China's Clean Auto Action
A socalled "Clean Auto Action" aiming at reducing auto-caused air pollution and purifying urban air was launched on April 6, 1999. Mr. Li Lanqing, Chinese Vice Premier, asks authorities at different levels in the country to act upon comprehensive control of air pollution through enhancing technical innovation efforts so as to create a clean environment for people's living and working.
Mr. Li pointed out at a working meeting on air purifying project-clean auto action jointly held by Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and State Bureau of Environmental Protection that last two decades of opening and reform have witnessed internationally acknowledged achievements in China's economic and social development. However, increasingly serious atmospheric pollution has become an important factor restricting the nation's economic development and threatening people's life which attracted serious concerns of the whole society.
Mr. Li added that China's urban air pollution is mainly attributed to sulfur dio xide and dust emitted from industrial and civil coal burning and toxicant gases exhausted by auto vehicles. In this context, "air purifying project" shall foc us on the issues of improving energy composition and efficiency and reducing haz ardous gases exhausted by autos. Auto industry in the country shall apply advanc ed technologies and address both superficial and fundamental problems in the sec tor. Priorities shall be given to developing clean energy autos, research and d evelopment of Auto with selected fuels.
Investment in Three Gorge Project Strengthened by Government
clean fuel and low-pollution burning techniques and accelerating upg rading process of auto products. Meanwhile, restrictions on auto pollutio n emission and technical upgrading shall be intensified so as to remarkably redu ce auto caused pollution.
Clean Auto Action jointly sponsored by Chinese governmental agencies includes a number of initiatives such as development of make-up devices for fuel injector and exhaustion pipes to accelerate cleaning process of oil burning autos, wide application of natural gas burning techniques mainly in buses and taxies, strengthening research and development of electric vehicles and auto vehicles
with mixed fuels and remarkably improving air quality of major cities in the country in a period of 3 to 5 years. Meanwhile, the action asks to establish the clean auto industry and make it a new national economic growth point. It is reported that 12 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Harbin, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Hainan have started their clean auto demonstrations .
Preferential and Restrictive Policies on Comprehensive Resources Utilization
As defined by relevant state regulations, enterprises who utilize resources in a comprehensive manner will be encouraged and supported.
The said preferential policies are: enterprises who manufacture their products w ith solid wastes, waste water and waste gases as main raw materials may enjoy 5 -year income tax exemption; enterprises who produce building materials with raw materials containing no less than 30% of gangue, bone coal, flyash and other ind ustrial solid wastes shall be exempted from value-added tax; enterprises who ref ine gold and silver through using waste liquids or solids shall be exempted from value-added tax; enterprises who recover used or waste materials shall be appli ed with 70% tax refund; state owned forestry industries who manufacture the prod ucts of multipurpose utilization by using forest remains and underbrush a s raw materials shall be applied with tax refund upon taxation. Projects of int egrated resources utilization shall enjoy no tax for fixed assets investment. E nterprises producing electric and thermal power by using surplus heat, pressure, urban garbage, gangue and coal dusts shall be favored in paying their grid supp orting fee, tariff rating and peak hour scheduling.
Restrictive policies: any project of the conditions for comprehensive utilizatio n shall have its integrated resources utilization reported in the proposal letter of the project, feasibility study report and preliminary investment plan.
Authorities may refuse to seal the approval when such projects present no report on integrated resources utilization. Enterprises who provide renewable wastes shall not ask the enterprises who utilize them to pay when the wastes are unproc essed or stockpiled. No new clay kilns shall be created or old clay kilns furth er expanded within the scope of 20,000 meters of flyash and gangue stockpiles. Building material enterprises who produce clay bricks shall, when conditions permit, use flyash, gangue in preportion in their raw materials. Construction of roads, dams and harbors shall use materials mixed with coal dust. Individual businesses shall be prohibited from engaging in recovering and reprocessing of metal wastes. Abandoned auto vehicles, machinery and equipment are prohibited t o re-export to rural areas and township enterprises.
Grand Canyon Gulf: A Hot Spot on the Earth
An area characterized of high temperature, low density, low magnetism, negative gravity, frequent earthquakes and strong tectonic movement is usually deemed by scientists as a hot spot. In this context, Chinese scientists have not long ago clearly pointed out for the first time in the world that Yarlung Zangbo Grand C anyon Gulf is a hot spot on the earth with its center located near Motuo, Tibet. The discovery has further deepened people's understanding of the earth.
The research results on the proposed concepts by Tang Maocang, Zhong Dalai and o thers with Chinese Academy of Sciences have been published in China Science.
Experts pointed out that the hot spot basically runs from 92° to 97° east long itude with its northern boundary going beyond 30° north latitude. The center o f the hot spot goes basically along with the location where the strong earthquak e ( 8.6 r.s) occurred in Motuo in 1950, about 50 km west of Motuo township. The underground heat intensity in the center may reach 10 watts per square metre, m uch higher than the global average. The center is a spot in the world enjoying most precipitation and the highest latitude of tropical forests.
Mr. Tang said that satellite pictures have shown that the grand canyon gulf loca ted in southeast Tibet is of abnormal negative gravity with its source sitting near the interface of lithosphere at a horizontal scale of 400 km. Being a high temperature area, more than ten hot springs have been found in the areas adjace nt to Nanjiabawafeng Peaks. The strong tectonic movement of lithosphere in the area has made it one of areas in the world having strongest tectonic movements a nd one of few earthquake sources in the country.
Experts also pointed out that high pressure whitestones discovered in Nanjiabawa feng area indicates that the rocks at the foot of the Himalayas have grown to the ground surface, which in turn implies an accelerated lifting of in-depth c rust matters. Measurement of mineral diffusion traces has shown that the rock li fting speed in the area reached 3 cm per year in the last 150,000 years, a possi bly fastest lifting speed in the world and an important attribute to forming the largest grand canyon in the world.
Irreversible Hepatocirrhosis Reversed
No. 302 Hospital of Chinese Liberation Army have successfully developed new drug "Liver softening compound" for hepatobiliary capsule and hepatocirrhosis.
Passed the experts' examination organized by State New Drug Assessment Center,
thenew drug was granted with new drug certificates issued by State Drug Supervis ion Administration on March 25, 1999. Experts believe that this applauded for t he solution to the difficult world issue of irreversible hepatocirrhosis.
Started from 1972, the experts in the hospital continuously consolidated Chinese traditional prescriptions collected from local folks carefully and produced a d rug treating patients of hepatobiliary capsule and hepatocirrhosis and obtained positive results. In the study of ?hepatocirrhosis treatment with both
Chinese and Western medical methods? experts have carried out systematic, stan dardized and in-depth studies in four relevant areas including animal testing, c ells, molecules and clinical testing with the help of combined macro dialectic C hinese traditional medical treatment and micro analysis and molecular biology of modern medical sciences. They restructured more than dozens of traditional Chi nese medical prescriptions for blood-activating, stasis-dissolving and softening and eventually worked out "Liver softening compound" The compound has been proved to be highly effective after its application to more than 10,000 patients of hepatobiliary capsule and hepatocirrhosis.
In 1997, Chinese Ministry of Public Health approved phase Ⅱ clinical testing of the new drug. It was used in 8 domestically renowned hospitals including Shang hai Shuguang Hospital, Hospital of Hubei Academy of Chinese Traditional Medicine , Tianjin Epidemics Hospital, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Youan Hospital and Beijing Chinese Traditional Hospital for treating 420 cases of hepatobiliary capsule
and hepatocirrhosis. Biopsy before and after treatment have reaffirmed the fact that the drug is able to check the development of hepatobiliary capsule and reverse hepatocirrhosis at early stage on the one hand and of remarkable improvement of the formed hepatocirrhosis on the other. The drug is of best eff ects in particular on chronic hepatitis and hepatocirrhosis at early stage, with an effective rate of 81.67%. Clinical practice has shown that the drug was of fine treatment effects on hepatobiliary capsule caused by alcoholic hepatitis, fat liver and immune liver diseases. Experts believed that the drug has made a historical breakthrough in treating hepatobiliary capsule and hepatocirrhosis an d was of international advanced level.
1400 Electronic Publications in China
Thanks to the popularization of personal computers in China, electronic publicat ions have enjoyed a gradual growth in China. In 1998 there were 1442 formal elec tronic publications off the press in China and a new industry of Rmb 1 billion has been formed in China.
It is revealed at a symposium on China's multi media market investigation that the total installed capacity of computers has reached 10 million sets in China, ranked the fourth place in the world. Up to date, there are 64 electronic publi cation press in mainland China with more than 100 firms of strong electronic pub lication capacity.
So far China has successfully solved major technical difficulties such as Chines e character coding, Chinese character identification, Chinese language recogniti on, compressed storage for Chinese characters and fast delivery.
In 1997 China turned out 1025 sorts of multimedia optical disc products, landing a growth rate of 242% from 1994 to 1997, which illustrated a new development stage of China's electronic publication industry.
China's Nuclear Power Generation on New Stage
Spokesman of China Nuclear Industrial General Corporation announced recently tha t 4 nuclear power generation projects of milestone significance listed in the 9t h Five-Year Plan have fully reached their targeted goals last year. 1999 will witness greater development of China's nuclear power generation.
It is briefed that thanks to arduous efforts of many institutions engaged in pha se Ⅱ projects of China's Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, the mainstream part of the project has reached the planned schedule for supplying electricity to grids and the construction of No. 1 nuclear safety island was completely in advance. The doom has been integrally installed, the first of its kind in the country, which earmarked the new breakthrough in China's technical level of constructing nuclear power plants. Phase Ⅲ heavy water project has seen fast progress as the result of close cooperation between Chinese and Canadian partners. Applied with advanced sliding form technique, it only took 18 days to finish the construction of the safety shell. The earth work of Lingao nuclear power project has completed as scheduled with Lianyungang nuclear power project which started negative digging on 18th Dec., 1998 also seeing smooth progress. A nuclear power station to be exported to Pakistan is now in the testing stage and trial turbine operation has completed in advance.
Meanwhile, last year witnessed new progresses of the construction of China's nuclear fuel projects. The preliminary design of major production line project of nuclear fuel element assembly line has passed review stage. The project of heavy water nuclear power station fuel components has been approved for its registration. Phase Ⅰ construction of disposal site located in northwest China has finished and checked. The disposal of mid-low radioactive solid waste has advanced into implementation stage. It is also briefed that 1999 will continuously see great development of China's nuclear power industry. Qinshan phase II started to install pressure containers for No. 1 safety island on March 15; the safety shell of No. 2 reactor will be completed with construction on September 15; No. 1 nuclear safety island of Lingao nuclear power project completed on April 15 and safety shell of No.2 safety island on
December 30; phase Ⅲ project of Qinshan nuclear power station shall get ready for the installation of steam generator on November 27; Lianyungang nuclear power project will start first concreting on Sept. 15; Qiaxima nuclear power project has accelerated its construction pace so as to ensure electricity supply to grids within the year.
Investment in Three Gorge Project Strengthened by Government
To ensure the smooth implementation of Three Gorge project, the state will enhan ce its investment in the project this year. It is reported that the budget all ocation for 1999 will for the first time go beyond the threshold of Rmb 10 billi on to Rmb 11 billion, Rmb 2 billion more than that in 1998.
Huge social and economic benefits of Three Gorge project has drawn great attenti on of central authorities. Three supporting policies have been worked on fund raising. Firstly, Gezhouba Hydraulic Power Plant, the largest of its kind in the country will be placed under the leadership of Three Gorge General Corporation. In this context, all the profits made from hydraulic power generation will be reinvested in the construction of Three Gorge project. Secondly, electricity tariff will be increased nationwide for Three Gorge Project Construction Fund with differences in degree in accordance with regional differences. The increased revenues will be used to support Three Gorge project. The funds raised from the above mentioned efforts will reach Rmb 110 billion during the construction period of Three Gorge project, about 50% or more of the total investment needed by the project. Thirdly, loans from National Development Bank. National Development Bank has promised to provide Rmb 30 billion, Rmb 3 billion per year from 1994 to 2003. The fund raising from the three initiatives may acquire Rmb 140 billion altogether, about 65% of the total investment required.
At the end of 1998, the actual investment paid to the project reached more than Rmb 39 billion. The timely investment is an important condition to ensure the smooth progress of project as scheduled.
Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Dong Jianlong, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594, or Mr. Wang Jianping, Editor,NEWSLETTER, 15 Fuxing Road Beijing 100038, PR China, Tel:(8610) 68515544 Ext. 2921
