Former tycoons’ cases China’s Supreme People’s Court on Thursday announced a retrial in the criminal cases of Gu Chujun and Zhang Wenzhong, respectively former chairmen of an electrical appliances maker and a retailer. The top court announced the retrial in three “major property right-related cases,” among which the cases of Gu, former chairman of refrigerator maker Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings, and Zhang, former chairman of Wumei Holdings, parent of Chinese retail chain Wumart Stores, will be heard by the top court or its circuit court*. QR code payment The People’s Bank of China announced plans on December 27 to regulate QR code payment to contain risks arising from the popular service. Payment institutions must obtain proper permits to offer barcode*-based payment services, according to a document released by the central bank. Both banks and non-banking payment institutions must channel cross-bank transactions involving barcodes through the clearing system of the central bank or other legal clearing houses. Elderly care program A pilot insurance program for senior citizens needing long-term nursing care was expanded from three districts of Shanghai to the entire city Monday. Shanghai, one of the 15 pilot cities in China to implement long-term care insurance, carried out the program on a pilot basis in the three districts of Xuhui, Putuo and Jinshan in 2017. About 25,000 elderly people applied for care services and 14,000 of them became beneficiaries. Fishermen rescued The BeiDou navigation and positioning system has helped rescue over 10,000 fishermen over the past five years, according to a BeiDou spokesperson. More than 40,000 fishing vessels and around 4.8 million commercial vehicles in China have been equipped with the BeiDou system, said Ran Chengqi, a BeiDou spokesperson, at a press conference on December 27. Ran said that the system helped reduce the rate of major road traffic accidents and injuries in 2016 by almost half from that in 2012. (SD-Agencies) ? | 