Beijing

Shipbuilder gets patrol vessel order

Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Co signed a 2.5 billion yuan ($397 million) contract in Beijing to build nine patrol vessels for the marine patrol force, china.org.cn reported on Thursday. The contract is for five 3,000-ton and four 5,000-ton vessels whose designs are based on the Haijian 50, a 3,000-ton ship for the China Marine Surveillance fleet, and the Haixun 01, a 5,000-ton ship for the China Maritime Safety Administration.

Advisers raise 30,000 proposals

China's national political advisers have put forward nearly 30,000 proposals over the last five years, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee said on Thursday. A total of 28,930 proposals raised by committee members have helped improve government policies and perfect laws, said Sun Gan, deputy director of the committee for handling proposals under the 11th CPPCC National Committee.

21.59b yuan to be allocated to needy

A total of 21.59 billion yuan ($3.44 billion) is to be allocated in the coming weeks to more than 89 million impoverished people in China's urban and rural areas, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Thursday. The money will be allocated before Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 10 this year. Approved by the State Council, the allocations will be handled by the ministries of civil affairs and finance.

Foreign-language websites launched

Two foreign-language websites were launched on Wednesday to keep foreigners informed about the latest developments in Beijing. Cityofbeijing.gov.cn and beijing.china.org.cn have been developed by the Beijing government's information office, China Daily and China International Publishing Group. Cityofbeijing.gov.cn is an English-language website, and beijing.china.org.cn is available in three languages: English, French and Chinese.

New test to identify heavy metals

Beijing's Center for Disease Control and Prevention is developing a new way to quickly test heavy metals in food, Beijing Times reported on Thursday. Most food in the market contains more than 20 kinds of heavy metals, most of which are lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and chromium, according to the center. Despite their insignificant amounts, those heavy metals can be quite harmful in some foods that have a strong absorption ability.

Rail police handle 5,117 drug cases

Railway police have handled 5,117 drug-related cases since the beginning of 2012, detaining 5,144 suspects, according to police authorities under the Ministry of Railways. Railway police have confiscated nearly 668 kg of drugs since the start of 2012, a statement said on Thursday.

Nation records record copyrights

A record-high 139,228 software copyrights were registered in China in 2012, according to a report released by the National Copyright Administration on Thursday. Beijing topped all municipalities and provinces with 39,125 registrations, followed by Guangdong and Shanghai. Software copyright registrations related to cloud computing totaled 1,946, an increase of 118 percent over 2011.

Hebei

11 dead in road accidents

At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured in separate road accidents in north and central China on Thursday, traffic police said. More than 20 vehicles were involved in nine separate collisions on a 2-km section of expressway in Hebei province, killing four people and injuring nine others, according to Hebei traffic police. Separately, a vehicle collision in Henan province left seven people dead.

Henan

Seven killed in bus collision

Seven people were killed after two company buses collided in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, on Thursday. Both buses were owned by Foxconn Technology Group, a PR manager surnamed Cai from the company confirmed. The accident occurred at a crossing at about 8:40 am, the website of Zhengzhou-based Dahe Daily reported.

Taiwan

Quake rattles island province

A magnitude-4.7 earthquake jolted Ilan county in Taiwan at 4:30 pm on Thursday, the China Earthquake Networks Center said. The epicenter was monitored at 24.5 degrees north latitude and 122.1 degrees east longitude with a depth of 9 km, according to the center.

Guangdong

Help urged for train tickets

Legal experts called for more efficient channels to help migrant workers buy train tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush, after a couple was detained in Guangdong province for helping workers buy train tickets and charging a commission. Railway police detained the couple on Sunday in Foshan, Guangdong, after finding more than 200 train tickets and 213 ID cards in the couple's shop.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 01/18/2013 page2)