Five sentenced to death in S China gang trial
In a new development for the now notorious South China criminal gang affair, five men were sentenced to death on Thursday (December 3) for the murders of four people. Xu Jianqiang, who was also convicted of organizing the gang, received the capital punishment after a first instance trial at the court in Yangjiang City, for ordering the murder of three people. The Yangjiang Municipal Intermediate People's Court handed down a death sentence to Li Jianding, who was convicted of murdering one of these people. Lin Guoqin, Huang Bo and Lin Yueyun were also sentenced to death, but they were all given a two-year reprieve. Xu and Lin Guoqin, the ring leaders, were deprived of their political rights for life and fined respectively 310 million yuan ($45.4 million) and 325 million yuan. The other 38 gang members convicted on Thursday received jail terms ranging from 15 months to life imprisonment.

GZ to Build Cultural Innovation Center
The 2009 Guangzhou Design Week, the most influential exhibition in China's design industry, kicked off this morning (December 4) at the Jinhan Exhibition Center. Wang Xiaoling, a member of the standing committee of the Guangzhou CPC committee revealed yesterday (December 3) that Guangzhou will build the first cultural innovation center in China to boost this thriving industry. The center should cost 150 million yuan and shall probably be located in the former Dongshan theatre. Wang said the center shall host innovative companies and products.

New plan for Metro Line 2 and 8
The metro map in Guangzhou, as most people know it, will significantly change within the next year. Not only will new lines appear such as line 5 and line 8, but some existing lines will actually change. On Line 2, the section from Sanyuanli to Jiangnanxi will remain as it is today, but then shall deviate south to Panyu district to connect with the New Guangzhou Railway Station. An extension into northern Baiyun district will also be added. As for the remaining stations of today's line two, stops from Xiaogang to Wangshengwei will be integrated into the new line 8.