CHINA

Officials Reportedly Got Half of Stock Lottery Tickets: Ordinary investors had access to less than half of the application forms in China’s chaotic stock lottery last month after corrupt officials snapped up most for themselves, a government news agency said. The disclosure by the Beijing-controlled China News Service was the most damning to date of official corruption in a lottery that drew more than a million would-be stockholders in south China’s capitalist showcase, Shenzhen. Frustration over reports of corruption led to a night of rioting Aug. 12 that prompted panicked officials to double the lottery the following day. “More than half of the application forms were swallowed up by many officials from banks, insurance companies, securities firms, armed police and public security, commercial units and monitoring departments,” the agency reported.