China Digest, March 2, 2013

Anhui

Parking fees may double

Fees in public car parks in Hefei could more than double to 12 yuan (HK$15) for five hours, the Anhui Business Daily reports, citing a draft city government document released for public consultation. While many drivers decried the big increase, others were worried about the rising number of unregulated car parks.

Driver slept at red light

Traffic police in Luan are hunting a man who fled an inner-city intersection in a Mercedes-Benz after falling asleep in his car for more than an hour while waiting for the traffic lights to change on Wednesday afternoon, Shi Chang Xin Bao reports. The man smashed into two police vehicles, one in front of his car and the other behind, as officers discussed what to do with him after failing to wake him. Police believe he was drunk.

Beijing

Tonnes of trash in moat

More than 40 sanitation workers retrieved four tonnes of rubbish from a moat surrounding the Forbidden City on Thursday, The Beijing News reports. The workers recovered more than 10,000 corn cobs that had been thrown away by tourists.

Taxi fuel surcharge rises

Beijing's Municipal Development and Reform Commission raised the fuel surcharge for taxi passengers from two yuan to three yuan from yesterday to help offset the rise in fuel prices, The Beijing News reports. Passengers are exempt if they travel for less than three kilometres.

Chongqing

Prize for wanting receipt

A Wanzhou man has won 10,000 yuan from a prize receipt he received from a Nanan restaurant on February 18 after spending 42 yuan on a family meal, the Chongqing Daily reports. The prize receipts are designed to help fight tax evasion by encouraging customers to request a receipt.

Thief napped next door

New North Zone police said they detained a thief who broke into a home on February 19 and then took a nap next door after breaking into another home later in the day, China News Service reports. The man said he was a neighbour during questioning but became nervous, leading the police to search the house next door, where stolen items were found.

Guangdong

Barbecue ban proposed

Foshan's city government is considering a ban on outdoor barbecue stalls on days when air pollution is bad, the New Express reports, citing government contingencies for heavily polluted days. The city will also take some government vehicles off the roads on such days.

Life sentence for bribery

Former Zengcheng vice-mayor Liu Rongzhao was jailed for life by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday for taking more than 12 million yuan in bribes, the Guangzhou Daily reports. The bribes included 5 million yuan accepted by Liu, 48, in return for helping developers obtain cheap land between 2002 and 2011.

Hubei

Deadly stampede at school

Two school officials and a teacher from a village primary school in the town of Xueji in Laohekou have been detained over a stampede in the school dormitory on Wednesday morning that killed four pupils and injured seven others, The Beijing News reports. The principal of the Xueji Township School denied that teachers had not woken up on time to open the dormitory door for pupils after drinking heavily at a banquet on Tuesday night.

Green scarves canned

A Wuhan primary school has cancelled a scheme to allow pupils to wear green scarves as recognition of outstanding performances after objections from parents and the provincial Communist Youth League, the Cnhan.com reports. Parents said they were worried because green scarves were given to struggling pupils in other cities. The youth league said mainland pupils could only wear the official red scarves of the young pioneers.

Hunan

Man sues wife over 'son'

A Changsha man has taken the woman he was married to for 20 years to court demanding 700,000 yuan in compensation after a DNA test two years ago showed that his 18-year-old son was fathered by her brother-in-law, Voc.com.cn reports. The man divorced his wife five months after the discovery and filed a lawsuit for compensation later in 2011.

Fugitive's nightmare fears

A man from Chenzhou's Yongxing county who spent almost six years on the run after a robbery at a gold store in which two security guards died has said he often refused to sleep next to his wife because he was worried about nightmares, the Xiangtang Morning Post reports. The man and an accomplice killed two security guards at the store on May 15, 2007, before fleeing with 2 million yuan in gold. Police said the man had been in hiding in Zixing .before they caught him. His accomplice died a few years ago.

Jilin

Snowstorm shuts schools

About 90 per cent of primary schools in the province suspended classes after a snowstorm hit much of Jilin on Thursday, Xinhua reports. Traffic police barred passenger buses with more than seven seats, heavy-duty trucks and trucks loaded with hazardous materials from 3pm on Thursday. Traffic authorities recorded more than 30 accidents by 6pm, but no casualties were reported.

Natural gas bills up 40pc

Residents in Changchun will see their natural gas bills jump 40 per cent to 2.8 yuan a cubic metre from April 1, with prices rising 33 per cent to 2 yuan a cubic metre, the Chinajilin.com news portal reports, citing an official document. Impoverished families will be given a seven yuan monthly subsidy to help offset the impact of the increase.

Shanghai

Ex-university head on trial

Former University of Shanghai for Science and Technology president Xu Xiaoming went on trial at the city's No2 Intermediate People's Court on Thursday, accused of taking 1.13 million yuan in bribes, the Oriental Morning Post reports. Xu allegedly received the money from three businessmen in return for unspecified favours.

Thanks for stopping theft

A Shanghai woman placed a small notice at a ticket gate inside the Jiangsu Road subway station on Thursday to thank those who helped her retrieve her mobile phone from a thief, the Oriental Morning Post reports. She said a passenger alerted her to the theft and the thief was subdued by another passenger when he tried to flee.

Zhejiang

Milk quality report late

Ningbo's food safety office has been accused of delaying the release of a report on milk quality for more than a month, the Oriental Morning Post reports. The office received the report in January, but did not release it until Thursday. The report said half of the milk products tested in August and September last year were not up to standard. The office said it had decided to delay the report to avoid public panic.

Official urges filial piety

Zhejiang party secretary Xia Baolong has advised officials to see their parents for at least one hour a day to show filial piety, the People's Daily reports. At a recent forum, Xia said that apart from providing better public services for the elderly, the officials had a duty to care for their parents.