Fewer forest fires

THE country saw fewer forest fires as well as a shrinking affected forest area in 2019 thanks to effective prevention and firefighting work.

A total of 2,345 forest fires broke out last year, down by 133 cases, or 5.4 percent over 2018, data from the Ministry of Emergency Management showed yesterday.

TCM clinics

OVER 6,000 new traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics were registered in 2019 as China aims to improve medical services, according to the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

TCM services were available at 74 percent of townships or community health centers across China, said Yu Wenming, head of the administration, adding that the country had initiated a program to control cancer through the combination of TCM and Western medicine treatment.

Kidnapper shot dead

A KIDNAPPER armed with a handgun was shot dead on the spot in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday, the regional police authorities said.

According to the police, the suspect, surnamed Zhou, took three people hostage in Xincheng District of Hohhot, the regional capital, at around 11 a.m. Sunday.