4 | Wednesday, February 27, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA Welcome back Hainan to Rural schools phase out single­use get improved plastic bags govt support by 2020 By HOU LIQIANG in Beijing Investments in facilities and eduction and MA ZHIPING in Haikou reduce gap with urban counterparts China’s island province of Hainan will phase out single­use nonbiodegradable plastic prod­ By ZOU SHUO the ministry’s department of ucts starting next year, becom­ [email protected] teacher education, said 335,000 ing one of the first Chinese college graduates have been hired regions to set a timeline for such Rural education in China has to work at rural schools in central a ban. seen major improvements and has and western China since 2006, A ban on production, sale and gained measurably when it comes adding that the country now has use will take effect first by the to facilities, equipment and teach­ 2.9 million rural teachers, 1.7 mil­ end of 2020 for single­use non­ er quality, the Ministry of Educa­ lion of whom are under 40 years biodegradable plastic bags and tion said on Tuesday. old. eating utensils. The ban will be The country has invested heavily The central government has extended to other single­use in improving the infrastructure of allocated 15.7 billion yuan since Crew members of Chinese research ship Haiyang Dizhi­10 (Ocean Geology No 10) are welcomed upon nonbiodegradable plastic prod­ rural schools and attracting more 2013 for subsidies to 1.27 million their return to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Tuesday. The ship completed its first major ocean ucts on a hit list by 2025, a local teachers by offering better salaries, rural teachers, with some teachers science voyage of 26,100 kilometers during the past 91 days. Scientists from China and Pakistan environmental watchdog officials said at a news conference. receiving 2,000 yuan per month, cooperated on various studies in the Indian Ocean. SONG JINYU / FOR CHINA DAILY announced at a news conference he said. recently. Local governments in eight It wasn’t clear whether the list 542.6 provinces and municipalities have would include all varieties of billion yuan provided more than 6.2 billion such products, but the watchdog yuan of subsidies to 688,000 rural said the list will be updated in a Investment by the government Top legislature calls for innovative from 2013 to 2018 to build and teachers. timely manner based on local renovate school buildings and Zhi Yueying, who has spent needs. Manufacturers of the first buy teaching tools more than 38 years educating chil­ round of targeted plastic prod­ dren in the remote villages of approach to end poverty on schedule ucts will be shut down by the end Jiangxi province, said the facilities of 2020. Hu Yanpin, an inspector from at her school have improved great­ In preparation for the ban, the the ministry’s office of national ly and it’s the most beautiful build­ By LI LEI rural poor have been lifted out of province will draft a series of reg­ education inspection, said central ing in her village. [email protected] 1.7 their situation during the seven­ ulations and standards, and will and local governments invested “Improved living conditions year period that ended last year, the improve its supervision and law 542.6 billion yuan ($81 billion) have also attracted more teachers China’s top legislature is calling percent report said. The incidence of pover­ enforcement capabilities this from 2013 to 2018 in building and to rural areas,” she said. for innovative measures to help Incidence of poverty in China ty was down from 10.2 percent to 1.7 year. Banned plastic products renovating school buildings and Chen Liqun, president of Minzu deliver the country’s zero­poverty last year, down from 10.2 percent in the same period. will not be allowed to come to percent in 2013 buying teaching tools. Middle School in Guizhou prov­ promise before 2021, a report However, Wu said China is feeling the island from outside. To bridge the gap between urban ince’s Taijiang county, said the released by the National People’s the strain as it attempts to ensure and rural education resources, dif­ improvements in school condi­ Congress Standing Committee said erished as their forbears. that the remaining 16.6 million ferent levels of governments pur­ tions have induced many dropouts on Tuesday. Wu Weihua, vice­chairman of the rural poor shake off poverty on 120,000 chased 5.1 million computers. And to return. With wiping out extreme pover­ Standing Committee of the 13th schedule. metric tons more than 90 percent of primary The parents of many students at ty for the first time in Chinese his­ NPC, said the poverty battle is That’s because a large percentage Consumption of single­use and secondary schools in China Minzu have left home to work in tory on the horizon, the report said among China’s most urgent and of those grappling with dire poverty nonbiodegradable plastic now have access to the internet, he cities and have left their children the focus will be on the most important tasks, and local authori­ have chronic diseases and disabili­ products annually in said. behind with grandparents who underdeveloped rural regions, as ties should see to it that their ties, he said, adding that many oth­ Hainan. The province plans “The ministry will continue to sometimes don’t have enough well as on people who are most respective tasks are accomplished ers are childless seniors who have to ban the production, sale support rural teachers, by increas­ energy to take care of them, Chen vulnerable. on time. limited working capacity, or people and use of such products ing their salaries and encouraging said. Grassroots officials are encour­ “We’ll adopt tough approaches who lack the motivation to change by 2025. more college graduates to work at To better manage the students aged to take tough and unconven­ and mobilize the entire nation,” he their status quo. rural primary and middle schools,” and reduce the dropout rate, all tional steps to ensure that people said. Adding to the difficulties, some he said. “More educational resour­ students now live in school dormi­ inhabiting underdeveloped regions China ramped up targeted pover­ local authorities oversimplify pov­ A report by Economic Daily ces will be allocated to poverty­ tories, he said. have access to education, health­ ty­relief efforts in late 2012 in a bid erty relief by offering only financial said the ban will first apply to stricken areas, with the goal that “The most sustainable way to care, housing and safe drinking to eliminate extreme poverty by the assistance, rather than helping government departments, no child in China will be prevented keep rural students out of poverty water. end of 2020. The needy population needy families find long­term solu­ schools, tourism destinations, from attending school because of is to give them a good education, In addition, the report called for — those with an annual income tions, Wu said. supermarkets, shopping malls poverty.” and I am willing to offer my help,” more development of power grids, under the poverty line of 2,300 yuan Some others have failed to over­ and hospitals — venues where it Liu Jiantong, an inspector in Chen said. telecommunications and other ($335) set in 2010 and adjusted see the use of relief funds intended is considered easier to enforce. infrastructure. annually for purchasing power pari­ to help poor families develop busi­ Deng Xiaogang, head of the Education was highlighted in the ty — stood at almost 100 million in nesses and generate a sustainable watchdog, said at the news con­ report as an effective means to pre­ 2012. income. In some cases, the money ference that Hainan consumes vent the younger generation in As a result of the sweeping anti­ was used to build and decorate new 120,000 metric tons of single­use rural regions from being as impov­ poverty campaign, 82.3 million houses. nonbiodegradable plastic prod­ ucts annually, more than half of which is produced locally. ACTION IN NEW ERA China prohibited supermar­ kets and other big retailers from offering free plastic bags to cus­ tomers in 2007, hoping to reduce Big data looms large in Guizhou their use. Increasing concern has been expressed, however, By YANG JUN remote sensing, including both land that the measure may not be and ZHOU HUIYING and climate data and can accurately playing its expected role. Like making an predict rainfall in the next 72 hours. The increasing amount of Over the past half decade, Gui­ “The International Big Data plastics consumed in the boom­ zhou province has attracted invest­ automobile, we have Industry Expo and various big data ing food delivery and express Pan Pingzhong, the only teacher at a remote teaching facility, ment and projects globally from built infrastructure innovation contests organized by the industries has not been fully plays with his students on the first day of the semester in more than 9,500 companies, some government have attracted global addressed. According to the Rongjiang county, Guizhou province, on Monday. Pan, who has 18 of which are household names — with all the necessary attention and created a platform for State Post Bureau, China’s students, has been a rural teacher for 28 years. He teaches Google, Apple and China’s own Ali­ elements available recruitment and financing of talent express delivery industry used first­graders Chinese, math and art. LIU XU / XINHUA baba and Tencent. for enterprises in Guizhou,” Li said. about 3.2 billion large woven The rapid growth of the tech and complete.” “In 2015, East Auspicious Cloud plastic bags, 8.6 billion card­ industry, which now contributes Tao Changhai, vice­governor of won the top prize in the provincial board boxes and 330 million Briefly more than 20 percent of the prov­ Guizhou province big data contest, which has helped rolls of adhesive tape in the 30 ince’s GDP, received new momen­ the company amass a support fund billion­plus deliveries it made in tum as far back as March 2014, with of 5 million yuan and develop a 2016.