Several ministry-level departments, including those responsible for culture and tourism, veterans affairs, and education, have responded recently to issues of public concern.

Villages offered help to develop tourist resources

A line of credit of up to 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) will be used to help Chinese villages develop tourism in the next five years, according to a notice published on Sept 4.

The notice, jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Agricultural Bank of China, said the line of credit will be used to help major tourist villages across China develop their cultural and tourist resources, conserve the environment and traditional culture, and improve public services and tourist facilities.

It will also be used to develop and promote cultural and tourist products and services such as village homestays, farming experiences and rural cuisine, it said.

A series of measures, including expanding credit supply, promoting product innovation, strengthening policy guarantees and stimulating rural consumption, will be adopted to push forward the high-quality development of village tourism, the notice said.

Veterans get better access to vocational training

China will increase retired soldiers' access to vocational education to improve their ability to find jobs and start businesses and ensure the full employment of veterans, a notice published on Sept 5 said.

The notice, jointly issued by the ministries of education, veterans affairs, and finance, said retired soldiers will be encouraged to apply for places at vocational colleges and separate enrollment quotas and entrance examinations will be provided for them.

While veterans can be exempted from academic testing, they will still have to take interviews or skill tests, it said, adding that retired soldiers can be accepted by secondary vocational schools without taking entrance exams.

Schools and colleges should also organize entrepreneurship education for veterans they have accepted and encourage them to start businesses, it said.

Government departments at all levels will be required to coordinate with schools and enterprises to appropriately solve problems that might appear, the notice said.

Guideline sets rules for apps used in schools

The filing of records related to internet applications used at schools should be completed by the end of this year to regulate their development, the Ministry of Education said on Sept 5.

A guideline, jointly issued by the ministry and seven other departments, requires app providers to establish a mechanism covering procedures including the collection, storage, transmission and use of data, and ensuring the data's security.

The apps' collection of personal information should be made known in an explicit way and approved by the app users or their guardians, it said.

Lei Chaozi, director of the ministry's Department of Science and Technology, said the rapid development of education apps in recent years has caused some problems such as the spread of hazardous information and excessive advertising, which troubled teachers, students and parents.

According to the guideline, education authorities and schools should ask the opinions of students, parents and teachers before introducing applications to students.

Schools should not charge any fees for apps for teaching and student management, and the apps should not contain any commercial advertisements or games, it said.

Social credit system to be set up for home services

China will create a social credit system involving companies, workers and consumers in the home services sector, according to a notice released on Sept 6.

The notice, launching a special campaign, said departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security and the People's Bank of China will be required to take steps to create an honest and trustworthy environment for the development of home services.

The first blacklist containing the names of individuals and companies with discreditable records will be released at the appropriate time.

After a review, the list will be made public via the Ministry of Commerce website and two credit inquiry platforms, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and creditchina.gov.cn.

Meanwhile, an incentive list for companies with higher credit ratings will also be created. Those on the list will be treated favorably, including having to undergo fewer government inspections and being eligible for more tax breaks and better financing terms, the notice said.