President Xi Jinping is greeted by students and faculty at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing on Wednesday.[Photo/Xinhua] More photos Nation needs more top legal talent, he says President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to promote the rule of law and the development of high-quality legal talent during a visit to the China University of Political Science and Law on Wednesday. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remark ahead of Youth Day, which falls on Thursday. The comprehensive advancement of the rule of law is a long-term and significant historic mission, and is related to the Party's governing and rejuvenating the country. It is also related to the people's happiness and the development of the Party and the country, he said. He said the country should look ahead to the future, lay out a good foundation and establish a good system while advancing the rule of law. He also urged authorities to focus on key areas, emphasizing current issues, to promote the rule of law. The comprehensive advancement of the rule of law would not be done satisfactorily without good efforts to cultivate legal talent, he said. Xi also called for universities and colleges to step up research on the rule of law and other fundamental matters that involve legal issues to help improve the nation's socialist system with Chinese characteristics. The country should also further improve its system of legal theory, and use Chinese wisdom and Chinese practice to contribute to the world's civilization on the rule of law. China should actively learn from the achievements of other countries in the rule of law, but should also absorb and transform them selectively, to avoid blind borrowing and imitations. The Party convened a plenary meeting of its central committee in October 2014 to further promote the rule of law. It was the first time that a plenary session of the CPC Central Committee had taken this topic as its central theme. In a statement released after the plenary session, the Party said it will further emphasize the role of the Constitution in China's legal system. It also aims to improve judicial independence, promote procedural justice, professionalize judicial officers, and build a law-abiding government. During the inspection trip, Xi also urged the country's youth to use their time for study, and to absorb knowledge like sponges. Youth is a crucial time to train a person's thinking and abilities, and young people should maintain their sensitivity to new things and explore new practices and truths in a daring way, he said. wristbands with a messagecool wristbandscustom rubber bands
The turret of the Palace Museum in Beijing is seen in a clear day on Nov 22, 2017. [Photo/IC] BEIJING - After five years fighting air pollution, Beijing and neighbors are finally breathing noticeably cleaner air, with sales of anti-smog mask down markedly. The average density of PM2.5 in Beijing was 58 micrograms per cubic meter last year, meeting the target and 20.5 percent less than in 2016, Liu Baoxian, deputy director of Beijing environmental protection monitoring center, told a press conference. Densities of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM10 also dropped by 20 percent, 4.2 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. The 226 good air days in 2017 were 28 more than in 2016, while the number of heavy pollution days fell from 39 to 23. An air pollution plan issued by the State Council in September 2013 ordered Beijing to reduce its PM 2.5 density from 90 in 2013 to around 60 micrograms per cubic meter by the end of last year. Among pollution controls were demolition of coal-fired boilers and the phasing out vehicles with high emissions, according to Li Xiang, of Beijing bureau of environmental protection. Li said small coal-fired boilers had almost vanished, replaced by gas or electricity, and all districts in the city proper had stopped coal use. Since 2013, Beijing has shut down six cement plants and closed or upgraded nearly 2,000 companies in printing, casting, furniture manufacture and other sectors, she said.
