Official suspended after 2 tragedies

A senior official in charge of education and sport in Guangshan county, Henan province, has been suspended from his post, Dahe Daily reported on Wednesday. Liu Zhongping was suspended following the second of two tragic incidents in the county. On Monday four primary students drowned in a river on their way to school. The four boys were playing on a frozen river when the ice broke. On Dec 14, a man stabbed and injured 23 students and two adults with a knife in a primary school. No deaths were reported.

Guangdong

Woman accused in stepchild's death

A woman suspected of beating her 3-year-old stepdaughter to death has been charged by police but released on bail because she is pregnant, New Express Daily reported on Wednesday. The victim, Xu Lijia, was born out of wedlock in February 2010. Her father's girlfriend, surnamed Zeng, 35, abused the child frequently, especially after failing to get pregnant herself. The toddler was taken to a hospital on Jan 1 after Zeng beat her into a coma. The girl died one week later from a skull fracture, the report said.

Beijing

Report: More cities use smart cards

More than 440 of the approximately 600 cities in China have set up systems to allow people to swipe smart cards on public transportation, according to a People's Daily report on Wednesday. The State Council, China's cabinet, urged more cities to adopt such systems for commuters, according to a recently released guideline on developing urban public transportation. It also encouraged cities to adopt the same standards so that one city's smart card can be used in another city.

Mapping satellite of high quality

China's first high-resolution, stereo mapping satellite, Ziyuan III, meets international standards, ridding the country of its reliance on imports of satellite images. The news was announced at a seminar that reviewed the research and development of Ziyuan III. The seminar took place on Wednesday, exactly 13 months after the satellite was launched.

Crackdown on erroneous maps

China has been cracking down on erroneous maps in both print and digital forms, the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-information said in a statement on Wednesday. Relevant government agencies have handled 1,800 cases involving map irregularities and confiscated 750,000 maps since 2005. The administration said as China is involved in several disputes with neighboring countries, it is vital to raise public awareness of the country's proper territory.

Tibet

Monasteries welcome New Year

Monasteries in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region have welcomed a growing number of visitors ahead of the upcoming Tibetan New Year, which falls on Feb 11. Sonam Norbu, deputy director of the management committee of Sera Monastery in the regional capital of Lhasa, said more than 3,000 worshippers have come to pray every day since the monastery began a Tantric Buddhism assembly on Jan 3.

Shaanxi

Officers suspected of extortion

Three traffic policemen in Shangluo, Shaanxi province, are being investigated for allegedly extorting money from a man as a reward for finding his stolen car.

Zhao Dong, from Yulin city, reported that his car was stolen in Xi'an, capital of the province, on Dec 20. On Monday Zhao was told traffic police in Shangluo had found his car, but when he went to pick it up he was made to wait for six hours. After a hint from the police, Zhao paid 1,500 yuan ($241) to three traffic policemen and his car appeared 10 minutes later.

Tianjin

City in shortage of domestic helpers

Tianjin will face a major shortage of domestic helpers, who are largely migrant workers, over the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, Daily News has reported. The shortage of an estimated 100,000 workers is caused by many domestic helpers returning home over the holiday, the report said. The need for nannies usually reaches its peak when the lunar year is almost over, the city's domestic service association said.

Taiwan

Restaurant caught serving leftovers

A famous restaurant in Taiwan has been found serving leftover dishes to mainland tourist groups. The action came to light after the release of a 14-minute video, taken by a former employee of the Pak Sha Wan restaurant in Taitung county, showing leftovers being served in an attempt to cut costs, according to a report on chinanews.com. The report estimated that more than 10,000 tourists had eaten the restaurant's leftovers.

Shanxi

Media given limit for leaders' reports

News reports on provincial leaders should be less than 1,500 characters, according to a new regulation released by authorities in Shanxi province. Shanxi Daily reported on Wednesday that the provincial government has asked local media to cut the length of news reports about government officials, in an attempt to reduce formalism and bureaucracy.

Jilin

8 more agencies to run DPRK tours

The National Tourism Administration has allowed eight travel agencies to run tours from Jilin province to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The travel agencies will mainly operate three routes: Hunchun to Najin, Longjing to Chilbo Mountain, and Changbai county to Chongjin. Jilin, which borders Russia and the DPRK, has been working to develop cross-border tourism in recent years.

China Daily-Xinhua