CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 5 CHINA
LOCAL TWO SESSIONS Preparations for 2022 Xinjiang to Olympics gearing up keep pressure
By ZHANG YU in Shijiazhuang and SUN XIAOCHEN in Beijing on terrorism China’s preparation this year for the 2022 Winter Olympics will focus on venue readiness and training of Longterm security and stability are Gamesrelated staff, according to local governments. region’s top priorities, chairman says Despite the deep winter chill and tough outdoor conditions, con By MAO WEIHUA in Urumqi struction sites in northern Beijing’s and CUI JIA in Beijing Olympic park and its mountainous Yanqing district are bustling with The Xinjiang Uygur autono workers and machinery in the mous region will maintain pres We want tourists process of building the National sure against terrorist activities Speed Skating Oval, the National A child learns to ski at the Wanlong Ski Resort in Chongli district, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in and make frequent terrorist from home and Alpine Skiing Center and National November. China wants to train generations of winter sports enthusiasts. CHEN XIAODONG / FOR CHINA DAILY attacks in the region a thing of abroad to enjoy their Sliding Center, three new venues of the past, the chairman of the the 26 needed for the Olympics regional government said on time in Xinjiang and over three zones — in Beijing’s downtown Beijing and Yanqing to that all eight competition and non manufacturing and education, Monday. make them want to downtown, Yanqing and the capi take shape this year,” he said on competition venues for six snow according to the work report. “We should get prepared both tal’s cohost Zhangjiakou, Hebei Monday during the annual session based sports — snowboarding, Meanwhile, some winter sports mentally and in our operations stay.” province. of the Beijing Municipal People’s freestyle skiing, crosscountry ski related members of Beijing’s politi that maintaining social stability Shohrat Zakir, With three years to go before the Congress. ing, ski jumping, Nordic combined cal advisory body have urged more is a longterm task ... and the chairman of the Xinjiang Olympics opens in February 2022, The office also said that the trans and biathlon — in the city’s moun funding for the training of winter antiterrorist measures proven Uygur autonomous region construction will be accelerated. formation of eight existing venues tainous Chongli district are sched sports instructors, competition effective should be carried on Major structures of all four new from the 2008 Summer Olympics, to uled to be finished this year. managers and venue operators to and social governance further competition venues in Beijing, serve competition, ceremony and “Hebei will construct the venues guarantee enough talent to sustain improved,” Shohrat Zakir, chair ways and aviation. The current including the Big Air slope in Shou media functions in 2022, is in full and supporting infrastructure for ably develop winter sports in the man of the region, said in deliv lack of infrastructure restricts the gang Industrial Park, will be com swing and is expected to be com the Games with high quality,” Xu postOlympic era. ering the government work development of tourism, he said, pleted by the end of this year, plete in early 2021. said in a government work report to “In addition to training our ath report to the annual session of adding that visitors may find it according to the city’s construction The repurposing of the National an annual session of the provincial letes for the competitions at the the regional people’s congress, difficult simply to find toilets, gas regulatory body. Aquatics Center — known as the people’s congress. 2022 Olympics, we need to focus which started on Monday in stations and parking spaces. Completion of the Alpine skiing Water Cube for hosting swimming Chongli district, about 150 kilome more on developing more staff in Urumqi. “We want tourists from home center in Yanqing within two years in 2008 — into the Ice Cube for curl ters northwest of Beijing, will be con entrylevel winter sports training The central government has and abroad to enjoy their time in will allow the first official test event ing in 2022, and the National Indoor nected by a highspeed railway with and education, as well as operation made maintaining social stability Xinjiang and make them want to for the 2022 Winter Olympics, an Stadium, built for gymnastics at the Beijing, which will cut the travel al specialists in skating rinks and ski and longterm security the stay,” he said. international Alpine skiing race, to Summer Games, into the ice hockey time from the current three hours by resorts,” said Cao Weidong, presi region’s top priority. Currently, The region will continue its run on the mountain slope in early arena, will be the main focus this bus to 50 minutes once construction dent of Beijing Sport University and Xinjiang is generally stable and efforts to eliminate extremism 2020, according to Wang Gang, year, according to the city’s munici is completed by the end of this year. a member of the Beijing committee has created a harmonious envi and expose those who secretly director of Beijing Major Projects pal development and reform com Chongli is also striving to develop of the Chinese People’s Political Con ronment for economic develop support terrorism, extremism Construction Headquarters Office. mission. a winter sports industry, with 15 sultative Conference. ment, Shohrat said. and separatism, Shohrat said. “We are well ahead of schedule in Major progress is also expected in overseas companies having signed Huang Sanping, a senior offi “We will make being hit by fre preparing all the venues for the Zhangjiakou this year as Hebei Gov development deals with local part Contact the writers at cial of the regional government, quent terrorist attacks a thing of Games with all the new venues in ernor Xu Qin revealed on Monday ners in winter tourism, equipment [email protected] said, “No terrorist attacks have the past and end the era when happened in Xinjiang for 25 separatist forces rampaged in the months. A series of measures region. More important, we will adopted by the regional govern make the times that people had Beijing to launch next phase of subcenter construction ment have taken root.” no sense of security become his Xinjiang has begun to enjoy tory.” the dividend of effective counter Since the 1990s, terrorists, By XIN WEN jing’s People Congress. and Langfang, Hebei province, will Zhao Lei, director of Tongzhou terrorism efforts, receiving more extremists and separatists in Chi [email protected] “Landscape projects will be thor go forward as part of the coordinat district and a deputy to the con than 150 million visits from tour na and abroad have plotted, orga oughly carried out in Tongzhou dis ed development of the gress, said the district had com ists in 2018, an increase of 40 per nized and conducted thousands Beijing plans to launch the sec trict to improve the canal business BeijingTianjinHebei region, he pleted 19 projects this year and cent yearonyear. Tourism is of violent terrorist attacks includ ond phase of subcenter construc zone,” he said. said. that the green space and water are expected to play a strategic role ing bombings, assassinations, poi tion in its eastern Tongzhou district He said a number of publicser Construction of the first phase of as of the subcenter will be substan in the region’s economic develop sonings, arsons, assaults, unrest and build a comprehensive trans vice projects, including the subcen the subcenter is making steady tially increased to achieve ment this year. Xinjiang, which is and riots, causing the deaths of a portation hub, as soon as key ter theater, libraries and museums, progress, said Tan Xuxiang, direct harmonic coexistence in the urban well known for its grand natural large number of innocent people municipal organs move to new offi will start construction and the old or of the city’s development and areas. beauty, set a target for tourism and hundreds of police officers, as ces in the subcenter, a senior offi town in Tongzhou district will con reform commission. By 2035, the green space of the growth this year at 40 percent, well as immeasurable property cial said on Monday. duct ecological restoration to pro “We are working on 235 major city’s subcenter will reach 41 square Shohrat said. damage, Shohrat said during an The capital aims to design and tect its environment and complete projects in 2019 with 136 currently kilometers, Zhao said. The region, which covers one interview in October. build a highquality subcenter that urban repairs. under construction,” he said. “A A system to control water pollu sixth of China’s territory, plans to is ecofriendly, Beijing Mayor Chen Planning and construction in total of 75 billion yuan ($11 billion) tion and flooding is also expected improve its transportation infra Contact the writers at Jining said during the 15th Bei areas along the border of Beijing has been invested.” to be built in the subcenter. structure, including roads, rail [email protected]
Tropical Shandong births drop, hinting at trend flowers
By ZHAO RUIXUE the number of second children born oughly implemented the country’s in winter and WANG XIAOYU fell by 29 percent, the municipal family planning agenda, from the government said in midDecember. onechild limit to the secondchild A foreign worker dis Births in Shandong province — a It’s estimated the city had 90,000 rule that came into force in recent plays tropical orchids barometer of the national birth births in 2018, significantly down years,” he said. “Thus, its shift in from around the world trend — are believed to have from 118,400 in 2016 and 115,700 in fertility is representative of the on Sunday at a botani slumped last year, following a baby 2017. country’s situation.” cal garden in Wuhan, boom, lending credence to projec Liaocheng, in the western part of In response to a question from a Hubei province. The tions of a substantial drop in Chi the province, logged a 26 percent reporter at a news conference on garden is offering a col na’s total births. yearonyear decrease in newborns Friday referring to a demographer’s orful experience to visi “The number of births in Shan from January to November — estimate that the number of births tors this winter. dong in 2018 is expected to have 23,179 fewer babies — and the num may have fallen by as much as 2 mil MIAO JIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY fallen by 15 to 20 percent. The pro ber of children born to families lion last year, the National Health portion of second children is also who already had a child dropped by Commission said it is closely moni likely to have shrunk,” said Cui nearly 36 percent, the city’s health toring population fluctuations and Shuyi, head of the population commission said last month. will intensify research on birthrates. research institute at the Shandong Other major cities with popula It added that the authorities will Academy of Social Sciences. tions of more than 5 million, release official data from last year Shandong has established a rep including Yantai, Dezhou and Wei soon. utation for fertility in recent years, fang, also reported declines in Tao Tao, a population researcher with new births — following the births — ranging from 16 to 22 per at Renmin University of China, change of family planning policy in cent — in the first half of 2018. said a shrinking pool of women of Briefly late 2015 — accounting for more The widespread decrease in births childbearing age has contributed than 10 percent of China’s total across Shandong has renewed con to the declining birthrate. births in 2016 and 2017. cerns about a substantial drop in “The number of women between BEIJING TIANJIN SHAANXI More than 63 percent of the births nationwide last year. 15 and 49 in China has been falling PM of Cambodia 16 suspects arrested, Mining company babies born in Shandong in 2016 In November, Zhai Zhenwu, since 2011, the year when it were second children, with the per president of the China Population peaked,” she said. to visit China accused of fraud accounts frozen centage rising to almost 67 percent Association, said the number of Tao said the average ages of Cambodian Prime Minister Sam Prosecutors on Sunday approved Six people from Baiji Mining Co in 2017, according to the provincial births in China was expected to women bearing their first and sec dech Techo Hun Sen will pay a four the arrests of 16 people, from Quan have been detained and the compa health authority. The national ratio decrease in 2018, as part of an inev ond child have both risen by one day official visit to China starting on jian Nature Medicine Technology ny’s bank accounts were frozen on was around 50 percent. itable trend following rapid eco year over the past three years, Jan 20, Foreign Ministry spokes Development Co, a Tianjinbased Monday after 21 miners died in a Cui said the trend of second chil nomic and societal development. which also affected fertility. woman Hua Chunying announced health products company, involved collapse at a coal mine in Shenmu, dren outnumbering first children On Jan 3, Huang Kuangshi, a “Since 2000, the newborn popu on Monday. During his visit, Hun in a pyramid scheme that used false Shaanxi province, on Saturday, the in Shandong will fade soon, given researcher at the China Population lation has been fluctuating between Sen will meet with President Xi Jin advertising to cheat thousands of local police authority said. A legal that most women who planned to and Development Research Center, 15 and 18 million,” she said. “We ping, Premier Li Keqiang, top legis people out of their savings through representative for Baiji Mining Co, have a second child did so soon aft said the number of newborns for should take an objective view of last lator Li Zhanshu and top political health products. Chinese authori which operates the coal mine in er the policy’s implementation. 2018 would be between 15 million year’s figure in the long run.” adviser Wang Yang. He will also ties launched a nationwide cam Shenmu, its head and four other His prediction aligns with data and 16 million — a drop of more than attend a ChinaCambodia economic paign to crack down on associates have been criminally released by local authorities in 1 million from the previous year. Contact the writers at and trade forum, she said. China irregularities in the health products detained, according to the Shenmu Shandong. From January to Their forecasts seem to be sup [email protected] hopes the visit will renew the tradi market after an investigation into police. An investigation of the cause November, the city of Qingdao ported by the figures from Shan tional bilateral friendship and pro the Quanjian case started in Decem is continuing. recorded a yearonyear drop of dong, Cui said. Wang Xiaodong contributed to this mote comprehensive strategic ber. The campaign will last more about 20 percent in newborns, and “The province has always thor story. cooperation, she added. than three months. XINHUA — CHINA DAILY