Briefly

Former tobacco official prosecuted for bribery

He Zehua, former deputy chief of China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, has been prosecuted for accepting bribes, according to a statement from the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Wednesday. Following the conclusion of a National Commission of Supervision probe, He's case was filed by the people's procuratorate of Dalian, Liaoning province. He was accused of taking advantage of his various former positions to seek profits for others, the statement said, noting that he accepted a particularly large amount of money and valuables in return. The prosecutors informed the defendant of his litigation rights, questioned him, and listened to the opinions of the defense counsel.

Free entrance to lure winter tourists to Tibet

Iconic tourist destinations in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, such as Potala Palace, will be open to the public free of charge from Wednesday until March 15 of next year, as part of the region's winter tourism promotion. The regional tourism development department said on Tuesday that, during the winter promotion period, all scenic spots rated above A level in Tibet will be open to the public free of charge, except for temple sites. China has a tourist-rating classification system that rates tourist attractions from 1A to 5A based on their overall tourism quality. During the winter months, hotels, restaurants, passenger transport services and airlines will offer off-season prices.

Xinhua