Briefs | Police repatriate ‘red notice’ fugitive to South Korea

Police in Guangdong Province sent a ‘red notice’ fugitive on a plane back to the South Korea at the request of the country’s law enforcement authorities. The fugitive, surnamed Kim, cheated over 300 Korean residents out of a total of 2 billion Korean won (USD1.7 million) using the excuse of low interest loans from January 2015 to January 2018, and was later listed on the Interpol Red Notice. On May 15, the Consulate General of South Korea in Guangzhou made a request to the local police for the arrest of Kim, whose residence permit in China had expired. After receiving the request, the Guangdong police authority carried out an investigation into Kim’s whereabouts immediately and captured the fugitive. Under the supervision of China’s Ministry of Public Security, local police cooperated with the National Police Agency of South Korea to repatriate Kim.

E-cigarettes banned in Shenzhen’s public places

Shenzhen has added e-cigarettes to its smoking control list, further tightening the smoking ban in public places, according to a regulation passed last week. In China, smoking is banned in all indoor public places, workplaces and public transport. However, differing opinions exist on whether e-cigarettes should fall into the smoking control category. According to the new regulation, smoking e-cigarettes will be banned in Shenzhen’s public places including bus platforms and waiting areas in public institutions. The move follows other Chinese cities including Hong Kong, Macau, Hangzhou and Nanning, which have put in place similar e-cigarette bans. Young people make up the major demographic of e-cigarette smokers, according to a report released in May by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The e-cigarette usage rate has increased from 2015 to 2018, the report said. China has set a target to reduce the smoking rate among people aged 15 and above to 20 percent by 2030 from the current 26.6 percent, according to the “Healthy China 2030” blueprint issued in 2016.

Helicopter flight links Shenzhen, Hong Kong

The first cross-border helicopter flight was conducted on Friday between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. An Airbus H135 light twin-engine helicopter took off from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and landed at Hong Kong Xinde Heliport on Friday morning with an around 15-minute cross-border flight. The helicopter is operated by Shenzhen Eastern General Aviation Company (Shenzhen Eastern GAC) in south China’s Guangdong Province. “We are committed to playing a leading role in the low-altitude air transportation in the Greater Bay Area,” said Zhao Qi, chairman of Shenzhen Eastern GAC. He disclosed that the company had targeted building up a transportation system around the area with a helicopter platform centered in Shenzhen in five years. Shenzhen Eastern GAC is the first certified general aviation company in China to operate helicopter flights between Guangdong and Hong Kong.