Podcasts about supreme people

China's top court has underscored the importance of protecting people's right to reputation in cyberspace, urging judges to take a firm stance against online misconduct among fan groups and to encourage rational support for celebrities.中国最高人民法院强调了保护公民网络名誉权的重要性，敦促法官对粉丝群体中的网络不当行为采取坚决立场，并鼓励理性追星。In a case disclosed on Monday, the Supreme People's Court highlighted chaotic online behavior such as verbal abuse, inciting conflict and spreading rumors within highly organized fan circles known as fanquan. The court said these erratic actions, which have triggered frequent public complaints, should be strictly addressed under the Civil Code.在周一披露的一起案件中，最高人民法院强调了在组织严密的粉丝圈（即“粉圈”）中存在的诸如辱骂、煽动冲突和散布谣言等网络乱象。法院表示，这些引发公众投诉的不规范行为应根据《民法典》予以严格处理。Fan circles are composed of devoted supporters who share information about their idols and voluntarily contribute time, money and skills to boost the popularity of performers, typically pop stars or actors.粉丝圈由忠实的粉丝组成，他们分享偶像的信息，并自愿贡献时间、金钱和技能来提升艺人（通常是流行歌星或演员）的知名度。In the disclosed case, a netizen surnamed Wei and three others were fans of different celebrities. After the others posted negative content about Wei's idol online, Wei reported them to the internet regulator.在披露的案件中，一位姓魏的网友和其他三人是不同明星的粉丝。在其他人在网上发布了关于魏某的偶像的负面内容后，魏某向互联网监管机构举报了他们。Angered by Wei's actions, the three published additional posts on social media, including ones labeled "suspect Wei", and shared Wei's private photos and links to Wei's Weibo account. Wei filed a lawsuit in a local court.三人对魏某的行为感到愤怒，在社交媒体上发布了更多帖子，其中包括一些带有“嫌疑人魏某”标签的帖子，并分享了魏某的私人照片及其微博账户链接。魏某向当地法院提起诉讼。The court ruled that the posts constituted personal insults and infringed on Wei's right to reputation. It ordered the defendants to publicly apologize on their Weibo accounts and keep the apology pinned for one week. The court also awarded Wei compensation for emotional distress.法院裁定，这些帖子构成人身侮辱，侵犯了魏某的名誉权。法院判令被告在其微博账户上公开道歉，并将道歉声明保留一周。法院还判令其支付精神损害赔偿金。The top court praised the ruling, saying it clarified that online insults and defamation constitute civil infringements and established clear boundaries for behavior in online fan communities.最高法院对这项裁决表示赞赏，称其明确了网络侮辱和诽谤构成民事侵权，并为网络粉丝群体的行为设定了明确的界限。Citing the Civil Code, the court reiterated that no individual or organization may harm another person's reputation through insult or defamation, and victims have the right to seek compensation.法院援引《民法典》重申，任何个人或组织不得以侮辱、诽谤等方式损害他人名誉，受害者有权寻求赔偿。"The ruling by the grassroots court will help guide internet users to comment responsibly and contribute to a cleaner online environment," the court said.法院表示：“基层法院的这项裁决将有助于引导网民理性评论，共建清朗网络环境。”The Supreme People's Court also released five additional cases on Monday, showcasing efforts to protect public interests and enforce the Civil Code. The cases included rulings on safeguarding the rights of the elderly and addressing workplace sexual harassment.最高人民法院周一还发布了五起案件，展现了法院在维护公共利益和执行《民法典》方面所做的努力。这些案件包括关于保障老年人权益和解决职场性骚扰问题的判决。"The release of these cases highlights courts' ongoing efforts to respond to public concerns, improve people's lives and implement the Civil Code rigorously," the top court said.最高法院表示：“这些案件的发布凸显了法院持续回应公众关切、改善民生和严格实施《民法典》的努力。”The Civil Code, which took effect in January 2021, is China's first piece of legislation formally titled a "code" and plays a foundational role in regulating civil affairs.《民法典》于2021年1月生效，是中国第一部正式以“法典”命名的法律，在规范民事事务方面发挥着基础性作用。defamation/ˌdefəˈmeɪʃn/n.诽谤；中伤infringement/ɪnˈfrɪndʒmənt/n.侵犯；违背distress/dɪˈstres/n.痛苦；悲伤grassroots court基层法院

Chinese courts are intensifying their crackdown on crimes against minors, underscoring a "zero-tolerance" stance with the recent execution of three child rapists, the Supreme People's Court announced.中国法院正在加大对未成年人犯罪的打击力度，并强调其“零容忍”立场，最近最高人民法院宣布处决了三名虐童强奸犯。The top court emphasized its unwavering determination to severely punish child sexual abuse, detailing the cases of the three men executed on Friday after their death sentences were approved.最高法院强调了其严惩儿童性虐待犯罪的坚定决心，并详细介绍了周五被核准处决的三名男子的案件。One of them, identified only as Zhao, exploited his position as an instructor at an illegal education center between April 2018 and March 2019.其中一人名叫赵某，他利用自己在一家非法教育中心担任教师的职务之便，于2018年4月至2019年3月期间被捕。In collaboration with others, he detained dozens of minor students, subjecting them to beatings, verbal abuse, forced labor and confinement.他伙同他人拘禁了数十名未成年学生，对他们进行殴打、辱骂、强迫劳动和监禁。Zhao also repeatedly raped eight minor female students, including three girls under 14, using psychological control. He forced the victims to take contraceptives over an extended period, leading to gynecological problems in multiple victims.赵某还多次强奸八名未成年女学生，其中包括三名未满14岁的女童，并实施心理控制。他强迫受害者长期服用避孕药，导致多名受害者出现妇科问题。In addition to rape, Zhao was convicted of intentional injury and fraud.除了强奸罪外，赵某还被判处故意伤害罪和诈骗罪。The Supreme People's Court stated that while combating offenders who use their positions of power to victimize children, Chinese courts have also strengthened efforts against those who exploit the internet to lure and harm children.最高人民法院表示，中国法院在严厉打击利用职权侵害儿童的违法犯罪分子的同时，也加大了对利用网络引诱伤害儿童犯罪分子的打击力度。In another case, a man surnamed Wang used online platforms between September 2019 and May 2022 to lure elementary and middle school girls by posing as a female student or as a director searching for child actors.另一起案件中，一名王姓男子于2019年9月至2022年5月期间，利用网络平台，冒充女学生或导演寻找童星，引诱中小学生。He initially solicited nude and inappropriate photos and videos from the children. Then he used excuses such as "checking their bodies for acting roles" or threats to expose the improper content to meet the victims in person, after which he sexually assaulted and raped them.他先是向孩子们索要裸照和不当照片、视频，随后以“检查身体是否适合演戏”等借口，或威胁曝光不当内容，要求与受害者见面，随后对她们实施性侵和强奸。Wang harmed nine children, seven of whom were under 14 and one who had developmental disabilities. He filmed the rapes to further coerce and continue the abuse, subjecting some girls to long-term and repeated rapes and severe humiliation. Additionally, he sexually assaulted 10 other girls and one boy.王姓男子伤害了9名儿童，其中7名未满14岁，1名患有发育性残疾。他拍摄强奸过程，进一步胁迫并持续实施虐待，一些女孩遭受长期、反复的强奸和严重羞辱。此外，他还性侵了另外10名女孩和1名男孩。The third executed individual, Chen, was a repeat offender who had previously been imprisoned for rape.第三名被处决的陈某是一名惯犯，此前曾因强奸罪入狱。Between January and April 2022, he posed as a peer and joined over 20 QQ and WeChat groups created by middle school students. He befriended female students in these groups and lured some of them to meet him in person, and then raped them.2022年1月至4月期间，他假扮同伴，加入了20多个由中学生创建的QQ群和微信群。他与群里的女学生交朋友，并引诱部分女学生与他见面，然后强奸她们。Chen raped three girls under 14 a total of seven times and attempted to rape another female student. He filmed the rapes to blackmail the victims into further sexual assaults, causing some to self-harm, attempt suicide or drop out of school.陈某共强奸了三名未满14岁的女孩七次，并试图强奸另一名女学生。他拍摄了强奸过程，以此勒索受害者进一步实施性侵犯，导致部分受害者自残、自杀或辍学。Furthermore, he organized group rapes of one girl under 14 on three separate occasions and profited by introducing others to rape her.此外，他还组织他人三次轮奸一名未满14岁的女孩，并通过介绍他人强奸她来牟利。Chen was ultimately sentenced to death for multiple crimes, including rape, child molestation and extortion.陈某最终因强奸、猥亵儿童和敲诈勒索等多项罪名被判处死刑。"The executions for the three criminals this time have demonstrated our courts' resolute stance on severely punishing such offenses, sending a strong message to the entire society that those who harm children will be harshly penalized without mercy," the top court emphasized.最高法院强调：“此次对三名罪犯的执行，彰显了我们法院严惩此类犯罪的坚定立场，向全社会发出了严厉惩处侵害儿童犯罪的强烈信号。”The court urged educational and training institutions that teach children to tighten supervision and improve employee management. It also called on internet service providers to fulfill their cybersecurity obligations by taking measures to eradicate harmful information online and promptly detect and block material that may contribute to the sexual assaults of minors.法院敦促教育培训机构加强监管，改进人员管理。同时，法院还呼吁互联网服务提供商履行网络安全义务，采取措施清除网络有害信息，及时发现并屏蔽可能导致未成年人性侵的内容。Family has a role家庭的作用The role that families play in protecting minors was also underscored, with the court demanding that parents and guardians fulfill their duties to care for and nurture their children. Failure to do so will result in criminal punishment, it added.法院还强调了家庭在保护未成年人方面的作用，要求父母及监护人履行抚养子女的义务。否则，将受到刑事处罚。In a case made public last week, a man surnamed Liu was sentenced to 16 months in prison for child abandonment. Following a divorce, he obtained custody of his son but repeatedly and intentionally left the boy in places such as school and the subway between 2018 and 2019.在上周公布的一起案件中，一名刘姓男子因遗弃儿童被判处16个月有期徒刑。离婚后，他获得了儿子的监护权，但在2018年至2019年期间，多次故意将儿子遗弃在学校、地铁等场所。Despite receiving education and administrative detention, he continued his irresponsible actions, causing serious harm to his son's physical and mental health.尽管接受了教育和行政拘留，他仍然继续这种不负责任的行为，对儿子的身心健康造成了严重损害。"Parents are obligated to support, educate and protect their minor children," the top court stated. "After divorce, the parent who has custody should fulfill their duty. Family conflicts or personal issues don't exempt them from that responsibility."最高法院表示：“父母对未成年子女负有抚养、教育和保护的义务。离婚后，拥有监护权的父母一方应当履行监护义务。家庭矛盾或个人问题并不能免除其监护责任。”The court clarified that abandoning a child is not a trivial family matter and that parents who refuse to perform their duties and cause great harm to their children will be held criminally liable.法院明确指出，遗弃孩子并非家庭琐事，拒绝履行监护义务并对子女造成重大伤害的父母将被追究刑事责任。Supreme People's Court最高人民法院molestation/ˌmɒlɛˈsteɪʃən/n.猥亵；性骚扰extortion/ɪkˈstɔːrʃən/n.勒索；敲诈administrative detention行政拘留

Step beyond the glossy facade of fashion into the fierce legal battlegrounds where iconic footwear brands fight tooth and nail to protect their signature designs. From the vibrant red soles of Christian Louboutin to the humble foam clogs of Crocs, the most recognizable shoes in the world have sparked global intellectual property wars with stakes in the millions.Louboutin's journey through courts worldwide reveals how differently countries interpret trademark protection. While his red sole secured recognition as a valid trademark in the US (but only when contrasting with the rest of the shoe), he faced defeat in France against Zara yet triumphed in the Netherlands and China. These jurisdiction-specific battles highlight how fragmented global IP protection can be, forcing brands to fight the same war on multiple fronts.The Manolo Blahnik saga in China demonstrates the perils of trademark squatting, with the legendary designer locked out of using his own name for 22 years until China's Supreme People's Court finally ruled in his favor in 2022. Meanwhile, Crocs transformed from counterfeit victim to accused party, first winning import bans against 20+ knockoff brands before facing accusations of falsely advertising patent protections they didn't possess.The digital age has created new pitfalls, as Puma discovered when Rihanna's Instagram posts of their collaborative Fenty Creeper invalidated their design protection in Europe by starting the clock on the 12-month disclosure grace period. Even tech innovations face fierce battles, with Nike aggressively protecting its Flyknit technology against competitors like Lululemon, while comfort-focused Skechers surprised everyone by successfully challenging luxury powerhouse Hermès over sole designs.These cases reveal crucial lessons for creators and businesses: secure your IP early and globally, develop truly distinctive designs that consumers immediately associate with your brand, understand how protection varies by country, and recognize that even seemingly mundane innovations can represent valuable intellectual property worth defending. Whether you're fascinated by fashion, intellectual property law, or business strategy, these high-stakes battles showcase how the soul of a brand often lies in its sole.Send us a text

Taking a people-centered approach, national lawmakers were urged to unite and gather efforts to implement whole-process people's democracy and to strive unremittingly to advance the building of a strong nation and the great rejuvenation of China.Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, called for uniting the wisdom and strength of the broad masses of the people, adhering to the principle of "everything for the people and everything relying on the people" and continuously meeting the people's aspirations for a better life, as the country's top legislative body wrapped up its annual session on Tuesday.Entrusted by the presidium of the third session of the 14th NPC, Li presided over the closing meeting and made the remarks.President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other leaders attended the meeting, which was held at the Great Hall of the People."We must unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, focusing intently on our own tasks, implementing strategic decisions step by step, and turning our work plans into reality," Li said, calling on NPC deputies to further promote Chinese modernization.At the closing meeting, deputies voted to approve resolutions on the Government Work Report as well as the national economic and social development plan for 2025 and the central budget for 2025.They also adopted resolutions on the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and a decision to amend the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels.Zhao Zhao, an NPC deputy from Henan province, praised the amended law, saying that "the amendment was necessary and timely"."The revised law standardizes our behavior and protects our rights as deputies. It will greatly help us fulfill our duties," said Zhao, an entrepreneur in Nanzhao county.Li Dexiang, an NPC deputy from Guizhou province, regarded the amended law as his legal safeguard, noting that it provided clear guidelines on how to better serve the people.He said that the streamlining of the process of handling deputies' suggestions in the revised law would improve the quality and efficiency of their work, enabling them to perform their duties more effectively.By Saturday noon, the third session's secretariat had received 269 motions and more than 8,000 suggestions from NPC deputies.The suggestions mainly focused on legislation in key, emerging and foreign-related sectors, while the suggestions primarily addressed boosting consumption and investment, driving the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation, and promoting high-quality growth through artificial intelligence.

Child trafficker Yu Huaying was executed on Friday after China's top court approved her death sentence.人贩余华英于上周五被执行死刑，此前中国最高人民法院核准了她的死刑判决。The execution was carried out by the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court in Guizhou province, where Yu was convicted of abducting and trafficking children and given the death penalty.此次死刑由贵州省贵阳市中级人民法院执行，余华英因拐卖儿童罪被判处死刑。Before the 61-year-old was executed, the court allowed her to meet her family members, fully protecting the legitimate rights of the criminal.在这名61岁罪犯被执行死刑前，法院安排其会见了近亲属，充分保障了被执行罪犯的合法权利。On Oct 25, the court sentenced Yu to death after identifying that Yu, between 1993 and 2003, abducted 17 children in Guizhou, Chongqing and Yunnan provinces, and then sold the victims to Handan in Hebei province for financial gains.10月25日，法院判处余华英死刑。法院经审理查明，1993年至2003年期间，余华英在贵州、重庆、云南等地拐卖17名儿童，并将受害者卖到河北邯郸牟利。The court also stripped of her political rights for life and ordered that all her personal assets be confiscated.法院还判处余华英终身剥夺政治权利，并处没收个人全部财产。Yu appealed to a higher court, but the Guizhou High People's Court later rejected her appeal and upheld the original ruling and submitted the death sentence to the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, for review.余华英提出上诉，但贵州省高级人民法院裁定驳回上诉，维持原判，并依法报请最高人民法院核准。Under the Chinese law, death sentences issued by lower courts must be reviewed and approved by the top court before executions are implemented.根据中国法律，下级法院作出的死刑判决必须经最高人民法院复核批准后方可执行。Yu and her case attracted widespread public attention since 2022 when police in Guiyang received a report from Yang Niuhua, alleging she was snatched by Yu in Guizhou and taken to Hebei in 1995. Soon after the report, police captured Yu from Chongqing.余华英及其案件自2022年以来引起了公众的广泛关注，当时贵阳警方接到杨妞花的报案，称其于1995年被余华英在贵州拐走并带到河北。报案后不久，警方在重庆抓获余华英。During the trial, the Guiyang court said that the abduction and trafficking had separated 12 families, making some parents spend many years searching for their children or even die of depression.在审判期间，贵阳市中级人民法院表示，拐卖行为导致12个家庭骨肉分离，一些父母花费多年时间寻找孩子，甚至因抑郁而终。The court added it imposed the death penalty on Yu, because the malice of Yu was extremely deep, and the circumstance of her criminal behaviors was extremely serious, and the consequence of the crime was extremely severe.法院补充说，对余华英判处死刑，是因为其犯罪情节特别严重，社会危害性极大，主观恶性极深。重点词汇：Child trafficker: 人贩子Death sentence: 死刑Abduction and trafficking: 拐卖

Private antitrust litigation has long been part of the landscape in China. What will be the impact of the Supreme People's Court latest judicial interpretation on the issue? Susan (Xuanfeng) Ning, lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons in Beijing, joins Matthew Hall and Anora Wang to discuss the background to the judicial interpretation and its likely consequences. Listen to this episode to learn more about this important development in Chinese antitrust law and practice. With special guest: Susan (Xuanfeng) Ning, lawyer, King & Wood Mallesons Related Links: King & Wood Mallesons article, "Interpretations of the "New AML": New Laws and New Challenges", July 2022 King & Wood Mallesons article, "Navigating through the PRC Private Antitrust Litigation - Highlights of the Judicial Interpretation on the PRC Private Antitrust Litigation issued by the Supreme People's Court", December 2024 King & Wood Mallesons article, "Navigating China's Evolving Antitrust Litigation Landscape: Key Insights and Future Outlook", February 2025 PRC State Council Information Office press release, "China's top court releases judicial explanation on anti-monopoly litigation", June 2024 litigation PRC Supreme People's Court press release, "SPC issues new anti-monopoly judicial interpretation", June 2024 Hosted by: Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

China's top prosecutors have ramped up efforts to combat corruption at the grassroots level, particularly in healthcare, education and employment, as these areas directly impact people's daily lives, officials from the Supreme People's Procuratorate said.中国最高人民检察院官员表示，中国最高检察机关已加大打击基层腐败的力度，特别是在医疗、教育和就业领域，因为这些领域直接关系到人民群众的日常生活。More than 3,000 people were prosecuted in 2024 for dereliction of duty in these sectors, a 1.6-fold increase from the previous year, according to statistics released on Tuesday by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.2月18日，最高人民检察院发布的统计数据显示，2024年全国检察机关起诉医疗、教育、就业等领域职务犯罪3000余人，同比上升1.6倍。Procuratorial authorities have focused on tackling corruption linked to people's livelihoods and rural revitalization, said Zhang Xiaojin, head of the procuratorate's division on duty-related crimes.中国最高人民检察院职务犯罪检察厅厅长张晓津表示，检察机关集中整治民生领域和乡村振兴领域的腐败问题。To address public concerns over corruption in the healthcare sector, which has made medical treatment more difficult and expensive, prosecutors have targeted offenses such as taking kickbacks and embezzling health insurance funds. As a result, more than 1,800 individuals in the healthcare industry were prosecuted for duty-related crimes, Zhang said.张晓津表示，针对公众对医疗领域腐败问题的关切，特别是医疗腐败导致看病难、看病贵的问题，检察机关重点打击“靠医吃医”、套取医保资金等腐败犯罪，起诉医疗领域职务犯罪1800余人。In March 2024, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security issued a guideline on handling health insurance fraud cases to step up enforcement against such offenses, which have been on the rise.2024年3月，最高人民检察院、最高人民法院、公安部联合发布《关于办理医保骗保刑事案件若干问题的指导意见》（以下简称“《指导意见》”），以加大对日益猖獗的医保骗保犯罪的打击力度。The guideline states that conspirators involved in fraud schemes carried out by medical institutions, such as fabricating medical services and falsifying medical bills, will be prosecuted.《指导意见》规定，定点医药机构虚构医药服务项目、虚开医疗服务费用的，对组织、策划、实施人员提起公诉。Individuals who illegally receive health insurance refunds through fraudulent means, including by using others' medical insurance certificates, will also face punishment.行为人使用他人医疗保障凭证等欺诈手段非法获取医保退款的，依法处罚。Meanwhile, more than 1,200 people from township and village organizations were prosecuted for duty-related crimes last year, marking a 48.5 percent year-on-year increase.2024年，起诉乡镇、村组织人员职务犯罪1200余人，同比上升48.5%。"Punishing corruption crimes that affect the public is also a way of protecting people's livelihoods," Zhang said.张晓津表示：“惩治影响群众利益的腐败犯罪也是保护民生。”To further safeguard public interests, procuratorial authorities nationwide handled more than 92,000 public interest litigation cases from January to November last year in areas such as food and drug safety, the rights of vulnerable groups, and the security of citizens' personal information, according to Xu Xiangchun, director of the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Public Interest Litigation Procuratorate Office.最高人民检察院公益诉讼检察厅厅长徐向春介绍，为进一步保障公共利益，2024年1月至11月，全国检察机关共立案办理食品药品安全、特定群体权益保障、公民个人信息安全等民生领域公益诉讼案件9.2万余件。"Public interest is the interest of the people. The procuratorial public interest litigation system is closely tied to daily life," Xu said in an interview on Wednesday.2月19日，徐向春在采访中表示：“公共利益就是人民的利益，检察公益诉讼制度与人民群众日常生活密切相关。”"In 2024, prosecutors focused on public concerns, actively responded to livelihood issues, and handled cases in a precise and law-abiding manner."“2024年，检察机关紧盯民群众的操心事、烦心事、揪心事，积极回应民生关切，依法精准规范开展办案工作。”In one case, the Qinghai Provincial People's Procuratorate filed administrative public interest litigation against more than 60 express delivery companies for failing to legally contribute to work injury insurance for couriers, strengthening labor protections.在一个案例中，青海省人民检察院针对全省60余家快递企业存在未依法为快递员缴纳工伤保险的情况办理行政公益诉讼案件，加强对劳动者权益的法治保障。In another case, the procuratorial office in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, urged administrative bodies to revise village autonomy regulations in eight villages that violated women's rights.在另一个案例中，四川省省会成都市的天府新区人民检察院督促行政机关推动8个行政村修订村民自治章程侵害妇女权益的内容。kickbackn.（不合法的）回扣，酬金embezzlen.贪污；挪用（钱款）couriern.信使，递送员

Upholding the spirit of reform and deepening the Communist Party of China's self-reform are keys to the Party's leading all walks of life in advancing Chinese modernization and achieving national rejuvenation in the new era, experts said.They emphasized that while facing difficulties and challenges on the path to modernization and rejuvenation, it is even more crucial for the Party to firmly uphold the spirit of reform and continuously intensify self-reform, as the Party's self-improvement is a political guarantee for social development.They made the comments after the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection concluded its fourth plenary session in Beijing last week.Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered an important speech at the session, stressing the significance of rigorous Party governance with the spirit of reform and reiterating that the battle against corruption is an unceasing endeavor.Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, noted that it is imperative to make greater progress in governing the Party to ensure that the Party will continue to be the strong leadership core in building socialism with Chinese characteristics and to guarantee the steady advancement of Chinese modernization on the new journey in the new era.Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Xi has highlighted on multiple occasions the implementation and improvement of rigorous governance of the Party, and unprecedented anti-corruption efforts have been made across the country.In January 2023, when the 20th CCDI, the country's top anti-corruption watchdog, opened its second plenary session, Xi stressed the need for ceaseless efforts to promote full and rigorous Party self-governance.In October last year, when conducting an inspection tour in Anhui province, Xi emphasized the need to uphold Party leadership, clarifying that it is necessary to consistently strengthen Party building.According to the latest data released by the CCDI, a total of 73 officials at minister level or above were placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation last year, with cases also filed against 104,000 current or former village committee heads or at the grassroots level. A year ago, at the third plenary session of the 20th CCDI, Xi pointed out that leading the great social revolution is the fundamental purpose of advancing the Party's self-reform, which he said should be promoted so that its governance will better serve its main tasks.Zhuang Deshui, deputy head of Peking University's Research Center of Public Policy, said, "The current task of the Party is to advance Chinese modernization and national rejuvenation, which is also our country's ongoing social revolution."Whether the task can be accomplished and whether the social revolution can succeed depend on the Party," Zhuang said. "Specifically, it's up to the Party to arrange the work of various industries, gather the force of all sectors and solve problems in different fields on the way to modernization."Therefore, the Party must optimize its own governance through self-reform, with sustained efforts to eradicate the soil for corruption. Only in this way can the Party be the 'backbone' of the people in the social revolution."Zhuang praised the spirit of reform that was highlighted by Xi last week, saying that it is consistent with the self-reform that Xi has repeatedly emphasized in recent years.In Zhuang's view, the spirit of self-reform will be more conducive to the Party solving difficulties and challenges at home and abroad in the new era."The more difficulties the country encounters, the more it must unswervingly exercise full and rigorous Party governance, because the Party's self-improvement is a political guarantee for the realization of social revolution," Zhuang added.Yang Weidong, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said that the spirit of reform will be more helpful to the self-improvement of the Party and thus enable it to lead the people in overcoming difficulties in various areas.More rigorous governanceThe two experts also noted that the increasingly rigorous governance of the Party has played a bigger role in ensuring that Party members and officials do not dare to, are unable to, and have no desire to indulge in corruption."For example, the disciplinary supervision of Party members and officials was previously limited to their working hours, but now it has been extended to include outside working hours and their families," Zhuang said.A documentary recently aired in China showed that Tang Yijun, former governor of Liaoning province and minister of justice, used companies controlled by his wife, Xuan Minjie, as a cover-up for his corrupt activities to present them as market operations.Based on clues and thanks to big data, the investigators uncovered shadow companies, suspected proxies and bribe givers linked to Xuan, who had extensive experience in finance and economics and ventured into business in 2005, after holding a senior position at a State-owned enterprise.In October, the Supreme People's Procuratorate approved the arrest of Tang on suspicion of accepting bribes. He was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office earlier.Zhuang said that such extensive investigation is necessary to regulate the behavior of Party members, noting that the Party's self-governance has also been improved by disciplinary education, amendments to the disciplines and campaigns against misconduct closely related to people's well-being.According to data released by the CCDI, 768,000 cases of misconduct and corruption that directly affected people's daily lives, including school meals and medical insurance, have been handled since 2022, with 628,000 individuals disciplined."All the efforts mean that the standards or requirements for Party members and officials have been increased, and are higher and more rigorous," Zhuang said.Yang, the law professor, said that self-improvement as well as self-reform will make the CPC more confident and capable in solving problems on the journey of Chinese modernization and in promoting the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness and security in the new era.reiteratev.反复地说；重申conduciveadj.有利的，有益的

The global gig economy is experiencing significant growth, driven by factors such as technological advancements and an increased demand for flexible work arrangements. However, this growth also presents challenges, including concerns about worker rights, income stability, and the lack of social safety nets for gig workers. In China, the Supreme People's Court has intervened by providing examples to follow regarding gig workers' rights. On the show: Steve Hatherly, Laiming & Fei Fei

This Morning's Headlines 1. Korea-Philippines summit 2. Leave approved 3. Blue Whale profits 4. Supreme People's Assembly 5. Conflict continues

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a uranium enrichment facility to inspect advanced centrifuges, according to state media last week, providing a rare look inside its nuclear program. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the message Pyongyang sought to send by confirming the existence of a second enrichment facility, and whether Kim's visit was related to the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S She also talks about more trash balloons from the DPRK, the return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, an upcoming Supreme People's Assembly meeting and NK Pro analysis that shows Kim Jong Un observed training on infiltrating a South Korean missile command. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

China is set to enhance its ability to monitor new types of money laundering risks as emerging technologies have made detecting these activities more difficult, a senior legislator said on Monday.9月9日，资深立法者表示，由于各种新技术、新业态发展迅速，准确辨别洗钱活动难度加大。Wang Xiang, an official with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, said at a news conference that a draft amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Law aims to address the growing challenges posed by new technologies and sectors.全国人大常委会法工委发言人王翔9日在记者会上表示：“魔高一尺，道高一丈。” 反洗钱法修订草案二次审议稿将加强反洗钱监测分析水平，提高对新型洗钱风险的监测分析能力。"The revision seeks to tackle the difficulties in detecting and addressing money laundering activities in an era where new technologies and emerging businesses are booming," Wang said.王翔表示：“修订旨在解决在新技术、新业态蓬勃发展的时代发现和处理洗钱活动的困难。”The draft amendment requires government agencies to issue timely guidelines to monitor money laundering risks in emerging industries. It also mandates that anti-money laundering departments enhance monitoring and analysis systems, with suspicious transactions flagged for authorities.为此，修订草案二次审议稿作了以下修改：一是增加规定反洗钱工作应当依法进行，确保反洗钱措施与洗钱风险相适应，保障资金流转和金融服务正常进行，维护单位和个人的合法权益。Financial institutions will be required to assess money laundering crimes associated with new sectors and take proportionate measures to mitigate them, Wang added. He stressed, however, that actions should be "proportionate to the risks to ensure normal financial flows and services."王翔表示，金融机构开展客户尽职调查、采取洗钱风险管理措施等涉及单位和个人的权益，需要处理好管理洗钱风险与优化金融服务的关系。他强调，行动应“与风险相称，以确保正常的资金流动和服务。”The amendment will also tighten regulations on the use of anti-money laundering information, with a focus on data security and privacy protection.该修正案还明确要求反洗钱服务机构及其工作人员对提供服务获得的数据、信息，应当依法妥善处理，确保数据、信息安全。The NPC Standing Committee is set to review the draft during its session in Beijing this week.十四届全国人大常委会第十一次会议将于9月10日至13日在北京举行，届时，反洗钱法修订草案将提请本次会议二审。China has increasingly prioritized efforts to combat money laundering, especially crimes facilitated through digital platforms. Data from the Supreme People's Court shows that 861 money laundering cases were concluded last year, up from 499 cases in 2021. In the first half of the year, 573 people were penalized for the crime.我国越发重视打击洗钱等相关行为，特别是通过数字平台进行的犯罪。最高人民法院的数据显示，去年结案洗钱案件861起，高于2021年的499起。今年上半年，有573人因洗钱罪被处罚。Virtual currencies, livestreaming platforms and online game currencies have become new channels for money laundering, complicating efforts to detect and combat the crime, according to the court.据最高人民法院称，虚拟货币、直播平台和网络游戏货币已成为洗钱的新渠道，使侦查和打击犯罪的变得更加复杂。Separately, Wang addressed public concerns about the falsification of statistics, which he said has "seriously undermined the authenticity and accuracy of statistical data". He noted that a draft amendment to the Statistics Law will impose harsher penalties for fabricating or manipulating data.另外，王翔还谈到了公众对统计数据造假的担忧，他说这“严重损害了统计数据的真实性和准确性”。他指出，修正案草案将对伪造或操纵数据的行为施加更严厉的惩罚。In addition to these revisions, lawmakers will also review proposed changes to the National Defense Education Law, the Supervision Law and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.除这些修订之外，立法者还将审议对《国防教育法》、《监察法》和《传染病防治法》的拟议修改。Other items on the legislative agenda include a draft energy law, a draft public health emergency response law and a draft national park law. Lawmakers are also expected to consider a draft decision on conferring national medals and honorary titles to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.立法议程上还包括审议能源法草案、公共卫生应急法草案和国家公园法草案。预计立法者还将审议关于授予中华人民共和国成立75周年国家勋章和荣誉称号的决定草案。anti-money launderingn.反洗钱

Podcast Show Notes Title: Blockchain DXB & Society X LinkedIn Live - August 22, 2024 Time: 10:00 AM GST Host: Markose Chentittha & RA George Tether UAE Dirham-based Stablecoin: Collaboration between UAE's Phoenix Group PLC and Green Acorn Investments Ltd. Seeking licensing under the UAE Central Bank's Payment Token Services Regulation. Addressing fake news on LinkedIn about the project and market cap. Overview of the FSRA - ADGM consultation paper on Fiat Referenced Tokens (FRT). Question raised: Does Tether have an external audit? Mention of BDO Italy. Monero Tari Token: Launch set for September 12, 2024. Designed to simplify cryptocurrency mining using regular computers. Features Proof of Work, with an airdrop planned. Two versions: ECO for low-resource use and Ludicrous for higher intensity. Bitcoin Mining: Current challenges with declining performance. Bitfarms' acquisition of Stronghold Digital and potential centralization concerns. MetaMask Mastercard: Limited release for a select group in the EU and UK. Functions like a debit card, allowing users to maintain control over funds until payment. Bitconned (Netflix Documentary): Discussion on whether this reflects a step back to Web2 principles. China's Stance on Virtual Assets: The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate now recognize virtual asset transactions as money laundering. Offenders may face fines and prison terms, with potential implications if similar regulations are adopted in India. Dubai Court and Crypto Payments: Addressed fake news regarding Dubai court recognizing crypto as a valid salary payment. Clarified by Irina Heaver, partner at UAE law firm NeosLegal, that payments in the UAE are governed by Central Bank Regulations, with AED being the only legal tender. Crypto Market Overview: Flat movement, low stablecoin activity. Noteworthy anomaly: Orca's volume exceeding $2.7B on the 20th with no clear explanation. DEX on Solana surpassing Ethereum in top 5 volumes; DeFi volume below $4B. Markose Update: Upcoming events and sessions for September: 10. RA George Update: Upcoming events and sessions for September: Bitcoin Beginner Session Bitcoin PESTLER Analysis Stablecoin and Metaverse Event CBDC Event

China's Supreme People's Court has highlighted its strong stance on protecting children, including a landmark ruling recognizing a bullied student's knife attack as justifiable defense.中国最高人民法院强调了保护儿童的坚定立场，其中包括一项具有里程碑意义的裁决，认定受欺凌学生持刀反击属于正当防卫。The court released details on Thursday of five influential cases involving minors, including an incident in Hunan province in May 2019 in which a 14-year-old student surnamed Jiang injured three classmates with a knife.5月30日，最高人民法院发布了五起有影响力的未成年人案件的细节，其中包括2019年5月在湖南省发生的一起案件，一名14岁的江姓学生用刀伤害了三名同学。After an investigation, a court in Jishou, Hunan, found that 15 students had bullied Jiang by beating him, and he carried the knife to the washroom because he had been attacked earlier that day.经调查，湖南吉首的一家法院发现，15名学生殴打了江姓学生，他在此之前就受到了攻击才携带刀具前往洗手间。On July 6, 2020, the Jishou court identified Jiang's behavior as justifiable defense in line with the law, announcing that he should not be held criminally liable for the injuries.2020年7月6日，湖南省吉首市人民法院依法认定江姓学生的行为属于正当防卫，宣布其不应对伤害承担刑事责任。The Supreme People's Court, agreeing with the lower court's judgment, said: "The injuries occurred when Jiang suffered school bullying at the hands of 15 people. In that urgent circumstance, it could be understood that he used a knife to defend himself.最高人民法院同意下级法院的判决，称：“这些伤害是在江姓学生遭受15人校园欺凌时发生的。在那种紧急情况下，可以理解他用刀自卫。”"His counterattack was against the bullying, instead of those classmates, and his means were also moderate and didn't cause serious harm to the others.“他的反击是针对欺凌行为，而不是那些同学，他的手段也是温和的，没有对其他人造成严重伤害。”"The case responded to a hot issue — school bullying — that severely harms students' physical and mental health. It has also shown the judicial effort in the protection of children being bullied, so as to provide a sound study environment for minors."“该案件回应了一个严重危害学生身心健康的热点问题——校园欺凌。这也显示了司法部门在保护受欺凌儿童方面的努力，以便为未成年人提供良好的学习环境。”The court also issued a 42-article guideline strengthening juvenile protection and crime prevention measures.最高人民法院还发布了一项42条的指导意见，以加强未成年人司法保护及犯罪防治工作。The guideline mandates courts to identify bullying during other child-related cases and promptly notify schools or training institutions to arrange intervention. It also calls for following up on how educational departments address the issue.该指导意见要求法院在其他与儿童相关的案件中识别欺凌行为，并及时通知学校或培训机构安排干预。它还呼吁跟进教育部门如何解决这一问题。Crimes like trafficking, kidnapping, violent assault and sexual assault against minors will be met with "zero tolerance" and harsh punishments, the guideline said.该指导意见称，对未成年人的拐卖、绑架、暴力袭击和性侵等案件，坚持零容忍立场，依法从严惩处。The court emphasized a balanced approach, prioritizing education over punishment for minors. "We are tolerant but not indulgent," it said. "For minors with deep malice and extremely harmful behavior, especially those refusing to correct their mistakes, we will resolutely punish them according to the law."法院强调采取平衡的方法，对未成年人的教育优于惩罚。“我们宽容但不纵容”法院表示，“对于恶意程度深、行为危害极大的未成年人，特别是拒不改正错误的未成年人，我们将坚决依法依规予以惩戒。”justifiable defense正当防卫juvenile protection未成年人保护education over punishment教育优于惩罚

China's top court is conducting research on livestreaming and other issues related to new purchasing habits to strengthen consumer protection by formulating relevant judicial documents, a senior judge said.一位高级法官表示，中国最高法院正在研究直播和其他与新购买习惯相关的问题，通过制定相关司法文件来加强对消费者的保护。"Our research focuses on livestreaming sales, tipping livestreaming hosts, online booking and personal information protection of consumers," Chen Yifang, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's No 1 Adjudication Tribunal, told a news briefing on Tuesday.2024年4月9日，最高人民法院第一审判庭庭长陈宜芳在新闻发布会上表示:“我们的研究重点是直播带货、主播打赏、在线预订和消费者个人信息保护。”She said that the research, as well as the formulation of related legal documents and the disclosure of influential cases, are consistent with the country's newly revised regulations concerning consumers.她说，这项研究，以及相关法律文件的制定，以及有影响力的案例的披露，都与国家新修订的有关消费者的规定相一致。The regulations for the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, unveiled by the State Council last month, will take effect on July 1.国务院于3月发布的《消费者权益保护法实施条例》将于7月1日起施行。With detailed provisions on obligations of business operators, the regulations respond to major concerns of consumers over the past few years, including those on livestreaming sales, prepaid consumption and personal data protection.该条例详细规定了经营者的义务，回应了过去几年消费者关注的主要问题，包括直播销售、预付费消费和个人数据保护。Chen said the top court is also optimizing adjudication rules related to prepaid consumption, such as how to terminate a contract, whether the refund needs to include interest, and consumer fraud, adding "our aim is to ensure business integrity and safeguard the legitimate rights of consumers."陈宜芳表示，最高法院也在优化与预付费消费相关的裁决规则，例如如何终止合同，退款是否需要包括利息，以及消费者欺诈，并补充说:“我们的目的是确保商业诚信，维护消费者的合法权益。”The country's top market regulator has pledged to tighten inspection of emerging businesses so that they can develop in a healthy manner.国家最高市场监管机构承诺加强对新兴企业的检查，以使它们能够健康发展。Kuang Xu, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation's law enforcement and inspection division, cited data from the past five years as showing that the market size of livestreaming sales increased by 10.5 times, but consumer complaints increased by 47.1 times, which was significantly higher than traditional e-commerce.国家市场监管总局执法稽查局局长况旭引用了过去五年的数据，显示直播销售的市场规模增长了10.5倍，但消费者投诉增加了47.1倍，明显高于传统电子商务。"Selling goods through livestreaming platforms has enriched and innovated our consumption patterns, but it has also made it more difficult for consumers to protect their rights and interests," he said, adding that it is essential to seek a balance in the development and norms of the business.他说:“通过直播平台销售商品丰富和创新了我们的消费模式，但也使消费者更难保护自己的权益。”他补充说，在商业发展和规范中寻求平衡至关重要。He welcomed the newly released regulations, as some provisions can also apply to emerging businesses such as livestreaming e-commerce.他对新发布的规定表示欢迎，因为一些规定也适用于直播电子商务等新兴业务。For example, the regulations stipulate that those who sell products or provide services through the internet, television or telephone must introduce their business content via the home page, video screen, voice call or catalog. The sales platforms also need to disclose to consumers the name, business address and contact information of sellers.例如，《条例》规定，通过互联网、电视或电话销售产品或提供服务的，必须通过主页、视频屏幕、语音呼叫或目录介绍其业务内容。销售平台还需要向消费者披露卖家的名称、营业地址和联系方式。"The provisions mean that operators engaged in livestreaming sales must inform consumers who are selling the products and what goods are being sold to ensure the transparency of the business information," Kuang said.况旭表示:“这些规定意味着，从事直播销售的运营商必须告知正在销售产品的消费者以及正在销售的商品，以确保商业信息的透明度。”The regulations also require livestreaming platforms to establish working systems to help solve consumption-related disputes, with notification of who operates the streaming rooms and who is responsible to consumers.该规定还要求直播平台建立工作制度，以帮助解决与消费相关的纠纷，并通知谁运营流媒体室，谁对消费者负责。Kuang added that the strict management of platforms will be conducive to standardizing livestreaming sales.况旭补充说，对平台的严格管理将有利于规范直播销售。e-commerce电子商务stipulate规定；保证

China's top procuratorate has approved the prosecution of three students in Handan, Hebei province who are suspected of killing their classmate, the provincial prosecutors said on Monday.4月7日，河北省邯郸市检察院表示，中国最高检察院已批准对涉嫌杀害同学的三名河北省学生提起公诉。The approval means that the three minor suspects are expected to face criminal punishment in line with the Chinese Criminal Law.该批准意味着三名未成年犯罪嫌疑人将依据中国刑法受到刑事处罚。The victim surnamed Wang, a seventh-grade student in Feixiang district of Handan, was killed on March 10. The next day, local police captured the three suspects surnamed Zhang, Li and Ma, respectively, according to a statement posted by the Hebei Provincial People's Procuratorate via its official WeChat account.河北省人民检察院官方微信公众号发布的一项声明表示，受害人王某是邯郸市肥乡区七年级学生，于3月10日被杀。次日，当地警方分别抓获了张某、李某、马某三名犯罪嫌疑人。On March 21, the public security department in Feixiang transferred the case to local prosecutors to decide whether to prosecute the juveniles, the statement said.3月21日，肥乡市公安部门将此案交由当地检察机关决定是否对未成年人提起公诉。After the review, the prosecutors concluded that the three should be held criminally responsible, as they were between 12 and 14 years old at the time of the offense and the circumstance of the killing was severe, it said.检察机关审查后认为，三名罪犯犯罪时年龄均在12周岁至14周岁之间，杀人情节严重，应当追究刑事责任。Therefore, the provincial prosecutors submitted the decision of prosecution to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for approval, which is required by the Criminal Law, it added. Under the law, offenders aged 12 to 14 should face criminal punishment for intentional homicide or intentional injury that leads to death or severely disables others, but it also clarifies that the decision to prosecute must be approved by the SPP.根据《刑法》规定，12岁至14岁的犯罪人故意杀人、故意伤害致人死亡或者严重致残的，应当受到刑事处罚，但该法也明确了起诉决定必须经最高人民检察院批准。因此，省检察院按规定将起诉决定报请最高人民检察院批准。The provincial prosecutors said in the statement that they have obtained the SPP's approval, pledging to strengthen efforts to prevent juvenile crimes while dealing with cases.省检察院在声明中表示，已获得最高人民检察院批准，承诺在办案过程中加大预防未成年人犯罪力度。The Handan case has received huge attention among the public since it was reported last month, sparking heated discussions on the juvenile offenses and the plight of left-behind children.自上个月报道以来，此项邯郸未成年人犯罪案就受到了社会广泛关注，引发了关于青少年犯罪和留守儿童困境的热议。Some Chinese media outlets previously reported that the body of the 13-year-old victim was found buried in a vegetable greenhouse in Feixiang's Zhangzhuang village, about 100 meters from the house of one of the three suspects. All the students involved in the case are left-behind minors.中国媒体此前报道称，13岁受害者的尸体被发现埋在肥乡张庄村的一个蔬菜大棚里，距离三名嫌疑人之一的家约100米。涉案学生均为留守未成年人。On March 19, the Feixiang's public security department told China Central Television that the killing of the student was a premeditated crime, adding that the burial pit for the victim's body was 56 centimeters deep, and no evidence was discovered that indicated the involvement of adults in the crime. The department added that to bury the body, the suspects dug in the abandoned greenhouse twice, on March 9 and 10, respectively.3月19日，肥乡市公安部门向中央电视台表示，这是一次有预谋的犯罪行为，死者尸体的埋坑深56厘米，没有发现任何证据表明成年人参与其中。并且，为了掩埋尸体，嫌疑人分别于3月9日和10日两次在废弃温室中挖掘埋藏死者尸体的深坑。the Supreme People's Procuratorate最高人民检察院public security department公安部门

The recent arrest of three boys who allegedly killed a middle school student has once again turned public attention on juvenile delinquents, sparking debates and discussions on the plight of left-behind children.近日，三名涉嫌杀害中学生的男孩被捕，再次引发了公众对青少年犯罪的关注，引发了关于留守儿童困境的争论和讨论。The victim, surnamed Wang, was a seventh-grade student in Feixiang district of Handan, Hebei province. He was killed on March 10, and all suspects were taken into custody the next day, according to an official statement released on Sunday night by the district's joint working group.根据该地区联合工作组3月18日晚间发布的官方声明，王姓受害人是河北省邯郸市肥乡区七年级学生。于3月10日被杀，所有嫌疑人均于案发第二天被拘留。Local authorities are making all-out efforts to comfort the bereaved family and handle the aftermath of the killing, and work regarding all aspects is proceeding in an orderly manner, the statement said. It added that judicial departments will punish the perpetrators of the crime in accordance with the law, and urged residents not to believe or spread rumors, in order to avoid causing further harm to the involved families and to protect the privacy of the victim.声明称，当地正在全力安抚遇难者家属和做好善后工作，各方面工作正在有序推进。司法部门将依法惩处肇事者，并呼吁广大居民不信谣、不传谣，以免给涉案家庭造成进一步伤害，并保护受害人的隐私。Details of why and how the killing happened were not disclosed in the statement. It also doesn't mention the exact age of the boys involved, or say whether the suspects in custody include any adults.声明中没有透露杀戮发生的原因和方式的细节。它还没有提及涉案男孩的确切年龄，也没有说明被拘留的嫌疑人是否包括成年人。According to some Chinese media reports, the victim, age 13, studied in a local middle school and went missing on March 10. His body was found the next day, buried in a vegetable greenhouse in the district's Zhangzhuang village, about 100 meters from the house of one of the three suspects.据一些中国媒体报道，年仅13岁的受害人在当地一所中学读书，3月10日失踪。案发第二天，尸体被发现埋在肥乡县张庄村的一个蔬菜大棚里，事发地距离嫌疑人之一的房子约100米。It is alleged that the accused, who went to the same school and are all under the age of 14, bullied the victim for a long time. Media reports said they are children of migrant workers.据称，嫌疑人和受害人属同一所学校的学生，年龄都在14岁以下，长期欺凌受害人。媒体报道称，他们是农民工的子女。The story of "a student being killed by his three classmates" went viral on Chinese social media platforms, triggering public concern about juvenile victims as well as offenders.“一名学生被三名同学杀害”的故事在中国社交媒体平台上疯传，引发了公众对青少年受害者和犯罪者的关注。Xu Hao, a lawyer at Beijing Jingsh Law Firm, said the suspects might not be exempted from criminal punishment in the case, even if they are minors. He cited the amended Criminal Law to explain that the age of criminal liability in China has been lowered to 12, in order to prevent children from committing serious offenses.北京京师律师事务所律师徐浩表示，本案犯罪嫌疑人即使是未成年人，也可能不能免除刑事处罚。他援引修改后的《刑法》解释，我国刑事责任年龄已降至12岁，以防止儿童实施严重犯罪。Before the Criminal Law was amended, the age of criminal liability was higher, with offenders ages 14 to 16 held criminally responsible if they committed serious and violent crimes, including intentional homicide, intentional injury, robbery or rape.刑法修改前，刑事责任年龄略高，已满十四周岁不满十六周岁的人，犯故意杀人、故意伤害、抢劫、强奸等严重暴力犯罪的，要负刑事责任。The amended law states that offenders ages 12 to 14 will face criminal punishment for intentional homicide, or intentional injury that leads to death or severely disables others, but it clarifies that the decision to prosecute must be approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.修改后的法律规定，12周岁以上14周岁以下的犯罪分子犯故意杀人罪、故意伤害致人死亡或者严重致残的，将受到刑事处罚，但明确了提起公诉的决定必须经最高人民检察院批准。Luo Xiang, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, posted a comment on the case on his personal social media account on Saturday, saying that necessary punishment should be given to minors who commit violent crimes, because a "transformative effect could only be achieved through punishment".3月17日，中国政法大学教授罗翔在其个人社交媒体账户上对此案发表评论称，对实施暴力犯罪的未成年人应给予必要的惩罚，因为“只有惩罚才能带来改造的效果”。Zhao Li, another lawyer from Beijing Jingsh Law Firm, said that China decided to lower the age of criminal liability to 12 under special circumstances as it witnessed a number of serious and violent crimes committed by children in recent years.北京京师律师事务所律师赵力表示，由于近年来发生了多起儿童严重暴力犯罪案件，中国有条件地将刑事责任年龄起点降低到十二周岁。However, he emphasized that whether the suspects in the Handan case can be held criminally liable still depends on an approval from the procuratorate, as required by law. In other words, Chinese judicial authorities are prudent when handling juvenile crimes, he said.但他强调，邯郸案犯罪嫌疑人能否追究刑事责任，仍需根据法律规定，经检察院批准。由此可见，中国司法当局在处理青少年犯罪时是谨慎的。Highlighting the principle of "education first, punishment second" when handling juvenile offenses, Chinese prosecutors in 2023 approved the arrest of 27,000 juvenile suspects and decided not to arrest 38,000 others. They prosecuted 39,000 minor suspects and decided not to prosecute 40,000 others, according to data from the procuratorate.坚持教育第一、惩罚第二的原则办理未成年人犯罪，2023年，中国检察机关批准逮捕未成年犯罪嫌疑人2.7万人，决定不逮捕3.8万人。根据检察院的数据，他们起诉了3.9万名未成年犯罪嫌疑人，决定不起诉其他4万名犯罪嫌疑人。While calling for prudence in the fight against juvenile crime, the lawyers also suggested including government agencies, schools, social organizations and volunteers in the management and education of left-behind children.律师们在呼吁谨慎打击青少年犯罪的同时，也建议将政府机构、学校、社会组织、志愿者等纳入留守儿童的管理和教育中。According to a report issued by the National Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF in May 2023, China had 66.93 million left-behind children by 2020, with 41.77 million living in rural areas.根据国家统计局和联合国儿童基金会2023年5月发布的报告，到2020年，中国有6693万留守儿童，其中4177万生活在农村地区。Zhao said these children of migrant workers need more care, attention and aid while growing up, and the law, or punishment, is just one of the many ways to help them tackle their issues, but not the only way. "It is more important to optimize our social services and policies to provide a better environment for children, especially the left-behind ones, to grow up, while focusing on extreme cases," he added.赵力表示，这些农民工子女在成长过程中需要更多的关爱、关注和帮助，法律或惩罚只是帮助他们解决问题的众多方法之一，但不是唯一的方法。更重要的是要优化社会服务和政策，为儿童特别是留守儿童提供更好的成长环境，重点关注并避免极端情况发生。the minors未成年人UNICEF abbr.The United Nations Children's Fund联合国儿童基金会

Wu Xieyu, a former Peking University student who killed his mother, was executed on Wednesday after China's top court approved his death sentence.2024年1月31日，北京大学毕业生吴谢宇因弑母被执行死刑。此前中国最高人民法院已核准其死刑判决。The execution was carried out by the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in Fujian province, where Wu was convicted of intentional homicide, fraud and the illegal purchase of identity cards and given the death penalty.吴谢宇因犯故意杀人罪、诈骗罪及非法购买身份证件罪，被福建省福州市中级人民法院判处死刑并执行。The court told Wu, 29, he had the right to apply to meet family members before the execution, but he did not make an application. The execution process supervised by Fuzhou prosecutors.法院已告知现年29岁的吴谢宇在执行死刑前有权申请会见其家属，但他并未提出此类申请。此次执行过程由福州市检察机关监督。According to the Supreme People's Court statement approving the death sentence, Wu, from Fujian, was pessimistic and tried to commit suicide. After his father died of an illness he thought the life of his mother, Xie Tianqin, was meaningless, so he prepared to kill her in early 2015 and bought some items for that purpose.根据中国最高人民法院的死刑核准声明，来自福建的吴谢宇性格悲观，并曾有自杀企图。在其父亲因病去世后，他认为母亲谢天琴的生命已无意义，因此在2015年初就预谋将其杀害，并为此购买了所需物品。On July 10 that year, when Xie arrived home, Wu hit her repeatedly in the head and face with a dumbbell, resulting in her death, and then fled the scene, the statement said.声明指出，2015年7月10日，当谢天琴返回家中时，吴谢宇使用哑铃多次猛烈击打其头部和面部，导致谢天琴死亡，之后他逃离了现场。Previous reports said Wu wrapped his mother's body in layers of bedsheets, plastic sheets and activated carbon bags after the killing.此前的报道称，吴谢宇在杀害母亲后，用多层床单、塑料膜和活性炭包裹其尸体。To cover up the killing, Wu "borrowed" 1.44 million yuan ($201,000) from relatives and friends, telling them he and his mother would need the money when she accompanied him as he traveled overseas to study. In reality, he squandered the money, the top court said.为了掩饰杀人行径，吴谢宇以出国留学需要资金为由，向亲友“借”得144万元人民币（约合20.1万美元）。最高人民法院表示，实际上他将这些钱挥霍殆尽。 He also purchased more than 10 identity cards to hide his real identity and avoid arrest, it added.此外，他还购买了10余张身份证件以掩盖真实身份、逃避法律制裁。The relatives became suspicious when Xie failed to contact them for some time, and they found his mother's body in February 2016 in her faculty dormitory apartment at the Fuzhou middle school where she worked.由于长时间未能与谢天琴取得联系，亲友们开始产生怀疑。2016年2月，他们在谢天琴工作的福州某中学教职工宿舍内发现了她的尸体。Wu was then named as suspect by local police. He was captured in Chongqing in 2019 after being on the run for more than three years.随后，吴谢宇被当地警方列为犯罪嫌疑人。经过三年多的逃亡生涯后，他于2019年在重庆被捕。The Fuzhou court heard Wu's case in late 2020, and handed down the death penalty in August 2021.2020年底，福州市中级人民法院审理了吴谢宇一案，并于2021年8月判处其死刑。In May last year, the Fujian High People's Court upheld the original ruling.2022年5月，福建省高级人民法院维持了原判。In China, a death sentence made by lower courts must be submitted to the top court for review. The sentence can only be carried out after it is approved by the top court.在中国，下级法院作出的死刑判决必须提交至最高人民法院进行复核。只有在最高人民法院核准后，方可执行死刑。On Wednesday, the top court said that Wu's behavior had constituted the crimes of intentional killing and the illegal purchase of ID cards, and the sum of the money involved in the fraud he perpetrated was extremely large.周三，最高人民法院表示，吴谢宇的行为已构成故意杀人罪和非法购买身份证件罪，且其诈骗金额特别巨大。"Wu should be punished, as his killing method was cruel, which seriously violated human ethics and trampled on the public's emotion, with severe negative effects to society," it said.最高人民法院表示：“吴谢宇的杀人手段残忍，严重违背人伦道德，践踏了社会公众的情感，社会影响极其恶劣，应依法予以惩处。”It agreed with the verdicts made and upheld by the lower courts, saying the facts in the case were clear, the evidence was sufficient, the application of the law was correct and the sentencing was appropriate.最高人民法院同意并维持了下级法院作出的裁决，认为该案事实清楚、证据确实充分、定罪准确、量刑适当。Squanderv. 挥霍，浪费Trample v. 践踏

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened up 20-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,331 on turnover of $2.2-billion N-T. The Tai-Ex recouped early losses to close slightly higher on Wednesday, despite heavy losses on Wall Street overnight, as investor interest in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and select artificial intelligence development-related stocks rebounded (彈回). The main board moved in narrow range for most of the trading session, but bargain hunters turned active late in the trading day, to push the Tai-Ex past the 16,300 point mark by the closing bell. **1,600 Additional Teaching Assistants to be Recruited by 2027 ** The Ministry of Education says an additional 1,600 teaching assistants will be hired to work at schools islandwide between 2024 and 2027. According to Education Minister Pan Wen-chong, the move is aimed at facilitating (促進) a better learning environment for students with additional needs. Pan says the plan is in line with amendments to the Special Education Act, which was passed in May to reduce the pressure on those working in education and to ensure reasonable salaries. The education minister says his office has earmarked 1.1-billion N-T in next year's budget to recruit the new assistants. Pan is also touting what he says is the government's promotion of "inclusive education" for students with additional needs to help them attend regular classes and ensure their welfare. **NKorea Leader Calls for More Nuclear Weapons ** North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting (面對、對抗) the United States in what he described as a “new Cold War.” State media say Kim made the comments during a two-day session of the North's rubber-stamp parliament which amended (修正的) the constitution to include his policy of expanding the country's military nuclear program. The Supreme People's Assembly meetings came after Kim traveled to Russia this month on a trip that sparked Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would provide Russia with munitions for its war on Ukraine in exchange for advanced weapons technologies. **ChatGPT Update Includes Current Info Access ** ChatGPT users will now be able to access (取得) up to date information from the internet. Previously, the popular chatbot hadn't been able to use information produced after September of 2021. Ira Spitzer has more from San Francisco **IMF: Sri Lanka Progress Not Enough for 2nd Tranche ** The International Monetary Fund says that Sri Lanka has so far failed to make enough progress in boosting tax collection and other economic reforms sought by the IMF. The progress is needed in order for the IMF to release a second tranche (一份，一部分) of $330 million in the country's $2.9 billion bailout from bankruptcy. An IMF team has concluded a visit to the island this week. The organization says in a report that discussions would continue on an agreement on how to keep up the momentum of financial reforms, and to unlock the second installment of funding. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

Chinese courts have been required to strengthen penalties against those that damage or destroy trees that are more than 100 years old.中国法院被要求加大对破坏或毁坏百年以上树木的违法者的惩罚。The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, issued an interpretation of the Criminal Law on Monday, with clarification on how to handle criminal cases involving forest resources.周一，中国最高人民法院，即中国最高法院，对刑法进行了解释，明确了如何处理涉及森林资源的刑事案件。"We've frequently seen cases in the past few years in which people have cut down, destroyed or even poisoned old trees," said Yu Haisong, an official from the top court's research office.最高人民法院研究室官员喻海松表示：“过去的几年里，我们经常看到有人砍伐、破坏甚至毒害老树的案例。”In one case, three people, surnamed Ouyang, He and Li, were imprisoned and fined after being found to have drilled into camphor trees to inject pesticides from April to December in 2021 in Hunan province to fell them, Yu said.他说，2021年4月至12月，欧阳、何和李在湖南省钻孔灌毒致古樟树死亡，被监禁并罚款。"They poisoned seven such trees in total, and then benefited from the plant sales," he said, revealing that one of the trees was sold at a price of more than 338,000 yuan ($46,600).喻海松说：“他们共毒死古樟树7株并出售牟利”他透露，其中一棵树的售价超过33.8万元（合4.66万美元）。Five of the felled trees were more than 500 years old, and the other two were also over 300 years old, he added.他补充说，被砍伐的五棵树木有500多年的历史，另外两棵也有300多年的历史。The three defendants were convicted of damaging key national protected wild plants.三名被告被法院以危害国家重点保护植物罪判刑。Ouyang was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan; He was jailed for four and a half years and fined 20,000 yuan; and Li was jailed for three and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan.欧阳被判有期徒刑五年，并处罚金人民币二万元；何有期徒刑四年六个月，并处罚金人民币二万元；李有期徒刑三年六个月，并处罚金人民币一万元。"Ancient trees have special historical, cultural, scientific and ecological value, so it's essential and urgent to increase efforts to protect them and prevent behaviors that harm tree resources," Yu said.喻海松表示：“古树具有特殊的历史、文化、科研、生态价值，因此必须加大保护力度，谨防危害树木资源的行为。”While calling on judges to protect old trees in line with those on the country's list of key protected wild plants, he cited the interpretation, noting that for those that aren't listed, judges are allowed to punish criminals based on research of the species, ages, and the historical and cultural value of the damaged trees.在呼吁法官按照《国家重点保护野生植物名录》保护古树名木的同时，他援引解释，指出，对于不在名单上的，法官可以根据涉案树木的树种、树龄以及历史、文化价值等因素，综合评估社会危害性，依法定罪处罚。The 20-article interpretation will take effect on Tuesday, China's first National Ecology Day.这份20条的解释将在周二，即中国的首个全国生态日生效。Zhou Jiahai, deputy head of the top court's research office, said that such a legal document enables judges to get tough on crimes involving the damaging of forest resources and meet the demand for forest protection.最高人民法院研究室副主任周加海说，这份法律文件使法官可以严厉打击破坏森林资源的犯罪，契合森林保护的要求。"It's the latest move to further implement the central leadership's requirement on the construction of an ecological civilization," he added.他补充说：“这是进一步实施中央领导层对建设生态文明的要求的最新举措。”Data released by the top court on Monday showed that from 2018 to last year, more than 64,000 criminal cases involving the damage or destruction of forest resources were concluded, with punishments handed down to over 82,000 defendants.最高法院周一发布的数据显示，从2018年到去年，已经结案的涉及损坏或毁坏森林资源的刑事案件超过64000件，对超过82000名被告进行了惩罚。Court英/kɔːt/美/kɔrt/n.法院Jail英/dʒeil/美/dʒel/v.监禁

Chinese courts should educate divorcing parents to ensure their underage children can obtain care and support from their families, according to a new guideline.The 24-article guideline on family education was issued by the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, and the All-China Women's Federation on Tuesday, aiming to offer stronger protection for children by urging their parents or guardians to fulfill their duties.If juvenile delinquency or misconduct by children's guardians is discovered, courts will also be allowed to educate the family, said the guideline, which will take effect on Thursday.The new legal document is part of efforts to implement the Family Education Promotion Law, which came into effect on Jan 1 last year and requires courts to educate parents or guardians during case handling if it is found that they behaved improperly.To meet the requirement, many courts have issued "family education orders" to deal with cases involving juveniles to admonish the minors' guardians and urge them to fulfill their duties, Duan Nonggen, head of the top court's Research Office, told a news conference on Tuesday.Citing data showing that 10,308 such orders were issued last year, he revealed that Chinese courts also established 838 institutes on their own or with other departments to promote family education over the past year.In one case, the Tianxin District People's Court in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, ordered a divorced mother to live with her 8-year-old daughter, who had been forced to live with a nanny. It was the first ruling based on the law.The district court also issued a family education order requiring the mother to take the girl to her home and live with her, and asking her to contact the girl's teacher at least once a week to keep up with her schooling. It also added that the mother could be admonished, fined or detained if she disobeys the order.Duan said such family education orders have played a role in child protection, but confirming "in what cases judges could issue the orders and how to issue them needed to be standardized and regulated", which is why the guideline was released.The guideline states that family education can be offered through various means including online courses or psychological counseling, clarifying that it can be provided at any stage of case handling, such as during trials or after a ruling is announced.While requiring courts to explain why they issued family education orders, the guideline stipulated that the time, place and frequency of such education should also be specified in the orders.If parents or guardians do not agree with the orders, they will be allowed to apply for a review within five days, it said.In addition, the guideline calls for courts and women's federations to collaborate with government departments and social organizations to carry out more research on family education, encouraging them to establish working stations and set up a special team to focus on the education.Juvenile英/ˈdʒuːvənaɪl/ 美/ˈdʒuːvən(ə)l/n.青少年Guardian英/ˈɡɑːdiən/ 美/ˈɡɑːrdiən/n.监护人

Chinese judicial authorities have pledged to maintain zero tolerance for sex crimes against children, revealing that those making use of the internet to rape or molest juveniles will face harsher punishment.The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the country's top procuratorate, jointly issued a judicial interpretation on Thursday, specifying a number of situations in which people who sexually harm children could be heavily penalized.The interpretation, which will take effect on June 1, clarifies that people who force or lure minors to have nude chats online, or ask them to send naked photos or videos, will be convicted of child molestation or indecency.It also states that those who molest children, causing them injuries or self-harm, or make videos of the molestation to threaten victims, will be given tougher punishment.The interpretation has made the clarification, "because we've found some criminals cheat juveniles online and sexually assault them in person, or even spread their naked or assaulted videos or pictures through the internet", He Li, chief judge of the top court's No 1 Criminal Adjudication Tribunal, told a news conference on Thursday.She said that the combination of online and offline offenses has seriously harmed children's physical and mental health, and needs to be harshly punished.On Tuesday, three male rapists were executed by courts in the provinces of Hubei, Shandong and Henan, after their death sentences were approved by the top court.All the convicts were found to have tricked victims via QQ, an instant messaging app, and then used the girls, most from primary and middle schools, as targets for molestation or rape.In the case of Shandong, for instance, Wang Xiaoshan was discovered to have raped five girls, including three under the age of 14, molested 14 others and assembled a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities, from late 2017 to January 2019.Wang first lured and asked the girls to send him naked photos and videos through QQ, and then told them that he would disclose the pictures if they refused to go out with him. Finally, he took the victims to hotels and raped them."The interpretation will contribute to helping solve similar new problems in this internet era, with stronger protection for children," He added.Considering some sex crimes against juveniles in recent years were committed by those responsible for child care, such as parents and teachers, the interpretation stipulates that multiple rapes of minors by this group of people will be identified as a "serious situation" of rape under the Criminal Law, meaning that the maximum punishment could be the death penalty.On Thursday, the SPC and SPP also issued a guideline together with the Ministry of Public Security to streamline procedures of dealing with sexual assault cases involving juveniles.The guideline, which will also come into effect on June 1, requires individuals and departments to take measures as quickly as possible if they find children suspected of being sexually assaulted or receive reports to that extent, whether or not it is their duty to do so.The move is to further implement a mandatory system that orders people close to minors to report anyone suspected of doing harm to children to public security organs, according to Na Yanfang, head of the SPP's ninth procuratorial office.She revealed that a total of 5,358 cases involving harm to children have been detected and handled since the system was set up in 2020, adding that most reports focused on sexual assault.Juvenile英/ˈdʒuːvənaɪl/ 美/ˈdʒuːvən(ə)l/adj.青少年的，未成年的Sex英/seks/ 美/seks/n.性Molest英/məˈlest/ 美/məˈlest/vt.骚扰

Overnighters,   Episode 553:4r Fake Trezor Wallets Crypto: Gamble or Investment? Hinsman Speech Unsealed And More Collect this Cover at:  https://awrd.gg/4826 The TL;DL -  Fake Trezor Wallets-In light of the increasing popularity of hardware cryptocurrency wallets, a recent podcast episode discusses the importance of using authentic devices, as emphasized by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. The episode delves into an incident reported by Kaspersky's Stanislav Golovanov, where scammers used a counterfeit wallet, mimicking the Trezor Model T, to steal Bitcoin from unsuspecting users. The podcast underscores the necessity of purchasing hardware wallets directly from official vendors to avoid such fraudulent activities, and highlights the efforts of companies like Trezor in implementing security measures and providing user guides to authenticate their wallets. Crypto: A Gamble or Investment?-In the latest development in the UK's crypto regulation saga, the Treasury Committee has likened investing in digital assets such as Bitcoin to gambling, suggesting it should be regulated as such. Despite this, the government maintains its stance to regulate cryptocurrencies as financial services, with a new bill under review in Parliament aiming to supervise crypto as regulated financial activities. The debate has sparked controversy, with crypto advocates arguing for a comprehensive regulatory framework that acknowledges the changing financial landscape, while the Treasury Committee warns of the risks and volatility associated with digital assets. Hinman Speech Unsealed-In a significant development for the Ripple and crypto community, the U.S. District Court has denied the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) motion to seal internal records related to a speech by ex-director William Hinman. The court ruled that these documents, which could potentially impact the court's decision on a motion, are considered "judicial documents" and should be publicly accessible. This decision is a part of Ripple's ongoing legal battle against the SEC, which claims that Ripple's XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws, a contention that Ripple disputes using Hinman's speech as crucial evidence. Senate Grills Bank Exec-In a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing, Scott Shay, former executive of Signature Bank, faced criticism for seemingly blaming the bank's failure on cryptocurrency while allegedly profiting from bonuses and stock options. Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Elizabeth Warren rebuked Shay, accusing him of deflecting blame and benefiting from the bank's collapse. The hearing also highlighted a proposed bipartisan bill aimed at recovering excessive CEO salaries to prevent rewarding risky behavior, amidst ongoing debates about the role of digital assets in banking failures. China's Prosecutors Raise Alarm on NFTs-In a recent article, the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China voiced concerns about the nonfungible token (NFT) market, particularly the practice of "securitization" and the inflation of prices. The authors suggest that these issues stem from a lack of artistic value and a reasonable pricing mechanism, and warn that certain marketing models could potentially evolve into illegal pyramid schemes. To mitigate these risks, the agency proposes a crackdown on criminal activities, increased investment in risk research, and a heightened awareness of laws, with national prosecutors playing a key role in distinguishing genuine innovation from deceptive practices. (5/17/2023)-Welcome back to the Crypto Overnighter. My name is Nikodemus, I'll be your host as we take a nightly look at the crypto, NFT, and metaverse space and the industry surrounding it. And keep in mind, nothing in this show should ever be considered financial advice.  Email: nick@cryptoovernighter.com Salem Friends of Felines: https://sfof.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CryptoCorvus1 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=67416221

Procuratorates nationwide approved the arrest of 10,923 people on suspicion of fraud in the first quarter of this year, ranking second on the list of all recorded crimes, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.They also initiated public lawsuits against 18,146 people involved in fraud in the quarter, ranking fifth among prosecuted crimes, it said.The form of fraud crimes is constantly changing, and in addition to telecom network fraud and financial fraud, new types of fraud involving pensions, medical insurance and investing in art continue to emerge, affecting the public's sense of gain, happiness and security, the SPP said.Some fraudsters pretend to provide "pension services" and investment in "elderly-care projects" to target the elderly, it added.In one case from May 2016, a man surnamed Fang in Handan, Hebei province, pretended to be a pension director, claiming to be able to handle pension insurance for people without work.He defrauded hundreds of people totaling about 3.7 million yuan ($535,000). He did pay out to some victims a total of 784,000 yuan in the name of "pensions "and "living expenses", but the rest was used for himself.The SPP said that more than half of the prosecuted fraud cases were well-organized and committed by multiple offenders. Fraud gangs have a clear division of labor, and some set up specialized companies under the cover of a so-called legal company, and they rent high-end office buildings and use a network platform for publicity and recruitment.Prosecutors found that fraudsters used means such as the telephone, the internet, artificial intelligence, big data analysis and others to commit fraud, as traditional cash transactions are gradually changing to online banking and payment platforms.Fraud in the network environment often spreads fast and involves a wide range of victims, yet the cost of crime is low and fraud can easily be copied by other criminals. All of these make the cost of case handling higher and prevention more difficult, said the SPP.Procuratorial organs have closely worked with public security organs to form a long-term cooperation mechanism in the joint crackdown, information exchange and evidence gathering. Procuratorates have also strengthened cooperation with functional departments of finance, telecommunications and market supervision as well as internet enterprises, and have promoted the formation of a systematic joint force to curb cybercrimes, the SPP added.Procuratorate英/ˈprɒkjʊəreɪtərɪt/n.[法]检察院Fraud英/frɔːd/ 美/frɔːd/n.欺诈

The Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam has released its indictments against 54 suspects in the Covid-19 repatriation flight scandal, with former Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and 17 others likely to be sentenced to between 20 years in prison and death.

Dr. Bong Young-shik at Yonsei University Institute for N. Korean studies shares insights on latest N. Korea news, from Supreme People's Assembly to U.S. extended deterrence.

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, passed the legislation on Thursday as a replacement to a 2013 law that first outlined the country's nuclear status, according to the country's state news agency KCNA. "The utmost significance of legislating nuclear weapons policy is to draw an irretrievable line so that there can be no bargaining over our nuclear weapons," it quoted Kim as telling the assembly. He added that he would never surrender the weapons even if the country faced 100 years of sanctions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, passed the legislation on Thursday as a replacement to a 2013 law that first outlined the country's nuclear status, according to the country's state news agency KCNA. "The utmost significance of legislating nuclear weapons policy is to draw an irretrievable line so that there can be no bargaining over our nuclear weapons," it quoted Kim as telling the assembly. He added that he would never surrender the weapons even if the country faced 100 years of sanctions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

英语新闻|高考试题并未泄漏No test papers were leaked before this year's national college entrance exam, also known as the gaokao, the National Education Examinations Authority said on Wednesday, but some math questions did appear online while the exams were underway.国家教育部考试中心于6月8日表示，在2022年全国高考不存在考前泄题的情况，但在考试进行期间，网上确实出现了一些数学题。This year's gaokao was held on Tuesday and Wednesday nationwide, except for some places that will extend it to Friday. The math test was held from 3 pm to 5 pm on Tuesday.2022年高考于6月7日至8日在全国范围举行，部分地区将延长至10日。数学考试于7日下午3点至5点举行。Some screenshots showed that someone in a chat group posted photos of math questions and asked for help at 3:48 pm. The questions were later confirmed to be from this year's exam questions. The online activity triggered public suspicion that this year's test papers might have been leaked before the exam.部分截图显示，某聊天群中有人在下午3点48分发布了数学考试的问题并寻求帮助，这些问题后来被证实来自今年的高考试卷。这一行为令公众怀疑今年的高考试题可能在考前被泄漏。The NEEA reported the activity to the police after noticing the reports. Preliminary investigation showed that the posted photos were not from a leak of the test papers before the exam, but rather from cheating during the exam, the NEEA said in a notice on its website.国家教育部考试中心在注意到这一行为后，立即向公安机关报案。经初步调查显示，网上的图片并非属于考前泄题，而是考试期间的作弊行为。In one case, an examinee in Gansu province violated regulations by bringing a mobile phone into the exam room. After the test started, the examinee took photos of the test paper and posted them in QQ chat groups to solicit answers from others, although to no avail, the notice said.在其中一案中，甘肃一名考生违规携带手机进入考场，开考后，这位考生将试卷拍照发到QQ群中，向他人寻求解答未果。In another case, an examinee in Guangdong province released a post before the math test and claimed it was about this year's gaokao test paper. The examinee did not obtain any papers before the test, but after taking the exam he replaced the post's content with questions he had during the test so that it appeared as if he'd gotten the questions beforehand.另一案中，广东的一名考生在数学考试前发帖称，这是今年的高考试题。其实该考生在考前并没有拿到任何试卷，但在考试开始后，他将帖子的内容替换成了高考题目，谎称事先得到了题目。The NEEA said invigilators in the involved exam rooms had been replaced and monitoring had been strengthened. Examinees who violated test regulations and staff members who are found to have neglected their duty will be strictly punished.国家教育部考试中心表示，相关地方教育考试机构已撤换监考人员，加强监考力量。对违反考试规定的考生和失职失责的工作人员严肃处理。According to the Gansu Education Examinations Authority, the math score of the examinee who cheated in the math exam was invalidated, and the examinee will not be allowed to take subsequent examinations.据甘肃省教育考试院称，高考数学作弊的考生数学成绩作废，且不得参加后续考试。According to the measures for handling irregularities in national education examinations, examinees who carry devices that can send or receive information in the test room will be regarded as cheating, and their scores will be invalidated.根据全国教育考试违规处理办法，考生在考场携带信息收发设备的，视为作弊，成绩作废。Examinees who send or transmit test information outside of the examination room or use equipment to receive information to carry out cheating shall be suspended from resitting the examination for one to three years based on the seriousness of the case.考生在考场外发送、传达考试信息或者使用设备接收信息进行作弊行为的，视情节轻重，给予暂停参加该项国家教育考试一年至三年的处理。Organized cheating in national education examinations is a serious offense and violators shall be sentenced from three to seven years in prison plus a fine, according to a judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.依据最高人民法院、最高人民检察院发布的司法解释，在全国教育考试中组织作弊的，构成严重犯罪，处三年以上七年以下有期徒刑，并处罚金。The NEEA could not confirm whether the examinee's behavior was a case of organized cheating based on the disclosed information from the authorities. If it was organized cheating, then the examinee may face severe punishment.国家教育部考试中心无法根据警方披露的信息确认考生的行为是否属于有组织的作弊行为，若是有组织的作弊，那么考生将会面临严厉的处罚。leak英[liːk]；美[liːk]vi.漏出; 透露; （指消息，秘密等）泄密; 漏电，漏水vt.使泄露; 擅自公开n.泄漏，漏洞; 裂缝; 漏出物; （俚语）撒尿trigger英[ˈtrɪɡə(r)]；美[ˈtrɪɡər]n.（枪）扳机; 起动装置，扳柄; 引发其他事件的一件事; [电子学]触发器，触发电器vt.引发，触发; 扣…的扳机; 发射或使爆炸（武器或爆炸性弹药）invigilator英[ɪn'vɪdʒɪleɪtə(r)]；美[ɪn'vɪdʒɪleɪtə(r)]n. 监考人；监视器invalidate英[ɪnˈvælɪdeɪt]；美[ɪnˈvælɪdeɪt]vt.使无效; 使作废; 证明…错误; 使站不住脚violator英['vaɪəleɪtə(r)]；美['vaɪəleɪtə(r)]n.违反者

英语新闻|公安机关和教育部门严打涉考违法犯罪Authorities have maintained a severe crackdown on crimes related to cheating on examinations, with 129 such cases having been investigated and 208 suspects caught so far this year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.公安机关和教育部门持续严打涉考违法犯罪，据公安部的数据显示，今年已侦办相关案件129起，抓获犯罪嫌疑人208名。The public security organs and education authorities have severely punished those who organize cheating in examinations or produce and sell equipment used in cheating. This year, they have handled 189 cases of producing and selling equipment for cheating and caught 990 suspects, according to the Ministry of Public Security.对于组织考试作弊及非法生产、销售窃听窃照专用器材违法犯罪人员，公安机关和教育部门将予以严厉处罚。据公安部统计，今年已侦办非法生产、销售窃听窃照专用器材案件189起，抓获犯罪嫌疑人990名。The gaokao, China's national college entrance exam, is being held on Tuesday and Wednesday nationwide, while in some places it extends to Friday.2022年全国高考于6月7日至8日举行，有些地区考试时间延长至6月10日。To ensure the examination is held safely and smoothly, the Ministry of Public Security has deployed public security organs to inspect places around the examination sites, including rental houses, internet cafes and nucleic acid testing sites.为确保考试安全、顺利进行，公安机关对考点周边出租房屋、网吧、核酸检测点等治安复杂场所开展安全检查。They also alerted enterprises and institutions that may cause noise and interfere with the gaokao to eliminate risks and hidden distractions.此外，公安机关还对可能产生噪音干扰高考的企业或单位提前发布提醒警示，消除风险和干扰因素。The police were asked to target every step of exam cheating to break the criminal network, investigate and punish acts of selling cheating equipment and uncover the factories producing the equipment.警方针对考试作弊犯罪网络的每一环节，依法查处涉嫌销售作弊器材的行为，并深挖彻查生产销售作弊器材的工厂。In addition, public security authorities have worked with other departments to clean up online and offline advertising for cheating equipment, organizing proxy tests and selling answers.此外，公安机关同相关部门一起，全面清理封堵网上和线下销售作弊器材、组织替考、售卖答案等广告。The ministry said it would supervise the handling of major cases and quickly detect and resolve such cases, and public security organs would work closely with the education department to discover and investigate acts of cheating.教育部表示，将督促重大案件的办案工作，抓紧侦破和解决重大案件，公安机关将与教育部门密切配合，对作弊行为进行查处。According to the Criminal Law, people who organize cheating, sell and use wireless cheating equipment or provide test questions and answers to examinees in the national examinations are in violation of the law.根据《刑法》规定，组织作弊、销售并使用无线作弊设备或为考生提供高考试题和答案的，均属于违法行为。In the case of someone taking exams for others, the examinee and the ghostwriter will receive identical punishment, according to the Criminal Law.《刑法》明确规定，代替他人或者让他人代替高考，考生与代考者接受相同的处罚。People who organize cheating could be sentenced to from three to seven years imprisonment plus a fine, according to a judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.依据最高人民法院和最高人民检察院发布的明确规定，组织作弊的，判处三年以上七年以下的有期徒刑，并处罚金。Examinees who carry or use cheating equipment and materials will be stopped from taking the relevant examinations for between one and three years.考生在国家教育考试中携带或使用考试作弊器材、资料，将被责令停止参加相关国家教育考试一年以上到三年以下。 crackdown英[ˈkrækdaʊn]；美[ˈkrækdaʊn]n.严厉打击；镇压proxy英[ˈprɒksi]；美[ˈprɑːksi]n.代表权；代理人，代替物；委托书；代理服务器imprisonment英[ɪmˈprɪznmənt]；美[ɪmˈprɪznmənt]n.关押，监禁

英语新闻丨收网！为电信诈骗搭建固话语音专线，610人被抓The rising trend of telecom fraud in recent years has been effectively curbed, but an intensified crackdown will remain along with comprehensive governance and prevention, authorities said on Thursday.近年来，电信网络诈骗犯罪持续上升势头得到有效遏制。在国新办4月14日举行的新闻发布会上，公安机关表示随着全面治理和预防的深入，将继续加大打击力度。The number of registered fraud cases has decreased for nine consecutive months. Police nationwide have resolved 394,000 such cases, and arrested 634,000 suspects, up 28.5 percent and 76.6 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to the Ministry of Public Security.一年来，共破获电信网络诈骗案件39.4万起，抓获犯罪嫌疑人63.4万名，同比分别上升28.5%和76.6%。根据最新统计，电信网络诈骗立案数连续9个月同比下降。The ministry has worked with other judicial and administrative departments to target all aspects of fraud crimes, including people who leave the country to commit crimes and who use phone cards and bank cards to carry out fraud activities, said Du Hangwei, vice-minister of public security.公安部副部长杜航伟表示，公安部已经与其他司法和行政部门合作，打击包括境外犯罪，涉诈电话卡、银行卡等各类电信诈骗。"Big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technological means have been deeply integrated with prevention measures and management to prevent the public from being cheated," Du said.杜航伟表示：“大数据、云计算、人工智能等科技手段与防范治理深度融合，全力构筑防止群众被骗的‘防火墙'。”Authorities helped 61.7 million people avoid being deceived by potential telecom fraud attempts during the past year. They also intensified the countermeasures and established a rapid and dynamic mechanism that blocked 1.95 billion fraudulent calls, 2.14 billion text messages, 2.1 million fraudulent domain names and websites, and stopped 329 billion yuan ($51.6 billion) in payments that may have involved fraud.一年来，各地利用公安大数据产出预警线索，成功避免6178万名群众受骗。会同相关部门升级优化拦截系统，建立快速动态封堵机制，成功拦截诈骗电话19.5亿次、短信21.4亿条，封堵涉诈域名网址210.6万个，紧急止付涉案资金3291亿元。Du said public security organs have vigorously promoted source control and education, and persuaded 210,000 people involved in fraud to return from abroad during the past year. The number of people who committed crimes against Chinese people from abroad has significantly decreased.杜航伟表示，一年来，公安部强力推进源头管控和教育劝返等工作，从境外教育劝返涉诈人员21万名，赴境外针对我国内实施犯罪的人员大幅减少。Strict exit control measures have also been implemented, effectively cutting off border smuggling channels, and preventing a large number of people involved in fraud from attempting to leave China to engage in fraud, he said.公安部会同国家移民局严格落实出境管控措施，严密证件签发管理，加强重点方向口岸拦查劝阻，有效切断边境偷渡通道，阻止了大批涉诈人员企图出境从事违法犯罪活动。Liu Zhongyi, head of the criminal investigation bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said the rapid rise in cases has been effectively curbed, but the telecom fraud crime situation remains grim and complex, and the intensified crackdown and comprehensive governance should remain.公安部刑事侦查局局长刘忠义表示，一年来，尽管电信网络诈骗打击治理工作取得了明显成效，案件快速上升的势头得到了有效遏制，但犯罪形势依然严峻复杂，应继续加大全面打击力度。Telecom network fraud has become a mainstream crime in recent years, and is a global problem.近年来，新型网络犯罪已成为主流犯罪，电信网络诈骗犯罪已成为全球性的打击治理难题。Fraud gangs use tailored scripts based on collected personal information to target different groups, covering areas such as fake investment and financial management, fake online loans and fake customer service, Liu said.刘忠义表示，诈骗集团针对不同群体，根据非法获取的精准个人信息，量身定制诈骗剧本，实施精准诈骗，诈骗类型包括虚假投资理财、虚假网络贷款、冒充客服等。Liu said fraud gangs are well organized and have a clear division of labor, with group leaders often hiding abroad and using the guise of high-salary recruitment to lure and recruit inexperienced young people to engage in fraud activities.诈骗集团组织严密、分工明确，集团头目和骨干往往躲在境外，打着高薪招聘的幌子，诱骗招募涉世未深的年轻人赴境外从事诈骗活动。"There are still a large number of criminal gangs in Cambodia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, northern Myanmar and other countries and regions, committing fraud targeting Chinese citizens," Liu said.刘忠义表示：“目前在柬埔寨、菲律宾、阿联酋、土耳其、缅北等国家和地区，仍有大量犯罪团伙向我公民实施诈骗活动。”Through overseas chat software, the group leaders guide people on the Chinese mainland to engage in various crimes involving schemes concerned with things like mobile app production and development, promotion, trading information, money transfer and laundering. Such crimes have the obvious characteristics of transnational organized crimes, he said.集团头目通过境外聊天软件，指挥境内人员从事APP制作开发、引流推广、买卖信息、转账洗钱等各类违法犯罪，境内境外衔接紧密，跨国有组织犯罪特征日趋明显。Last year, the ministry sent multiple working groups to Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, northern Myanmar and other key countries and regions, to carry out international law enforcement cooperation. More than 610 suspects have been repatriated to China from abroad, Liu said.刘忠义表示，2021年，我们努力克服疫情困难，先后向柬埔寨、阿联酋、缅北等重点国家和地区，派出多个工作组积极开展国际执法合作，先后将610余名犯罪嫌疑人从境外遣返国内，有力震慑了诈骗团伙。Li Ruiyi, deputy chief judge of the Supreme People's Court No 3 Criminal Division, said the courts combine recovering people's losses with advancing the trial while handling such cases to ensure the funds involved are returned to the victims in a timely manner.最高人民法院刑三庭负责人李睿懿表示，人民法院把尽力挽回被骗群众财产损失与案件审理同步推进，确保涉案资金优先返还被害人。Li said the top court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the ministry have continuously improved and clarified standards for the application of laws to meet the needs of case handling.李睿懿表示，最高人民法院会同最高人民检察院、公安部针不断完善和明确法律适用标准，适应现实斗争需要，进一步规范和指引执法办案。"We will research and formulate evidence norms adapted to the characteristics and laws of telecom fraud cases, and further solve difficulties in investigation and evidence collection and identification of such cases," Li said.“我们将抓紧研究制定适应电信网络诈骗特点和规律的证据规范，进一步解决此类案件侦查取证难、认定难的问题。”To provide legal support, the Legislative Working Committee of the National People's Congress is accelerating the legislation of the Anti-Telecom and Internet Fraud Law.为提供法律支撑，全国人大法工委正在加快推进《反电信网络诈骗法》立法工作。smuggle英 [ˈsmʌɡl]；美 [ˈsmʌɡl]v.走私；私运；偷运gang英[ɡæŋ]；美[ɡæŋ]n.一帮，一伙lure英[lʊə(r)]；美[lʊr]v.引诱；诱惑；哄骗laundering英['lɔ:ndərɪŋ]；美['lɔndərɪŋ]n.洗钱procuratorate 英['prɒkjʊəreɪtərɪt]；美['prɒkjʊəreɪtərɪt]n. 检察院

为什么你听的歌通常都在3分钟左右？| Why are so many pop songs roughly three minutes long?No matter where you usually hear today's top hits—the radio, Spotify, a mixtape on your Sony Walkman—you've probably noticed that they tend to be around three minutes long.无论你习惯上哪听歌——在收音机、流媒体音乐服务平台还是在随身听上——你应该能注意到现在的流行歌曲通常都是三分钟左右。As Vox explains, the custom dates back to the early 20th century, when shellac records first appeared in the market. The rates at which these records spun varied, but 78 revolutions per minute (RPM) quickly became the norm. The most popular record sizes were 10 inches—which could hold about three minutes of music per side—and 12 inches, which held roughly four to five minutes per side. To get radio stations to broadcast their music and get people to buy it, musicians pretty much had to accommodate those time limits.Vox公司解释道，这一惯例源自20世纪早期，当时虫胶制作的黑胶唱片（粗纹唱片）刚刚在市场上出现。这些唱片的转速各有不同，但是每分钟78圈的转速很快便成了业内标准。最流行的唱片大小是10英寸（25.4厘米）和12英寸（30.48厘米），前者每一面可以播放3分钟音乐，后者每一面可以播放四到五分钟音乐。为了让电台播放以及让人们购买他们的唱片，音乐人基本上都必须迎合这些时间限制。The late 1940s saw the birth of the 45 RPM record: a smaller, cheaper disc made of vinyl that couldn't manage much more than three minutes of music per side. Long-playing records (LPs) were introduced around the same time, but it was much easier for radio stations to play single tracks from 45s—which hordes of listeners then went out and bought. While 10-inch 78s had originated the three-minute trend, 45s really helped make it a necessity for radio singles throughout the mid-20th century.20世纪40年代晚期45转的唱片诞生了，乙烯基塑料制作的更小更廉价的黑胶唱片每一面只能播放三分钟左右的音乐。大概在同一时间密纹唱片也上市了，但是电台播放45转的单声道唱片要容易得多，大批听众在听过电台的音乐之后就会去购买这种唱片。尽管3分钟的潮流是由78转的10英寸唱片引发的，但是45转的唱片却让20世纪中叶的电台单曲不得不控制在3分钟以内。There were definitely exceptions to the rule. Bob Dylan's 1965 song “Like a Rolling Stone” runs more than six minutes, and fans overwhelmed radio stations with calls demanding the full version. It worked: “Like a Rolling Stone” became an unlikely radio hit. If you wanted to hear the full six minutes, you could buy the LP.当然，肯定也存在例外。鲍勃·迪伦1965年的歌曲《像一块滚石》时长超过6分钟，粉丝们纷纷打电话要求电台播放完整版本。结果奏效了，这首歌意外成为电台的热门歌曲。那时候如果人们想听6分钟的完整版，就可以购买密纹唱片。As music technology evolved over the years, from records to cassette tapes to CDs, three minutes didn't fall out of fashion as the de facto estimate for pop songs. According to Classic FM, this is partly because radio stations could fit more commercials into a program if the songs stayed relatively short. Record labels may have favored shorter singles, too, since longer songs didn't mean fatter royalty checks. It's also likely that pop music listeners just preferred concision; after all, it's what the last several decades had taught them to expect. As Thomas Tierney, director of the Sony Music Archives Library, told Mashable, “it's embedded in our DNA.”过去这些年音乐技术不断进步，从唱片到磁带再到光盘，然而3分钟作为流行歌曲实际长度的标准并没有过时。据Classic FM电台介绍，一部分原因是如果歌曲相对较短，电台就能在节目中插播更多商业广告。唱片公司应该也青睐较短的单曲，因为时间长的单曲并不能给他们带来更多版税。不过也可能是因为流行歌曲的听众就是喜欢简短的歌，毕竟，过去几十年他们已经养成了这种听歌习惯。索尼音乐资料图书馆馆长托马斯·蒂尔尼告诉博客网站Mashable说：“这已经根植于我们的DNA中了。”Today, many tracks come in under three minutes long. Justin Bieber's “Ghost” is just two minutes and 33 seconds, and Lil Nas X's “That's What I Want” is a tidy two minutes and 23 seconds.如今，许多单曲时长都不到三分钟。贾斯汀·比伯的《幽灵》只有2分钟33秒，李娜叉的《这就是我想要的》只有2分钟23秒。Shorter attention spans and social media's influence might explain the trend toward brevity, but it's not the only factor: The compensation model matters, too.人们的注意力持续时间变短以及社交媒体的影响或许可以解释流行歌曲为什么越来越短，但是除此之外，还有报酬机制的因素。"Instead of getting paid by physical sales, you're getting paid in a stream, which only counts if someone listens to 30 seconds of a song,” songwriter Charlie Harding told The Verge. “It actually makes sense if you can have more songs streamed at a time, which means that you want to pack your album full of much shorter songs.”作曲人查理·哈尔丁告诉The Verge网站说：“现在不是依照唱片销量，而是依照流量来收费，一首歌收听时间达到30秒才能计入流量。这样一来，你会想在流媒体平台上一次播放更多歌曲，这意味着你会在专辑中收录更多短歌。”In other words, success is now less about sales and more about number of streams. Today's pop stars are making music that reflects the shift—not unlike how 20th-century musicians learned to work within the confines of the original three-ish-minute limit.换言之，如今一张唱片成功与否，与销量关系没那么大，而流量则重要得多。现在的流行歌手在制作音乐时也会反映当下形势的变化，这与20世纪的音乐人学着在3分钟的原有限制内创作并无不同。王毅谈化解乌克兰危机的四点主张｜FM emphasizes dialogue in Ukraine crisisChina is prepared to continue playing a constructive role in the ongoing Ukraine crisis to facilitate dialogue for peace and work alongside the international community when needed to carry out necessary mediation, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, Wang said China believes to resolve the current crisis, countries must uphold the United Nations Charter and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.十三届全国人大五次会议3月7日举行记者会，国务委员兼外交部长王毅在回应乌克兰局势问题时表示，中方愿继续为劝和促谈发挥建设性作用，也愿意在需要的时候同国际社会一道开展必要的斡旋。王毅表示，中方认为要化解当前的危机，必须坚持《联合国宪章》，尊重和保障各国的主权和领土完整；"We must adhere to the principle of indivisible security and accommodate the legitimate security concerns of the parties involved. We must settle disputes by peaceful means through dialogue and negotiation. And we must keep in mind the long-term peace and stability of the region and put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism," Wang said.必须坚持安全不可分割的原则，照顾当事方的合理安全关切；必须坚持通过对话谈判，以和平方式解决争端；必须着眼地区长治久安，构建均衡、有效、可持续的欧洲安全机制。最高检：2021年未成年人保护公益诉讼立案6633件｜China strengthens public interest litigation to protect minorsChina has strengthened its public interest litigation to protect the lawful rights and interests of minors, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Monday .最高人民检察院第九检察厅厅长那艳芳3月7日在新闻发布会上表示，最高检积极履行公益诉讼检察职责，依法保护未成年人合法权益。Prosecutors across the country opened 6,633 public interest cases concerning the protection of underage people in 2021, SPP prosecutor Na Yanfang said at a press conference. That is 4.2 times the figure seen in 2020, or 3.3 times the total seen between 2018 and 2019.2021年，全国检察机关未成年人保护公益诉讼立案6633件，是2020年的4.2倍，是2018、2019两年总和的3.3倍。While less than 30 percent of the cases are traditional, mainly concerning food and drug security, more than 70 percent are new types of cases involving tobacco or liquor sales, online gaming, facility security, on-demand cinemas and e-sports hotels, the SPP said.其中，食品药品安全等传统领域公益诉讼案件占比不足30%，新类型公益诉讼案件占比超70%，涉及向未成年人销售烟酒、网络游戏、未成年人活动场所和设施安全、点播影院、电竞酒店等新兴业态治理。shellac 英 [ʃəˈlæk; ˈʃelæk]; 美 [ʃəˈlæk; ˈʃelæk]n.虫胶（清漆）v.用虫胶清漆涂刷；使大败；殴打vinyl 英 [vaɪnl]; 美 [vaɪnl]n.乙烯基（化学）；黑胶唱片horde 英 [hɔːd]; 美 [hɔːrd]n.一大群，群；游牧部落concision英 [kənˈsɪʒən; 美 [kənˈsɪʒən]n.简洁，简明brevity英[ˈbrevəti];美[ˈbrevəti]n.简洁，简短；短暂，短促mediation英[ˌmiːdiˈeɪʃn];美[ˌmiːdiˈeɪʃn]n.调解，仲裁litigation英[ˌlɪtɪˈɡeɪʃn];美[ˌlɪtɪˈɡeɪʃn]n.诉讼，起诉

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the daylong meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and gave a speech.▲ A ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. Photo/XinhuaThe top Party leadership heard a series of work reports from leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.The meeting's participants reaffirmed that the Party's leadership in all areas and all aspects, especially the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, must be upheld in order for the Party, with more than 95 million members, and for the country with a population of more than 1.4 billion, to be well managed, according to a statement released after the meeting.The underlying reason for the historic transformations and achievements that the Party and the State have secured since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012 is that the country unswervingly upholds the Party's leadership and the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, they said.The CPC Central Committee's hearing of the work reports each year has played an exemplary role in upholding the committee's authority and its centralized and unified leadership, and such a practice should be sustained, the statement said.The meeting's participants commended the work of the leading Party members' groups of the top legislature, State Council, top political advisory body, top court and top procuratorate, as well as the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, in the past year and acknowledged their contributions to making a good start in implementing the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), as well as creating a sound environment for the celebration of the Party's centenary last year, the statement said.New and greater progress has been made in all aspects of their work, it added.The meeting's participants urged the State bodies to remain vigilant about the risks and challenges on the way ahead, enhance their governance capacity, shoulder their responsibilities and assume their duty with solid efforts.They also noted that this year marks a milestone toward the country's modernization in all aspects and achieving the second of the "Two Centenary Goals"－to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the time the People's Republic of China celebrates its centenary in 2049. They further noted that this year will witness the 20th National Congress of the CPC.记者：曹德胜

Korea24 – 2021.09.30. (Thursday) News Briefing: During a speech at the second session of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the inter-Korean communications lines could get restored next month. Pyongyang has been unresponsive to the inter-Korean hotlines since August, in protest of the summertime military exercise conducted by Seoul and Washington. (Koo Heejin) In-Depth News Analysis(Korean Politics Digest: Affiliate Professor Kim Byung-joo from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies helps us understand what it means to have a branch of the National Assembly in Sejong city, as lawmakers passed such a bill earlier this week with the goal of opening the branch by 2027. He also discusses the ongoing primaries at the ruling and opposition parties to select their presidential candidates. Korea Trending with Jung Ye-won: The launch date has been set for South Korea's first homegrown space rocket Nuri-ho(KSLV-2)(누리호 1차 발사 예정일 10월 21일 확정), a major doughnut company apologizes after a disturbing footage of its factory is leaked(던킨도너츠 공장 위생 논란 사과), and the government keeps working on its plans to keep school bullies from playing professional sports('과거 학폭' 이재영-다영, 안우진 징계 할수 없다...정부 새규정에 '화난 팬들'). Explore Korea: Ahn Jae woo brings us two fine art exhibitions currently open. The first is "Kick, Clap, Hat" by media artist An Jung Ju taking place at Platform-L in Seoul’s Gangnam District. The artist deconstructs the very definition of fine art through the medium of sound. The second solo exhibition is Jeong Yun Kyung's "Finger Spell" showing at Graphite on Pink, near Seoul Forest. This exhibition explores chaos and order through the artist's finger paintings. Morning Edition Preview: Mark brings us a story from the Korea Times about the Philippine Department of Tourism Korea launching an online training program for travel agents. He also shares a piece from the Korea Herald, which delves into North Korean defectors pursuing new business ideas in South Korea.

Most social distancing measures will be dropped in the Netherlands starting Saturday, as the country moves to a "health pass" system requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for entry into various venues.Opposition is mounting against Tunisian President Kais Saied after he extended indefinitely the “exceptional measures” he took in July that effectively consolidated all power in his hands. Protesters are planning to hold rallies Saturday after the first major demonstration took place in Tunis last week.The race continues between the centre-right's CDU and the centre-left's SPD in the final few days before German voters head to the polls Sunday to decide on a new Chancellor to replace Angela Merkel as she steps down after 16 years in power.North Korea will hold a session of the Supreme People's Assembly on Tuesday to discuss education and the national economic plan, according to state media.Australia-U.K.-U.S. security pact -- an interview with Factal Editor Alex Moore.These stories and more are available in our weekly Forecast email and you can subscribe for free.This episode was produced with work from Factal editors Joe Veyera, Ahmed Namatalla, Lara von der Brelie, Imana Gunawan and Alex Moore.  Music courtesy of Andrew Gospe. Have feedback, suggestions or events we've missed? Drop us a note: hello@factal.comWhat's Factal? Created by the founders of Breaking News, Factal alerts companies to global incidents that pose an immediate risk to their people or business operations. We provide trusted verification, precise incident mapping and a collaboration platform for corporate security, travel safety and emergency management teams. If you're a company interested in a trial, please email sales@factal.com. To learn more, visit Factal.com, browse the Factal blog or email us at hello@factal.com.Read the full episode description and transcript on Factal's blog.

The high court in Northeast China's Liaoning province rejected an appeal by a Canadian drug smuggler on Tuesday and upheld his death sentence.中国东北辽宁省高级人民法院周二驳回了一名加拿大毒品走私犯的上诉，维持了对他的死刑判决。The Liaoning High People's Court announced its decision in the case of Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was given the death penalty by the Dalian Intermediate People's Court in the province in early 2019 for trafficking more than 222 kilograms of methamphetamine. His property and assets were also seized.辽宁省高级人民法院宣布了对加拿大公民罗伯特·劳埃德·谢伦伯格案件的判决，他因贩运222公斤甲基苯丙胺（冰毒）于2019年初被辽宁省大连市中级人民法院判处死刑。他的财产也被全部没收。Schellenberg had appealed to the province's high court.谢伦伯格曾向该省高级法院提出上诉。After a review, the high court said in a statement posted on the Sina Weibo micro blog platform on Tuesday that the facts of the case were clear, the evidence proving Schellenberg's conviction was sufficient, the procedures carried out during the intermediate court trial were legitimate and the death penalty was appropriate.经过审查，高等法院周二在新浪微博平台上发表声明说，该案事实清楚，证明谢伦伯格被定罪的证据充分，中级法院审判过程中进行的程序合法，死刑判决适当。Under China's Criminal Procedure Law, when a court sentences a person to death, the ruling should be submitted for review to the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court. The death sentence can be carried out after the top court approves it.根据中国的《刑事诉讼法》，当法院判处一个人死刑时，该裁决应提交给最高人民法院审查，这是中国的最高级法院。最高法院批准后，死刑判决可以执行。▲ Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg appears in court in Dalian, Liaoning province in Jan, 2019. File photo provided to China DailyIn the statement, the high court said it protected Schellenberg's rights during the trial, allowing him to use his own language during the proceedings, listening to his lawyers' arguments and hiring two interpreters for him.法院依法保障了上诉人谢伦伯格的辩护、使用本国语言参与诉讼等各项权利，听取了辩护人的辩护意见，并为其聘请了2名翻译。A number of people, including embassy officials and deputies to the National People's Congress, witnessed the announcement of the ruling on Tuesday, it added.加拿大驻华大使馆官员、人大代表、政协委员、社会群众等旁听了周二的宣判。In November 2018, the intermediate court in Dalian sentenced Schellenberg to 15 years in prison for smuggling drugs. The Canadian appealed to the high court.2018年11月，大连市中级法院以走私毒品罪判处谢伦伯格有期徒刑15年。谢伦伯格向高级法院提出上诉。When the high court heard the case the next month, the people's procuratorate in Liaoning opposed the previous ruling, saying the lenient punishment given by the lower court was obviously inappropriate.当高等法院在下个月审理此案时，辽宁省人民检察院反对之前的裁决，称下级法院从轻处罚明显不当。The high court then sent the case back to the intermediate court, ordering it to retry it with a new panel.辽宁省高院当庭裁定将案件发回原审法院重审，由新的小组重新审理。On Jan 14, 2019, the intermediate court sentenced Schellenberg to death after identifying him as the ringleader of an organized transnational drug smuggling attempt to transport some 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from a warehouse in China to a destination in Australia.2019年1月14日，中级法院认定谢伦伯格参与有组织的国际贩毒活动，将约222公斤的甲基苯丙胺（冰毒）从中国的一个仓库运到澳大利亚的，因此判处他死刑。Under China's Criminal Law, smuggling, selling, transporting and making illegal drugs can be punishable by death if defendants participate in organized international drug smuggling or, as in Schellenberg's case, the amount of methamphetamine exceeds 50 grams.根据中国的《刑法》，如果被告人参与有组织的国际毒品走私活动，或者像谢伦伯格的案件一样，甲基苯丙胺（冰毒）的总量超过50克，此类情况下走私、贩卖、运输和制造毒品可被判处死刑。Schellenberg later appealed to the high court. The appeal was heard in May 2019.谢伦伯格后来向高级法院提出上诉。上诉于2019年5月审理。1.traffick网络：通行车辆；开放交通；非法交易2.methamphetamine美 [ˌmɛθæm'fɛtəmin] 英 [ˌmeθæm'fetəmi:n]n.甲基苯丙胺；脱氧麻黄碱；（俗称）冰毒网络：甲基安非他命；甲基苯丙胺或甲基安非他命；甲基安非他明3.seize美 [siz] 英 [siːz]v.抓住；捉拿；夺；没收网络：夺取；捉住；夺取，占领4.conviction美 [kən'vɪkʃ(ə)n] 英 [kən'vɪkʃ(ə)n]n.定罪；坚信；深信；判罪网络：确信；信念；信服5.trial美 ['traɪəl] 英 ['traɪəl]v.试验；试用；测试（能力、质量、性能等）n.审判；试用；考验；选拔赛adj.同“trinal”网络：审讯；尝试；审理6.ruling美 ['rulɪŋ] 英 ['ruːlɪŋ]n.裁决；裁定；判决adj.统治的；支配的；占统治地位的v.“rule”的现在分词网络：划线；刻度；网线7.smuggling美 ['smʌɡ(ə)lɪŋ] 英 ['smʌɡ(ə)lɪŋ]n.走私（罪）v.“smuggle”的现在分词网络：偷渡；船只走私；人口走私8.procuratorate美 [ˌprɒkjəˈreɪdərət] 英 ['prɒkjʊəreɪtərɪt]n.【法】检察院网络：检察机关；检察署；检察机关和检察官9.lenient美 ['liniənt] 英 ['liːniənt]adj.仁慈的网络：宽大的；宽厚的；宽容的10.appeal美 [ə'pil] 英 [ə'piːl]n.上诉；吸引力；申诉；魅力v.上诉；呼吁；申诉；恳求网络：有吸引力；请求11.defendant美 [dɪ'fendənt] 英 [dɪ'fendənt]adj.【法律】被告的；辩护的n.【法律】被告人；被告方网络：被诉方；仲裁被诉人；处于被告地位的12.China's Criminal Procedure Law 《刑事诉讼法》13.China's Criminal Law 《刑法》14.Highcourt高级法院；最高法院；高等法院15. Intermediatecourt中级法院

Today I'd like to share with you how many IP cases the Supreme People's Court heard in 2020. According to the 2020 Annual Report on Intellectual Property recently issued by the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court accepted 5,360 cases relating to intellectual property rights in 2020, including 2,830 patent cases, 1,490 trademark cases, 111 copyright cases, 31 anti-trust cases, 66 unfair competition cases, 51 new plant variety cases, 205 IP contract cases, 7 integrated circuit layout-design cases, 457 computer software cases, 75 trade secrets cases and 67 other cases.

Today I'd like to share with you how many IP cases the Supreme People's Court heard in 2020. According to the 2020 Annual Report on Intellectual Property recently issued by the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court accepted 5,360 cases relating to intellectual property rights in 2020, including 2,830 patent cases, 1,490 trademark cases, 111 copyright cases, 31 anti-trust cases, 66 unfair competition cases, 51 new plant variety cases, 205 IP contract cases, 7 integrated circuit layout-design cases, 457 computer software cases, 75 trade secrets cases and 67 other cases.

A year ago, the Supreme People's Court issued three guiding opinions providing guidance to lower courts on a range of litigation and disputes issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Diane Peng analyzes how the SPC's guidance has played out in litigation proceedings in practice; PRC courts' approach to foreign-related litigation in particular; and key takeaways from COVID-related cases she has worked on. For the full episode, click here to listen on Apple Podcasts and here for Spotify. This is the second part of our China Questions series exploring key issues surrounding litigation in China today. Diane Peng is a Beijing-based counsel at Fangda Partners, specializing in disputes, particularly international and foreign-related commercial arbitration and litigation. The China Law Podcast is a weekly podcast exploring China's business and financial sectors from a legal perspective. Get in touch at vchow@alm.com with any feedback and ideas for future episodes. Episode Outline 01:16 Force majeure claims and model cases 04:55 Fairness principle applied to school fee dispute 07:59 Suspended litigation proceedings pending authenticated document submission 09:17 Counterparty challenges of document authenticity 11:08 Travel restrictions impact on foreign witnesses/experts 13:17 Online litigation platforms and their limitations Related Content China Question: How to Raise my Chances of Litigation Victory in China? Part I: Litigation Readiness Podcast #28: Litigation Readiness in China - What Lawyers, Business Need to Know

NK Now -Comparison of recent military parade to the one held in October 2020 - Supreme People's Assembly's promotions and demotions & a focus on the country's economic failure -Takeaways from President Moon Jae-in's New Year's press conference and prospects for inter-Korean relations, ROK-US relations and North Korea-US relations under the BIden administration -10월에 열린 열병식과 최근 비교 분석 -최고인민회의에서의 장관급 전면 교체 및 내각중심의 경제 관리 전망 -문재인 대통령의 신년기자회견 북한 언급 및 바이든 정부의 전략 Guest: Kim Jeongmin, Seoul Correspondent for NK News

For Feedback, comments or submissions contactTalesOfTheTribunal@Gmail.comNews:Swiss Supreme Court Ruling, Here.WCT Arbitration in Dubai, Here.Alpiq v. Bouygues Construction, Here.Supreme People’s Court Summary, Here.Halibutron v. Chubb, Here.Opportunities:ABB Post, Here.Rio Tino, Here.DLA Piper, Here.SIAC Postings, Here.Samsung Postings, Here.Events/Webinars:Ben Davis retires from U of Toledo, Here.ICC Events:  i) Event #1: 2nd Belgrade ICC Construction and Arbitration Conference, Here.ii) ICC Arbitration in Africa 6/6: Scrutiny of ICC Awards: what, when, how and why?, Here.RAI Event, Here.Delos Event, Here.WIPO Event, Here.

The Chinese government has been outspoken in recent years about its desire to improve the business environment for both domestic and foreign companies. Part of its strategy to do so has been the promotion of arbitration by the Chinese judiciary, spearheaded by the Supreme People's Court. At the same time, the Hong Kong government led by its Secretary for Justice, the arbitrator Teresa Cheng, has been eager to promote Hong Kong as a regional dispute resolution hub. Edward Liu discusses the ways in which China is opening its doors to foreign arbitral institutions and the promotion of frictionless arbitration proceedings across the mainland and Hong Kong. Edward Liu is a legal director advising on disputes and maritime law matters at Hill Dickinson in Hong Kong. Dual-qualified in both England and Wales and in China, Edward is also an experienced arbitrator and mediator and a member of the Hong Kong government's Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration and its Steering Committee on Mediation. This is the second special annual review episode looking back at the year just gone by in various major areas of the law. Check out last week's episode looking at the major U.S. tech-related sanctions and export controls on Chinese entities in 2020. The China Law Podcast is a weekly podcast exploring China's business and financial sectors from a legal perspective. Get in touch at vchow@alm.com with any feedback and ideas for future episodes. Episode Outline 01:26 Force majeure issues as a result of COVID-19 06:51 Guangzhou ruling of ICC award as foreign-related 09:58 Advantages of being a foreign award for enforcement 11:53 Mainland-Hong Kong supplemental arrangement for mutual enforcement 14:34 Simultaneous enforcement of arbitral awards 17:32 Allowing Hong Kong enterprises on mainland to choose Hong Kong arbitration Related Content Guangzhou Court Rules ICC Arbitration Award Chinese, Not Foreign Podcast #17: Arbitration in China and its Growing Internationalization Going Global – China's Arbitration Reforms in 2019

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the International edition from Interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news of some reversals today.There was a surprise result for last week's jobless claim numbers in the US. A further reduction was expected from the prior week's lower +971,000 new claims level. But in fact it rose and rather sharply, to +1,106,000. There are now 14,844,000 people on these unemployment benefits as -636,000 found their qualification expire. A small number of people had their benefits boosted by a +$300/week top-up, but the conditions are so tight, that program won't help a significant number of people. The number of people who have their qualification for support expire will only grow over coming weeks, mainly because the White House and Congress, especially the Republican Senate, can't agree on extending support.And the lower employment levels may persist for many more years than officials have claimed, and that is according to the US tax authorities.And in Fed matters, opposition is growing to the Trump appointment of July Shelton to the Fed board.In Taiwan, they say that new July export orders in USD rose more than +12% on a year-on-year basis. Some of this was a currency gain but even in local currency this was an impressive result. Orders to the US and Europe were especially strong, those to Japan were especially weak.China floods are building and a peak at the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River tomorrow has brought rising levels of anxiety for those downstream.And an unusual situation might be behind the rise-and-rise of the iron ore price. Ships can't unload in China until their crews have passed pandemic tests. One trader estimates 30% of China’s imported ore is stuck on ships anchored offshore while their crews wait to be checked for the virus. So the rising price may be solely due to this bureaucratic bottleneck.And China has kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the fourth straight month. The one-year Loan Prime Rate was kept unchanged at 3.85%, while the five-year remained at 4.65%.Meanwhile, China’s Supreme People’s Court said it will slash the maximum interest rate on private loans protected by law, in a move to crackdown on the private lending sector plagued with shady practices, and lower borrowing costs of small business. The ceiling on private lending will be capped at four times the Loan Prime Rate.After starting our lower, Wall Street has moved back into positive territory - just - with the S&P500 up +0.3% in afternoon trade. They are heading for a marginal weekly rise but they are hovering at a record high level. Overnight, European markets were all down about -1.3%. Yesterday, Shanghai ended down -1.3% as well, Hong Kong was down -1.5% and Tokyo shed -1.0%. The ASX200 and the NZX50 both closed yesterday -0.8% lower.The latest global compilation of COVID-19 data is here. The global tally is 22,497,000 and that is up +282,000 since when we last checked this time yesterday. Global deaths reported now exceed 789,000.A quarter of all reported cases globally are in the US, which is up +47,000 since yesterday to 5,720,000. US deaths are now just over 176,800 and a death rate of 534/mln (+4/mln). The net number of people actively infected in the US rose +10,000 overnight to 2,476,100, so substantially more new infections than recoveries and a reversal of the recent improving direction.In Australia, there have now been 24,236 COVID-19 cases reported, another 243 since yesterday, and still very much concentrated in Victoria. Australia's death count is up to 463 (+13). Their recovery rate has jumped to 74%. There are 5927 active cases in Australia (-2375) indicating a turned tide and more far recoveries than new infections.The UST 10yr yield is down -3 bps at 0.65%.The price of gold is weaker today having fallen another -US$28 to US$1,940/oz.Oil prices are marginally softer today. They are just over US$42.50/bbl in the US and the international price is now just over US$44.50/bbl.And the Kiwi dollar fell overnight and sharply too, now just on 65.2 USc and that is almost a full -1c drop. We are now at our lowest in almost eight weeks. Against the Australian dollar we are weaker by more than -½c at 90.8 AUc. Against the euro we are down to 55 euro cents. That means our TWI-5 has dropped to under 68.2.The bitcoin price is little-changed from this time yesterday to now be at US$11,842. You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.And get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. We will do this again, on Monday. 

Professor Mike McCann discusses how Michael Jordan won a trademark case in China’s Supreme People’s Court. Produced and Hosted by A. J. Kierstead Read Professor McCann’s Sports Illustrated article on the subject: https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/14/michael-jordan-copyright-lawsuit-case-china Follow Professor McCann on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mccannsportslaw  UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law is now accepting applications for JD, Graduate Programs, and Online Professional Certificates at https://law.unh.edu  Legal topics include intellectual property, trademark, name and likeness, sports law, entertainment law

China, like other major countries, is actively working on measures to stimulate the economy and recover from the coronavirus. The question is, how can China make its stimulus measures as green and beneficial for the economy as possible? In this episode, we cover what types of stimulus have been done in the past, what the principles should be for green stimulus, and what ideas each of us have for how green stimulus could be done this time in China. Finally, we talk about whether it’s likely to actually happen. Guests are: Dimitri DeBoer, who started and leads the china office of Client Earth, a European NGO focused on environmental law, which works with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment as well as the Supreme People’s Court helping with training of environmental judges. Dimitri is also special advisor to the CCICED, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. Wu Yixiu, who leads the Climate communications team with China Dialogue. She has been following and writing about China’s low carbon transition pathway, annual emissions, and other climate related topics for several years. Recently, Yixiu and frequent Environment China co-host Yao Zhe published a piece in China Dialogue, "Stimulating the economy sustainably after coronavirus," at https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11896-Stimulating-the-economy-sustainably-after-coronavirus.  Other items referenced in the episode include: Statement of European leaders on green stimulus: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/eu-leaders-back-green-transition-in-pandemic-recovery-plan/ Various ideas from the U.S. on green stimulus:  https://medium.com/@green_stimulus_now/a-green-stimulus-to-rebuild-our-economy-1e7030a1d9ee      

The people throughout China have been plunged into bitter suffering and tribulations since the Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang reactionary government betrayed the fatherland, colluded with imperialists, and launched the counter-revolutionary war. Fortunately our People's Liberation Army, backed by the whole nation, has been fighting heroically and selflessly to defend the territorial sovereignty of our homeland, to protect the people's lives and property, to relieve the people of their sufferings, and to struggle for their rights, and it eventually wiped out the reactionary troops and overthrew the reactionary rule of the Nationalist government. Now, the People's War of Liberation has been basically won, and the majority of the people in the country have been liberated. On this foundation, the first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , composed of delegates of all the democratic parties and people's organization of China, the People's Liberation Army, the various regions and nationalities of the country, and the overseas Chinese and other patriotic elements, has been convened. Representing the will of the whole nation, [this session of the conference] has enacted the organic law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, elected Mao Zedong as chairman of the Central People's Government; and Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Song Qingling, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, and Gao Gang as vice chairmen [of the Central People's Government]; and Chen Yi, He Long, Li Lisan, Lin Boqu, Ye Jianying, He Xiangning, Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, Wu Yuzhang, Xu Xiangqian, Peng Zhen, Bo Yibo, Nie Rongzhen, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Seypidin, Rao Shushi, Tan Kah-kee [Chen Jiageng], Luo Ronghuan, Deng Zihui, Ulanhu, Xu Deli, Cai Chang, Liu Geping, Ma Yinchu, Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Lin Feng, Ma Xulun, Guo Moruo, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Xiaoping, Gao Chongmin, Shen Junru, Shen Yanbing, Chen Shutong, Szeto Mei-tong [Situ Meitang], Li Xijiu, Huang Yanpei, Cai Tingkai, Xi Zhongxun, Peng Zemin, Zhang Zhizhong, Fu Zuoyi, Li Zhuchen, Li Zhangda, Zhang Nanxian, Liu Yazi, Zhang Dongsun, and Long Yun as council members to form the Central People's Government Council, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China and decided on Beijing as the capital of the People's Republic of China. The Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China took office today in the capital and unanimously made the following decisions: to proclaim the establishment of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China; to adopt the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as the policy of the government; to elect Lin Boqu from among the council members as secretary general of the Central People's Government Council; to appoint Zhou Enlai as premier of the Government Adminstration Council of the Central People's Government and concurrently minister of Foreign Affairs, Mao Zedong as chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government, Zhu De as commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army, Shen Junru as president of the Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government, and Luo Ronghuan as procurator general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the Central People's Government, and to charge them with the task of the speedy formation of the various organs of the government to carry out the work of the government. At the same time, the Central People's Government Council decided to declare to the governments of all other countries that this government is the sole legal government representing all the people of the People's Republic of China. This government is willing to establish diplomatic relations with any foreign government that is willing to observe the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty. Mao Zedong Chairman

The people throughout China have been plunged into bitter suffering and tribulations since the Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang reactionary government betrayed the fatherland, colluded with imperialists, and launched the counter-revolutionary war. Fortunately our People's Liberation Army, backed by the whole nation, has been fighting heroically and selflessly to defend the territorial sovereignty of our homeland, to protect the people's lives and property, to relieve the people of their sufferings, and to struggle for their rights, and it eventually wiped out the reactionary troops and overthrew the reactionary rule of the Nationalist government. Now, the People's War of Liberation has been basically won, and the majority of the people in the country have been liberated. On this foundation, the first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , composed of delegates of all the democratic parties and people's organization of China, the People's Liberation Army, the various regions and nationalities of the country, and the overseas Chinese and other patriotic elements, has been convened. Representing the will of the whole nation, [this session of the conference] has enacted the organic law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, elected Mao Zedong as chairman of the Central People's Government; and Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Song Qingling, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, and Gao Gang as vice chairmen [of the Central People's Government]; and Chen Yi, He Long, Li Lisan, Lin Boqu, Ye Jianying, He Xiangning, Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, Wu Yuzhang, Xu Xiangqian, Peng Zhen, Bo Yibo, Nie Rongzhen, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Seypidin, Rao Shushi, Tan Kah-kee [Chen Jiageng], Luo Ronghuan, Deng Zihui, Ulanhu, Xu Deli, Cai Chang, Liu Geping, Ma Yinchu, Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Lin Feng, Ma Xulun, Guo Moruo, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Xiaoping, Gao Chongmin, Shen Junru, Shen Yanbing, Chen Shutong, Szeto Mei-tong [Situ Meitang], Li Xijiu, Huang Yanpei, Cai Tingkai, Xi Zhongxun, Peng Zemin, Zhang Zhizhong, Fu Zuoyi, Li Zhuchen, Li Zhangda, Zhang Nanxian, Liu Yazi, Zhang Dongsun, and Long Yun as council members to form the Central People's Government Council, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China and decided on Beijing as the capital of the People's Republic of China. The Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China took office today in the capital and unanimously made the following decisions: to proclaim the establishment of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China; to adopt the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as the policy of the government; to elect Lin Boqu from among the council members as secretary general of the Central People's Government Council; to appoint Zhou Enlai as premier of the Government Adminstration Council of the Central People's Government and concurrently minister of Foreign Affairs, Mao Zedong as chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government, Zhu De as commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army, Shen Junru as president of the Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government, and Luo Ronghuan as procurator general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the Central People's Government, and to charge them with the task of the speedy formation of the various organs of the government to carry out the work of the government. At the same time, the Central People's Government Council decided to declare to the governments of all other countries that this government is the sole legal government representing all the people of the People's Republic of China. This government is willing to establish diplomatic relations with any foreign government that is willing to observe the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty.Mao ZedongChairman  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the podcast, Jacco Zwetsloot, the Fearless Host of the NK News Podcast, gives us a debrief of his recent trip to North Korea and his eventful return to Seoul. Also discussed? NK News Managing Editor Oliver Hotham and correspondent Colin Zwirko take a look back at last week's Supreme People's Assembly session, a Russian delegation's visit to North Korea, and the potential for a Putin-Kim summit. About the podcast: The “North Korea News Podcast” is a weekly podcast hosted exclusively by NK News, covering all things DPRK: from news to extended interview with leading experts and analysts in the field and insight from our very own journalists.

Welcome to the 74th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China's top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We note that Polish authorities arrested a Chinese Huawei executive in Poland last week on charges of spying. We report that the Communist Party committee in charge of China's prosecutors, courts, and police is probing a high-profile scandal involving documents that went missing from the Supreme People's Court. We hear that Elon Musk, the CEO of electric-car maker Tesla, visited Beijing last week after the company broke ground for its $5 billion factory in Shanghai. We analyze new data about China's fertility rate in 2018, which shows a grim picture of China's future demographics. In addition, we talk with Caixin Global managing editor Doug Young about Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi. We chat with David Kirton, reporter for Caixin Global, about a controversial Singapore-based businesswoman, who became one of the new directors of a port operator based in Guangdong Province and now chaired by a former prime minister of Thailand. We also have a conversation with Noelle Mateer, Caixin Global's Culture editor, about junk food in China — but specifically about Coca-Cola and its obesity policy.  

In this podcast, world renowned Law Scholar Don Lewis discusses some of the distinctive features of China’s legal system, what is meant by the Belt and Road Legal “Architecture,” including in relation to the Cyber/Digital Silk Road, and the resounding impacts which BRI is bringing to the world of international arbitration and dispute resolution generally, with special reference to the recent inauguration by the Supreme People’s Court of the China International Commercial Courts in Xi’an and Shenzhen – the Silk Road Courts. 

In this podcast, world renowned Law Scholar Don Lewis discusses some of the distinctive features of China’s legal system, what is meant by the Belt and Road Legal “Architecture,” including in relation to the Cyber/Digital Silk Road, and the resounding impacts which BRI is bringing to the world of international arbitration and dispute resolution generally, with special reference to the recent inauguration by the Supreme People’s Court of the China International Commercial Courts in Xi’an and Shenzhen – the Silk Road Courts.

In 2016, eight companies that had dumped untreated waste in the Tengger Desert were sued by NGOs. China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled that a lower court in Ningxia was liable to accept the case, and the decision eventually resulted in an environmental restoration bill worth about 91 million USD.    Cases like this illustrate how courts are becoming a key battlefield in China’s so-called 'war on pollution' — but when and how did this shift take place? And beyond courtrooms, what other legal and policy tools has China recently added to its pollution-fighting arsenal?   We sit down with Dimitri de Boer, environmental cooperation expert and head of European NGO ClientEarth’s China Programme, to discuss recent advancements in China’s environmental laws and how these laws are being applied in practice. Dimitri shares his insights on China’s vast network of environmental courts, the importance of 2015 amendments to China’s Environmental Protection Law, and ClientEarth’s work to train judges who are handling environmental-related matters. You can learn more about ClientEarth’s work in China here: https://www.clientearth.org/china/.

 Kim Jong-un born 8 January 1984 or 5 July 1984)[3] is the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea. Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and his consort Ko Yong-hui.[6] Little is known for certain about Kim Jong-un. Before taking power, he had barely been seen in public, and many of the activities of both Kim and his government remain shrouded in secrecy.[7] Even details such as what year he was born, and whether he did indeed attend a Western school under a pseudonym, are difficult to confirm with certainty. Kim was officially declared the supreme leader following the state funeral of his father on 28 December 2011. Kim holds the titles of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the National Defence Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army,[1] and presidium member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.[8] Kim was promoted to the rank of Marshal of North Korea in the Korean People's Army on 18 July 2012, consolidating his position as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces[9] and is often referred to as Marshal Kim Jong-un or "the Marshal" by state media.[10][11] Kim obtained two degrees, one in physics at Kim Il-sung University, and another as an Army officer at the Kim Il-sung Military University.[12][13] On 12 December 2013 official North Korean news outlets released reports that due to alleged "treachery," he had ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek.[14] On 9 March 2014, Kim Jong-un was elected unopposed to the Supreme People's Assembly. He is the first North Korean leader born after the country's founding. Kim Jong-un is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his brother, Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia in February 2017.[15][16]   From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.President Xi Jinping has instructed the Chinese military&`&s rocket force to continue to build itself into a strong and modern rocket force. Xi is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. He made the remarks during an inspection of the People&`&s Liberation Army&`&s Rocket Force, as he congratulated the first PLA Rocket Force Party congress. President Xi described the force as a "core of strategic deterrence, a strategic buttress to the country&`&s position as a major power, and a cornerstone on which to build national security." The PLA Rocket Force was established at the end of last year, part of a wider military structural reform drive. Xi conferred the military flag on the Rocket Force at its inauguration ceremony held in Beijing on Dec. 31, last year. The president said that amid the changing international situation and major challenges to national security, the Rocket Force has played an irreplaceable role in containing war threats, ensuring a secure and favorable strategic posture for China, as well as maintaining global strategic balance and stability. This is Special English.A multi-department circular on fighting telecom and Internet fraud has been issued, tightening preventive measures and ordering police to hunt down perpetrators.The circular made it obligatory for telephone accounts to be registered using real identity information. It was jointly issued by related government departments including the Supreme People&`&s Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the People&`&s Bank of China.The circular said all telecom service providers must make sure that 100 percent of the country&`&s telephone accounts are registered under real identities by the end of this year and suspend the use of accounts without real identity registration.In the banking sector, the circular prolongs the period of time needed for money to be transferred from an account holder to another via ATM, or Automatic Teller Machine, to 24 hours. The new measure will go into effect on Dec 1.In telecom fraud, swindlers often trick victims into transferring money to their accounts via ATM. In some cases, money in transfer can be frozen if victims call the police in time.The circular aims to crack down on leaking and trade of personal information. It allows law enforcement to delete, monitor and block Trojan horse and other malicious software and personal information disseminated online.Websites or Internet accounts found to be at fault will be shut down, and perpetrators may be subject to criminal penalties.This is Special English.A trial program to test the issuance of a single, unified work permit for foreigners is expected to ease the burden of employment in Shanghai for highly skilled expats. Starting in October, the program will replace the current system under which two government entities have issuing authority.The trial was highlighted in a recently released notice about further deepening of measures to attract more foreign talent to speed up the development of the scientific and technological innovation hub.Until now, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs has been responsible for issuing a certificate qualifying some individuals to work in China, while local labor bureaus issued their own work licenses to authorize others.In the pilot program, highly skilled applicants will not need to submit applications before entering the country, and only need to complete an online application after being recruited to work in Shanghai.Expats who have applied at least twice for a one-year work permit will be eligible for a five-year work permit, making the process more convenient for them.In July last year, 20 measures including 12 released by the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau reduced complexity for highly skilled overseas passport holders. Meanwhile, the length of an overseas talent residence permit was extended to 10 years, opening Shanghai&`&s door wider to the world.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.（全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. The world's largest radio telescope will be completed and in use in late September, accompanied by regulations to protect the facility. The construction of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, has entered its final phase in the mountainous southwestern province of Guizhou. With a dish the size of 30 football pitches, the telescope, which measures 500 meters in diameter, dwarfs Puerto Rico's 300-meter Arecibo Observatory. The provincial legislature passed a rule to guarantee the safe operation of the facility. The rule will come into effect later this month. Under the regulation, the telescope requires radio silence within a 10-kilometer radius. Construction of irrelevant projects will be prohibited in the core area and violators will be fined up to 100,000 yuan, roughly 15,000 U.S. dollars. The regulation also bans activities including hunting, wood gathering or land reclamation in the core area, and underscores forest fire prevention work. The rule sets Sept. 25 as the prefecture's astronomical science day. Construction of the telescope began in March 2011 at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan. Some 8,000 people in the core area will be relocated. This is Special English. China's top legal authorities have for the first time clearly stipulated that victims of miscarriages of justice have the right to compensation for mental anguish. The Supreme People's Court has revealed a judicial explanation saying that compensation applications can be filed in non-criminal cases where people have been wrongfully subjected to law enforcement. To redress judicial infringement, the court and its staff should eliminate ill effects, rehabilitate reputations and extend formal apologies to victims. For mishandled cases which result in serious harm, the judiciary should apologize and pay compensation for mental suffering. Those who have had their assets illegally frozen or sold off by the court can also ask for compensation. This is Special English. China is moving quickly to implement the anti-corruption consensus reached at the Group of 20 Summit by setting up the group's first anti-graft research center in Beijing. The center will provide intelligence support in the hunt for economic fugitives and confiscation of their ill-gotten assets. The center is based at Beijing Normal University and will officially begin operations in a few months. Dozens of experts and professionals who specialize in graft-related studies from China and other G20 economies will be recruited. The country's top discipline watchdog said the establishment of such a center will lay a solid foundation for studies of cross-border corruption crimes and offer intelligence support to fight corruption globally. The center will conduct in-depth research among G20 members on corruption crimes, including comparing domestic and foreign laws, procedures for confiscating illegal assets and extradition and judicial assistance. Transnational commercial bribery will also be studied. The center will also set up a database of experts and lawyers from G20 members with knowledge of anti-corruption law enforcement, criminal law and asset recovery. These experts will conduct research and training and will share their experiences in tackling such problems. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Authorities and experts have warned of the risks of the Zika virus spreading in China and are urging precautionary measures, as the number of cases in Southeast Asia increases. Authorities responsible for entry and exit inspection and quarantine across China are urged to intensify monitoring and cooperation in the prevention and control of the virus. Visitors to countries and regions with a Zika outbreak should take precautionary measures, including wearing long-sleeve clothes and long trousers, and should see doctors quickly if they are bitten by mosquitoes and display symptoms such as fever and rash. Those who plan to return from such countries should make declarations to the exit-entry inspection and quarantine authorities. Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and many South American countries, have reported Zika cases. According to the World Health Organization, more than 2 billion people living in Asia, Africa and the Pacific could be at risk. The risks for China will depend on importation of the disease, the presence of a suitable host and the country's capacity to detect and respond to its spread. The Zika virus is primarily spread through mosquitoes, and around 20 percent of those infected could display symptoms including fever, rash or headache. Death may occur in rare cases. This is Special English. A 144-hour visa-free entry policy, which allows greater flexibility for foreigners who go to Shanghai and nearby provinces, has boosted the number of inbound tourists in the Yangtze River Delta. The Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection said that as of Sept 1, more than 18,000 foreign tourists had taken advantage of the policy to enter Shanghai for a short stay. That's 60 percent more than in 2015. Since Jan 30, when China enacted the expanded visa-free policy, eligible visitors or businesspeople traveling in the Yangtze River Delta area, including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing, automatically qualify for 144 hours for business or simply to explore the region. Visitors from 51 countries can enjoy the policy, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. In the past, Shanghai and other important mainland tourism destinations only offered a 72-hour visa-free stay for inbound foreign visitors. Travel industry insiders say the average stay of foreign visitors is around 102 hours. Industry insiders all attribute the growth to a rebound in inbound tourism in China. In the first half of this year, almost 68 million visits were paid by overseas visitors, a jump of 4 percent year-on-year. Visits by foreigners reached 13 million, a 9 percent increase. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to 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. The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum hopes that documents about Jewish refugees' life experience in Shanghai during World War II will eventually be listed in China's national legacy archives. The museum said it will continue enriching and improving its collection of historical materials and make the material part of the national legacy archives, and then global archives. It revealed the plan at the third Jewish Studies Youth Forum. At least 20,000 Jewish people sought shelter in Shanghai during the war, or used the city as a jumping-off point for other safe destinations. Documents related to Jewish refugees' lives in Shanghai during the 1930s and 1940s were listed in the municipality's legacy archives last year. The museum has registered 550 items documenting the Jewish experience so far, including tickets for the voyage from Europe to Shanghai, certificates for job applications, as well as audio and video recordings of interviews with former refugees. The Hongkou district was Shanghai's Jewish quarter in the 1940s, when a large number of Jewish refugees poured from Europe into the open harbor of Shanghai, which didn't require a visa for entrance. Shanghai had a Jewish community as early as the late 19th century. The Jews there engaged in various businesses including running cafés and photo studios. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Chinese researchers at Stanford University have developed a plastic-based textile that can cool the human body and may someday reduce demand for air conditioning. The material cools by not only taking away sweat like ordinary fabrics do but also by allowing the heat that the body emits as infrared radiation to pass through, which makes the wearers feel cooler than they would when wearing cotton clothes. The researchers' study was recently published in the journal Science. The lead author of the study, Yi Cui, is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. He said by cooling the person rather than an entire building, a substantial impact could be made on global energy use. The human body emits mid-infrared radiation, an invisible and benign wavelength of light. That contributes to more than 50 percent of the total body-heat loss in a typical indoor setting like an office. However, traditional textiles are not designed for infrared radiation control. This is Special English. The Bruce Lee Club in Hong Kong founded by fans of the legendary kung fu star has closed, after 15 years of operation due to rising rent in one of the world's most expensive property markets. This mini-museum and souvenir shop in Kowloon has action figures, toys, films and memorabilia related to the martial arts icon. It held an auction of its collection on Sept. 3 including a rare porcelain figure of Bruce Lee with an estimated market value of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, roughly 13,000 U.S. dollars. Income from the auction will be used to cover expenses and for redundancy pay. The club said it aimed to bring members from around the world together to express and exchange their feelings towards Bruce Lee and to promote martial arts, philosophy and arts films. The shop had already cut its space by half to reduce costs, but was still unable to cover the rising rent. Chairman W Wong said the shop was in operation for 15 years, and it was more like a venue for fans to meet rather than a profit-making business. This is Special English. Preliminary competitions are going on for the first ever national contest of the traditional Chinese poker game "The Landlord", or Dou Di Zhu in mandarin. The competition, entitled "Two-Against-One Poker Championships" was co-sponsored by China's General Administration of Sport. The winner will be rewarded with five million yuan, and all players can cumulate their master points that will be the basis for a national ranking of Landlord poker players. Online registrations are open and free of charge. Preliminary matches will be held online and last until June next year. More than 2,000 players will be selected for the final competition. A deputy director from the administration said she is confident that the competition will become a popular event. The administration is expected to see a total of more than 100 million people enrolling online. The event came after the administration granted official status to the poker game in the "card and chess category" for the national games earlier this year. The authority also published a set of rules and regulations for the poker game and an assessment system for points and ranking. "The Landlord" normally consists of at least three players: one being the landlord and the other two, the uprising peasants. The peasants play in a team against the landlord. Any player who feels confident about his or her cards can claim to be the Landlord at the beginning and receive three extra cards. This is Special English. （全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. China is planning an overhaul of the Communist Youth League to reinforce youth belief in the Communist Party of China and pump vigor into the cause of national rejuvenation. The Party Central Committee has published a document outlining plans for the reform. The league committees will be downsized, with more staff assigned to the grassroots level to serve the youth, with bureaucratic procedures streamlined. Positions in the League should be filled by talented Party members and League workers who "understand and love young people". The document said League delegates should pay more attention to the opinions of Party members and ordinary young people. It should also take responsibility for serving and protecting teenagers' lawful rights. The League was founded in 1922, the following year after the founding of the Party. It was designed to be a bridge linking youth with the Party and a talent reserve for the Party. As of last year, the League had around 88 million members and almost 4 million organizations across the country. There have been worries that the league has lost its connection with young people and formed undesirable work styles, including formalism and a focus on entertainment. This is Special English. The journal Nature Biotechnology has said it will investigate criticisms of what was thought to be a breakthrough gene-editing technique developed by Chinese scientist Han Chunyu. The journal published Han's research findings online in May. But a scientist from Australia has said his lab was not able to replicate Han's results. Forty-two-year-old Han is a geneticist at Hebei University of Science and Technology. He rose to prominence with the publication of his cutting-edge gene editing technique known as NgAgo, and was perceived as a contender for a Nobel Prize. The journal said it had been contacted by several researchers who said they had not been able to reproduce Han's published results. The journal said it takes seriously any concerns raised about any paper, and considers them carefully, adding that it is now following an established process to investigate the issues. Han was quoted in a Beijing-based newspaper as saying that he will repeat the experiment and share his original data if the journal requests. Before NgAgo, efforts and investments were directed heavily towards the widely recognized genome-editing technique known as CRSPR. It allows researchers to clip a specific DNA sequence and replace it with a new one, offering the potential to cure diseases caused by faulty genes. The NgAgo technique for editing DNA was initially believed to surpass CRISPR in precision and efficiency. You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. A new guideline says China must shut down outmoded facilities, consolidate production and reduce pollution to increase the competitiveness of its petrochemical industry. According to the guideline issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, the development of the petrochemical industry is hindered by overcapacity along with security and environmental constraints. Foreign companies are to be allowed to participate in mergers and acquisitions in the sector. Seven planned coastal petrochemical production bases will be built to consolidate the sector. By 2020, energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of output, roughly 1,500 U.S. dollars, will be cut by 8 percent from the 2015 level, with cuts in carbon dioxide emissions and water consumption of 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively. This is Special English. A new judicial interpretation has been issued by the top court to regulate online judicial auctions. The Regulations on Online Auctions for Judicial Sales were mapped out by the Supreme People's Court, and will take effect on Jan 1 next year. A law enforcement official from the Supreme People's Court said online auctions will lower the cost of judicial sales and allow people from anywhere to take part. They are expected to help increase transparency of law enforcement and better protect creditors' interests. Each e-auction organized by a court requires a deposit, even in auctions for small items, which is different to the practice in auction houses. The regulations stipulate that the deposit should not exceed 20 percent of the starting bidding price and each online auction is required to last at least 24 hours to better enable all parties to take part. More than 1,400 courts have organized online auctions since 2010, when such practices were allowed for judicial sales. Deals worth more than 150 billion yuan, roughly 23 billion U.S. dollars, have been reached. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. An 8-year-old boy from central China's Hunan Province has sued three hospitals, seeking compensation after being infected with AIDS. The boy was confirmed HIV positive in July last year. He received treatment in the hospitals for serious traffic accident injuries obtained in 2014. His HIV screening tests were negative before the initial treatment which included a blood transfusion. The local health authority says it is difficult to determine the exact source of the infection. During a period of 18 months following the traffic accident, the child was hospitalized eight times in three different hospitals in the local area, the provincial capital Changsha and Shanghai. He also spent considerable time outside the hospitals, which makes ascertaining the precise source of the infection difficult. In addition to the three hospitals, the co-defendants also include a blood supplier organization and a biological produt company. This is Special English. Chinese experts are expected to arrive in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d'Ivoire to reinforce agricultural cooperation between the two countries, and help modernize the agricultural sector of the African country. In September, China will send 30 agricultural experts with different expertise to evaluate national needs in domains including cocoa, cashew nuts, rice, pineapples and mangoes. Cote d'Ivoire's agricultural ministry said in a statement that five Cote d'Ivoire villages will benefit from the program dubbed "one village, one company". It was initiated by China to increase incomes for farmers. The project will be carried out in 100 African villages. China currently provides support for Cote d'Ivoire's agricultural sector through a hydro-agricultural project, 180 km south of Abidjan. The project is for rice farming. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to 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. When China opened its arms to international universities, foreign educators saw the jointly founded institutions as transforming Chinese higher education. Denis Simon is an executive vice-chancellor of Duke University's campus in Kunshan in eastern China. Simon says the idea of allowing seven foreign universities to have campuses in China is something people wouldn't have thought would happen 20 years ago. He says the number will soon grow to nine. Simon told China Daily that he sees it as a watershed moment in Chinese higher education. Located in Kunshan in Jiangsu province, Duke Kunshan University was jointly founded in 2013 by two prestigious universities, Duke University in the United States and China's Wuhan University. It was designed as a new model to advance China's higher learning system. Simon said Duke came specifically to deliver a liberal arts education to China, and to provide an innovative educational platform. Since 2004, the Chinese government has approved the establishment of independent Sino-foreign universities across the country in the hope that these joint-ventures will help to facilitate the transfer of international educational experiences and import advanced management, teaching methods as well as curriculum systems. Duke Kunshan received its first class in 2014 and currently offers four master's programs, namely global health, environmental policy, medical physics and management studies. In addition, there's an undergraduate program called the Global Learning Semester. The campus has seen its first graduates in global health and medical physics. Its management program has already had graduates for two years. This is Special English. After its successful Shanghai debut, the stage drama, "Three Body Problem", has begun its performance in Beijing. The drama is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's first book of a trilogy entitled "Remembrance of Earth's Past", also known as the "Three Body Problem". The story features human's first but frustrating contact with an alien civilization. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel last year. Along with the storyline of ups and downs, the drama invites multimedia technology to showcase magnificent 3D scenes, bringing audience a visual feast. The scene of "three suns" particularly impressed many viewers. Audience members saw flaring suns being swept from the stage into the auditorium. In fact, the "suns" were controlled by several unmanned aerial vehicles, with motion trails calculated accurately. The lighting is another highlight. Hundreds of beams went around back and forth or were projected on semitransparent curtains, creating a vivid 3D world. The director of the show Liu Fangqi says this is a new form of drama combined with stage art and special-effects in a theater with great surround sound. It might be the best way for science fiction novels to be showcased on stage. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Fifteen people from seven countries in the European Union have finally wrapped up their tour of China. Members of the group were winners of an EU-wide contest where they had to submit articles, pictures, videos and paintings on the theme of China-EU friendship. The event was jointly sponsored by the Confucius Institute and the Mission of China to the EU. The winners include a former ambassador to China and a corporate consultant, as well as an artist and a college student. They visited museums and traveled to communities and villages in Beijing and northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. During their trip, they learned about China's economic and social development. They also witnessed local governments' poverty relief efforts. This is Special English. The number of tourists from the Chinese mainland visiting Taiwan decreased by 12 percent in May and June, compared with the same period last year. Nevertheless, the mainland has remained the largest source of visitors in Taiwan so far this year. More than 2 million visitors from the Chinese mainland visited the island in the first half of the year, accounting for almost 40 percent of all visitors to Taiwan. Despite the marked drop in May and June, visitor numbers still grew by 3 percent in the first six month. However, tourism experts in Taiwan worried that the number of mainland tourists will continue to drop in the months to come. Taiwan-based Ezfly International Travel says people in the tourism industry want a change. Around 90 percent of the company's clients are from the mainland. The company says the number of mainland tourists began to decline sharply after Taiwan's new leader took office in May. This is Special English. A new song has become popular among Internet users in China, who feel it is a vivid description of their lives as workaholics who always work overtime. The song is entitled My Body is Hollowed Out. （全文见周六微信。）

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. President Xi Jinping has called for improved birth, employment and elderly policies to cope with the country's aging population in a "timely, scientific and comprehensive" manner. Xi made the remarks in a written instruction made public recently. He says coping with the aging population is crucial for development and hundreds of millions of people's well-being. He calls for better top-down design based on current situations and future expectations. The president stresses that this issue should be put on high agenda and relevant work should be carried out during the 2016 to 2020 period. China has well over 200 million people aged 60 or above, more than 15 percent of the total population. The figure is expected to reach 243 million by 2020. Old age care lags far behind demand and varies greatly between regions. In a separate written instruction, Premier Li Keqiang has urged authorities to take a scientific approach to policies and suggestions on the aging issue. In a recent meeting, Wang Yong, head of the National Working Commission on Aging, has urged related departments to get down to work. He says the focus should be on pressing issues for the elderly, so they feel the benefit. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A recent government guideline on urban planning has sparked heated debate among Internet users over opening up gated residential communities to public road system; and an online poll shows that a majority of participants oppose it. The guideline says the roads in the newly established communities will be open to the public, becoming part of the urban road system. The old communities will gradually connect their roads to the public roads. That is to better utilize the urban land and optimize the urban road network. The news on gated communities triggered uproar among Internet users. The news was forwarded 15,000 times and generated 3,600 comments overnight on Sina Weibo, a twitter-like microblogging site. Many Internet users have expressed concern over the potential risks from opening up the gated communities, including noise and air pollution, traffic congestion and public safety. One Internet user says such highlight in the guideline might violate the country's property law, since the home owners also paid for the roads in the communities when they bought the apartments. In a latest development, a senior judge has hinted at possible revisions to the law when responding to the public concern about the opening up. While expounding the 2007 Property Law, the senior judge with the Supreme People's Court says there is still a continuing process to realize the rule of law through legislation. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Beijing plans to almost double the number of air monitoring stations to give a better idea about the true state of the city's air quality. An extra 30 monitoring stations will be added to the 35 already in operation. The stations will cover middle schools, mountainous areas and rural areas, and there will also be more monitor vehicles. Currently, the 35 existing stations observe six categories of pollutants including PM2.5, a major contaminant for Beijing's bad air. Environment authority says the upgrade will provide more data about the city's air quality. Technical preparation of the new monitor stations has been completed, though there is no timeframe for when the new stations will come online. For Beijing and its surrounding regions, the government has set a target of reducing pollution by 40 percent from 2013 levels by 2020. A senior environment official says the city's air quality has improved over the last two years. The authorities have increased efforts to reduce air pollution in the wake of the city's first "red alerts" in December, when smog engulfed the city. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Young people in China who plan to study in the United States are being advised to seek alternatives to the Scholastic Assessment Test, as a recent overhaul has made it more challenging for non-English speakers. A consultant director of the Beijing-based AW Education International says she was advising all her clients to sit the American College Test instead. This is another college placement test in the United States and suitable for those who plan to enroll in the fall semester of 2017. New sample questions from the revised Scholastic Assessment Test do not include many of the question types that Chinese students are usually good at. More time will be required for the students to prepare for the test if they want good scores. Other overseas study consultancy firms have also suggested that their clients turn to other tests. Many Chinese students were admitted to some of the best American universities after scoring high or even full marks in the former tests, but the changes may mean it is no longer easy for Chinese students to excel. Consultancy experts anticipated a reduction in the number of Chinese students taking the test this year. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Twenty-five people have been punished after they were implicated in the illegal disposal of hazardous chemicals, which killed four people in east China's Shandong Province. In October, two of the victims, Zhang Linde and Chen Jixin, hired a tanker to transport dangerous liquid chemical waste to an abandoned coal mine in the province. The two, their driver and a supercargo died from poisoning as a result of dumping the chemicals. Police say twenty-five suspects have been dealt with according to criminal procedures while several others are at large. Five local companies were involved in the case and have been suspended operation. The polluted area has been enclosed in curtain grouting, and the local environment agency is decontaminating the mine. This is NEWS Plus Special English. More than 16,700 people died as a result of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland last year. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, more than 6.4 million cases of infectious diseases were reported on the mainland. Of the total, 13 cases of cholera, categorized as a Class A infectious disease under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, were reported with no deaths. More than three million cases were classified as Class B infectious diseases, which resulted in 16,600 deaths. HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, rabies, hepatitis, and human infection of H7N9 avian influenza accounted for almost 99 percent of deaths in this category. Category C diseases were responsible for more than 3.4 million cases and 160 deaths. Foot and mouth disease, infectious diarrhea, and influenza were the most prevalent in this category, accounting for almost 98 percent of deaths. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan 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. With great verve and passion, Chinese people around the world have celebrated their Lantern Festival in both traditional and trendy ways. The festival, which fell on Feb. 22 this year, brought an end to this year's Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. It is the day when people see themselves starting a new life in a new year. In China, Lantern Festival is an important family day, but unlike Spring Festival when people stay home for family dinners, it is a day for going out and about. In southwest China's Sichuan Province, 20 dragon dance troupes gathered in Luxian County. A team of dancers under a long "dragon costume" painted red or gold used poles to manipulate the dragon's head and serpentine body. They danced to the accompaniment of drums, twisting the dragon as it danced, shaking its head and swinging its tail through the crowds. Another folk tradition, the Yangko dance, was performed in Yan'an city, the "red cradle" of the Chinese revolution in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Staging the dance on Lantern Festival has become a tradition in the city. This year, around 3,000 performers in bright costumes with colorful umbrellas, fans and red ribbons danced to local folk music and drums. In Taiwan, the annual lantern exhibition has as its centerpiece a 26-meter figure of the Monkey King, the leading character in the Chinese classic "Journey to the West" to celebrate the Year of the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac. In Shanghai, the Yuyuan Garden Fair not only presents traditional lanterns but also the latest high-tech lighting. With a monkey theme, the lantern fair features lasers and pop music. The modern shows attract huge numbers of people. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Tourists from the Chinese mainland are spending more in Taiwan than any other group. Local paper Economic Daily News reports that Japanese tourists were used to top the list for highest average expenditure per person daily when traveling in Taiwan. It is the first time that Chinese mainland tourists have taken the top spot since Taiwan opened up its tourism to visitors from Chinese mainland in 2008. According to Taiwan's tourism authority, every traveler from Chinese mainland on average spent 230 U.S. dollars per day, more than the average expenditure of 220 dollars Japanese spent in the first three quarters last year. Also, every Chinese mainland tourist on average spent almost 123 dollars on shopping, or 40 dollars more than that spent by a Japanese tourist. Japanese tourists have cut down on overseas spending as the yen devaluated sharply and domestic consumption tax rose. The daily expense of Japanese and Chinese mainland tourist in 2014 was 243 and 242 dollars respectively. This is NEWS Plus Special English. China's box office sales totaled 580 million yuan, roughly 88 million U.S. dollars, on Valentine's Day, representing a new high from previous years. China Film News reports that the box office surged by more than 150 percent from the same day last year. More than half of the sales were generated by "Mermaid", a sci-fi comedy by Stephen Chow, a famed Hong Kong director and comedian. "The Monkey King 2" took the second place with around 95 million yuan, while "From Vegas to Macau III", starring Hong Kong actors Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau, scored 85 million yuan to come in third. The Valentine's Day box office in 2016 increased markedly due to the date closely following the Spring Festival holiday, which ended on Feb. 13th. The newspaper says the box office surge during the Spring Festival holiday, which totaled 3 billion yuan from Feb. 8 to 13, spilled over into the Valentine's Day. For the past two years, Valentine's Day was several days before or after the holiday. This is NEWS Plus Special English. （全文见周日微信。）

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. The People's Liberation Army of China has made a historic reshuffle of its branches, as military reforms ordered by President Xi Jinping gradually unfold. During a ceremony held in Beijing, Xi announced the establishment of the PLA Army Headquarters, the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force. Xi is also chairman of the Central Military Commission. The president says the moves are a key milestone in the modernization efforts of the Chinese military. Previously, the PLA's ground force did not have a headquarters, as its units were under the direct control of the Central Military Commission. The seven regional military commands were in charge of the detailed operations of ground units stationed within their jurisdictions. The Rocket Force's predecessor, the PLA Second Artillery Corps, was formed in 1966 to manage the country's strategic missiles. Its name was given by then-premier Zhou Enlai in an attempt to keep its true functions secret. The missile force made its public debut in 1984. This is NEWS Plus Special English. China's first domestic violence law may include emotional or psychological abuse and cover cohabitation in order to protect traditionally silent abuse victims. The new draft law noted that the country prohibits any form of domestic violence. Domestic violence is defined as physical or psychological harm inflicted by family members, including beatings, injuries, restraint or forcible limits on physical liberty as well as recurring verbal threats and abuse. An earlier draft, submitted in August, included only physical abuse, but many lawmakers have since argued that the definition was too narrow. China does not have a specialized law on family abuse, and the issue has remained in the shadows for a long time in a country where family conflicts are considered embarrassing private matters. As a result, victims are often afraid to speak out and, in many cases, are turned away by police. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A Chinese court has granted a man who spent more than 11 years behind bars after a false murder conviction more than 1.2 million yuan, roughly 200,000 U.S. dollars, in state compensation. Citing insufficient evidence, a court in central China's Hunan Province overturned the guilty verdict against Zeng Ai-yun, a former graduate student of engineering at Xiangtan University in July. Zeng was convicted in 2004 of murdering his graduate school classmate Zhou Yu-heng. Zeng had been sentenced to death three times by the same court in 2004, 2005 and 2010. The Supreme People's Court rejected the verdicts and ordered a retrial. Another classmate of the victim's, Chen Hua-zhang, was later found to be the real killer. Chen poisoned Zhou with diazepam on Oct. 27, 2003 as he was jealous of the attention Zhou enjoyed from their mentor. Chen deliberately laid a false trail and imputed the murder to Zeng, who was dating the victim's ex-girlfriend. Chen and Zeng were both arrested in Nov, 2003. Zeng was sentenced to death while Chen received life imprisonment. Chen was still sentenced to life imprisonment during the retrial and fined 178,000 yuan as compensation to the victim's family. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Taiwan's education department has increased the quota of mainland students who want to study in a two-year program to achieve a bachelor's degree. The quota will be raised from 1,000 to 1,500 for the academic year of 2016 and 2017. The two-year program is specifically open for students who study in vocational schools but would like to proceed in higher education and obtain a bachelor's degree. Previously only students from southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian were allowed to study in such programs in Taiwan. The department plans to add another four provinces as well as Beijing and Shanghai. The application will start in February. Compared with those in Europe and North America, colleges in Taiwan are considered a better option for vocational school graduates from the Chinese mainland. Taiwan colleges are known for the good education quality and lower tuition, as well as the convenience of being without language barrier. The new policy is a result of negotiation between the two sides after the historic meeting between President Xi Jinping and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore. During the meeting, Ma suggested that the two sides allow more mainland students to study in Taiwan. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A trial run has begun for China's first domestically designed and manufactured magnetic levitation line in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. The maglev shuttles between Changsha's south railway station and the airport, with one stop in between. It takes around ten minutes to complete the 18-and-half-kilometer journey. According to the operator Hunan Maglev Transport Company, the line uses the "wind chaser" trains designed and manufactured by railway manufacturing giant CRRC in Hunan's Zhuzhou city. The 48-meter-long train can carry 363 people in three carriages, and achieve a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour. The domestically produced moderate-speed maglev line costs around 195 million yuan, roughly 30 million U.S. dollars, per kilometer, not including relocation fees. It is highly economical in terms of construction and maintenance costs. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. An official circular on reforming China's art and literature awards has urged that appraisals from ordinary people be included as an important parameter. The circular says appraisals from the public, artists and literati should be integrated with commercial indicators, alongside audience rating, box office and circulation. It notes that public popularity and whether the art or literature works features ordinary people's lives will be important indicators to be factored in during evaluation. The circular announces that artists or writers with notorious records or reputations will be barred from competing for awards. It also reveales that the existing 20 national art and literature awards will be reduced to 19, while a large number of their sub-categorized awards are downsized. The Ministry of Culture in April vowed to streamline the chaotic art and literature awards, blaming too many redundant awards ceremonies and appraisals for having caused irregularities and power-for-money deals. The ministry also vowes to regulate government officials' participation in competitions and awards and to forbid them for exerting any influence during award appraisals. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan 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. A 90-minute documentary about Confucius has been screened on China Central Television. The documentary was broadcast on CCTV 10, the science and education channel of the state TV. It was produced by CCTV, in cooperation with Britain's Lion TV, China International Television Corporation and the Dazhong News Group. The program told of the life of Confucius, as well as his impact on Chinese history. It was the first documentary about Confucius made by China and a foreign company. Production took two years. The documentary is comprised of six parts, namely, the man, the legend, the philosophy, the master, the inheritance and the present day. Preparation is underway for a 300-minute domestic edition of documentary in six parts. Born near the present-day town of Qufu in east China's Shandong Province, Confucius lived between 551 BC and 479 BC. He founded a school of thought that influenced later generations and became known as Confucianism. He is believed to be the first person to set up private schools in China and enroll students from all walks of life, including the poor. Confucius is regarded as a symbol of China's culture and intellectuals. There are around 1,300 Confucius temples in China and overseas. This is NEWS Plus Special English. The number of gold coins and plates unearthed from an east China ancient tomb has increased to 378, after archaeologists found another 68 pieces recently. The new finds include 20 gold plates around 22 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide. Archaeologists say it is the largest discovery of gold coins in any Han Dynasty tomb. The gold coins, most of which weigh around 250 grams each, were unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, in Nanchang City, the capital of east China's Jiangxi Province. The discovery supports the theory that China had significant gold reserve in the Western Han Dynasty. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. A film adaptation of the best-selling novel Gui Chui Deng, or "Ghost Blowing Out The Light", has received critical acclaim for its spectacular depiction of tomb raiders and afterlife. Industry sources say the scenes in "Mojin, The Lost Legend" could be an indication that the country's cinema regulators are loosening up on previously forbidden areas. "Ghost Blowing Out The Light" is a fantasy novel written by Zhang Muye about two grave robbers seeking hidden treasures. It was first published online in 2006 and quickly became the bestselling online novel in China with an estimated six million readers. When it was published in print form later the same year, it went on to sell over 500,000 copies. The novel is widely regarded as one of China's most popular works of fantasy. However, turning the work into a film script posed a massive challenge for the producers, Wanda, Huayi Brothers and Enlighten Media. According to an unwritten rule in China's movie regulations, ghosts cannot be portrayed on in movies, and raiding tombs is an illegal activity that should not be presented. However these were the two key elements which had fascinated fans. Coincidently, just three months ago, "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe", the first feature movie based on some parts of the novel, was fiercely criticized by fans for excessive rewriting of the story. In the movie made by LeTV, ghosts are portrayed as alien creatures who came to earth thousands of years ago. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Second-hand smoke exposure has dropped in China despite an increase of 15 million smokers in the past five years. A domestic smoking report has found that compared with 2010, the second-hand smoking exposure rate fell from 35 percent to 17 percent in primary and middle schools, and from 55 percent to 38 percent in government buildings. The report was released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Second-hand smoking also dropped in workplaces, restaurants, public transport vehicles and medical institutions. Chinese smoking population has increased to 316 million, or 28 percent of the total targeted population. The smoking rate was 52 percent for males and almost 3 percent for females. That is the end of this edition of NEWS Plus Special English. To freshen up your memory, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed. Please listen carefully. That is the end of today's program. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Hope you can join us every day at CRI NEWS Plus Radio, to learn English and learn about the world.

全部文稿请关注我们今天的微信：搜索英语环球 NEWSPlusThis is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.China has launched a nationwide campaign against surrogate pregnancy. The campaign started this month and will run to the end of the year. Surrogate motherhood is banned in China. The campaign will focus on identifying and punishing medical personnel and intermediary agencies that are involved in the surrogate motherhood business. Online, TV, radio and print media that carry surrogacy advertisements will also be checked. The authorities will step up supervision over the sale and circulation of assisted reproductive technology, drugs and medical equipment. Despite the ban in China, the wombs-for-rent business has thrived. Studies show that an estimated one in eight couples have fertility problems.China's health authorities say cracking down on illegal surrogacy is a long-term task, and the campaign will continue until it is effectively controlled. They have set up a special hotline: 12356. People can provide information on any medical personnel, intermediary, media organization or individual involved in the illegal practice.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Many great discoveries started with whimsical questions.When David Hu from the Georgia Institute of Technology saw a mosquito braving heavy rain to land on a man's face, the question that popped up in his mind was how do the pests survive an onslaught of raindrops, each more than 50 times the creature's own weight.Such thoughts may be fleeting for many, but Hu and his colleagues spent years solving this mystery. By observing mosquito-raindrop collisions with high-speed cameras, they discovered that the mosquito is protected by a strong exoskeleton and can perform a dive upon impact with raindrops to lighten its force.The study, believed to offer insight to the development of insect-sized flying robots, won Hu a Pineapple Science Prize for physics recently in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.China's equivalent of Ig Nobel Prizes, the U.S. parody of the real Nobel, the Pineapple awards honor the curiosity behind amusing and amazing experiments. The fourth annual awards ceremony was co-hosted by Zhejiang Science Museum and Guokr.com, China's leading popular science website.Its mathematics prize this year went to Huang Jinzi and his team from New York University, whose mathematical models answered the long sought-after question from childhood: How many licks does it take to finish a lollipop?It was initially an experiment on how water currents dissolve solids, using hard candy as a subject, but the theory developed from the experiment was later used to answer the lollipop conundrum -- a lollipop with a diameter of 1 centimeter can be licked 1,000 times.The invention prize was awarded to Jia Wenzhao and his colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, who invented a sticky device that can generate electricity from sweat. With its help, you can get an extra second for your cellphone by several hours of sweaty exercise.Others on this year's prize list included proof that "loving one's own name makes one feel happier" for the psychology prize; and the "a monkey's face looks like its mother's" experiment for medicine and biology prize. A blogger also won a special prize for spending a year documenting a meat's rotting process.Launched in 2012 to honor imaginative research and to arouse public enthusiasm for science, the Pineapple Prize is so named because of the difficulty of peeling the fruit, its inexpensive price and popularity with ordinary people.This year, the list of winners was more international. Around one third of the recipients were from overseas.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Arrangements for Muslims in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region who wish to take part in State-organized visits to Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage are being enhanced by the local authorities.Aisha Imish, a senior religious leader in Baicheng in the south of the region, participated in one of the official trips in 2013.50-year-old Imish says the group was accompanied by a translator, a doctor, a chef and other staff members, and enjoyed life in Islam's most holy city, Mecca.All able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go on the hajj are required to do so at least once in their lifetime. This year's pilgrimage is expected to run from Sept 21 to 26.Last year, trips to Mecca were organized for 14,000 pilgrims from China, 3,200 of them came from Xinjiang.The region has more than 13 million Muslims, and has a long waiting list for the government-organized visits.The Xinjiang Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau says the quota is almost the same every year, far short of the number of applicants in the region.Applications are submitted to the State Administration of Religious Affairs. Applicants can see the waiting list on the administration's website and check how many people are ahead of them.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China's Supreme People's Court has announced that by 2020, all courts in China's ethnic minority areas will be staffed with judges capable of using both Mandarin and local ethnic languages.The Supreme People's Court and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission have jointly issued a circular on improving the education and training of bilingual judges for ethnic minority areas. They have pledged to train at least 1,500 bilingual judges as by 2020.The authorities will work to ensure that every court in such areas has no fewer than four judges with bilingual competence and legal expertise.China has 56 ethnic groups, and citizens of all ethnic groups have statutory right to use their own ethnic language in litigations according to the Constitution and law. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China's health regulator says hospitals offering medical

更多内容，请关注我们今天的微信，搜索：英语环球 NEWSPlusChina's Supreme People's Court has announced that by 2020, all courts in China's ethnic minority areas will be staffed with judges capable of using both Mandarin and local ethnic languages.The Supreme People's Court and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission have jointly issued a circular on improving the education and training of bilingual judges for ethnic minority areas. They have pledged to train at least 1,500 bilingual judges as by 2020.The authorities will work to ensure that every court in such areas has no fewer than four judges with bilingual competence and legal expertise.China has 56 ethnic groups, and citizens of all ethnic groups have statutory right to use their own ethnic language in litigations according to the Constitution and law.

详细内容请关注周日微信，或登录以下网址： http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/12/08/2582s855629.htm This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing. Here is the news. China, the world's leading coal producer and consumer, has begun levying resource tax on coal on the basis of sales instead of production, in a move to shore up the dim industry and improve the deteriorating environment. The key to the reform, however, is to clear out charging fees involving coal. Due to historical reasons, Chinese coal producers pay taxes as well as fees under various names, such as coal price adjustment funds, compensation fees for native minerals, and fees for local economic development. The State Council, China's cabinet, decided to clear off these fees before implementing the resource tax reform on coal at an executive meeting in September. According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission in October, the reform plan bans local governments from setting up funds that charge coal producers. The circular stipulated that no more administrative charges or governmental funds involving coal, crude oil, and natural gas, are allowed to initiate by any local government, department or unit, except with permission from laws, rules and State Council regulations. The authorities warned that there must be accountability for any violations, setting a deadline for local governments to report their cleanup campaign and the list of fees to be canceled and to be kept. China's top coal producers had sped up actions to meet the deadline. North China's Shanxi province has cut almost 11 billion yuan, roughly 1.8 billion US dollars of fees coal producers have been charged since a massive cleanup in June. This is NEWS Plus Special English. China's revised Workplace Safety Law has taken effect. The law imposes harsher punishment on offenders. Adopted in August, the amendment stipulates fines ranging from 200,000 yuan, roughly 32,000 U.S. dollars, to 20 million yuan, or more than 3 million dollars, for enterprises involved in serious workplace accidents, depending on the resultant losses. Under the old law, fines for enterprises violating the law were no more than 100,000 yuan or less than five times the income earned from the illegal operations. Managers of such enterprises who are found to have failed in their duty to ensure safety can be fined between 30 and 80 percent of their annual income corresponding to losses. A judicial interpretation mapped by the Supreme People's Court has also taken effect, stipulating harsher punishment for the production and sale of fake and substandard pharmaceuticals. According to the document, those who produce or sell fake or substandard drugs for pregnant women, infants, children and patients in critical condition will be given particularly heavier penalties. This is NEWS Plus Special English. New regulations on family foster care in China have taken effect, allowing each foster family to take in a maximum of two children, instead of three in the past, provided that the family does not have a child of its own aged below six. The formal qualifications required of foster parents are also being raised. Prospective parents should have completed at least nine years of formal education and their financial status should be at least average for their region. Foster families are already an anomaly in China, and social workers are worried that while the new regime may better protect children, it may make the rare foster families even rarer. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing. Twitter is trying to make it easier for victims and witnesses of online harassment to report it. The short messaging service said that the new tools will roll out to users over the coming weeks. It is available now for a small group of Twitter's almost 300 million members. Among other changes, the updates streamline the process for reporting abuse, especially on mobile devices. Twitter says it also made "behind-the-scenes improvements" that speed up response times to reported tweets and accounts. Harassment and bullying on Twitter is not new. Recently, an online campaign dubbed "Gamer Gate" has led to the harassment of women in the video game industry for criticizing the lack of diversity and how women are portrayed in gaming. A director of user safety at Twitter says that in the coming months, people can expect to see additional user controls, further improvements to reporting and new enforcement procedures for abusive accounts. It is unlikely that the improvements will put an end to harassment on Twitter. While users can block accounts, and Twitter can delete them, there is nothing stopping bullies from setting up new accounts under different names. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that almost three-quarters of American adults who use the Internet have witnessed online harassment. Forty percent have experienced it themselves. The types of harassment ranged from name-calling to physical threats, sexual harassment and stalking. Half of those who were harassed said they didn't know the person who had most recently attacked them.