Office: Stop undermining ties

It would be futile to use "human rights" as an excuse to undermine the peaceful development of relations between the mainland and Taiwan, Yang Yi, a spokesman for the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday. Yang made the remarks at a regular news conference in response to a question about a recent proposal by some members of the Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan's main opposition party, that highlighted human rights issues in advancing cross-Straits ties. The DPP should understand that its "Taiwan independence" stance will do no good for cross-Straits peace and stability, nor will it improve cross-Straits relations, Yang said.

Military drill to test digital technology

The People's Liberation Army will conduct an exercise next month to test new types of combat forces including units using digital technology, it announced on Tuesday. It will be the first time a PLA exercise has focused on combat forces including digitalized units, special operations forces, army aviation and electronic counter forces, according to the PLA general staff department. The drill will be carried out in late June at the Zhurihe training base in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the country's largest military training field.

Police arrest 1,100 in anti-drug campaign

Police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have arrested more than 1,100 suspects in 804 drug-related cases since a joint anti-drug campaign was launched in April, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday. According to the ministry, 2.97 metric tons of drugs have been seized during the campaign, and the frequency of drug-related crimes on the Mekong River has been effectively contained. In one of the largest cases, China and Myanmar police on May 12 broke up a Myanmar ring engaged in smuggling methamphetamine processed in Myanmar into China.

Graduates expect lower salaries

The average monthly salary this year's university graduates expect has been lowered to 3,684 yuan ($594), a survey has indicated. The figure has fallen by about 2,000 yuan over the last two years. The average monthly salary university graduates expected was 4,593 yuan in 2012 while the figure in 2011 was 5,538 yuan. The survey, which was conducted by Beijing Youth Pressure Management Service Center under the Beijing Committee of the Communist Youth League, interviewed 16,090 university students nationwide from April 1 to 28.

10% of children's products fail tests

Some 10 percent of products for children sold in markets failed to meet standards, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on Wednesday ahead of International Children's Day, which falls on Saturday. An inspection, conducted between March and May, covered 674 batches of five types of children's products - clothes, shoes, toy cars, toys and paper diapers - manufactured by 663 enterprises. About 72 of the batches failed to meet standards.

Shaanxi

Trafficked women rescued by police

Two women trafficked from Myanmar and Vietnam to Zhen'an county in Shaanxi province, were rescued and sent home by police, Xi'an Evening News reported on Wednesday. Zhen'an police received reports in March and April saying that foreign women were being trafficked to the county to marry elderly farmers. After an investigation, police found that a woman from Myanmar was trafficked to marry a farmer in December 2012, and another woman from Vietnam was trafficked to marry a farmer in June, 2012.

Shanghai

Freeloaders to face credit damage

The personal information of turnstile jumpers in the Shanghai metro will be transferred to a credit-rating database starting on Wednesday. The database, which contains a record of enterprises and individuals, is expected to be launched this summer with the aim of clamping down on dishonest practices across the city. More than 30 non-paying metro commuters were caught on Wednesday morning at the ticket gate of Xinzhuang station on subway lines 1 and 5.

Yunnan

City denies rumors of T-shirt sale ban

The Kunming Administration of Industry and Commerce denied rumors that the Yunnan provincial capital has banned sales of white shirts and T-shirts in a notice published on its website on Wednesday. The administration urged its subordinates to notify police if they find out who spread the rumors. Over the past few weeks, rumors have been circulating claiming the administration has banned sales of the white shirts and T-shirts citywide to prevent residents from protesting a local petrochemical project and to ensure social order during the upcoming China-South Asia Fair.

Guangdong

Senior legislator suspended

A senior legislator from Guangdong province has been placed under investigation for serious violations of Party discipline. According to a statement published on the website of the Guangdong Provincial Party Commission of Discipline Inspection on Wednesday, Chen Huayi, deputy secretary-general of Guangdong's legislative body, has been suspended from his duties pending an investigation.

10 detained over medical-waste trade

Police have arrested 10 people on suspicion of illegal trading, transporting and storing medical waste in Puning, Guangdong province. Yan Qiusheng and Lin Donghao, both vice-presidents of Puning People's Hospital, have been given Party and administrative disciplinary sanctions, the Puning government said at a news conference on Wednesday. The news of the case was made public on Sunday in online posts claiming that more than 10 tons of medical waste was found by villagers in a forest in the Puning village of Nanyang.

Liaoning

Bureau to inspect elevator safety

The Shenyang City Quality and Technology Supervision Bureau will inspect the city's 32,792 elevators. The past decade saw a surge in elevator use but poor maintenance, and a lack of safety awareness has resulted in a number of accidents. The Shenyang Institute of Special Equipment Inspection and Research has inspected 3,995 elevators this year and found that around 8 percent failed to meet safety standards.

Henei

Students benefit from translation cooperation

Students majoring in translation at Hebei Normal University will get to study in the UK under a project launched on Wednesday in cooperation with the University of Stirling. The project, which starts in 2013, will allow 60 translation students to study in the UK for one year and ensure these students are more qualified in interpretation and translation.

Xinhua - Chinadaily