Desert pollution case

A high-profile public interest litigation* case about pollution in China’s Tengger Desert was settled by mediation on Monday, with the polluters agreeing to provide an environmental fund.

Following mediation by Zhongwei Intermediate People’s Court in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, eight polluting firms sued by an environmental group agreed to make public apologies and provide a fund of 6 million yuan (US$900,000) to protect the environment. The court found that the eight Ningxia-based companies dumped unprocessed waste in the Tengger Desert, polluting nearby soil.

Online comments

China’s cyberspace authority has issued a document regulating publicly posted comments.

In a regulation released by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Friday, the authority told website operators to better manage online comments with more effort to review content, conduct regular checks and formulate emergency response plans. The regulation applies to information on public online platforms and only illegal information will be removed, ruling out privacy and free speech concerns.

Business ban

China on Friday banned Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) individuals and enterprises from setting up new businesses in China, following through on new U.N. sanctions that were imposed in response to DPRK’s missile tests last month.

New joint ventures, new wholly-owned businesses and any new investment in current entities involving DPRK individuals or companies are prohibited in China, according to a notice released on the Ministry of Commerce’s website on Friday.

Hacker sentenced

A Chinese hacker was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday for his role in a telecom fraud case linked to the death of a teenager last year.

Du Tianyu was handed the sentence by the People’s Court of Luozhuang District, Linyi City in East China’s Shandong Province for violating personal information. The court also fined Du 60,000 yuan (US$9,000). (SD-Agencies)