Tibet to Speed up 5G Application in 2020

Tibet Autonomous Region plans to accelerate the application of 5G networks in the region this year， according to the regional governments work report delivered at the third plenary session of the 11th regional peoples congress early January.

Qizhala， chairman of the regional government， said at the session that the region expects all its cities and prefectures to be covered with 5G networks by the end of this year. “In 2019， more than 98 percent of its villages were covered with 4G networks， optical fibers， and broadband Internet services，” Qizhala said. “Together with other provinces， the region has completed the task of telecommunication coverage in its rural areas ahead of the schedule of the countrys 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） in 2019.”

Data show that by the end of last November， the regions telecommunication industry saw revenue of more than RMB 4.51 billion （US $650 million） generated from various telecommunication sectors. The regions total number of telephone subscribers hit 3.96 million， which is about 115 phone numbers for every 100 people， and there are also 3.24 million cellphone users. During the same period， the regions number of fixed broadband Internet users reached 926，000， an increase of 144，000 users over the previous year.

China Sees Less Newborns in 2019

The birthrate on the Chinese mainland reached a record low last year. The total number of babies born in 2019 was 14.65 million， a decrease of 580，000 from the previous year. The birthrate stood at 10.48 per 1，000 people， making it the lowest annual number for the past seven decades.

Meanwhile， the total population on the mainland already exceeded 1.4 billion people by the end of last year， an increase of 4.67 million year-on-year.

Last year marked the third consecutive year of a decrease in births on the mainland despite the fact that the universal second-child policy had been adopted at the beginning of 2016.

The policy， which encourages couples to have two children， was designed to boost births to cope with the rapidly growing aging population.

The number of births reached 17.86 million in 2016， the highest since 2000， but then fell to 17.23 million in 2017 and later 15.23 million in 2018.

The decrease last year was the smallest， according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）. The number of births fell by 630，000 in 2017 and then by 2 million in 2018.

“Of all the babies born last year， 59.5 percent of them were the second or third child， with the percentage rising over the past few years，”Ning Jizhe， director of the NBS， said at a news conference.

Thus the implementation of the second-child policy has brought about effective results.

FAST Put in Official Operation

Known as the “Eye of Heaven，”Chinas five-hundred-meter aperture spherical radio telescope （FAST） successfully received national approval and is now officially operating.

Since its trial operation， FAST has been stable and reliable， and its sensitivity is more than 2.5 times that of the worlds second largest single aperture radio telescope. This is the first time that a radio telescope built in China has occupied a commanding height in major performance indicators.

Up till now， FAST has detected 146 high-quality pulsar candidates， 102 of which have been certified. In the next three to five years， its high sensitivity will likely lead to breakthroughs in low-frequency gravitational wave detections， rapid radio burst origin， interstellar molecules， and other frontier directions.

China Launches Crackdown on Illegal Wildlife Trade

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration， together with the State Administration of Market Regulation， the Ministry of Public Security， the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs， and the General Administration of Customs， have recently taken some joint actions during the epidemic to crack down on illegal trading of wildlife.

The authorities required that places for raising and breeding wild animals should be sealed， and warning signs for isolation should be set up around the area. It is also strictly prohibited to transport any wild animals or products into or out of the site. Measures to close the wildlife trading market and prohibit the spread and transfer of wildlife will also be strictly implemented.

Apart from aquatic products， wildlife should not be traded in agricultural markets， supermarkets， catering organizations， or any other place of business， even on e-commerce platforms. Any violating operators will be shut down for rectification， and all such business places shall be sealed up. Those who illegally engage in trading activities， such as selling， purchasing， utilizing， transporting， carrying， or delivering wildlife and relevant products， will receive heavier punishment， even criminal liabilities in accordance with laws and regulations.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak， the National Forestry and Grassland Administration has been working together with other departments to implement the most stringent wildlife control measures.