Performers rehearse for an upcoming open-air show at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing on July 23. The show's theme, harmony between human beings and nature, will run from Sept 12 to Oct 7. Fan Jun / Xinhua

Regulation

New visa rules to boost family reunions

Relatives of foreign residents in China will soon have more opportunities to visit their loved ones, thanks to new visa rules announced on July 22.

Under regulations from the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, an S visa will be created for family members of professionals from overseas.

Spouses, young children, parents and parents-in-law will all qualify for the visa when the regulations take effect in September, authorities say. S1 visas will allow a stay of more than six months, while S2 visas will be for shorter visits.

No details about S2 visa applications were announced, but experts say having a new category for foreign expatriates' relatives will make applications more convenient and easier.

Foreign NGOs easier to be registered

International NGOs will find it much easier to become registered in China, as registration approval power has been handed over by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to provincial civil affairs authorities.

The move is part of the reforms the ministry has initiated to make NGO operations in China easier.

Other measures include preferential taxation, financial support for domestic organizations and a new management system that will loosen the requirements for international NGOs operating in China, according to Wang Jianjun, director of the non-governmental organizations department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

He was speaking at a forum on Thursday in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province.

As of the end of last year, 499,000 NGOs had registered with civil affairs authorities at different levels. They employ more than 12 million people, according to Li Liguo, minister of civil affairs.

Security

Guangdong to probe bomber's allegations

Guangdong provincial authorities promised on July 21 to look into the alleged unjust treatment of a disabled man who police say set off an explosive device the day before at Beijing Capital International Airport.

The Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department said in a statement that the police must thoroughly probe online allegations that Ji Zhongxing, who set off the homemade bomb, was attacked by police in Dongguan eight years ago.

Ji said in a blog uploaded in 2006 on sina.com that he was attacked by police in Dongguan at about 3 am on June 28, 2005, while he was carrying a passenger on his motorcycle.

Legal

Fake love avoids home-buying rules

The recent crackdown on real estate agencies helping non-native Beijing residents create bogus marriages with local Beijingers in order to buy property has law experts divided on the legality of the ploy.

The capital's housing and urban-rural development commission is accusing Golden Time Real Estate and Jinziyan Real Estate of aiding in the arrangement of 17 sham marriages. Officials say they are investigating eight home purchases.

Bogus marriages between non-native residents of the capital and Beijingers began cropping up after the city government issued a provision in 2011 permitting non-native residents only one home purchase, and that only if they had previously paid social security or income taxes for five consecutive years.

But the provision has a glaring loophole: Non-native residents can buy two homes if they marry a Beijinger.

China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 07/26/2013 page3)