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China Against Trade Barrier on the Pretext of Preventing SARS...SW China Province Set to Lift AIDS Marriage Ban...Fishing Ban Starts in South China Sea...Sichuan Issues Tax Exemption On Local Farm Produce 
 
Deputy Minister for Commerce, An Min, says China opposes any trade barriers on the pretext of preventing SARS.

Speaking before the upcoming APEC trade conference, he warns the attempts to set up barriers on the pretext of preventing SARS will affect the momentum of world trade.

An Min says the SARS outbreak which hit several countries and regions was not planned, and China supports the efforts of APEC members to reduce the impact caused by SARS and secure trade ties.

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A ban preventing HIV/AIDS patients from marrying is about to be lifted in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The Provincial's Peoples Congress has considered changing the law and legislators will undergo a second round of deliberation in July or September before it is voted upon.

The planned revision of the law also aims to encourage the public to do more to control and prevent AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Scholars say this is part of an international trend to protect the human rights of people who suffer from AIDS and other such diseases.

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Fishing has been banned for the next two months in the South China Sea as the country's annual summer fishing ban becomes effective from last Sunday.

According to a regulation issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, all fishing operations, except gill-netting and angling, has been banned in the South China Sea waters north of 12 degrees north latitude from June 1st.

Nearly 3,300 fishing vessels from Hainan Province could be affected for the duration of the ban.

Officials say violators of the rule are subject to a maximum fine of 50,000 yuan or more than 1,000 US dollars in addition to the seizure of all their catch as well as their illegitimate earnings.

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Starting from yesterday, there will be no taxes on local farm produce in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

All institutions and individuals engaged in the production or distribution of certain special local farm produce will be exempt from the tax, and the measure is expected to benefit 68 million rural dwellers in Sichuan.

Given the fast development of the local economy and increased capital investment from the central government, officials with the provincial government believed the tax cut would help raise the income of farmers.

Last year, the province posted revenue of 332m yuan(about 80m US dollars) from the special local farm produce tax, about 1.2 per cent of Sichuan's total tax revenue or 0.5 per cent of its disposable capital.