Shaanxi

'House Sister' gets 3-year sentence

A woman who forged and bought State documents was sentenced to three years of prison on Sunday by Jingbian County People's Court. Gong Aiai, a resident of Shenmu, paid 300,000 yuan ($49,000) for several ID cards for Beijing and Shanxi province. Gong has become famous among micro-bloggers for reportedly having 41 houses in Beijing, inspiring netizens to dub her "House Sister". Police have found no evidence that Gong obtained the houses illegally, and she denied in court that she forged State documents.

Hunan

Hybrid rice yield hits record

A team led by Yuan Longping, known in China as "the father of hybrid rice", has set a record for hybrid rice production with an average yield of 14,821 kilograms per hectare. Deng Qiyun, a member of the team, said that the progress has pushed China's hybrid rice study to a new level and greatly boosted the team's confidence to achieve the targeted production of 15,000 kg per hectare.

50 pupils sick on school food

More than 50 students in a school in Lianyuan have been hospitalized after having meals at school, local authorities said on Sunday. Pupils from Jiaquan Hope Elementary School in Lianyuan had headaches and vomited after eating at the school. The students have been sent to a hospital for treatment.

Henan

Residents urgedto help elderly

Residents of Zhengzhou are being asked to provide assistance to elderly people who wear yellow bracelets, Zhengzhou Evening News reported on Sunday. During a lecture about Alzheimer's disease on Saturday in the city, some people received the yellow bracelets, which show that the wearers have Alzheimer's and may need help.

Liaoning

New rules on password theft

People who steal e-mail or instant messaging service passwords will be fined 5,000 yuan ($820), under a new Liaoning province regulation. Organizations that violate the regulation will be fined 15,000 yuan. Any illegal gains will be confiscated and, if the violation is serious, those responsible will lose Internet service for three months. The regulation will take effect from Dec 1.

Guangdong

Lawmakers limit homework in city

Guangdong has passed a regulation protecting minors from excessive amounts of homework from Guangzhou schools and teachers, Southern Metropolis Daily reported. Schools and teachers in the provincial capital should not assign more homework than the amount set by the State education administrative department, according to the regulation.

South Fleet holds open week

The Chinese navy's South Sea Fleet launched an open week for the first time on Sunday as part of Ocean Week events being held in the coastal city of Zhanjiang. People will be able to board some vessels in the fleet and visit a museum to learn about the fleet's history. The open week is intended to promote education on national defense and patriotism, according to the Ocean Week organizer.

Beijing

Nation to lower retail fuel prices

China will slash the per-metric-ton retail price of gasoline by 245 yuan ($40) and that of diesel by 235 yuan, starting on Monday, the country's top economic planner said on Sunday. The adjustment will lower the benchmark retail price of gasoline by 0.18 yuan per liter and that of diesel by 0.2 yuan per liter, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website.

Jiangsu

Visitors limitedat mausoleum

The administration of the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the father of China's democratic revolution, said it will limit visitors to 180,000 per day during the National Day holiday from Oct 1 to 7 to optimize the tourist experience, chinanews.com reported on Sunday. Better internal routes will be recommended, and entrances will cease once the visitor number reaches that ceiling. The step came after a record 230,000 tourists visited the mausoleum one day during the holiday last year.

Chhina Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily USA 09/30/2013 page3)