About 80,000 orphans were given free insurance contracts on May 31 to cover the costs of treating 12 critical illnesses, as a joint insurance program supported by the government and a charity organization has expanded.

The latest beneficiaries are from Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Qinghai and Henan provinces.

An insurance fund that was raised through donations will be accessible for one year starting from June 1, according to Hu Haidi, Managing Director of the China Children Insurance Foundation (CCIF).

Differing from previous years, in which funds were mainly raised by large enterprises, Hu said that online micro-donations now account for a greater share of funding and have helped to keep the project sustainable.

The foundation launched the joint program in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2009 to provide free insurance for the children of poor families and 712,000 orphans under the age of 18 who are registered with the ministry.

To guarantee transparency in the insurance program's operation and management, all donation information can be checked and verified online at Baoxian.cctf.org.cn, a website hosted by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund, the parent foundation of the CCIF.

Expertise Sharing

A program designed to share Chinese wind energy technology with developing countries kicked off on June 4 in northwest China's Gansu Province.

The program is the first of six planned this year as part of efforts to share China's renewable energy development, said Xi Wenhua, Vice Chairman of the China Renewable Energy Society.

Organized by the Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute, the program's launch was attended by 19 officials, business executives and technicians from 11 Asian and African countries, including Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia.

Lectures on wind energy technology and field visits will be arranged over the next two months and Chinese specialists will share their experience regarding wind technology design, utilization and maintenance, Xi said.

China is the world's largest producer of wind power in terms of installed capacity.

IT Cooperation

Microsoft has teamed up with southwest China's Yunnan Province to boost software innovation and foster local talent.

The two sides announced the launching of an information technology (IT) academy, an innovation center and the research and development of ethnic minority language software on June 5 in Kunming, capital of Yunnan.

The school will be built by Microsoft and Yunnan University, to offer a four-year college education with a full-time diploma, aimed at training more IT graduates in southwest China.

Microsoft expects its language software to stimulate hi-tech education, turning Yunnan into a new flourishing power in the Chinese software industry.

The software will cover 18 languages including Thai, Hindi and Malay to boost exchange among Chinese and Southeast Asian students who are studying in Yunnan.