Chinese police in several provinces arrested more than 430 suspects in connection with internet-based pyramid-style schemes.

Police in Guangdong, Beijing, Zhejiang and Henan busted multiple gangs, said the Public Security Department of Guangdong Province on Thursday.

The illegal fundraising schemes involved 4 billion yuan (580 million U.S. dollars), with victims from across the country, said the department.

Guangdong police began to investigate the cases in March.

Some internet companies in the province organized themselves under the disguise of charities or high-tech biological products with promises of high returns.

In the first quarter, Guangdong police investigated more than 100 illegal fundraising cases and arrested more than 170 suspects, up 18 percent and 26 percent respectively.

The number of permanent residents in Beijing’s six main urban districts dropped by about 353,000 last year, according to the municipal bureau of statistics on Thursday.

The reduction is more than the entire population of Iceland.

Beijing plans to cap its population at 23 million by 2020, reducing the population in six core districts by 15 percent from the 2014 level.

The bureau of statistics found residents’ image of the city had improved.

A survey showed that 72.3 percent of those polled had confidence in Beijing’s becoming a high-class livable city, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous year, and 63.3 percent found the city more livable than last year.

Chinese political advisors met on Thursday to brainstorm on how to nurture more outstanding people who are both religious and patriotic.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top advisory body, chaired the biweekly meeting.

Members of the CPPCC National Committee said that generally the country lacks high-caliber and influential personages among various religious groups.

It is an important duty for all religious groups to train more believers that “are politically reliable, accomplished in religious study, moral and can play a role in critical moments.”

Some members suggested government authorities encourage the establishment of more religious education institutions and give them more support in capital and land use.

They also called on religious groups to improve curriculums and training of faculty.

Authorities should improve training and provide more job opportunities for outstanding candidates, and strengthen daily supervision over them, some political advisors suggested.

The country should also improve national education system to make all religious people better educated, some advisors said.

The latest benefit of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is to its non-Chinese residents, who can apply for permanent residence in China simply with a letter of recommendation from the FTZ authorities.

According to the social security bureau of Shanghai Pudong New Area, the new policy will take effect in mid-April, and apply to both the applicants and their spouses and minor children.

The move was made following 10 rules related to China’s entry and exit policy announced by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which authorize Shanghai Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone and Shanghai FTZ to recommend high-level foreign staff for permanent residence permits, Chinese “green cards”.

Those with permanent residence will enjoy the same rights as Chinese citizens in areas such as investment, housing purchases and schooling.

The reform is to support Shanghai’s ambition of becoming a world sci-tech innovation hub.

Those who qualify for the fast track application include well-known award winners or high-level talent scheme finalists, such as Nobel laureates, the Chinese government “Friendship Award” and other world-class, national and municipal awards; people in charge of Shanghai FTZ-based national laboratories, engineering laboratories, foreign investment R&D institutions, and top-level talent from innovation and start-up enterprises.

A Chinese green card is one of the hardest to obtain with no more than 7,000 issued since 2004, when the policy was introduced. That compares with about 600,000 foreigners currently living in China, and the application procedure is rather complicated.

In 2016, 1,576 foreigners became permanent Chinese residents, an increase of 163 percent on the previous year, according the MPS.

China has made huge progress in easing its residence and entry policies for foreigners since September 2015, which has helped attract more talent from overseas as well as boosting international exchanges and the economy, according to a ministry statement.

Shanghai saw six times more permanent residence applications from foreigners and their families in 2016 from 2015. The number of such applications in Beijing last year increased 426 percent.

Chinese central authorities released a detailed 10-year youth development plan Thursday, vowing better education, employment and healthcare for the nation’s youth.

“Youth” in the context of the plan released by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council refers to those aged from 14 to 35.

The Middle- and Long-term Youth Development Plan (2016-2025) sets a general goal of establishing a “youth development policy system and work mechanism” by 2020 and improving the system by 2025.

Specifically, the plan sets educational goals of an average 13.5 years of education for the newly added labor force and a gross higher education enrollment rate of over 50 percent within 10 years. It aims for 90 percent of the groups to meet physical standards and give them more accesses to mental and physical care.

“Youth is the country’s future and the nation’s hope,” reads the plan.

Authorities will strengthen educational campaigns targeting different ages within the group to champion patriotism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, making the “Chinese dream” a common goal for them, according to the plan.

The government will also narrow the educational gap across the country and pump more capital and resources into the less developed western areas, it says.