Infectious diseases killed 18,237 people on the Chinese mainland in 2016, according to official data revealed Thursday.

In 2016, there were more than 6.9 million cases of infectious diseases reported on the mainland, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Of that total, one case of pestilence and 27 of cholera, both Class A infectious diseases, were reported but did not lead to fatalities.

More than 2.9 million cases were classified as Class B infectious diseases, which resulted in 17,968 deaths. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, rabies, hepatitis, and human infection of H7N9 avian influenza accounted for 98.8 percent of deaths in this category.

Category C diseases were responsible for more than 3.9 million cases and 269 deaths. Foot and mouth disease, infectious diarrhea, and influenza were the most prevalent in this category, accounting for 98.5 percent of deaths.

China will move more swiftly in legislating a long-discussed property tax law, an official said on Thursday.

“It is a major task in China’s tax reform determined by policymakers, and the lawmaking process will be accelerated,” Lu Kehua, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development, said when answering questions on progress on the tax law during a press conference.

Related government agencies and legislators are carrying out work according to the plan, Lu added.

China has pushed forward the work for years, but progress has remained slow. A trial property tax has been introduced in Chongqing and Shanghai.

The law will fill the gap in taxing home ownership, as China’s current housing tax mechanism mainly taxes development and property sales.

Former vice mayor of Shanghai Ai Baojun on Thursday stood trial on charges of corruption at a court in the city of Zhangzhou, east China’s Fujian Province.

Prosecutors alleged that from 2002 to 2014, Ai, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Shanghai Municipal Committee, took advantage of various official positions to help agencies and individuals with business operations and development, among other offences.

Ai was said to have accepted bribes worth more than 43.2 million yuan (6.28 million U.S. dollars) either personally or through his family.

In addition, he was accused of taking advantage of his positions to embezzle public assets worth more than 7.5 million yuan from 2001 to 2009.

Ai pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.

More than 40 people, including Ai’s family, representatives of legislators and political advisors at national and local levels, as well as journalists and members of the public, were present at the open trial.

The verdict will be announced at a later date.

Days of snow and rain have made roads inaccessible and stranded 41 highway maintenance workers in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, local officials said Thursday.

The road under maintenance is in Pengdang township, Gongshan County. Although stranded, the workers are not in danger, said the publicity department of the county government.

Rescue is underway.

According to the “Guidelines on Drawing Up and Safeguarding Ecological Red Line,” the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, together with the regions along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, need to draw up a “red line” for ecological protection by the end of 2017, while other areas should come up with a “red line” before the end of 2018.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the regions along the Yangtze River Economic Belt are under China’s two key development strategies, and the decision to draw up the ecological red lines are deemed complementary to the strategies.

The red lines are based on China’s administrative divisions, but will eventually ensure the completeness of the ecological system across the country.