XICHANG -- China successfully launched a satellite into space at 12:12 am Beijing Time Saturday, the 11th one of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system, the launch center said.
The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan province, was boosted by a Long March-3C carrier rocket into a geosynchronous orbit.
It was also the 158th launch of the Long March carrier rockets.
The Beidou system started to provide services on a trial basis on Dec 27, 2011. The system has been used in transportation, weather forecasting, marine fisheries, hydrological monitoring, and mapping.
China began to build the Beidou system in 2000 with a goal of breaking its dependence on the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and creating its own global positioning system by 2020.
China will launch more satellites for the Beidou network this year to improve the system's coverage and services, according to the launch center.
Read More @ Source Harbin worker sets himself on fire over pay dispute
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A construction worker from Harbin in northeastern China is in critical condition after setting himself on fire on Feb 24 after his employer refused to pay him, Chinese web-based broadcaster CNTV reports.
CNTV said that Zhang Hongtao, a 38-year-old worker at a construction site, arrived at his workplace around 9am on Friday carrying five liters of gasoline. He asked his employer to give him his paychecks but was refused, upon which Zhang poured the gasoline on himself and lit it.
Li Wei, Zhang's younger brother by another father, was with him at the scene. "I thought my brother was just trying to scare them a bit but they continued to ignore him. My brother then set himself on fire for real," Li said.
As of press time, Zhang remains in intensive care at Harbin's Fifth Hospital. His physician said Zhang has sustained 60% burns and lung damage.
Li said that Zhang began to work for Dongshi Real Estate since April 2011. The company began to default on wage payments to workers from last August. CNTV reported that the company owes a total of more than 1.6 million yuan (US$254,100) to its employees.
"My brother continued to ask for the money but they always said 'we don't have any money,'" Li said. "You must understand that my brother is the foreman for these workers. He needs to be responsible for them since he recruited them for the job."
The company's manager, who was only identified by his last name, Meng, said in response that the company has paid more than RMB1.1 million (US$174,700) to Zhang so far and will clear the debt by the end of this month.
"How to make sure that Zhang is well taken care of at the hospital is our priority for now. For the rest, we are working on it," Meng said.
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