Beijing

QFII rules relaxed to attract investment

China has eased its control on investments made by qualified foreign institutional investors, according to a revised QFII regulation released by the nation's securities regulator.

Compared with previous rules, the regulation published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Friday lowers the QFII threshold and allows QFIIs to invest in the nation's capital market through more than one securities dealer.

The regulation also allows QFIIs to invest in the interbank bond market and private placement bonds issued by small and medium-sized enterprises and hold up to a 30-percent stake in a listed company, up from the previous 20-percent stake cap.

Charges filed in death of UK's Heywood

Bogu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun were recently charged with intentional homicide by the Hefei People's Procuratorate in East China's Anhui province, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

The city prosecutors filed the charges with the Hefei Intermediate People's Court.

Prosecutors have informed the two defendants and the family of the victim of their litigation rights, according to the Xinhua report.

Investigation results show that Bogu Kailai, one of the defendants, and her son had conflicts with British citizen Neil Heywood over financial interests. Worrying about "Neil Heywood's threat" to her son's safety, Bogu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun poisoned Neil Heywood to death, Xinhua cited prosecutors as saying.

Bogu Kailai is the wife of Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing municipality and a former member of the Political Bureau of Communist Party of China Central Committee. Bo is under investigation by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Hainan

Sansha military garrison established

The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday announced the appointment of major officers to the Sansha military garrison, saying China's military establishments in its own territory are irrelevant to other countries.

Senior Colonel Cai Xihong was appointed as the garrison's commander, and Senior Colonel Liao Chaoyi was appointed as the garrison's political commissar.

China on Tuesday officially established the city of Sansha on Yong xing Island in Hainan province, and a military garrison was also established. The new military garrison is responsible for defense mobilization, militia reserves, the relationship between the garrison and local government as well as guarding the city and disaster relief.

Yunnan

Serial killer sentenced to death

A man was sentenced to death on Saturday for killing 11 people in Southwest China's Yunnan province, according to a Kunming Intermediate People's Court ruling. Zhang Yongming, 57, was accused of fatally strangling 11 people in Jinning county from March 2008 to April 2012.

After the murders, Zhang used various means, including dismemberment, burning and burial, to destroy the evidence, the court said.

Zhang was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve in 1979 for the crime of intentional homicide. He was released in September 1997 after receiving a number of sentence reductions, the ruling said.

Zhang did not show any remorse in court and refused to apologize to the relatives of the victims.

Zhejiang

China starts on power line in south

Construction on a west-to-east ultra-high voltage direct current (UHV DC) power transmission project kicked off in Zhejiang province on Saturday, marking the nation's latest efforts to ease power shortages in its eastern regions.

The project, funded by the State Grid Corporation of China, will transport about 40 billion kilowatt-hours of hydropower from Xiluodu Hydropower Station in Southwest China to Zhejiang annually after 2014. Starting in Yibin, Sichuan province, the 1,679-kilometer transmission line will traverse Guizhou, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces to reach Zhejiang's central city of Jinhua.

China Daily - Xinhua

Ready to serve Patrol vessel Haixun 01 was officially launched with a ceremony in Wuhan, Hubei province on Saturday. China's largest patrol vessel is 128.6 meters long and weighs in at 5,418 tons. The ship will be equipped with devices to offer basic treatment and even surgery to anyone injured. Photo by Wan Houde / Xinhua

(China Daily 07/29/2012 page2)