Legal aid fund for senior citizens
政府为老年人设法律援助基金

A new fund was established on June 8 by the Ministry of Justice to offer legal aid for senior citizens. The fund has RMB 2.15 million collected in public donations. Vice Minister of Justice Hao Chiyong said the fund would be used to protect the legal rights of the country's growing number of senior citizens. Statistics from the China National Committee on Aging show that China has 144 million people aged over 60 (11% of the population). It is expected that this number will grow to 248 million by 2020 and 440 million by 2050. "The growing number of senior citizens is causing greater demand for legal services," said an expert on the China National Committee on Aging. An official with the Legal Aid Center under the Ministry of Justice said the legal problems of senior citizens mostly involved property disputes or children's failure to provide support.

 

 

NORTH

Forbidden City awarded "famous brand"
紫禁城成名牌
China's Trademark Office has published a list of 62 "famous trademarks" recognized in the first half of 2006. Among them are "Imperial Palace" and "Forbidden City", owned by the Palace Museum in Beijing. They become the first famous trademarks in the tourism industry to be included in China's World Cultural Heritage Project.

Beijing launches engergy-saving campaign
北京开展节能宣传
Beijing launched a week-long program of events to encourage energy saving on June 11. The week coincides with the launch of a service enabling Beijing citizens to get advice face to face from experts on everyday energy saving. A series of activities are being held throughout the week, including energy-saving and environment protection expos.

Airbus to take off in Tianjin
空中客车落户天津
China's national planning agency has approved Airbus group's selection of Tianjin as the location of its A320 aircraft assembly plant. The plant will be the first outside Europe. The first aircraft is expected to roll off the production line in 2008 and four aircraft will be manufactured every month up to 2011, according to a memorandum of cooperation between the two sides.

 

 

WEST

"Tomorrow Plan" helps orphans
新疆残疾孤儿免费医疗
More orphans in Xinjiang are going to benefit from the "Tomorrow Plan", which aims to offer free medical treatment to handicapped orphans. Under the second phase of the program, 902 handicapped orphans will receive free operations in the coming six months. By the end of this year, all of the region's 1,548 handicapped orphans will have received free medical treatment.

Buddha receives health checkup
乐山大佛也要"体检"
The world's largest Buddha statue is to receive a week-long checkup via geological radar. Carved into a cliff in Leshan, Sichuan, the 71-meter (234-feet) tall Buddha statue is more than 1,200 years old. Ordinary examination processes can only examine the surface of the Buddha, while geological radar can examine deep inside, said an expert, adding that it is the first time radar has been used on a large stone antique in China.

 

 

MIDDLE

Ancient temple relocated
河南古庙迁新居
The relocation of an ancient temple in Henan has just been completed. The Ciyuan Temple complex in Linzhou was built at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (627-649) and renovated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It's the first time that an ancient temple in China has been lifted off its foundations and moved intact to a new location. The relocation was to make way for the Anyang-Linzhou Highway which runs between coal mines in the area.

 

 

SOUTH

Cathay buys Dragonair
国泰"吃掉"港龙
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific is buying its rival Dragonair for HKD 8.22 billion (RMB 8.49 billion) to expand its flight network on the Chinese mainland. Cathay Pacific currently operates just two passenger routes between Hong Kong and the mainland. It will now be able to take over Dragonair's 23 mainland routes.

Sister Festival recovered
广西又兴姊妹节
Jiangtouzhou in Lingchuan County of Guangxi recovered its thousand-year-old traditional custom - Sister Festival on June 11. Young ladies put on fancy dresses and sang songs on that day. Local villagers held many folk-custom activities such as carrying sedan chair, playing trumpet and drum, lion dance and yangko dance, attracting many tourists from China and abroad.

 

 

EAST

Shanghai enacts food recall rule
上海采用食品安全新举措
Shanghai's first rule regulating the recall of substandard foods will go into effect on August 1, officials from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said last week. It is the nation's first rule on the recall of substandard food. The administration will provide training and explanations of the rule to local food enterprises before August.

Firefighters to get insurance
上海为消防员上保险
All 5,500 firemen at Shanghai's 80 fire stations will have their own injury and life insurance by the end of this year, according to the Shanghai Fire Control Bureau. Firefighters in the Songshan Fire Brigade became the first to get the new benefits as the Luwan District Civil Affairs Bureau bought insurance for its 49 members last week. Firefighters will not have to contribute.

Survey highlights youth depression
南京青少年心理健康让人忧
Almost 15 per cent of middle school students in Nanjing are suffering from depression, a recent survey has shown. The survey, conducted by the Nanjing Centre for Disease Prevention and Control over the past couple of months, found that among 7,161 students in the city's 56 middle schools, 14.8% were suffering from depression to some degree.

Vocabulary
enact 实施
memorandum 备忘录
litigation 诉 讼
archaeologist 考古学家