A SUCCESSFUL CLOSING Liaoning Provincial Governor Chen Zheng waves a flag representing the National Games during the closing ceremony of the 11th National Games in Jinan, Shandong Province, on October 28. The next National Games (FAN CHANGGUO)

Clearer Liability

Chinese lawmakers on October 27 began considering specific compensation for losses caused by infringements on personal rights, such as a person's name, reputation, portrait and privacy rights, in a draft amendment on tort liability.

The draft amendment to the State Compensation Law on tort liability was deliberated for the third time at the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, which began in Beijing on October 27.

According to the draft amendment, parties that suffer infringements on personal rights are entitled to compensation equal to their losses. In cases where losses are hard to assess, compensation should be equal to the violator's gains.

People who suffer infringements on their personal rights could also sue for psychological harm, although no details were given on how this would be assessed.

Urban Employment

New employment positions filled in China's urban areas reached 8.51 million in the first nine months of 2009, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced on October 23.

The figure accounted for 94 percent of the government's annual target of 9 million, ministry spokesman Yin Chengji told a press conference.

"The employment situation has been generally stable this year," Yin said. "It is better than what we had expected."

The number of newly employed people in China's urban areas reached 900,000 a month since the beginning of the second quarter.

"We predicted that the number for the whole year would top 11 million at year end," said Yin.

Mapping Antarctica

Chinese scientists on the country's 26th Antarctic expedition are expected to complete the world's first land cover map of Antarctica by the end of the year.

It will be the most accurate map of the continent and present various land features, they told Xinhua New Agency aboard the Xuelong (Snow Dragon) icebreaker in a recent interview.

The research team will collect a large amount of information on Antarctica to provide data for the map.

Using high-resolution remote-sensing technology, the map will for the first time in history show the distribution of key features on the continent, including sea ice, snow, blue ice, rocks, soil, marshes, lakes and ice crevasses.

Invoice Fraud

Chinese police have detained 5,134 people during a 10-month national campaign against invoice fraud, said Ministry of Public Security spokesman Wu Heping on October 27.

A total of 1,045 production sites making and selling fake invoices were closed, and more than 80 million fake invoices were confiscated, Wu said.

The police in coordination with the tax authorities also arrested 540 people on charges of tax evasion and tax fraud by using fake invoices, he said.

Fake invoice vendors are common in Chinese cities, where they offer receipts that are used for tax purposes.

Wu said invoice fraud could cause huge losses in tax revenues and would feed illegal activities, such as smuggling, money laundering and corruption.