June 4, 2009
393.5 kilograms of “drugs” (毒品) seized by Beijing police were put into a cement kiln and destroyed, reported today’s Beijing Times, which printed a big photo showing a police officer carrying a big box labeled “opium poppies.”
According to the report, the drugs, estimated to be worth more than 200 million yuan, were part of police drug seizures from 2006 to 2008. Sixteen thousand people were arrested for drug-related crimes during the same period of time.
Above the big photo, a headline reports that purchasers of certain non-personal-use vehicles will be able to receive refunds of up to 6,000 yuan for each old vehicle that they can prove has been sent to legal dismantlement plants.
By carrying out the new policy, the government estimates that 100 to 120 billion yuan worth of additional consumption will be created for the auto market, and 50,000 jobs will be generated or retained.
In the sidebar, a headline reports on an kidnapping-shooting incident yesterday in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
A 40-year-old former employee of Wuhan University was shot dead by the police after he held two women hostage in the university and opened fire on rescuers. A police officer was shot but the wound was not life-threatening. The dead gunner reportedly had a history of drug abuse.