Strive for green health
By Miyi
Photo by Yao Fan



On the morning of Dec. 30th, an activity named "Caring·Moving China" Urban Green Health Journey, sponsored by the China Environmental Protection Foundation, was held in Jimei University. Xiamen Environmental Protection Bureau, the principals of Jimei University and over a hundred volunteers attended the activity. Here are the citizens viewing pictures calling for environmental protection.

 

 

Economics

Capacity database under construction
工业能力数据库在建
The "Xiamen Industrial Capacity Database", which is currently under intense construction, will provide a solution to the trouble of businesses having to traveling far and wide in search of suitable supporting products due to poor information transmission. To date, the database has collected basic information on 900-plus Xiamen-based manufacturing enterprises above the designated scale; the database is scheduled for completion in June 2005.

Prices of new models of white goods to rise before Spring Festival
新款白色家电春节前涨价
Some local retailers have received notices from home appliance manufacturers to hike prices; consequently, retailers may hike the prices of new 2005 models of white goods before the Spring Festival as manufacturers are suffering from rising production costs as a result of the increasing prices of materials, including steel, pig iron, copper pipe, coating material, and plastic. Prices of old 2004 models will remain unchanged.

Local vegetables make it to dining tables in other cities
厦门蔬菜上外地餐桌
Of the 600,000 tons of vegetables produced in Xiamen each year, nearly half of them make it to the dining tables of residents in other cities, with local radishes exported to Japan and other countries and cleomes distributed to North China, making Xiamen vegetables leading brands.

XOCECO exports to top USD 200 mil.
厦华出口可望破两亿美元
XOCECO has recently become the most sought-after brand in China's flat-panel TV market. With its strong sales of flat-panel TVs, XOCECO's exports in 2004 are expected to break the USD 200 million mark, compared with USD 110 million in 2003.

 

 

Society

Moviegoers prefer domestic films
观众更爱国产电影
Statistics on box office sales in Xiamen collected by Fujian Zhongxing Theatre Line indicate that domestically produced films enjoy strong popularity among viewers, with 11 domestic films on the list of the 20 top-grossing films of 2004 and six films on the list of the 10 top-grossing films.

"Loving Heart Supermarkets" in full swing
"爱心超市"全面启动
"Loving Heart Supermarkets" in 10 residential communities within jurisdiction of Siming District have recently come into full swing. Preliminary counting shows that the 10 "Loving Heart Supermarkets" have received 134 varieties of donated articles, worth RMB 0.98 million, which will benefit 4,153 minimum-subsistence households and 1,633 quasi-minimum-subsistence households.

Back wages to be paid before Spring Festival
春节前还清欠薪
Local authorities have recently made special arrangements for issues closely related to people's livelihood, including production safety and unpaid back wages for migrant workers. Mayor Zhang Changping has ordered all back wages be paid 10 days before the Spring Festival or by the end of January.

World's first Hepatitis E vaccine developed in Xiamen
世界首个戊肝疫苗诞生
The Fujian Provincial Research Center for Molecular Virus at Xiamen University has recently announced its successful development of the world's first vaccine designed to prevent Hepatitis E. Approval for clinical experiments with the vaccine has been obtained by the center.

Half million tons of domestic waste produced last year
一年清除50万吨生活垃圾
Last year, Xiamen produced a staggering total amount of 500,000 tons of domestic waste, about the weight of two Sunlight Rocks(日光岩). However, thanks to the efficient operations of the waste transport system, all waste is promptly transferred to the Dongfu landfill, allowing Xiamen urban district to present a clean and neat appearance.

Rare waterfowls brought to Zhongshan Park
珍稀水鸟"游进"中山公园
On New Year's Day, nearly one hundred lovely rare waterfowls obtained from Shanghai and Qinghai Lake, worth more than RMB 200,000, were released into the lake in Zhongshan Park, bringing life to the lake.

Transport Xiamen-Kinmen direct voyages reach record level
厦金直航创新高
The number of passengers making a direct Xiamen-Kinmen voyage reached a record high in 2004, totaling 406,815 passengers, including 204,375 inbound passengers and 202,440 outbound passengers.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Airport expansion project in full swing
机场扩建将竣工
Urban construction officials said the expansion project of Beijing Capital International Airport is in full swing and 5.7 billion yuan (about 690 million US dollars) has been spent so far.
Expansion of the pivotal airport started in March, 2004 as part of the Chinese capital's endeavors to prepare for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. As a key state project listed by the State Council, or the Chinese cabinet, the enlarged airport will be able to accommodate 60 million passengers and handle 1.8 million tons of cargo each year.

DNA bank opens
DNA库开张
A high-tech DNA bank has opened in Beijing, providing inheritance tests for families and cell testing for children.
The managers of the bank said there has been a steady demand for its services since it was founded. One married couple asked for DNA charts to inset into identical necklaces as a love keepsake. DNA charts can also be used to prevent future diseases in children.
So far 400 clients have taken part in a DNA inventory, at a cost of 600 yuan or 72 USD per year, and have received a guarantee of confidentiality from the bank.

First medical waste disposal facility opens for operation
首个药物废弃品处理系统运行
The first medical waste disposal facility began operation in the suburban Daxing District.
The disposal plant will be able to dispose of 15 of the 41 tons of medical waste that the city produces each day.
The plant is one of two planned by the city following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. The second will be in Chaoyang District.
Earlier last year, the Chinese government tightened laws on hospital waste water disposal in an effort to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

Water price raised
水价上涨
More than half of Chinese cities raised their water prices last year, aiming to fight the country's severe water shortage by raising citizen's water-saving awareness.
Beijing raised its water price in August from 2.9 yuan per ton to 3.7 yuan per ton.
It was the ninth water price hike for the city in the past 14 years, making Beijing's water the most expensive in the country. It transferred more than 100 million cubic meters of water from the neighboring provinces of Shanxi and Hebei, both of which are also parched.
China's average urban per capita water price stands at 2 yuan per ton as of now.

Shanghai 上海

Forbes list shocks Shanghai pride
上海福布斯排行榜仅排第四
Shanghai people seem universally convinced that their city is China's premier business centre. But a list of "China's top 10 business cities" released in September challenges this assumption.
On the list produced by the Chinese edition of Forbes, Shanghai only ranks fourth among Chinese business hubs, following Hangzhou and Ningbo.
As a very highly regulated business environment, Shanghai is not regulated by the market, but instead by the government administration. That's why it can't compete with the other smaller cities.
Among the top 10, seven cities are located in the Yangtze River Delta.

Post office despairs over E-mail
加强亲情少写电邮
Shanghai postal officials are encouraging residents to send more private letters and cards to keep the traditional form of communication alive.
Locals received 60 letters each on average last year but among those letters, less than 10 percent were private letters and about 17 percent were postcards.
The number lags far behind the 35 private letters an American receives on average each year.

Champions with new racy image
挑战新方程车赛
After being made the final stop of the Formula One Race in 2005, Shanghai will build camps around the circuit during the 2005 Formula One China Grand Prix in order to sell more tickets and attract more fans.
The Formula One debut in China in September 2004 sparked many Chinese's passion for the world-famous race. Even though the high ticket price prevented many Chinese fans from enjoying the race at the circuit itself, Formula One has nevertheless become a term synonymous with fashion and dreams.

First self-designed digital TV chip
首个自行设计的数码电视芯片
Elite Fudan University has turned out China's first ever home-made digital TV chip in collaboration with two domestic companies.
The chip, known as "Zhongshi No. 1", has outperformed European and American products in terms of sensitivity and anti-jamming capacities at far lower costs.
The chip embodies the core technology for the new generation of the high definition television (HDTV) that has been the focus of research and development for many countries since the early 1990s. China plans to broadcast the 2008 Beijing Olympics with digital TV and to popularize digital TV nationwide by 2015.

Learn to use condoms in class
学生学习使用避孕套
Shanghai has decided that 16-year olds will be taught how to use condoms at school.
This is the first time it has been included in the health education curriculum.
Students in Senior Grade Three will also get more information about AIDS and practicing safe sex.
Experts say it is the only way to prevent students from getting their knowledge through negative channels.

ShenZhen 深圳

Wedding car offenders to be punished
违例喜车将受罚
Traffic offences committed by cars involved in weddings will be severely punished from this year. Offences involving wedding cars usually include covering the car's registration plate numbers with paper and popping fireworks out of windows.
Cars used in wedding ceremonies in China are usually decorated with flowers, with the plate numbers covered with red paper and words of blessings. Traffic police are usually reluctant to take action against violations by cars in wedding processions.
Police in patrol cars will also be equipped with laptop computers, a walkie-talkie, a digital camera, couple handcuffs and a baton.

Chongqing 重庆

Natural gas field sets output record
天然气产量创新高
Sichuan-Chongqing natural gas field, became the first base ever to produce more than 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year in China.
Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality have been in great demand for natural gas, a result of soaring oil prices and relatively stable natural gas prices.
Meanwhile, a major section of China's West-to-East Natural Gas Pipeline, Zhongwu Pipeline, is expected to be put into use in the near future in the country's southwestern part.
Sichuan and Chongqing have been traditionally rich in natural gas deposits, with 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas in reserve.

Bridge over Yangtze River kicks off construction
跨江大桥始建
Construction of a large-span bridge over the Yangtze River section in Chongqing began.
The 1,741-metre-long Chaotianmen Bridge, to link the south and the north banks of the river, should play a big role in alleviating transportation pressures in the city's urban areas.
With light rail on its lower level and a six-lane highway on the top level, the expanse will become the platform for several methods of public transportation in the city after its completion over the next three and half years.
Experts predict that by providing better transportation to citizens, the bridge will drive real estate growth and industrial development in the area.

Hong Kong 香港

Some 3, 000 people march to welcome new year
数千人游行迎新年
Some 3,000 Hong Kong residents took part in a march at the Victoria Peak last Saturday, in an effort to welcome the arrival of, and express their best wishes for the new year of 2005.
The march lasted for an hour despite the coldest New Year's Day in 43 years in Hong Kong -seven degree Celsius.
Donation boxes were set up along the path of the march in an effort to raise money for the tsunami-hit victims.

Stage fund-raising activity for tsunamis victims
为海啸受难者募捐
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will stage a fund-raising activity to earn money for tsunamis victim.
The event held at the Hong Kong Stadium gained the support of various social associations and organizations in Hong Kong. Currently a total of 10 million HK dollars (1.28 million US dollars) has been raised.
Hong Kong residents will continue to demonstrate their love and generosity and do their part to relieve the after effects caused by the natural disaster.

Taipei 台北

Space program offers tsunami satellite images to aid relief
为海难提供无偿太空援助
Taiwan's space program offered its satellite images of the damage caused by the powerful tsunamis to aid groups for free.
The images were provided free (normally charged at 3,000 euros) of charge to affected countries .
The Taiwan's Formosat-2 satellite will continue taking images of seriously damaged areas for another week.
The free photos will help those countries hit by the tsunamis make a precise analysis while launching various rescue and rehabilitation programs.

Elderly population expected to double
20年后老龄人口翻一番
The number of elderly citizens will double in the next 20 years, with those aged over 75 registering the fastest growth.
With post-World War II baby boomers aging, Taiwan's elderly population will show "explosive growth." According to the latest tallies, Taiwan had about 2.14 million people aged 65 or older last year. Among them, 1.28 million were aged between 65 and 74, accounting for 59.8 percent of the total elderly population, while 860,000, or 40.2 percent of the total, were aged 75 or older.