Tag Archives: China

A fatal blaze at a foot massage parlor in eastern China was caused by an electrical fault in a steam room, China’s top work safety watchdog said on Wednesday.

Flames engulfed Zuxintang Foot Massage in Tiantai, Zhejiang province, at 5:26 pm on Feb 5, killing 18 people and injuring 18 others.

A preliminary investigation showed the fire started after the steam room’s heating system malfunctioned, causing rising temperatures that ignited some flammable objects, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

“It was an accident caused by human error,” Su Jie, a spokeswoman for the watchdog, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The management of the parlor－which occupied the first and second floors of a six-story building in a downtown community－and the relevant local government department should take the blame, Su said.

However, she added that an investigation into the case is ongoing.

Police in Tiantai detained four people in connection with the incident on Feb 7, local media reported.

At the news conference on Wednesday, the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety also provided an update on its investigation into an explosion at Zubao Coal Mine in Lianyuan, Hunan province, on Feb 14 that killed six people and left four others missing.

Yang Fu, deputy director of the agency, said the authorities are looking into whether the mine covered up the death of a miner in the accident, which happened when 29 people were underground.

He said rescuers are trying to find the missing workers and that local authorities have formed a work group to investigate the cause of the blast.

“Investigators have found traces of a coal dust explosion in the shaft after entering the mine several times,” Yang said, adding that the watchdog will punish those responsible if any cover-up is discovered. Police have detained a manager at the mine, surnamed Liu, who is suspected of covering up the miner’s death, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Three officials are also under investigation, including two vice-mayors of Lianyuan and the local production safety chief, according to the report.

China will send anti-corruption inspectors to centrally-administrated universities, discipline authority of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced Wednesday. The new inspections will scrutinize Party committees of 29 universities, including Peki… read more

China’s top legislature Wednesday started its bimonthly session, with lawmakers deliberating revisions to several laws and preparing for the annual session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) in March. Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Stand… read more

President Xi Jinping underscored the importance of precision in the battle against poverty, saying that poverty relief targets should be accomplished as scheduled. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committ… read more

Since the Lotte Group is expected to sign a land-swap deal with the South Korean government to deploy the THAAD missile defense system, the future of its Lotte World Tower looks bleak. The share price of affiliates of the Lotte Group plunged on February 21, as the stock market is worried about possible sanctions from the Chinese government.

According to Edaily, a financial news website from South Korea, the Lotte World Tower is a 123-floor, 556-metre skyscraper currently under construction in the second-generation Lotte World complex in Seoul. Once completed, it will be the tallest building on the Korean Peninsula as well as the fifth-tallest building in the world. Its observation deck is expected to be the world’s tallest. Chinese tycoons are its main potential clients, and it is expected that at least half of the clients will be from China.

The Lotte Group promoted the Lotte World Tower in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing from last October to last December. Hundreds of Chinese tycoons were interested in the Lotte World Tower project during the promotion. However, with growing tension between China and South Korea due to the THAAD issue, many potential Chinese buyers have decided to abandon their purchases. “We will start the sales from the middle of March officially, and Chinese buyers will make up no more than 30% of buyers according to our expectations,” said by a salesman from Lotte World Tower.

Chinese media has criticized the Lotte Group for its expected land-swap deal with the South Korean government recently. According to a survey from the Chinese media, 95% of Chinese netizens will boycott the Lotte Group. The Lotte Group is confronted with a dilemma between its business and the South Korean government.

Lotte Group is not the only one facing pressure. The amount of Chinese investment and Chinese tourists to Jeju Island has reduced sharply. According to statistics from Jeju Island local government, the property area purchased by foreigners in Jeju Island dropped 24% in 2016.

According to Edaily, the Chinese IT giant Baidu has stopped a cooperation negotiation with the South Korean banking industry because of the THAAD deployment issue.

It is estimated that the Chinese government will pose comprehensive sanctions to South Korea once the THAAD missile defense system is deployed.