President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes a group photo with representatives from model units and model personnel before a Central Military Commission meeting in Beijing on Friday. LI GANG / XINHUA Preparedness vital in era of drastic changes, unpredictable risks, president says President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Friday ordered the armed forces to continue strengthening their combat preparedness and to make sure they are always ready for battle. Addressing a Central Military Commission meeting in Beijing, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the world is in an era of drastic changes and China is still in a strategically significant period vital to the country's development. He noted that various predicable and unpredictable risks and challenges have been arising. The president urged the military to be fully aware of the nation's security and development trends, to strengthen troops' awareness of crisis, challenges and combat, and to make solid and comprehensive preparations for military operations. The People's Liberation Army and Armed Police Force must focus on improving their combat capability and whatever they do must be for the betterment of their combat readiness, Xi said. He requested that the military boost strategic and tactical planning so troops can effectively and rapidly respond to possible contingencies. He also told the military to improve its joint operation capability. New types of fighting forces should be the priority in the military's development and more realistic combat training must be held, according to Xi. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, the armed forces have had many remarkable, innovative and historic achievements amid sophisticated situations at home and abroad as well as heavy military tasks, Xi said. Government departments at central and local levels should continue supporting the military and work together with the armed forces to make them stronger, he said. Also on Friday, Xi signed an order to open the annual training session of the armed forces. The order demands that troops hone their combat capability and that military units organize events on a regular basis to verify soldiers' ability. The armed forces must also strive to strengthen their readiness to respond to emergencies. Commanders must take the lead in studying the art of war and also must be the first to carry out training and exercises, according to the order. Exercises must be conducted based on real combat scenarios and should involve the simulation of complicated situations and the deployment of multiple weapons and equipment from different services, it stipulates. blue silicone braceletcustom braceletsplastic rubber band braceletsblank wristbandsrubber bracelets custom
Tianjin Eye, a landmark giant Ferris wheel, is seen over Haihe River in Tianjin. [Photo/VCG] The top environmental watchdog's efforts to control air pollution continued during the weeklong National Day break, with officers uncovering more than 1,100 violations in the two regions with the worst air quality in the first five days of the holiday.Officers from 290 teams, each made up of three or four members, continued inspections in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster and the Fenhe and Weihe river plains during the holiday, which started on Oct 1.The average concentration of PM2.5, a major atmospheric pollutant, on the Fenhe and Weihe river plains is the second-worst in the country, exceeded only by that in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.The plains, stretching across Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, rank worst for the density of sulfur dioxide, another serious pollutant.The violations discovered by inspectors included a lack of, or abnormal operation of, air pollution control facilities, use of a heavily polluting boiler that should have been phased out, and a lack of measures at mines and construction sites to prevent airborne dust, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said.Airborne dust has been a major contributor to PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Two of the companies the inspectors visited, including a printing factory in Shanxi's provincial capital Taiyuan, prevented officers from entering their premises even though they showed the companies their documents.Inspectors also found five unlicensed filling stations without air pollution control facilities, according to the ministry.Seven of the violators were poorly managed small companies. Six of them failed to provide any documents from local environmental authorities showing their operation had been approved.One such company, Wenyong Plastic Foam Recycling, in Yangquan, Shanxi, was found melting plastic foam it had collected without approval and discharging volatile organic compounds from its factory without treatment.Li Ganjie, minister of ecology and environment, conducted air pollution control field visits on the Fenhe and Weihe river plains on Sept 30 and Oct 1 and visited inspectors working in the region, saluting their efforts.While expressing gratitude for the inspectors' efforts in controlling air pollution, Li asked the officers to be disciplined in their tough and bitter work.Li's ministry launched an inspection of air pollution control, dubbed the blue sky protection campaign, in three key areas on June 11.In addition to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the plains, the yearlong campaign will also cover the Yangtze River Delta. A total of 18,000 officers across the country will be mobilized.The air pollution control campaign was initiated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region last year, with 5,600 officers from across the country involved. It was extended to the other two regions after it was found to be effective.According to Tianjin's environmental authority, the PM2.5 density in the city in September decreased by 40 percent year-on-year to 30 milligrams per cubic meter. That was the lowest since 2013, when the city began to monitor the particulate matter.Hebei's environmental department said the average PM2.5 density in the province reached record low of 31 mg/cubic meter in September. Beijing has yet to release its air quality data for last month.
