Briefly

Police retrieve 37,000 cultural-relic items

Chinese police retrieved more than 37,000 cultural-relic items that were being held illegally in 2022, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday. The retrieved items included more than 3,800 valuable cultural relics. Over 1,700 criminal cases related to cultural relics were solved during the year, with more than 310 relevant criminal gangs busted, the ministry said. The ministry and the National Cultural Heritage Administration have carried out yearly crackdown campaigns against cultural relic-related crimes for six consecutive years. They will take stronger measures against criminal acts such as illicitly excavating sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs.

Action taken on vaping in nonsmoking areas

Authorities in Shanghai's Songjiang district in early February launched a campaign to crack down on the use of e-cigarettes in public venues where smoking is prohibited. The campaign saw authorities issue the city's first violation ticket for the offense. During the two-week campaign, officers from the health authority as well as police and tourism departments inspected 80 venues where smoking is prohibited. Four individuals who continued vaping even after they were told to stop by officers were fined 100 yuan ($14.50) each. Two venues that did not adhere to smoking restrictions were fined a total of 4,000 yuan.

China Daily - Xinhua