2015年CRI Year-ender: Top Events of Year 2015 in China（在线收听）

The beginning of year 2015 was marred by tragedy in Shanghai.

The New Year's Eve celebration turned into a stampede that saw 36 people killed and 47 others injured.

Most of the deceased were young people.

Lack of adequate preparations and controls were cited as contributing to the tragedy, according to Xiong Xinguang, director of the city's Emergency Response Office.

Investigations found that several local officials were taking part in an opulent banquet at the time the deadly incident took place.

A fatal lesson has been learned that effective contingency plans must be in place for any public events with massive turnout, particularly in mega cities.

2015 also witnessed a remarkable event in relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.

Top leaders met for the first time in 66 years after China's Civil War.

The historic handshake between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou renewed optimism on cross-straits relations, and on the future of the Chinese nation.

Xi Jinping says the nation should prove with concrete moves to the world that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have the wisdom and the capability to solve their own problems. He further stressed the need to adhere to the 1992 Consensus on cross-straits relations, stick to the path of peaceful development, and keep the momentum of such development.

Ma Ying-jeou echoed Xi Jinping's viewpoints, and suggested that the two sides continue to seek win-win cooperation by reducing hostility and resolving disputes with peaceful means.

In the field of medicinal research, this past year witnessed an exceptional first for China: Tu Youyou became a Nobel laureate for the discovery of artemisinin by her research team.

Artemisinin is an anti-malaria drug extracted from a herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine.

"Through the research of the anti-malaria drug, Qing Hao Su, I feel that Chinese and Western medicine both have their own advantages, and they are complementary. Combination of the two will boost greater prospects and potential for development."

At the award ceremony in Stockholm, Professor Hans Forssberg with the Nobel Prize Committee lauded the achievement by the 85 year-old Chinese researcher, saying it provided revolutionary therapies for patients suffering from devastating parasitic diseases.

"The discovery of Artemisinin has led to development of a new drug that has saved the lives of millions of people, halving the mortality rate of malaria during the past 15 years.

Environmental stories earned new prominence in China this past year, with Capital Beijing and other cities declaring their first-ever red alerts because of air pollution.

Beijing twice issued red alerts - the highest warning level - and both were declared in December.

As part of the protocols to fight the smog, almost half of the city's vehicles were banned from the road, industrial production was curtailed, and schools were closed with working parents being forced to find alternate arrangements for their children.

Air pollution in Beijing is nothing new but the issuing of two red-alerts in a lapse of less than two weeks raised questions about the effectiveness of the government's efforts to reduce air-quality concerns.

Chinese lawmakers adopted a much-anticipated amendment to the one-child policy in 2015, an historic move allowing all couples to have two children.

The new policy, taking effect on Jan. 1., officially puts the country's decades-long one-child policy to an end.

The move came amid increasing concerns over China's rapidly aging population and shrinking work force in recent years.

China launched the One-Child Policy in the 1970's to curb its surging population.

However, there are concerns that many couples of child-bearing age will not take advantage of the policy change, as families face growing economic pressure or lack the time for a second child.

Also in 2015, a China-initiated international financial institution was born. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was formally launched in Beijing to aid infrastructure development across the Asia-Pacific region.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the establishment of the AIIB is a milestone in reforming the world's financial mechanism.

So far, 17 countries have approved the bank's mini-constitution.

China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, with stakes of 30 percent, 8.5 percent, 6.7 percent respectively.

With authorized capital of 100 billion dollars, the AIIB will initially prioritize investment in energy, power generation, transportation, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics.