Trending across China

Tang Wei hoodwinked by telecom scam, Zhang Yimou accepts hefty fine, and Xinyu city helps young boy realize his dream – it's all trending in China

 

Low-key office

It seems that China's top inspection body is living up to its name as an anti-corruption pioneer. A video clip from China Central Television gave a glimpse at the offices of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, an agency that has become a headline favorite for its recent crackdown on corruption. Located in downtown Beijing, the offices were frugal and simple, with one room for every two workers.

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Movie star victim

Chinese actress Tang Wei became the most high-profile victim of a telecom scam, sparking concern among fans. Tang reported a loss of over 210,000 yuan ($34,700) to police on Saturday in Shanghai. Tang rose to prominence for her controversial and explicit scenes in Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's Lust, Caution. (www.xinmin.cn)

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Xiaomi CEO confident

Lei Jun, CEO of smartphone maker Xiaomi, must be feeling pretty confident right now. Lei, one of China's most-watched entrepreneurs, said on Saturday that Xiaomi will sell at least 40 million smartphones in 2014, a projection that, if realized, will outdo Xiaomi's sales of 18.7 million phones in 2013. Lei founded Xiaomi three years ago as a 14-man start-up. Xiaomi now has over 4,000 employees and has become one of China's best-performing tech companies, Netease Tech reported.

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Director accepts hefty fine

Chinese film director Zhang Yimou accepted a whopping fine of 7.48 million yuan ($1.23 million) for violating the country's family planning policy. He is expected to pay the fine before Spring Festival, Western China Metropolis Daily reported on Sunday. Media reports revealed that Zhang and his wife Chen Ting parented three children, sparking massive controversy. Zhang published an open letter of apology in December.

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Petitioners face detention

Ten people have been detained for disturbing the local government in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The incident happened Friday morning when hundreds of tenants travelled to a government office to seek help in a lease dispute with the contractor of a local market. Angry petitioners clashed with security staffers and police, leading to six injuries. (www.xinhuanet.com)

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Xinyu helps boy realize dream

The entire city of Xinyu, East China's Jiangxi province, was mobilized to set up a "police-chase-after-thieves" scene for a 9-year-old boy. What first appeared to be a prank was actually a group effort to help the sick boy. Zou Junyi has long dreamed of becoming a police officer but will never be fit enough as he suffers from muscular dystrophy. More than 200 residents volunteered to play a part in the activity. The city's police chief was on hand to deliver a customized uniform to him, Jiangsu TV reported.

Real estate registration

China is mulling the establishment of an agency that will oversee real estate registration nationwide, said Xu Deming, deputy of the Ministry of Land and Resources. Currently, real estate registration responsibilities are shared by different ministries according to the usage of land. Sun Xiaozhong, a law expert, rebuffed speculations that the move was designed to pave the way for the expansion of property taxes, Beijing Times reported.

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Long commutes

Commuters living in Yanjiao, a community on the border of Beijing and adjacent Hebei province, would have to spend 5 hours taking round-trip if they work in urban Beijing, Cntv.cn reported. More than 300,000 people, however, have chosen this lifestyle to avoid Beijing's sky-high home prices.

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