China man arrested for killing 4 over family dispute

A man has been arrested for allegedly killing four people, including his wife and son, over a family dispute in northwest China’s Gansu Province, local police said Thursday.

Following a dispute with his wife, the suspect, Zhang Xiaojun, killed his son, father-in-law and nephew at his father-in-law’s home in a village in the city of Jiuquan at about 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, according to police.

Zhang, 37, also injured his wife, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and his wife later died due to severe injuries.

The suspect then fled the scene.

Police arrested him on Wednesday in a nearby township.

Zhang, a native of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, lived with his family in a village in Suzhou District, Jiuquan.

A police investigation is under way.




85 on trial for cross-border telecom fraud

A total of 85 suspects stood trial in Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday, in a cross-border telecom fraud case.

More than 70 suspects, including 44 Taiwan residents, were arrested in Kenya and extradited to China in April 2016, according to Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court.

The suspects pleaded guilty to cheating 185 victims on the Chinese mainland out of more than 29 million yuan (4.3 million U.S. dollars), the court said.

Thirty-five suspects were accused of carrying out fraud in Indonesia from June to November 2014 and the other 50 in Kenya from June 2015 to April 2016.

The suspects claimed to work for police, procuratorates or express delivery firms and called Chinese citizens, telling them their personal information had been stolen and they should pay money to protect their assets and prove they had not committed any crimes.

The court will announce the verdicts at a later date.




China maps out AI development plan

The State Council, China’s cabinet, has issued a plan for artificial intelligence (AI) development, setting the target of China becoming a major center for AI innovation and leading the world in AI technology and applications by 2030.

The plan said China firstly aims to keep pace with the leading countries in AI technology and applications in general by 2020.

The AI industry will serve as a new major economic growth engine and help improve people’s lives by that time, and then the country will look to major breakthroughs in AI theoretical research and progress in intelligent society building by 2025.

The plan specified goals for AI development including creating an open and coordinated system for AI sci-tech innovation, fostering a high-end intelligent economy, building a safe and convenient society, as well as the upgrading of infrastructure for Internet, big data and computers.

Government finance and the market will play their roles in supporting the AI industry while social capital is encouraged to help develop the industry, according to the plan.




Former senior Henan official stands trial for bribery

Wu Tianjun, a former senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official in central China’s Henan Province, stood trial for accepting bribes Thursday.

Wu, a former member of the standing committee of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee, was accused of accepting money and valuables worth more than 11.05 million yuan (1.64 million U.S. dollars) personally or through others between 2004 and 2015.

Prosecutors alleged that Wu, also former head of the commission for political and legal affairs of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee, took advantage of his positions during that period to help others with business operations and promotions.

The case was tried at the Intermediate People’s Court of Xiangyang in Hubei Province.

Wu pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.

More than 40 people, including representatives of legislators and political advisors as well as journalists and members of the public, were present at the open trial.

The verdict will be announced at a later date.




China’s insurance premium up by 27.5% in 2016

China’s insurance premium income reached 3.09 trillion yuan (US$457 billion) in 2016, overtaking Japan and the UK to become the second largest market after the U.S., according to the 2016-2017 Insurance Industry Risk Management Report, released by EY, a global service firm and one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, in Beijing on July 18.

The insurance revenue witnessed a year-on-year increase of 27.5 percent and accounted for nearly half of the world’s total.

The EY report said life insurance was the main driver of growth.

The premium income of life insurance companies climbed 31.72 percent to hit 1.74 trillion yuan (US$257 billion), largely due to people increasingly preparing for old age.

In addition, China’s health insurance market has also witnessed fast growth in the lastfour years, up 67.71 percent to over 404.2 billion yuan (US$59.7 billion) in 2016, an indication of people’s enhanced awareness of heath guarantees and an increased number ofdiversified insurance products, said the report.

The report also analyzed the challenges and risks the insurance companies face including disruption from stricter supervision, a slowing economy which may not grow enough to significantly boost insurance sales and higher financial market risk.