汇编实验报告之DOS和BIOS调用

大众科学10期目录

BEIJING -- China will gradually scrap restrictions on the destination, stock ownership and business scope of foreign investment in the service sector, a senior economic planner said in Beijing on Saturday.Zhang Mao, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said the country would stick to its opening-up policy and promote a "quantity-to-quality transformation in attracting foreign investment".He added existing restrictions on foreign investment in key industries concerning China's national security and its citizens livelihood remained unchanged."The point (of the transformation) is to absorb advanced technologies and management skills from foreign countries," he said. "Foreign investment companies are expected play a positive role in this regard."Speaking at a multinational CEO roundtable on Saturday, he said foreign investment would be encouraged to enter high-tech, equipment and new material manufacturing and logistics businesses. He added the central and western hinterlands were open for foreign investment with more incentives.But Zhang stressed that foreign investors were restricted from setting up businesses for export only in China and banned from creating polluting projects and those that rely on consuming too much energy and resources.Chinese authorities would also help to create a sound investment environment by simplifying examination and approval procedures and steadily accelerating the free exchange of the country's currency under the capital account.The government would establish a cross-department supervision mechanism over foreign mergers and acquisitions in effort to safeguard national economic security, he said.Assistant Minister of Commerce Chong Quan said multinationals were encouraged to strengthen cooperation with their Chinese partners in promoting regional development, technological innovation, outsourcing services, product safety and exercising corporate social responsibility.Chong said his ministry had named 10 cities where "conditions are mature", the "base cities" of outsourcing services. They are Beijing, Dalian, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Jinan.By 2010, China's export volume of outsourcing services was expected to double that in 2005, he added. New foreign investment guideOn November 7, China released a new guide of industries open to foreign investment and foreign companies. It also listed those that were banned or restricted from entering the Chinese market.Foreign investors are invited to join efforts to promote the recycling economy, clean production, renewable energy utilization and ecological environment protection but prohibited from exploiting "important and non-renewable" mineral resources.The new guide replaced the 2004 version and takes effect on December 1.Since 1997, China has revised the industry guide for foreign investors on three occasions in hope of channeling foreign investment to serve the needs of industrial restructuring.The current policies to attract foreign investment were made 28 years ago when China was desperate for investment and foreign currency.However, the country has been the largest recipient of foreign investment among all developing nations for 15 consecutive years. A 2004 report to the UN Conference on Trade and Development noted the country attracted a per capita foreign investment of , much lower than the 4 per person that was invested in developed countries and below the world average of 7.Product safetyIn his speech at the roundtable, the assistant minister stressed that China has taken a highly responsible attitude towards product safety, urging multinationals to join the nation's efforts to guarantee product safety."Made in China" is a fruit of international endeavor because more than 50 percent of China's exports come from the processing trade sector, said Chong, "the exported products were manufactured in line with foreign standards and foreign customers' requirements," he said.Meanwhile, products made by foreign invested companies in China comprised a majority of the nation's exports, accounting for 58 percent of the total export volume, said Chong."China should not be the only one to blame for defective products," said the assistant minister, "product safety is a serious matter for the world as a whole and multinationals bear key responsibilities in coping with the challenge,"He said multinationals should keep a close watch on design, inspection and sales of their products and make sure their raw materials are up to safety standards.In the wake of headline food scandals, China's cabinet approved in principle a draft law on food safety to address the "weak points" in food production, processing, delivery, storage and sales at the end of October.The draft law proposed a food safety risk supervision and evaluation mechanism to provide a "key basis" for constituting food safety standards and food born disease control measures. The mechanism demanded a "unified, timely, objective and accurate" disclosure of emergency information.

The four-day Beijing air quality exercise held earlier in the month was met with mixed reaction.Diverse opinions were expressed by private car owners and public transport users.During the four days, cars bearing odd and even license plates were allowed on the roads on alternate days to see what effect this would have on the reduction of air pollution.According to a survey by Beijing Youth Daily, 61.9 percent of car owners opposed the practice in a long run while 78.2 percent of public transport users lauded it. The survey covered 3,000 residents.On the positive side, the exercise between August 17 and 20, showed a reduction in haze and smoother traffic flow.On the negative side, it has sparked further debate on the number of vehicles in the capital. About 1,000 new cars are registered every day in the city.Car owners argued that smoother traffic comes at the expense of individuals' convenience."Does being a car owner mean you have limited rights? That would be cruel and inhuman," Wang Hongsheng, head of the Volkswagen Polo club in Beijing, said.Fifty-seven percent of car owners shared his opinion.Among non-drivers, 21.9 percent did not think the even-odd plate exercise was a reasonable, scientific way to gauge air quality."It is an arbitrary way of stripping car owners of their rights. They pay for the convenience," a respondent said.Apart from the purchase price, the cost of owning a car in Beijing ranges from 10,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan (,300 to ,900) a year, he said.The survey also showed 36 percent of car owners were in favor of "public transport if managed well"."People are fed up with the poor condition of buses, and the metro where people are packed like sardines," another said.On options to improve traffic conditions, 49.9 percent said efficiency and lowering public transport fares should top the government's agenda instead of restricting car-ownership.Twenty-six percent of respondents said more roads and bridges should be built to reduce congestion, 14.5 percent were in favor of more flexible parking fees in relation to localities, and 9.5 percent said the use of bicycles, and walking should be promoted.

BEIJING -- Strong economic growth means that fiscal revenues for 2007 will far exceed forecasts made at the beginning of the year, according to a report by the State Council to the top legislature here on Saturday .The extra money will be used to improve people's livelihood with education, health care, social security on top of the government work agenda, the report said.Central government fiscal revenue is expected to total 2.84 trillion yuan (about 389.5 billion U.S. dollars), or 401.1 billion yuan above the budget forecast.In the first 11 months, central government fiscal revenue was 2.68 trillion yuan, up 37 percent over the same period last year, statistics from the Ministry of Finance showed.Local governments will get a windfall too, with their extra fiscal revenue expected to reach 300 billion yuan, the report said."The huge extra fiscal revenue reflects China's stable, rapid economic growth," the report said.By the end of the third quarter, most major economic indicators had already outstripped 2007 targets: industrial output, total fixed asset investment, retail sales, realized company profits and foreign trade.Tax revenues derived from those activities also expanded rapidly in the first nine months. Value-added tax, import tax and individual income tax collections rose 9.9, 10.8 and 12.9 percentage points, respectively.Corporate income tax, business tax and deed tax collections were up 39.2 percent, 29.7 percent and 38.4 percent year-on-year, respectively. Those gains were 24.2 percentage points, 16.7 percentage points and 28.9 percentage points above target, respectively.According to the State Council, the extra fiscal revenue will be used to improve people's livelihood with education, health care, social security to top the agenda.The central government will use 40 billion yuan to subsidize farmers to raise fine breeds of livestock and plant improved variety of crops, and to renovate agriculture infrastructure such as roads, bridges and reservoirs, the report said.The central government will give 21 billion yuan to subsidize the compulsory education, 40 billion yuan to social security, 31.8 billion yuan to medical care, 29 billion yuan to scientific and technological development and 1.1 billion yuan for cultural causes, the report said.The central government will use the extra revenue to offset fiscal deficit by 45 billion yuan and keep the deficit of this year at 200 billion yuan.The State Council required the local governments to focus the use of their 300 billion extra revenue on improving people's livelihood too.

广平爱眼医院远不远

The Chinese government is working on specific regulations for collecting royalties from television, radio stations for using music works, a senior official said in Beijing over the week.However, it has not been decided when the regulations will be publicized, Liu Binjie, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the National Copyright Administration (NCA), was quoted as saying.The Chinese government's efforts in combating piracy and protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) have resulted in more shops and restaurants signing up to pay royalties on the ubiquitous background music that had long been used for free.Background music played at department stores or hotels -- also called "muzak"-- received legal protection in China in 2001 under revisions to the Copyright Law. The law states that both live and mechanical performances enjoy the same rights. Up to now, most big hotels, department stores and supermarkets in Beijing and Shanghai have paid fees to the Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) for using the songs under their administration, according to sources.And Karaoke bars in China's main cities were made to pay 12 yuan (US.50) a day in royalties to music artists for each room, according to a regulation set by China's National Copyright Administration late last year.However, most television and radio stations in China are still using music works without paying any royalties.The Music Copyright Society of China is now negotiating with television and radio stations on copyright fee payments, China Press and Publishing Journal reported.The Music Copyright Society of China is the country's only officially recognized organization for music copyright administration.The association has now administered copyrights for over 14 million music works by 4,000 members.Public venues including hotels, restaurants and department stores are charged with different standards by the society. The usual fee is 2.54 yuan (US.9) per square meter per year for a department store of 10,000 to 20,000 square meters to use the music, the society said.

The late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping pledged to keep Hong Kong's three capitalistic characteristics - horse racing, dancing and stock exchanges - intact for at least 50 years after its return. Horse racing remains popular in Hong Kong, as shown in this file photo.Edmond TangThis pledge is being upheld as the Special Administrative Region marks the 10th anniversary of its return to the motherland. Today, more Chinese mainland residents are playing the Hong Kong stock markets, attending its horse races and visiting Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong's top entertainment center. For over a century, horseracing has thrilled Hong Kong people. Race days are held on most Wednesdays and weekends from September to June. During the season, many can be seen burying their heads in newspapers at teahouses studying the form of horses. "After Hong Kong's return, horse racing has not only been retained, but has grown with the support of the central government and Hong Kong people," said Kim K.W. Mak, executive director of the corporate development department of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Mak said the jockey club is now striving to provide its best facilities for the coming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It will host the equestrian events. The club manages two racecourses - Happy Valley and Sha Tin - attracting more than 2 million racegoers each racing season. The club's betting turnover, exceeds HK.3 billion every fiscal year. It contributes 1.3 percent to GDP, and 10 percent of the government's tax revenue. It is also one of the 10 biggest employers in Hong Kong, employing more than 5,000 full-time workers and 20,000 part-time staff on race days. Hong Kong youngsters wave flags, hailing Premier Wen Jiabao's arrival to sign the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement in this file photo.Huo YanAs the largest charity organization in Hong Kong, the club was a major donor to the anti-SARS campaign in the spring of 2003. Today, the people of Hong Kong enjoy stability in every aspect of their lives. "We don't see any difference in our way of life after 1997," said Wong Yim-fat, a fishmonger in Hong Kong. "Though there have been hard times, we have come through it, believing things can only get better." Wong now plays the stock markets and has had some luck with the Hang Seng Index rising from 15,196 points in July 1997 to about 21,685 today. "Actually, as masters of our own society, we feel there is more freedom and opportunities following Hong Kong's return," Wong said. Wong said he is happy with his decision to remain in Hong Kong after its return and not seek to emigrate as some of his friends and relatives did. "Many of my friends who have emigrated have come back, after finding out that things have not changed," Wong said. Before 1997, many Hong Kong people were uncertain about its future and left for other countries. Official figures from Hong Kong Customs show that more than 300,000 people moved to America, Australia and Canada between 1990 and 1997. Ten years later, many returned because of Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. Renee Chu, an assistant computer officer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was one of those who left before 1997. Following her parent's wishes, Renee left for Australia in 1990 when she was still a middle school student. "At that time, they were concerned about Hong Kong's future and wanted us to receive a better education abroad," she told Xinhua News Agency in a recent interview. After graduating from university, Renee returned to Hong Kong in 2000 as it offered better job opportunities. Hong Kong was hit by an economic downturn and an outbreak of SARS after 1997, but that did not stop the Chu family from returning. "There are always good and bad times for a place," Renee said. "My parents return to Australia from time to time," Renee said, "but their stays have become shorter. They now spend more time in Hong Kong and the mainland." Most Hong Kong people were able to gain residency abroad because of their technological skills and investments. While Hong Kong has retained its attraction for locals, it has also lured more people to its shores. Official statistics show that the number of overseas people in Hong Kong - Indians, Filipinos and British - account for 71,000 out of a population of 6.9 million. The culture of tolerance can be seen in the busy streets. There are restaurants and shops from all nations. "Hong Kong is really a very tolerant and free-spirited city. The cultural tolerance and perfect mixture is reflected in the diversity of our international visitors," said B.C. Lo, vice-president of public affairs, Hong Kong Disneyland. Hong Kong, however, has undergone some subtle changes too. This is evident in the choice of passport. Ten years after Hong Kong's return to the motherland, many Hong Kong people have abandoned their British National (Overseas) or BNO passports in favor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport. According to Hong Kong Immigration Department sources, in the past 10 years, as many as 4 million, or 60 percent of Hong Kong's population of permanent residents, have applied for HKSAR passports, and the number is growing. The HKSAR government has managed to obtain visa-free access to as many as 134 countries or regions. BNO passports enjoyed visa-free access to only 114 countries. The passports are still valid. The safety ensured by Chinese embassies and consulates as well as a sense of nationalism have also been key factors in the popularity of HKSAR passports. Wong Yim-fat is of those who think HKSAR passports are not only more convenient, but also offer consular or embassy protection from the Chinese government in times of distress. "While holding a BNO passport, you felt like a second-class citizen," Wong said. "But a HKSAR passport gives you all the privilege that a Chinese citizen enjoys." According to Lu Xinhua, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, not only Hongkongers have enjoyed an uplift in their international status, but also the HKSAR government. During the past 10 years, the HKSAR government has joined more than 50 international, intra-government organizations and 200 international treaties with the proper identity of Hong Kong, China. "Under the Basic Law, we have tried our best to help exchanges between the HKSAR government and the international community, in order to forge its long-term prosperity and stability," Lu said.

BEIJING - China's National People's Congress (NPC),the top legislature, published on Friday a list of all its new deputies.The Standing Committee of the 10th NPC confirmed the qualifications of all deputies to the 11th NPC at its last session on Thursday, making way for the upcoming election of a new Chinese leadership.Among all the 2,987 deputies were Chinese President Hu Jintao, and the other eight members of the current Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, including Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.They were elected respectively from provincial-level areas of Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai, Liaoning, Hunan and Heilongjiang.All the deputies will attend the upcoming First Session of the 11th NPC, which is set to open on March 5.The deputies were elected from 35 electoral units across China, including all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

涉县爱眼医院院怎样挂号

China has been in the media spotlight for food safety recently, but it has gone all out to ensure that its food products are safe and to restore consumer confidence home and abroad.Its efforts seem to have accelerated with the publication of the first White Paper on food safety on August 17 and the naming of Vice-Premier Wu Yi as head of a high-profile panel on product quality and safety issues. That was followed by a series of efforts by government organs to tighten food safety measures.On August 31, the country's quality watchdog officially introduced the landmark recall system for unsafe food products and toys, making producers responsible for preventing and eliminating unsafe items.Food safety became a big concern in China after a series of food contamination cases were reported from across the country. Last November, the country's food safety watchdog found seven companies supplying red-yolk eggs that contained the dangerous Sudan Red dye, which is used in the leather and fabric industries but is banned from use in food products.The same month, three people were arrested in Shanghai for adding 3-4 grams of banned steroids to each ton of pig feed to increase the proportion of lean meat. The steroids, which prevent pigs from accumulating fat, can be harmful to humans. More than 300 people fell ill after eating meat from pigs that had been fed the steroids.Also last year, carcinogenic residues were found in turbots sold in Beijing and Shanghai markets. Even international fast food giant KFC was accused of adding the carcinogenic Sudan 1 dye to its roast chicken wings.Ministry of Health figures show that in the first half of this year, China reported 134 food poisoning cases, in which 4,457 people fell ill and 96 died.Food is China's biggest industry with last year's output estimated to be 2.4 trillion yuan (5.8 billion), according to the China National Food Industry Association.Bitter stories made the rounds after people fell victim to food poisoning. In June 2006, more than 130 people contracted parasitic diseases after eating undercooked snails in a restaurant. One of them was Yang Fangfang. His family, including his parents, wife and 18-month daughter, fell ill.The Beijing Health Bureau said the infection was caused because the food was not cooked properly and because the restaurant had failed to remove eel-worms in the snails.Although Yang survived, he still complains of pain, sometimes severe, in his lower body and stomach. A gourmet before the incident, Yang now regards food as a potential threat to his life.In overseas markets, substandard exports from China since March - from pet food, drugs, toothpastes and toys to aquatic products and tires - has sparked concern over "made-in-China" products. Diethylene glycol contaminated medicine exported from China was been blamed for dozens of deaths in Panama. Deaths of some dogs and cats in North America were attributed to tainted Chinese wheat gluten.Jing Luyan, 24, who works for a Beijing-based travel agency, says she trusts the government and the media for information on food safety issues."If they say I shouldn't eat something, then I stop immediately, it's as simple as that," Jing says. Many of her colleagues and friends do the same.Pressure from home and abroad prompted the Chinese government to acknowledge that the country's food and drug safety situation was not satisfactory and that enhanced supervision was needed. At a press conference in July, China's food and drug watchdog spokeswoman Yan Jiangying said: "As a developing country, China's food and drug supervision work began late and its foundations are weak. Therefore, the food and drug safety situation is not something we can be optimistic about".The press conference was held jointly by five major ministries in charge of food safety: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the State Food and Drug Administration.It was a rare attempt by the government to seriously address the issue, and it enumerated a series of measures to be taken. But it failed to offer a convincing mechanism for coordinating work among the five ministries, leaving the murky regulation of food safety unresolved.There have been worries over China's food safety supervision because at least five ministries are in charge of food safety and coordination among them is no easy job.Vice-Minister of Health Wang Longde went on the record as saying that new laws were needed to strengthen food safety supervision and the duties of relevant government agencies had to be coordinated. The government has stepped up efforts since then to address the issue to restore confidence in Chinese food products sold at home and abroad.China's first-ever White Paper on food safety published recently sets forth a series of achievements along with planned measures to improve food quality - from setting up a national food recall system to increasing exchanges with quality officials from other countries.Wu Yi's panel, meant to address the country's problems in food safety and product quality, partly dispelled people's concerns over lax supervision of food safety owing to too many regulators. Analysts say the newly set up panel, headed by Wu Yi, will improve supervision.The government, on its part, has started a four-month nationwide campaign to improve food safety and product quality. Wu describes the campaign as a "special battle" to ensure public health and uphold the reputation of Chinese products. The campaign will target farm produce, processed food, the catering sector, drugs, pork, imported and exported goods and products closely linked to human safety and health.Luo Yunbo, dean of the food science and nutritional engineering school of China Agricultural University, says the White Paper offers authoritative information on food safety, and the latest moves reflect the government's determination to improve product quality.The paper says the percentage of food products that passed quality inspections had risen steadily in recent years, up from 77.9 last year to 85.1 percent this year. As for small food processors, believed to be a major food safety threat in China, the paper says the country will prompt small-scale producers to form larger entities to ensure better food safety.Almost 80 percent of China's food producers operate in small workshops employing fewer than 10 workers. By the end of June, the government had weeded out 5,631 unqualified small producers, forced 8,814 to stop production and asked 5,385 to improve their standard.The number of small food producers will be halved by 2010, the quality supervision administration said after the country published its first-ever five-year plan on food safety in May. Also, the government wants to weed out all uncertified producers by 2012.The government is seriously addressing overseas concerns over Chinese food products. It has shut down the factory that supplied the tainted medicine to Panama, and two firms that exported contaminated wheat and corn protein, which ended up in pet food in the United States, killing a number of dogs and cats in North America.The country's top quality watchdog has announced that all major food exports produced from September 1 have to carry labels showing they have passed inspection to help stop illegal exports and bolster consumer confidence in the quality and safety of Chinese food products.The White Paper says the acceptance rate of Chinese foodstuffs exported to the European Union (EU) was 99.8 percent in the first half of this year, followed exports to the US (99.1 percent).Japanese quarantine authorities found Chinese food exports had the highest acceptance rate, 99.42 percent, followed by the EU (99.38 percent) and then the US (98.69 percent).But food safety cannot be improved greatly overnight, and people seem to differ on what they can do as individuals to bring about lasting change.Take Jing Luyan, for instance, who is fond of tasting different types of food, especially traditional Beijing snacks. But traditional snacks are usually cooked in shabby restaurants in small alleys."I believe that the most delicious food can hardly ever be found in swanky establishments with irreproachable hygienic conditions," says Jing.She has never fallen ill after eating at street corner stalls, she says.

The Chinese-African People's Friendship Association (CAPFA) will nominate 10 Africans Who Have Deeply Moved Chinese People next month, in a moved aimed at cementing civilian diplomacy between the two sides.The 10 candidates are expected to be unveiled at the next Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FCAC) late next year.Chen Haosu"CAPFA's recognition will benefit both peoples by enhancing mutual understanding and trust," Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said.The awards will go to Africans "who have made great contributions to bilateral ties", Wang Tong, an representative of the CAPFA, said, adding that the association is identifying criteria of eligible candidates.The first round of nominations will involve all 131 councilors of the CAPFA, Liu Hongmin, also from the association, said."Our councilors include big Chinese entrepreneurs such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE, among others," he said. "They are the most suitable to put forward nominees because of their significant investments in Africa."Liu said the 10 winners will be just one part of the second China-Africa Friendship Award. The other part will be the 10 Chinese Who Have Deeply Moved the African People. This will be the second time such awards have been givenThe first 10 winners - which included doctors, journalists, scholars and politicians - were announced in Beijing during the FCAC in November 2006."These awards reflect sincere friendship and intense people-to-people communication, though China and Africa are distant from each other," Dai Yan, a former councilor in Ghana, said."But both peoples still have a long way to go to truly understand each other because of cultural differences," he said. More African people have traveled to China as bilateral ties have developed over the past years.The number of Africans coming to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, has increased by 30 percent every year since 2003. Most of these newcomers are traders.The city now has about 20,000 African residents, Huang Shiding, of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, estimated.Beyond the world of business, "500-600 African students are studying in universities and colleges in Beijing," Wang said.Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, a growing number of Chinese people have settled down in Africa.In one reflection of the impact they are making, people in Nigeria crowned tribal chieftains from China in 2001 and 2007.

广平爱眼医院眼科「挂号」

KUNMING - A comprehensive research and preservation facility for the germplasm of rare and endangered plants,wild animal species and microorganisms was completed on Sunday in southwest China's Yunnan Province. With an investment of 148 million yuan (US.5 million) over the past two years, the "Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species" facility was established by the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) with the help of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). "The bank will be a key player in China's biotech industry and a pioneer in the nation's biodiversity conservation and bioresource development strategy," Chen Zhu, vice president of CAS, said at the inauguration ceremony. According to the KIB, the bank sees itself as a leading storage facility of Asian species within 15 years of its foundation, and expects to make significant contributions to the development of the biotech industry and life science research by providing valuable resources, information and expertise. Within the next five years, the bank is expected to collect 6,450 wild species, 4,000 of which will be plant seed species. Within 15 years, its collection will reach 19,000 species. The bank comprises a seed section, an in-vitro micro-propagation unit, a microorganism bank, an animal germplasm bank, a DNA bank, an information center and a garden. Stretching across an undulating landscape and climatic zones ranging from the tropical to the frigid, Yunnan is home to a multitude of plant species linked together by a complex network of phylogenetic relations, and accounts for more than 50 percent of China's plant diversity.

China's State Council on Friday approved a new regulation designed to make it easier for the public to lodge complaints against what they deem unjust government decisions. According to the Regulation on Implementing Administrative Review Law, the public has the right to ask the government to review its actions and decisions that they believe have infringed upon their rights. "It is an important platform for China's administrative organs to solve disputes, ease social tension and strengthen inner monitoring," said an official with the State Council's legal office. To ensure officials do not pass the buck, the regulation also stipulates that government bodies at all levels must take petitions seriously or their chief officials may be sacked. The regulation is based on the Administrative Review Law China adopted in 1999, the official said. Since then an average of more than 80,000 disputes have been resolved every year. The official said that the new regulation would be a more efficient means for the public to file complaints to the government than compared with filing lawsuits and petitioning. "Many of the disputes are thus settled at grassroots and rudimentary level and do not have to go to courts," the official said. "It tightens the affinity between the government and the public, and helps improve the government image." The regulation will take effect on August 1.