China, Thailand sign railway agreement

China and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation.

Following a bilateral meeting, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha witnessed the signing ceremony at the Thai Government House.

The MoU allows China to invest in two dual-track rail lines in Thailand that will span 734 kilometers (456 miles) and 133 km respectively and connect northeast Thailand's Nong Khai province, Bangkok and eastern Rayong province.

The project is estimated to cost some $10.6 billion.

The two countries also signed another MOU on cooperation on agricultural products trade. (Photo 1)

China issues guideline on philanthropy

Charitable donations in China will become tax deductible, according to a guideline released by the central government.

The guideline, published by the State Council, said donations from abroad to charities in China could enjoy preferential tariff rates. It called for opening more donation channels, emphasizing the development of Internet philanthropy. It also called on social forces such as public institutions and media outlets to provide more support for philanthropy.

According to the guideline, the central authorities are planning an information-sharing system capable of better coordinating relief efforts for government agencies and non-governmental organizations. China has 85 million disabled people, 120 million people living under the poverty line and 160 million left-over rural residents.

Monday - December 22

Survey shows most say homes are too expensive

More than half of Chinese surveyed said homes were too expensive for them, according to the latest national poll by the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The survey showed that 58.8 percent of 20,000 respondents in 50 cities believe current home prices were "too high to accept" in the fourth quarter, down 0.7 percentage point from the previous quarter.

The property market cooled in 2014, with authorities loosening controls on purchases, mortgage rules and interest rates to avoid an even sharper slowdown. Home prices - especially in large cities - are still too high for most new graduates.

In the fourth quarter, potential "savers" still outnumbered potential "investors" by 44.9 percent to 36.4 percent, but those who expected to invest more rose by 0.4 percentage point while savers fell 1.1 percentage points respectively from the previous quarter. (Photo 2)

Jackie Chan's son charged for drugs offence

China's state prosecutor said had formally charged Jaycee Chan, son of kung fu movie star Jackie Chan, with a drugs offence, meaning he is almost certain to face trial.

The younger Chan, a 32-year-old actor and singer, was arrested in Beijing this year after testing positive for marijuana, with police saying they found 100 grams of the drug at his home.

In a brief statement on its official micro blog, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said it had begun legal proceedings against him for "the crime of sheltering others to take drugs". It did not elaborate.

Action and comedy star Jackie Chan, 60, served as a goodwill spokesman for the China National Anti-Drug Committee in 2009, state media reported, promoting anti-drug education.

Jaycee Chan was not available for comment. (Photo 3)

Tuesday - December 23

Government promises support for boy with HIV

China's health authority has pledged to an 8-year-old boy with HIV/AIDS the right to medical treatment, a living allowance and a school education.

Last week, 203 of Shufangya village's 900 residents in Sichuan province put their red thumbprints on a petition demanding that Kun Kun (not his real name) leave their village, citing his HIV infection and concerns that it would spread, media reports said. The grandparents who were taking care of him also signed the petition.

In 2011, doctors who were treating Kun Kun for an eye injury discovered that he is HIV-positive.

Some villagers said that the petition was only a way to draw attention to the boy's situation, the Beijing News said Saturday. Kun Kun's parents are HIV carriers. (Photo 4)

Selfies taken in operating room backfire

After a set of surgeons' selfies taken next to a patient undergoing surgery in a Xi'an hospital went viral online and stirred heated debate, the city's health bureau removed three officials of the hospital from their posts.

The executive president of the hospital and all medical workers in the photos have been given a demerit in their record, an administrative punishment in China.

According to the bureau, the photos were taken on Aug 15 in an operating room that was going to be disbanded and the medical workers of the private hospital took the photos to keep the memory of the room alive.

The selfies were posted on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, on Dec 20 by a user who claimed to be a friend of one of the doctors. The photos show the doctors smiling and posing in front of an unconscious patient lying on the operating table.

Though he deleted the post later, as of Monday afternoon, they had been viewed 9.9 million times and had generated more than 12,000 comments.

Wednesday - December 24

Xiaomi raises $1 billion; now valued at 45 billion

Xiaomi Corp raised about $1 billion in a new funding round that values China's largest smartphone vendor at $45 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

At $45 billion, Xiaomi would be valued higher than any publicly traded personal-computer or mobile-phone maker, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Apple trades at 3.73 times sales.

The financing was led by All-Stars Investment Ltd and included Yuri Milner's DST and GIC Pte, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. Joy Han, a spokeswoman for Beijing-based Xiaomi, declined to comment.

Xiaomi founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun is expanding overseas and unveiling new products including an air purifier to build on growth in China, where Xiaomi overtook Samsung Electronics Co in smartphone sales. In the third quarter, Xiaomi was the world's third-largest vendor behind Samsung and Apple Inc. (Photo 5)

Toll highway system hit by $11 billion loss

China's toll highway system reported an annual loss of 66 billion yuan ($11 billion) in 2013 due to rising construction costs and high expenses.

Last year, 365 billion yuan was collected from toll highways, while expenditure stood at 431 billion yuan, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

Much of the money -- 315 billion yuan -- was used to pay for bank loans and interest payments last year. Another 39 billion yuan was spent on highway maintenance, 45.7 billion yuan went on operations and management.

China's toll highways reached 156,500 kilometers (97,244 miles) by the end of 2013, with 100,400 km being expressways. Currently, toll highways account for 3.6 percent of all roads in the country.

Thursday - December 25

More than 2,000 coal mines to be closed

China will shut down more than 2,000 coal mines next year and limit the number to 10,000 by 2016 to improve work safety and curb pollution.

More than 1,100 coal mines were closed this year to eliminate outdated capacity, according to the report from a top work safety watchdog.

Last month, a fire at a coal mine of state-owned Liaoning Fuxin Coal corp claimed 28 lives and injured 50 people.

Small coal mines are more prone to accidents and their outdated facilities have been criticized for low efficiency and causing pollutants.

New guideline gives children stronger protection

Parents who sexually abuse or abandon their children will lose custody rights, according to a new government guideline.

The new guideline also stipulates that parents who sell their children or use violence against them also will lose custody.

The guideline lists other instances in which a court can decide that the parent must surrender custody, including leaving a minor without care and in danger of death or severe injury and coercing a child to beg.

"Legal guardians' abusing their children has become a very severe problem in society," said Hu Yunteng, a member of the judicial committee of the Supreme People's Court.