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You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
A journalist has sued the Bijie city government and Guizhou provincial government for having failed to publicize how they had used 177 million yuan, roughly 27 million U.S. dollars, in funds specially allocated to help left-behind children. Beijing Youth Daily says the local officials responsible should be held accountable for any misuse of funds.
Previously, five children died of carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to make a fire to keep themselves warm in a skip in Bijie in the winter of 2012. The public anger at the tragedy prompted the local government to promise to spend 60 million yuan each year to help left-behind children whose parents work in cities far away from home.
Yet another four left-behind children committed suicide last June by drinking pesticide because of their extreme poverty. Journalist Zhou Xiaoyun earlier requested the local government to disclose how the money had been used. When the government said the information did not exist, Zhou took the Bijie and provincial governments to court to find out.
The local government's unwillingness to tell how it has spent the money has raised doubts about its sincerity, as well as speculation about possible corruption.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
A shop owner in eastern China is facing a fine of 200,000 yuan, roughly 30,500 U.S. dollars, after advertising its products as "the best" in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province.
The law enforcement authority says the shop violated the country's Advertising Law and relevant regulations when it used the phases "the best" and "the most" in its advertising.
The store specializes in sugar-roasted chestnuts. Its owner Fang Linfu says he was shocked when he received the notice earlier this month. The ticket was written by the marketing supervision administration of the city's Xihu district.
Fang has refused to pay the money. He claims that he has used the same ad for more than 15 years, and no one has ever questioned him or asked him to stop using it. He added that the fine is too much for a small shop like his.
Fang has been roasting and selling sugar-roasted chestnuts for more than two decades and his products are popular in the city.
