4 | Wednesday, April 3, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA

Impressing the empress Briefly

Country to BEIJING Premier to visit Brussels, E. Europe Premier Li Keqiang will kick off a visit to Brussels on Monday to improve its attend the 21st China­EU Sum­ mit, Foreign Ministry spokes­ man Geng Shuang announced on Tuesday. Li’s five­day Europe­ an trip will also bring him to Croatia, where he will attend the groundwater eighth leaders’ meeting of China and Central and Eastern Europe­ an Countries, and also pay an official visit to the country, Geng Goals to be achieved step­by­step, said. with first benchmark set for 2020 42 SOEs to receive By LI HONGYANG new inspections [email protected] New inspections will take place In North China, it is at 42 State­owned enterprises, China aims to improve its over­ the Central Commission for Dis­ all groundwater quality and necessary to build A woman dressed as Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty (618­907) admires the beauty of peonies cipline Inspection and the restore ecosystem functions at a up the monitoring with visitors at a fair in Wangcheng Park in Luoyang, Henan province, on Monday. National Supervisory Commis­ basic level by 2035, according to ZHANG GUANGHUI / FOR CHINA DAILY sion said on Tuesday. Also to be an official plan issued on Mon­ system to stop inspected are the State­owned day. groundwater from Assets Supervision and Adminis­ The plan was unveiled by the tration Commission, the Nation­ Ministry of Ecology and Environ­ worsening.” URBAN GREENWAY al Energy Administration and ment and four other ministries, A senior groundwater monitor­ the State Administration of Sci­ including the Natural Resources, ing engineer from the Ministry ence, Technology and Industry Water Resources, Agriculture of Natural Resources for National Defense. and Rural Affairs and Housing Footpath touches nature gently and Urban­Rural Development HEILONGJIANG ministries. be improved to monitor the pol­ 2 detained over The goal will be achieved step lution. By HU MEIDONG by step. By 2020, the proportion “Now, the monitoring wells and ZHAO RUIXUE Gardens of Cao of groundwater of extremely can only test data like tempera­ Cao Bo, the legal representative poor quality nationwide should ture. They are not able to check A 19­kilometer­long elevated of the Heilongjiang Caoyuan be reduced under the plan to pollution indexes. As there is a footpath weaves its way through Culture Investment Co, has been about 15 percent, and by 2025 the shortage of groundwater, espe­ five mountains in the city of Fu­ detained by the provincial police tendency toward worsening pol­ cially in North China, it is neces­ zhou, Fujian province, opening over his suspected involvement lution in groundwater will be sary to build up the monitoring the area to easy public access. in the illegal occupation of agri­ effectively controlled. system to stop groundwater from “Four years ago, few people cultural lands and deforestation, To ensure the timely fulfill­ worsening,” he said. “But this walked here,” said Wang Wenkui, Beijing News reported on Tues­ ment of these goals, groundwater testing technology is hard to cre­ assistant to the head of the Fu­ day. Lin Fang, vice­manager of quality will join the quality of ate. It will take a long time.” zhou Planning and Design the company, was also detained, surface water as a main part of Lists of areas with groundwa­ Research Institute. “Now the it said. On March 26, the compa­ environmental protection ter pollution will come out grad­ project connects once­inaccessi­ ny was ordered to remove illegal inspections by central authori­ ually this year. ble parts of the city, providing buildings and restore the forest ties, the plan said. By the end of this year, the gov­ people with an escape from the in the Gardens of Cao, a resort Under the plan, future work ernments in the Beijing­Tianjin­ dense cityscape.” built in a State­owned forest area will focus on building a system of Hebei province cluster will Fuzhou has 56 mountains in its People walk on the 19­kilometer elevated footpath in Fuzhou, Fujian in Mudanjiang. Sixteen illegal wells nationwide for monitoring spearhead action by releasing a urban area, providing options for province. HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY buildings were demolished. groundwater and a big data list of groundwater polluting people to explore nature. information platform for sharing spots and restoring them. “The footpath is completely SHANGHAI the results. An environmental report barrier­free, and even physically Yang said the steel is mostly gal­ Foreign brands cut General laws and regulations released by the Ministry of Ecolo­ challenged people can reach the vanized with zinc and can go with­ prices as taxes drop that lay out standards for gy and Environment in May said top of the mountains by wheel­ The footpath is out maintenance for more than 50 groundwater monitoring, that more than 60 percent of Chi­ chair to enjoy a beautiful over­ years. Popular consumer brands groundwater pollution control na’s groundwater was graded as view of the city,” Wang said. completely barrier­ Wang said the public infrastruc­ including Apple, Louis Vuitton and water treatment will be poor quality in 2017. The city began construction of free, and even ture in Fuzhou includes 15 ecologi­ and Gucci have announced sug­ issued by 2020. The latest data from the Minis­ the footpath at Jinniu Mountain cal parks and 168 connected parks gested retail price reductions to A senior engineer in ground­ try of Water Resources shows in 2015 and completed it in two physically challenged along 400 km of riverside paths. pass the benefits of China’s val­ water monitoring from the Min­ that in 2017, the country’s years, with a total investment of people can reach the One example is Liuhuaxi ue­added tax cut to consumers. istry of Natural Resources, who groundwater supply was 101.7 600 million yuan ($89 million), Stream, which flows for 4.3 km. China started slashing the VAT asked not to be named, said that billion cubic meters, or 16.8 per­ according to the city government. top of the mountains Sewage that once spilled into the on Monday in multiple indus­ the current technology needs to cent of the water supply. The Jinniu Mountain footpath by wheelchair to stream has been stopped and is tries. Apple’s online store in Chi­ has 10 major exits and entrances, now treated, and more than 9,000 na lowered the price of the and there are more than 20 ser­ enjoy a beautiful plants have been placed along its iPhone XS and iPhone XS MAX vice facilities, including tourist overview of the city.” length. by 500 yuan ($74.60), while that 3 officials are prosecuted; centers and sightseeing platforms “Before, sewage was discharged of the iPhone XR dropped 300 along the route. Wang Wenkui, assistant to the from factories around Liuhuaxi yuan. Its newly launched iPad head of the Fuzhou Planning Air, iPad mini and AirPods are An innovative construction sys­ and Design Research Institute into the stream, making the air another arrested for graft tem minimizes its footprint to in Fujian province smelly. But now the environment also on the price­cut list. Luxury retain the natural vegetation and is enjoyable. I exercise here every brands Louis Vuitton and Gucci integrate it into the surrounding day,” said a resident surnamed have announced a drop of 3 per­ By CAO YIN took advantage of previous posi­ greenery. the surrounding nature to take Lu. cent for their whole product [email protected] tions, including head of the drug “The footpath uses lightweight center stage,” said Yang Zhen, dep­ lineups. management bureau under the steel elements that retreat into uty director of the footpath office Contact the writers at Three senior officials were offi­ Jiangxi provincial Health Com­ the lush background and allow of Fuzhou. [email protected] CHINA DAILY — XINHUA cially charged and another was mission, to secure profits for oth­ formally arrested on charges of ers and accepted huge bribes in corruption, prosecuting authori­ return, prosecutors said. ties said on Tuesday. Li Shixiang, former vice­chair­ The arrest of Nur Bekri, former man of the Beijing Municipal People lifted out of poverty in once­destitute village head of the National Energy Committee of the Chinese People’s Administration, was approved by Political Consultative Conference, By CHENG SI in Beijing and two years to visit my parents during The targeted poverty alleviation ease, was in a financial predicament the Supreme People’s Procurator­ and Jin Suidong, former vice­ FENG ZHIWEI in Changsha the Spring Festival holiday. But I in Shibadong village also inspired after his two sons died of illnesses ate after he was investigated by the chairman of the Henan Provincial chose to stay in 2017 because of the neighboring areas in the prefecture. years ago. Central Commission for Discipline Committee of the CPPCC, the local Shibadong village, a once desti­ promising future here,” he said. Longbizui village, about 60 miles Shi now works for the village’s Inspection and the National political advisory body, were tute backwater in central Hunan Long is now chairman of the vil­ from Shibadong, is the traditional travel company, earning 1,500 yuan Supervisory Commission. charged with bribery. province, is setting a good example lage’s tourism cooperative, which home of 3,195 people, with 90 per­ per month cleaning the river. The SPP did not release details Li was found helping others in poverty alleviation. was established in September. cent of its dwellers being of ethnic “Thanks to the village’s booming about the case but said further gain profits and illegally receiving The village, located in Huayuan Sun Zhongyuan, Shibadong’s Par­ minorities such as Miao, and 568 tourism, my wife also got a job sell­ investigation is underway. huge bribes by taking advantage of county, Xiangxi Tu autonomous pre­ ty secretary, said the diversified trapped in poverty. ing tea, earning 1,500 yuan every A previous investigation found his positions, including head of fecture, has 225 households and 939 industries have brought more jobs. The village used Shibadong as an month,” he said. that Nur Bekri, who once served as Beijing’s Chaoyang district, vice­ residents, most of whom had been “Before 2013, about two­thirds of example and took anti­poverty Zhong Haowang, assistant to the deputy head of the National Devel­ mayor of Beijing and vice­chair­ afflicted by poverty for years. the villagers were out of work. That measures focused on rural tourism village director, said that about 520 opment and Reform Commission man of the municipal committee Things started to turn around aft­ has decreased to one­third now.” development based on its natural jobs were created for villagers last and chairman of Xinjiang Uygur of the CPPCC, Jilin prosecutors er President Xi Jinping visited the According to a news release on resources. year, of which 148 positions were autonomous region, used his posi­ said. village in November 2013 and called the province’s website, the average So far, 124 households with 513 given to people who were impover­ tions to help others with employ­ Jin was found taking large on governments at all levels to lift income per capita in the village people have been lifted out of poverty. ished. ment promotions, operations of bribes after making use of his work the impoverished villagers out of increased to 10,180 yuan ($1,490) in Shi Chengyuan, a 64­year­old He said the village received more enterprises and exploitation of positions to benefit others. He had dire straits through “targeted” 2017 from 1,668 yuan in 2013. from Longbizui who has heart dis­ than 1 million visitors in 2018, gen­ mineral resources, and then been vice­chairman of the Henan measures. erating revenue of 150 million yuan received bribes himself or through Provincial Committee of the In early 2014, a work team sta­ for the village and strongly driving relatives. CPPCC and mayor of Anyang, tioned in Shibadong broke poverty­ the poverty reduction work. Also on Tuesday, Wu Zhen, Li Henan, the prosecutors from alleviation policies down into Ye Hongzhuan, Party secretary of Shixiang and Jin Suidong were Shandong province said. specific actions, and 136 households the province’s Xiangxi Miao autono­ charged with corruption­related The two accusations were taken with 542 people were identified as mous prefecture, said targeted and crimes by prosecutors in Si­ to intermediate people’s courts in impoverished. specific poverty alleviation work has chuan, Jilin and Shandong pro­ Changchun, Jilin province, and The village, which is endowed been introduced in the prefecture’s vinces, respectively, according to Jinan, Shandong province. with rich natural and cultural impoverished areas and has the SPP. Separately, Liu Zhonghe, who resources, has been built into a mul­ received encouraging feedback. Sichuan prosecutors said Wu, served as head of a village in Huan­ tiple­industry base covering tourism, As of the end of last year, 874 of former deputy director of the Chi­ ren Man autonomous prefecture, kiwi planting and Miao embroidery. 1,110 impoverished villages had na Food and Drug Administration, Liaoning province, was suspended The kiwi even tapped into markets in shaken off poverty, with more than engaged in bribery and abuse of from his post after he was exposed the Hong Kong and Macao special 550,000 people lifted out of poor power, and took the charges to the by a national judo champion, Ma administrative regions. financial conditions, he said. Dis­ Chengdu Intermediate People’s Duanbin, in March, according to Long Jinbiao, 27, a villager who posable income per capita rose to Court. Thepaper.cn. once worked in Taizhou, Zhejiang 9,183 yuan last year from 4,229 yuan Wu was accused of malpractice Ma, whose hometown is in the province, has been impressed with in 2012. and abusing power while serving village, accused Liu on his Weibo the tremendous changes over the Shibadong village in Hunan province has a new look that shows as deputy head of the China Food account of embezzling public past few years. some of the achievements of poverty alleviation policies. Contact the writers at and Drug Administration; he also funds. “I came back to the village every PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY [email protected]