Author Archives: GovWorldMag

An international summer camp opened in Beijing on July 17, bringing over 200 children from 16 countries.

Under the theme of “In China, Be Friends,” the camp is sponsored by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF), a Beijing-based NGO named after the late wife of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

The week-long event, already in its 8th year, aims to further promote the consensus achieved during last May’s Belt and Road Forum (BRF) to enhance communication between the younger generation of various countries and strengthen people-to-people exchanges through various group activities, exhibitions, talent shows, cultural carnivals as well as sightseeing around China, the foundation stated.

Hang Yuanxiang, CSCLF’s standing vice chairman, speaking at the camp’s opening ceremony, declared: “Through this event, we hope young people could get closer, promote exchanges of different civilizations and contribute to a better and peaceful world when they grow up.”

Aimar Poom, a team manager of four Estonian teenagers, said it would be a very exciting experience for youngsters being in China along with peers of different skin colors and cultural backgrounds.

Beside their stay in Beijing, participants will go on separate trips to north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jiangsu Province and Shanghai to experience the country’s traditional culture and development.

People enjoy themselves at a crawfish banquet during a crawfish festival in Xuyi county, east China’s Jiangsu Province, June 13, 2017. Over 30,000 people attend the event and eat 35 tons of crayfishes provided by 47 local shops. [Photo/Xinhua] A … read more

Hangzhou authorities have released more details in the case of a nanny accused of setting fire to an apartment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China News Service reported on Monday.

At a news conference, the authorities said the nanny had used her mobile phone to learn how to set a fire. They also said the property management company failed to maintain safe facilities and to provide emergency response.

The police said Mo Huanjing, 34, confessed after her arrest, and was charged on July 1 with arson and theft in connection with the blaze that swept through an apartment in a residential building on June 22. The fire killed a mother and her three children, aged 6 to 11 years, Li Bing, deputy director of the Shangcheng district public security bureau, said at the news conference.

Mo was addicted to online gambling, Li said. She had worked as a babysitter since 2015 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, and in Shanghai, but was fired three times after being accused of theft.

She had worked for the family caught in the fire since September and had stolen items she subsequently pawned for 130,000 yuan (US$19,000) to pay off gambling debts. Mo also borrowed 114,000 yuan from her employer, claiming she needed to buy a house for her parents. During the investigation, the police discovered that Mo had searched such key words as “lighter”, “sofa fire” and “curtain fire” from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on the day of the blaze, the news service reported.

Later, at 4:55 a.m., Mo used a lighter to set fire to a book on a tea table. The fire spread to the sofa, got out of control and frightened Mo, who fled, leaving the mother and three children to die.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at 5:11 a.m., but the fire engine was blocked. Firemen rescued seven people but failed to reach the blazing room. Insufficient fire hydrant pressure prevented fire suppression and delayed the rescue effort, the report said.

According to Chen, the property management company had many problems with its emergency preparedness, including staff members who didn’t know how to switch on a fire hydrant pump manually.