Expenditure

Spending on official meetings to be cut

The Chinese government has issued a new regulation on spending for official conferences, pledging to streamline government work and curb extravagance.

The regulation, which was published on Sept 23 and takes effect on Jan 1, applies to the central organs of all political parties, the top legislative and political advisory bodies, central government departments and publicly funded organizations overseen by the central government.

It aims to close loopholes in the current regulation, which has failed to constrain unnecessary meetings and extravagance, said a statement from the Ministry of Finance, which led the drawing-up of the regulation.

Organizations covered by the document must include spending for their conferences in their annual budgets and detail each item. The regulation stipulates that no costs beyond the budget will be allowed.

Space

China seeks greater cooperation in space

China is seeking to deepen international cooperation and communication in the space industry, a senior official said on Sept 23 at the 64th International Astronautical Congress in Beijing.

"We will focus on commercial cooperation in the space industry and training of satellite control personnel for foreign countries in the coming years," said Ma Xingrui, head of the China National Space Administration.

He said China will pursue the peaceful use and exploration of space.

The country's first space station, now under construction, will be open to foreign scientists and astronauts.

China has already established cooperation deals with 26 countries and regions in the space industry.

As part of the country's effort to improve international cooperation in space, China Great Wall Industry Corp, the country's only authorized commercial provider of international launch services and satellite in-orbit delivery, plans to sign six to nine satellite construction deals in the next three years, said company president Yin Liming.

Mission to moon will boost research

China could take advantage of its Chang'e 3 lunar exploration mission to boost international cooperation on space exploration and promote space education and awareness among the public, a leading expert from the United States said on Sept 22.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Galaxy Forum workshop held in Beijing, Steve Durst, founding director of the International Lunar Observatory Association, said the sharing of imaging technologies would be key to such exchanges.

"We will use the ultraviolet lunar telescope aboard the Chang'e 3 to conduct astronomical imaging for educational purposes," he said, "and with an exchange in kind, researchers from China National Space Administration and National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences can use the ILO-X and ILO-1 instruments in 2015."

Tradition

Taoists on a mission to promote ancient lore

Chinese Taoists left on a cultural exchange tour to Europe on Sept 26 to promote the philosophy, which they believe can encourage world peace and promote environmental protection.

The Chinese Taoist Association said that its maiden overseas cultural exchange in Europe would run till Oct 6. A delegation of 81 will start the exchange in Brussels, then visit London and Oxford before finishing the trip in Paris.

The delegation will display Taoist pictures, costumes, paintings, musical instruments and videos. There will also be lectures on Taoist philosophy, as well as musical and martial arts performances.

Corruption

Employee claims Danone gave bribes

A whistle-blower claims French company Danone bribed hospital staff in seven provinces and municipalities in an effort to promote its baby formulas, and experts say such practices are part of the unspoken rules in the industry.

Danone, which markets its infant formula under the brand Dumex, gave kickbacks that amounted to nearly 500,000 yuan ($81,700, 60,600 euros) to medical staff in seven provinces and municipalities in northern China in April alone, Beijing Times reported on Sept 23, citing a whistle-blower from the company.

Those statistics are for only one of the six sales regions on the Chinese mainland, the newspaper said.

The employee also said the budget for paying doctors and nurses was approved by corporate headquarters.

Pensions

Elderly open to house pension plan

More than 70 percent of elderly people in Shanghai are open to a house-for-pension program, a survey showed, despite a recent public outcry against the idea raised in a central government document.

According to the investigation team under the National Bureau of Statistics, the program was supported by 73 percent of respondents as a possible means to ease the burden on elderly people in an aging society.

Under the program, an elderly person who owns a property could deed the house to an insurance company or bank, which would determine the value of the property and the applicant's life expectancy, and pay out a fixed amount of money every month.

The survey of 2,248 residents aged from 60 to 79 who have lived in Shanghai for more than a year found only 27 percent of respondents were firmly against the idea, the bureau's investigation team said in a report.

Legal

Verdict: Life in prison

Former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai was sentenced to life in prison for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power by a court in Jinan, Shandong province, on Sept 22.

Bo was deprived of political rights for life, with all of his private assets confiscated, under the verdict issued by Wang Xuguang, chief judge of Jinan Intermediate People's Court.

Bo, 64, also a former member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, did not appeal the sentence on Sunday, but has the right to do so within 10 days.

"What Bo did has caused great losses to the interests of the country and people, and the circumstances were especially serious," Wang said as he read the verdict in court.

The verdict said Bo took bribes of 20.44 million yuan, either personally or through his wife Bogu Kailai and their son Bo Guagua, from 1999 to 2012, when he was mayor and Party chief of Dalian, governor of Liaoning province and minister of commerce.

National Day visitors to the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing will see simpler parterres than in previous years, as the city government will slash its spending on decorations in a bid to implement the central leadership's guidelines on curbing extravagance. Wang Jing / China Daily

Former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai is sentenced to life in prison at a court in Jinan, Shandong province, on Sept 22. Xie Huanchi / Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 09/27/2013 page2)