IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Kaifeng to restore historical image

The local government in Kaifeng, an ancient city in Central China's Henan province, plans to restore the historical appearance of its downtown area.

The city was the capital of seven dynasties, including the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), a period when the economy and society thrived.

The plan will require more than 34,000 families to move from their homes by the end of the year, said Wang Xuejie, vice-mayor of Kaifeng, in a report put on local government's official website on Aug 11.

Ancient villages open to investors

New regulations on the protection of ancient villages will allow more private capital to be invested in historical sites in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, home to the highest number of ancient villages in China.

According to the rules, historical houses in these villages can be acquired by the government or State-owned enterprises and then turned over to private investors for either renovation or repurchase.

The regulations state that this system will better protect the houses and allow them to be turned into small enterprises to fund for their continual upkeep.

Suzhou was, in 2005, one of the first cities in China to open the door to private capital to protect its historical sites.

Welfare

Disabled offered insurance

The Beijing Disabled Persons Federation gave the capital's 410,000 disabled people a special gift on Aug 10 in the form of group accident insurance.

The program aims to improve the social security network for the disabled, federation officials said. The new insurance policy allows disabled Beijing residents to be covered by a maximum payment of 50,000 yuan ($7,860; 6,354 euros) for accidental death or disability when using public transportation tools, visiting museums and other public places open to the disabled for free.

Chronic disease to pose problem

In the next 18 years, there will be a higher incidence of chronic diseases, creating a mounting health care challenge for China.

It is estimated that the number of people age 40 and older with chronic diseases in China will double or even triple by 2030, according to a report released by China Heart Congress on Aug 10. The 2011 report on cardiovascular diseases in China, by the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, also shows that the country's death toll from chronic diseases will increase 50 percent by 2030.

Governance

Billions found to be wasted

Auditors in China found up to 492.1 billion yuan ($77.3 billion; 62.5 billion euros) in government money was misused in 2011.

About 28.9 billion yuan of the money was wasted, according to a report released by the National Audit Office on Aug 13. An audit on 39,600 government workers found that many officials mishandled 21.7 billion yuan, the report said.

Crime

Gunman's reign of fear ends

An eight-year manhunt for the country's most wanted criminal suspect came to an abrupt end in the early hours of Aug 14 when Zhou Kehua was shot dead by police in a Chongqing alley.

Zhou had been on the run since 2004 and was the prime suspect in 10 killings. He allegedly targeted bank customers withdrawing large sums of cash, followed them and shot them. Two police officers from the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau said that they had managed to corner Zhou in an alley after following him on foot.

More women aid drug smuggling

Data released by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court shows that the Guangdong provincial capital is handling a growing number of cases involving local women who help their foreign boyfriends smuggle drugs into the Chinese mainland.

According to a statement from the court on Aug 13, courts across the South China metropolis handled 258 drug-smuggling cases involving 275 foreign and domestic people from 2008 to 2011. The drugs involved grew from 88 kilograms in 2008 to more than 276 kg in 2011.

Of the drug smugglers, women represented the largest majority, the court statement said.

Health

HIV volunteers take one for team

The second phase of a human trial for China's potential HIV vaccine started on Aug 14 in Beijing. About 150 volunteers, mostly those with a high risk of contracting HIV, took part in the clinical trial. on Aug 14, 15 people got the vaccination.

Shao Yiming, director of the virology and immunology department of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, said the trial will last nearly two years in the Beijing You'an Hospital of the Capital Medical University. By 2011, China had 780,000 people living with HIV/AIDS on the mainland, according to government estimates.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/17/2012 page2)