April 2, 2008
Big headline: Central Government work priorities published
Cracking down on real estate speculation and tightening control over grain exports are top of the list.
Pilots on strike?
On March 31, 14 China Eastern Airlines planes based in Kunming took off and then returned to their home airport without going to their destination airports. China Eastern explained that the incident was due to bad weather, but this article says there is speculation that the pilots were protesting about compensation. This is the latest in a string of cases of pilots butting head with their employers in China.
Other stories on the front page
• The big picture shows current renovation work of the Qianmen gate in Beijing.
• Prices of cooking oil and imported milk powder are going to rise.
• Weapons including firearms, ammunition and hand grenades were found in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
• Elderly citizens with Beijing residence permits will get new pension allowances.
• On March 27, lawyer Liu Jiahui (刘家辉), on behalf of 1,055 car owners, issued a request to the China Securities Regulatory Commission to investigate Ping An Life Insurance Company. According to last year’s report, Ping An collected more than 50 billion yuan of car insurance fees, but only payed out 4.4 billion yuan in claims. Another source of outrage is the 13,38 million yuan bonus of the Ma Mingzhe (马明哲), CEO and president of Ping An Issuance.