A student gives a teacher a kiss of gratitude at an event marking the 32nd Teachers’ Day， which fell on September 10， in a kindergarten in Nanfeng County， south China’s Jiangxi Province.


　　 Rights Protection
　　The judicial authorities have reformed many areas in order to further improve the legal procedures for safeguarding human rights， according to a white paper issued by the State Council Information Office on September 12.
　　The white paper， titled New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China， said the government has reformed the case admission system by converting the case-filing review system into a casefiling registration system.
　　China has revised its Criminal Procedure Law and implemented legal principles， in dubio pro reo， as well as the exclusion of unlawful evidence， said the white paper.
　　The country also revised its Civil Procedure Law for effectively settling disputes and revised its Administrative Procedure Law to strengthen the protection of legitimate rights and interests of private parties in administrative lawsuits.
　　Judicial authorities have “put in place a system to exclude unlawful evidence and protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects，” the paper said.
　　In 2015， the procuratorial organs at all levels demanded the withdrawal of 10，384 cases wrongly filed by investigation organs and regulated 31，874 cases of illegal conduct involving the abuse of compulsory measures and unlawful procurement of evidence.
　　China has also improved procedures for juvenile criminal cases to help underage offenders better reintegrate into society， said the white paper.
　　 Foreigners’ Permits
　　A program will be piloted to streamline work application paperwork for foreigners in China， the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs （SAFEA） said on September 8.
　　The pilot scheme， which merges the two types of work permit currently granted to foreigners into just one， will cover provincial-level regions including Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shanghai， Anhui， Shandong， Guangdong， Sichuan and Ningxia from October 2016 to March 2017， according to the administration.
　　Under the current system， foreigners taking up employment must apply for one of two types of work permit： an employment license for foreign employees and a foreign expert work permit for top talent， which are issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and SAFEA respectively. 　　The new work permit will be the legal credential for foreigners to work in China， with a permanent number tied to each applicant， said Gao Xiang， Director of the Department of Policies and Regulations under SAFEA. He added that the new permit will be applied to foreigners across the country when the trial ends in April 2017.
　　Moreover， some application materials will not be needed when foreigners apply for the new work permit， such as a personal resume.
　　 Sea Route Research
　　A research center was founded in south China’s Hainan Province on September 7 for the study of the book Geng Lu Bu （Manual for Sea Routes） created by Chinese fishermen more than 600 years ago.
　　Geng Lu Bu， which was passed down from generation to generation among Chinese fishermen， was a navigation guide for the South China Sea.
　　It not only records the features and oceanic conditions of the islands in the South China Sea， but contains the history of the sea， ship building technology， names of islands， locations and reefs， shipping lanes and fisheries.
　　“Geng Lu Bu is an encyclopedia of the South China Sea，” said Gao Zhiguo， former Director of the China Institute for Marine Affairs under the State Oceanic Administration. “It is also evidence that the South China Sea Islands are China’s inherent territory.”
　　Before the 1970s， almost all the captains in Hainan had the book. Due to the popularity of modern navigation instruments， fewer and fewer fishermen have used the book since then， said Zhou Weimin， a professor at Hainan University.
　　Only a few copies of the book still exist， as the captains and fishermen who made use of the book have gradually passed away. It is therefore in dire need of protection， Zhou said.
　　The research center will collect existing copies and will preserve and protect them as well as establish a museum for the book and build a database.
　　 Desalination Capacity
　　The daily output of China’s 121 seawater desalination projects reached more than 1 million tons in total at the end of 2015， according to an official report released on September 7.
　　The report on seawater utilization in 2015 issued by the State Oceanic Administration （SOA） said that China’s daily output represented less than 1.25 percent of the world’s daily production volume， which totaled 86.55 million tons at the end of 2015.
　　Of China’s desalinated water， 67.14 percent is used for industrial purposes and the rest for residential use， said the report. 　　Lei Bo， an SOA official， said that China is trying to expand financial resources for seawater desalination projects and aims to use desalinated seawater on a large scale by 2020.
　　 Welcome to Tibet
　　Actresses stage a performance at the opening ceremony of the Third China Tibet International Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa， Tibet Autonomous Region， on September 10.
　　The expo aims to promote Tibet’s image as a prominent world tourism destination with well-preserved ethnic culture.
　　 Star-Studded Event
　　Previous winners of the Chinese Science Fiction Galaxy Award make handprints at this year’s award ceremony in Beijing on September 8.
　　Hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology， a series of events on science fiction is held in Beijing annually in September.
　　 War Trial Database
　　A Chinese university has announced an ambitious plan to build the largest database in Asia on the Japanese war criminal trials that followed World War II.
　　Shanghai Jiao Tong University， together with the National Library of China and the Second Historical Archives of China， will collect dossiers on Japanese war criminals other than the nation’s 28 Class-A criminals such as former prime ministers and army generals， according to the university on September 8.
　　Criminals with less serious crimes were tried in dozens of war crime courts set up after the war in Asia-Pacific countries including China， the Philippines， Australia and New Zealand.
　　The project is challenging， as documents on the trials are fragmented and are scattered among different archives， universities and libraries across the region， said Cheng Zhaoqi， head of the Center for Tokyo Trial Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
　　The database will be compiled in the Chinese， English and Japanese languages and will be open for international research， said Cheng.
　　 Artificial Herb
　　Scientists have developed a substitute for the wild caterpillar fungus， a rare Tibetan herb known for its cancer-resisting properties.
　　The Department of Science and Technology of northwest China’s Qinghai Province confirmed on September 9 that after 11 years of research， scientists can extract and cultivate the hypha—the branching filamentous structure of a fungus—from the caterpillar fungus by producing an artificial substitute.
　　A tiny stalk of wild caterpillar fungus， known in China as “winter worm， summer grass，” sells for about the same price as gold， even in the town nearest to the plateau where it grows. 　　However， excessive digging of the fungus， which has a long growing cycle， has led to serious damage to the fragile ecology of the region.
　　Found only on the QinghaiTibet Plateau， the caterpillar fungus reportedly has cancer fighting properties and boosts the immune system.
　　The government provided financial and technical support to the project， which will have an annual output of 200 tons of fermented caterpillar fungus powder and byproducts， said Zhang Chaoyuan， Deputy Director of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Science and Technology.
　　The artificial product has 97-percent DNA similarity with the wild herb， according to Qinghai Everest Cordyceps Pharmaceutical， the research company.
　　 CPI and PPI
　　China’s consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 1.3 percent year on year in August， down from July’s 1.8 percent， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） announced on September 9.
　　In August， the index dropped for the fourth consecutive month from 2.3 percent in April， when the CPI reached its highest level since July 2014.
　　On a month-on-month basis， the CPI rose 0.1 percent in August.
　　NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the moderate inflation largely to eased food prices.
　　The price of pork rose 6.4 percent year on year in August， slowing from the 16.1-percent rise registered in July.
　　Since January 2016， the CPI has been calculated using a new comparison base and has included more products and services， while slightly reducing the weighting of food.
　　The producer price index （PPI）， which measures costs for goods at the factory gate， dropped 0.8 percent year on year in August， a narrower decrease than the 1.7 percent registered in July， said the NBS.
　　The reading marked the 54th straight month of decline， as China’s economic slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.
　　On a month-on-month basis， August’s PPI edged up 0.2 percent.
　　 Setting Sail
　　A cargo ship named Lilac at Huanghua Port of Cangzhou， north China’s Hebei Province， is ready to set out for the port of Bintulu， Malaysia on a 15-day voyage on September 9.
　　It’s the first international direct route linking Huanghua Port with Southeast Asia.


　　 Foreign Trade
　　China’s foreign trade improved significantly in August while pressure on the country’s export growth is ex- pected to decrease further， customs data showed on September 8. 　　Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 5.9 percent year on year in August， accelerating from 2.9 percent in July. Imports increased 10.8 percent， compared with a decline of 5.7 percent in July， according to figures from the General Administration of Customs （GAC）.
　　That led to a monthly trade surplus of 346 billion yuan （$51.9 billion）， down 5.1 percent from a year earlier.
　　In the first eight months， foreign trade was down 1.8 percent from a year earlier， with exports dropping 1 percent and imports falling 2.9 percent， GAC data showed.
　　The trade surplus for the first eight months widened 5 percent from a year earlier to 2.31 trillion yuan （$346 billion）.
　　 Supplying Airplane Components
　　Chengfei Commercial Aircraft Co.（CCAC） delivered a batch of key aircraft components on September 9—rudders made in Chengdu， capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province， for Boeing’s new 737 MAX and 787-10 Dreamliner airplanes.
　　The CCAC is a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China（AVIC）， the country’s largest stateowned aircraft producer.
　　“Boeing is proud to join AVIC and CCAC to celebrate another exciting milestone in the growing relationship among our companies. The delivery of rudders is for not just one but two of Boeing’s airplane development programs，” said Ian Chang， Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ Vice President of Supply Management in China.
　　“We are proud to work with AVIC companies， including CCAC， to meet Boeing’s requirements for high quality， affordability and on-time delivery while expanding China’s aviation manufacturing capabilities.”
　　The 737 MAX， which is a more fuel-efficient version of the bestselling 737 family， will be delivered to customers starting in 2017， while the 787-10 Dreamliner， the largest member of the technologically advanced 787 family， will be delivered to customers starting in 2018.
　　Boeing is the largest international customer for China’s aviation manufacturing industry. Chinese suppliers produce components and assemblies for all five Boeing Commercial Airplanes programs， and more than 9，000 Boeing aircraft are flying with components and parts made in China.
　　As a Boeing supplier， CCAC produces rudders for the entire 787 family and the rudder and other components for the 737.
　　AVIC Deputy General Manager Geng Ruguang said that AVIC attaches great importance to its partnership with Boeing and will continue to improve innovation and research and development capabilities， enhance competitiveness， and deepen cooperation with Boeing to achieve mutual benefits and meet customer needs. 　　 Investing in HK Market
　　Insurance authorities now allow Chinese mainland insurance companies to invest in Hong Kong shares through a stock link program.
　　Insurers have to launch wealth management products to make portfolio investments via the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect， the China Insurance Regulatory Commission （CIRC） said in an online statement.
　　The new access to the Hong Kong market will help them improve asset structures， minimize risk and increase returns， the CIRC said.
　　Rules on opening accounts， trading and clearing were also clarified by the CIRC.
　　The stock connect was launched in November 2014 for investors to trade selected stocks on each other’s exchanges. A similar system between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses is expected to start in mid or late November.
　　 Railway Hub
　　Passengers show their tickets on the inaugural train of the Zhengzhou-Xuzhou high-speed railway in Zhengzhou on September 10.
　　With the opening of the line linking Zhengzhou in central China’s Henan Province with Xuzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province， China’s operational high-speed rail network exceeds 20，000 km.


　　 Geoinformation Valued
　　China has issued a geographic information development plan， vowing to improve its surveying and mapping capability and services.
　　By 2020， the country will establish a non-profit system providing integrated services including basic surveying and mapping， condition monitoring， surveying and mapping for emergency response， aerial and space remote sensing surveying and mapping as well as global geoinformation resources development， the plan said.
　　According to the document， China will set up a national satellite navigation and positioning network consisting of over 2，500 base stations in five years.
　　It also noted that China will provide emergency response surveying and mapping services covering 80 percent of the country’s land territory and key sea areas within four hours， and establish a spatiotemporal database of smart cities.
　　The output value of China’s geographic information industry is forecast to exceed 800 billion yuan（$120 billion） by 2020， the plan said. The document was jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Administration of Surveying， Mapping and Geoinformation.
　　 Fruitful Bounty 　　Visitors fix their eyes on fruits exhibited at the agricultural exhibition hall of the 13th China-ASEAN Expo held in Nanning， south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on September 11.
　　The exhibition area reached 15，000 square meters， with a variety of new， quality agricultural products.


　　 Sky Train Launched
　　China’s sky train came off the assembly line in the city of Nanjing on September 10， with China becoming the third country to master sky train technology， after Germany and Japan.
　　The Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd.， affiliated to China’s largest stateowned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corp. Ltd. （China Railway Rolling Stock Corp.）， took only four months to design and complete the elevated railway trains， said CRRC.
　　The two compartments can hold more than 200 passengers， and when compared with subways and trams， sky trains have lower costs， better climbing and turning ability， and higher wind resistance.
　　Professor Yue Zhaohong at Beijing Jiaotong University said the construction period of sky trains is also much shorter than that of subways， lasting only three to five months for dozens of kilometers of rails.
　　The overhead railway is driven by batteries which can run for four hours at a time， and the batteries can be changed at a station， with the whole process lasting only two minutes.
　　Experts said sky trains are a good choice in third- and fourthtiered cities and at scenic spots.
　　The sky trains are to debut in China next year at a variety of scenic places.