News in review Friday, May 23 to Thursday, May 29

Friday - May 23

Index rises on new orders; employment still lags

The preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for Chinese manufacturing in May beat expectations with a five-month high, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is stabilizing.

The PMI, released by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics, was 49.7, compared with a 48.3 median estimate from analysts. April's final reading was 48.1. Still, a reading below 50 reflects contraction. A final May reading is expected on June 3.

"Tentative signs of stabilization are emerging, partly as a result of the recent mini-stimulus measures and lower borrowing costs," HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said.

Output and orders rebounded. The new order sub-index rose to 50.2 from 47.4 in April, the highest reading so far this year. (Photo 1)

Foreign tech companies face policy review

Foreign technology companies will have a hard time in China - at least in the short run - after the world's largest computer and Internet market is set to impose a review policy on imported network and technology equipment and services.

The country will launch a cyber-security testing program on major information technology products and services used in national security and other public interest segments, a government statement said.

Analysts said the announcement comes as China confronts the United States on Internet safety issues.

Most of the leading foreign players in China's technology market are based in the US, including Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Oracle.

Monday - May 26

Yao Ming may bid for LA Clippers: report

Retired basketball star Yao Ming said "anything is possible" amid speculation that the former Houston Rockets center is putting together a bid for the Los Angeles Clippers with Chinese investors.

Yao, who owns the Shanghai Sharks basketball team in China, is assembling a group to buy the Clippers franchise, sports channel ESPN reported on its website, citing unidentified sources.

The National Basketball Association told owner Donald Sterling last week that it intends to force a sale in the wake of racist comments that got him banned from the league for life.

"I know there are a lot of rumors, but I don't think I have time to clarify the rumors one by one," Yao, 33, told journalists on Sunday in Beijing, where he was attending a graduation ceremony at a basketball school named after him. "Nowadays, sports are globalized, and anything is possible, but so far, there is nothing substantial." (Photo 2)

BYD Co to offer $400 million in new shares

BYD Co, the Chinese automaker partially owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, is offering $400 million in new stock, according to Bloomberg News.

The funds would allow Shenzhen-based BYD room to increase investments and bolster production of electric vehicles. Selling shares would also help alleviate the strain on a balance sheet saddled with surging debt.

The company has an option to increase the offering by $100 million, according to the term sheet obtained by Bloomberg news.

Cary Wei, a Shenzhen-based BYD public relations manager, declined to comment.

The sale comes after BYD reported profit tumbled 89 percent in the first quarter because of declining demand for its gasoline-fueled vehicles. (Photo 3)

Tuesday - May 27

Anti-cheating measures set for gaokao

The Ministry of Education has signed contracts with higher education admission commissions of all provinces, regions and municipalities to ensure a fair, transparent national college entrance examination, or gaokao, across the country.

The exam will take place on June 7 and 8. About 9.12 million people took the exam in 2013.

Anti-cheating measures include monitoring cameras at every testing venue and mobile signal shielding.

Local education departments are requiring all candidates and their parents to sign a letter in which they promise they won't cheat on the exam.

Zhong Shijun, from the education department of Changchun, said that the city has spent 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) installing a system to prevent cheating in exams such as by preventing any words or numbers from appearing on electronic devices and by disturbing transmissions to any earphones.

In Changchun, capital of Jilin province, a total of 50,482 people will attend this year's gaokao, an increase of 2,865 people compared with last year. About 3,254 teachers will take charge of monitoring this year's examination.

Beijing subways will get 4G Internet connection

Beijing will bring fast 4G Internet connections to all of its subways by the end of July.

Passengers will have access to 4G networks on the platforms, in the carriages, at the entrances and in the tunnels, Beijing MTR Corp said.

Some metro lines, such as Line 4 and Line 9, recently introduced the latest global mobile standard.

More than 7.93 million subway trips were made on Sunday, according to the Beijing MTR Corp and Beijing Subway.

4G reached China late in 2013, and many public places are not yet covered by the networks.

Curbs eased on foreign investments in hospitals

China will ease curbs on foreign investment in joint-venture hospitals, as it overhauls its healthcare system to cut costs and improve overloaded public services.

The announcement was made in a healthcare reform plan for 2014 published on the website of China's cabinet, the State Council.

The plan involves overhauling the management of medical joint-ventures with overseas partners, including "reducing restrictions on the percentage of foreign ownership in medical JVs and collaborations," it said in the statement.

The move would increase the number of cities where investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan could set up wholly-owned medical institutions, and allow overseas investors to set up wholly-owned hospitals in designated areas, such as the Shanghai free trade zone.

Patrol police get special weapons training

China's patrol police are receiving special training to ensure they can use weapons they will be issued to combat terrorism, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Since March, the ministry and local police departments have had weapons instructors and psychologists offer special training to patrol police before they are armed.

The training will last three months, the ministry said. Afterward, officers will be required to pass examinations to qualify to carry and use firearms.

Guns are tightly restricted in the country. Only SWAT police officers ordinarily carry weapons, while others, such as officers who patrol neighborhoods, do not.

In recent days, the number of rounds of ammunition for Beijing SWAT officers has doubled. If terrorists are encountered, Beijing SWAT officers are authorized to shoot to kill, rather than firing warning shots. (Photo 5)

Thursday - May 29

Nationwide survey highlights teenage smoking

About 9.4 million middle school students in China aged 13 to 15 have tried smoking and one-third have become tobacco users, the first nationwide survey on smoking among young people has found.

Among 155,000 junior high school students polled, nearly 20 percent had used tobacco and 6.9 percent became tobacco users, according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey on China.

Release of the data came ahead of World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31 each year.

There is no legal age limit on smoking in China, but it is illegal to sell cigarettes to people under 16.

Suicides not tied to new cremation rules

There was no direct relationship between the alleged suicides of several elderly rural residents in Anqing, Anhui province and new burial rules that require cremation, authorities said.

The Oriental Morning Post in Shanghai reported that six elderly people committed suicide so their bodies could be buried legally in coffins.

Starting June 1, all corpses must be cremated, according to a notice from the Anqing government on March 25.

China has been encouraging cremation since the 1950s out of concern for land use, among other things. The national cremation rate reached nearly 50 percent in 2012.

The Anqing government announced funeral reforms in 1994 and 2006, but they failed because of tepid support from residents.

The Egyptian government protested a replica of the Great Sphinx in Hebei province (left), saying it undermines the country's cultural heritage. The company that built the replica as part of a movie set said that it would tear down the statue after the movie is finished. The copy, in a theme park near the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, has attracted many visitors since April when construction was finished. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily USA 05/30/2014 page8)