Chinas newest amendments to the Criminal Law have reduced the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty to 46 after trimming nine capital crimes.

The nine crimes are： smuggling weapons， ammunition， nuclear materials or counterfeit currency； counterfeiting currency； raising funds by means of fraud； arranging for or forcing another person to engage in prostitution； obstructing a police officer or a person on duty from performing his duties； and fabricating rumors to mislead others during wartime.

After removing the capital punishment for these crimes， those convicted will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The move to limit the use of the death penalty comes in the wake of judicial reform pushed forward by the Communist Party of China in recent years to gradually reduce the number of crimes subject to the penalty.

It is the second time China has reduced the number of crimes punishable by death since the Criminal Law took effect in 1979.

In 2011， the NPC Standing Committee dropped the death penalty for 13 economic-related non-violent crimes including smuggling cultural relics， gold and silver； carrying out fraud related to financial bills； forging or selling forged exclusive value-added tax invoices； teaching criminal methods； and robbing ancient cultural ruins.

The amended Criminal Law， adopted by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress， will take effect on November 1.

Ecological Footprint

The average ecological footprint per capita in China is expected to peak at 2.9 global hectares in 2029 amid fastpaced urbanization， according to a report released on August 28.

The report， released by the Beijing branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature （WWF）， noted that the ecological footprint could reach its peak three years early if the country adopts a green development path， which could potentially lower it to 2.7 global hectares per capita.

An ecological footprint measures the amount of resources humans use and the waste they generate. It is used to gauge whether they are outpacing what their local ecological system can provide.

A global hectare is a standardized hectare of land able to produce resources and absorb waste at world average levels.

China is experiencing the fastest rate of urbanization in the world， with 54.77 percent of its 1.3 billion people living in urban areas in 2014， according to the report.

Consumption by urban residents accounted for more than 80 percent of the national total last year， compared to 40 percent in 1980， it said. The per capita ecological footprint of urban residents is 1.4 to 2.5 times higher than that of rural residents.

The WWFs Living Planet Report 2014 said that the ecological footprint was continuing its upward climb and that humanitys demand on the planet is more than 50 percent larger than what nature can renew.

Business Activity

Chinas manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI） came in at 49.7 in August， down from 50 for the previous month， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing （CFLP） on September 1.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion， while that below 50 represents contraction.

It was the third time in this year that the index fell into contraction territory， and the August reading was the lowest since August 2012.

The production sub-index posted 51.7 in August， still expanding， but lower from 52.4 for July. The sub-index for new orders came at 49.7， down from 49.9 for July， indicating significant challenges in demand.

Statistics from the NBS and CFLP also showed that the non-manufacturing PMI fell to 53.4 in August from 53.9 for July.

Non-manufacturing PMI tracks business activities of services and construction sectors.

Back to School

A teacher leads students to an elementary school to start a new semester in Binhai New Area in Tianjin on August 31.

Two blasts ripped through a warehouse in the area on August 12， killing more than 150. More than 300 primary and secondary schools in the area began the new semester on August 31 after the local government hired workers to repair， clean and disinfect the areas surrounding the schools.

Local Govt Debt

Chinas top legislature on August 29 imposed a ceiling of 16 trillion yuan（$2.51 trillion） for local government debt in 2015.

The decision was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress.

The ceiling has two parts： 15.4 trillion yuan （$2.42 trillion） of debt owed by local governments by the end of 2014， and 600 billion yuan （$90 billion） as the maximum additional debt allowed for 2015.

The 2014 debt balance surged over 40 percent from the end of the first half of 2013， and it was valued at 1.2 times the final accounting of the 2014 public budget， according to statistics.

According to the Budget Law that took effect earlier this year and a regulation of the State Council， the countrys cabinet， China should cap the local government debt balance， and the scale of local government debt should be submitted by the State Council to the NPC for approval.

Fast Link

A high-speed train arrives at the Dandong Railway Station in northeast Chinas Liaoning Province on September 1.

The 208-km-long high-speed railway linking Shenyang and Dandong， both in Liaoning， commenced operations on that day.

Fewer Restrictions

China has lowered the threshold for foreign capital to invest in the countrys property market， according to a statement released on August 27 by the Ministry of Commerce.

Under the new rule， foreigners and branches of overseas institutions in China are allowed to buy houses for dwelling or personal use.

The Chinese Government has also lowered the requirement of registered capital for foreign-funded real estate enterprises.

After the adjustment， registered capital shall be no less than 40 percent of total investments between $10 million and $30 million； if the total investment is valued at more than $30 million， the ratio shall be over one third.

The previous ratio was at least 50 percent for investment valued at more than $10 million.

Full payment of registered capital is no longer a precondition for applying for domestic and overseas loans.

Mecca Pilgrimage

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， which has the largest Hui population in China， began sending Muslims on the annual Mecca pilgrimage on August 31.

The Mecca pilgrimage， also known as the Hajj， is a Muslim tradition that specifies all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to travel to Saudi Arabia must visit Mecca at least once in their lives.

A charter flight with 297 Muslims was the first group of 2，833 pilgrims from Ningxia to go on the governmentorganized trips to the Saudi Arabian city this year.

A total of 14，500 Chinese Muslims will have taken 47 charter flights on Mecca pilgrimages by the end of 2015， according to the Islamic Association of China.

China has more than 20 million Muslims， who mainly live in Qinghai， Gansu and Yunnan provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions.

Gas Platform Export

A Chinese company said on August 30 that it will export a domestically developed gas compression jack-up platform to Mexico in early September.

With a daily gas compression capacity of 200 million cubic feet， the Agosto 12 gas rig will go to the Cantarrel Field in the Gulf of Mexico， where it will be operated by a consortium of Mexican enterprises， said developer Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore.

The platforms performance has improved， keeping the fields pressure stable and cutting toxic gas emission. It is scheduled to start operation before the end of this year.