IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Health

Officials issue flu-shot warning

Health specialists have urged more people to get flu shots this winter, as the killer virus continues to sweep the country.

Although influenza cases are "well within the normal range compared with last year", China's top health specialist Shu Yuelong warned that the number of people receiving vaccinations is still far lower than international levels, potentially putting lives at risk. Only about 2 percent of people on the Chinese mainland get flu shots each year, the director of the National Influenza Center, under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Jan 15.

A total of 360 cases of H1N1 flu were reported between Dec 1 and Jan 6, including two people in Beijing who died. Shu warned that outbreaks will last into March, "which might mean more deaths, particularly among children and the elderly," the most vulnerable groups. H1N1 and H3N2, the two most prominent flu strains this season, may have even claimed more lives, he said.

Transport

New airport cleared for takeoff

The State Council has approved the construction of a new international airport in the Chinese capital, Beijing airport spokesman Li Shengbo said on Jan 13. Li, however, declined to give further details, such as when construction would start or on the looks of the new airport.

The rapidly increasing number of passengers has forced the existing international airport in Beijing to run at near-full capacity, said Liu Weimin, a professor of Civilian Aviation Management Institute of China. A second airport is needed to divert passenger flow, he said.

Beijing Capital International Airport has been ranked as the world's second-busiest airport for three consecutive years.

According to CAAC News, a newspaper affiliated with the aviation administration, large-scale construction will begin next year, and the airport is due to open before the end of 2018.

Policy

Visa for 5 years to be on offer

Multiple-entry visas, valid for up to five years, will soon be on offer in a bid to attract more top talent. The Exit and Entry Administration Law, which comes into effect in July, will also introduce a six-month visa for short-term hires.

Zhang Jianguo, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, said on Jan 15 that foreigners must already be employed to apply for the visa. "We hope the visas will encourage more international experts to work here," Zhang said. He declined to elaborate on the eligibility criteria.

Liu Guofu, an immigration law specialist at Beijing Institute of Technology, said the government is targeting key groups with the new visas. These include candidates with management experience at leading multinationals, specialists in education and science-related fields and renowned figures in culture and sport.

Security

Kidnapped workers released

Four Chinese workers, who were abducted on Jan 13 in Sudan's Darfur region, have been released, Chinese embassy official confirmed on Jan 16. "Four Chinese workers, who were kidnapped days ago in North Darfur state, have been released and handed to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur," an official at the Chinese embassy in Khartoum said. "The release of the four workers came as a result of efforts been made by all concerned parties," he added.

Earlier on Jan 16, Mohamed Suleiman Rabih, Commissioner of Kuma Locality in North Darfur State, said that North Darfur state's authorities earlier arrested some people belonging to a rebel faction which was responsible for kidnapping the Chinese workers, who are with the Sudan branch of China Railway 18 Bureau Group.

A rebel group, belonging to a Darfur armed movement, on Jan 12 kidnapped nine workers of the Chinese company, including four Chinese, and five Sudanese, who are not freed yet.

Cooperation

Bouquets for stadium project

Zambian Vice-President Guy Scott on Jan 15 lauded the work done on an ultra-modern stadium in the capital Lusaka with financial assistance from the Chinese government.

Scott, who toured the stadium, said he was happy that the project has taken shape and stressed on the need to start working on other facilities to ensure its operation once it is finished.

So far, about 60 percent of the work on the $94 million stadium has been completed. The contractor, Shanghai Construction Group, is optimistic that the work will be completed on time.

Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Zhou Yuxiao, who accompanied the vice-president, said he was happy to see progress in the project, the second by China after the ultra-modern stadium in Zambia's Copperbelt Province.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/18/2013 page2)