Traffic accidents, environment and prices among key topics of concern

Several ministry-level departments, public security, ecology and environment, and industry and information technology, have responded recently to issues of public concern.

Green light for road safety

The Ministry of Public Security said on Friday that it has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce road accidents during the winter.

Police across the country will step up traffic management, dealing with offenses and control to provide the public with a better traffic environment, the ministry said.

Offenses such as driving under the influence of alcohol and using fake license plates will be targeted, and checks on key roads will be stepped up, it said, adding that minivans in rural areas will be another key target of the campaign.

During the campaign, police across the country will increase coordination to step up law enforcement.

Better broadband on offer

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a notice on Thursday that it will launch a one-year campaign targeting monopolies of broadband services in business buildings.

The campaign will protect the legitimate rights of users, better the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and support the development of the digital economy, the ministry said.

According to the notice, telecommunication service providers cannot sign exclusive service agreements with real estate developers and property management companies. Businesses must freely choose their broadband service providers.

It also required telecommunication giants to organize their subsidiaries to find out if they have such problems, and to enable them to provide more standardized services.

The ministry required its departments to step up law enforcement in commercial buildings and punish violations by service providers.

They should also step up coordination with departments of housing and urban-rural development to respond to the concerns of customers, the notice said.

The move came after reports that some broadband service providers in Beijing monopolized services at some office buildings and forced the owners of some small businesses to leave.

The ministry said the Beijing Communications Administration is now investigating, together with other departments.

Companies punished

The securities regulator punished three companies for price manipulation and insider trading in an effort to protect the interests of retail investors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has imposed fines totaling 1.11 million yuan ($160,700) on three companies in its latest crackdown on illegal market operations.

Gao Li, a spokesman with the commission, said that the authority has always maintained a tough stance against financial market violations.

Thanks to the enhanced crackdown, cases of “rat trading”, known as front-running in the United States and European markets, slumped 50 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2018, he said. Such trading sees fund managers buying shares for themselves in a company that their firm is going to invest heavily in.

China has vowed continued efforts to prevent various financial risks and foster a healthy investment environment, with the country’s two major stock exchanges having already released rules to force companies to exit the equity market for serious law violations.

Environment crackdown

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Saturday that some 2,177 people from 10 provinces had been held accountable in the country’s latest environmental inspections.

As of Thursday, inspection teams sent by the central government had dealt with public complaints concerning 38,133 cases in the 10 provinces, including Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Anhui and Shandong.

So far, local governments have handled 26,873 cases and imposed fines of 214 million yuan ($31.2 million). Some 88 people have been detained for violations, the ministry said.

The inspection teams also made public 27 typical cases regarding formalism and bureaucracy in environmental protection enforcement.