4 | Tuesday, July 30, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA Disability rate among elderly sparks efforts

Nation to target early signs of trouble, especially illnesses tied to dementia

By WANG XIAOYU he said. “Gradually, critical condi­ [email protected] tions including strokes and respi­ ratory failure might surface and Even though China increased its result in disabilities.” average life span to 77 years last Chen said it is therefore signifi­ year, the country’s seniors often cant to precisely detect early signs of live the last eight years of their lives disability and allow elderly patients in poor health, the National Health to receive effective diagnosis and Commission said on Monday. treatment as soon as possible. The average healthy life expectan­ According to Wang, the depart­ cy in China — an indicator used by ment of aging and health, which the World Health Organization to was established in September dur­ measure years of good health a new­ ing a government reshuffle, has born can expect — stands at 68.7 been improving grassroots medical years, meaning severe diseases drag services targeting the older popula­ down the quality of life for the elder­ tion by conducting more physical ly for nearly a decade, said Wang examinations for the elderly and Children learn to play ice hockey at a rink in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Monday. DING GENHOU / FOR CHINA DAILY Haidong, director of the commis­ formulating new guidelines intend­ sion’s aging and health department. ed to smooth out services at elderly­ “There are more than 180 million oriented hospitals. seniors with chronic conditions As China’s population ages, the and 40 million living with disabili­ number of people living with age­ Ministry looks to boost physical activities at schools ties,” he said, adding that China is related dementia is also climbing. home to about 250 million people “It is estimated that more than 9 By WANG XIAOYU physical education tutors and sports moderate to vigorous physical activ­ percent during the same period.” aged 60 or older, accounting for 18 million elderly people have demen­ [email protected] facilities at schools. ity each day. Since students spend the majority percent of the population. tia in China. The number is projec­ “For instance, there are about In China, about 11 percent of stu­ of their waking hours at schools, The country aims to reduce the ted to reach 40 million by 2050,” China plans to increase exercise 12,000 soccer fields of different sizes dents meet this standard, even Chen suggested physical education disability rate for those aged 65 to 74 said Li Zhixin, a senior official with opportunities at schools to help chil­ across schools in China. That means though 90 percent are reported to classes devote more time to offering and curtail the rising rates of the Chinese Center for Disease Con­ dren and teenagers become more on average, each school with more take physical education classes dai­ moderate to vigorous activities. dementia among those 65 or over in trol and Prevention. “In order to physically active, a senior official than 300 pupils has the equivalent ly, according to Chen Peijie, presi­ Low levels of physical activity the next decade, according to a curb the rates, it is crucial to per­ with the Ministry of Education said of about half a soccer field,” he said. dent of Shanghai University of have also contributed to the epi­ health promotion plan issued by form long­term monitoring and on Friday. “The strain is also noticed in the Sport. demic of myopia among Chinese the State Council earlier this month. carry out early interventions among Students at primary, middle and number of soccer coaches.” “The problem is that exercises on students, an issue that has been Chen Zheng, head of the Beijing the group, which demonstrates a high schools will learn basic sports An equally important task is to most campuses tend to be extremely highlighted by the central leader­ Geriatric Hospital, said occurren­ higher risk of developing dementia. knowledge and receive athletic shift attitudes on physical education light and ineffective,” he said. “Thus, ship as a critical disease in recent ces of disabilities are closely tied to “Research shows that hearing skills training. More competitive classes, which are often overlooked, it’s crucial to launch more competi­ years. chronic illnesses, especially car­ loss, obesity, tobacco use, depression sports activities will also be held to or even skipped, against mounting tive sports events to motivate stu­ More than half the young chil­ diovascular diseases and malig­ and lack of exercise or social interac­ improve their mental and physical academic pressure. dents to get more intense workouts dren and teenagers in China are nant tumors. tion are among factors that are well­being, said Wang Dengfeng, “Unnecessary academic loads every day.” nearsighted, according to a survey “Multiple chronic diseases will closely linked to dementia. If we can director of the ministry’s physical should be cut down to make time for Insufficient exercise is tied to jointly released by the Ministry of first lead to severe complications effectively prevent and control these education, health and art depart­ outdoor activities,” Wang said. higher risks of obesity and being Education, Ministry of Finance and such as sleep disorder, chronic factors, the incidence rate of demen­ ment. “Evaluation systems aimed at meas­ overweight, a looming threat to the the National Health Commission pain and urinary incontinence,” tia is likely to drop by 40 percent.” He added that students should uring improvements in fitness pro­ health of young Chinese. this year. exercise for at least an hour a day at grams at schools will be set up to “Research shows that the rate of According to a health promotion school, and get an additional hour of oversee implementation of workout being overweight for children aged guideline issued by the State Coun­ It’s cool up here physical activity off campus. programs on campus.” 6 to 18 jumped from 1.1 percent in cil earlier this month, the rate of In order to achieve these goals, The World Health Organization 1985 to 20.4 percent in 2014,” Chen nearsightedness will be decreased Wang said, more effort will be made recommends young children and said. “The obesity rate also by 0.5 percentage points each year to address the severe shortage of teenagers get at least 60 minutes of increased from 0.5 percent to 7.6 as of 2022. Network helps monitor population of big cats

By TIAN XUEFEI the protection of the tiger and leopard and ZHOU HUIYING in Harbin requires the establishment of a net­ work of protected sites, the construc­ After nearly 20 years of efforts, Chi­ tion of international and domestic na has built a monitoring network for corridors and the formation of a per­ endangered Siberian tigers and Amur meable landscape. It needs attention leopards, covering more than 12,000 and support from all over the world. Visitors enjoy a natural foggy vista at Mount Huangshan, a square kilometers in the provinces of “Military fences, transportation renowned scenic spot in Anhui province, on Sunday. With its Jilin and Heilongjiang, an expert said facilities and farmland in the habi­ cooler temperatures, many people choose to visit the mountain on Sunday. tats have a strong impact on tigers’ to escape the scorching sun as heat clouds much of China’s cen­ With cutting­edge technologies free migration in different areas in tral and eastern areas. PAN CHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY such as artificial intelligence and big China and cross­border areas data, more than 4,000 infrared cam­ between China and Russia. Living in era video clips of tigers and more than small and isolated areas may cause 600 clips of leopards were recorded more inbreeding, which can be a by a team led by Jiang Guangshun, factor in their decline in immunity,” deputy director of the Feline Research Jiang added. Posts smearing China Center of the Natural Forestry and “Therefore, the construction of an Grassland Administration. ecological corridor, including the Siberian tigers rest at Hengdaohezi, a major breeding center for big “By comparing the data of tigers improvement of habitat quality, is cats in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province, in April. WANG JIANWEI / XINHUA lead to man’s detention and leopards of China and Russia essential.” from 2013 to 2015, we have con­ Jiang said the project can ensure By WANG KEJU which distorted history, insulted firmed that 17 tigers and 42 leopards the security of the environment of conservation value,” said Zhang transboundary conservation reached [email protected] China and its people, and incited are shared populations of both Chi­ the cross­border areas and may Jianlong, head of the National For­ by all the representatives was pub­ antagonism between nations. na and Russia,” Jiang said at the become a model for the transnation­ estry and Grassland Administration. lished at the forum, pointing out that A man was criminally detained Lu has also been cooperating International Forum on Tiger and al cooperation for the protection of “The protection of tigers and leop­ sustained joint efforts are still neces­ upon his return to China recently with similar communities at home Leopard Transboundary Conserva­ endangered species. ards in the world has achieved sary to achieve the recovery of tiger for allegedly spreading online and abroad to spread anti­Chinese tion which kicked off on Sunday in Focusing on big cats around the remarkable results through the joint and leopard populations in trans­ comics on domestic and foreign rhetoric to young students in China Harbin, Heilongjiang province. world, especially tiger and leopard efforts of all parties, but we still face boundary areas. websites insulting China, Dalian and also recruited young people to “The ecology has greatly populations, the two­day event prominent problems such as insuffi­ Furthermore, the establishment police in Northeast China’s Liao­ join them and set up illegal organi­ improved since the natural forest attracted more than 300 representa­ cient and dispersive habitat areas.” of an international exchange and ning province said on Sunday. zations via the internet to advocate protection project started in 1998, tives from 19 countries, including Representatives discussed moni­ cooperation mechanism for cross­ Since January 2018, the 36­year­ Japanese militarism, police said. and all commercial logging has Nepal, Russia, Vietnam and 10 inter­ toring technology, restoration of pop­ border protection of tigers and leop­ old man, surnamed Lu, produced a Such people have been referred been stopped, which helped to pro­ national organizations, including the ulations and habitat areas, landscape ards is expected to see important series of anti­China comics — to as a jingri, a Chinese national tect tigers and leopards. World Wildlife Fund. resource allocation in protected are­ progress in the future. together with a 22­year­old woman who is “spiritually Japanese,” “However, we still face great chal­ “Tigers and leopards are impor­ as, conflict resolution and other surnamed Zhang who was identifying much more with lenges,” he said. “The distribution pat­ tant symbols of a healthy and stable related technical and policy issues. Contact the writers at detained in May by police in Anhui Japan than China. State Council­ tern of the two species suggests that natural ecosystem and have high A consensus on tiger and leopard [email protected] province — and published them in or and Foreign Minister Wang Yi more than 140 posts, according to a slammed them in March last year Sina Weibo post by the police in as “scum among Chinese people”. Briefly Dalian’s Shahekou district. Also on Sunday, police in Nanjing, The police in Tianjiaan district, capital of Jiangsu province, said Huainan in Anhui province, said they detained a man surnamed Dai GUIZHOU records and DNA identification, FUJIAN The track, found in Jiangxi’s Gan­ in a statement that Zhang, an avid who was inspired by jingri groups Death toll in landslide investigators said the registered First footprint fossil zhou during road construction, was fan of Japanese comics and cul­ abroad and stole hundreds of Weibo population of the area was 77, with identified by scholars including ture, produced comics series fea­ accounts to spread anti­China mes­ climbs to 42; 9 missing another eight visiting the village of T. rex family found Xing Lida with China University of turing pigheaded Chinese to sages, including one that said the Forty­two people have been con­ when the landslide occurred. Twen­ Paleontologists from China and the Geosciences, Beijing; Niu Kecheng distort history, misinterpret Chi­ Nanjing Massacre was fabricated. firmed dead after a mountain land­ ty­three residents were confirmed to United States have found a Tyranno­ with Yingliang museum; and Martin na­related news and events and The 20­year­old suspect also slide in Shuicheng county, Guizhou have been out of town, while 11 were sauripus, a giant dinosaur footprint G. Lockley from the University of smear the living habits of Chinese coaxed teenagers into joining province, as of 11:30 pm on Sunday, injured. Rescue efforts at the site fossil belonged to the Tyrannosaur­ Colorado, US. Xing said the fossil people. Zhang provided over 300 jingri groups and brainwashed with nine missing, authorities said have concluded, and the local gov­ us family, in Jiangxi province, mark­ very likely belongs to a dinosaur of such pieces to Lu to spread online. them with Japanese militarism. on Monday. The landslide happened ernment has set up a temporary set­ ing the first discovery of such a fossil the Tyrannosaurus family, which Police said these posts encour­ The police put him in detention on Tuesday night and buried 21 tlement point in a local middle in Asia. It was unveiled on Monday incorporates the Tyrannosaurus aged splitting the country and on a charge of picking quarrels houses. After speaking with survi­ school, offering medical services and in Yingliang Stone Nature History rex, or T. rex. promoted nationalistic hatred, and provoking trouble. vors and cross­checking registration psychological counseling. Museum in Nan’an, Fujian province. CHINA DAILY—XINHUA