China In 3 MinutesAugust 6: Top court orders heavy penalties for food hazards; one-third of investors flee Chinese stock market

Politics and policy

China’s top court has demanded heavy penalties for companies selling food online that are the cause of any safety issues, and urged firms to compensate consumers more quickly. Food safety is one of the top concerns among Chinese consumers following a series of health scares including baby formula milk tainted with the industrial chemical melamine in 2008 and, more recently, bottles of the liquor baijiu found to be laced with Viagra. (Reuters)

State-run Xinhua news agency’s deputy president Shen Haixiong will take over the Communist Party’s publicity department in Guangdong province. (Guagndong News)
 

Economy and Business

Nearly one-third of the country’s more than 20 million individual investors fled the plunging stock markets last month. The number of retail investors holding stocks in their accounts dropped to 51 million at the end of July from 75 million a month earlier, according to a state-run securities agency that tracks accounts. (The Wall Street Journal)

China's biggest natural gas producer, PetroChina, is reportedly offering flexible prices to large industrial users and a promise of year-round supply as it seeks to boost sales amid slowing demand. (Bloomberg)