Transparent, fair selection urged

Senior leader Liu Yunshan on Sunday urged transparency and fair cadre selection in future. Presiding over a meeting on selection criteria of officials, the newly elected member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee also firmly rejected illicit canvassing and vote-buying in future at all levels.

Distributor of chicken shut down

Beijing agricultural authorities have shut down the chicken distribution arm of Liuhe Group, a Shandong-based meat processing company that has been found to buy chicken containing large amounts of antibiotics and hormones. The company supplied the meat to restaurant chains such as KFC, Beijing Yoshinoya and Beijing Ershang Group, a State-owned food processing company.

Marine industry set to grow

China's output of marine products will reach 59.06 million metric tons this year, a 5.4 percent year-on-year increase, an annual national fishery conference was told on Sunday. The per capita net income of fishermen this year is expected to reach 11,256 yuan ($1,800), an increase of 1,244 yuan compared with last year. Niu Dun, vice-minister of agriculture, praised the recent achievements of the fishery industry at the conference.

Coal prices to be deregulated

China's price regulator will end its one-year control on thermal coal prices beginning Jan 1. The decision was made because prices have been stabilized, based on more balanced demand and supply. The move to cancel restrictions on thermal coal prices will not lead to sharp price hikes as demand is sluggish amid the global economic slowdown, analysts said.

Pork costs more in cold weather

Lower temperatures over the past month have led to rising pork prices, according to Xinhua News Agency's price system on national farm produce. Pork prices were up 5.2 percent on Saturday from Nov 20. North and Northeast China reported the highest price hikes. Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces saw rises of more than 10 percent. However, the prices were still 8 percent lower than the same period last year.

Logistics sector gains ground

The total value of goods carried by China's logistics industry grew 9.7 percent year-on-year to 163.4 trillion yuan ($26 trillion) in the first 11 months, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Sunday. The growth was 0.1 percentage point bigger than that for the first 10 months. Fixed asset investment in the industry surged 22.2 percent year-on-year to 3.5 trillion yuan in the period.

Calls for measures to help farmers

Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu stressed the need to implement measures to help farmworkers on Sunday, a day after the Central Rural Work Conference closed. Various measures should be put in place to benefit farmworkers, including the upgrade of mechanisms to monitor produce prices, developing farms, and deepening the processing of agricultural products, he said.

Gansu

Officers suspended over photographs

Four chengguan, or public order officers, in Lanzhou have been suspended after a netizen uploaded pictures showing the officers beating a man and a woman. The pictures show a group of chengguan in Lanzhou having a physical confrontation with storekeepers. The incident is being investigated.

Hubei

37 held over doomsday rumors

Police in Wuhan detained 37 members of the "Almighty God" cult on suspicion of spreading doomsday rumors with circulars and audio recordings. Members of the cult are accused of going to residential communities and spreading doomsday rumors door-to-door. Most of them are middle-aged women, and they allegedly tried to trick people out of money.

Taiwan

4.1-magnitude quake jolts island

A 4.1-magnitude earthquake hit the island's Hualien county at 2:13 pm on Sunday, China Earthquake Networks Center reported. Taiwan's local weather department said the earthquake was at a depth at 9.3 km. It said the epicenter was located 39.7 km northwest of the county government. So far there have been no reports of casualties or damage to property.

Shaanxi

Teachers warned over malpractice

Teachers in Northwest China were warned against inappropriate methods after a pupil was hospitalized after being slapped by his classmates under the orders of their teacher. The provincial education department said on Saturday in a circular that although the slapping was an isolated case, it was bad and lessons should be learned. The department said it plans a review to stop teachers' malpractice toward students.

Kazakhstan

Cross-border railway opens

A second cross-border railway between China and Kazakhstan opened on Saturday. The railway has a 292-km section in China and a 293-km section in Kazakhstan. They were joined at the Korgas Pass in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The rail line is expected to ease the burden of the Alataw trade pass, where the first China-Central Asia railway traverses.

China Daily-Xinhua