Rural Women Sample State Affairs Nobody could expect a rural woman with limited schooling to become a Hillary Clinton in a matter of a week. But after attending a seven-day training program, the 40 women from villages in Mancheng, a rural county in Hebei Province 150 km southwest of Beijing, found themselves ready to make an impact in their respective communities' politics.

Experts Call for Care of Women Women's studies experts have urged the society to pay more attention to mothers, as Mother's Day was celebrated in a number of countries Sunday.

Female College Graduates Increase in Hong Kong "In respect of education, female students made up 54.3 percent of our tertiary institutions' graduates last year, up from 50.4 percent in 1997," Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tung Chee Hwa said Friday.

Educated Mothers Are Strict With Their Children: Survey A survey of over 400 parents with 3-year-old children, conducted by the Shanghai Women抯 Federation and Association of Parenthood Education, indicates that mothers who have higher education are stricter with their children. Unlike their less educated counterparts, these mothers follow a path of "strictness and sternness" to shape their children抯 minds rather one of "let it be."

Women's Rights Get More Protection Thanks to the efforts of local police, the number of rape cases reported in Shanghai has decreased over the past four years, declining 11.3 percent annually.

Medical Research Team Finds Higher Suicide Rate Among Women A medical research team in Beijing has found that the overall suicide rate among women in China is 25 percent higher than that of men. "It's quite different from what it is in Western countries, where the male suicide rate is 3.6 times higher than that of women," said Li Xianyun, a medical doctor with the research team from Beijing's Huilongguan Hospital.

China Improves Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay World Record China improved the women's 4x200 meters freestyle relay short-course world record at the world short-course swimming championships on Wednesday in Moscow. China clocked seven minutes 46.30 seconds to beat the listed world record of seven minutes 47.14 seconds set by a British quartet in Norwich, England, on August 10 last year.

"Comfort Women" Suit Rejected A lawsuit filed against the Japanese Government demanding compensation by two "comfort women" - females abducted and used for sex - from North China's Shanxi Province was rejected by the Tokyo District Court on March 29, according to China News Service.

Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs Meet in Beijing The First Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Achievements Show, held last week at the Beijing International Convention Center, offered a glimpse of what leading Chinese women business executives are contributing to the country抯 economic development. A profile of one of those women is offered by China Daily. Her motto is: "Never stop studying, never stop pursuing."

Yan Bingbing - An Elegant Designer When you mention Chinese style clothing in Beijing, many people, including many foreigners, think of Yan Bingbing, a young and elegant woman fashion designer.

Women's Rights in HK Protected by Laws Fully protected by international laws, Hong Kong's women celebrated the annual International Women's Day with a woman's body praising the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's recent move to reinforce the protection of their rights in the past year.

Women to Get More Help The Shanghai Women's Federation plans to establish more neighborhood legal aid centers and health foundations this year to help women living under the poverty line.

Poverty-Stricken Women in Shanghai Enjoy Special Medicare Some 20,000 Shanghai women living in poor conditions will be given free gynecological examinations and those found to have diseases will get financial help this year, sources from the Shanghai Women's Federation said.

Rural Women Still Face Inequalities Although the status of women in China's major cities has improved, their rural counterparts continue to find themselves handicapped by serious gender inequalities.

Wu Yi Selected as a 揊ortune�Most Influential Person Wu Yi, 63, a State Councilor in charge of foreign trade business in China covering areas such as copyright protection and market access, has been selected by Fortune Magazine as one of the 20 most influential people in global economic circles in 2002. The magazine called her "a woman of exceptional ability."

Chinese Women Writers Enjoy Golden Age Chinese women writers are enjoying a golden age of writing in both quantity and quality. Statistics show that of the 6,400 members of the Chinese Writers' Association, about 1,000 are women, 15.6 percent of the total membership.

Tibet Publishes New Outlines for Development of Women The government of Tibet Autonomous Region has published a new outline for the development of women over the next ten years.

Chinese Swimmers Break World Record Chinese swimmers Luo Xuejuan and Li Wei broke the short-course world record for the women's 50 meters breaststroke on the second and final day of a World Cup meeting Monday in Shanghai.

Tibetan Women's Rights Well Protected The rights of Tibetan women in all walks of life have well protected over the past five years.