Chinese Teachers Abroad

China has trained more than 5,000 overseas students pursuing Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) degrees.

Since the MTCSOL was set up in 2007, a total of 5,052 students from more than 100 countries have studied in China, and most of the approximately 3,500 graduates have returned to their home countries to teach Chinese, according to the Confucius Institutes on September 14. The Confucius Institutes were established in 2004 to help non-native speakers learn the Chinese language.

Another 15,741 Chinese students have also reportedly pursued the degree.

Early Mammals

Paleobiologists have identified three new species from the Jurassic period that were unearthed in northeast China, which may push back the origin of mammals by millions of years, Xinhua News Agency reported on September 11.

Mammals are generally believed to have originated in the Middle Jurassic period between 174 million and 164 million years ago. The newly discovered fossils date back to 160 million years ago, which implies, according to Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Wang Yuanqing, that mammals may have appeared in the Late Triassic period, perhaps around 208 million years ago.

The three are collectively known as Haramiyidans, a group that has previously been difficult to classify, owing to a lack of sufficient specimens. The fossils in question show, for the first time, the complete skull, jaw and postcranial bones of the species. The vast majority of previously discovered fossils were merely teeth.

Wang said the three species—shenshou lui, xianshou linglong, xianshou songae—show bones in the middle ear and a thoracic diaphragm, which is characteristic to all mammals.

Around the size of squirrels and rats, they weighed from 40 grams to 300 grams. Scientists also believe they had foot stingers similar to those of the platypus today and probably ate insects, fruit and nuts.

Tumor Data

China will compile a second edition of its cancer atlas to optimize the use of medical resources.

The new edition of the atlas, first published in the 1970s, will redefine the regions with high cancer rates that are in need of more prevention and treatment, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on September 15.

According to the ministry, a database of cancer deaths will be established at the county level.

Research by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will be based on tumor registrations, cause of death surveys and demographic material.

According to a 2012 report, 8,550 people are diagnosed with cancer every day, roughly one every six minutes.

Growing Wealth

The personal fortunes of 300 Chinese topped 10 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) as of the end of 2013, according to a new annual ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China.

The Hurun Report on September 11 released its China Rich List, showing that 20 more Chinese had fortunes topping 10 billion yuan in 2013 compared with the previous year.

The wealth of 160 of the multi-billionaires is in the form of invisible assets, according to the report.

It also counted 8,300 Chinese with wealth reaching 1 billion yuan ($163 million), 200 more than a year earlier. The number whose wealth tops 10 million yuan ($1.63 million) also surged by 40,000 to 1.09 million.

The Hurun Report, a monthly magazine best known for its annual rich list, attributed the increases to the country's overall GDP growth and appreciation in the value of real estate.

It forecast that the number of people in China with personal wealth topping 10 million yuan would reach 1.2 million in the next three years.

Kungfu Fraud

Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan Province on September 12 denied accusations of it teaching kungfu for money.

American author Matthew Polly said in his memoir American Shaolin that Shaolin Temple's abbot Shi Yongxin accepted him as his first foreign student after taking 1,111 yuan ($181) as a gift. He claims to have paid an annual tuition fee of $1,300 to learn kungfu at the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Center.

"No martial arts halls or centers with the name 'Shaolin Temple' have any connection with the Songshan Shaolin Temple. Songshan Shaolin Temple has never recruited any students, and improper conduct by martial art schools has nothing to do with the temple," said the temple in a statement.

Shi Yanchong, a monk with the Shaolin Intangible Asset Management Center, said that judging from his book, Polly could not tell the difference between the Shaolin Temple and nearby commercial martial arts schools, adding that some laymen in the schools have posed as monks to cheat people out of their money.

Located on Songshan Mountain in Dengfeng, the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is regarded as the cradle of Chinese kungfu.

Terror Trial

Three men and a woman stood trial on September 12 for their involvement in launching a terrorist attack in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, earlier this year.

The three men—Iskandar Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad—were sentenced to death by the Kunming Municipal Intermediate People's Court for leading a terrorist organization and intentional homicide.

The woman, Patigul Tohti, was given life imprisonment for participating in the attack as well as intentional homicide.

The court said that Patigul Tohti's criminal acts were extremely severe, but since she was pregnant when she was detained, the death penalty cannot be applied to her according to law.

On March 1, a group of assailants armed with knives attacked civilians at a station in Kunming, causing 31 deaths and injuring another 141. Police shot dead four of the attackers and detained the four who were recently sentenced.