China

China: Boy trapped in well found dead after 4 days

Rescue crews found the boy's body Thursday in a narrow, abandoned well in the province of Hebei, bringing an end to an almost five-day search involving more than 500 responders.

He fell down the well -- just one foot (30 centimeters) wide -- while helping his father harvest vegetables, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Too narrow for adults to climb into, rescuers began digging out the 40-meter deep well.

China passes cybersecurity law to tighten its control over the internet

Now, the Chinese government has approved a broad new controversial cybersecurity regulations that would further strengthen the country's censorship regime, making it more difficult for technology companies to operate in the country.

Made public on Monday, the legislation, passed by China's rubber-stamp parliament and set to go into effect in June 2017, aims at combating growing threats like hacking and terrorism, but actually comes with data localization, real-name requirements, and surveillance.

Vanuatu could have fish plant with American company

Last last week, for the first time, frozen albacore tuna was off-loaded at Port Vila's main wharf before being transported to the Chinese-funded fish packing plant at Black Sands.

The Daily Post reports that with the assistance of United States surveillance vessels, the Vanuatu government is committed to having all Vanuatu-flagged fishing vessels unload their catches from the country's Exclusive Economic Zone in Port Vila.

The paper says Bumblebee is in discussion about building a plant in Vanuatu.

China cracks down on growing live streaming industry

The Cyberspace Administration of China posted a 20-point edict that will go into effect next month. It said the regulations were aimed at "promoting the healthy and orderly development" of the industry.

Under the new regulations, users are prohibited from live streaming any content that could "endanger national security and undermine social stability."

Duterte's deal with China exposes US failure

It happened quietly last week when China suddenly lifted its four-year blockade of the Scarborough Shoal, allowing Filipino fishermen to freely access the shoal's plentiful waters.

If it lasts, this will be chalked up as a victory for Duterte's pivot to China and a geopolitical setback for the United States.

China receptionist job sees 10,000 applicants

The results of China's annual civil service exams came out this week, the first step in the highly competitive civil service recruitment drive.

The job that received the most applicants - a record-setting 9,837 - was the opening for "China Democratic League public reception staff".

The Democratic League is one of several minority political parties in the country which have very limited powers, and is hardly seen as a prestigious placement.

So why are so many people hoping to be its receptionist?

 

It's an easy job

14 dead, 106 injured after explosion at residential complex in China

The local government in the nearby city of Yulin told CNN on Tuesday that 106 had been injured and the search for survivors continued.

It added that initial investigations showed some kind of explosive had caused the blast.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the blast took place at about 2 p.m in a prefabricated house which had been built inside a larger residential compound.

Rescue crews were combing through the rubble overnight in the hope of finding survivors and to discover the cause of the explosion.

Artist builds a 1,650-ft tall ladder made of fire

The Chinese artist, who featured in CNN Style's inaugural TV show, is the subject of an upcoming documentary directed by Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") and produced by Wendi Murdoch. It was released on Netflix on October 14.

China's Shenzhou 11 blasts off on space station mission

The astronauts took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China.

They will dock with the experimental Tiangong 2 space lab and spend 30 days there, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts.

This and previous launches are seen as pointers to possible crewed missions to the Moon or Mars.

An earlier Tiangong - or Heavenly Palace - space station was decommissioned earlier this year after docking with three rockets.

500,000 elderly people go missing in China every year

Senior citizens aged 65 or over account for up to 80% of missing elderly person cases, according to the Zhongmin Social Assistance Institute under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"This is obviously a huge number and a social issue we cannot afford to ignore," Wang Zhikun, president of the Zhongmin institute, said on Sunday.

Around 25% of those missing had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia, while 72% suffered some sort of memory impairment, according to the report.