China Losing the War on Cancer

A recent Ministry of Health survey  lists cancer as the deadliest killer in urban China, and the second largest cause of death in rural areas, trailing only cerebrovasular disease. The survey, based on statistics from the the past two years, found the annual cancer death rate -- 136 victims per 100,000 Chinese -- had almost doubled since the 1970s.

Health experts link cancer's ominous rise to several factors including an aging population, air and water polluttion, diet, lifestyle changes and occupational hazards. Smoking poses a serious hazard as well, as the number of smokers in China has jumped to 350 million, whil state-owned tobacco companies enjoy low taxes and government protection. Coupled with the problem is a shift in the puble health focus from cancer prevention to mid-to late-stage treatment.

End the Road for Shanghai's Highway Baron

Zhang Rongkun, Shanghai's infamous “highway baron” and a key figure in the city's massive pension scandal, was sentenced to 19 years by the highest court in Jilin Province. Zhang hopes to appeal the June 22 ruling, which followed his conviction for bribery and market manipulation, but must await a decision while behind bars.

Questions about Zhang's assets remain. In June 2006, investigators froze the assets including 2.7 billion yuan in cash and stock. After repaying three creditors -- Shanghai Industrial Investment (Group) Ltd., Shanghai Guangdian Group and Asia Securities -- some 1.5 billion yuan in assets remained at the Jilin court's disposal. The The court used most of this amount to cleaer debts to Shanghai's annuity center. Zhang still owes hundreds of million of yuan in taxes and interest.

Second Round for Securities Firm IPOs

A five-year pause in securities firm IPOs has ended now that Everbright Securities is preparing for a public listing. Everbright would be the second firm, after Citic Securities, on the A-share market. Others such as Merchant Securities, Huatai Securities, Eastern Securities and Western Securities hope to follow suit but face obstacles.

One hurdle the firms share is the current bear market, which means they're likely to report weak earnings for the first half of the year. Market capitalization has shrunk 50 percent since January 1. Because traditional brokerage and proprietary businesses still dominate the sector, securities firms' earnings closely follow market performance. Not fully developed are other business lines such as asset management, direct investment, stock index futures, and stock and margin lending. Still, the firms will pursue IPOs.

Battle Over National Standard for Mobile TV

After years of debates, Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (T-MMB) was selected as China's national standard for mobile TV and multimedia services at a June 21 conference. However, the battle over a national standard is not over, as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), which backs another standard called China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB), has been a vocal opponent of T-MMB.

Since SARFT will become the future regulator of mobile TV, experts predict a possible revision of the latest decision before a national standard is officially adopted. And it's still unclear whether T-MMB will ultimately win. Disputes over the standard dismissed hopes that China would be able to broadcast the Olympics for mobile phones. But when the debate ends, competition over mobile TV broadcasting will begin.

Riot Led to Hard Reflections in Wengan

The death of a teenage girl evolved into a rito in Guizhou's southwern Wengan County on June 28. People broke into county government office buildings as well as the local police station, setting some ablaze. Armed police shortly restrored order, but the incident ended with more than charred walls and broken windows. Five days after, the local police chief and commissar were sacked, while other county officials' responsibilities are still being investigated.

Shi Zongyuan, Communist Party secretary of Guizhou told media that the riot, although originally triggered by the girl's death, served as a catalyst in exploding the areas long pent up hostilities in local mining, immigration and urbanization. The government's reoccuring response of applying police force to quell disputes brewed public grievances beyond the tipping point, resultingly setting the riot into motion.