XI STRESSES RESOLVE TO ELIMINATE POVERTY

President Xi Jinping has urged efforts to ensure that the targets and tasks of poverty elimination are completed with high quality amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not a single ethnic group will be left behind in China's efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects this year, he said.

Xi made the remarks in a recent instruction on the elimination of poverty of the entire Maonan ethnic group.

The Maonan are one of the country's 28 ethnic groups with a small population. About 70 percent of the Maonan, or 64,500 people, live in Huanjiang county, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Huanjiang officially withdrew from the national list of impoverished counties this month. Based on the Maonan people's poverty alleviation situation across the country, the ethnic group as a whole has risen above poverty.

Xi said he was glad to know that the Maonan ethnic group has eliminated its poverty, as the living conditions of villagers have significantly improved.

He called the poverty elimination of many ethnic groups in recent years an important achievement in China's anti-poverty work.

The Maonan people should consider poverty elimination a new starting point for a better life and continue with efforts to make their lives more prosperous, Xi said.

Given that China has come to a crucial period of securing a decisive and complete victory in poverty elimination, it is especially important to proceed with firm confidence and concrete action, he said.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, instructed authorities at all levels to steadfastly implement the decisions of the CPC Central Committee, overcome the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, concentrate efforts on addressing difficult tasks in poverty elimination and take multiple measures to consolidate gains.

Representatives of the Maonan ethnic group in Huanjiang recently wrote a letter to Xi, sharing with him the joy of poverty elimination and expressing their firm determination to follow the Party and make persistent efforts to build their hometown.

Tan Meichun, who once lived hand-to-mouth, with an annual income of 2,000 yuan ($281), was one of the letter's writers.

"I was unable to receive much education when I was young, but a dozen of my friends in the town encouraged me to write a letter to President Xi to tell him that our lives have greatly improved with the help of government and how grateful we are," the 44-year-old said.

Thanks to the local government's preferential policies to promote fruit crops, Tan and her husband managed to rent 2.3 hectares of land. They started to grow tangerines with a 100,000 yuan interest-free loan in 2015.

In 2018, Tan set up an agricultural cooperative by organizing 60 households, 14 of which were poverty-stricken families, to grow tangerines. Their 18.7-hectare plantation brought in an annual income of about 1 million yuan last year.

Tan said she was greatly inspired and is now more confident about the future after Xi affirmed their achievements in poverty elimination.

Huang Rongbiao, Party secretary of Huanjiang county, said the villagers will not be satisfied just with being lifted out of poverty.

"We will continue to consolidate our achievements, boost morale and fully revitalize rural development in all aspects, including industry, culture and ecology, so that our lives become better and better," he said.

MINISTRY CONCERNED ABOUT PRICE HIKES OF SAFETY HELMETS FOR MOTORCYCLISTS

The Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday it was concerned about price hikes on safety helmets sold by some enterprises and e-commerce platforms for motorcycles and electric bikes.

The ministry said it has instructed public security organs nationwide to coordinate with market regulators to crack down on price gouging and other violations.

The move came after the ministry launched a campaign requiring motorcycle and electric bike riders to wear a safety helmet while motorists and passengers are compelled to wear seat belts.

Starting from June 1, riding motorcycles without a helmet and driving or riding in cars without wearing a seat belt will be punishable. Electric bike riders will also be asked to wear helmets.

Sharp increases in helmet prices were reported in some e-commerce platforms as the demand surged.

The ministry warned helmet makers and vendors who break the law will be prosecuted.

MASS TESTS OF WUHAN RESIDENTS GATHER PACE

Wuhan has accelerated its campaign to conduct nucleic acid tests on all the city's residents, with half already tested for the novel coronavirus, local health authorities said.

The city conducted 467,847 nucleic acid tests on Monday, up from 335,887 on Sunday and 222,675 on Saturday, the Wuhan health commission said.

Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, started the campaign on May 14 to look for asymptomatic cases of COVID-19−people who show no clear symptoms despite carrying the virus−after cluster cases were reported on May 10 for the first time since the lockdown of the city was lifted in early April.

The city had conducted nucleic acid tests on more than 3 million residents before the campaign started, the commission said.

The city and district governments are covering the costs of the tests, so no personal payment is required, it said.

Lu Zuxun, a public health professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said it was remarkable that the city had completed testing on half its residents, demonstrating its capability to contain the virus.

The mass testing effort will help uncover potential sources of infection and reduce the risks as the city further resumes work, production and schooling, he said.

It will also help ease public concerns as the city continues to report new asymptomatic cases each day, Lu said.

A statement issued by the commission said that to minimize cross-infection risks, workers will set up open-air testing sites in residential compounds and remind residents to maintain distance when lining up for the tests.

Door-to-door sampling can be arranged for those who have trouble visiting the testing sites, it said.

News outlet Caixin reported that some regions in the city have combined test samples of five to 10 residents to accelerate the mass testing. If a mixture of samples tests positive, they will conduct further tests on those people.

Li Shengnan, a nurse at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, said more than 200 nurses at the hospital had been conducting tests at residential compounds since May 15.

The nurses, each of whom conducts around 3,000 tests a day, should demonstrate increased patience and accuracy as people from all age groups come to be tested, she said.

Li added that all people should wear masks and practice social distancing.

"Although the weather is already hot in Wuhan and wearing protective equipment from head to toe makes it hotter, we think it is worth it, as mass testing will ease people's worries about the pandemic," she said.

Li Tianyao, a resident of Wuhan's Wuchang district, said it was necessary to conduct the mass testing as people were eager to return to their normal lives.

"We can finally move on from the pandemic after all asymptomatic cases are located and properly treated," she said.

Chen Kebin, a resident of Hongshan district, was tested on Saturday. He said he had not been tested before as none of his family members had contracted the disease.

"Some people argue that it is too costly to conduct tests on all residents, but I do not think so, as the results are key to fully resuming life in the city," he said.

Only when people knew there were few risks of infection remaining could they feel confident enough to leave their homes and get their old lives back, he added.

DRAFT CIVIL CODE EMPHASIZES PERSONALITY RIGHTS

China's draft civil code will be submitted to the top legislative body this week for final deliberation during the country's biggest annual political gathering.

The draft, which consists of seven volumes, including general provisions and sections on property, contracts, personality rights, marriage and family, inheritance and torts, will be reviewed by the National People's Congress during the two sessions, the annual meetings of the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The compilation of personality rights in a separate volume is a major development and innovation in democratic legislation and the civil code. It will help deepen the legal protection of personal dignity and individual rights, said Shi Jiayou, professor at Renmin University of China and executive director of the National Research Center of Civil and Commercial Law, speaking to China Global Television Network.

The personality rights section covers general provisions, as well as the rights to life, body, health, name, image, reputation and honor.

In addition, the sixth chapter is specifically dedicated to privacy rights and the protection of personal information. If passed, the section will help extend the scope of privacy protection.

"How to protect privacy in the information society is a challenge not only for the Chinese people, it's a challenge for the whole world. With this law, Chinese legislators are trying to bring a Chinese draft and Chinese program on how to cope with this universal challenge. It's not only important for the Chinese people, but also for the whole world," Shi said.

Yang Lixin, also a law professor at Renmin University, said the development of the internet has made it easy to infringe on individual personality rights. The growth of social media has provided numerous platforms and better technological conditions to publish content that defames or insults others.

"The new content in the personality rights section is aimed at preventing violations of privacy, reputation, honor, etc, so the damage caused by such infringements can be better rectified," he said.

The draft for the final reading stipulates that no organization or individual shall uglify, blemish or forge people's images by the use of information technology.

It defines privacy as private life as well as the private space, activities and information that a regular person "is unwilling to be made known to others", which is also highlighted in the final draft.

It stipulates that no organization or individual shall infringe on other people's privacy rights by means of spying, intrusion, leaks or public disclosure, including by the use of telecommunication tools.

The document also clarifies the definition of personal information and expands the scope to include "email address and whereabouts", along with name, date of birth, identification number, biometric information, address and telephone number.

MINISTRY CONCERNED ABOUT PRICE HIKES OF SAFETY HELMETS FOR MOTORCYCLISTS

The Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday it was concerned about price hikes on safety helmets sold by some enterprises and e-commerce platforms for motorcycles and electric bikes.

The ministry said it has instructed public security organs nationwide to coordinate with market regulators to crack down on price gouging and other violations.

The move came after the ministry launched a campaign requiring motorcycle and electric bike riders to wear a safety helmet while motorists and passengers are compelled to wear seat belts.

Starting from June 1, riding motorcycles without a helmet and driving or riding in cars without wearing a seat belt will be punishable. Electric bike riders will also be asked to wear helmets.

Sharp increases in helmet prices were reported in some e-commerce platforms as the demand surged.

The ministry warned helmet makers and vendors who break the law will be prosecuted.

FUND SEEKS DONATIONS TO HELP WHO FIGHT PANDEMIC

A fund that will solicit donations from China's private sector to bolster the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic was launched by the World Health Organization and the China Population Welfare Foundation on Wednesday.

The new fund represents the Chinese branch of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO, which was established in mid-March to enable individuals, corporations and philanthropists around the world to contribute directly and efficiently to WHO-led efforts to contain the virus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who gave a video speech during the launch ceremony held in Beijing, said donations will be used to help deliver essential supplies, support research and development of treatments and vaccines and expand the health capabilities of countries with weak medical systems.

Li Jinhua, the foundation's president, said its collaboration with the WHO will boost international efforts to curb the spread of the virus, and it will continue to transcend national, racial and cultural differences to act in unity against the disease.

Nicholas Rosellini, the United Nations resident coordinator in China, said the Chinese government and the country's people have shown great agility and resilience in responding to the outbreak.

He said China's decision to commit $2 billion over two years to global COVID-19 aid is commendable, but much more will be needed from around the world to support developing countries in fighting the pandemic.

"COVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic that requires extraordinary global solidarity," he said. "China has always been a country that attaches great importance to unity, and in unity there is strength … I now want to appeal to all the Chinese netizens to come together once more and to support others around the world in this fight."

Gauden Galea, the WHO representative in China, said the fund provides a new channel for Chinese individuals to make personal contributions to battle the disease.

"In the end, it will take all of us putting down what divides us and picking up the task in front of us to build a healthier future together," he said.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health Commission also attended the event.

The public can make donations through nearly 20 online fundraising platforms, including the Tencent Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others. - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus