Workers lay the track for the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou high-speed railway in Bozhou， east China’s Anhui Province， on February 26. The railway will link Shangqiu in central China’s Henan Province， Hefei， capital of east China’s Anhui Province， and Hangzhou， capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province.
　　Procuratorial Advice
　　China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate （SPP） released revised regulation on February 26 regarding the work of procuratorial proposals in a bid to increase work quality and effi ciency.
　　Procuratorial proposals are an important means of the people’s procuratorates to exercise their power of supervision in accordance with the law. Relevant agencies that have received procuratorial proposals are obliged to act according to the advice and report the adoption of the advice to the procuratorate in written form.
　　“Rules on the investigation and verifi cation of events under supervision have been improved in the new regulation，” SPP spokesperson Xiao Wei said， adding that more specifi c rules on issuing procuratorial pro- posals and implementation have been added to the regulation.
　　The new regulation also makes the types and application scope of procuratorial proposals clearer.
　　People’s procuratorates across the country issued nearly 253，000 pieces of proposals in 2018， among which 82.4 percent had been taken by relevant agencies， Xiao said.
　　Veteran Service Center
　　A national service center to provide better services and safeguard veteran’s welfare formally commenced operations in Beijing on February 26.
　　The service center is mainly responsible for helping veterans fi nd jobs or start businesses， providing preferential treatment and assistance， as well as arranging visits to ex-servicemen， said an offi cial with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
　　As a key component of the veterans’ service and security system， it also undertakes work such as dealing with petition letters and visits of veterans， in addition to safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.
　　Such service centers and stations at local levels will be established nationwide.
　　Rural Libraries
　　China has vowed to improve the quality and effi ciency of its rural libraries through reform and innovation efforts， according to an action plan released by central authorities.
　　Among the measures， supplies of e-reading products and services will be increased at rural libraries， and reading activities of various themes will be held on a regular basis to meet local residents’ needs， says a statement by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee， which released the plan along with nine other central-level agencies. 　　As of the end of 2018， there were 587，000 village-based libraries nationwide， and over 1.1 billion books had been distributed to rural residents， said the statement.
　　China started a trial run of the Rural Library project in 2005 and put it into full swing two years later in order to optimize public cultural services in rural areas. By the end of 2012， the project had covered all administrative villages where basic conditions allow for building a library.
　　Fraudulent Lending
　　Chinese police have shut down 1，664 mafi a-style groups involved in fraudulent lending and seized 16，349 suspects since a national campaign against organized crime was launched in early 2018， the Ministry of Public Security said on February 26.
　　Since early 2018， police have cracked 21，624 fraud and extortion cases and sealed assets worth 3.53 billion yuan （$527 million） related to such crimes， said Zeng Haiyan with the ministry at a press conference.
　　Under the guise of private lending， the criminal rings deceived victims into signing false contracts. They also forced them into debt forging evidence to make them breach their contracts and illegally possessed the victims’ property through violent measures such as illegal detention and extortion， said the ministry.
　　Investigations found that some organized crime groups had used online lending platforms to commit fraud， bringing harm to a large number of people.
　　In one case， police in the city of Wenling， Zhejiang Province， busted a syndicate and seized 263 suspects in June 2018. The ring was found to have given out loans to more than 90，000 people through online platforms between August 2017 and May 2018， illegally making more than 100 million yuan （$15 million） in profi ts.
　　In another case， 129 suspects from a fraudulent lending ring targeting college students were arrested by police in the city of Anyang， Henan Province. The group’s members had harassed and threatened students who were unable to repay the loans by sending nude photos or insulting text messages to them or their family members， teachers and classmates.
　　Fining Polluters
　　Administrative fi nes amounting to 15.28 billion yuan （$2.28 billion） were slapped on fi rms， organizations and individuals for environmental offenses in 2018， according to China’s Ecology and Environment Minister Li Ganjie. He told a bi-monthly legislative session that the fi nes were almost fi ve times the fi gure in 2014 before the current Environmental Protection Law came into effect. 　　Fines in 2018 also grew by 32 percent from a year earlier， Li said.
　　The minister made the statement before the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress as it began deliberating feedback on a State Council report on how the government responded to the legislature’s inspection report and comments.
　　The top legislature made inspecting the enforcement of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law a priority of its supervision work in 2018.
　　Li said that all 38 problems identifi ed by the inspection had been addressed， resulting in one administrative detention， 28 penalties and fi nes totaling 4.67 million yuan（$700，000）.
　　The State Council report said the government had strengthened supervision， overhauled polluting fi rms and combined advanced technologies such as remote sensing with on-spot inspections to detect environmental violations.
　　High Demand


　　A job seeker looking for housekeeping work registers her facial information at the family center of Fujian Women’s Federation in Fuzhou City， southeast China’s Fujian Province， on February 23. The housekeeping market saw not only strong supply but also strong demands after the Spring Festival.
　　Piracy Crackdown
　　A special operation against online copyright infringement， which started in July last year， has been successful， said the National Copyright Administration （NCA） on February 27.
　　The authorities investigated 544 cases of online copyright violations， 74 of which were criminal ones and involved around 150 million yuan（$22.42 million） of illegal funds， said an NCA statement.
　　A total of 1.85 million links to pirated information were deleted and 1.23 million pirated publications were confi scated， the statement said.
　　The authorities paid close attention to live streaming platforms. The NCA interviewed executives of 15 platforms and pushed them to tighten internal inspection.
　　The platforms shut down or downgraded 140，000 accounts for copyright violation and removed 570，000 pirated short videos， the statement said.
　　A Warm Embrace


　　Children hug a cartoon fi gure used for raising public awareness of rare diseases in Beijing on February 23. The date marked the 12th International Rare Disease Day with the theme of Bridging Health and Social Care.
　　Mental Health
　　About 11 percent to 15 percent of Chinese people have mild to moderate mental health problems while 2 percent to 3 percent have moderate to severe problems， according to China Youth Daily， citing a recently released report. 　　While the majority of China’s national mental health is in good condition， the urban population is， overall， in better shape than the rural population， according to a blue book released by the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
　　The blue book， titled Report on National Mental Health Development in China （2017-2018）， is China’s fi rst of its kind on mental health， said the newspaper.
　　The blue book suggests the strong need for psychological consultation， noting that 74 percent of surveyed people said they do not have access to such services.
　　Chen Zhiyan， a professor at the institute and deputy editor-in-chief of the blue book， said psychological consultation would “better meet the needs of the people concerning mental health， and improve their mental health conditions.”
　　Rising Mutual Funds
　　Chinese mutual fund companies are gearing up to invest in the new science and technology innovation board expected to be launched later this year.
　　Nine mutual fund fi rms， including China Asset Management Co.， Harvest Fund Management Co. and ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co.， had applied to the securities regulator to issue 10 equity investment products for the sci-tech board by February 26. The mutual fund products offer an alternative investment channel for small investors.
　　According to the draft rules for the board， individual investors need to have at least 500，000 yuan （$74，700） in their stock trading accounts and more than 24 months of trading experience to gain direct access to the market.
　　The leading tech companies， which are expected to expand amid a quickening economic transition， will be among the main investment targets， said Zhang Fan， an asset manager with China Asset Management Co.
　　The new board will focus on companies in hi-tech and strategically emerging sectors such as newgeneration IT， advanced equipment， new materials and energy， and biomedicine， according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
　　First proposed in November 2018 and approved in late January， the new board is likely to be rolled out as soon as the fi rst half of the year， Shi Donghui， head of the capital market research center of the Shanghai Stock Exchange， said.
　　Reaching the Sky
　　The fi rst ARJ21 aircraft operated by Genghis Khan Airlines takes off from Dachang Airbase in east China’s Shanghai on February 22. The delivery marks the beginning of scale operation of the jetliner indigenously developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China.


　　Financial Support
　　China’s central bank vowed to strengthen fi nancial support for the real economy and people’s livelihood in 2019， according to a conference that ended on February 26.
　　The People’s Bank of China（PBC） said it would give guidance on macro-credit policy and encourage fi nancial market innovation.
　　It stressed carrying forward supply-side structural reform in the fi nancial sector in order to provide more quality and effi cient fi nancial services.
　　Lenders should promote their fi nancial services to support private fi rms， small and micro businesses， according to the meeting.
　　The PBC vowed to push ahead with opening the bond market， while boosting institutional and product innovation.
　　Its to-do list also includes enhancing overall supervision of fi nancial infrastructure， improving monitoring of institutions and preventing risks.
　　Risk controls over the gold market， commercial bill market and property market will be stepped up.
　　The fi nancial sector should go all out to support poverty reduction in 2019， the central bank said.
　　Investment Growth
　　The manufacturing and property sectors of China are expected to maintain relatively rapid investment growth in 2019， the country’s economic planner predicted.
　　Investment in infrastructure may still face pressure， given a sharp fall in 2018 and shrinking local government fi nancing channels， and is likely to grow at a medium pace， according to a report released on February 26 by the National Development and Reform Commission.
　　The report estimated that mining， mid- and high-end manufacturing， accommodations and dining， real estate， scientifi c research and technological services would be popular investment targets.
　　China saw fi xed assets investment up 5.9 percent year on year in 2018.
　　The country still enjoys a huge investment potential thanks to the country’s high deposit level， highquality development and policy support， the report said.
　　The government will accelerate commercial use of 5G technologies and beef up investment in artif ciial intelligence， the industrial Internet， the Internet of Things， and other new-generation IT infrastructure.
　　More investment may boost the effi ciency of production factors such as resources and human capital， as well as public services like social security， education and medical care， the report said. 　　Worldwide Attraction
　　Staff at an e-commerce enterprise in Putian， southeast China’s Fujian Province， showcase its customized products on February 20. Cross-border e-commerce has recently boomed in the city， which exports products to over 20 countries and regions.


　　Race for Talent
　　As China’s tech companies continue to grow， so too does their demand for qualifi ed employees. JD.com， a leading online retailer， announced plans on February 25 to recruit some 15，000 new staff this year， with the bulk of the total， about 10，000 to go to workers and fi rst-line managers for its logistics arm. The rest of the job offers will be for retail sales and other subsidiaries.
　　Likewise， e-commerce giant Alibaba， which owns China’s largest online shopping platform， recently pledged no layoffs in 2019. Instead， it will continue to recruit new staff， ramp up training programs and utilize more platform resources to help create more jobs.
　　The moves come as an encouraging sign for the country’s job market and have helped mitigate worries about decreasing job opportunities in the Internet sector spreading on social media.
　　Analysts said the tertiary industry， accounting for over half of China’s GDP in 2018， has served as the catalyst for a stable job market as services， mainly in labor-intensive sectors. It is more effective in creating new job opportunities than the traditional secondary industry.
　　“Every percentage point of the country’s GDP growth is translated into more new jobs，” said Wu Ge， chief economist with Changjiang Securities， citing recent statistics.
　　Thanks to sprouting new business models and industries， labor demand increased at an unprec- edented pace in sectors including e-commerce， online entertainment， fi nance and smart manufacturing， as well as Web-based ride-hailing and food delivery.
　　Given steady economic performance and rapidly developing new growth drivers， China is confi dent in and capable of handling all kinds of risks and challenges and realizing higher quality employment， said Meng Wei， a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission.
　　Charging Expansion
　　China had built 853，000 charging stations for new-energy vehicles（NEVs） by the end of January， surging 80.1 percent from a year earlier， the Securities Times reported， quoting an industry report.
　　A total of 44，000 charging stations were built nationwide in January alone， up 231.6 percent year on year， said the newspaper. 　　Charging stations in metropoli- tan areas like Beijing， Shanghai and Guangdong Province accounted for 76.4 percent of the national total.
　　China aims to substantially improve the technology and quality of charging facilities， speed up efforts to establish a better standardization system and optimize the distribution of these facilities within three years， according to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission in December 2018.
　　It will also improve the interconnectedness of the charging networks， upgrade the charging services and create a better environment for the development of a charging infrastructure， according to the plan.
　　NEVs are gaining popularity in China， the world’s largest auto market， thanks to a string of supportive policies and the fact that they help reduce fossil fuel consumption and address air pollution.
　　The annual sales of NEVs rose 61.74 percent year on year to 1.26 million in 2018.
　　Rain or Shine
　　Workers assemble umbrellas in a factory in Dongxiang Autonomous County， northwest China’s Gansu Province， on February 26. Umbrella production has been developed in the county as a means of lifting people out of poverty since 2018.