Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Vice-Premier Li Keqiang to open Boao Forum
Vice-Premier Li Keqiang (left), Premier Wen Jiabao's heir apparent, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Boao Forum, which opens on the resort island of Hainan at the weekend. The forum's theme is 'Asia in the changing world: moving toward sound and sustainable development', the Foreign Ministry said. The forum is Beijing's version of the World Economic Forum held each year in Davos and gathers international chief executives, financiers and academics to discuss socio-economic issues.
Applications open for cross-border driving
Car owners may apply to the Transport Department from today for permits to drive across the Shenzhen border. Only 50 permits will be issued to private car owners each day under the first phase of the cross-border driving scheme. Residents who own cars with a capacity of not more than five seats may apply for a permit valid for up to seven days' driving on the mainland.
Consultation on columbariums closes
The government's public consultation on a licensing scheme for private columbariums ends today. In December, the government proposed a system for licensing private columbariums - places where funeral urns are stored - under which all operators of private urn facilities will be required to obtain a five-year, renewable permit from a statutory licensing board to be established under the Private Columbaria Ordinance.
