"High-end restaurants and hotels are suffering. We have now put our bet on private consumption. We have offered more discounts to the public and strived to increase our visibility on the Internet."

Yang Xiaowei, a sales manager at Lijingwan International Hotel in Beijing, commenting on the impact of the Central Government's ban of consumption at upscale accommodations with public expenses

"In 2013, the number of employers who came to our university for graduate study of environmental protection and pollution treatment increased a lot compared to previous years."

Lan Yaming, a student employment officer at Nanjing University in east China's Jiangsu Province, identifying the rising popularity of environmental engineering in the labor market

"More senior foreign experts will be invited to Beijing this year, and the validity of their residence permits can be extended to last five years as opposed to the current one year."

Chen Bei, Deputy Director of Beijing's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, at a news conference on January 17

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Public Security have held discussions this year on policies concerning government intervention in child abuse cases. The current law has failed to specify who can sue when a child is abused by their legal guardians."

Huang Ermei, Vice President of the Supreme People's Court, at a legal symposium on child protection in Beijing on January 20