IN BRIEF

Seven former miners, who had worked several years in private gold mines in Gansu province and are suffering from pneumoconiosis, stage a demonstration in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Jan 19. Together, the words they are displaying read: "Pneumoconiosis sufferers from Gansu's Gulang county need society's attention." Provided to China Daily

Labor

Miners hit by black lung disease

A total of 124 gold miners in Wuwei city, Northwest China's Gansu province, have been diagnosed with pneumoconiosis but have not received compensation because they had not signed labor contracts with the mine's owners, State broadcaster CCTV reported on Feb 14.

All the workers were employed at the Mazongshan Gold Mine in Subei county, Gansu province, where miners said they were exposed to excessive dust without being provided any means of protection.

However, the local government does not have the means to force the mine owners to pay out, because most workers could not produce labor contracts.

Consequently, they could not prove they had worked there, Wang Xiaomei, head of Subei county's human resources and social security bureau, said.

The Gansu provincial government has paid the workers 2 million yuan to cover medical costs and is still searching for the mine's owners.

Agriculture

Drought impact 'under control'

China sought to ease fears on Feb 15 about the global impact of a drought in its wheat-growing regions that has raised concerns about world food prices.

The situation "will not affect international food prices", Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

"The recent drought may have some impact on winter wheat production but the authorities are taking active measures to minimize the impact," he said.

China has "abundant" reserves of grain, he added, that are sufficient to meet the nation's needs.

The dry spell in northern China's wheat-growing heartland has caused considerable concern abroad and even sparked a UN warning last week.

Culture

Ethnic group's language promoted

China is expected to roll out its first examination to test the proficiency of certain students and workers in a language spoken by the Zhuang, the country's largest ethnic group.

The State Ethnic Affairs Commission said the policy is a bid to promote the use of the tongue, which, unlike many languages belonging to ethnic groups, is still in wide currency.

The new proficiency test, the first of its kind, is to be held this May in Beijing and South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, home to the country's largest population of the Zhuang ethnic group.