China is set to launch a comprehensive medical reform process in order to cancel the drug markups in public hospitals nationwide before September 30.

Local authorities will ensure to publish guidelines and plans on comprehensive medical reforms before July 31 ahead of starting to carry out reforms on September 30, according to a guideline jointly released by seven government organs including the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

China has launched medical reform pilot projects in a number of cities and provinces and based on the previous pilot programs, the country aims to deepen the reform nationwide, in which canceling drug markups has been the priority.

The guideline set by the end of this year, will see pilot hospitals reduce the income of drug sales to 30% of revenues, and in every 100 yuan cost of medical fees, the medical materials should be under 20 yuan.

On April 8, Beijing implemented a new reform to end high drug markups and high fees for medical materials in order to provide patients with better services and lower-cost medicine.

According to the guideline, reforms at the county level would also be put forward aiming to lower the cost for patients by decreasing the price of medicine and increase the percentage of charges in medical services.

Public hospitals have relied heavily on markups on drugs, high fees for examinations and sales of materials such as bandages, creating an incentive for doctors to over-prescribe and advise unnecessary check-ups.

The second Long March 5, China’s own heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLLV), has arrived at southern China’s Wenchang city, where it will be launched in June.

The rocket was transported from its factory in Tianjin to Wenchang by sea in six days, longer than expected as a result of a sudden weather change.

The rocket is scheduled to launch in June, sending the Shijian-18 communication satellite into Earth’s orbit.

Long March 5 has a payload capacity of 25 tons in low-Earth orbit, and 14 tons in geostationary orbit. Chinese people nicknamed the rocket “Chubby-5” for its large size.

The first Long March 5 was launched last November, also from Wenchang.

The space launch center in Wenchang is China’s fourth rocket launch site. It is where China’s first space cargo ship, the Tianzhou-1, was launched on April 20.

The photo taken by a netizen shows the recreational airplane before crashing into a tree, killing two people and injuring another on April 30, 2017, in north China’s Shanxi Province. [Photo: Wechat]

A small recreational airplane crashed into a tree, killing two people and injuring another on Sunday in north China’s Shanxi Province, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at 5:41 p.m., when the airplane carrying two passengers attempted to land following a sight-seeing trip above the Huihe reservoir in Quwo County, according to the county government.

A person on the ground was injured by the crash.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Police in southwest China’s Yunnan province have seized more than 12 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, said local authorities on Sunday.

According to a statement by the public security bureau of Ximeng Wa autonomous county, police found a man driving an unlicensed motorcycle last Wednesday who appeared suspicious. When police asked him to stop for a check, the man ran off.

Police didn’t catch him, but found a blue bag he dropped with 12.43 kilograms of the drug inside.

Police are still hunting for the man.

The Ximeng county, on the border of China with Myanmar, is close to the opium-producing Golden Triangle.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit the sea area of Taiwan at about 9:57 a.m. Sunday Beijing Time, according to the measurement of the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 21.68 degrees north latitude and 121.54 degrees east longitude.