IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Beijing

Legislator Qiao to be cremated

The body of the country's former top legislator Qiao Shi will be cremated on Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported. Qiao, a leading figure in China's endeavors to build up its legal system through two decades until the 1990s, will be honored by flags flying at half-staff at venues including Tian'anmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, as well as Party and government offices throughout the country, the report said. Qiao, 91, was praised in a statement from the CPC Central Committee as an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal Communist soldier and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.