Jiangxi

Qigong 'master' in firearms allegation

Police in Jiangxi province have launched an investigation into Wang Lin, a self-proclaimed master of qigong, on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms, the Beijing News reported on Monday. The investigation was launched by the police in Luxi county on Thursday after Wang's former apprentice, Zou Yong, disclosed that Wang had possessed a rifle unlawfully and once used it to shoot birds. Wang entered the media spotlight last month after photos were released showing him hobnobbing with celebrities.

Beijing

TCM listed in healthcare system

China's top health commission has decided to extend the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the nation's basic healthcare system and provide massage and acupuncture guidance to the elderly and children. A TCM health management service will be offered to the elderly annually, as well as to parents with children under 3, according to a statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Monday.

Plan for economic bloc to be unveiled

A plan to construct a Beijing economic bloc, which will include three districts in Tianjin municipality and nine cities in Hebei province, will be released in September, Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported on Monday. Beijing's economic bloc will create more government investment from the capital to selected regions to further economic development. The plan was drawn up by the National Development and Reform Commission, the newspaper report said.

Lawyers train for foreign business

The nation will train 300 lawyers in foreign-related businesses over the next four years, under a program launched by the All China Lawyers Association on Monday. Initiated by the Ministry of Justice and the association with financial support from the government, the program will train 120 lawyers in foreign investment, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and international financial and securities business to help more Chinese companies go abroad. It will train another 150 in international trade, copyright protection and World Trade Organization concerns, and 30 in other businesses.

Guangxi

Graduate opts for chengguan career

A graduate from Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China, has chosen to work as an urban patrol officer, or chengguan. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Wei, applied for a chengguan position in two districts in Liuzhou, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, local media reported. He scored the highest marks in the exams among all candidates and performed well in an interview, the report said. The main responsibility of the job is to monitor the sanitary conditions of the streets. It carries a monthly salary of 1,600 yuan ($260).

Shandong

Affordable housing apartments empty

Auditors in Shandong province found 12,900 vacant affordable housing apartments while auditing the affordable housing projects of 15 cities in the province. The vacant apartments were found in nine cities, and 4,870 have been empty for more than six months. Lack of support and public service facilities and an excessively high standard of qualification were given as the major reasons for the number of vacancies. The auditing body also found 815 unqualified families are living in such affordable housing.

Shanxi

8 killed as village hit by landslide

Eight people died in a landslide early on Monday morning in Chagou, a village in Lyuliang, authorities said. The landslide struck at about 3 am, burying three cavehouses and two ordinary houses, a Lyuliang spokesman said. Rescuers pulled eight villagers from the debris, but they died despite medical efforts.

Zhejiang

Plane skids off runway in Yiwu

A plane with 74 passengers aboard slid off the runway while taxiing at Yiwu Airport on Sunday afternoon, but no casualties were reported, airport sources said. Air China's flight CA4538 skidded off the runway, and its tires sank into a pitch-covered area during preparation for departure. The plane was bound for Chengdu, Sichuan province. Authorities shut down the airport after the accident. More than 200 passengers were transferred to Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou.

Hunan

248 homeless after blaze

A blaze raged through a village populated by Miao and Dong ethnic minority groups in Hunan province on Monday morning, destroying 58 wooden homes and leaving 248 people homeless. The fire broke out in a township in Jingzhou Miao and Dong autonomous county, which has many wooden houses. It took firefighters five hours to extinguish the blaze. The local government has offered accommodation and living allowances to the villagers, in addition to supplies such as bedding, rice and cooking oil.

Guangxi

Workers arrested for polluting river

Seven workers from an ore treatment plant were arrested in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for polluting the Hejiang River last month and one other is still at large, China News Service reported on Monday. In early July, the river was found to be seriously contaminated, with cadmium at 1.9 times higher than the standard and thallium 2.14 times. Police found the pollution originated from an ore treatment plant, which piled raw cadmium and thallium in the open air and discharged waste residue into karst caves near the plant.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily USA 08/06/2013 page3)