Measures Taken to Better Regulate Apps
　　The Cyberspace Administration， Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， Ministry of Public Security， and the State Administration for Market Regulation recently held a meeting on curbing the illegal collection and use of personal information by apps.
　　The meeting first reviewed work done in this regard last year. The four central agencies established a special working team in 2019， which has handled more than 12，000 complaints by consumers. After assessing and investigating 2，300-plus apps， they took measures against 260 of them， including exposing them to the media， summoning their developers， and removing them from the market.
　　There are more than five million apps in use across China， and the privacy concern over them still remains. The meeting disclosed that China will ratchet up efforts in this regard in 2020， with a focus on seven aspects. Among them are unregulated collection and use of biometric information， like facial recognition， auto-starting in the background， start of affiliate programs， and unauthorized uploading of private information， including audio messages and photos. Certification for personal information security will also be advanced， and a dynamic monitoring mechanism will be established for certification holders.
　　Building a Beautiful Countryside
　　This year China will accomplish the three-year action plan for improving living conditions in its rural areas. As part of the effort， the central budget has allocated RMB 7.4 billion for renovation of rural toilets this year.
　　Since 2016， China has completed the living environment improvement program in 125，000 villages， which account for 96 percent of the goal set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period （2016-20）. An amount of RMB 25.8 billion from the central budget has been allocated for this purpose， in addition to nearly RMB 70 billion from local budgets and funds raised by towns and villages themselves.
　　To increase technical support for this program， China has set up a cloud consultation platform and a technical standard committee for rural toilet upgrading， which provide both online and on-site guidance for work in this regard.
　　Over the past three years， steady progress has been made in domestic waste disposal in rural communities across China. A pilot program for waste classification has been rolled out in some counties， and a 30 percent reduction in household waste has been reported in these localities. By integrating the collection， transport， and treatment networks for renewable resources， China has built 50，800 renewable recycling stations in counties and administrative regions at lower levels.


　　5G Maintains Strong Growth
　　China built 257，000 new 5G base stations in the first half of the year， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） at a recent press conference. The total number of stations had reached 410，000 by the end of June.
　　Shipments of 5G phones reached 86.23 million units in China during the first half of the year. 5G package users hit 66 million by the end of June， said Wen Ku， spokesperson of the MIIT. The value-added output of information transmission， software， and information technology services rose 14.5 percent year on year， 1.3 percentage points faster than the first quarter.
　　To give full play to the role of 5G in supporting highquality economic development， more policies should be implemented to boost the vitality of the market， Wen said.
　　Action Plan to Boost Youth Employment
　　The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， the Ministry of Finance， and the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Youth League recently unveiled an action plan for vocational training for young people. Their goal is to provide at least two million training opportunities for young workers during the 2020-21 period to boost their employment prospects.
　　The plan covers six aspects： a one-year apprenticeship system for new college graduates and young workers； workbased training subsidized by the government； study programs through partnerships between enterprises， vocational schools， and grandmasters’ studios； start-up programs under preferential loan and tax policies； training for emerging jobs and new modes of business； and contests of various professional skills.