YUNNAN

Only children given 20 days of paid leave

Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, has announced a maximum of 20 days' paid leave for only children caring for hospitalized parents, Yunnan Daily reported. A regulation passed by the city's legislature on Friday said employers should give employees who are only children up to 20 days' paid "nursing leave" a year if either of their parents is hospitalized. Employees who are not only children will be granted 10 days' paid leave. The new regulation will take effect on Jan 1.

BEIJING

Surveyed urban jobless rate falls

China's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent in November, 0.1 percentage points lower than in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. The unemployment rate has dropped for four months in a row as the Chinese economy continues to strengthen its recovery from the COVID-19 slump. A total of 10.99 million new urban jobs were created in the first 11 months of the year, more than double the target set for the whole year, the bureau said. The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.7 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage points.

JILIN

China develops new type of maglev train

Chinese train maker CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles rolled out a new type of mid-tolow-speed magnetic-levitation train on Tuesday. The train, with a maximum operational speed of 120 kilometers per hour, will be deployed on a tourist route in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, the company said. Powered by maglev technology, the train features a strong climbing capacity, a short turning radius and low noise, said Ren Zhonghua, a senior engineer with the company. The three-car train can carry up to 500 passengers on a single trip. With a relatively low cost and short construction period, the mid-to-low-speed maglev system is suitable for city commutes, as well as journeys to nearby cities and tourist destinations.

HUBEI

Wuhan vice-mayor under investigation

Xu Honglan, vice-mayor of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, has been put under investigation for suspected serious violations of Party discipline and national laws, the Hubei Provincial Commission for Disciplinary Inspection and the Hubei Supervisory Commission announced on Tuesday. Xu, born in 1966, has spent most of her career in the city. She became vice-mayor in May 2017.

Xinhua - China Daily