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Around China: Explosion damages police station

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-15 08:02

1 BEIJING

Land revenue almost doubles

China's land transfer revenue jumped 43.2 percent year-on-year in 2009 to 1.42 trillion yuan ($208.49 billion), as the nation's property market boomed.

Land transfer fees fell 19.7 percent in the first half of last year, as the global financial crisis dampened confidence among property developers, before rising 110.9 percent in the second half after the worst of the crisis was over, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Nearly two-thirds of the revenue came from coastal provinces, according to the ministry.

Cross-Strait tourism offices to open

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan will open tourism offices on each other's side of the Straits in May, a mainland spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The mainland-based Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association will set up its Taipei office on May 7, while the Taiwan-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association will establish its Beijing office on May 4, said Fan Liqing, a spokeswoman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.

The offices will provide convenient services for tourists from both sides of the Straits, with a focus on tourism consultation, advertising, coordination, and dispute resolution, according to Fan.

2 SHANXI

37 miners confirmed dead

One more body was retrieved from a coal mine that was flooded more than two weeks ago in North China's Shanxi province, bringing the death toll to 37, rescue headquarters said on Wednesday.

Rescue workers continued their search for the one remaining miner who is believed to still be trapped underground at the Wangjialing Coal Mine, according to the rescue headquarters.

The State Council, China's cabinet, launched an investigation on Tuesday morning into the accident.

At the team's first plenary meeting on Tuesday, Luo Lin, chief of the State Administration of Work Safety and leader of the investigation, blamed the accident on poor safety and negligence of duty, saying the accident "should, and could, have been avoided".

Li Zhongcheng, a high-ranking official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, will also participate in the investigation.

3 GUANGDONG

Snake brothers sought revenge

Police in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, arrested two brothers suspected of releasing poisonous snakes to seek revenge in a dispute with a local leader.

Guangzhou police said on Wednesday that brothers Guo Gongwei and Guo Gongtian bought the short-tail pit vipers at a market, where they are sold as food and medicine.

Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported 500 snakes were released near the home of the village leader, identified only by the surname Song, with whom the brothers were feuding.

The brothers, who were arrested on Monday and charged with endangering public security, confessed that they had been seeking revenge, authorities said.

4 LIAONING

Official in sex scandal suspended

A government official in Northeast China's Liaoning province was suspended from his post for alleged involvement in a sex scandal after a video segment suggesting he was engaged in an extramarital affair and had taken bribes was widely circulated online, information portal dbw.cn reported on Wednesday.

The four-minute video segment, which was first posted on a famous forum on Monday, showed Li Liyan, a deputy director with the bureau of land and resources in Tieling county, lying in bed nude with a naked woman beside him and talking about receiving bribes.

An investigation into the scandal was launched, local authorities said, adding that Li was suspended for his misconduct and that the punishment will be delivered at the end of the investigation.

5 HUBEI

Explosion damages police station

An explosion damaged a police station in Central China's Hubei province on Wednesday, but no casualties were reported, local police said.

The blast occurred at 11:25 am in the ground-floor reception hall of the main building of Dangyang public security bureau, according to a statement from the city police.

A man surnamed Xia was detained after the blast, the statement said.

The case is still under investigation.

6 HONG KONG

New electoral proposals announced

The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced a package of proposals on the methods of selecting the Chief Executive (CE) and for forming the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2012 on Wednesday.

The proposals summarized the views from public consultation and provided detailed solutions for the two electoral methods in 2012, said the chief secretary for administration Henry Tang.

The package suggests that the number of the Election Committee for selecting the CE be increased from 800 to 1200, and the nomination threshold, which is currently at the ratio of one- eighth of the committee members, remain unchanged.

Besides, the number of LegCo seats are proposed to raise from 60 to 70, with geographical constituencies through direct elections and functional constituencies occupying 35 each.

China Daily