Officials Punished

Eleven officials in Shanghai were punished over the New Year's Eve stampede that left 36 people dead and 49 injured.

Four officials--Zhou Wei, Party chief of Huangpu District, his deputy Peng Song, also district governor, Zhou Zheng, deputy district governor and Huangpu's public security chief and Chen Qi, deputy police chief of the district, were removed from their posts, according to the decision of Shanghai municipal authorities.

Seven other officials received disciplinary punishments, authorities announced on January 21 at a press conference.

At the press conference, Zhou Bo, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, expressed deep condolences for those affected by the incident and apologized to stampede victims and their families on behalf of the municipal committee of the Communist Party of China and the government.

"We feel extremely heart-stricken, guilty and very remorseful," said the vice mayor.

The deadly stampede happened at 11:35 p.m. on December 31, 2014, when people assembled on Shanghai's historic riverfront walk, the Bund, to usher in the new year.

Wealth Gap Narrows

The Gini coefficient, an index reflecting income disparity, dropped for the sixth consecutive year in China since a peak recorded in 2008, new data showed on January 20.

The index stood at 0.469 in 2014, dropping for six years in a row since the index hit its 0.491 high in 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

In 2014, the average disposable income of Chinese residents rose 8 percent in real terms to 20,167 yuan ($3,294), faster than a 7.4 percent economic growth, the bureau said.

The disposable income of rural residents increased 9.2 percent year on year, while that for urban residents rose 6.8 percent.

Football Schools

China will kick off its next-wave football talent development with the Ministry of Education (MOE) planning 20,000 primary or middle schools with a football specialty by 2017.

The MOE will also choose 30 counties to build as trial areas for school football, saying that the move is aimed to improve the popularity of football in Chinese schools, and lay the foundation for more talented football players.

One tenth of those schools will be senior schools, three tenth junior schools and three fifths primary schools. Vocational schools will also be considered, the MOE said.

The ministry said schools with football as specialties will enjoy policy support in teaching, training, competitions, enrollment, funds and other fields. The performance of those schools and counties will also be used to evaluate the performance of local government in education.

The MOE said the move will also promote the construction of PE courses and facilities, and ensure that students have at least one hour for sports in schools each day.

The move came in response to the bad performance by China's national football team in the world arena during recent years.