UNEXPECTED COLLAPSE A 13-story apartment building under construction in Shanghai's Minhang District collapses on June 27, raising public questions over possible real estate corruption (CHEN FEI)

Postponed Installation

China will delay the mandatory installation of the controversial "Green Dam-Youth Escort" filtering software on new computers, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on June 30. The software is designed to block violence and pornographic content on the Internet to protect minors. It could also help parents control how much time their children spend online.

The pre-installation was postponed as some computer producers said such a massive deployment demanded extra time, said the ministry.

The MIIT's previous announcement said all computers produced or sold in China were to include installations of the software after July 1.

Larger and Younger

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has increased to nearly 76 million members over the past 60 years, according to official figures.

As of the end of last year, the number of CPC members stood at 75.9 million, 17 times the 1949 figure when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced on June 30.

Last year more than 2.8 million new members were recruited, up 25,000 from the previous year, it said.

Of the new members, 2.3 million, or 80.8 percent, were under 35 years old.

Cleaner Air

Beijing saw 146 "blue-sky days" during the first half of 2009, which means the city's residents breathed in the least amount of pollutants in nine years, said Du Shaozhong, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, on June 30.

There have so far been 23 more blue-sky days this year than there were in the corresponding period last year and 47 more days than the average level in recent years, said Du.

Beijing has a five-grade classification of air quality: a reading below 50 is "excellent;" from 51 to 100 is "fairly good;" from 101 to 200 is "slightly polluted;" from 201 to 300 is "poor;" and more than 301 is "hazardous." Days with excellent or fairly good air quality are counted as blue-sky days.

Land Law

China's top legislature adopted a law on the mediation and arbitration of rural land contract disputes on June 27, aiming to help settle conflicts that affect rural harmony and stability.

President Hu Jintao signed a decree to publish the law.

The law, to take effect on January 1, 2010, sets out principles related to the use of mediation or arbitration to settle land disputes. When a dispute arises, the parties concerned can reach a compromise on their own or resort to a village committee or local government for mediation. If reconciliation fails, the parties can apply for arbitration by a local committee or take their case to court.

Under the law, local governments are to set up arbitration committees on rural land contract management disputes at the county or city level. The committees will be responsible for hiring arbitrators, hearing disputes and supervising the process of arbitration.

LITTLE AUTO FAN A three-day auto show that opened on June 26 in Guiyang, capital of southwestern Guizhou Province, showcased 170 new car models and attracted tens of thousands of spectators (QIAO QIMING)

BRIGHT HARVEST Farmers reap lavender flowers on June 30 in Huocheng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Nearly 1,333 hectares of lavender have bloomed in the Ili River Valley since the second half of June (LIU CHENGGANG)

ECO-FRIENDLY FASHION Graduating primary school students in Jiangxi Province put on a fashion show wearing clothes they made themselves from garbage to advocate for recycling (ZHANG WU)

FLOOD SEASON The photo shows a flooded street in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on June 30. The area was hit for days with heavy seasonal rains (XINHUA)