China Roundup on July 22

• Source: Global Times
• [00:05 July 22 2009]
• Comments

Zero population growth

China, under pressure from the needs of its 1.3 billion citizens, will witness a zero population growth rate by 2030, a population expert predicted yesterday.

“The momentum of China's population growth has weakened since the beginning of this century,” Tian Xueyuan, the former president of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said at an economic and social development forum in Beijing.

"Zero growth could be realized when the country's population hits the peak of 1.465 billion by 2030," he said.

Following the country's 20th century campaigns to curb rapid population growth, China's current task is to stabilize a low growth rate and achieve a zero growth rate, he said.

HK emergency funds

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has approved HK$9. 18 million ($1.19 million) for relief projects to help earthquake and flood victims on the Chinese mainland, Xinhua reported yesterday.
 
The grants include HK$2.09 million to the Amity Foundation for providing relief to earthquake victims in Yunnan province, and HK$3.67 million to the same foundation for relief to flood victims in Guizhou and Hunan provinces, as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The grants also include HK$2.5 million to World Vision Hong Kong for relief to flood victims in Jiangxi Province and Guangxi, and HK$0.92 million to the Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministry Limited for relief to flood victims in Hunan Province.

Fujian road deaths

Nine people were killed and 27 were injured in a traffic accident in Fujian Province yesterday, according to local authorities.

The accident occurred on the Shenhai expressway at around 10:30 am. A passenger BUS collided with a sedan and fell into a 10m ditch. A farmer working near the expressway was injured.

Eight of those killed were pronounced dead at the scene, and one person died on the way to hospital. Twenty six were taken to hospital for treatment.

The accident is under investigation, a local official said.

Yunnan killer landslide

Two people were killed and another 12 declared missing after a landslide triggered freak high waves on a river in Yunnan Province, local authorities said yesterday.

“About 13 hectares of land slid into the Lancang River on the upper reaches of the Mekong at around 3 am Monday in the Xiaowan Hydropower Station reservoir area in Fengqing county,” said Li Huasong, chief of the Communist Party of China Fengqing County Committee.

Falling rocks and mud produced waves up to 30 meters high, engulfing 14 farmers working and living at a temporary camp along the river bank, he said.

Two bodies have been recovered by yesterday morning. Rescuers are searching for the 12 missing, but the size of the river made the rescue difficult, Li said.