Fake police uniforms found
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Over 3,000 counterfeit police uniforms have been discovered at godowns in Changchun in Jilin Province. A man identified as Yu Penjiu has been arrested in connection with the find.
SHANGHAI
Cloned goats' names
AN international auction will be held for rights to name three cloned goats, the first generation of cloned animals in Shanghai. So far, many enterprises and individuals have shown strong interest in obtaining the rights through phone calls to the genetic modification research centre of Shanghai, which successfully created the goats. Experts believe that the three goats, born at the end of last year by cloning an adult animal cell, marked the formation of a technical platform on which to further develop animal pharmacy, protect endangered animals and foster fine species. Experts said that through the international auction, social support will be aroused for the development of cloning technology, a long-term, basic research in need of social understanding and assistance.
Ecstasy seized at disco
POLICE entered a discotheque in Baoshan District and arrested over 100 people who were shaking their heads in a frenzied manner. The establishment was closed after it was discovered that the patrons were under the influence of the drug Ecstasy. About 100 tablets of the narcotic and 10 bags of other drugs were seized. The dance hall, which opened at the end of July, operated only between midnight and 6:00 am in a bid to escape the attentions of the police. But alert officers on patrol noticed that people in the vicinity of the night spot were acting strangely.
Pirate CDs confiscated
POLICE destroyed a den of pirate CDs in Zhabei District and seized 98,000 CDs. The chief suspect, identified as Cheng Rong, had rented two rooms in a hotel where he stockpiled and packed CDs ready for wholesale. The CDs, which originated in Guangzhou, sold for between 0.3 and 0.7 yuan. Turnover reached 810,000 yuan ($97,590).
Licence plate windfall
SAVVY business people took advantage of the recent downpours by selling auto licence plates swept away by the rain back to their owners at an average of 100 yuan ($12) each. The prospect of the red tape involved in applying for new plates persuaded many car owners that this was cheap at the price. One resourceful man earned 3,400 yuan ($410) this way.
Gas leak controlled
FIREMEN were called to a 300-millimetre-diametre natural gas pipeline on Fuxing Donglu on Sunday after it was pierced by a construction team. After evacuating local residents, they used water to dilute the gas, and were aided by a felicitous downpour. After four hours, the pipe was repaired and the gas supply was returned to normal.
New life to save daughter
A 42-YEAR-OLD mother has decided to have another baby in a bid to save her 15-year-old daughter, who is stricken with leukaemia. Chemotherapy has tortured the girl, but her mother heard that the funicle blood of a newborn can treat the illness in addition to a bone marrow transplant.
Fengshui fakir
A ZHEJIANG farmer claiming mystical powers defrauded his victims of a total of 90,000 yuan ($10,880), the Shanghai Morning Post reported. Wearing a monk's robe, the man hung around towns in Jinshan District telling people he possessed special insights into "fengshui." Many local people believed him when he spoke of the right or wrong siting of houses or tombs. He altered his patter slightly according to the town he was in, but one thing remained constant: the fees he charged. Eventually, several of his victims informed on him to the police.
Man saved from ravine
A MAN who dropped one foot into a ravine full of rain was saved by Zhabei police, the Jiefang Daily reported. On Gonghexin Lu, the Anhui native surnamed Ren entered the construction site at the crossing of Wenxi Lu by mistake and fell into the ditch, which was three metres deep and 10 metres round. His cries for help aroused the attention of alert traffic policeman Gao Qi, who jumped in and saved Ren's life.
BEIJING
Peking Man site cleared up
THE Zhoukoudian Peking Man Ruins in the capital's northwest suburb has taken on a new look with 20 small workshops torn down around the site. The World Heritage site, where the first skull of Peking Man dating back 500,000 years was discovered, was reported at the risk of being damaged by unhealthy surroundings. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the city's culture relics department jointly launched a three-phase repair project about two weeks ago. An area of 1.8 square kilometres south of the museum is scheduled to be cleared.
CHANGSHA
Natural reserves
CENTRAL China's Hunan Province has built 56 natural reserves that cover a total area of 755,000 hectares and take up 3.6 per cent of the land of the province. Experts said the natural reserves are playing an important role in protecting rare and endangered animals and plants, conserving water and soil, maintaining an ecological balance and boosting ecological tourism. Hunan is home to a variety of rare animals such as the South China tiger, the white stork and the sheldrake, which are protected in the national reserve areas. Thanks to the establishment of these reserves, Hunan boasts the biggest original evergreen/broadleaf forest ecosystem in Asia.
XI'AN
Explosion cause found
THE cause of the massive blast in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on July 16 was uncovered on Sunday and the suspect, Ma Hongqing, has been arrested. The early morning explosion killed 70 and wounded 85 in Mafang Village, Hengshan County. Local police found that the explosives were stored by local resident Ma Shiping, who owned an illegal explosives manufacturing plant that was shut down during a security check campaign in April. The 51-year-old suspect, fellow villager of Ma Shiping, is suspected of throwing a lit detonator into the cave where the explosives were stored, leading to the fatal explosion.
Panda numbers increase
THE latest field survey showed that the number of pandas in Qinling Mountain area in North China has kept increasing as their habitat improves. The survey, part of China's third general investigation of the animal, started last November and ended in late June, covering 10 counties and five natural reserves. Qinling Mountain area is an important habitat for pandas. With the help of the central government and financial aid from the World Bank, the local government has invested 20 million yuan ($2.4 million) since 1993 to restore the natural environment in the animal's home region. Over the past 20 years, China has established five natural reserve zones in the Qinling Mountain area, 800 kilometres long and 200 kilometres wide.
NANJING
David's Deer increase
THE latest statistics show that the number of David's Deer at the Dafeng Nature Reserve, in East China's Jiangsu Province, has reached 516, the most of any country in the world. Scientific research shows that David's Deer have lived in East China for more than 2,000 years. However, in 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded and captured Beijing and took away the last few David's Deer in the Imperial hunting and game field. To save the endangered species, the State-level Dafeng David's Deer Nature Reserve was established in Dafeng City in 1985 and the deer were reintroduced to China by the World Wildlife Fund. In the early years following its establishment, the nature reserve only had 39 David's Deer.
NANNING
Officials punished
FIVE top officials of Nandan County in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have been either dismissed from their posts or suspended for neglecting their duties. The investigation team into the July 17 Nandan mine flood determined that the top officials of Nandan County were responsible for the flooding of mines, which left 81 miners missing. Officials dismissed from their posts include Wan Ruizhong, secretary of the Nandan County Party Committee and Tang Yusheng and Mo Zhuanglong, deputy secretaries of the county party committee.
HANGZHOU
Canal sewage control
A SEWAGE diversion project has recently been completed and put into operation on the 1,794-kilometre Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in East China, the world's oldest and longest man-made canal. The project near Hangzhou involves the construction of pipelines and pump stations that will divert sewage originally discharged into the canal to a newly expanded sewage treatment plant. About 600,000 cubic metres of sewage from the northern part of the city will be diverted daily to a sewage treatment plant and treated. The busy traffic on the canal and increasing industrial and household sewage has resulted in serious pollution to the canal in recent years, to the extent that the supply of drinking water to the city was threatened. Thanks to the operation of the project, the quality of the water of the canal has been improved greatly. Construction of the diversion project started in October 1993.
(Star-Xinhua)
