LOOKING FOR SYMPTOMS: A nurse at a hospital in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, checks a boy for hand-foot-mouth disease. The region has experienced a surge of new cases since the beginning of March, and reported a total of 16,468 cases by April 10 (ZHANG ZHOULAI)

Official Convicted

The 55-year-old Wen Qiang, former director of the Chongqing Municipal Judicial Bureau, was sentenced to death on April 14 by the Chongqing No.5 Intermediate People's Court after being convicted of accepting bribes, protecting criminal gangs, rape and failing to account for his cash and assets.

The verdict said Wen received bribes totaling more than 12 million yuan ($1.76 million) from 1996 to 2009. In return, Wen offered posts to officials and helped companies and business people obtain illegal profits. Wen was also convicted of shielding five major organized crime gangs in Chongqing after accepting bribes worth 756,500 yuan ($111,250).

Subsidized Housing

China's housing authorities on April 12 urged local governments to put more effort into the building of government-subsidized housing.

The national goal for 2010 is to build 3 million apartments for low-income families, renovate 2.8 million apartments in urban shantytown areas, and expand the renovation of dilapidated houses in rural areas, said the Xinhua News Agency.

The ministry urged governments at all levels to strictly implement preferential policies in land provision, funding, tax reduction and credit support for low-income housing projects, and ensure the realization of annual construction goals.

Sewage Campaign

A nationwide campaign to punish industrial companies illegally dumping sewage was launched on April 9 in a bid to better protect China's environment.

The campaign will focus on pollution from the heavy metals industry. It has been jointly initiated by nine ministerial departments, including the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the National Development and Reform Commission.

Zhou Shengxian, Minister of Environmental Protection, said a similar campaign last year achieved positive results with 744 companies closed, another 841 suspended for rectification and 119 people punished.

Online Recruitment

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Ministry of Education plan to open an online recruitment service for the first time to mobilize college graduates this year, in a move seen as an effort to improve the army's hi-tech edge.

The PLA plans to recruit some 150,000 college graduates this year, the PLA and the ministry said on April 8.

Last year, China's Central Government announced a one-time payment of up to 24,000 yuan ($3,500) for students who enlist as soldiers, in order to encourage more young people with tertiary qualifications to serve in the army.

Subway Safety

Beijing has increased safety measures at subway stations by deploying police to oversee all subway entrances, exits, passageways, platforms and checkpoints, said municipal police on April 13.

Starting from April 5, a safety network of armed police, members of the special police, civil police and police dogs covered all stations.

The subway operators and police ensure that all bags and fluids are properly checked, he said. Beijing now has nine subway lines with more than 140 stations. The over 200-km subway system carries an average of 5 million passengers each day.