China

Beijing, Jan 9 (PTI) Beijing has gone on an alert mode following a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring Hebei province while China has administered nine million coronavirus vaccines so far in a stepped-up nationwide drive to contain the virus.

The National Health Commission (NHC) on Saturday reported 33 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 17 were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside the mainland.

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The cost of COVID-19 vaccination, including both vaccines' expenses and inoculation fees, will be covered by medical insurance fund and government fiscal, rather than individuals, said a Chinese official Saturday.

After the vaccines are approved and available to the general public, they will be offered free to the Chinese people, who can receive inoculation on a voluntary, informed basis, said Li Tao, deputy director of the National Healthcare Security Administration, at a press conference.

BEIJING, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China drew a comparison on Thursday between the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and last year’s often-violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong but noted that no one had died when demonstrators took over the legislature of the China-ruled city.

Clips of the chaotic scenes from Washington aired repeatedly on Chinese state television.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s banking and insurance watchdog on Friday fined seven financial institutions a total 199.5 million yuan ($30.85 million) for irregularities in overcharging fees and insufficient information disclosure on products.

Leading policy bank China Development Bank, top lenders China Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the fifth largest state lender Postal Savings Bank of China are among those fined, according to a statement from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

($1 = 6.4664 Chinese yuan renminbi)

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the 26th lunar day on the far side of the moon.

The lander woke up at 3:13 a.m. on Friday (Beijing time), and the rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, woke up at 10:29 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

Landing on the moon on Jan. 3, 2019, the Chang'e-4 probe has survived 736 Earth days on the moon.

BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday urged the United Kingdom to abandon its illusion of continued colonial influence on Hong Kong and to cease interfering in China's internal affairs.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Wednesday that the arrests of politicians and activists in Hong Kong were "a grievous attack on Hong Kong's rights and freedoms" as protected under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

HEFEI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have set up an integrated quantum network that combines 700 fiber and two ground-to-satellite links and realized quantum key distribution between more than 150 users over a combined distance of 4,600 km.

Led by Pan Jianwei from the University of Science and Technology of China, the research was conducted by a group of scientists over the past few years. The research paper has been published in the journal Nature online.

BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said the U.S. side should stop its groundless suppression of Chinese applications and restrictions on the normal use of Chinese products and services in the United States.

"We will firmly support enterprises to safeguard their rights and interests in accordance with the law, and reserve the right to take necessary measures," an MOC spokesperson said in an online response to a press request for comments on the U.S. executive order that bans transactions involving eight Chinese APPs.

HONG KONG (AP) — An American human rights lawyer who was detained in Hong Kong with scores of democracy activists and supporters as part of a sweeping crackdown was granted bail, his associate said Thursday.

John Clancey, who works at law firm Ho Tse Wai & Partners, was one of 53 people arrested Wednesday under the national security law over their participation in an unofficial primary election last year that authorities say was part of a plan to paralyze the government and subvert state power.

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (APP): China and Pakistan signed a memorandum on translation and publication of classics on Tuesday, in an effort to give fresh impetus to cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Zhang Jianchun, deputy secretary of the Communist Party’s propaganda department and Mrs. Nausheen Amjad, Secretary National Heritage and Culture Department, on behalf of both parties, signed on the memorandum, according to Chinese media on Wednesday.