A number of ministries, including transport, agriculture and education, have responded in the last week to issues of public concern.

Passenger death leads to nationwide inspections

The Ministry of Transport launched a nationwide inspection of ride-hailing platforms in the wake of the alleged rape and killing of a female passenger by a Didi Chuxing driver in Zhejiang province.

The ministry said in a statement released after a meeting held on Aug 31 that the safety oversight of ride-hailing companies must be reinforced.

The ministry offered its sincere condolences to the family of the victim, a 20-year-old woman from Yueqing, Zhejiang province.

The ministry also vowed harsh penalties for Didi in accordance with laws and regulations.

It is important to ensure that ride-hailing companies respect the law and human life, the statement said.

The statement said that the ministry will speed up procedures to ensure that online ride-hailing services are in compliance with laws and regulations, and step up efforts to punish violations.

Swine fever under control after pigs culled

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Sunday that African swine fever is generally under control across the country, after it confirmed outbreaks in five provinces.

More than 38,000 pigs had been culled in these areas as of Saturday since the first outbreak was discovered in Liaoning province last month, the ministry said.

The ministry said it will make continuous efforts to prevent further spread of the disease, including shutting down live pig markets in the disease-infected regions, banning the transportation of live pigs from the regions and intensified monitoring of slaughterhouses.

Culling and disinfection treatments have been completed in Liaoning, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, where a total of 37,271 pigs were culled, while another 1,264 pigs had been culled in Anhui province as of the start of September, the ministry said.

Ministry sets soccer goal for schoolchildren

The Ministry of Education has rolled out a guideline on a pilot program to promote soccer among schoolchildren.

The guideline, issued by the ministry on Aug 29, said that popularization and quality should both be prioritized in the promotion of campus soccer, and boosting interest in the sport among schoolchildren was essential.

The guideline also stressed the importance of intensifying guidance and supervision over key schools at national and local levels, and called for efforts to enrich soccer courses in schools and improve teaching quality and skills.

It also required better sharing of teaching and sport resources, and widened channels so that coaches and active and retired football players can be invited to campuses.

It also called for greater efforts to discover, recommend and foster young hopefuls and train them in a scientific manner as well as further efforts to popularize soccer in kindergartens.

Plan to combat myopia among young people

China will step up efforts to curb the rise in myopia (nearsightedness) among children and teenagers, according to an action plan jointly issued by eight central government departments, including the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission on Aug 30.

The action plan said that the country aims to keep the rate of myopia among 6-year-old children at around 3 percent by 2030.

It has also set a target to lower incidence among primary school children to below 38 percent, and the rate among middle and high school students to below 60 percent and 70 percent respectively by 2030.

The action plan also called for strengthened regulation over production and selling of eyeglasses and lenses and more law enforcement targeting misleading and false advertisements about myopia prevention programs. Limiting online gaming time among teenagers and controlling the increase of online game operators will also be prioritized.