IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Severe drought poses fire risk

Forest safety authorities in Southwest China's Yunnan province said on Feb 21 that the heavily forested province is facing serious fire prevention challenges due to lingering drought.

From Jan 1 to Feb 16, there were 100 forest fires in the province. Of those, six were serious or catastrophic, a spokesman with the Yunnan forest public security bureau said.

Trade

Exporters may get tax boost

Tax rebates for exports are likely to be increased this year following the sharp decline in shipments due to the European debt crisis.

Commerce Ministry officials said the scheme will be implemented at an appropriate time and would be the first such increase after 2009.

"We are looking to introduce relevant measures to stabilize export growth," said Zhong Shan, deputy minister of commerce at a recent conference in Nanchang of Jiangxi province.

Development

Faster growth eyed in the west

The State Council has approved a plan to accelerate development in the western regions till the end of 2015, a move likely to further narrow the development gap between different regions.

The development plan for the western regions sets goals for economic growth, infrastructure construction, the environment, public service, and people's living standards, which are much lower than those of the economically developed coastal and eastern regions.

Health

Smoking ban to be tightened

Beijing will draft new regulations strengthening enforcement of an existing smoking ban, as new statistics show more and more teenagers are being attracted to smoking.

Public health experts say that Beijing's current smoking ban lacks teeth due to poor enforcement.

The Chinese Association on Tobacco Control recently conducted a survey on smoking of about 40,000 students across China. According to the survey, 15.8 percent of the high school students smoke habitually, and 22.5 percent would consider trying it.

Services

Expats given helping hand

A service center catering for foreign residents has officially opened in Shanghai's Pudong New Area following a two-month.

The Foreign Affairs Service Station, set up by Pudong district police and Lianyang community, provides temporary residence permits and guidance on daily life and work. Eight staff workers offer assistance in English, Japanese and Korean.

The station also offers assistance to expatriates on more day-to-day aspects of life. About 700 expatriates in the community had received help from the service during its trial run.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/24/2012 page2)