Chinese man detained for smoking on int’l flight

Police warned that people who smoke in flight can be fined up to 5,000 yuan (735 U.S. dollars) and face detention. [File Photo]

Chinese police have detained a man over the weekend for smoking on a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok.

The man, a 54-year-old Chinese national surnamed Wang, was apprehended upon arrival of the flight FD568 in Hangzhou City, eastern Zhejiang Province Saturday night.

Wang admitted that he smoked in the toilet while the aircraft was in air. A cabin attendant smelt the smoke and reported him to the captain, who alerted the airport police in Hangzhou.

Wang was punished to spend five days in detention for disturbing the order of public transport.

China has more than 300 million smokers. There have been reports of Chinese on long-haul flights succumbing to urge to smoke.

Police warned that people who smoke in flight can be fined up to 5,000 yuan (735 U.S. dollars) and face detention.




Weekly Road Report – West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL – ROAD REPORT FOR THE WEST END 

REPORT FOR WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017


Riverside Esplanade/Riverside Drive (Tay Road Bridge off ramp to 75m along Riverside Drive) – westbound nearside lane closure for 31 weeks to facilitate V&A construction works.

SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal – Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for 4 months.

Blackness Road/Glamis Road – temporary traffic lights for one week for gas main renewal.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Riverside Approach (Roseangle/Magdalen Yard Road to Riverside Drive) – closed from Tuesday 2 May for 2 weeks for carriageway resurfacing works.



3D printing helps treat young heart disease patients

Ma Chengqiang, 16, and 8-month-old Yang Youhong from northwest China’s Qinghai Province have both undergone life-saving heart surgery in Shanghai thanks to 3D printing advances.

“Our children have had the world’s latest 3D printing technology heart surgery. We are so lucky,” said Ma Wenming, grandfather of Ma Chengqiang. “Moreover, the fees including transportation, accommodation, diagnosis and treatment are all free. We are really grateful.”

The two children are among the beneficiaries of a China-Belgium charity project, launched in April by Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and Belgium’s Materialise NV, one of the largest 3D printing software and services providers in the world.

The project provides free treatment, especially with the 3D printing technology, for children diagnosed with congenital heart disease from underdeveloped regions in western China, said Ji Qingying, deputy head of the medical center.

Each year, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center conducts more than 3,700 heart operations on children across the country, ranking first in the world’s medical institutions. Heart surgery would normally cost a family 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (11,600 to 145,00 U.S. dollars).

The project plans to do 15 to 20 heart surgeries every year using 3D printed devices.




More worries about diesels

Some good points have been made about diesels and air quality, and I am receiving constituents emails arguing against new penalties on owners of modern diesel cars.

One of the best points made is we need to take into account the amount of use made of various categories of dirtier vehicle. A typical privately owned passenger car spends most of its time parked. A motorist who averages 8000 miles a year, and averages 25 mph through a mixture of open road and congested town driving uses the vehicle for just 13 24 hour days or 26 12 hour days equivalent. A public service vehicle like a bus may well operate for more than ten times that amount of time, over 260 12 hour days a year. That means we will get a far bigger saving of dirty exhaust if we replace the old bus than the old car. The same is also true for many diesel trains that operate long hours, and for diesel delivery vans and lorries.

It is also important to recognise that congestion and delay cause far more pollution than allowing vehicles to make optimal progress at decent cruising speeds when the engine is not labouring, is in an economical gear, and not having to stop and start. This argues for the adoption of more policies that can reduce congestion, as have often been discussed here. Improving  junctions is central to this. Parking more of the cars that are  not in use off the highway is also an important aim, as often parked vehicles cause congestion and delay through straddling the highway.

Someone pointed out that vehicles often do not achieve the test specifications on emissions. This is because actual drive cycles are often different from test cycles. The more the vehicles have to slow down and speed up, and sit in traffic, the worse the emissions performance is likely to be. Older vehicles do not have cut outs at traffic light and other stops. Trains often keep their diesel engines running whilst waiting for considerable periods of time at terminus stations and to adjust service times. These are matters which newer vehicles and engines can help address.

A  clumsy new tax is not the answer. Cutting emissions requires much detailed work on driving needs and conditions, road space and junctions, and ages of different types of vehicle. It is certainly important for the state to start by tackling public service vehicles, as they do so many more miles than the private car.




Xi urges strengthened party education campaign

Liu Yunshan (C, rear), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, addresses a meeting for further implementation of a year-long education campaign within the CPC to strengthen Party discipline in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping has called for further implementation of a year-long education campaign within the Communist Party of China (CPC) to strengthen Party discipline.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction on the campaign, which focuses on the study of the Party Constitution and rules, as well as the speeches made by Xi, and calls for being qualified Party members.

In the instruction read at a meeting held on Sunday, Xi noted that the campaign launched last year had achieved remarkable results.

The campaign has helped with the strict management of the CPC and must be carried on, said Xi.

The campaign should prioritize political training, Party members’ words and deeds, the latest theoretical developments and it should guide all to become qualified Party members, Xi noted.

In addition, the campaign must focus on “a key few” leading officials and grassroots party branches. It should also promote a solution-based approach and make full use of role models, according to Xi.

Xi urged CPC committees at various levels to support the campaign and make sure the achievements provide organizational guarantees that will promote balanced economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress and coordinated implementation of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy.

The Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy refers to making comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, deepen reform, advance the law-based governance of China, and strengthen Party self-governance.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said at the meeting that through the campaign, CPC members should stay highly consistent in their thoughts, politics and actions, with CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core.

More effective rules and systems should be put forward to address the behavior of “a key few” leading officials, so that they can set an example with their loyalty, integrity and responsibility, said Liu.

Liu also called for combination of the campaign and the central tasks to inspire CPC members to contribute to the overall reform and development.

Zhao Leji, head of the CPC Central Committee’s organization department, read Xi’s instruction at the meeting.

Senior leader Liu Qibao, Zhang Chunxian and Zhao Hongzhu attended the meeting.