Combustible ice

China has succeeded in collecting samples of combustible* ice in the South China Sea, a major breakthrough that may lead to a global energy revolution, Minister of Land and Resources Jiang Daming said on Thursday.

This is China’s first success in mining flammable ice at sea, after nearly two decades of research and exploration, the minister said at a trial mining site in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. Combustible ice usually exists in seabed or tundra* areas, which have the strong pressure and low temperature necessary for its stability.

KMT leader

Wu Den-yih was elected the chairperson of Kuomintang (KMT) on Saturday by garnering* more than 52 percent of all valid votes, the KMT announced.

The polls opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Over 58 percent of the KMT members with voting rights cast their votes. Wu Den-yih secured the lion’s share* of 144,408 votes, or 52.24 percent, to beat the other five candidates.

Missing children

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on May 17 that 1,274 missing children had been found over the past year following the launch of an app in May 2016.

During the period, 1,317 updates on missing children were posted on the app, and the children found included 40 who had been abducted*, 750 who had run away from home, 192 who had been lost, 75 who died by drowning, as well as 29 who were murdered, according to the MPS.

Bike-sharing industry

The government is considering regulating bike-sharing services that are booming nationwide but causing a significant challenge to urban management.

The Ministry of Transport is soliciting* public opinion through June 5 on draft rules requiring local governments to better manage bike-sharing. The draft states that parking zones should be established around major transportation hubs, shopping areas and office blocks, and the parking of shared bikes should be supervised and orderly. It advised local authorities to make “negative lists” of areas off-limits for parking.(SD-Agencies)