介绍:
This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.
The State Council, China's cabinet, has decided to introduce new measures to better protect vulnerable children in China.
The decision was made during a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
Li said Children living in extremely difficult circumstances need special care and protection; and the government should work to build a safety net to better protect them.
He was referring to children who endure harsh living conditions because of poverty, health problems or lack of parental custody. Major problems that these children face include severe poverty as well as a lack of medical treatment and education.
A document circulated at the meeting introduced specific requirements for central ministries and local governments to provide comprehensive assistance to these children. Such efforts will include providing financial aid and special medical care coverage.
Local governments are urged to fully implement compulsory education and guarantee that children's guardians fulfill their custodial responsibilities.
The premier said protecting children in difficult conditions is an important part of China's efforts to build a moderately prosperous society, as well as a social safety net that leaves no one unprotected.
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The Ministry of Education has told departments and schools to check their stocks of inflammable and explosive chemicals.
Education departments will check research institutions, teaching laboratories, storehouses and other sites with hazardous chemicals. Oil and gas pipelines, electric grids and other areas will also be checked.
The ministry said risks found should be rectified and emergence plans made. Safety facilities, personal protective equipment and other safety facilities should be put in place and fully operational.
The ministry told local departments and schools to carry out fire control checks on a regular basis, as well as a fire control education and drill.
You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
The World Health Organization and leading health experts in China are calling for the country to follow the global trend and promote plain packaging and graphic warnings on cigarette packs to reduce tobacco use.
The organization's call for all countries to prepare for plain, or standardized, packaging of tobacco products came as Beijing marked the first anniversary of an anti-smoking law, and World No Tobacco Day, which fell on May 31.
Bernhard Schwartlander, the organization's representative in China, said plain packaging is an evidence-based measure that can save lives and protect public health. Plain packaging makes tobacco products less attractive, stops tobacco companies using the pack as a marketing tool, and increases the effectiveness of health warnings.
Schwartlander said the World Health Organization recommends plain packaging as part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, and it works best alongside other tobacco-control measures, including comprehensive anti-smoking laws, and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
The ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development is an NGO in Beijing that is committed to tobacco control. The center said China lags behind many other countries in promoting plain packaging and graphic warnings; and the country must take action right now.
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More than 2,000 industrial firms will have to move out of a Beijing district as the authorities push to improve the natural environment for what will be the city's new administrative center.
The Tongzhou District announced that industrial campuses, processing plants and stud farms are among the entities that will have to relocate.
Tongzhou district, which is around 40 minutes' drive from the center of Beijing, was designated a subsidiary administrative center for the city municipality last year as part of measures to tackle overcrowding in the capital.
Almost 800 companies have already closed, and production halt orders have been issued to 300 polluting plants. The district plans to remove all polluting and low-end industries by the end of next year.
Tongzhou District is also cleaning up its waterways and planting more trees, in an effort to increase the greenery coverage rate to 51 percent by 2020.
You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Five Beijing police officers involved in a high-profile case in which a 29-year-old man died after being taken into custody in early May have been placed under investigation.
The prosecuting body in Changping district has filed a case and conducted an investigation into the police officers.
Lei Yang died on May 7 around an hour after he was detained on suspicion of soliciting prostitution.
Beijing Public Security Bureau said in a previous statement that Lei was uncooperative when he was stopped by plainclothes officers at a foot massage salon at 9 pm. Lei resisted arrest, bit a police officer, knocked a video camera over and attempted to escape before being handcuffed. He was taken to a hospital at 10 pm and was pronounced dead 50 minutes later.
On May 19, the municipal top prosecuting authority delivered the case to the district's prosecuting body after Lei's wife applied for prosecutors to investigate the police officers involved in the incident.
In its previous statement, the public security bureau said it would respect any investigation and would not attempt to shield any officers if misconduct was uncovered.
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