Green vehicle subsidies

THE city government recently released new policies for subsidizing the purchase of new-energy vehicles.

According to the policies, the government will offer subsidies of 10,000 yuan (US$US$1,487) to 22,000 yuan to buyers of purely electric vehicles and grant 12,000 yuan to each buyer of a hybrid vehicle. For drivers who have obtained operation licenses from the city’s transport department, the city government will offer 200,000 yuan for each fuel-cell passenger car, 300,000 yuan for each fuel-cell minibus or van and 500,000 yuan for each coach or truck.

The government will also offer a subsidy of 600 yuan per kilowatt for DC-charging facilities and 300 yuan per kilowatt for AC-charging facilities.

Industrial design firms

AS China’s first City of Design, Shenzhen is now home to nearly 6,000 industrial design institutions, said Feng Changhong, executive deputy chief and secretary general of the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, at a seminar on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).

However, Feng added that the industrial design sector in the city faces challenges with IPR protection because of the ambiguous definition of the industry. In April this year, the city launched a work station aimed at preserving the IPR of industrial design firms and designers.

New e-libraries

A BATCH of the latest-generation of e-libraries began providing services for Shenzhen residents last weekend.

With the new e-libraries, which can each store 450 books, residents can borrow, return and order paper books and electronic books more conveniently and with shorter wait times. Compared to their precedents, the new e-libraries allow residents to borrow and return books by simply scanning the QR codes available on the machines.