随着9月1日为期四个月的禁渔令结束,中国东部山东省蓬莱市渤海海域的一艘渔船开始捕鱼。[照片/新华社]一些部级部门,包括生态环境、教育、农业和农村事务部门,最近对公众关注的问题作出了回应。海洋污染治理环境监督机构周五表示,将采取多种措施,防治污染,保护渤海地区的生态环境。生态环境部高级官员科长表示,污染防治工作将从四个方面展开,即解决陆地污染源问题,遏制海洋活动污染,恢复海洋生态环境,防范环境风险。这项运动的目标将是流入渤海的河流和排水口、工厂、农村居民和农业的污染以及城市污水。他在新闻发布会上说,海水养殖、船只和港口的污染也将成为目标。政府将采取严格的规则来控制填海和海岸线开发项目。开展环境风险评估和执法检查,消除海洋环境的重大风险。政府还将建立红潮和绿潮预警应急体系。猪瘟协调呼吁农业和农村事务部加强北京、天津和河北省之间的协调,以控制和预防非洲猪瘟的蔓延。农业和农村事务副部长于康振在11月27日的一次工作会议上说,由于中国仍然面临着一个具有挑战性的疾病控制形势,发烧传播的风险不可忽视。他说,北京、天津和河北当局应统一对疾病控制和预防的领导,并加强信息联系和措施协调。他还呼吁采取更好的应急措施,加强预防工作,并在三个省级执法区域共同努力。中国农业部上个月表示,已确认北京两个农场出现非洲猪瘟,这是中国首都首例。在房山区的两个农场里发现了这种疾病。重点关注的幼儿园数量教育部11月28日表示,它将提高幼儿园中公立幼儿园的比例,使更多的儿童能够享受包容性的学前教育服务。教育部基础教育司官员柳玉刚11月28日在一次新闻发布会上表示,有关部门将对无照幼儿园进行检查,对符合条件的予以认证,对不符合安全卫生标准的予以停办或关闭。他说,那些在建立或经营幼儿园时发现“过度牟利行为”的人将受到严格限制。据教育部统计,2017年,公立幼儿园占全国幼儿园总数的44.1%。国家知识产权局11月27日宣布,为了更好地保护知识产权,帮助知识产权抗争的在线商标服务系统已经启动。管理局称,从商标申请系统升级而来的在线系统将整合一站式服务,包括商标查询、申请、公告、在线支付和注册宣传。行政首长沈长宇表示,推出网上系统是促进商标注册和建立高效透明的商标服务体系的重要一步。他指出,知识产权登记和审查是知识产权保护的重要组成部分,当局将继续完善这一机制及其服务。加快商标注册进程,截至11月,商标复审周期平均缩短至6个月以下。近年来,中国的商标申请数量不断增加。据当局称,1月至10月,中国的商标申请量约为600万件,同比增长36.4%。
A boat starts fishing at Bohai Sea area in Penglai city, East china's Shandong province as the four-month fishing ban comes to an end on Sept 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

Several ministry-level departments, including those for ecology and environment, education, and agriculture and rural affairs, have responded recently to issues of public concern.

Maritime pollution tackled

The environmental watchdog said on Friday that it will adopt a variety of measures to fight against pollution and protect the ecology and environment of the Bohai Sea area.

Ke Chang, a senior official from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said the campaign against pollution will be conducted on four fronts; namely, addressing pollution sources on land, curbing pollution from maritime activities, restoring the maritime ecological environment and preventing environmental risks.

The campaign will target rivers and outfalls flowing into the Bohai Sea, factories, pollution from rural residents and agriculture, and urban sewage. Pollution from mariculture, vessels and ports will also be targeted, he told a news conference.

The government will adopt rigorous rules to control sea reclamation and coastline development projects. It will carry out environmental risks assessments and law enforcement inspections to wipe out major risks to the maritime environment.

The government will also establish an early warning and emergency response system against red and green tides.

Swine fever coordination call

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has called for greater coordination between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province to control and prevent the spread of African swine fever.

Yu Kangzhen, vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs, said at a work conference on Nov 27 that the risks for the spread of the fever cannot be ignored as the country is still faced with a challenging situation of disease control.

Authorities from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei should unify their leadership over disease control and prevention and increase information connectivity and coordination in measures, he said.

He also called for better emergency responses to improve prevention and joint efforts from the three provincial areas for law enforcement.

The Agriculture Ministry said last month that it has confirmed African swine fever on two farms in Beijing, the first cases in the Chinese capital. The disease was detected on two farms in the municipality's Fangshan district.

Kindergarten numbers in focus

The Ministry of Education said on Nov 28 that it will increase the percentage of public kindergartens among preschool institutions so that more children can enjoy inclusive preschool education services.

Lyu Yugang, an official with the department of elementary education with the ministry, said in a news conference on Nov 28 that authorities will inspect unlicensed kindergartens, certify those that are qualified and suspend or close those that fail to meet safety or hygiene standards.

Those found with "excessive profit-seeking behaviors" in establishing or operating kindergartens will be strictly curbed, he said.

Public kindergartens took up 44.1 percent of the country's total kindergartens in 2017, according to the ministry.

Online system to help IPR fight

An online trademark service system has been launched as part of efforts to better protect intellectual property rights, the National Intellectual Property Administration announced on Nov 27.

The online system, which is upgraded from the trademark application system, will integrate one-stop services including trademark inquiry, application, announcements, online payment and registration publicity, according to the administration.

Shen Changyu, head of the administration, said the launch of the online system is an important step to facilitate trademark registration and to build a trademark service system with high efficiency and transparency.

He noted that the registration and review of intellectual property rights are key parts of IPR protection, and the authority will continue to improve the mechanism and its services.

Efforts have also been made to fast-track the trademark registration process, and the average trademark review cycle had shortened to less than six months as of November.

The country has seen a growing number of applications for trademark in recent years. Trademark applications in China reached around 6 million from January to October, up by 36.4 percent year-on-year, according to the authority.