Free potted flowers
赠送盆花 美化庭院
Photo by Wang Xieyun



On March 5, a performance show titled “Exercise, fitness and health” was held at the City Sports Center. Sixteen teams of female performers from all walks of society attended the show. Here is a scene by the gymnastic team from the Xiamen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

 

 

Economics

Int'l cosmetics brand enters local market
国际化妆品入厦抢市
SKⅡ, a leading international cosmetics brand will make its official debut in Xiamen on March 18, according to Laiya Department Store. Industry insiders predict that SKⅡ's inroads into the local market may put a severe squeeze on smaller cosmetics shops.

150,000 new jobs to be created this year
今年新增15万就业岗位
Lin Jiannong, chief of the city's Labor Security Bureau, indicated that the city would work hard to create 150,000 new job opportunities this year. The number of reemployed people who are holding a Reemployment Preference Certificate will reach 7,000, and the registered unemployment rate will be capped at 4.3%.

 

 

Society

2.5 million trees planned this year
今年植树250万株
As Tree Planting Day approached, the local government revealed its plan to plant 2.5 million trees this year; unlike previous years, this year all districts would be required to build at least one voluntary-tree planting base.

Global U7 convenes
七校联盟聚会
An international conference was held on March 14th at Xiamen University. Thirty representatives and scholars from eight universities throughout the world including Xiamen University made known to the public their plans to further develop The Global U7 Consortium. By Yongwei

Marathon sculptures vandalized
马拉松雕像惨遭破坏
A group of 10 marathon sculptures erected on a stretch of lawn near the Conference & Exhibition Center was recently vandalized by a man surnamed Lu (Jiangxi native, aged 42), who broke and toppled the sculptures out of frustration over his repeated failures to find a job in Xiamen. Lu was caught red-handed by patrolling police officers.

Local ladies in their 40s enjoy happy lives
女人四十更快乐
A survey of the life of local ladies aged 35-50 which was conducted before "March 8" Women's Day by the Social and Market Research Center of the Department of News & Mass Communications of Xiamen University in conjunction with Xiamen Evening News shows that as they grow older, local ladies are playing a more stable role in their respective families and careers; they adeptly strike a balance between their careers and family duties and enjoy conjugal blessings. In one word, local women are happier at 40!

Burn-and-snatch thieves jailed
打火机烧破车窗窃物
A thief who used a wind-proof lighter to burn a hole in the car window and then snatched valuable items from the car while his accomplice stood on guard nearby managed to steal items with a total value of more than RMB 45,000. The two men were sentenced, one to five years and one to one year and nine months in prison respectively by Siming District Court, which also ordered them to pay for damages.

Hit-and-run driver caught after two years
潜逃两年终落法网
A male driver who fled the scene after his vehicle hit two people, killing one and injuring the other, in Longyan, was arrested by Jiangtou Police Station on the night of March 10 after escaping justice for more than two years.

Quick quality check for foodstuffs
食品是否过关一查便知
A foodstuff information project is currently underway in the city. The project aims to collect information and data on foodstuffs in local markets and supermarkets; such information will be shared through networks and a foodstuff management system will be built, allowing people to have a quick check of the foodstuff's quality on a computer. The project is scheduled for completion by November this year.

 

 

Transport

Construction of Longyan-Xiamen rail link to start next year
龙厦铁路有望明年开工
The tendering process for the design of the much-anticipated Longyan-Xiamen Railway will be completed in late May. Construction of this new rail link may officially start next year. According to the preliminary design, Longyan-Xiamen Railway will start from West Longyan Railway Station, go through about 10 stations, and terminate in Xiamen. Upon its completion, a journey from Xiamen to Longyan by rail will take merely an hour.

Xiamen Port listed as one of China's top 10 ports
厦门港入选十佳港口
The results of the online voting by users for China's best-performing ports in 2004, which was launched and organized by China International Ocean Shipping Net, show that Xiamen Port is among China's Top 10 Ports, which include Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Dalian, Tianjin, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Lianyungang.

Xiamen approaches Shanghai in European routes status
厦门-欧洲航线地位直逼上海
At the present time, COSCO operates eight European sea routes from Shanghai. As planned, COSCO will operate seven European sea routes from Xiamen by June, which are dubbed "South China - Europe Express Routes". Industry insiders argue that Xiamen will become as important as Shanghai on COSCO's distribution of European routes. It's estimated that during the peak period of each week, nearly 10,000 TEUs of cargos leave Xiamen Port for Europe.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Taxi drivers face exams
的士司机面临考试
Taxis drivers are to be given new exams in geography and English starting on April 1, according to new guidelines for the 2008 Olympics. All cab drivers, starting with those who got their license in the last year will have to take a geography exam. Those who have been in the industry for three years or more will also be examined on the new traffic laws, and English tests will begin in 2007.



Household registration policy unlikely to change
常住人口政策不变
The current household registration policy in Beijing is unlikely to change. Officials, on behalf of the government, also vowed to do their utmost to serve people from other parts of the country, particularly rural labors, and improve administration in this regard. The total population of Beijing will be limited to 18 million by 2020 as being approved by the State Council. Now there are 15.244 million people living in Beijing as of last December.

500,000 to be moved in bid to quell sandstorms
50万人将为减缓沙尘暴危害迁居
About 500,000 rural people will be relocated from the ecologically vulnerable and remote mountainous areas of Beijing and surrounding areas to help mitigate sandstorms resulting from human activity. Locals to be resettled will include those living in parts of Tianjin, neighboring Hebei Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Shanghai 上海

BBC political debate aired
BBC开通在沪时政广播
The British Broadcasting Company's flagship political debate program, "Question Time" was broadcasted from Shanghai last week. The questions debated included the Taiwan question, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China's human rights and China's economic development. This is the first time such a program produced by a mainstream western media outlet has been produced in China.

Metro screen to prevent suicide bids
地铁护栏防止自杀企图
On Shanghai Metro Line No.1. transparent screens were set up at the subway station to prevent people from being pushed or jumping onto the tracks.



Police restructured
警力调整配置
On February 28, Shanghai furthered the restructure of its law enforcement provision with the separation of traffic and patrolling police. The number of patrolling police will increase from 4,100 to 5,000 officers. If crime increases in a particular district, they will be able to send in additional plainclothes officers to that area.

2010 Shanghai Expo countdown clock
设立2010上海花博会倒计时钟
The colorful expo countdown clock was recently erected at the Bund by the Huangpu River in Shanghai.



Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Guangzhou to solve waste water problem
广州加大治理废水力度
Guangzhou will move into a higher gear to improve water infrastructure and the quality of drinking water. The city will install four sewage disposal works with online monitoring systems this year. It'll also make greater efforts to improve rivers throughout the city, to give it a much-needed facelift.

Online carpooling service well received
网上合伙租车受欢迎
A website has been set up to provide information about carpooling, with authorities worrying that it could be a bridge for illegal taxi services. The site, www.chexing.net, has six city branches including Shenzhen. Some drivers said carrying others to and from work could help cut down the cost of car maintenance and help make new friends. The drivers usually charge 5 to 15 yuan (US$0.6-1.8) per person for a one-way ride.

Cell phone map debuts in Shenzhen
手机地图深圳亮相
The recent implementation of the Location Based Service or LBS has made Shenzhen the first city to offer this service in China. Clients can precisely locate themselves and easily request directions from the LBS. The system also can help clients find the quickest way to get to their destination.
The LBS service also provides map information of Guangzhou.

Chongqing 重庆

Total investment to reach 200 billion yuan
总投资接近2000亿元
Total investment in Chongqing is expected to reach 200 billion yuan (24.18 billion US dollars) in 2005. In 2004, the city witnessed 160 billion (19.35 billion dollars) yuan of investment. Of the total, private investment accounted for 88 percent.

Hong Kong 香港

Marriage age to be lowered
婚龄将放低
The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong has issued a report proposing to lower the legal marriage age from 21 to 18. The report also deals with the rights of divorced parents to visit their children. It suggests introducing the model of "responsibility from both parents" into the Hong Kong family law system to help divorced parents get more access to their children.

Enter peak flu season
进入流感高峰季
Influenza outbreaks hit five institutions in Hong Kong between March 1 and 8, showing Hong Kong has entered its peak flu season. Private doctors have seen an increase in flu-like cases. Absenteeism at childcare centers due to sickness has risen to 5.82 percent from 3.5 percent the previous week.
The center urged people to guard against flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Disneyland to begin trial operation
迪斯尼将试营业
Hong Kong Disneyland will hold opening ceremonies on Sept 20th. It plans to begin trial operations on Aug 15th, and will open a few days each week for representatives of the tourism industry, engineering sector, governmental and non-governmental organizations. The company might also arrange through charitable organizations for some families and children to visit Hong Kong Disneyland.



Taipei 台北

LG Elec to buy ＄1.4 bln of Taiwan components
三星预购十四亿美元台部件
South Korea's LG Electronics Inc will buy about $1.4 billion of technology products from Taiwan in 2005, nearly tripling last year's spending. As the world's fifth-largest cellphone maker, LG swung to a profit in the fourth quarter from a year-ago loss on record sales of mobile phones, but earnings halved from the previous quarter on tumbling screen prices.

Taipei occupancy rates in tallest skyscraper rise
世界最高楼入住率上升
The occupancy rate of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, is to double to 60 percent by year's end and to 95 percent by the end of 2006.
The owner of the 508-metre (1,676 feet) building are very pleased with the leasing progress. They are also very confident of the future, as the building only obtained its occupancy permit in November 2004.

Vocabulary
mitigate 减缓
facelift 整容、改建
carpooling 合伙租车
implementation 实施
absenteeism 地主不在、怠工战术