Briefly

BEIJING

Online sales of rare wild plants face crackdown

China has launched a nationwide campaign against online sales of rare and endangered wild plants, the Cyberspace Administration of China said on Monday. The CAC is demanding that websites cease publishing information on the illegal collection and sales of major nationally protected plants, adding that some sites have already taken the initiative in removing over 400 related products and deleting more than 3,000 relevant video files. The CAC also called on netizens, the media and the public to report sales of such plants.

TIANJIN

Police seize over 13 kg of drugs in port city

Police in Tianjin municipality seized 13.4 kilograms of drugs from June 2019 to May 2020, according to a news conference held by the Information Office of Tianjin municipal government on Friday. Police cracked 239 drug-related cases and arrested 302 suspects during the period. New technology has been adopted in anti-narcotic operations. Samples of concentrated drug metabolites are extracted from major domestic sewage treatment plants, and sewage pumping stations are also examined in order to trace drug abusers. The new tech helped police solve a major drug-related case at the end of last year, said Li Ming, director of the municipal anti-drug commission. In 2019, the number of newly identified drug addicts in Tianjin declined by 41.6 percent year-on-year, and the rate of relapse has also fallen by 13.5 percent among rehabilitated drug abusers.

HENAN

Shaolin Temple reopens for first time in months

China's kung fu shrine Shaolin Temple reopened to the public on Monday, ending a monthslong closure amid the COVID-19 epidemic. The 1,500-year-old temple, in Henan province, opened its gates at 9 am, ushering in its first tourists in five months. The temple declared it had enhanced epidemic control measures, including thorough disinfection of the temple and nucleic acid testing among its monks. The Shaolin Temple, like many other scenic spots and cultural sites in China, closed in late January as the country moved to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Xinhua