OUT OF THE DROUGHT Farmers in Laren Village, Fengshan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, pick mulberry leaves to feed silk worms. Rainfall in the region have significantly alleviated the lasting drought (ZHOU ENGE)

Subsidies to Farmers

The Chinese Government unveiled more than 2.4 billion yuan ($352 million) in new funding on April 19 to ensure summer grain and oil output, as extreme weather across the country threatens harvests.

Severe drought in southwest China, persistent cold weather in the north and snow in Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions had caused "tremendous difficulties" for agricultural production, said a statement issued after a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The Central Government would offer farmers subsidies of 10 yuan ($1.47) per mu (0.067 hectares) for fertilizer for 53 million mu of winter wheat in 11 affected production regions, said the statement.

Safer Campuses

China's Ministry of Education instructed kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools to upgrade security, after a spate of violent attacks against students.

Education Minister Yuan Guiren said at a video conference on April 14 that schools should integrate safety awareness into the curriculum and teach children self-protection.

Yuan also mandated that schools hire security guards, install security facilities and make sure young students were escorted home.

The conference was held in the wake of recent cases of school violence, the worst of them in Nanping, Fujian Province, where a man slew eight elementary school children.

Ozone Layer Protection

The production and use of ozone-depleting substances in China will be strictly controlled, according to a regulation made public by the State Council on April 16.

According to the regulation, the country will set a national limit on the overall amount of production and use of such substances annually and allocate a quota to businesses. Entities that need to produce or use the ozone-depleting substances should apply for the quota annually, the regulation said.

Exports and imports of such substances would also be strictly administrated.

However, the use of such substances for household electrical appliances such as refrigerators and air-conditioners was not covered by the regulation, according to the Legislation Affairs Office of the State Council.

Child Traffickers Punished

A court in central China's Hubei Province sentenced a woman to death and another two to life in prison on April 16 for trafficking more than 40 children.

The 23-member child trafficking ring was convicted of buying 49 children from Shizong County in southwestern Yunnan Province and selling them to people in Shexian County in northern Hebei Province, the court said.

The ring, busted in May and June last year, sold boys for up to 40,000 yuan ($5,880) and girls for up to 20,000 yuan ($2,940) each between March 2005 and July 2009.

Special Olympics

The Fifth National Special Olympic Games will be held in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, between September 19 and 25. The Special Olympics are for individuals aged eight and older with intellectual disabilities.

Around 2,000 athletes will compete in 11 events. Five non-sports programs, such as forums on health and the education of people with intellectual disabilities, will be held as part of the event. In addition to domestic delegations from all of China's provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, athletes from South Korea, the United States and Singapore have also been invited to compete at the event.