Beijing

Database planned for mentally ill

Patients suffering from serious mental illness should be recorded in a national database to give them access to medical treatment and prevent them from harming others, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Monday. People with such illnesses as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, persistent delusional disorder and paranoid schizophrenia should be recorded in the database, the commission said.

Top auditor vows to supervise fund use

The country's top auditor has vowed to keep a close watch on funds related to people's livelihoods, according to a statement issued on Monday. Auditing agencies nationwide have paid much attention to some key projects, such as funds for earthquake relief efforts. However, many small-scale projects involving people's livelihoods lack supervision, the National Audit Office said.

Translation contest launched

A translation contest of contemporary works in the Chinese language was launched on Monday to expand the country's cultural influence. The China International Translation Contest 2013 organizing committee chose 30 award-winning contemporary Chinese short stories from renowned writers. Participants are required to translate one of the stories into English, French, Russian, Spanish or Arabic and submit their work before Feb 28, 2014. The top prize for each language translation will be $5,000.

Zhejiang

Official removed for power abuse

A deputy director of the education bureau in Zijin county has been removed from his post for monopolizing the local school uniform market, Guangzhou Daily reported. Cai Zhitao, who is suspected of abusing his power to give school uniform orders to a factory owned by his father since 2005, will be transferred to the judicial department for further investigation, according to the county's anti-graft body. Cai reportedly earned more than 100 million yuan ($16.3 million) from the uniform business.

Ex-soldiers favored for civil service

Veterans will take priority for civil service employment in Ningbo, according to the city government's official website. A notice from the city government said that, starting this year, veterans with bachelor's degrees will be given preference for civil service positions when they have the same qualifications as other candidates.

Driver kills man with machete

The driver of a car that hit a man and woman in Ningbo at noon on Monday got out of his vehicle and killed the man with a machete, zjol.com.cn reported. The woman was injured and taken to a hospital, local police said. Police have launched an investigation into the case.

Man applies for 1,000 bankbooks

A resident in Wenzhou tried to apply for 1,000 bankbooks in a local bank when he was unable to retrieve a frozen balance of about 1,000 yuan ($163) from his expired credit card account. After being denied access to the frozen funds, he tried to apply for the bankbooks and put only 1 yuan in each account in two branches of the bank. The bank finally agreed to unfreeze his credit card after he applied for 23 bankbooks at the second branch.

Guangdong

Education reform supported: survey

About 84 percent of respondents to a recent survey consider it necessary to extend compulsory education. The survey was conducted by the Guangzhou-based Canton Public Opinion Research Center, which interviewed 2,000 urban residents across the province in August. Compulsory education in China covers primary school and junior middle school, totaling nine years.

Parents seek to expel autistic child

Parents of 49 students from Dongguan High School have threatened to put their children on strike if the school refuses to dismiss an autistic student. In a group letter to the principal, the parents said the boy who has autism has a bad temper and frequently disrupts classes, affecting their children's studies. But the principal said he had no right to dismiss the student, as every child has the right to attend school.

Jiangxi

'Poisonous' insect was only a spider

Two police officers went to an apartment in Nanchang on Friday evening to get rid of an "unknown insect" after receiving a report that it might be poisonous. But to their surprise, it was only a large spider. The man who called police said he and his family were afraid of the spider, but feared police would not come to help them if he told them the truth. One police officer was so angry he crushed the spider with his foot, Nanchang Evening News reported.

Xinjiang

Region to build cotton trade center

Cotton processors in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are planning to build a cotton trading center in the country's largest cotton planting area. The center will be located in the Xinjiang Huijin Logistics Garden in Kuerle, in southern Xinjiang. It will be jointly supported by 17 cotton purchase and processing enterprises with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($245 million).

Hunan

5 detained for hunting dogs

Police detained five people on suspicion of using poisonous darts to kill dogs for profit in Changde, Xinhuanet.com reported on Monday. One of the suspects, named Lu, is alleged to be the ringleader of a group that killed dogs in rural areas and kept them in cold storage to sell to restaurants. Police found 974 dead dogs in storage and said about 10 had been sold to restaurants. In June, one gang member accidentally fired a poisonous dart into his own leg and died before he reached hospital.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily USA 09/03/2013 page3)