Briefly: May 17

Former senior bank official investigated

Lou Wenlong, former vice-president of Agricultural Bank of China, is being investigated by the country's top anti-graft watchdogs, they said on Thursday. The Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision said Lou is suspected of serious violations of Party disciplines and the law. Lou, 66, a native of Zhejiang province, once worked at the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission. He was Agricultural Bank of China vice-president from 2012 to April 2017.

Ex-political adviser pleads guilty to graft

Ji Binchang, a former senior political adviser in Qingdao, Shandong province, pleaded guilty to taking more than 526 million yuan ($72.9 million) in bribes at Wuxi Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu province on Thursday. Ji took advantage of his various work posts, including deputy head of the Shandong Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and vice-governor of Shandong, from 2003 to 2022 to seek profits for individuals and departments in business operation, project contracting and employment, and then accepted bribes in return, prosecutors told the court.

Nonprofit kindergarten access boosted

Nonprofit kindergartens in China, including public and nonprofit private kindergartens, now serve 90.8 percent of the country's enrolled children, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday. By the end of last year, there were 274,000 kindergartens nationwide, with 86 percent of them affordable public and nonprofit private kindergartens, ministry data showed. The student-to-teacher ratio in kindergartens improved from 23.4 to 1 in 2013 to 13.3 to 1 in 2023. The ministry has taken steps to improve public access to affordable preschool education with a focus on bolstering kindergarten development in both rural and urban areas, a senior ministry official said.