Beijing
Transport links cut by heavy fog
Heavy fog enveloped the capital and northern provinces yesterday, causing flight delays and highway closures, Xinhua reports. Visibility in southern Beijing was less than 1,000 metres in the early morning, forcing the closure of the Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway. Dozens of morning flights to and from Beijing Capital International Airport were delayed, according to its website. Closer to the east coast, six of the 12 highways through Tianjin were closed, and poor visibility in Liaoning forced the closure of at least four highways.
NGOs play key role, experts say
Human rights experts say NGOs have grown rapidly in China and are playing a larger role in promoting public welfare since they became accepted in 1978, Xinhua reports. According to the figures provided by Huang Mengfu, chairman of the China Foundation for Human Rights Development, there were 1,597 foundations and 414,000 social organisations on the mainland at the end of last year.
East/Southeast