Migrant workers from the countryside at an electronics factory in Zhengzhou， capital of Henan Province.
　　The number of young migrant workers totaled 125.28 million in 2013， accounting for 65.5 percent of the rural work force born after 1980， according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on May 12.
　　The report shows that young migrant workers are better educated and more willing to spend money than their parents and their generation. They prefer to work in bigger cities， with 54.9 percent seeking jobs in big and mediumsized cities， compared with 26 percent from the previous generation.


　　 Graft Clampdown
　　Prosecutors in China have investigated 10，840 people suspected of involvement in bribery， corruption and embezzlement between January and March of this year， the Supreme People’s Procuratorate （SPP） revealed at a press conference on May 15.
　　A total of 6，759 people were investigated for embezzling more than 100，000 yuan （$16，050） or taking bribes worth more than 50，000 yuan（$8，025）， accounting for 82.2 percent of all cases.
　　Some 661 people involved in corruption cases were officials at countylevel or above， accounting for 6.1 percent of all cases， according to the SPP.
　　Xu Jinhui， Director of the SPP’s Anti-Corruption Bureau， said that the number of corruption cases in the first quarter of this year had risen 24 percent compared with last year and the num- ber of suspects involved in these cases had risen 19.8 percent.
　　Xu added that the number of cases involving officials at county-level or above had seen a 46.9-percent rise in the same period. The number of cases in which bribes exceeded 50，000 yuan or embezzlement reached 100，000 yuan had seen a rise of 26.9 percent.
　　The Communist Party of China launched a nationwide campaign， which is still ongoing， to crack down on corruption at the end of 2012.
　　 Employment Incentives
　　Preferential policies will be granted to encourage college graduates to work at the community level or start businesses in a move to boost employment， the State Council， China’s cabinet， announced on May 13.
　　Graduates that decide to work for the government at a community level will be provided with tuition compensation or a reduction in their student loan， the State Council said in a statement.
　　Small-sum guaranteed loans or subsidies will be given to new graduates to open online shops， it said. Small and micro-sized technology businesses will benefit from similar policies once they recruit a certain amount of college graduates. 　　Figures from the Ministry of Education show 7.27 million university students will enter the job market this year， mostly in June and July. The number is 280，000 more than last year.
　　 Nuclear Safety
　　China is working to form a 300-member state-level rescue team specialized in nuclear emergencies， a senior official revealed on May 12.
　　This team will respond to “serious nuclear accidents in complicated circumstances，” said Yao Bin， head of the Nuclear Emergency and Security Division under the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND）.
　　They will be tasked with supporting the operators of nuclear facilities to handle contingencies， such as cordoning off radioactive sources during and after nuclear accidents， rescuing trapped people， as well as controlling the spread of contamination and minimizing the damage， said Yao， also deputy head of a national nuclear emergency response office.
　　The fast-response team will be equipped with the latest devices， and the country will also build a training base for the team.
　　The SASTIND and the General Staff Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army are working together on the program， which is set to be finished by 2015， according to Yao.
　　Yao also said that China will hold a national-level nuclear security exercise next year.
　　Code-named Shield 2015， the exercise will simulate a nuclear material handling process and will be conducted in south China’s Guangdong Province due to its long history in civilian nuclear power use， according to a preliminary plan.
　　It will be the second national-level nuclear security exercise since Shield 2009， which was held in November 2009 at Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in east China’s Jiangsu Province.
　　 Anti-Terror Study
　　The People’s Public Security University of China in Beijing will recruit 80 students across the country for its new antiterrorism course.
　　The subject， set under the Department of Public Security Intelligence， will comprise classes on the research on terrorist organizations， international cooperation against terrorism， security risk assessment as well as reconnaissance and evidence collection of cybercrimes， according to Beijing Youth Daily.
　　Practical courses are also opened to enable students to master tactics and command to fight back against terrorist attacks.
　　 Tibetan Medicine
　　Tibetan medical services have reached all counties in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region， local authorities said on May 12. 　　According to the regional health department， of Tibet’s 74 counties， 22 have established Tibetan medicine hospitals， while the remaining have set up Tibetan medical treatment departments in county-level hospitals.
　　“Tibet has 33 Tibetan medical institutions， boasting 1，364 beds and 1，901 full-time Tibetan medicine doctors. Additionally， about 40 percent of village doctors can provide traditional medical care for people，” said Phurbu Drolma， director of the department.
　　 Heavy Rain
　　A primary school student in Nanchang， Jiangxi Province， walks through the rain after school on May 9.
　　Downpours since May 8 and sequent floods had killed at least two people and forced the evacuation of more than 50，000 residents in Guangdong， Hunan and Jiangxi provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south and central China， the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on May 11.
　　It also reported that 1，400 houses were destroyed and 15，000 hectares of cropland were inundated in the disaster.


　　 Career Ceremony
　　Senior nurses at the People’s Hospital of Pingliang， Gansu Province， give dovetail caps to their junior counterparts at a ceremony before International Nurses Day， which falls on May 12.


　　 Satellite Navigation
　　China’s independently developed Beidou differential navigation satellite system has achieved a positioning accuracy of within 1 meter， a major breakthrough for marine applications， according to its developer.
　　The Beidou Radio BeaconDifferential Navigation Satellite System is an augmentation system that provides improved positioning accuracy for the GPS-like Beidou Navigation Satellite System by broadcasting differential corrections to Beidou receivers in the medium frequency radio beacon band （285-325 khz）， explained Wang Cheng， a senior engineer of the Beihai Navigation Safety Administration under the Ministry of Transport， on May 9.
　　The system has passed its evaluation after more than 130 days of test trials in north China’s Tianjin Municipality. It can be applied to sailing， marine exploration and rescue， and maritime charting and monitoring.
　　After the system’s completion， customers can receive free positioning services from Beidou and GPS with a dual-mode receiver.
　　 Inflation Eases
　　China’s consumer inflation fell to an 18-month low in April and factory-gate prices declined further， underlining sluggish domestic demand and raising concerns about deflation. 　　Consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， increased 1.8 percent year on year in April， down from 2.4 percent in the previous month， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） announced on May 9.
　　Slower increases in food prices were the main contributor to the lower CPI figure. Food prices increased 2.3 percent year on year， down from 4.1 percent in March.
　　“Inflation is too low for an economy that expanded at an annual rate of 7-8 percent， and continuously low CPI sets alarm bells ringing for deflation，” said Chen Hufei， an economist with Bank of Communications Co. Ltd.
　　“As food prices remain subdued in the coming months and money supply growth slows， we cannot see any factor that would pull inflation higher in the near future，” Chen said.
　　In April， producer price index （PPI） contracted 2 percent year on year， following a 2.3-percent decline in March， pointing to weakness in the economy， NBS data showed.
　　The two inflation readings reflect the weakness of demand including in both consumption and investment， said Lu Ting， chief China economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
　　“We believe it is time for the People’s Bank of China （PBC） to contemplate easing monetary policy further，” said Liu Ligang， chief Greater China economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
　　The PBC may cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by half a percentage point in both the second and third quarters and the government could roll out more loosening measures， Nomura Holdings Inc said.
　　 Yuan Bond
　　Bank of China will list its first offshore yuan bond on the Euro MTF market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange， according to a press release published on May 12 by Bank of China Luxembourg Branch.
　　The three-year bond amounts to a total of 1.5 billion yuan （$240 million）. It was named Schengen bond， indicating for free movement within Schengen member countries.
　　“The successful launch of the Schengen bond is a further step toward the internationalization of the yuan，”said Zhou Lihong， General Manager of Bank of China Luxembourg Branch.
　　Robert Scharfe， CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange， said that the choice of Luxembourg as the listing place demonstrated the confidence of the Bank of China toward Europe and especially Luxembourg as a prime international financial center.
　　 Delta Force

　　Visitors observe a delta wing aircraft at the 2014 China Import Expo， held in Kunshan， east China’s Jiangsu Province， on May 14. The four-day event attracted 667 companies from home and abroad.
　　 Quicker Loans
　　A chief of China’s central bank has urged the country’s commercial banks to be quicker in approving and issuing loans to “eligible” home buyers， mainly first-time home buyers.
　　The statement was made by Liu Shiyu， Vice Governor of the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， when speaking to the heads of 15 commercial banks in a meeting on May 12 about housing financial services， according to a statement on the PBC’s website.
　　Liu urged the banks to “properly allocate credit resources and prioritize credit demand of first-time home buyers.”
　　Liu’s statement came amid falling home sales and cooling home prices nationwide. Official data showed sales of residential property dipped 7.7 percent during the first quarter of 2014 to 1.1 trillion yuan （$176.6 billion）.
　　To curb speculative buying， the government resorted to tightening measures such as higher down payments or a 20-percent capital gains tax. Banks have raised mortgage rates for home buyers due to tighter liquidity.
　　A survey by a real estate services firm E-House China， showed that nearly 90 percent of 69 bank branches in 22 Chinese cities have stopped offering preferential mortgage rates to firsthome buyers， with some increasing the rates 5 to 10 percent above the benchmark rate.
　　 Rooftop Cultivation
　　Workers walk through a roof garden in Liuzhou， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
　　The garden， which belongs to a local wine company， grows rice， vegetables and lotus and keeps fish and field snails.
　　Byproducts from the wine company can be used as fertilizers for crops while the plants can help cool down the workshops below.


　　 Diversifying Ownership
　　PetroChina， China’s top oil and gas producer， announced on May 12 it will use part of its pipeline business to form a new company， which will then be sold as part of its mixed-ownership drive.
　　The new company will be based on assets and liabilities concerning the west-east gas pipeline managed by its pipeline subsidiary and all shares will be transferred after its establishment， according to a PetroChina announcement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
　　Total assets involved are estimated at over 82 billion yuan （$13 billion）， with total liabilities of around 53 billion yuan （$8.42 billion） and net assets at 29 billion yuan （$4.61 billion）， the announcement said. 　　PetroChina said the move will improve its distribution of resources and financing structure， as well as boost its mixed-ownership progress.
　　The new firm， which could possibly be called East Pipeline Co.， will be established in Shanghai with registered capital at 10 billion yuan （$1.6 billion）.
　　 Customs Reform
　　China’s General Administration of Customs （GAC） announced on May 14 that it will launch customs clearance reform in Beijing and Tianjin on July 1， which will be expanded to neighboring Hebei Province from October.
　　The GAC said the reform will unify customs clearance in Beijing， Tianjin and Hebei， through sharing a new information system of customs declaration， risk control， data checks and site work.
　　The reform will also cover sectors like supervision on tariff-free zones， cracking down on smuggling， business management and inspection， the GAC said.
　　The administration said the reform will make customs clearance more convenient in the area and local enterprises will be able to use the customs office of any of the three locations.
　　The reform will be promoted in other areas like the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta with faster economic development and frequent customs clearance， according to the GAC.
　　 Narrowing Income Gap
　　The State Council said on May 14 that it has approved the establishment of an inter-ministry joint conference mechanism to coordinate income distribution reform.
　　The mechanism， led by the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， includes the ministries of education， science and technology， public security， civil affairs， finance， human resources and social security， according to a statement on the website of the Central Government.
　　Other ministries or departments in charge of land and resources， taxation， housing， state-owned assets supervision and administration are also members of the regime.
　　The joint conference， chaired by head of the NDRC， will be tasked with coordinating all work in deepening income distribution reform， such as in conducting policy studies， making policies and reform plans， and coordinating ministries involved in the reform.
　　The joint conference should monitor， track， assess and review the process of the reform before reporting to the State Council.
　　Its establishment is widely seen as a boost to the reform which is complicated and involves a wide range of government departments.