May 25: Xinjiang police bust 181 terrorist rings; Increased tobacco tax criticised as violating legislation laws
Politics and Policies
Xinjiang police forces over the past year busted a total of 181 terrorist rings, with 112 suspects at large handing themselves in. (People's Daily)
A number of international human rights groups lashed out at China's draft national security law for criminalizing freedom of expression and religious practices. (Financial Times)
An increase in tax levied on cigarettes ordered earlier this month by Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation is questioned by lawyers over adjusting tax rate without prior approved by legislations. (China Business)
Diplomacy
Afghanistan peace envoy held secret talks with former Taliban officials to discuss preconditions for a possible peace process in China's northwestern city of Urumqi last week. (Wall Street Journal)
Economy
Stock traders in Shanghai and Beijing on average profited 150,000 and 80,000 yuan respectively in the first four months this year amid the largest stock rally in China in years. (Beijing Youth Daily)
Tech
Chinese scientists unveiled a new product of bio-engineered cornea which it claimed as "world's first such production that has undergone clinical trails and opened to the market". (People's Daily)
Society
Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien scooped the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday for his slow-burning minimalist martial arts drama “The Assassin”. The 68-year-old, one of the most recognisable names in Taiwan, took the prize for his film starring Asian megastar Shu Qi as a female assassin in ninth-century China who is ordered to kill the man she loves. (Reuters)
Guangdong customs busted 21 smuggling rings involving 3.1 billion yuan, seized about 300 tones of various marine food products. (Xinhua)
Southern China including Hong Kong and Macau this month registered the most amount of rainfall in 40 years over the same period. (People's Daily)