RMB services available
汇丰推出人民币业务
Photo by Liang Wei



On March 24, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) Xiamen branch, started to offer RMB services to domestic and Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau residents, as well as multinational corporations and foreign nationals. Karen Chen, General Manager of HSBC Xiamen branch said, "We are so proud to be the first foreign bank in Xiamen to start this business. We will enlarge our net to provide more convenient service to our clients in the future."

 

 

Economics

Dell to kick off Phase II Project
戴尔二期下月动工
Dell will officially kick off its Phase II Project in mid-April in Xiamen. After the project becomes operational, Xiamen will become China's largest computer production base and Fujian will also have its first enterprise with an annual output value in excess of RMB 100 billion.

Problematic garments have fake origin certificates
问题服装涉嫌伪造产地
Huli Administration of Industry && Commerce recently ordered Xinda Duty-free Store to pull all Byford-branded imported garments off the shelves. These garments, including T-shirts, underwear, sweaters and socks totalling about 1,000 in quantity, are mostly without Chinese labels and suspected of having fake origin certificates.

Tobacco industry commands highest salaries
烟草业工资最高
According to the newly-released 2004 Xiamen Employees Salary Statistics Report, the local urban employee's yearly salary averaged RMB 20,539 last year, up RMB 1,515 from a year earlier, with the tobacco industry topping the list of high-earning industries with an average yearly salary of RMB 100,000.

 

 

Society

Xiamen Int'l Seaside Hotel runs for "Most Popular Hotel"
角逐"最受欢迎"酒店
In February, the Xiamen International Seaside Hotel entered the contest for the 2005 China Hotel Golden Pillow Awards for Top 10 Most Popular Hotels, which was launched by the 21st Century Economic Report. Nearly 300 contended for the awards. After a preliminary evaluation, Xiamen International Seaside Hotel was put on a list of 20 candidate hotels for the awards and is the only Fujian-based hotel to make it so far.

First group of MPAcc students enrolled at Xiamen University
首批MPAcc研究生在厦入学
A group of 150 students of the program of Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc) who came from the financial and accounting industries recently began their studies for the program which is jointly offered by Xiamen University and Xiamen National Accounting Institute. Xiamen University is among 21 pilot institutions selected by the Office of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education out of the 150-plus universities which had applied for offering this new program.

Thai visas to become available in Xiamen
5月起赴泰签证在厦就能办
The rising number of flights between Xiamen and Bangkok, Thailand has prompted the Thai government to attach greater importance to Xiamen. The Thai Consulate in Guangzhou is planning to set up a consular office in Xiamen in May to process visa applications of local residents who wish to travel to Thailand for pleasure, business or education, saving local people the trouble of traveling to Guangzhou for the visa.

Rapid assistance delivered
受伤台胞返家
With the assistance of the Red Cross in Xiamen and Jinmen and the local port authority, Ms Xu, an 83-year old Taiwanese woman who was suffering from a leg-bone fracture recently boarded on "New Jimei" passenger vessel bound for Jinmen for transfer back to Taiwan for medical attention. She is the fourth Taiwanese compatriot in a critical condition to be transferred back to Taiwan through the Xiamen-Jinmen route after the launch of the rapid assistance system across the Taiwan Straits.

Man falls through faulty bed board
劣质床板突然断裂
A man sleeping fell through a paper-thin bed board on an iron bunk bed which he bought just earlier that day. Lin, a farm worker, suffered multiple injuries as a result of the fall at night. His anger over the mishap was soothed after local industry and commerce inspectors helped him to seek redress from the bed maker.

Woman comes to herself after a two-month coma
昏迷两月奇迹苏醒
Ms Shi, a woman in her sixties, miraculously came to after being in a coma for two months as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage; she profusely thanked medical personnel in Xiamen who had brought her out of the coma.

Fujian's first female-to-male transsexual operation performed
闽实施首例女变男术
A woman who had always dreamed of becoming a man recently underwent a female-to-male transsexual operation at Zhongshan Hospital, which is the first such operation in Fujian Province. Media reports indicate that so far less than 100 female-to-male transsexual operations have been successfully performed in China.

Woman receives life imprisonment for dousing husband with sulfuric acid
硫酸杀夫被判无期
Wu Jinfang, a housewife who poured sulfuric acid on the head of her husband to disfigure his face in order to stop him from seeking another woman, was recently sentenced to life in prison after the jury found her husband's alleged affair was purely her imagination.

Ancestral secret recipe results in disfigurement
"祖传秘方"毁了容
A young woman who was desperate to get rid of the birthmark on the left side of her face suffered a disfigurement of her half face after receiving a treatment offered by a roving doctor who claimed to have an effective "ancestral secret recipe". The victimized woman has recently taken legal actions against the face spoiler.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Lift controls on immigrants
取消移民控制
Beijing announced the end of its rules limiting the life and work of immigrants. While praising the local government's magnanimity, experts worry that the capital will face a population expansion in the near future. The registered migrant population in Beijing was 3.6 million at the end of 2004, about one quarter of its total population.

Temporary residents flock to Beijing
暂住居民涌入京城
Currently there are nearly 15.3 million people living in Beijing, of which 3.6 million are registered temporary residents. Beijing's temporary residents now account for over a fifth of the capital's total population of 15 million.
The influx of migrants from elsewhere in China is the main reason the capital's population has soared in recent years, but there are also rising numbers of foreign business people and students coming every year.



Strive to become fashion center
力争成为时尚中心
Beijing is striving to set up centers for fashion design, exhibitions, public relations, garment production and top brands, hoping to make it into a fashion center on par with Paris, Milan, London, New York and Tokyo. Work on the fashion design building located in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone is expected to finish in May and open within the year. It will house 200 computer assisted design (CAD) workshops.

Forest fire monitoring equipment debuts
启用森林大火报警设施
Beijing put its forest fire monitoring equipment into use in Changping District as the first of its kind ever used in the Chinese capital. The equipment can simultaneously monitor temperature, wind direction, wind speed, humidity, rainfall precipitation, and the likelihood of forest fires. It can also transmit weather reports to forest rangers.
Beijing now has 867,000 hectares of forest, with a forest coverage of 49.5 percent.

Top brands protected
保护顶级商标
Beijing has banned the sale of a further 25 luxury brand-name products outside of department stores in an attempt to strengthen copyright protection.
If any products from a list of 48 luxury bands are found at outlets such as market stalls, the people selling them will be treated as trademark violators.

Shanghai 上海

Telephone directories recycled to save trees
回收电话簿造纸
More than 73,000 old telephone directories are expected to be recycled this year under a rapidly expanding environmental protection program. The collections should be triple last year's figure as more hotels are taking part in the program. The directories will be recycled as printing paper for next year's edition.

Holidays enforced to save power
放假省电
An expected energy shortage has pressed Shanghai into forcing more than 3,000 companies to give a weeklong holiday to their employees this summer to save power.
Seven separate groups of companies will be required to grant their workers a seven-day holiday between July 11 and Aug 26. The government has suggested companies use the period to carry out maintenance.

"Spaceflight kingdom" coming
建设"航空王国"
A "spaceflight kingdom," covering about 1,200 mu (80 hectares), will begin construction in Shanghai. The Spaceflight New Area will integrate scientific research and production as well as logistics. It will become the new development cradle of Shanghai-made rockets, satellites and airships. The first phase of the project is predicted to be completed in 2007 and the second phase in 2010.



Mum seeks second water birth
妈妈二次水下分娩
The first woman in China who gave birth using the deep-water immersion method is preparing to set a new record.
Ma Nan is planning to repeat her first water-borne delivery with her second child.
Her American husband, and their son - who was born underwater two years ago and whom we cannot name - will join mum to help her feel more relaxed.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Facelift for Asian Games
新妆迎亚运
Guangzhou will improve the city's infrastructure and natural environment for the 16th Asian Games in 2010. It will have an all-round facelift for the sports gala, and improve water supplies, gas supplies and public transport. The planning and development of forest parks and natural protection zones are also on track.

200 yuan to foster giant panda
200元领养大熊猫
The Guangzhou Zoo welcomed people to foster animals for only 200 yuan (US$24) per animal. The foster fee for a panda was reduced from 100,000 a year to 200 yuan for an individual and 4,000 yuan for a group or a company. There are a total of 5,000 animals of 400 species in the zoo. However, less than 42 animals have been fostered by people or companies during the past seven years.

Sewage fees spark debate
污水处理费引争议
A plan in Shenzhen to raise sewage treatment fees has aroused heated debate centered around the price increase for residents and the cost of treating sewage. Residential fees will rise from 0.5 yuan (US$0.06) per ton to 0.95 yuan per ton. The price for industrial use will increase from 0.6 yuan to 1.05 yuan, while the fee for commercial use will rise from 0.7 yuan per ton to 1.15 yuan.

Chongqing 重庆

Hold anti-terror drill
举行反恐演习
Chinese armed policemen attend an anti-terror drill in Chongqing, prior to the 2005 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS), which will be held from Oct 11 to 14 in Chongqing.



BBC establishes branch office
BBC设立分社
BBC launched a new branch office in Chongqing, March 21. Currently the focus of the branch's news coverage will be education in western China. The BBC also hasbranches in Beijing and Shanghai.
Other foreign media groups, such as Singapore's leading Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, Nikkei of Japan, FAC of Italy, and News Week from the United States have established branches in Chongqing.

Hong Kong 香港

To launch lightning location system
启动雷电定位系统
As a new system, the lightning location system is being put into operation and members of the public will be able to see from the observatory's website the distribution of lightning activity in order to take early precautions to ensure safety in the rainy season this year. Indications are that the annual rainfall will be near normal, whereas the number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong will be slightly less than normal.

Enjoy Easter at Ocean Park
海洋公园欢度复活节
A lot of Hong Kong residents enjoy their four-day Easter Holiday at Ocean Park.
Hong Kong Ocean Park has launched a series of performances for residents to celebrate their four-day Easter Holiday.
Through some programs, such as having dinner with pandas or kissing sea lions, visitors to the Ocean Park will be able to have close contact with lots of lovable animals.



Taipei 台北

Taiwan to conditionally lift U.S. beef ban
对美牛肉有条件开禁
Taiwan plans to lift a 15-month ban on U.S. beef imports by allowing imports of boneless meat from cattle under 30 months old. Taiwan imposed the import ban in December 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was found in the United States. All abattoirs exporting beef to Taiwan must be verified as safe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and beef exports must not include bones, offal or specified risk material, which include spine or brain.

Taiwan's only developer of games for Microsoft Xbox2
成为微软新游戏软件独家开发商
InterServ International, a producer of 3D game software in Taiwan, has obtained the right to develop game software for Microsoft Xbox2. Of all Asia developers, only InterServ and a handful of South Korean game developers have attained the right to develop games for Microsoft for Xbox2. It plans to launch the product in 2006.


Vocabulary
priliminary 初步的
evaluation 评估
bunk 铺位
redress 赔偿
cerebral 大脑的
hemorrhage 大出血
profusely 大量的
douse 浇
sulfuric acid 硫酸
disfigure 使变丑
magnanimity 宽宏大量
simultaneously 同时
precipitation 降雨量
abattoirs 屠场
immersion 浸礼、沉浸