The Communist Party of China (CPC) has pledged to enhance its leadership in developing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.

CPC organizations at various levels should put such studies on their agendas, lead and guide them, according to a guideline issued by the CPC Central Committee, which was made public Tuesday.

Noting that Marxism will remain the guiding theory in philosophy and social sciences in China, it called for more efforts in pushing for the sinicization, modernization and popularization of Marxism, and developing a Marxism that fits into the 21st century and contemporary China.

It also highlighted the study of the Party’s new theories developed since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 and the application of them in academic research.

The academic system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics should combine the achievements of the country’s traditional culture with foreign theories and innovate in knowledge, theories and methods, said the guideline.

Reforms on fund allocation and human resources were also proposed in the document.

Senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Liu Yunshan has underscored the importance of studying speeches made by President Xi Jinping.

Liu, who is president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, made the comment during the opening ceremony for the second group of students at the school’s 2017 spring semester Tuesday.

Chief officials and leading cadres should take the lead in studying Xi’s speeches and mastering Marxist standpoints to raise political awareness and improve governing ability, Liu said.

Speeches delivered by Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, are the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions, Liu stressed, asking officials to unite closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi as the core.

Liu also urged officials to reaffirm their faith, represent the interests of the people, be realistic and pragmatic and make bold innovations.

He said that the speeches contain the essence of Marxism, the wisdom rooted in traditional Chinese culture and the Party’s innovation and creative thoughts since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

The Party School trains existing and potential CPC or government officials.

A total of 2.54 million visitors came to Taiwan from January to March this year, 9.99 percent lower than the same period last year, data from the island’s transport bureau said Tuesday.

It is the first time in 13 years visitor arrivals have registered a drop in Taiwan.

Of the 2.54 million visitors, about 667,000 were tourists, which fell over 15 percent in the first quarter.

A total of 659,575 visitors came from the Chinese mainland, which dropped 42 percent from the same period last year. Visitors from Hong Kong and Macao fell 25 percent to 342,270 while the number of Japanese visitors also dropped slightly by 0.11 percent from January to March.

Taiwan’s visitor arrivals surpassed 10 million for the first time in 2015, thanks to a continued rise in the number of Chinese mainland visitors since the island opened up to mainland travelers in 2008.

However, the number of mainland tourists has plummeted since Taiwan’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, took office in May last year.

In 2016, the number of Chinese mainland tourists to Taiwan slipped 14.4 percent to 3.61 million, the first drop in eight years, data from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council showed.

China has been strengthening its forces for combatting telecom and Internet fraud, with 32 provincial anti-fraud centers and 206 city-level anti-fraud centers having been established, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Chinese police solved 83,000 cases of telecom and Internet fraud in 2016, up 49.6 percent year on year.

The ministry noted that the number of cases has dropped significantly since last September.

The increase in telecom and Internet fraud has been contained, according to the MPS. The economic losses caused by telecom and Internet fraud in 2016 decreased by 10.9 percent from 2015.

According to the ministry, Chinese police have successfully stopped 1.55 million bank transfers to fraudulent accounts with a total amount of 5 billion yuan (around 730 million U.S. dollars) since banks and police began cooperation.

Over 200 people have been caught for their alleged involvement in an online lottery fraud worth 100 million yuan (14.5 million U.S. dollars), police in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province said Tuesday.

Among the 203 arrested, more than 100 will face criminal charges as they were allegedly trained to lure victims in their fake lottery scheme online, said a police officer in the provincial capital Xi’an.

Gang members were asked to develop “clients” via social networking software such as QQ and WeChat as “honey traps,” and lure them to buy lottery tickets by sending them fake winning screenshots and promising them high rate of winning.

Police started investigating the case in January, when a victim surnamed Hong said to have paid a total of 45,000 yuan via Alipay or WeChat for the “lottery investment” via a young woman net friend surnamed Li.

After three months’ investigation, more than 200 policemen made the arrests in three locations on May 5. More than 200 computers and other equipment were also seized.

Since 2015, the gang had made 50 million yuan from transactions worth of more than 100 million yuan, with victims spread across the country.

Further investigation is under way.