6 | Tuesday, March 12, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY TWO SESSIONS Zone to spur Yangtze Vaccines face higher levels River Delta integration
By ZHOU WENTING close its door to the world and [email protected] reform will never stop,” Li said. of scrutiny, quality control Shao Zhiqing, a national legisla A demonstration zone showcas tor from Shanghai, said a unified ing the integration of the Yangtze business environment is a key River Delta is designed to help the aspect of integrated development. Shortcomings in region better serve a larger area, “Areas in the delta region should said Li Qiang, Party secretary of not just emphasize their own antirabies product Shanghai. advantages in attracting invest last year prompted The zone, located at the junction ment. Instead, they should consider between Shanghai and the provin their advantages as a whole within oversight changes ces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, is part the entire region,” said Shao, who is of the national strategy of realizing also a member of the Central Com By WANG XIAODONG integrated development of the Yang mittee of the China Zhi Gong Dang. [email protected] tze River Delta region, Li said during Lu Yongquan, an NPC deputy the ongoing second session of the and director of the Jiangsu Provin Drug regulators and vaccine pro 13th National People’s Congress. cial Traffic and Transportation ducers will face intensified scrutiny The zone was designed to serve as Department, said that the province to ensure product safety and quality, a new bench mark for development is making plans to connect its roads, a top drug supervision official said concepts, an experimental field for railways, waterways and airports on Monday. integrated institutions and mecha with those of Shanghai and Zhe Vaccines are a major public health nisms, and a new engine for high jiang province. issue because they involve matters quality development of the delta “We’re striving to start construc of life and death as well as national region, according to a plan by the tion of the highspeed railway link security, and efforts are now being National Development and Reform ing many cities on the northern side made to establish an effective super Commission, Li said. of the Yangtze in 2019, which will visory mechanism over vaccines, “The overall idea of the demon start in Shanghai, run through said Jiao Hong, head of the China stration zone is to gather together Jiangsu and terminate in Anhui Medical Products Administration. all kinds of reform measures imple province’s city of Hefei. It will great To ensure effective supervision mented at local level since reform ly help with the integration of the over the sector, the administration and openingup, integrate them Yangtze River Delta region. will focus on urging vaccine produc systematically and form new pilot “A number of highways that con ers and local drug authorities to car Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration of Market Regulation, speaks with reporters after a news experiments,” Li said. nect Jiangsu with other cities in the ry out their respective duties, Jiao conference on market supervision during the ongoing session of the 13th National People’s Congress in “Such pilot experiments in the region will see construction begin said at a news conference in Beijing Beijing on Monday. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY Yangtze River Delta region with its this year,” he said. “A new bus route during the annual sessions of Chi large GDP, rapid development, that commutes between Xuzhou, na’s top legislative and advisory abundant scientific and technologi Jiangsu and Xiaoxian, Anhui will bodies. The safety and quality of drugs drafted and submitted to the top disease prevention and control, cal resources, and active market also begin operating soon.” Vaccine producers must take have been a major public concern legislature for review at the end of nor in the quality and safety of vac factors, will be crucial to the coun The three provinces and Shang measures to ensure the quality of over the past few years in China, last year. cines produced in China,” he said. try’s overall economic develop hai have reached an agreement to their products, including establish with sporadic reports of alarming Jiao said the new law will impose Fang Laiying, a member of the ment,” he said, adding that shut down interprovincial toll sta ing sound quality control systems incidents such as the use of expired stricter supervision over vaccines, 13th National Committee of the Chi Shanghai is working with Zhejiang tions, Lu said. Jiangsu’s traffic and and product tracing systems, and vaccines. covering the whole manufacturing nese People’s Political Consultative and Jiangsu on the detailed plan transportation authority has also implement product risk report Changchun Changsheng Biotech chain including research and devel Conference, China’s top political ning and system designs of the already announced the closing of 17 regulations, she said. Co, a major producer of a rabies vac opment, production, circulation advisory body, suggested during the demonstration zone. toll stations in the province. The administration will further cine in Jilin province, was found by and use. body’s ongoing annual session that Li also said construction of the “Jiangsu will become the first clarify supervisory responsibilities on China’s top drug regulator last year “We are working with related a producttracing system be estab demonstration zone will provide a province in China to have no inter the part of local drug authorities, and to have committed various viola departments to research and formu lished to ensure the safety and quali major opportunity for Shanghai’s provincial toll stations and will thus urge provinciallevel drug authorities tions such as using expired materi late additional legal regulations and ty of vaccines. further development as well as a provide convenience for drivers to intensify site inspections over vac als and faking production over a rules to prepare for its implementa “Every box of vaccines should key platform for the city to better crossing provincial borders.” cine producers, she said. fouryear period. tion,” Jiao said. have a code that stores product serve the country. Li Jinbin, Party secretary of The administration will increase Although no deaths or injuries Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Cen information, including its date of The integrated development of Anhui province — which is also patrols and random inspections linked to the case have been report ter for Disease Control and Preven manufacture, circulation and use, the delta region has been elevated included in the national strategy of over vaccine producers across the ed, the incident shocked the nation, tion, said incidents such as the so the batch can be quickly recalled to a national strategy, and its further the integrated development of the country, and severely punish viola prompting top officials to vow inten Changchun Changsheng case are if anyone reports quality problems, integration is part of the blueprint delta region — said that such a tors, Jiao said. sified supervision over the sector. just individual cases and do not rep and users of such vaccines can be to improve reform and openingup, development opportunity signals Meanwhile, it will improve train A new law, the Vaccine Adminis resent the entire sector. precisely identified,” said Fang, who as announced by President Xi Jin that Anhui can seize the chance to ing of drug inspection officers to tration Law, which imposes much “We should not compromise our is also vicepresident of the Chinese ping in Shanghai in November. be an open gateway to access global improve their efficiency, she said. higher penalties on violators, was faith in the power of vaccines in Hospital Association. The announcement signified resources. that development of the region — Anhui will use its strength in sci which is at the significant conver entific innovation and industrial gence of the Belt and Road Initia development to pursue future tive and the Yangtze River growth, Li Jinbin said. Nation working toward reducing myopia by 2030 Economic Belt and contributes “We will step up efforts to build a more than 20 percent to the coun national scientific center and accel By WANG XIAODONG academic workloads and poor dieta opment of vision. try’s GDP — will be fasttracked. erate industrial transformation by [email protected] ry practices, she said. Children in rural and especially “President Xi made the leveraging our sound foundation in 23 “Myopia not only affects the impoverished areas are less likely to announcement at the special occa industrial robots, home appliances The increasing prevalence of percent healthy growth of children, but also get proper treatment for myopia, sion of the opening ceremony of the and voice recognition technology,” nearsightedness, or myopia, among of children between 4 and 6 has a significant impact on national and greater efforts should be made first China International Import he said. students in China has been a public screened in a survey in Beijing economic development,” she said. to improve equipment and treat Expo, which once again demon health concern in recent years and have vision problems. “In recent years, recruitment cam ment in vision departments at local strated the clear attitude and firm Ma Si, Zhu Lixin and Cang Wei has now come to discussion at one paigns in some industries with high hospitals and clinics, said He. determination that China will not contributed to this story. of China’s most important meetings, er vision requirements, such as Wang, from Beijing Tongren Hos at which national political advisers among Chinese students, he said. In aviation, have encountered increas pital, said the joint efforts of various have called for intensified efforts to many medical colleges, about 90 ing difficulty in finding enough parties, including health and educa Spreading the word remedy the situation. percent of students wear eyeglasses, qualified people due to the preva tion authorities, are crucial in pre There is some indication that he said. And the number of people lence of myopia,” she said. venting and controlling myopia vision issues, especially among the with severe nearsightedness is “In addition to reducing home among students. young, will be alleviated down the increasing, which should be dealt work loads for students and build Parents should pay more atten road. with properly, as such conditions ing visionfriendly classrooms, tion to children’s eyesight and “Rates of myopia among young can result in blindness, he said. special laws or regulations should encourage them to take part in suffi people in some areas are drastically Feng Danli, another CPPCC be made to ensure children and cient outdoor physical activities aft high, and the ages of people who National Committee member and teenagers can have adequate rest for er school, he said. first develop myopia keep falling,” the chairwoman of Beijing Radiant their eyes,” Feng said. The myopia rate among young said Wang Ningli, a member of the Children’s Eye Hospital, said more Feng also suggested establishing people in China is expected to 13th National Committee of the Chi than 80 percent of college students vision records for students, and that noticeably decline by 2030, with the nese People’s Political Consultative in China wear glasses, and in recent primary and middle schools and percentage of myopic middle school Conference, at the annual session of years more kindergarten students kindergartens conduct at least one students falling to below 60 percent, the CPPCC on March 3 in Beijing. have also developed myopia. vision checkup for students a year to under a plan jointly released by “Doctors and technologies alone In recent years, screening provid give timely treatment to those with eight ministries and central govern cannot control and prevent myopia. ed for more than 62,000 children in eyesight problems. ment departments last year. A national strategy and joint efforts Beijing found that about 23 percent He Wei, also a member of the According to a report released by from all of society are key,” said of those between the ages 4 and 6 did CPPCC National Committee, said the Ministry of Education last year, Zhou Liang, vicechairman of the China Banking and Insurance Wang, who is also director of the not have 20/20 vision, she said. more attention should be given to myopia has become a prominent Regulatory Commission, is surrounded by reporters on the side Ophthalmic Center at Beijing The declining eyesight among children under age 6 to prevent and problem for Chinese students, with lines of the ongoing session of the 13th National Committee of the Tongren Hospital. minors has many causes, including control myopia, as the first few years the rate of myopic eighthgraders Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on Myopia is particularly common overuse of electronic devices, heavy after birth are crucial for the devel standing at more than 65 percent. Monday. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY
What they say
Authorities need employment should target key sectors 2025, bringing about a need for more department of the China National Demo efits brought by the BRI to mainstream the future. The gov to focus on some and groups of people, including foreign eldercare services. To tackle the issue, cratic Construction Association society and residents of involved coun ernment should key sectors and trade enterprises, firms with excess more professional homebased services tries. Overseas Chinese should also bet bear the responsi populations to capacity, traditional industrial bases, should be provided, including athome The Belt and ter tell the story of China so as to bility of punishing ensure stable resourcebased areas, as well as migrant nursing, seniorfriendly home furnish Road Initiative, enhance understanding by foreigners “Taiwan independ employment. Cur workers, manual laborers and university ings and athome hospital beds. A long which aspires to and promote cooperation between China ence” separatists. rent SinoUS trade graduates. term care insurance system should also boost global coop and involved countries. The psychological tensions and the Wang Yiming, vicepresident of the be established to help ease seniors’ eration and mutual Li Zhuobin, vicechairman of the Cen barrier for our compatriots in Taiwan in global economic slowdown will inevitably State Council Development Research financial burdens. Local communities benefit, has become tral Committee of China Zhi Gong Dang balking at reunification is not due to a affect employment in enterprises Center can play bigger roles in supporting elder a stage for overseas lack of blood and cultural ties with the engaged in foreign trade, and university care by offering more convenient day Chinese to play an The government of the People’s mainland, but a lack of legal ties with the graduates are having difficulty securing Eldercare servi time or shortterm care services, meal expanded role. We should give full play to Republic of China is the only legitimate People’s Republic of China. It is believed jobs as they exceed market demand. ces should be tai preparation, first aid and entertainment. the advantages of the scale of the over government of China, a fact that is of that in the near future, the central gov Machines are becoming more intelligent lored to meet An evaluation system of eldercare insti seas Chinese population and business utmost importance in the process of ernment will be able to identify more and replacing manual labor in many sec different needs of tutions is also necessary to standardize networks in countries involved in the Belt crossStraits reunification. clearly the legal status of Taiwan resi tors, particularly in agriculture. Firms senior citizens as services, and more professional person and Road Initiative. Overseas Chinese The only legitimate government of dents as “Chinese citizens”. with excess capacity are facing shut China is facing a nel teams need to be formed by should participate in the construction of China should uphold the principle of Ling Yushih, a researcher at the downs which adds more pressure to low rapidly aging popu strengthening relevant vocational train important infrastructure, industrial parks “one country, one constitution, one cen Research Centre for Contemporary Chi and mediumskilled laborers in job hunt lation. The number of people over 60 ing. and other cooperation projects involved tral government and one army” in nese Culture, Chinese University of Hong ing. Therefore, policies ensuring stable years of age will exceed 300 million by Chen Bailing, director of the research in the BRI. We should introduce the ben peaceful crossStraits consultations in Kong