PM2.5 monitoring

    Shenzhen will include PM2.5, tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width, in its environment monitoring system when “conditions are ready,” according to Mayor Xu Qin.

    PM2.5 has been blamed for heavy smog in northern China. However, due to a lack of national standards, local environment bureaus usually don’t take PM2.5 into consideration when assessing the environment.

    Volunteers nominated

    Five hundred volunteers involved in the city’s rural voluntary teaching program have been put on the shortlist for the annual Touching China award, which was initiated by China Central Television to honor Chinese people who have shown tenacity, bravery and wisdom.

    The city’s signature voluntary program has sent 584 volunteers, mostly young college students, in the past six years to teach in more than 180 rural schools in 12 provinces and autonomous regions, teaching more than 60,000 students.

    Ancient town protection

    The city plans to invest about 900 million yuan (US$143 million) to preserve Nantou Ancient Town in Nanshan District.

    The ancient buildings and houses will be repaired, while four new squares will be built. The town, also known as Xin’an Ancient Town, is one of the city’s largest historical sites, covering an area of 70,000 square meters. Its history can be traced back 1700 years.

    Businessmen sentenced

    The Changhua District Court on Saturday sentenced three businesspeople to imprisonment ranging from 12 to 18 years for selling plasticizer-tainted additives* in one of the worst-ever food scares in Taiwan.

    Lai Chun-chieh, owner of the Yusheng company, and his wife Chien Ling-yuan, received 18 and 16 years respectively for adding plasticizers in the food additives they sold to downstream food companies. Pan Shu-lan, owner of the Chintung company that supplied the plasticizers, was given 12 years.

(SD-Agencies)