Spring approaches
新春临近
Photo by Yao Fan



The Xiamen Flowers and Plants City, located on Huguang Road, has been animated recently by crowds of citizens who came to purchase flowers and potted plants for house decorations during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays.

 

 

Economics

Catering, accommodation prosperity indexes go up
"吃住"景气指数上升
Since the golden week of the last October 1 National Day, the city's catering and accommodation industries have been growing increasingly prosperous. With the upcoming Lunar New Year, Xiamen's catering and accommodation industries are raking in greatly increased sales revenues, with the enterprise prosperity index ranking 4th among the nation's 19 municipalities and cities with sub-provincial status.

High-tech enterprises scale new height in output value
高新技术企业产值有突破
Xiamen's high-tech industry turned in an impressive performance in 2004, with total output value and total sales income both breaking the RMB 100 billion mark, accounting for more than 60% of the city's total industrial output of enterprises above the designated scale.

Over 30% stock brokerage firms lose money
逾三成证券营业部亏损
As a bearish stock market persists, many stock brokerage business outlets in the city are undergoing a subtle change, with stock brokerage firms cutting the size of their business premises and stock brokers facing pay cuts. Eight out of the 23 stock brokerage business outlets in the city are losing money, accounting for over a 30% loss in proportion."

Cash registers to be equipped with tax control device
收银台将安税控装置
Local authorities are planning to mandate cash registers with tax control features. These registers are common cash registers which have a built-in "black box" capable of encrypting and storing invoice data. The tax authority will, on the basis of monthly statements generated by such registers, determine taxable sales and transactions.

 

 

Society

Xiamen Airport has lost and found items
厦门机场招领失物
In 2004, lost and found items at Xiamen Airport amounted to a value of RMB 655,924, including 100-plus mobile phones, 13 computers, 21 cameras, 2 video cameras, and many other valuables such as jewelry. To claim found items from the airport, please call 5706016.

Four local "longevity stars" honored as national healthy senior citizens
4寿星入选全国健康老人
Four senior citizens in Xiamen, all of whom are more than 90 years old, (Wu Wanghuai, Liao Bixi, Shao Geng and Qiu Yimei), were recently awarded the honorary title of "6th Group of National Healthy Senior Citizens".

Marathon race attracts large number of competitors
马拉松赛报名踊跃
As of January 27, more than 6,000 people have signed up for the 3rd Xiamen International Marathon Race. For the first time, runners who sign up for this sports event are required to pay a registration fee. In spite of the fee, enthusiasm of potential competitors remains strong.

Nanputuo Temple provides free incense
南普陀寺不再卖香改赠香
With the imminent Lunar New Year, the Nanputuo Temple, which is receiving a steadily growing stream of tourists, has decided not to sell incense to tourists but to provide each tourist with one free stick of incense. This move is aimed at enhancing the order inside this famed temple.

Local police upgrade "firecracker" ban
警方"禁炮"等级提高
As the Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival are drawing near, the local police announced the upgrading of the ban on fireworks and firecrackers, with public security branches ordered to investigate any case of violation of the ban within a prescribed time frame.

Xiamen to host Expo 2006
园博会确定在厦举办
Xiamen has been officially identified as the host of the 6th China International Garden and Flower Exposition, which is scheduled for 2006. The expo will be staged in Xinglin Bay on a 6.76 km2 site. Organizers of this event are currently inviting bids from home and abroad on the design of the Expo Garden.

Disabled persons to enjoy discounted bus fares
残疾人乘车优惠
From the second quarter of this year, all people with a disability in Xiamen may present their disability certificate to the city bus company to apply for a discounted fare card, which will entitle them to unlimited rides on city buses for merely RMB 130 per year, including insurance.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Mayor pledges cleaner look for Beijing
市长保证净化京城
Rubbish, sewage and public toilets are now the biggest headaches for the Beijing municipal government as it prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games, says Mayor Wang Qishan.
The municipal government is trying to improve its urban administration in a host of different areas such as rubbish disposal, sewage treatment, outdoor advertising, heating, toilet-building and traffic management.
Ninety-four per cent of the rubbish collected from Beijing's eight urban districts will be disposed of or recycled, and 40 per cent of that will come from rural areas.

Ranks first in China in overall competitive strength
海外综合竞争力居首位
Beijing has ranked first in overall competitive strength in China for 16 years over the past two decades. It has been the first in overall competitive strength each year from 1985 to 2004 among the country's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
However, Shanghai ranks first, in overall economic strength followed by Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces.
The overall economic strength includes added value, investment, end consumption and market scale.

New taxis hit street
新的士上路
The first batch of new taxis in Beijing have been put into service.
One hundred new taxis, all Sonata models, are now serving customers and are capable of meeting Euro III, an international auto emission control standard.
The new taxis are in bright blue and yellow and charge a fare of 1.6 RMB per kilometer.
Beijing is expected to put 20 thousand new taxis on the road this year.



Shanghai 上海

Teachers to lose freelance tutoring incomes
老师家教收入渐失
Local senior teachers are likely to lose their lucrative freelance tutoring incomes under new rules which are being considered.
Under the draft rules, senior educators are banned from organizing or participating in paid out-of-school tutoring for students or forcing students to buy academic guidance books.
Senior teachers are among the city's highest professional ranks and are entitled to special allowances that range up to several hundred yuan a month.
Teachers are also required to provide free tutoring to students who need extra academic help.

Engineers look out for leaning buildings
安全施工保护周围建筑
The city government is tightening controls on major infrastructure projects to diminish disturbances on nearby buildings.
The city plans to reduce the density of underground projects and do a thorough job of monitoring the structural integrity of buildings near construction sites.
Renovations to underground infrastructures, including electrical cables, gas lines and water pipes, will be carried out in smaller increments to lessen traffic congestion and other off-site effects.

Added subway trains for festival peak
增加地铁迎节日高峰
Subway trains to the Shanghai Railway Station during the festival peak are usually crowded with passengers. So a total of 204 temporary subway trains will be put into use in Shanghai for this year's Spring Festival transportation peak.



Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Guangdong becomes China's most populous region
广东成为人居最多的地区
Guangdong has replaced central Henan Province to become the most populous region in China.
Guangdong's total population hit 110 million for the first time in its history. The figure includes 79 million registered permanent residents and 31 million migrants who have lived in Guangdong for more than six months.
Though Henan and Sichuan are the most populous regions in China, residents from the two provinces have come to Guangdong in recent years looking for jobs.

House prices to rise by 5%
房价将上扬5%
Guangzhou housing prices are expected to rise by 5 percent this year.
Prices had been falling since 1999 but started to bounce back in 2004.
The real estate market will become more standardized as related laws and regulations implemented over the past two years begin to take effect.
The sale of second-hand apartments should boom this year because the housing authority has eliminated restrictions for government or company-subsidized apartment transactions, simplified loan procedures and increased ceilings for loans.

Tax receipts to be delivered
公务员税收单即将派送
More than 70,000 public servants working for the Guangdong Provincial Government and Guangzhou Municipal Government are expected to receive taxation receipts in April, the first taxpayers in the province to get personal receipts.
The receipts will be delivered by mail annually, with taxation payments itemized and each month's taxation payment stated in detail.
Chinese citizens started paying personal income tax in 1980 but have seldom been able to obtain tax receipts.

Car renting popular for festival in Shenzhen
深圳盛行租车返家
An increasing number of holidaymakers in Shenzhen are deciding to rent cars to go home for the Spring Festival family reunions in order to avoid crowded trains.
Most rent-a-car companies have had nearly 90 percent of their vehicles booked or rented.
Patrons include enterprises who rent buses and minibuses for employees and individuals who have booked cars to drive home with their families.
Most renters were migrants from Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Guangxi.
Renters are required to pay 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan as a deposit.

Chongqing 重庆

Emergent fog plan activated
启动大雾紧急预案
A recent heavy fog, covering Chongqing, drove many affected highways to take emergent measures for traffic control. On certain parts of the highways the fog was fairly dense, which could easily lead to traffic accidents.

Hong Kong 香港

Overseas experts to examine HK's red fire ant samples
海外专家检测红蚁样本
Samples of the suspected red fire ants found in a Hong Kong wetland park will be sent to the Chinese mainland, Japan and Britain for examination.
Insect specialists say the most notorious member of the fire ant family can cause serious agricultural losses and are also a health concern for individuals. The ants' reproductive power is the same as common ants, the only difference is that they are more aggressive if you step on them and aggravate them. They also bite harder than other ants.



Residents start applying for smart ID cards
居民开始申请智能身份证
People who were born in 1952 or 1953 and hold existing identity cards must apply for smart ID cards from Jan. 24 to March 12. It covers all Hong Kong residents, whether they are permanent residents or temporary residents taking up employment, investment, residence, study or are working as foreign domestic helpers.
Failure to apply for a new ID card within the specified time period without a reasonable excuse will be subject to a fine up to 5,000 HK dollars. However, those who are away from Hong Kong during the specified period should apply within 30 days of their return to Hong Kong.

Taipei 台北

First flights between mainland and Taiwan after 55 years
55年大陆台湾首航
The first direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan since the end of the civil war 55 years ago started carrying Lunar New Year holidaymakers amid hopes of improving cross-strait relations.
Six Chinese planes landed in Taipei and one in southern Kaohsiung while Taiwan's China Airlines and EVA Airways each sent a flight to Beijing on the first day of the historic opening of the air links.

Taiwan companies to cut jobs and pay
台公司将减薪裁员
An annual survey conducted by an online job bank shows that as many as 22 percent of Taiwanese companies plan to cut jobs this year.
Companies want to lay off workers because of increased costs stemming from a new worker retirement system that is going to be implemented this year.
Companies plan to outsource work rather than keep workers on the payroll. Secretaries face the biggest chance of losing their job, followed by retail sales workers.

Vocabulary
dispose 处理
lucrative 盈利的
increment 增值
ceiling (价格工资等的)最高限度
aggrevate 激怒