CPC recruits 26m new members

The Communist Party of China recruited more than 26.66 million members from 2002 to 2011, a figure almost equal to the population of Venezuela, according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

By 2011, about 4 million community-level CPC organizations had been established across China. The country also has another 11,000 mobile CPC organizations and 441,000 service centers for CPC members, it said.

The total number of CPC members currently exceeds 82 million.

Outbound tourism hits historical high

The number of Chinese tourists that traveled abroad last week hit a historic high, the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection said on Tuesday.

Tourists had more time to travel abroad due to the combination of Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, which created an eight-day holiday for many.

More than 450,000 travelers went abroad from Sept 30 to Oct 8, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent.

Congestion fees opposed in poll

More than three-quarters of those who responded to an online poll oppose the Beijing municipal government's plan to charge congestion fees as a way to ease traffic.

According to the poll, sponsored by China Youth Daily, 74.8 percent of the 2,148 respondents said that their cities have serious traffic congestion problems, but 75.4 percent of them opposed charging congestion fees. Among those polled, 67.8 percent are private-vehicle owners.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport released in August a five-year plan in which it said the government is planning to make regulations that would allow it to charge congestion fees.

Yunnan

Reconstruction starts after quake

Reconstruction in quake-hit regions in Southwest China's Yunnan province began on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The reconstruction is slated to last until September 2014, paid for with 5.6 billion yuan ($891 million) in funds raised by the provincial government, local authorities said.

Multiple earthquakes struck Yiliang county and its neighboring areas in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces on Sept 7, killing 81 people and injuring about 1,000 people. Direct economic losses are estimated to be about 4.3 billion yuan.

Heilongjiang

Twins accused of slaying six people

Two twin brothers are suspected of killing a family of six in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, local police confirmed on Tuesday.

The brothers, both under 18 years old, are suspected of killing the six of three generations, including a 6-year-old child, at a village in Longjiang county in Qiqihar, the police said.

They were arrested on Sunday and Monday, after the bodies of the victims were found on Saturday by the family's fellow villagers. Motives for the killing were not yet known.

Shaanxi

Five dead after scaffold collapses

Five people have been confirmed dead after a scaffold collapse that occurred on Tuesday afternoon at a construction site in the city of Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, local rescuers said.

The scaffold collapsed around 4:10 pm on Tuesday. The exact number of casualties is not yet known, according to rescuers at the site.

About 100 firefighters were sent to the site of the accident.

China Daily - Xinhua