July 4, 2013
Translated by Luo Shuqi and Pang Lei

Top stories in Thursday's papers included coverage of the State Council meeting held on Wednesday, a push for more measures to honor martyrs and news of two executions - a Filipino woman executed for drug trafficking and another woman executed for poisoning milk.

In terms of international news, major websites also prominently features stories about the Egyptian military's move to oust the country's president.

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

State Council Approves Shanghai Free Trade Zone and Talks Auditing
Beijing News
On July 3, Chinese premier Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council. Officials at the meeting discussed the National Audit Office's report into government budgets and also approved a new Shanghai Free Trade Zone (which the EO reported on at the end of April). The State Council stressed the importance of correcting budgeting problems that had been exposed during the audit and also emphasized the need to provide more comprehensive and accurate information on how the government had dealt with problems exposed by the audit. The State Council also ratified the establishment of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, which is considered by many a "new Hong Kong" in mainland China. Experts extrapolate that this free trade zone would not only facilitate trade and investment in both the manufacturing and service industry, but also signify a crucial opportunity for innovative developments in the financial industry such as the liberalization of interest rates.
Original article: [Chinese]

Former NDRC Official Under Investigated - Linked to Liu Tienan Case
Xinhua News Agency
Xiong Bilin (熊必琳), deputy director of China's Food Industry Association and former deputy director of the NDRC's Industry Department, has been detained by authorities and is under investigation according to various reports. The investigation into Xiong is reportedly related to the ongoing case of Liu Tienan (刘铁男), the former Director of the National Energy Administration and a Deputy Director of the country's top economic planning agency. Both Liu and Xiong worked closely together in the past.
Original article: [Chinese]

Chongqing "Sex-tape" Official to Appeal
Beijing News
Lei Zhengfu (雷政富), the Chongqing party official who was sentenced to 13 years in prison last month, formally lodged an appeal against his sentence on July 3. Lei was charged with accepting over 3 million yuan in bribes but is better known for his appearance in a "sex tape" that went viral last year. Lei was subsequently removed from his position and put under investigation. Lei's lawyer said that Lei had decided to appeal the sentence on the basis of disagreements with the fact-finding procedure, the admissibility of evidence and the applicability of the law. Lei admits that his sex tape has had a negative impact on the Party, the government, his family and himself, but insists that his behaviour does not constitute a crime.
Original article: [Chinese]

Beijing's "Hazy" June Breaks Fifty Year Record
Southern Weekly
Smog clogged the sky above China's capital on 18 days last month, the most in more than fifty years, according to official data. The Chinese Meterological Bureau said that over the past 30 years the capital had averaged 3.2 "hazy days" (雾霾日) in June. The amount of small particulate matter or PM 2.5 reached especially high levels towards the end of the month.
Original article: [Chinese]