PRETTY PAINTINGS: Painters draw portraits for female faculty members of Wuhan University of Technology in central China's Hubei Province to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 (CHENG MIN)

Property Registration

The State Council, China's cabinet, on February 28 approved setting up a cross-ministry joint conference working on the establishment of a unified property registration system.

The conference will coordinate major issues concerning the establishment and implementation of a proposed property registration system.

Chaired by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the conference is intended to hammer out guiding principles and policy suggestions, and conduct research on the drafting of related laws and regulations.

China aims to build a unified property registration system as part of its efforts to curb excessive speculation on the property market.

Corruption Blow

China investigated and punished 829 judges and other court staff for corruption in 2013, up 42.3 percent year on year, the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the country's highest judicial organ, announced on March 2.

Of the 829 court officials, 157 were transferred to judicial organs for prosecution, the SPC said in a statement.

The SPC revealed that 683 judges and court staff turned over illegal gains including cash, securities and payment documents, with a value of 3.32 million yuan ($543,000), in 2013.

The authority will continue to maintain their "high-handed posture" in the fight against judicial corruption, according to the statement.

Aid for the Homeless

A total of 2,031 relief organizations have been set up to safeguard the basic interests and rights of the homeless, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo announced on February 28.

In 2013, 2.35 million homeless people received help, including 159,000 juveniles, Li revealed at a press conference. "Pilot programs have also been launched in 20 regions to protect juveniles with a focus on family custody," he added.

According to Li, providing social relief to the homeless has been written into the social assistance regulation, which will come into effect on May 1. The regulation is the country's first legal document to coordinate and regulate the fragmented social assistance system.

The regulation also calls for open, fair and timely help for the needy.

Map Control

China is looking to crack down on sales or uploads of classified maps on the Internet in an effort to curb geographic information leaks, authorities announced on February 28.

The campaign will focus on online trade in classified surveying and mapping results, and digital navigation maps without any confidential treatment, the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said in a statement.

People found illegally selling or providing classified maps will be harshly punished, while websites containing sensitive geographic information will be shut down, according to the statement.

The administration will also check maps providing tourist or traffic information to make sure they do not carry excessive commercial advertisements, it added.