Society

New Central Team to Deepen Reforms

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided on December 30， 2013， to establish a central leading team to comprehensively deepen the countrys reforms. With Xi Jinping as its head， this panel will oversee the overall planning， coordination， implementation and supervision of reform schemes. It will take responsibility for the study and formulation of fundamental rules， policies and blueprints for major reforms of economic， political， cultural， social and environmental systems as well as the system on Party building. The panel will help Chinas central leadership to balance all signifi cant national reforms involving multiple government departments that will have a long-term impact.

Chinas Immense Contribution to Poverty Reduction

U.S.-based research company Gallups household income data across 131 countries indicate that more than one in fi ve residents （22 percent） live on US $1.25 per day or less –the World Banks defi nition of“extreme poverty.” Yet Chinas remarkable growth has led to a drastic reduction in poverty.

Gallup interviewed more than 2，000 respondents each year in China， allowing for reliable tracking of the decline in poverty rates， based on selfreported income over the past six years. This span shows a remarkable trend： in 2007， 26 percent of Chinas population lived on US $1.25 per day or less， while two years later this fi gure fell sharply to 14 percent. After leveling off during the global recession， the downward trend resumed， with extreme poverty falling from 13 percent in 2011 to 7 percent in 2012.

The World Bank Group recently set a new goal of reducing the worldwide rate of extreme poverty to no more than 3 percent by 2030.

Added Protection for Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve

The central government has adopted a plan for the protection of the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve， calling for non-state sector participation in ecological conservation. On December 18， a State Council executive meeting， presided over by Premier Li Keqiang， decided on its features.

Private markets should be given full play in ecological protection， and society as a whole should be motivated to participate in ecological protection and construction， according to a statement released after the meeting.

The rehabilitation area of the nature reserve， where several big rivers in China originate， will be expanded from its current 152，000 sq km to 395，000 sq km. The monitoring and alarm system will also be improved， the statement added.

More Use of Seawater

A report released by the State Oceanic Administration notes that by the end of 2012 China had built 95 facilities to desalinate seawater， with a daily capacity of 774，000 tons， at an average cost of RMB 6 to 8 per ton. The largest project can produce 200，000 tons every day. The desalinated seawater is supplied to coastal industries with large water needs， such as power generation， petrochemicals and iron and steel， as well as to island households. Seawater is also widely used as a cooling agent， at an annual volume of 84.1 billion tons.

The maximum single-chiller seawater circulation capacity has reached 100，000 tons per hour. Desalinization facilities are in all nine provinces along Chinas coast that are experiencing water shortages， including Tianjin， Hebei， Zhejiang，

Liaoning， and Shandong.

The second national farmland survey reveals that， at the end of 2012 China had in total 2.027 billion mu （15 mu = 1 hectare） of arable land. Over the 13 years from 1999 to 2012， urban development took over 41.78 million hectares of rural lands， most of it high-quality arable land. Chinas per-capita arable land has undergone a steady decline， shrinking from 1.59 mu in 1996 to 1.52 mu in 1999， almost half the international average of 3.38 mu.

CC OOoorr ccnnhhcceeeessrrttttrr aabb yyCC ttoohhlleeoo ggGGnnüüeeeerrzzeenniicchh

DDaattee：： FFeebb.. 2233，， 22001144

PPllaaccee：： NNaattiioonnaall CCeennttrree ffoorr tthhee PPeerrffoorrmmiinngg AArrttss

TTiicckkeettss：： RRMMBB 660000//552200//446600//332200//224400//118800

The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne is one of Germanys leading symphony orchestras whose historical roots are in the founding in the 15th century of Colognes Cathedral Instrumental Ensemble. Distinguished soloists， conductors and composers of their time – from Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner to Igor Feodorovich Stravinsky – often performed with the orchestra. In 2010， the Güerzenich Orchestra Cologne was invited to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai as one of Germanys cultural ambassadors to perform Wagners Ring des Nibelungen with the Cologne Opera.

Anatolian Civilizations： From the Neolithic Age to the Ottoman Empire

Date： Nov. 19， 2013 to Feb. 20， 2014

Place： Shanghai Museum

Ticket： Free

Anatolia， also known as Asia Minor， denotes the westernmost protrusion Anatolia， also known as Asia Minor， denotes the westernmost protrusion of Asia that makes up the larger part of the Republic of Turkey. The exhibition， hosted by Chinas State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey， comprises 122 artworks. They include a bust of Emperor Arcadios， a finely crafted Koran cover and a griffin statuette， selected from the collections of the Topkapi Palace Museum， the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.