Society

A former chief of the salt administration bureau in Guangdong province admitted in court to accepting bribes during his tenure, saying his mistress forced him to do so.

Shen Zhiqiang, former director of the Guangdong salt administration bureau, accused of receiving 650,000 yuan ($95,200) in bribes, pleaded guilty in the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

Shen said he accepted the money only because his "mistress threatened to expose their relationship" if he refused.

Besides Shen, six other officials will also be tried for their involvement in what is believed to be one of the biggest salt related graft cases ever exposed in the country.

Police at the Xi'an Xianyang airport of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, hold the rescued newborn who was allegedly stolen 10 hours after being born in hospital on Nov 20.

A young woman who admitted that she stole a baby from a hospital to hide an abortion from her boyfriend was arrested Wednesday, and the baby has been reunited with her family.

Ge Qianru, 20, from a suburb of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, said she had been living with her boyfriend in Guangdong province and was six months pregnant with his child.

In the 60 years since Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the Communist state, China has seen more changes than almost anywhere else on earth.

In Xi Bai Xin, on the northern edge of Beijing, I met an old man who has experienced it all.

His name is Mr Wang and he is 78 years old. When I spoke to him, he was standing at a market stall heaped high with produce, appraising the "si gua" - big vegetables like outsized courgettes.

The changes he has seen include: the establishment of Marxism-Leninism and the collectivisation of the land; the appalling upheavals of the Cultural Revolution; the great famine that killed millions; the alleged coup headed by Mao's favourite, Lin Biao, and his escape and death when it failed and the rise of the radical leftist Gang of Four.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has rejected European pressure to let its currency rise against the Euro.

Speaking at a summit with EU leaders in Nanjing, Mr Wen said it was unfair of Europe to demand exchange rate changes while maintaining trade protectionism.

For the last 18 months, China has kept the yuan pegged to the weakening US dollar, hurting EU exports to China.

Mr Wen said maintaining China's exchange rate at a stable level had helped the world economic recovery.

Speaking after talks with European leaders and officials, Mr Wen said China would maintain what he called a reasonable and balanced exchange rate.

He said the stability of the yuan against the dollar had benefited China's economic development as well as the global recovery.