DANCING YOUTH Zhengzhou University students perform at a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the "May Fourth Movement" on May 4 ZHAO PENG

Special Agency

A dedicated department has been created to tackle land and maritime border disputes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on May 5. The newly established department is called the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs.

The department is mainly responsible for land and sea boundary demarcation and management, drafting diplomatic policies and negotiating joint development at sea, ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

Ning Fukui, a senior diplomat specializing in Asian affairs, has been named to head the department. Ning's two deputies, Wang Zonglai and Ouyang Yujing, are both senior diplomats experienced in boundary affairs from the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Wang is an expert on international maritime law, while Ouyang has participated in border demarcations and negotiations in recent years.

Big Gathering

About 3,000 delegates from across the country attended a gathering in Beijing on May 4 to mark the 90th anniversary of the "May Fourth Movement."

Top Party and state leaders attended the meeting.

The "May Fourth Movement" was a mass student movement, which began on May 4, 1919. It spearheaded a national campaign to promote scientific and democratic ideas.

Now May 4 is observed as Youth Day in China to commemorate the reawakening of young Chinese in fighting for the country's rise from oppression and humiliation.

Massive Drill

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has started preparations for a massive military drill in the second half of this year, which will involve as many as 50,000 troops, sources from the PLA's General Staff Headquarters said on May 4.

The drill, dubbed "Kuayue 2009," will be undertaken by troops from the four military command areas of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou.

This is the first time in the PLA's history that four divisions from four military command areas will participate in a drill that involves the deployment of troops across different command areas, according to the sources.

The PLA has seven command areas. The other three are Beijing, Chengdu and Nanjing.

The Air Force and the Army Aviation Corps will also send men and various aircraft to take part in the drill, the sources said.

The drill was aimed at assessing and improving the PLA's overall combat effectiveness in the context of information warfare, the sources said.

Bigger District

The State Council, China's cabinet, has approved the merger of Shanghai's Pudong New Area with neighboring Nanhui District, the Shanghai Municipal Government said on May 6.

The expanded Pudong New Area will spread out over 1,210.41 square km, with 2.686 million registered residents, said Chen Qiwei, a spokesman for the Shanghai Municipal Government.

The Pudong New Area was established in 1990 and is the home to headquarters of most financial institutions in Shanghai.

Negotiator Resigning

Taiwan's chief negotiator with the Chinese mainland, Chiang Pin-kung, tendered his resignation to Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou on May 4.

Chiang, the 77-year-old Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), cited health reasons for the move on May 6.

Chiang said he was keen to spend more time with his family.

"No matter who replaces Chiang, the positive tone of the cross-Straits relationship has been set and won't change," said Li Jiaquan, former Director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.