Doping Crackdown
The Supreme People’s Court,
China’s highest judicial authority, announced judicial interpretations on the application of the Criminal Law in handling doping-related cases on November 18, bringing longheralded criminal punishments for certain doping activities into law.
One of the focuses of the change in legislation is to crack down on those behind the scenes, rather than simply punishing athletes, according to China AntiDoping Agency CEO Chen Zhiyu.
The new interpretations, which will go into effect on January 1,
2020, criminalize activities such as the trafficking and illegal business operation of banned substances, and forcing, organizing, luring or cheating minors or people with disabilities into using performance-enhancing drugs. The production and sale of banned drugs will also be subject to criminal punishments.
It is also stipulated that government officials could spend time behind bars if they abuse their power or are negligent in their managerial role of doping control. from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) showed.
The reserves cover a total area of 1.47 million square km, accounting for 15 percent of the country’s landmass, according to a statement on the administration’s website.
They are home to 35 million hectares of natural forest and about 20 million hectares of natural wetland, protecting 90.5 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types, 85 percent of wild animal and plant types as well as 65 percent of higher plant communities.
More than 300 wild animals and 130 wild plants under the country’s key protection are preserved in the areas, enhancing the country’s biodiversity, the NFGA said.
Rare and endangered animals thrive in the reserves, with the number of wild crested ibis surging from seven to more than 2,000, gray snub-nosed monkey growing 1.5 times to more than 750 and Asian elephants rising from 170 to more than 230.
Dinghu Mountain, which lies in the southern province of Guangdong, was designated China’s first nature reserve in 1956 in an effort to protect forests.