Environment

Pollution plan open for comments

A proposed regulation controlling air pollution, which targets vehicles, factories and outdoor barbecues, includes hefty fines on those who break the rules. Environmental protection officials expect the policy to help reduce the smog that has enveloped Beijing in recent weeks.

Feng Yongfeng, founder of Green Beagle, a Beijing-based environmental protection NGO, feels that the proposed regulation is a step in the right direction. It is more transparent than the legislation introduced in 2000 and focuses more on public concerns, and indicates that the government has attached more importance to the voice of the people, he said.

The draft, which is open for comments until Feb 8, requires authorities to forecast pollution levels, and take firm action, including suspending production at factories and ordering vehicles off the city's roads. Rule-breakers will face fines ranging from 50,000 yuan ($8,040; 6040 euros) to 500,000 yuan.

Feng said the draft strengthens guidance and supervision, while increasing penalties for bad behavior. But for larger polluting companies, a penalty of 50,000 yuan simply will not contain their illegal behavior, as the cost of abiding by the law is much higher than breaking it, Feng said.

Finance

New tool to measure local govt debt

Chinese rating agency Dagong Global Credit Rating said it has come out with a new ratings system to evaluate the credit status of local governments and gauge their debt repayment capabilities. The new rating system, unveiled by Dagong in Beijing on Jan 21, evaluates local government debt by using a method that is different from the one used by Western ratings agencies, said Guan Jianzhong, president of Dagong.

The global financial crisis has caught many institutions in the West off guard, and the new Dagong rating system will help gauge their ability to repay debt and not just the debt itself.

Local governments, barred from directly selling bonds or taking bank loans, have set up more than 6,500 companies, known as financing vehicles, to raise money for projects.

Transport

Software gives travelers advantage

Software companies have denied reports of a government ban on Web browsers that allow users to cut ahead of others when buying train tickets online.

Popular software providers Beijing Kingsoft Software and Qihoo 360 both continued to have the controversial programs available for download.

The browsers have add-ons designed to help people buy seats at 12306.cn, the Railways Ministry's official ticketing website, and have been popular as the Spring Festival travel rush looms.

However, critics say the software gives some people an unfair advantage, and media reports suggested officials were considering a ban.

Jin Lei, a marketing manager at Beijing Kingsoft Software, which makes the Liebao browser, said company representatives had met ministry officials, but declined to disclose more details. "The issue is still under discussion," he said.

Campaign

South Africa promotes BRICS

The South African government started a campaign on Jan 23 to promote BRICS among ordinary South Africans. It began in Limpopo province with road shows ahead of the next BRICS summit scheduled for March 26-27 in Durban, said Harold Maloka, spokesperson for Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration, Collins Chabane.

The purpose of the road shows is to raise awareness and galvanize the support of the country for the summit, Maloka said.

BRICS are the emerging powers: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The road shows will provide a platform to inform the country about the importance of South Africa's membership of the BRICS bloc and its benefits, said Maloka.

Labor

Top court clarifies wage law

An employer who delays paying a worker 5,000 yuan may face up to seven years in prison, according to an interpretation of the part concerning delayed wages in Criminal Law released by the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, on Jan 22.

An employer who delays paying a worker 5,000 yuan for more than three months or 30,000 yuan to 10 workers can be considered to have delayed the payment of "a large amount of money", according to the interpretation.

The employer can be sentenced to seven years in prison if the delay seriously affects the basic living of workers' families or if the employer uses violence and threats against the workers demanding their money.

From May 2011, when wage delays were classified as a crime under Criminal Law, to the end of last year, 120 employers have received criminal penalties in 152 lawsuits, and the number of wage disputes has been rising significantly, the top court said.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/25/2013 page2)