News Plus慢速英语:公安部严打地下钱庄 北京控烟两个月罚款约25万元

You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing.
Chinese police have launched a nationwide campaign against underground banks to maintain order in the financial and capital market.
The Ministry of Public Security has urged all the police to fully understand the harm of underground banks to the national economic security and the order of the financial market.
A similar campaign was launched in April to stop transfers of illicit money through offshore companies and underground banks.
The campaign uncovered several major cases involving more than 430 billion yuan, roughly 67 billion U.S. Dollars.
The ministry says underground banks are still rampant and becoming a channel for other crimes to transfer illicit assets. They have also disturbed the financial and capital market.
The ministry has urged police around the country to better coordinate with the central bank and the foreign exchanges regulator in the campaign, which will run from now through the end of November.
The police will also strengthen publicity to raise social awareness of the harm of underground banks

This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Beijing health authority has collected 250,000 yuan, roughly 39,000 U.S. dollars, in fines in the past two months, as agencies and individuals continued to ignore the city-wide smoking ban.
Over the two months, 100 enterprises and institutions, as well as 230 individuals were fined by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning.
Of the 5,000 telephone complaints, 70 percent concerned smoking in offices, restaurants or entertainment venues.
Since June 1, smoking has been prohibited in all indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transportation.
Individuals caught smoking may be fined up to 200 yuan, while businesses face fines of up to 10,000 yuan.
There are around 4 million smokers in Beijing, yet, only 1,000 law enforcement personnel have been assigned to the campaign.
More than 10,000 volunteers have been recruited to support the core team, they have been tasked with discouraging smoking and explaining the hazards of tobacco.
As the world's largest tobacco maker and consumer, there are more than 300 million smokers in China, almost the population of the United States. Another 740 million people are exposed to second-hand smoke each year.