Society

Chinas Energy Consumption Growth Slows Down

The 2014 BP Statistical Review of World Energy shows that in 2013 China led the world in energy consumption. China used 22.4 percent of the world total， growing by 4.7 percent， well below the 8.6 percent average of the past decade. Meanwhile， China is also the worlds largest energy producer， providing 18.9 percent of global supply. Its No.1 energy source is coal， which accounts for 47.4 percent of the global output. In line with the dip in consumption growth， growth in Chinas energy production also fell to 2.3 percent last year， far below the 7.4 percent average over the past 10 years.

Tax Incentive for New Energy Cars

The State Council decided to waive purchase taxes on pure electric cars， plug-in hybrid electric cars and fuel cell cars licensed for sale in the Chinese market. The new policy， valid from September 1， 2014 to the end of 2017， is expected to stimulate sales of new energy automobiles and boost long-term growth of the industry. According to the State Councils plan for energy saving and new energy auto industry development， China will build a production capacity of two million for electric and hybrid cars by 2020. Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in the first half of this year 20，700 new energy vehicles were produced and 20，500 sold in China， an increase of 2.3-fold and 2.2-fold respectively over the same period last year.

Grim Threat of Invasive Species

China is one of worlds worst victims of invasive species， which now number at 529. More than 100 species affect a large swathe of the country and threaten domestic bio-diversity as well as agriculture and animal husbandry. According to Wang Yanliang， head of the Rural Energy and Environment Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture， the intrusion of alien species in China has accelerated since the 1980s， with nearly 50 new species appear- ing in the past decade alone. Among them about 20 species are infesting a large area. They intrude into almost every sector of local ecosystems， including farmlands， wetlands， forests， rivers， islands and urban communities.

Hukou Reform Accelerated

China plans to help about 100 million rural residents settle in towns and cities by 2020， the State Council recently announced. The change aims to accelerate reform of the nations household registration， or “hukou，” system.

The document says that the government will remove limits on hukou registration in townships and small cities， relax restrictions in medium-sized cities， and set qualifications for registration in big cities. The rights and benefits of residents who do not have urban ID records in the city where they live will be safeguarded， the document added.

At a press conference Vice Public Security Minister Huang Ming said differentiated approaches will be applied in the hukou system， based on the size and population of a city.

Activity

Monologues Revels World of Shakespeare

Date： September 5-6， 2014

Place： Wuhan Zhongnan Theater

Price： RMB 80/120/180/260

NCPAs Production Opera Norma

Date： September 11-14， 2014

Place： National Center for the Performing Arts

Price： RMB 100/280/380/550/600/680/880

NCPAs production of Vincenzo Bellinis Norma marks the operas debut in China. This is the first Bellini opera presented by the NCPA. This production is led by renowned Italian conductor Renato Palumbo， who has been music director of Deutsche Oper Berlin. European director and theatrical set designer Pier Alli creates an elaborate stage for this production. He combines symbolic elements with modern designs， imbuing sculptural aesthetics that evoke thrilling artistic enjoyment.