Help just in time
Photo by Yao Fan



On August 21, 162 students from poor families who just passed the university entrance examinations each received RMB 1,500, a T-shirt and a raincoat at the charity party held by the Xiamen Charity Society. The donation came mainly from the Xiamen Airlines, the General Manager of Dell (China) Co Ltd Mr. Li Yuanjun and other organizations. Here is Li Xiuji, the honorary head of the Xiamen Charity Society presenting the money to the students.

 

 

Economics

Export of local hi-tech products rises
高新技术产品出口增长
Statistics from Xiamen Customs indicate that in the first seven months of this year, the export of high-tech products from Xiamen enjoyed robust growth, exceeding USD 2 billion in worth, up nearly 30 percent over the same period last year. In the January-July period, imports and exports of high-tech products into and from Xiamen were valued USD 4.1 billion, accounting for 30 percent of the city's gross foreign trade.

Xiamen longans enter international market
送厦门龙眼出洋
All of the six longans export bases in Xiamen have submitted their applications to the Entry and Exit Inspection and Quarantine Authority and passed the preliminary evaluation for the registration of orchards exporting fruits to Australia. After the review by the National Quality Inspection Bureau, these orchards will obtain a "pass" for exporting longans to Australia. This will be the first entry of Xiamen longans into the international market.

Local tour prices expected to drop next month
旅游价格下月可望回落
Tour prices in Xiamen, following the persistent rise throughout the summer vacation, are currently showing signs of decline. The price of the Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Tour Route, whose quotation once peaked around RMB 3,450, has dropped to RMB 2,880 in some travel agencies, down 16.5%. Industry sources indicate that the city's tour prices are expected to be back to normal in September.

 

 

Society

Rescue flying squad formed in Xiamen
救助飞行队在厦成立
The East Sea No. 2 Rescue Flying Squad under the Ministry of Communications has recently held its maiden flight ceremony in Xiamen, which signified the initial formation of the three-dimensional rescue system across the Taiwan Strait. The operation of the flying squad in Xiamen for disaster relief and emergency response is a significant move for improving Xiamen's investment environment and for creating an open and safe international port.

Two bridges to offer 50% discounted tolls
两桥通行费最低打五折
The Scheme for the Reform of the Vehicles Tolls of Xiamen and Haicang Bridges was unveiled recently. Under the scheme, starting from September 1, the two bridges will implement a vehicle non-stop electronic wallet toll payment system; vehicles are provided with four options of discounts, with the highest discount up to 50%. This move will greatly reduce the financial burden of owners of vehicles with frequent bridge passage and facilitate the flow of traffic on the two bridges.

"Safe Xiamen" program enjoys good beginning
"平安厦门"建设开局良好
The "Safe Xiamen" Program enjoyed a good beginning in the first half of this year, with the public security bureau, procuratorate and courthouse all having zero detention beyond the time limit. In the first half of this year, the local public security bureau cracked a total of 5,950 criminal cases, with a success rate of 48.7%, up 22.3 percentage points over the same period last year.

Island Ring Road to have group sculptures next year
明年环岛路将塑马拉松群雕
The Xiamen International Marathon Championships have become another important event of Xiamen's urban culture. A number of group sculptures reflecting participating runners and cheering crowds will be erected along the Island Ring Road before the next year's marathon race. These group sculptures will consist of 99 individual sculptures, each with a height of about two meters.

Xiamen gets five new elevators per day
我市日增5台电梯
As of August 13, a total of 5,845 elevators were in operation in Xiamen. Since the beginning of August, the number of elevators running in Xiamen has been rising by five units per day.

Fire drill to ensure safety
"海景"消防演习迎九八
Crowne Plaza Harbourview Xiamen carried out a yearly fire drill on August 23, 2004 to welcome the coming Trade Fair on September 8 and provide more safety to the guests.

 

 

Education

Local middle school students win golds
厦门中学生夺金
In the 13th All-China Middle School Students' Biology Contest held recently at Xiamen No. 1 Middle School, Fang Ning and Huang Da from Xiamen No. 1 Middle School captured the gold medals and three other students from the Xiamen No. 1 Middle School and Double 10 Middle School won two silver medals and one bronze medal. The contest attracted 90 contestants from 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country; they were the highest scoring performers out of the 100,000 entrants.

Weird Man's hand trapped in toilet
洗澡滑倒手插马桶
On August 19, a man in Xinyang Industrial Zone slipped while taking a shower in the bathroom; he instinctively attempted to rebalance himself by pushing the floor with his hand; his right hand accidentally slipped into the flushing pipe of the toilet and was trapped inside. After failure of repeated attempts by people around to help him, somebody dialed "119" to bring in firefighters who eventually tore down the toilet bowl and freed the man.