Trending across China on Dec 1

Peng Liyuan observes World AIDS Day, Renmin University collects faculty passports, and a famous actor comes under fire for defending Zhang Yimou – it's all trending in China.

US airlines provide flight plans

Two of the biggest US airlines, American and Delta, have notified Chinese authorities of flight plans regarding travel through an air defense zone Beijing has declared over the East China Sea, Reuters reported.

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'Getting to zero'

China's First Lady Peng Liyuan attended a program for the 26th World AIDS Day on Saturday. Peng is also a WHO ambassador for the fight against HIV/AIDS and a publicity representative of China's Health Ministry for HIV/AIDS control. World AIDS Day is observed on Dec 1, and this year's theme is "getting to zero."

Related:

President Xi stresses fight against HIV/AIDS

Passports, please!

Renmin University has asked its faculty's deputy directors and higher ranking professors to hand in their passports in an effort to combat education corruption, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Cai Rongsheng, head of the student enrollment and employment division of Renmin University in Beijing, was apprehended in Shenzhen recently while trying to evade customs and flee to Canada with a forged passport.

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University official under investigation

Actor under fire

A Chinese actor has found himself under fire after arguing in favor of China's best-known movie director Zhang Yimou, who was recently under investigation for breaching China's one-child policy.

Liu Peiqi, the actor, said, "It would improve national quality if China's elites are able to have more kids."

Some Internet users criticized Liu's words by saying all people are equal before the law, while many questioned Liu about the criteria in defining elites.

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China to grill Zhang Yimou's agent

Shivering students

A few hundred students were caught in the bitter cold while waiting to hit the stage to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of their school in Jinjiang city, East China's Fujian province, on Friday. The students wore thin costumes when the temperature reached 8 C.

Local temperatures hit a record low on Friday, and the provincial meteorological observatory issued a blue signal for frost the previous day. (news.qq.com)

Male-male sex

About 70 percent of new AIDS cases in Beijing this year by October 31 were contracted through male-male sex, Beijing Youth Daily reported, citing a report released by the Beijing Health Bureau on Thursday.

Infections through heterosexual transmission accounted for 27.5 percent, the second largest source. Infections through birth, blood contamination and other means accounted for 3.4 percent.

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In Asia-Pacific, HIV still high, report says

Suicide over fine

A trailer owner penalized for overloading her vehicle took poison in a suicide attempt while arguing with road officials. The owner is currently receiving medical treatment.

On Nov 14, female trailer owner Wen Li was fined on a highway in Yongcheng city of Henan province despite providing local government certificates to pardon her truck's excessive load. She threatened to take poison, but road officials didn't stop her. They left after she drank the fluid and her limbs began shaking, said CCTV-2's program Half-Hour Economy Watchdog.

Easier to get a pilot license

Obtaining a private pilot license will be as easy as getting a driver's license, People.com.cn reported, citing a new regulation from Chinese civil aviation authorities that takes effect on Dec 1.

The regulation stipulates no strict requirements on height, eyesight and hearing. Stable health is all that is necessary.

Applicants for the civilian pilot's license can receive physical checks at 13 designated health institutions in China's major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an, the report said.

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China loosens requirements for private pilot licenses