Dazzling dance
技压群芳
Photo by Yao Fan



From March 19 to 20, the third Fujian Ballroom Dance Competition was held at Mingpei Stadium, Xiamen University. 168 skilled dancers representing 14 teams from counties and cities in Fujian participated in different groups. At the award ceremony on March 20, the Russian National Ballroom Dance Troupe dazzled the audience with their great performance.

 

 

Economics

Xiamen ranks 9th in competitiveness
城市竞争力厦门排第九
According to the newly unveiled Blue Paper on City Competitiveness in 2005, which was jointly prepared by the Finance & Trade Economic Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Sciences Literature Press, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Wuxi, Xiamen and Tianjin are the top 10 cities on the list of rankings of 200 Chinese cities in terms of competitiveness.

Construction of Xiamen-Zhangzhou Bridge to kick off this year
厦漳大桥力争今年动工
The construction of the sea-spanning Xiamen-Zhangzhou Bridge, originally scheduled for 2007, may start this year. The company in charge of the bridge construction project will soon form a preparatory team to facilitate the preliminary work of the project.

Number of people receiving unemployment benefits drops for the first time
领失业金人数首次下降
The latest statistics show that in 2004 a total of 20,486 local citizens collected RMB 64.87 million in unemployment insurance payments, down 3,259 persons from 2003. This is the first time since Xiamen implemented the unemployment insurance system in October 1986 that the number of people receiving unemployment insurance payments dropped.

 

 

Society

Baby girl delivered in taxi
的士里产下"千金"
Around 5 pm, March 17, the No 174 Hospital witnessed a pleasant surprise at its gate. A pregnant woman in the throes delivered a baby girl on the way to the hospital in a taxi. Both the mother and daughter are in a stable condition, but doctors say they need to stay in the hospital for further observation.

Renovations planned for dilapidated houses of disabled people
残疾人危房将改建
How can we help disabled people living in dilapidated houses? The practice of the Haicang District Association of Disabled People is to provide a complete renovation of such houses. Such practice will be expanded this year. The city government has required all districts to renovate worn-out houses of disabled people if conditions permit. Houses, after being renovated, will mostly be occupied by disabled people with a small portion rented out to increase their incomes.

Working stunts competition
职工技术大赛
The 10th Working Stunts Competition, sponsored by the City Working Stunts Competition Committee and the City Beverage and Food Professional Skills Training School, and co-sponsored by Unilever (China), was held recently. Altogether 41 participants made it to the finals which were held on March 19 and March 20 at the Xiamen Huating Hotel.

Massive peach blossoms herald spring
千株桃花俏争春
The peach grove in Zhonglun Park, which was opened to the public last month, has become a favorite outing venue for local people in March. Visitors who enter the park through its northern gate on Luling Road can feast their eyes on full blossoms of 2,000-3,000 peach trees lining the pathway.

Beijing suffers heaviest noise pollution, Xiamen lightest
噪声污染厦门最轻
Results of the latest noise pollution investigation conducted by Zero Point Survey Company in 10 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu, show that noise pollution is the heaviest in Beijing and the lightest in Xiamen.

Victim catches robber after two years
受害人两年后抓获劫匪
A couple, with the assistance of security guards at Songbai Long-distance Bus Station, have recently captured the robber who looted their shop two years ago. The suspect confessed to his crime during the police interrogation.

Foreigners pay for construction of sentry box
老外掏腰包建岗亭
A reader recently called in to tell us that a Dutch couple who own a flat in Huaniancun Residential Complex at No 138, Xiaoxu Road had paid RMB 8,000 out of their own pockets to build a sentry box for the complex. They bought quality bricks, iron supports and wind protection devices.

Employee asked to pay for settlement with thief
与小偷私了要员工买单
A company which paid a thief RMB 9,000 for him to return the stolen identification papers of its driver is now taking legal action against the "careless" driver. Huli Court will hear soon this unusual case.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Subway to be renovated
京城地铁将换样
The largest renovation project ever conducted on Beijing's 30-year-old subway system will begin. It includes updating and replacing tracks, trains, signals, communication systems, power suppliers and other important facilities before 2008. Replacing the tracks and building a ticket system will begin in July this year.



Appraisals ensure judicial fairness
检察官将述职评定
Prosecutors are expected to deliver work reports to the people's congress and receive appraisals starting this year, the first time in the capital city, following in the wake of judges having to go through work assessments by the Beijing Municipal People's Congress for the first time last year. As the local legislative body, the congress appoints local government officials, judges and prosecutors.

Cancer-causing dye found in more KFC food
肯德鸡食物中发现更多致癌色素
In Beijing, the banned dye Sudan 1 was found in spice pickle powder, used in three KFC foods: spiced drumsticks, spiced chicken wings and strong chicken-flavored popcorn. The three foods can be sold again only after they pass inspections.

Shanghai 上海

Remains most competitive city
继续领先最具竞争力城市
Shanghai was again rated as the most competitive city on the Chinese mainland in a ranking released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). All the listed cities recorded an annual gross domestic product growth rate of more than eight percent in 2003.
Shenzhen ranked second place in general competitiveness, followed by Guangzhou, Beijing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Wuxi, Xiamen and Tianjin.



Carrefour pulls tainted turnips
家乐福撤下变质萝卜
Carrefour Shanghai has pulled a brand of pickled turnips from its shelves because it contained Sudan I, an illegal food dye that could cause cancer.
Late last month, Sudan I was found in hundreds of brands of foods in the United Kingdom, where the food manufacturers were urged to withdraw their products and warned consumers not to eat them. The dye was used in chili powder, which was used as an ingredient in a wide range of products.

Steps taken to protect rare sturgeon
保护珍稀中华鲟
The country's first law to protect endangered Chinese sturgeons will be implemented in Shanghai this year. The legislation will come into force for the less than 3,000 "living fossils" that usually start to enter waters around the city's east coast. No fishing is allowed between May 1 and September 30 when the fish are usually found around the east coast of Shanghai's Chongming Island.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

New guidelines launched for driving training
实施驾训新规
Learner drivers will be required to have completed at least 86 hours of training before applying for road tests and obtaining driving licenses when a new guideline is implemented in Guangdong Province. Driving schools will bear partial responsibility if new drivers with less than three years driving experience are involved in traffic accidents.

Shenzhen prepares for emergencies
深圳出台应急突发事件办法
Shenzhen has published plans to deal with emergencies in four categories: natural disasters, accidents, public health incidents, and social security incidents. Emergencies are graded into four levels in the extent of seriousness and emergency. The colors blue, yellow, orange and red indicate the level of the emergency with blue indicating the least serious and red the most serious.

Guangzhou bans ads on new LPG buses
禁止新公车上刊登广告
Advertisements would be banned on all new LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) buses. It is the second ban to apply to bus advertisements in four months.
However, some experts said banning advertising would affect bus company profits and eventually reduce the standard of service of its buses in Guangzhou carrying advertisements, which looked disorderly.

Abortion pills banned from pharmacies
药店禁售流产药
Shenzhen has banned retail drugstores from selling abortion pills, which were over-the-counter medicines, and had been seriously abused. The drug supervisors hope the ban would help safeguard people's health. Only licensed manufacturers and dealers are allowed to produce and sell abortion pills and sales are restricted to institutions and persons licensed in abortion services.

Chongqing 重庆

Lanzhou-Chongqing railway to be constructed
兰州重庆铁路建设在即
The Ministry of Railways and the governments of Gansu, Sichuan and Chongqing agreed in Chongqing to build a Lanzhou-Chongqing railway, and the four parties will strive to begin its construction next year and complete it in three years.

To greet Asia Pacific Cities Summit
迎接亚太高峰会
Workers are busy erecting trestles in order to decorate the exposed walls of the Commerce Building at Jiefangbei, the town center of Chongqing. The 230 meters long exposed walls of the building along the roadside in the town center will be decorated to greet the 2005 Asia Pacific Cities Summit, which will be held in Chongqing this October.



Hong Kong 香港

To earmark funds to revamp old buildings
拨款翻新旧城
HK will earmark 830 million Hong Kong dollars (106.41 million US dollars) for the building department over five years from 2006-2007 to remove unauthorized structures and improve the safety and external appearance of Hong Kong's old buildings. The initiatives will not only speed up urban renewal and building maintenance but also create job opportunities for the building construction and decorating sectors and help ease unemployment of less-educated and low-skilled workers.

Tax breaks to bring middle-class relief
中产阶级受惠于减税
Tax concessions have been proposed for Hong Kong people caring for dependent parents or grandparents aged 55 to 59, and for those with children.
Presently, only salaried taxpayers caring for dependent parents or grandparents aged 60 or more enjoy tax allowances. Tang said the proposal will benefit 100,000 taxpayers.

To introduce bill on abolition of estate duty
拟取消房地产税
The Hong Kong government has consulted interested parties and the public on the abolition of estate duty, and the majority view tends to support abolition. Those who oppose abolition consider that estate duty, which is imposed on the better-off in society, is in line with the principle of affordability. They are also of the view that this duty is not an important consideration in investment decisions.

Taipei 台北

Olympic torch expected to pass through Taiwan
奥林匹克火炬将过台湾
Olympic organisers want the traditional torch relay for the 2008 Games to pass through Taiwan. The domestic torch relay will cover as much ground as possible and involve all China's provinces, regions and peoples, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Beijing's Olympic running costs are expected to be around $1.6 billion, a fraction of the $37 billion budgeted to beautify the city and build infrastructure, including venues valued at $2 billion.

 

 

Little conductor
小小指挥家
Photo by Yao Fan



On March 19, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra delivered the first free concert in 2005 to middle school students. Over 400 students from Binlang Middle School happened to be the lucky audience. At the concert, Zheng told the youngsters that they are always welcome to attend concerts given by the orchestra. She hopes an intimacy may grow between the students and the symphony by giving free concerts. The picture shows a student who was invited to conduct the orchestra.

Vocabulary
dilapidated 破烂的
sentry 哨兵
throe 阵痛
renovation 改建
identification 身份
interrogation 审问
appraisal 评估
taint 使感染
sturgeon 鲟
abortion 流产
revamp 旧物翻新