Suspended Operations

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  A ship from China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA) evaluates ConocoPhillips’s clean-up efforts in the Bohai Bay on September 2.
  That day, the SOA ordered the U.S. oil giant to cease all operations on the Penglai 19-3 Oilfield after the company failed to plug leaks in the oilfield by the administration’s August 31 deadline.
  The oil leaking from the oilfield caused by ConocoPhillips at the Penglai 19-3 Oilfield in the Bohai Bay was first spotted in June. The oil has since spread to beaches in China’s Hebei and Liaoning provinces, causing huge losses in the provinces’ tourism and aquatic farming industries.
  On September 7, ConocoPhillips said it will establish a fund to compensate victims of the oil spill in line with Chinese laws and to benefit the general environment of the Bohai Bay.
  
  SOCIETY
  Insurance Coverage
  The public medical insurance system on the Chinese mainland now covers over 1.25 billion people, or about 93 percent of the mainland’s total population.
  “The Chinese mainland’s rural cooperative medical system has provided 835 million people with health care, while another 421 million are covered by basic medical insurance systems for urban dwellers,” said Zhang Zongjiu, Director of the Department of Medical Service Supervision of the Ministry of Health, on September 4.
  In the first half of 2011, the Chinese Government spent more than 245 billion yuan ($38.4 billion) on health care, up 61.4 percent year-on-year, according to a report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, in late August.
  
  Gov’t Micro-blogs
  More than 10,000 government departments and officials across China had opened micro-blog accounts by August 1, according a survey by People.com.cn, an online news portal run by the People’s Daily.
  The survey was based on the microblog services provided by Shenzhen-based Tencent, one of China’s leading Twitter counterparts.
  In April, Shanghai-based Fudan University said in a report that there were 2,400 microblog accounts run by authorities and officials.
  The total number of micro-bloggers in China soared to 195 million by the end of June this year, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.
  Rotten Apple
  Five environmental protection nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in China have issued a report, accusing some of Apple Computer’s suppliers of creating severe levels of pollution and threatening public health.
  The report, The Other Side of Apple 2, which is based on data collected during a seven-month investigation, alleges that 27 suspected Apple suppliers in several Chinese cities discharged toxic materials that were harmful to local communities and the environment.
  In January, the same NGOs released a report claiming that instances of manufacturing pollution had been found at China-based contract manufacturers of Apple’s popular iPad.
  Apple has expressed its willingness to communicate with the NGOs about the pollution problem.
  TV Service Expansion
  Direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), a special satellite TV service, will replace wireless signals for about 200 million rural families in China by 2015.
  According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, since April, a pilot project has progressed smoothly in the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autono- mous regions and Hebei Province.
  About 200 million rural households currently receive only six or fewer channels with poor image quality. With the DBS service, rural families will enjoy high-quality programs on more than 25 TV channels, 17 radio programs, and receive radio warnings when there are emergencies, the administration said.
  Helicopter Test
  China’s domestically developed civilian freight helicopter, the AC313, successfully climbed to a height of 8,000 meters, an altitude that will enable the helicopter to reach the country’s high plateau regions.
  The AC313, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corp. of China, reached its maximum altitude during a trial flight on September 2 at Gonghe Airport in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, the company said.
  The helicopter, with a maximum takeoff weight of 13.8 tons, can be used for transportation, forest fire prevention, emergency search and rescue missions, disaster relief and medical aid.
  
  ECONOMY
  Rising GDP
  China’s GDP growth in 2010 reached 10.4 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point, said the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) on September 7.
  China’s 2010 GDP now stands at 40.12 trillion yuan ($6.27 trillion), up by 321.9 billion yuan ($50.3 billion) from the previous figure released in February, said the NBS.
  The NBS said the newfound gains came from industrial and service sectors.
  Based on current statistics, agriculture accounted for 10.1 percent of China’s 2010 GDP, industry and construction accounted for 46.8 percent and the service sector accounted for 43.1 percent.
  More Competitive
  China’s competitiveness ranking rose from 27th to 26th among 142 economies in the world this year, continuing to lead the way among large developing economies, said the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 released on September 7.
  China has improved its score and ranking each year since 2005.
  The report said China is one of the world’s least indebted countries, boasts a savings rate of some 53 percent of GDP, and runs only moderate budget deficits.
  However, China’s fairly poor results in the financial market development and technological readiness pillars pull down its overall competitiveness performance, said the report.
  Faith in the Yuan
  Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong have more confidence in the Chinese currency, the yuan, than other currencies, said a report by Grant Thornton China, a famous international accounting firm, released on September 6.
  The report showed 80 percent of the private enterprises interviewed said they are“confident” or “very confident” in the yuan, while only 24 percent of companies said they have confidence in the U.S. dollar and 18 percent in the euro.
  The business sector’s faith in a currency is closely related to many factors, such as the stability of its value, market demand, liquidity condition, and confidence in money issuers.
  The yuan will become one of the most trustworthy currencies in Hong Kong as its value appreciates against the Hong Kong dollar, which is linked to the greenback at an exchange rate around HK$7.75 per dollar, said the report.
  According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, yuan-denominated deposits in Hong Kong amounted to more than 550 billion yuan ($86.1 billion) at the end of June, 75 percent higher than at the end of 2010.
  
  Trademark Registry Up
  China became the world’s sixth largest applicant for international trademark registry this year, up one place from 2010, said Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, at the fourth China Trademark Festival held in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province on September 6.
  Wang said this reflects the steadily rising comprehensive national strength of China and its strong economic growth. It also shows that the government has made substantial progress in intellectual property rights protection.
  Despite the increase of Chinese trademark applications, the country lacks recognizable trademarks. “Actually, we cannot yet name a truly internationally recognized Chinese brand,” said Zhang Yumin, a researcher with the Southwest University of Political Science and Law, based in Chongqing.
  
  
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