According to People’s Daily, one out of every 13 Chinese (for a total of over 100 million people) suffers from mental illness. Less than 20% of them have received professional psychiatric treatment.
Based on its residential population, Shanghai has increased special funds for mental patients to 3 yuan per person per year, while in Beijing it is less than 1 yuan.
Source: People’s Daily, October 10, 2010
http://scitech.people.com.cn/GB/12909605.html
The China State Bureau of Religious Affairs recently released the Tibetan Buddhist Temple Administration Regulations. The regulations are set to take effect on November 1. Tibetan Buddhism has widespread support across Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia. According to the head of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, some temples are “blind" when they determine development goals, and some temple officials are not patriotic.
He claimed that some temples are straying further and further away from the Party and that the Dalai Lama is “using” them. He believes these unwanted activities are having a major negative impact on the “normal religious order.” The regulations detailed the conditions for criminal and civil liabilities, and the restrictions on large scale religious activities.
Source: Xinhua, October 9, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-10/09/c_12641421.htm
China News Service, October 8, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2010/10-08/2572913.shtml
On October 4, 2010, a Fujian Province website in China (www.fjsen.com) described how professional telephone curse companies have been appearing on the Internet in China. As long as you pay the company, a professional curser will swear at someone you hate by placing numerous phone calls or text messages. The rate for cursing by phone is 70 Chinese yuan (US $10.47) per day, and the rate for cursing through text messages is 40 Chinese yuan (US $5.99) per day .
Although cursing on behalf of others violates Chinese law, curse companies’ websites are not censored or blocked in China. Their businesses are operated openly and are in high demand. Usually, customers need to book their services 2-3 days in advance.
Source: www.fjsen.com, October 4, 2010
http://www.fjsen.com/d/2010-10/04/content_3741404.htm
According to a draft by the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, during the Asian Games, all buyers of kitchen knives and large fruit knives will have to register with their National ID. The registration process also requires that the purpose of the purchase must be entered. Some parts of Guangzhou City have been monitoring the trail of this new policy for some time now. Sellers must comply with the policy as well. Only those authorized by the government can sell kitchen knives. The Public Security Bureau has been sending officers to do random inspections of seller sites. How the knives are carried is also regulated. When appearing in public places, knife owners are required to wrap the knives so that they “cannot hurt other people.”
Source: Guangzhou Daily, September 14, 2010
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2010-09/14/content_1128532.htm
According to an article published on Southern Metropolis Daily (www.nfdaily.com) on August 31, 2010, “The Chinese people do not really own the property they purchase; the biggest owner is the government.”
“Since the nineties of the last century, the Chinese people have been purchasing their own property. As housing prices have risen, private real estate has become the largest asset for many ordinary families, but the concept of real estate in China is different from the concept in international society. Theoretically, all the land for urban residential properties belongs to the country. Although the law allows a homeowner to enjoy the property (he purchaed) for 70 years, … the biggest property owner is the government. It can take back residential land at any time in the name of ‘public interest’ and let the home owner’s wealth, which accumulated for years, go with the wind.”
The article gave two examples of forced evictions in China.
Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, August 31, 2010
http://news.wenxuecity.com/messages/201008/news-gb2312-1154785.html
The Party Organization Department within the Ministry of Justice organized a 10-day training session, which was attended by 2,799 Directors of the Judicial Bureaus at the city and county levofel. The training encompassed eight sessions and lasted one year.
The main areas of the discussions were carrying out the “three-key-works,” covering the reduction social conflicts, renovating social management, practicing clean government and enforcing social justice. It also included topics on maintaining social harmony, stability, and promoting economic development. Over a dozen experts and professors from the Central Party School conducted forums on strengthening party development at the grass roots level, various measures in handling sudden incidents, and guiding public opinion.
Source: Legal Daily, August 23, 2010
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/China_legalaid/content/2010-08/23/content_2254379.htm
The Chinese Ministry of Public Safety recently held a conference in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa. The conference covered the Grand Tibetan Region which goes across four other provinces (Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan). The conference believed that, although the overall situation is relatively quiet, the task of maintaining social stability in Tibet is still a huge challenge. The key strategy guiding the near term work is to proactively engage. Actual planned steps include: (1) enhance the “prevention and control system”; (2) enhance border checks; (3) improve emergency handling capabilities; (4) significantly improve education and “mental development”; (5) increase investment in equipment and technology. The conference called for stronger support from other provinces.
Source: China Review News, August 20, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1014/2/0/2/101420233.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101420233&mdate=0820090253
China Review News (CRN) recently reported on a social research study of young people’s views regarding traditional Chinese etiquette. The research showed that 85.9% of the young population believes traditional etiquette is “important,” but only 55.1% believes they have some understanding of etiquette. Three classes of people are believed to be the worst in following traditional etiquette: “young people,” “eastern people,” and “city residents.” The top two reasons for the decline of etiquette are that the “size of a modern family is too small,” and “lack of the opportunity to learn.” The report mentioned that experts believe the fading of traditional Chinese etiquette is caused by the emphasis, over the past centruy, on delinking society and tradition.
Source: China Review News, August 19, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1014/1/9/4/101419430.html?coluid=6&kindid=29&docid=101419430&mdate=0819104648