August 5, 2023, 3-minute news

1) On August 4, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Water Resources urgently allocated 450 million yuan to support flood control and disaster relief in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

2) The National Development and Reform Commission: The economy will maintain a stable and positive trend in the second half of the year; strengthen policy reserves in better meeting the rigid and improved housing needs of residents and actively expanding effective investment.

3) [Rule of Law] Wu Xu, a fallen official from the Liaoning Provincial Prison Administration Bureau, was transferred for review and prosecution on suspicion of favoritism and malfeasance in sentencing. The People's Procuratorate of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, legally decided to arrest Hu Wenhai, former deputy director of Huangpu Customs, on suspicion of bribery. Hubei High Court: A decision on designated jurisdiction was made for the case involving Li Tie's alleged bribery and other crimes. Shen Deyong, former vice president of the Supreme People's Court, was sentenced to 15 years. Xin Minchao, former director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Grain and Materials Reserve Bureau, was expelled from the party and removed from public office. Li Baoxing, a second-level police commissioner of the Henan Provincial Public Security Department, is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation. Dalian police reported that a man who claimed to be a civil servant threatened a traffic police officer: He is not a public official and has been administratively detained.

4) China Eastern Airlines' two domestically produced large passenger aircraft, C919, launched "dual-aircraft commercial operation" for the first time, and jointly executed the "Shanghai Hongqiao-Chengdu Tianfu" route on the same day.

Chinese scientists have developed elastic ferroelectric materials: In the future, they may make mobile phones soft and close-fitting.

5) In accordance with the unified deployment of the Ministry of Public Security, starting in August, the whole country will concentrate on cracking down on prominent traffic violations to prevent major and serious traffic accidents. In July, China's urban rail transit completed a passenger volume of 2.66 billion person-times.

6) The General Administration of Customs has introduced 15 key measures to support the construction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology dispatched unmanned aerial vehicle high-altitude base stations to provide emergency communication support for Wangping Town and Tanzhesi Town and surrounding areas in Mentougou District, Beijing.

Nearly 90% of late rice has been planted nationwide, and early rice production is expected to achieve a bumper harvest.

7) Ministry of Emergency Management: In July, various natural disasters caused 16,018,000 people to suffer varying degrees of disaster, with 147 deaths and missing persons due to disasters. A fatal accident occurred in Gaoping, Jincheng, Shanxi, resulting in 4 deaths and 5 cases of poisoning. The Shanxi Provincial Safety Committee Office has launched a special investigation. On the morning of August 4, a farewell ceremony for Feng Zhen, a 90s firefighter who died in the line of duty, was held in Beijing.

8) [Military] A Chinese Ministry of National Defense working group participated in the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials' Expanded Meeting. The Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning: From 7:00 to 12:00 on August 5, military exercises will be conducted in parts of the South China Sea, and entry is prohibited.

9) [Hong Kong and Macao] Chan Ho-lim, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hong Kong SAR Government: Promoting the development of Web3.0 (the third generation of the Internet) in Hong Kong. Many universities in Hong Kong have purchased AI tools for teachers and students to use, reminding them to comply with the academic integrity code. Pansy Ho, daughter of the late casino magnate Stanley Ho, was elected as an independent director of China Southern Airlines. Drip irrigation through the Macao Exchange officially commenced operations on August 3.

10) [Taiwan] The Taiwan Affairs Office: The 11th Cross-Strait Youth Festival will be held in Fuzhou, Fujian from August 5 to 13.