China's chief police officer has asked nationwide police authorities to take active measures against mafia-like groups before the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.

Meng Jianzhu, State Councilor and Public Security Minister, made the remarks during a teleconference on July 7. He said that gangster groups' illegal activities are rampant during the country's economic and social transformations, and police forces should cut off gangsters' links to economic operation and prevent them from infiltrating the political sector.

Police authorities should target major gangster groups and root out the "protective umbrella" behind them, Meng said.

Measures Changed

People in close contact with A/H1N1 flu patients will no longer be quarantined in designated facilities, and patients with mild symptoms may receive treatment at home, the Ministry of Health said on July 8.

"The adjustment does not necessarily mean giving up observing close contacts. It's just a different place for quarantine, and they will still be restricted from going outside and contacting other people," said Liang Wannian, Deputy Director of the ministry's Emergency Office.

According to a notice on adjusting A/H1N1 flu prevention and control measures issued by the Ministry of Health, mild flu cases may be quarantined and treated at home, and health departments at the provincial level have general discretion to decide.

Liang said the adjustment is aimed to ensure timely and effective treatment of severe cases.

Green Assessment

China is phasing in a new system of assessing the performance of government officials not just by how fast they manage to spur economic growth but also by the environmental soundness of that growth.

Despite the low-carbon roadmap and the Central Government's commitment to sustainable development, some regions in China have yet to make progress in "green recovery," said Li Ganjie, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection.

He said the solution is to alter the assessment system for officials. "If we fire them when they fail in environmental protection and carbon reduction goals, our economy will see more sustainable development."

Graduate Recruitment

Millions of Chinese college graduates are being offered another government-paid career opportunity as the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) beckons with the message, "We Want You!"

Graduates of three-year and four-year studies and postgraduate programs are target recruits for the two-year compulsory service, Hou Qishan, an official with the Recruitment Office of the Ministry of National Defense, said on July 5.

It is the largest recruitment drive among college graduates since 1955, when China established the compulsory military service system.

Targeting both male and female graduates ages 18 to 24, the drive has already signed up an estimated 120,000 recruits, who will start their military careers at the end of 2009, Hou said.

SOUND OF ANCESTORS A girl from a 33-member Root-seeking Summer Camp for Chinese-American teenagers listens to a musician playing the Chinese zither at Xi'an Museum in Shaanxi Province on July 8 (XINHUA)

SECOND RUN Workers are busy building a bridge on the Nanchang-Jiujiang Railway on July 8. The railway is the second inter-city rail in China after the Beijing-Tianjin Inter-city Railway (WANG LEI)

PURE AND BEAUTIFUL The ancient town of Fenghuang in central China's Hunan Province shows its beauty under July's sky (LONG HONGTAO)