Beijing

Tough new rules set for doctors

Doctors who receive cash gifts from patients or accept kickbacks from drug makers will have their certificates revoked, under a regulation released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Thursday. The regulation prohibits nine types of behavior, including doctors accepting social donations or participating in drug promotions.

Official expelled from Party over gifts

Qi Pingjing, former deputy head of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and thrown out of office for receiving a huge amount of money and gifts. The decision was made by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and approved by the CPC Central Committee, a statement on the commission's website on Thursday said.

Lunar rover Yutu 'goes to sleep'

China's moon rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) "went to sleep" at 5:23 am Beijing time on Thursday as the mission's first lunar night fell, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said. The command was issued by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. One night on the moon is equivalent to about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below -180 C and there is no sunlight to power Yutu's solar panel.

Subway extensions starting trial run

Two extensions to the Beijing Subway's Line 8 will begin trial operations on Saturday, traffic authorities said. The northern extension is 6.3 km long and the southern one is 3.2 km. The trial operations will enable the line, which runs north to south, to link with all east-to-west subway lines in northern Beijing, including six transfer stations.

Highway charges halted for holidays

Highways in the capital will open for free during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, which starts on Jan 31, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said on Wednesday. But expressways in the city will not operate toll-free on Lunar New Year's Eve, it said.

Taxi firm told to pay up after killing

A taxi company was told to pay 770,000 yuan ($127,000) in compensation on Thursday after one of its employees raped and killed a female passenger. In October 2012, the victim, surnamed Sang, 22, took a taxi operated by the Beijing Wanfang Taxi Company from Workers' Stadium to Yayuncun, both in Chaoyang district, but she was murdered by the driver, Chen Yun, who also raped her. Chen was sentenced to death in October.

Ex-village head jailed for fraud

A former village head was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of corruption and fraud amounting to nearly 9 million yuan ($1.48 million). Gao Baohe, 45, former head of Xiniuyu in Beijing's Pinggu district, was accused of fraud relating to tourism projects from 2009 to 2012. Gao denied all charges and said he had been a good official.

Guangdong

Property controls promise challenged

Restrictions on buying property, and measures aimed at curbing housing prices in Guangzhou will be gradually lifted next year, Li Junfu, a city housing official, said. But analysts said the control policies are unlikely to change, as the city has no other measures to stabilize the market, Yicai.com reported.

More than $50,000 spent for 3 trees

Three trees in front of a community office building in Shenzhen cost nearly 320,000 yuan ($52,800), according to an audit report delivered to local legislators, Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Thursday. However, the authorities said the trees came at a discount, the newspaper reported.

Parcel delivery safety increased

Residents of Huizhou, Zhuhai and Zhongshan must show their ID cards to use parcel delivery services under a trial run in the three cities. Wang Junke, an official with the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, said the move will prevent toxic parcels from being sent and make deliveries much safer.

1 dies, 5 missing after river accident

One person was killed and five are missing after the Xijiang River embankment in Deqing collapsed on Wednesday, Guangzhou Daily reported. Excessive excavation of sand may have contributed to the collapse.

Jiangxi

Shop's inspirational sayings become hit

Zong Mingjun, the 26-year-old owner of a snack shop at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, has seen himself and his shop rise in popularity since he wrote inspirational sayings in English each day on a small blackboard. "I loved English when I was at school. I wanted to share the inspirational sentences that I accumulated with people who come to my shop each day. I hope to make friends with them in this way," he said.

Sichuan

Father sells son in quest for stardom

Police in Chengdu detained a man for selling his baby son. The father confessed to selling the 4-month-old, saying he needed money to sing in a TV talent show, Yangtze Evening News reported on Thursday. The man, who had dreamed of becoming a star, became obsessed with the program Super Boy on Hunan TV and applied to take part, spending more than 8,000 yuan ($1,320) in the process.

Henan

10 take a stand on care for elderly

Ten elderly people in Zhengzhou stood on a city street on Wednesday with signs stating, "If I fall over on the street, please lend a helping hand and lift me up", Zhengzhou Evening News reported. The 10 are volunteers in a community where the average age is more than 75. They said their action was aimed at raising awareness about caring for the elderly.

Hebei

Former school official given death sentence

The former vice-president of a primary school was sentenced to death by Baoding Intermediate Court on Thursday for killing a 6-year-old girl. Yang Haijun was vice-president of Wang'an Town Central Primary School in Laiyuan, a county in Hebei province. Earlier this year, he took the girl to his home, pretending to help look for her mother. Yang suffocated her and dumped the body in a pit.

Fujian

Special order results in a model delivery

A woman in Xiamen had her online shopping delivered on Wednesday by a good-looking delivery man she requested especially when making the purchases. The woman, surnamed Liu, purchased the order online and made her special request on Dec 19. To meet her demand, the company owner asked a friend, who works as an actor and a model, to make the delivery.

Hubei

Drunken diner gives 38,000 yuan tip

A man in Yuan'an county tipped a karaoke TV waiter 38,000 yuan ($6,270) after getting drunk during dinner on Tuesday. The man, surnamed Jiang, did not remember giving the tip and returned to the premises with police the following morning. The waiter said Jiang was so drunk that night that he forced him to accept the cash as a tip. The waiter returned all the money to Jiang.

Anhui

Man goes to girlfriend's home with millions in cash

A 27-year-old man from Anhui province visited his girlfriend's home in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, from Hefei by train, carrying 2 million yuan ($330, 000) in cash as a betrothal gift on Wednesday. Staff at Hefei railway station noticed the man was carrying suspicious parcels when he passed through a security check.

Yunnan

Kunming blooms hit by big winter chill

Many flowers and trees have been damaged by freezing temperatures in Kunming. In one downtown area, all the flowers have died and will be removed, Yunnan Info Daily reported on Thursday. This situation has been reported in many other main streets of the city, which is experiencing a much colder winter than in recent years.

Xinhua - China Daily

Battle stations People in Shanghai take part in a Christmas Day pillow fight on Wednesday, as a way to release pressure and enjoy themselves during the festivities. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily USA 12/27/2013 page3)