China News recently reported that the police in Prato, a city in central Italy at the foot of Monte Retaia, conducted a massive search operation that involved immigration cases. It resulted in 15 arrests, with 83 people under further investigation. The immigration cases mainly involved documents that had been forged for Chinese immigrants. Prato is one of the cities with the highest number of Chinese immigrants in Europe. According to official records, the total population of Prato is 180,000, 16,000 of whom are Chinese immigrants. Locals, however, widely believe that the Chinese population is actually 50,000. Prato has devloped a very large garment industry and is one of the cities in Europe that is enjoying rapid economic growth. According to the Italian authorities, over 400 policemen were devoted to this recent operation aimed at cracking down on organized crime. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a short stop in Italy one day later.
On November 16, 2016 local time, President Xi Jinping met on Sardinia Island in Italy with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Source: China News, November 17, 2016
http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2016/11-17/8066071.shtml