Around China

Sichuan

Official probed after being held for gambling

A deputy district director of Dachuan district in Dazhou was being investigated by the local anti-graft watchdog on Monday on suspicion of serious discipline violations, Beijing News reported. Liu Tingyu, 38, was detained by local police for gambling on Dec 26.

Jiangsu

Drug suspects use WeChat to link up

A migrant worker in Nanjing and a man from Taiwan were arrested on suspicion of using drugs, Nanjing Morning Newspaper reported on Tuesday. The migrant worker, apprehended recently in Nanjing, said drug addicts often use WeChat, a popular mobile social-networking application, to communicate within their group. One of his friends, a Taiwan man, was on a business trip to Nanjing in November, and the two contacted each other through WeChat and allegedly took drugs together.

Companies receive fine for polluting river

Six companies in Nanjing were ordered to pay 160 million yuan ($26 million U.S. dollars) for discharging waste chemical to rivers by a court on Tuesday. It is the highest fine of its kind in China ever imposed. The companies from Taizhou City were ordered to pay the amount to an environmental protection fund within 30 days. They were found guilty of discharging 25,000 tons of waste acid into two rivers, which caused serious pollution, according to Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court.

Officials sacked after deadly factory blast

The State Council announced on Tuesday the firing of the top two officials in Kunshan, where an explosion at an auto parts factory in August killed 146 people in the country's worst industrial accident since 2005. The council also issued disciplinary demerits against a deputy provincial governor and the director of the provincial work safety bureau. Eighteen other people, including factory executives and several safety and fire officials, were placed under judicial review for possible indictment.

Beijing

Inspections ordered for construction sites

All construction sites in Beijing must suspend their work to get thorough safety inspections, the Beijing Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said. The order follows Monday's fatal collapse of part of a high school under construction in the capital. Ten workers died and four were injured in the accident. Other construction sites in the capital can resume their work only after they pass company safety reviews. Government departments will supervise all the safety checks.

Website tells history of Diaoyu Islands

A website about the Diaoyu Islands was opened on Tuesday by the State Oceanic Administration. The Chinese-language site, www.diaoyudao.org.cn, covers the islands' natural environment and history through videos, news and academic works. The website states that the Diaoyu Island and affiliated islets are "an inherent part of China's territory... and China possesses undisputable sovereign rights over the islands". The SOA said versions of the website will be launched later in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

Zhejiang

Woman gets divorce from missing husband

A Hangzhou court has approved a divorce application filed by a local woman who has seen her husband only once since they got married in 2008. Zhao, 43, got acquainted with a man surnamed Wang from Hong Kong in 2007, and they later married. But in 2009, Wang went to the United States, where he disappeared.

Police officer keeps overpass open

A Hangzhou police officer single-handedly kept traffic flowing through an overpass during rush hour on Monday after an electric cable fell in front of the entrance, Shanghai Morning Post reported. Officer Wang Tao reached down and grabbed the cable and held it for 45 minutes before assistance arrived.

Hainan

New candidate for governor named

Liu Cigui, former head of the State Oceanic Administration, was appointed on Tuesday as deputy Party secretary of Hainan province and candidate for provincial governor. Born in 1955, Liu is the former mayor of Longyan and Xiamen, Fujian province. Meanwhile, former Hainan governor Jiang Dingzhi was appointed Party chief and candidate for deputy director of the standing committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress. Born in 1954, Jiang is also a former Party chief of Jiangsu province, China News Service reported on Tuesday.

Xinjiang

Replacement deputy Party chief named

The Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China announced on Tuesday that Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, will no longer be the deputy Party chief of the region. He was also removed from the CPC Xinjiang Committee and its standing committee. Shoherat Zaker, director of the Xinjiang Regional People's Congress, will replace Nur as deputy Party chief of the region and as a member of the CPC Xinjiang Committee as well as its standing committee, cpcnews.cn reported on Tuesday.

Jilin

Lonely victim keeps talking to swindlers

Swindlers telephoned a 70-year-old Changchun man surnamed Liu three times in a month to tell him he had won a Mercedes-Benz car after purchasing medicine. But instead of hanging up on the swindlers, Liu talked to them for a long time in an effort to persuade them not to resort to deception again. Liu said he was lonely and wanted to kill time, Changchun Evening News reported.

Hubei

Student raises money for mom with cancer

A poor university student in Wuhan has done a variety of jobs to raise funds to help cover medical expenses for his mother, who has cancer, xinhuanet.com reported. Born into a farming family in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Tan Zhengwen became an animation major at Wuhan Institute of Technology in 2011. Soon afterward, his mother got cancer. Ever since then, he has sold newspapers and served as a guard, private teacher, courier deliveryman and porter. On one day he worked seven jobs, Wuhan Evening News reported. Tan has also has provided financial aid to three poor students.

Chongqing

Aspiring singer foots bill for own concert

A 27-year-old government employee paid 1,000 yuan ($161) to stage his own solo vocal concert at a coffee shop, Chongqing Morning News reported on Tuesday. The money went on decorations, a costume and staff to wait on tables. The man had a dream of becoming a professional singer and practiced regularly during his free time. He said his first concert proved that the cost of pursuing a dream was affordable, and the seemingly unrealistic dream could come true.

Guangdong

Dead man's family pays for crash injuries

A man sued his dead co-worker's family for injuries suffered in a car accident and was awarded compensation of 11,000 yuan ($1,770), Information Times reported on Tuesday. The colleague gave the man a ride to work but was involved in a crash and died. The court ruled that the driver was responsible for his colleague's safety, even if the ride was freely offered.

Online tool to list items left in city's taxis

Guangzhou authorities are planning to set up an online platform to help passengers recover personal items they accidentally leave in taxis, New Express Daily reported on Tuesday. Taxi drivers are encouraged to report the lost items on the platform that provides inquiry services for passengers. Drivers could face lawsuits if found in possession of passengers' lost property.

Henan

Frustrated designer leaps to his death

A man in Zhengzhou jumped to his death from the 18th floor of his office building after a fight with his boss, Zhengzhou Evening News reported on Tuesday. The 51-year-old designer was said to be frustrated after his boss rejected his plan for a cupboard. The man made a phone call to his wife and told her he would jump from the building. The wife tried unsuccessfully to stop him.

Shandong

Longest heavy haul railway starts operation

The Watang-Rizhao Railway, China's longest heavy haul line, connecting the inland coal-producing province of Shanxi with a port city in neighbouring Shandong province, went into operation on Tuesday. The 1,216-km line with an annual capacity of 200 million metric tons connects Watang Township of Xingxian County, Shanxi province, with the coastal Rizhao city in Shandong.

Tianjin

Party chief to be moved to new position

Sun Shulan, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, will be assigned to another position, and no longer be the Party chief of Tianjin. Born in Hebei province, Sun was elected a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2012 and the same year was appointed secretary of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee. Before that, she served as Party chief of Fujian province. Between 1969 and 1974, Sun worked at the Anshan Watch Factory, Liaoning province.

Shanxi

Policeman accused of fatally beating woman

A police officer has been arrested for allegedly beating a female migrant worker to death, local authorities said on Tuesday. The officer, surnamed Wang, is suspected of abusing his power while handling the case. His arrest was approved by prosecutors in Taiyuan. An earlier investigation by the local police found that more than 10 migrant workers who were trying to enter a construction site on December 13 argued with guards who stopped them for not wearing safety helmets. When the police arrived at the site, an altercation between Wang and Zhou Xiuyun, a 47-year-old female migrant, led to Zhou's "unnatural death", according to the investigative report.

Anhui

Official gets life sentence for bribery

A former land and resources official from Anhui province was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for accepting bribes, a local court said. Chen Lianggang, 52, former head of the Anhui provincial land and resources department, was found guilty of accepting bribes worth about 7 million yuan ($1.1 million), according to Suzhou municipal intermediate people's court. Chen has already lodged an appeal.

Xinhua - China Daily