Sino-Australia trade deal

    China and Australia signed a trade deal on June 17 after a decade of talks.

    Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng formally inked* the document in Canberra.

    “The leaders of our two countries have attached great importance to the signing of this document,” said Gao. “It is a milestone* in bilateral* relations.”

    Under the deal, more than 85 percent of Australian goods entering China will carry no penalty*, rising to 95 percent in coming years.

    Man killed

    Police shot and killed a man who attacked passengers in a railway station in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, on June 17.

    According to the local railway public security bureau, the man was seen throwing cement bricks at passengers in the ticket office at around 6 a.m. and police were called.

    The man did not obey an order to stop and continued his attack before being shot and injured by police.

    Watchdog targets education

    The government will target gift-giving to teachers, illegal charging of extra fees, embezzlement* and other corrupt practices, officials said on June 16.

    While tuition is free during the nine years of compulsory* education in China, many schools charge extra fees, and parents sometimes give teachers gifts.

    Decision on HK universal suffrage to stand

    China’s top legislature on June 18 said its decision on Hong Kong’s electoral reforms last August will remain in force in the future despite the Hong Kong Legislative Council’s veto* of the universal suffrage* motion.

    After a nine-hour debate that started on June 17, 28 lawmakers on the Legislative Council voted against the motion for selecting Hong Kong’s next chief executive in 2017 while eight voted in favor. Many lawmakers left the chamber of the legislature building before the vote.(SD-Agencies)