Bad News from China [天灾人祸]

[everywhere]

NANNING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and three were injured in an explosion at a village in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday morning, local authorities said.

The explosion happened at about 7 a.m. in New Jiangtou village in Quanzhou county of Guilin, according to the Guilin municipal public security bureau.

One house collapsed and three nearby houses were damaged in the explosion.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...a.asp?id=79811

A Shanghai high school official was sacked today after boy students he taught 15 years ago reappeared and accused him of having "intimate body contact" with them after class.

Zhang Datong, vice dean of East China Normal University No. 2 High School and a renowned instructor for International Physics Olympiad, was fired for "behavior violating teacher's ethics", the school said in a statement.

"The investigation is ongoing and we don't know whether he is guilty of molesting boys as online accusations said," a teacher who refused to be named told Shanghai Daily.

Zhang was sacked one day after a dozen grown-up men who claimed to be his students 15 years ago revealed on Weibo microblogging site that they were molested by their teacher. They used their real names in Weibo posts.

"As a physics teacher, Zhang's behavior toward male students violated the ethics of teachers. He used body examination as an excuse to grope them," said one former student, Liu Yidong, in his post.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...years%2Blater/

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Air hijack foiled with 6 arrested in Xinjiang
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

SIX people were arrested this afternoon as they attempted to hijack a plane on route from Hotan to Urumqi, both cities in northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, police said.

They tried to hijack Tianjin Airlines' Flight GS7664 around 12:35pm, 10 minutes later after the plane took off from the Hotan airport.

The flight crew and passengers fought with the hijackers and overwhelmed them, and the plane returned to Hotan, local news portal, www.tianshannet.com.cn, reported.

Police arrested the six hijackers as soon as the plane landed. No more details are available as investigation is ongoing.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...in%2BXinjiang/



Chinese blogger detained for mocking officials seeks redress
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

A Chinese blogger today brought to court a case seeking to redress his one-year detention after mocking a city's top officials' alleged interference in due judicial procedure in a high-profile anti-crime campaign.

Fang Hong, a forestry department employee in southwestern China's municipality of Chongqing, was sent to a Re-education Through Labor Center, a police-run extra-judicial detention facility, for one year on April 28, 2011, for "inciting social disturbances," according to the police record. He was released on April 24 this year.

Fang said he was apprehended after posting a joke on a microblog criticizing Chongqing's former top official Bo Xilai and former police chief Wang Lijun's meddling in the case against Li Zhuang, a controversial lawyer defending suspects in mafia-related cases in Chongqing's crackdown on organized crime.

"Boqilai makes a dump, and asks Wang Lijun to eat it. Wang passes the dump to prosecutors who forward it to the court. The court passes it again to Li Zhuang. Li's lawyer says he is not hungry and whoever made the dump should eat it," Fang wrote, using "Boqilai," which means "erection," as a play on the name of Bo Xilai.

In the trial at Chongqing Third Intermediate Court, Fang said the right to free speech is protected by the Constitution and, according to the law, his comments on the microblog should not have landed him in the labor camp.

Fang demanded that the detention decision be overturned and that Chongqing's Re-education Through Labor Center Committee, which is under the public security bureau, issue a public apology.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...eks%2Bredress/



Oil truck leak kills 9 in S. China
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

GUANGZHOU, June 29 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed after an explosion caused by a leak of an oil tank truck early Friday in south China's Guangdong Province, local authorities said.

Nine bodies have been retrieved after the accident, which occurred at 5:15 a.m. on an expressway in the provincial capital of Guangzhou, said a spokesman with the city's public security bureau.

About 10 injured people have been hospitalized, he said.

The fire caused by the blast was brought under control around 8:30 a.m., according to firefighters.

Rescue efforts are underway.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...a.asp?id=79977

[everywhere]

Shanghai teacher sacked for alleged sexual misconduct
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, June 29)

SHANGHAI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A vice principle was fired from a
Shanghai middle school after a group of his former students took to the Internet to break their 15-year silence on his alleged acts of sexual misconduct.

Zhang Datong, 64, has been stripped of his post as vice principle of the No. 2 Middle School affiliated with East China Normal University and is under investigation for his alleged behavior that violated the teachers' code of morality, school authorities said in a bulletin.

Zhang's dismissal came after more than a dozen of his former male students accused him of sexually molesting them, triggering public outcry in the microblogging sphere.

"Zhang, a physics teacher, used to exhibit his immoral behavior to male students, using 'physical examinations' as an excuse. As victims and witnesses, we decided to break our silence," said Niu, a blogger who only gave his surname.

Niu said he graduated from the school in 1997.

"At the time, we were young and chose to keep our mouths shut. But now, as a father, I am concerned that this kind of humiliation could happen to my son," said Li Pinxiang, another blogger in the same batch of graduates as Niu. "We spoke out because we don't want the next generation to suffer."

Zhang, reached by Xinhua, did not confirm or refute the accusations. He said he was "in talks with his former students" on the issue.

It remains unclear how the situation will develop, but legal experts say a lawsuit is not possible because the alleged crimes occurred 15 years ago, exceeding the statute of limitations.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...a.asp?id=80003


Family pick-up hits truck, killing 2 on Shanghai highway
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

TWO people were killed this morning when a pickup truck collided with a truck on a Shanghai highway.

The pickup truck driver and his mother died, and his father was injured and sent to a hospital for treatment.

The accident happened about 5:30am on Highway S5. A witness said the pickup truck crashed into the rear of the truck.

Police said they are still investigating the cause of the rear-ender accident and traffic on the road returned to normal by noon.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...hai%2Bhighway/

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Woman sent to asylum for dating against parents' will
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

A Beijing woman who has lived a life strictly controlled by her parents was forcibly taken a mental hospital and kept there for three days because she dated someone without her parents' approval.

Chen Dan, already in her 30s, said her parents called four men from the hospital and forcibly carried her to the Beijing Huilongguan Hospital early this month.

She said she was confined to a ward where about 10 mental patients were tied to their beds and she was forced to strip naked for health checkup. Her clothes, mobile phone and wallet were all taken away.

The psychiatric examination lasted three days and about 20 doctors asked her all kinds of questions before declaring she is normal.

Chen said she has reported her abduction to the police and would sue her parents and the hospital for restricting her freedom, news.China.com.cn reported today.

Chen said she is the only child of her parents who had her very late and treated her dearly. Ten years ago she came to work in Beijing as an engineer but her overprotective parents still held a tight rein on her life.

After her first love affair at university was quashed by her parents, she did not tell them about her new boyfriend who was living in her house. When her parents came to visit unannounced, she pretended she was not at home and kept the door shut. Subsequently, her parents felt she was insane.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...arents%2Bwill/


City removed unsafe kiddie rides after tot lost 3 fingers
(Shanghai Daily, June 29)

AUTHORITIES seized 58 unlicensed kiddie rides in a citywide crackdown after a Shanghai toddler lost three fingers when playing with a rider last Sunday.

Local industrial and commercial inspectors said they discovered a website that sold kiddie rides and confiscated 58 unlicensed and unlabeled kiddie rides in a warehouse on Minhe Road on Tuesday night.

The online vendor, surnamed Xu, said he bought the unlicensed kiddie rides from Taizhou, a city in neighboring Zhejiang Province and sold them via the website.

Inspectors said they will check if the seized kiddie rides meet the national safety standards before meting out punishment to Xu.

Last Sunday, an 18-month-old boy put his hand into a hole in a kiddie ride outside a supermarket in the city's Wanggang Town and lost three fingers. Firefighters packed his severed fingers with ice and rushed them to the hospital but doctors failed to reattach the cut-off fingers.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...2B3%2Bfingers/

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6.3-magnitude quake hits northern Xinjiang, China - USGS
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, June 30)

NEW YORK, June 30 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted northern Xinjiang, China at 21:07:32 GMT on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 9.80 km, was initially determined to be at 43.4435 degrees north latitude and 84.7253 degrees east longitude.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...a.asp?id=80162


M6.6 earthquake hits NW Xinjiang
(China Economic, June 30)

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at 5:07 am Saturday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter is determined at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees east longitude, a mountainous area along the border of the region's Hejing and Xinyuan counties.


The earthquake was felt strongly by residents living in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, who reported that cable TV signals were impaired and some furniture shook drastically.


Some residents living in Xinyuan county reported that household electricity was cut off after the quake, and residents in a neighboring county said they were shaken out of bed by the quake.


Officials of the region's Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture have sent work teams to the quake-hit area to investigate the casualties and damages from the quake.

http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/20120...23450135.shtml



At least 17 injured in Xinjiang quake
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, June 30)

LOCAL authorities said at least 17 people have been injured after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early this morning.

Strong tremors were felt widely in the region, including the regional capital of Urumqi, shaking residents off beds and causing temporary blackouts when the quake occurred at 5:07 a.m.

The epicenter was monitored at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees east longitude, a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The quake has damaged or toppled an unconfirmed number of houses in Hejing, and falling objects have injured 17 people, one seriously, a county government official said.

Traffic on Highway 315 was interrupted after cave-ins were reported after the quake. Railway authorities also suspended 32 passenger and freight trains in Xinjiang for safety reasons.

The CENC has launched a level-three emergency response following the quake.

Officials of the region's Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Xinyuan, and Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Hejing, have sent work teams to the quake-hit area.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...jiang%2Bquake/

[everywhere]

Xinjiang quake updates:


24 injured Xinjiang quake
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, June 30)

URUMQI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A 6.6-magnitude quake jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early Saturday morning, toppling houses and injuring 24 people, according to the latest official account.

Strong tremors were felt widely in the region, including the regional capital of Urumqi, shaking residents out of their beds and causing temporary blackouts when the quake occurred at 5:07 a.m.

The epicenter was found to be in a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

A large number of residential houses were toppled or damaged in Xinyuan County, and hundreds of cattle were killed after their sheds collapsed, said a statement from the government of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Xinyuan.

The quake also triggered landslides and caused cave-ins on several national and regional highways in Xinjiang, bringing traffic to a halt.

The CENC has launched a level-three emergency response following the quake and local authorities have sent work teams and organized rescue efforts in affected areas.

Experts said the quake-hit region, located about 3,500 meters above sea level, was geologically active in history. Two earthquakes measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale have jolted the region since 1900.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...a.asp?id=80206

[Emloto]

The click-through rate should be high in this post

[everywhere]

Originally Posted by Emloto

The click-through rate should be high in this post

Thanks..



50 dead, 42 missing in China floods
(China Daily USA, June 30)

BEIJING - Floods triggered by strong rainfall that has been battering many parts of China since June 20 have left 50 people dead and 42 missing, new figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs have showed.


According to the ministry, more than 10.4 million people have been affected by downpours in 399 counties in Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou, with 1.247 million in urgent need of aid, as of 10 am Friday.


Torrential rain also toppled 34,000 houses, damaged another 89,000 and rendered 738,000 hectares of crops unharvestable in these regions, resulting in direct economic losses worth 10.3 billion yuan ($1.62 billion).


According to the ministry, some of the affected provinces have been battered by numerous rounds of heavy rain since April while other usually water-starved regions, including Inner Mongolia autonomous region, have suffered record levels of rain that have seen many of their crops ruined.


The ministry noted that more than half of the affected counties and cities are in the country's impoverished regions and ethnic areas where local residents with already limited means of self-support largely rely on government aid.


Local governments in disaster-hit regions have poured more than 90 million yuan into living aid, including 20 million yuan allocated in Inner Mongolia -- one of the hardest-hit areas, said the ministry.


Vowing to keep close track of how these disaster unfold, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the ministry promised to trigger emergency responses in a timely manner and offer relief guidance for affected areas.


Persistent rain continues in south China. In the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the death toll from week-long rainstorms has risen to 11 as of Friday, according to the regional civil affairs department.


More than 1.35 million people have been affected and direct economic losses of 864 million yuan have been incurred in the region.



Another round of storms are expected to arrive in Guangxi from June 30 to July 1 as a result of the upcoming tropical depression Duksuri, which will land in Guangdong on early Saturday, according to a local observatory forecast on Friday.


In neighboring Guizhou province, three people were killed and another was injured in a rain-triggered landslide on Friday afternoon.


At least three people had been confirmed dead and 38 others are still missing as of Friday after a rain-triggered mudslide hit a a construction zone on Thursday morning in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

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41, 22,000 affected in Xinjiang quake
(China Daily USA, July 1)

41 injured, 22,000 residents affected
An earthquake measuring 6.6 magnitude jolted Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at 5:07 am on Saturday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.


The epicenter was monitored at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees east longitude, a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties. The focus, the point of rupture in the Earth itself, was a mere 7 km down.



Local authorities said the quake has affected 22,000 residents, and falling objects have injured at least 41 people including one heavily wounded. As of Saturday afternoon no deaths were reported; investigation of injuries and property damage from the quake is still under way.



A large number of residential houses were toppled or damaged in Xinyuan county, and hundreds of cattle were killed when their sheds collapsed, said a statement from the government of the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, which administers Xinyuan.


Railway authorities suspended 32 passenger and freight trains in Xinjiang for safety reasons. Service resumed at around 10:45 am on Saturday, after thorough safety checks along the routes, said the Urumqi Railway Bureau.



Traffic on Highway 217 was interrupted after cave-ins and landslides were reported after the quake. About 120 people and a number of vehicles were stranded. The CENC declared a level-three emergency following the quake and local authorities sent workers and organized rescue teams into affected areas.


Also, the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have urgently allocated and transported 2,500 tents, 12,500 quilts and 12,500 coats to Xinjiang. Gao Guomin, driver at the Hehe Mining Plant, which is located about 20 km northwest of the epicenter at Gongnaisi Forestry Center, described his experiences to China Daily as "the most horrible time in his life".


"In the first round of shakes, I heard big rumblings. A few minutes later, a second round of bigger shakes came. I wasn't expecting it and it lasted for about 30 seconds. The walls swung back and forth. My whole body felt like it was out of control," said the 46-year-old man, who lived at the ground floor of a four-story resident house for workers of the mining plant.
"It's just unbelievable - just the sheer power," Gao added.



At about 5:30 am, Gao and two of his colleagues decided to escape to Hejing county, which is 200 km away from the plant. They took nearly six hours to get to the county, as they repeatedly encountered cave-ins and rolling stones.



There are more than 1,000 people working at the plant. "Every one is OK, except a young man who had his foot injured by a falling teacup in the quake," according to Gao.



Some residents living in Xinyuan county reported that household electricity was cut off after the quake. Zhan Yong, resident of neighboring Gongliu county, said he and his families were shaken out of bed by the quake.



The earthquake was felt strongly by residents living in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. Cable TV signals were impaired and some furniture shook drastically. Citizens stayed outdoors after feeling the quake, worrying about the aftershocks.



At 5:50 am, at least 100 people and a number of cars were waiting at the gate of the Children's Park at downtown Urumqi, which opened at 6 am.
Some complained about the density of residential houses and the lack of open spaces in their living area.



"If the buildings collapsed, we have no outdoor place where we can escape. That's why we come to the spacious park," said Li Yang, an Urumqi resident.



By Saturday noon, 189 aftershocks had occurred. The strongest one was measured at magnitude 4.2, said the CENC.


Experts said the quake-hit region, located about 3,500 meters above sea level, has been geologically active in history. Two earthquakes measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale have jolted the region since 1900.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

shaowei@chinadaily.com.cn

[everywhere]

Man kills partner with gun, then shoots himself
(Shanghai Daily, July 2)

A MAN taking a walk at a zoo died after he was knocked down by a car and shot in the face with a handgun by the driver yesterday morning in Wenzhou City of Zhejiang Province, police said.

The man believed to be the shooter, 49-year-old, surnamed Lin, was later found dead on a nearby road with a homemade handgun beside his body, police said. Local media said Lin killed himself with the gun.

Preliminary investigation by police showed that Lin and the victim, surnamed Nan, 48, both Wenzhou natives, were partners in a shoe factory in the city's Lucheng District. The men had had disputes over finances, police said.

Witnesses said the incident occurred at a bridge at a zoo at the city's Jingshan Mountain at 6:47am yesterday when the victim was taking a walk.

Lin followed the victim in his car before hitting him and knocking him down, said a female witness, who identified herself as "Chitte" on weibo.

She said Lin got out of the car and shot Nan in the face.

Another witness uploaded a picture online, showing the victim, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, lying on the ground with one of hands holding his bloody face.

The witness said Nan struggled after he was knocked down. His shoes and socks were seen scattered around him. He was badly injured but still alive after he was shot.

Police said the victim died about 10am in the hospital during emergency surgery. The suspected shooter was found dead near the scene at about 7am by passers-by.

Heavy rain to sweep southwest, central China
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, July 2)

XI'AN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- One person was injured and five other people have been reported missing following a mini-bus accident in northwest China's Shaanxi province on Sunday afternoon, local authorities said Monday.

The accident happened at about 3 p.m. in Xunyang county, when the mini-bus slid into a nearby river during a rainstorm, according to the local government.

Six people were on board the mini-bus at the time of the accident, and rescue work is ongoing.

Jilin police arrest poachers for killing 5 bears in Changbai Mountains
(Shanghai Daily, July 2)

FIVE people have been detained for brutally killing five bears in the Changbai Mountains in northeast China's Jilin Province.

Wang Yan, director of the Changbai Mountains Public Security Bureau, told the media yesterday that they held the five people in custody and granted bail to several more suspects.

Police have sent three teams to Beijing and Harbin, capital of neighboring Heilongjiang Province to conduct postmortem exams to determine the cause of death of the five slain bears found in the forests. The results would be available in a few weeks.

Online allegations said five of the 33 wild bears counted in the forested mountain range, including moon bears and brown bears, had been poached since early this year.

The illegal hunters killed the bears for gallbladders, paws and fur. The remains of the butchered bears were found in a hillside in the northern part of Changbai Mountain range, a wildlife monitor and author, Hu Donglin, wrote on his blog.

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Bribe-taking Inner Mongolia official jailed for life
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, July 2)

BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A former senior official of north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region was convicted of taking bribes and sentenced to life imprisonment here on Monday.

The First Intermediate People's Court of Beijing issued the verdict on Liu Zhuozhi, former vice chairman of the autonomous region's government, after a trial in early June.

The court found that Liu had taken more than 8.17 million yuan (130 million U.S. dollars) in bribes between 2002 and 2010 while he was government head and Party chief of the Communist Party of China of Xilingol League in western Inner Mongolia as well as vice chairman of the autonomous region's government.

In exchange for the bribes, Liu granted favors to 21 individuals and companies, in their business operations, mining credentials and promotions, according to the verdict.

The court deprived Liu of his political rights for life and confiscated all his personal assets.

Liu was given a lighter penalty because he confessed to his crimes and returned the illegal earnings, the court said.

Liu was removed from his official post and investigated for severe disciplinary violations in December 2010.

It is not known whether he will appeal.

Hangzhou overpass collapse kills 1 worker, buries others
(Shanghai Daily, July 2)

AT least one worker has died and an unknown number of others are feared to be buried when an overpass which is still under construction collapsed about 2pm today in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.

Witnesses said a cable that held a 50-meter-long prefab structure of the elevated road suddenly snapped, and the whole section crashed to the ground.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors who might be trapped in the debris. Local media said one was confirmed dead and three others had been rushed to the hospitals.

The overpass is located on Xingfu Road S.

[everywhere]

Man falls in river
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

A TOURIST fell into the Huangpu River while enjoying the scene and sitting on the rails along the Bund, Shanghai police said yesterday. The 22-year-old man surnamed Liu, from Hebei Province, was rescued by a police boat after he lost his strength in the river and hung onto the pipes of the flood prevention wall. Liu was reported to be in stable condition yesterday.

Crash kills two
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

A couple died on Sunday evening on the city's Chongming Island when their electric scooter collided with a minibus, Shanghai television reported. The accident happened around 5pm on Xiushan Road near Xiyin Road. The two, both in their 60s, were pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Two stabbed, die
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

TWO men were detained by Shanghai police yesterday in the killing of two other men in a food processing plant in Jiading District on Sunday, police said. The case happened around 1pm when the two suspects, one surnamed Yu and the other surnamed Dai, met the victims in the plant and tried to rob the latter two.

Although the victims fought back, the two were still stabbed more than 10 times and died, police said. More than 2,000 yuan cash was taken by the suspects.

Woman, child hurt in explosion
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

A WOMAN and a child were injured in a gas explosion in an old house in Yangpu District yesterday morning, Xinmin Evening News reported.

Police said the 27-year-old woman surnamed Lin was about to have a shower when the water heater triggered the explosion around 7am.Lin suffered burns over 45 percent of her body and was rushed to a hospital. She was listed as stable yesterday. The blast destroyed Lin's bathroom and hurt a 10-year-old child in the lane, who was also sent to the hospital.

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Famous director linked to expensive railway ad
(Shanghai Daily/CCTV News, July 3)

BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhuanet) -- A commercial for China's railways allegedly directed by Zhang Yimou that cost 18.5 million yuan ($2.9 million) triggered criticism online, the Beijing News reported Tuesday.

The audit authorities recently published the Railway Ministry's revenue and expenditure for 2011 and exposed that the ministry invested 18.5 million yuan in an advertising film.

Internet users found out that the 5-minute video gave directing credit to Zhang Yimou and said the film does not warrant the high cost and questioned the huge investment.

The film reviewed the achievements of China's railways over the past few decades and tells the story with captions. Internet users figured that each minute cost 3.7 million yuan.

Pang Liwei, an assistant to Zhang, said, "Director Zhang refused to sign his name on the film and the production company entrusted by the Railway Ministry agreed. Zhang did not get involved with any part of the shooting and only made suggestions during pre-production."

As to the high cost of the video, Pang said, "It's the pay a director of Zhang's level should get. We charge the same for other advertising films and we pay full taxes."

Hebei industrial leakage kills 6
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

SHIJIAZHUANG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Six people were suffocated to death when slag water leaked in an industrial plant and mixed with rainwater in north China's Hebei province on Tuesday morning, local authorities have announced.

The accident occurred at 7:12 a.m. at the Xiaojue Branch Plant of Shijiazhuang Sanhuan-Smelting Co. Ltd in Xiaojue township, Pingshan county, triggering high temperatures and stifling two people to death at the scene, the county government said.

Another four people were rushed to hospital, where they died at around 10:30 a.m..

Investigation groups have been dispatched to the scene to investigate the accident.

Enterprises blamed for Shaanxi river pollution
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

XI'AN, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities on Tuesday blamed enterprises along the Bahe River for discharging sewage that killed a huge amount of fish in northwest China's Shaanxi province in the past few days.

As rain poured on Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi, last Friday, some small enterprises discharged untreated waste into the river, attempting to take advantage of its rising water levels to evade sewage discharge monitoring, according to Xi'an water bureau.

Xi'an residents have reported dead fish and unusually high concentrations of moss in the Bahe River, as well as a stench emanating from the waterway, since last week.

Local water authorities have organized personnel to investigate at the scene after receiving the public tip-offs.

According to preliminary investigation, about 30,000 kg of fish have died in the river due to sewage discharged by some small enterprises.

Local environmental departments are still testing the sewage, and further investigation is under way.

[everywhere]

Several hurt as people protest metal project in their city
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

SEVERAL people were injured yesterday as police tried to disperse a crowd of people outside the Shifang City government building in Sichuan Province to protest the construction of a metal processing facility in the vicinity.

Fearing hazardous pollutions from the factory, residents gathered on Sunday evening to demand a halt to the project, local news website Newssc.org reported today.

The crowd gathered again on Monday morning and broke into the government building and smashed its windows.

The crowd grew larger in the afternoon and some protesters threw water bottles and flowerpots at policemen, injuring several officers. Nearly 10 government cars were damaged, the report said.

Police dispersed the crowd around 2pm and several protesters were slightly injured.

Shifang government has used all media channels, including Weibo microblog, radio and TV broadcast to calm public sentiment and reaffirmed its environmental protection measures in the metal processing project.

5 stabbed to dead last night in family row, suspect arrested
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

A man in the city's suburban Minhang District allegedly killed five people last night, including his wife and sister, police said today.

The suspect, Yuan Zhiwei, has been caught but police did not reveal any detail.

His neighbors said family dispute might be the cause of the man's killing rampage which took place in three separate spots in the neighborhood within a span of three hours until 10:30pm.

A middle-aged couple was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood around 8pm when their son came home. Both had been stabbed several times.

The woman surnamed Cai was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital and her husband surnamed Sun died this morning despite rescue efforts, their son told reporters this morning.

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Pudong truck driver steals company vehicles to pay gambling debts
(Shanghai Daily, July 3)

A man who stole four container trucks and a semi-trailer parked in the city's Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone and sold them to pay his gambling debts was sentenced to 11 years in prison, the Pudong New Area People's Court said today.

The 35-year-old convict, surnamed Zhang, was also fined 30,000 yuan (US$4,720) by the court. And the buyer of the stolen trucks, surnamed Liu, was also punished with a suspended one-year sentence, the court ruled.

Prosecutors said Zhang, a Jiangsu Province native, stole four vehicles from a transportation company where he worked as a truck driver last year.

"I didn't use any tools. I opened the door with my hands and connected the wires of the electric starter to activate the engine," Zhang told the court.

Prosecutors said the five trucks were worth more than 243,000 yuan but Zhang sold them to Liu at very low prices. In one case, Zhang sold a container truck valued at 87,000 yuan for just 16,000 yuan and Liu sold it for 20,000 yuan to a recycling station as scarp metals.

The pair was caught by police on December 28 last year.

[everywhere]

Forced abortion in media spotlight again
(Shanghai Daily, July 12)

A woman in Shishi City, Fujian Province said local family planning officials forced her to abort her 7 ?-month-old fetus because she already has two children.

Pan Chunyan, 31, said she was forcibly taken to a hospital in April to undergo induced labor and an official grabbed her hand to make a fingerprint on a surgery agreement, according to a Heilongjiang TV report.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...light%2Bagain/



Fake watch ring busted, 12 nabbed in Shanghai, Shenzhen
(Shanghai Daily, July 12)

SHANGHAI police say they have busted a 12-people ring that manufactured and sold fake brand-name watches in Shenzhen and Shanghai.

More than 2,000 fake Vacheron-Constantin and Cartier watches and over 10,000 components were found in the ring's hideouts in the two cities. Police estimate the value of the case is about 10 million yuan (US$1.56 million).

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...ai%2BShenzhen/



Rush to save boy hurt in workshop prank
(Shanghai Daily, July 12)

AN ambulance is rushing all the way from Beijing to a small city in Shandong Province today to save a boy from death after his intestines were punctured by compressed air from a pump nozzle forcibly inserted into his anus by two bullies.

The ambulance will bring Du Chuanwang, 13, to a well-equipped Beijing hospital for emergency treatment after the boy developed skin necrosis and suffered multiple organ failures. He woke up three days ago after being in a coma for eight days.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...kshop%2Bprank/



American stabbed to death in Beijing
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, July 12)

Police have confirmed that a man who was stabbed to death in downtown Beijing yesterday afternoon was from the United States.

The 62-year-old victim, named Howard Thomas Mills, was killed at 3:20pm at the entrance to Qudeng Alley in Xicheng District, according to a statement issued by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau yesterday night.

Mills arrived in China on July 3 with an ordinary passport, said the statement.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...Bin%2BBeijing/

[everywhere]

Factory gas leak sickens residents in Zhejiang
(Shanghai Daily, July 12)

SIXTY-EIGHT people were sent to the hospital this morning after poisonous gas leaked from a chemical plant in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province.

The leaking of sulfur dioxide from the plant of Jiangsu Sopo Group Co Ltd was detected around 10am when several residents in Jianbi Town smelt a strong odor and felt hard to breathe.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...&type=National



Man extorts money from hospitals by putting mosquito in drip bottle
(Shanghai Daily/Xinhua, July 12)

A man who allegedly extorted 6,700 yuan (US$1,052) from two Shanghai community hospitals by secretly putting hairs or small bugs in his saline solution bottles has been arrested, Pudong's prosecutors said today.

The head nurse of one hospital said the man surnamed Liu claimed there was a mosquito in his bottle and asked to see the pharmacist on duty one day in May.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...drip%2Bbottle/


Online dealer attacks customer for bad rating
(Shanghai Daily. July 12)

A customer who gave a bad rating to an online shop for selling smuggled cell phones was hacked by four strangers, today's Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The customer, surnamed Duan, is a Zhuhai City resident in Guangdong Province. He was attacked by four men armed with knives on March 5. The attackers fled by car after wounding him with cuts.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...Bbad%2Brating/

[everywhere]

Residents find out out the naked truth about Russians
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

RUSSIAN women sunbathing on their balcony in the nude have shocked Chinese residents living opposite, who condemned their behavior as "embarrassing" and "shameful."

Meanwhile, a man who swam naked in a river has been detained after women who saw him called the police. The two cases sparked heated discussion online in a country where nudity is still a sensitive and controversial topic for many Chinese people.

The Russian women recently moved into an apartment in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province. Residents in the community said they usually went to work during the evening and had taken to sunning themselves on their apartment's balcony during the day. Some were naked, others wore G-strings and they could be seen clearly from the apartments opposite, residents told a local newspaper.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Nat...ut%2BRussians/


Customer alleges burns on barbecued meat
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

A SHANGHAI customer is suing the producer of Simeixiang barbecued meat, claiming the company failed to meet national food standards, used outdated standards for manufacturing and shorted consumers on product weight, the Xuhui District People's Court heard the case yesterday.

Pan Jiemin, of the Pudong New Area, is demanding a refund of 1,650 yuan (US$266), compensation of 16,500 yuan from Simeixiang Food Co Ltd of Longhai, in Fujian Province, the Chinese subsidiary of Singapore-based Bee Cheng Hiang Group, and from the Xuhui outlet of Pacific Department Store where he bought the product. Pan also wants a public apology and manufacturing improvements from the producer.

In January, Pan bought 10 gift boxes of the company's barbecued meat at 1,650 yuan from the store. He said he found the meat had a lot of burns. To support his suit, Pan relied on China's criterion for sensory evaluation of meat and meat products issued by China's Ministry of Agriculture.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...becued%2Bmeat/


Girl, 5, in death fall
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl died after she fell from the eighth floor at a residential community on 3088 Jinxiu Road in the Pudong New Area yesterday.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Met...Bdeath%2Bfall/

[everywhere]

2 million affected in Chinese rainstorms
(China Economic/Xinhua, July 17)

Torrential rain last week affected more than 2 million people in several southern Chinese provinces, according to local authorities. More than 13,000 residents in a southwestern Chinese prefecture have been evacuated as rainstorms lashed the area on Monday, local authorities said.

Authorities in the Kaikou township in Qiannan prefecture of Guizhou province relocated to safety more than 3,000 residents who were trapped by flooding. Meanwhile, about 10,000 residents in Pingtang county of Qiannan prefecture were evacuated as one third of the county seat have been submerged by flood waters of up to one meter deep.

The rainstorms also have caused power outages and landslides and damaged roads and thousands of homes. Local civil affairs authorities have sent bottled water, food and tents to the flood-ravaged regions and flood relief work is ongoing.

more: http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/20120...23496294.shtml



Fire raging in NE China's car factory, casualties unknown
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

HARBIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A fire broke out in a used car factory in northeast China's Heilongjiang province Tuesday noon and casualties are unknown, fire-fighters said.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.org/article...a.asp?id=83531


Rainstorms kill 30 in southern, central China
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Torrential rain has ravaged south and central China's provincial areas since July 11, leaving 30 dead and another four missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday.

Natural disasters -- strong wind, hail, floods, landslides and mudslides -- caused by the downpours had affected about 7.4 million people in 233 counties in seven provincial areas including Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou and forced the areas to be evacuated of about 431,000 residents, the ministry said in a statement.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.org/article...a.asp?id=83542


Hunan house explosion kills 1, injures 3
(Shanghai Daily, July 17)

CHANGSHA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and three others seriously injured when nitrate explosives stored in a residence in central China's Hunan province went off on Monday night, according to local police.

The explosion occurred in a farmer's house in Chengbu county of Shaoyang city at 10:23 p.m., causing the house to collapse and trap four people inside, municipal police said on Tuesday.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.org/article...a.asp?id=83533

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Nanjing motorists irate over pothole-plagued bridge
(Shanghai Daily/SINA, July 17

MORE than 100 potholes have appeared on Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, in east China's Jiangsu Province, after a heavy rainstorm and because of poor maintenance, Yangtze Evening News reported today.

Drivers in Nanjing have been annoyed by the newly-formed holes. Some residents said that water always failed to drain from the road after the rainfall and this caused potholes on the road. According to an investigation, there are 117 potholes along the bridge and the biggest one is up to 20 centimeters in diameter and 7 centimeters in depth.

more: http://www.shanghaidaily.org/nsp/Nat...gued%2Bbridge/