the state broadcaster.
The three-episode documentary is entitled "China's Deep Dive". It shows how China's ocean scientists conducted deep-sea experiments on the seabed 3,000 meters below the surface. The scientists used the Jiaolong, or the Dragon, China's first deep-sea submarine.
The documentary features a variety of deep-sea creatures and oceanic wonders captured by robot-mounted underwater cameras, as well as the life and emotions of the deep-sea divers.
The camera men and other crew members have traveled with the exploration team, enduring typhoons, high waves and seasickness.
Produced by the state broadcaster and several cooperation partners, this is the first in a series of documentaries featuring China's economic development and scientific achievements.
The production of the documentaries was initialed by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council Information Office.
Other documentary films include major infrastructure projects and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Films screened in China raked in more than 44 billion yuan, or almost 7 billion U.S. dollars last year. That is an increase of almost 50 percent compared with the previous year and a record high since 2011.
Domestic films took in 27 billion yuan, or 60 percent of the total, maintaining a clear dominance over the country's film market.
Last year, a total of 81 features surpassed the 100 million yuan box office threshold, including 47 Chinese titles.
（全文见周六微信。）
