C919 maiden flight

    China’s first domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 is expected to make its maiden flight in the first half of 2017, the People’s Daily reported on Monday.

    The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, the Shanghai-based developer of the aircraft, has almost completed the onboard systems installation as well as major static* and system integration tests, since it was built on November 2, 2015. The static test simulates the pressure of flight on the aircraft.

    Psychiatrist suspended

    A senior psychiatrist* in Guizhou Province has been suspended after he removed 64 patients with mental health issues from their hospital without management consent.

    Psychiatrist Yang Shaolei helped the patients “escape” last month from the Guihang 300 Hospital in Guiyang to the Sixth Hospital about three kilometers away. Yang had planned to leave the Guihang 300 Hospital to work at the Sixth Hospital, along with three other doctors and four nurses, as they had been offered higher salaries at the latter institute, China Central Television reported. Yang said he took the patients to his new hospital because it offered better living conditions for them.

    ‘Green cards’

    The number of foreigners who became permanent Chinese residents in 2016 jumped 163 percent from the previous year to 1,576, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

    China has made huge progress in easing its residence and entry policies for foreigners since September 2015, which has helped attract more talent from overseas as well as boost international exchanges and the economy, the ministry said in a statement.

    Overseas trips

    A record 6.15 million trips were made by Chinese mainland tourists to overseas destinations during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, which ended on Thursday, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

    That is an increase of 7 percent compared with last year’s Spring Festival. About 374,000 trips were organized by travel agencies, a 2.5-percent increase. The administration also reported growth of individual and high-end travelers.(SD-Agencies)