China Digest, February 27, 2013

BEIJING

Online foods to be checked

Food sold by online retailers in the city will be regularly inspected by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention starting this year, the Beijing Times reports. No timetable was given, but authorities said it would focus on baby formula, milk powder, cooked meat and raw aquatic animal products.

Fish freeze in ritual

A large number of fish froze to death in the Shichahai lake area in north-central Beijing this week as many Buddhists across the city released the animals - a common practice in Buddhism, Rbc.cn reports. Animal releases are considered meritorious but can threaten the animals' safety or harm the ecosystem.

CHONGQING

Flower-money proposal

A man's wedding proposal to his girlfriend on Sunday became widely discussed online, as he gave her 99 new 100-yuan notes arranged to look like a bouquet of flowers, the Chongqing Economic Times reports. The man, in his 30s and living in Wanzhou district, chose 99 because it signifies everlasting love in Chinese. Some people thought it was romantic, but others criticised it as a bribe.

Fine for letting man drink

Five people have been ordered by Chongqing police to each pay 10,000 yuan (HK$12,300) to the family of a man who died from excessive drinking, the Chongqing Economic Times reports. Police said the group is responsible because they didn't stop the man when he was clearly drunk.

GUANGDONG

Draft law to help helpers

A draft law calling for the protection of good Samaritans has been submitted to the Shenzhen People's Congress for consideration, The Southern Metropolis Daily reports. Under the law, people who receive help would be subject to prosecution if they make a false charge against their helper. It follows a number of cases that have made people reluctant to help others.

More PRs in Shenzhen

More than 122,000 migrant residents were granted permanent residency in Shenzhen last year through a points system intended to lure professionals and skilled workers, the Shenzhen Evening News reports. People who earn 100 points may apply for PR. For example, 100 points are given if a person pays more than 120,000 yuan in income tax.

GUIZHOU

Plunging van kills seven

Seven people died and two others were injured when a van plunged into a valley yesterday morning in Libo county, Xinhua reports. The van plunged 160 metres from a mountainous road around 2.10am to a lower section of road, then another 90 metres into the valley.

School closed for highway

After outrage over the closure of a school in Kaili city after it opened in March 2009, an investigation found the closure was to make way for a highway that still hasn't been built, The Beijing News reports. The school was built with 200,000 yuan in donations and 150,000 yuan from the Kaili government. Town officials were given 550,000 yuan in compensation but failed to report the money.

HEBEI

Job fairs to keep residents

In an effort to reduce the number of Hebei residents seeking jobs elsewhere, authorities will hold 25 job fairs in Shijiazhuang next month, Yzdsb.com.cn reports. More than 100,000 job-seekers and 5,000 companies are expected to feature in the fairs.

Man took in 14 children

Eight orphaned and disabled children living with a 69-year-old man, who took them into his home in Anguo , must be moved to a child-welfare home, because the man didn't formally adopt them, China News Service reports. The man took in 14 children over the past 19 years.

HENAN

Illegal mines to be closed

Authorities have vowed to close at least 475 mines operating illegally or causing pollution by 2015, Dahe.cn reports. Officials at the city, county and township levels may be punished for failing to close such mines. There were more than 2,000 mines in Henan in 2011.

Stolen iPhone travels far

A woman in Luoyang retrieved her stolen iPhone on Sunday after police tracked it nearly 1,500km away to Guangdong, where it had been given to a company employee as an annual bonus, the Dahe Daily reports. The company purchased the phone online for about 3,000 yuan. The woman was elated because she spent half a year saving up for it.

JIANGXI

Woman forced to strip

A man was detained in Nanchang yesterday morning after taking drugs and violently forcing a woman to strip naked in the street, Jxnews.com.cn reports. The woman was repeatedly punched and kicked by the man, who police said was likely hallucinating. He also slightly injured a police officer.

Water returns to taps

Tap water was again accessible for about 60,000 residents of Yongxiu county, Jiujiang , yesterday after supplies were cut off on Monday because of an oil-pipeline leak into the Liaohe River - the county's main water source, Cnr.cn reports. The leak lasted for a few hours.

SHANGHAI

Smugglers get reprieve

Two women have been given a one-year jail sentence with an 18-month reprieve for smuggling goods into Shanghai from overseas and then selling them online, the Shanghai Morning Post reports. One woman was caught at Pudong airport in April after returning from Seoul. She didn't declare 473 items. Another woman was caught at the airport in May with 307 smuggled items.

Fears of hybrid HIV virus

Researchers at Fudan University have discovered that new HIV subtypes could develop if two people with different subtypes of the virus have unprotected sex, People.com.cn reports. The resulting hybrid HIV virus could be stronger or harder to fight.

ZHEJIANG

Four die in store blaze

Four family members died in a fire at a grocery store in Taizhou yesterday morning, Xinhua reports. The fire started around 2.45am and burned for about 30 minutes. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Man posted speeding shot

A 23-year-old man turned himself in to police in Ningbo on Monday after posting a picture of his car dashboard showing his speed at 219km/h, Xinhua reported. The image circulated online, and he was reported to police.