BEIJING

Development zone

The approval of all kinds of development zones that are newly designed or being enlarged will be stopped and it must be approved by the State Council if a national development zone is to be expanded, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said yesterday at a State Council teleconference on tightening the management of the land market. Zeng said there are many problems existing in the land market, including the illegal establishment of development zones and the discretionary adoption of preferential land policies.

Stronger army

Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan yesterday vowed to build a stronger Chinese army through science and technology. He made the pledge while addressing a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, held on the eve of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. The reception was attended by more than 800 military leaders, government officials, veterans and military attaches of foreign embassies.

Rural migration

The Ministry of Agriculture has predicted that more rural workers will migrate to the cities this year, based on a survey conducted by the ministry's research unit. In April and May, 10 per cent of migrant workers from rural areas returned home because of fears over severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). But, at the end of May, the labourers began to go back to work in the cities. The rate of migration has now returned to normal levels.

TAIYUAN

Accidents kill 13

Thirteen people were killed by two separate coal mine accidents in North China's Shanxi Province and Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the State Administration for Safe Production Supervision said yesterday. On Tuesday night, gas burned in the Changzuiwan coal mine in Linfen, Shanxi, and the toxic fumes killed six people. Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, coal and gas leakage occurred at a coal mine in Yibin, Sichuan, killing seven.

BEIJING

Foreign teachers get cheaper calls

A phone card was launched yesterday to let foreign teachers working in Chinese schools call their home countries more cheaply.

A co-operation project between the GlobalPhone Corp and the Australia-China Cultural Interchange Foundation aims to guarantee the lowest rates for these foreign teachers (most of whom teach the English language).

There are now about 48,000 native English-speaking teachers in China, according to Matthew J. P. Tonn, an official with the foundation.

Electronic design contest to held

The Sony Cup 2003 National Undergraduate Electronic Design Contest will be held between September 15 and 18 throughout China, the event organizers announced yesterday in Beijing.

Jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Information Industry and supported by Japan's Sony Corp, the event is designed to help promote reform in Chinese higher education, foster students?spirit of innovation and team work, and offer them an opportunity to demonstrate their creative abilities, said Ge Daokai, a senior official with the Ministry of Education.

The Sony-supported event is held every other year. This year's will be the sixth contest since its debut in 1994.

Environmental literature prize

The authors of 20 literary works on the environment, including reportage, novels and poems, won the first National Award for Environmental Literature ?also known as the Greencool-Kelon Cup ?in Beijing yesterday. The award aims to encourage writers devoted to environmental issues and help promote public awareness of environmental protection through their works.

The 20 winning works were selected from 2,276 works written by writers, environmental protection workers and journalists across the country.

Furniture show opens

An exhibition on furniture and wood engineering opens today at the Beijing International Exhibition Centre, running until Monday.

About 500 furniture producers and sellers from across the world have applied to attend the exhibition, which is being organized by the China Construction and Decoration Association and the Beijing-based CIEC Exhibition Co.

LANZHOU

Glacier to welcome visitors

China's July 1 Glacier on Qilian Mountain in Northwest China's Gansu Province will open to visitors in September. The glacier is 116 kilometres from the city of Jiayuguan, the closest distance between a glacier and a city in Asia.

The glacier was discovered by a team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on July 1, 1958. The glacier was named after the date it was found.

(HK Edition 08/01/2003 page2)