July 2, 2013
Translated by Tian Shaohui

Major stories that featured prominently on China's major news portals (Sina, QQ, NetEase and Phoenix) this morning included reports that authorities in Xinjiang are now offering rewards for tip-offs, details of Edward Snowden's political asylum applications and coverage of a court case involving "Petitioner Mother" Tang Hui.

Keep readiing below for a translated digests of some of the other stories being reported by mainland Chinese media outlets today.

Appliance Companies Rort Billions
21st Century Business Herald
Chinese electrical appliance firms have admitted to rorting millions of yuan from the government by falsely claiming subsidies under three national schemes that aimed to encourage consumption - "Electircal goods to the Countryside (家电下乡), New for Old Swap Scheme (家电以旧换新) and Discounts on Energy-saving Products (节能产品惠民). The National Audit Office (NAO) recently revealed that billions of yuan in government funds had been falsely claimed by over 300 companies, including the country's biggest manufacturers of air conditioners and televisions. According to the 21st Century Business Herald report, although the companies admitted to overstated their sales, they also claimed that a lack of government oversight encouraged them to seek more benefits. The paper also quotes an industry expert as saying that the irregularities uncovered by the NAO are only the tip of the iceberg.
Original article: [Chinese]

Foreign Baby Formula Companies Probed for Price Fixing by NDRC
China Securities Journal
An investigation into the business practices of five foreign infant formula companies (Dumex, Mead Johnson, Nestle, Abbott and Wyeth) has been launched by the the Ministry of Commerce's Anti-trust Office and Price Supervision Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), according to a report in today's China Securities Journal quoting an anonymous source. The companies are suspected of engaging in price fixing and other behaviour that is not in keeping with China's Anti-monopoly Law.
Original article: [Chinese]

Will the National Economic Census Once Again Ignore Property Holdings?
China Economic Weekly
An article in this weekly magazine looks at the resistance that officials face in trying to incorporate more data about property holdings into the upcoming Third National Economic Census. In recent months there have been many reports about officials with dozens or even hundreds of properties but currently data on home ownership and property in China is incomplete. Efforts to create a national database of home ownership have also run into a lot of difficulties. Experts quoted in the article explained how many individuals with multiple properties are unwilling to reveal information to census data collectors.
Original article: [Chinese]

More than 700 Companies Waiting to List on China's Stock Markets
West China City Daily
There are currently more than 700 companies waiting to have their application to list on one of China's many boards dealt with, according to data released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). There are 164 companies that have applied to list on the main Shanghai board, another 298 that have applied to list on the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Board and 253 that are waiting in a queue to list on ChiNext, China's growth enterprise board. The securities regulator suspended IPO approvals in 2012 in order to reform the system of Initial Public Offering (IPO) approval and to help support the market by putting a halt to the endless stream of new offerings diluting the market. At the end of 2012 there were more than 800 companies waiting for their application to list on the domestic market to be processed.
Original article: [Chinese]