Taiwan delegation arrives
台湾小学参访团抵厦
Photo by Yao Fan



A 40-member delegation from Taipei Municipal Zhong Zheng Elementary School arrived in Xiamen Heping Dock on July 2. The group traveled the Xiamen-Kinmen sea route for a five-day visit to the city. This was the first school delegation from Taiwan to Xiamen since the opening of the Xiamen-Kinmen sea route.

 

 

Economics

Anthracite imported from North Korea for the first time
首次进口朝鲜无烟煤
On June 25, the Panama-registered vessel "Shi Tong", carrying a load of 6,771 tonnes of anthracite from Songnim Port in North Korea, docked at Xiamen. This was the first importation of North Korean anthracite to Fujian Province.

Luxury hotel Sofitel to open in Xiamen
豪华酒店索菲特将进驻
Sofitel, the leading brand of the world-renowned French-headquartered Accor Hotels and Resorts Group, will have a presence in Xiamen beginning in July. The Xiamen Sofitel Hotel will be the first hotel in Xiamen to implement international five-star standards and will be managed by an international hotel management group. The hotel, to be based in the UOB Building on North Hubin Road, will cost nearly RMB 600 million to build.

Stock trading volume plummeted in 1st half of the year
上半年股市成交额锐降
Due to a persistent bearish stock market in the first half of the year, local investors were much more cautious compared to last year. In the January-June period, the 23 sales departments of the city's 14 stock brokerage houses registered a combined trading volume of merely RMB 21.541 billion, representing a steep drop of RMB 23.8 billion, a 50% reduction over the same period last year.

 

 

Society

Minimum salary raised by RMB 120
最低工资标准调高120元
Local authorities will soon impose a new minimum salary standard, under which the minimum salary implemented last year will be raised by RMB 120 to RMB 600. This upward adjustment of the minimum salary will put Xiamen within the ranks of China's top 10 cities in this regard. The new labor rate is also an indication of Xiamen's status among cities nationwide.

Rural information service platform to open
开通农村信息服务平台
Xiamen Rural Information Service Platform has been officially opened, with 25,000 farmers receiving two public announcements through SMS for the first time. It's reported that Xiamen's launch of the platform of information release through SMS to rural mobile phone subscribers is the first of its kind in Fujian Province and one of the first such actions in China.

Aquaculture workers licensed
水产养殖工持证上岗
A total of 44 skilled aquaculture workers in Xiamen have passed the city's first professional skills certification test for "Aquatic Life Disease Prevention & Treatment." The local authorities will implement the nation's professional qualification certification system on a step-by-step basis in the future and license all personnel involved in the breeding and processing of aquatic products in order to ensure the wholesomeness of such products for local consumers.

Gulangyu scenic area turns digital
鼓浪屿打造数字景区
Officials with Gulangyu Administrative Committee have proudly announced that their newly opened website on the island (www.gly.cn) is receiving 300-400 daily hits. The committee will also provide an English version of the website for international tourists during the second half of this year. The electronic-commerce website of Gulangyu will be completed during the first half of next year, and will allow prospective tourists from different places to form tourist groups online so that they can enjoy digital unified reception and hotel booking services from Gulangyu's Tourist Center.

Joint operation to crack down on stowaways
联手打击偷渡
Xiamen Border Inspection Service Haicang Branch has entered into an agreement with Xiamen Evere Sporting Goods on anti-terrorism and anti-stowaway operations. The agreement, focusing on the crackdown on stowaways in shipping containers, will be the first of its kind in Fujian Province.

New medical price regime implemented
试行新医疗价格规范
Under the National Specifications of Prices for Medical Services, implemented on July 1, the local authorities have categorized paid medical services into 3,966 items. Patients will not have to pay for medical services other than these items. Some irregularly paid medical service items will be abolished.

July 11 labelled "Navigation Day"
7月11日定为"航海日"
The Legal Affairs Office of the State Council has given a favorable reply to the proposal for organizing China's Navigation Festival. With the approval of the State Council to the Ministry of Communications, from 2005 onwards, July 11 (the first day of Zheng He's voyages to Western oceans) will be established as "Navigation Day" and the day for the implementation of "World Maritime Day" in China.

 

 

Education

Intel Knowledge Quest Program to be launched in Xiamen
英特尔求知计划将启动
The Intel Knowledge Quest Program will soon be launched in Xiamen. The program, a partnership between the China Association of Science & Technology and Intel (China), is aimed at providing basic computer skills for free to youths aged 8-16 from medium-and-low-income families. The program, which has been implemented in China, Israel, India and Mexico, has a task of training 600 people in Xiamen this year. Such candidates will be recruited by the organizers through major media outlets.

Free training planned for business executives in Xiamen
为厦企高管免费培训
"Entrepreneurs' Homestead", a large-scale free training program organized by the Xiamen Small & Medium-sized Business Service Center and jointly sponsored by the city's Economic Development Bureau and Finance Bureau, will invite experts to give business tips to entrepreneurs on July 15. Interested parties may sign up at www.smexm.gov.cn.

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Energy-saving procedures continue
公务员带头继续节能
Government departments are taking the lead in conserving energy resources. Public servants will wear leisure clothes instead of suits and ties to departmental meetings this summer, from July 1 to Aug. 31, and all government departments have been asked to set air conditioners at 26 degrees Celsius or higher. In addition, all Party and government offices have been asked to use power-saving lamps and to turn off lights when nobody is in an office.

Boeing 777-200LR World Liner debuts
航程最远波音777"郑和"号亮相
The Boeing 777-200LR World Liner, the world's longest-range commercial airplane, was officially named "Zheng He" at Beijing's Capital International Airport. This year marks the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's first voyage and is being celebrated with a series of official commemorations. The aircraft can carry 301 passengers and baggage up to 17,445 kilometers, a non-stop trip roughly the distance of Beijing to Seattle and back.



Rising water prices
将提高水价
The price of water for residential use in Beijing will increase in the second half of this year. Beijing is short of water resources, and charges applied to water for residents cover only the basic cost of providing it. From August 1999 to August 2004, the cost of residential water in Beijing has been raised 9 times, from 0.12 yuan per ton to 2.8 yuan per ton. These are the highest water rates anywhere in the country.

Shanghai 上海

Minimum wage standard is raised
提高最低工资标准
Since July 1, the lowest monthly salary allowed in Shanghai has risen from 635 yuan (76.8 US dollars) to 690 yuan (83.4 US dollars). The new standards are applicable to all employees in the municipality, including retired people, rural migrant workers, and casual laborers employed by private industrial and commercial firms.

Zero population growth reported
人口出现零增长
Shanghai has registered a natural resident population growth of zero per mill, putting an end to a negative resident population growth rate that existed since 1994. In 2004, the new-born resident population in Shanghai reached 102,900, representing an increase of 23.4 percent over the 2003 figure. Shanghai is expecting a continuing rising trend in resident population growth in 2006, due to the impact of the birth peak of the generation born in the 1980s.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Airline aids cash-strapped students
南方航空资助贫困大学生
The Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines launched a foundation for caring by donating 2.2 million yuan (US$265,000) to severely cash-strapped students at 11 major universities. The universities include Beijing University, Tsinghua University and Fudan University. The company plans to increase its foundation pledge by 5 million yuan each year by drawing 0.1 yuan from each passenger's airline ticket. In past years, China Southern Airlines has funded eminent young students and Project Hope Schools as part of the airline's dedication to society.

Guangzhou-Zhuhai light rail to be built
将建广珠轻轨车
The light rail track to be constructed between Guangzhou and Zhuhai will have a length of 140.8 kilometers with 18 stops.The inter-city light rail track will consist of a trunk line, which will go from Panyu in Guangzhou to Gongbei in Zhuhai, and a feeder route which will start at Xiaolan in Zhongshan City and end in Jiangmen City. Fourteen stops will be built on the trunk line and four on the feeder route. The construction will begin shortly, and the project is expected to be completed and ready for operation in 2008.

HK pensioners eye Guangzhou homes
香港退休者在穗安度晚年
More and more elderly people from Hong Kong are moving into retirement homes in Guangzhou to spend their remaining years. Good conditions and services, and low prices, are the main attractions. Pensioners from Hong Kong say Guangzhou is their first choice for a retirement home because the two cities share the same dialect, Cantonese. The booming economy of Guangzhou and living standards comparable to Hong Kong are likewise drawing them to the city.

Chongqing 重庆

Top platform of Three Gorges Dam opens to public
三峡部分坝顶对公众开放
More than 100 former residents of the Three Gorges Dam area ascended to the top of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydroelectric project, becoming the first batch of visitors to the 185-meter-high platform. The dam, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river, is open to the public from July to September every year. Only 1,000 visitors are currently permitted each day on the 100-meter long and five-meter wide platform.



First high temperature warning
发布首次高温警报
Chongqing Observatory issued its orange-degree high temperature warning for the first time this year. The temperature will be over 37 degrees Celsius in almost twenty districts and counties. Meanwhile, temperatures reached 35.9 degrees Celsius in major urban areas. Most of Chongqing will be sunny with cloudy periods due to an upper-level northwest air current. Ultra-violet (UV) light levels will be correspondingly high in the area.

Hong Kong 香港

Disneyland starts on-line tickets sales
迪斯尼开始网上售票
People who want to visit the theme park can now use their credit card to book tickets at the Hong Kong Disneyland website. Each credit card can buy a maximum of 10 tickets. Guests can also buy tickets for the grand opening on Sept. 12 and for the first 90 days after its opening. Hong Kong Disneyland will begin rehearsals on Aug. 16 for about four weeks. Rehearsal days have been a long-standing tradition at Disney theme parks and offer an opportunity for employees to practice and adjust their performance.

Banks start recruitment
银行大规模招募新人
Hong Kong banks are back in a hiring mood and have begun recruiting again. Hong Kong's second largest banking group, the Hang Seng Bank, is looking for approximately 200 experienced professionals as well as new graduates to work in areas such as information technology, financial planning, regulatory compliance and risk management. Most banks are looking for people who are able to communicate effectively and are prepared to undertake various tasks in the workplace.

Students celebrate anniversary of reunification
学生游京纪念香港回归日
To mark the eighth anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's return to the motherland, 260 Hong Kong students visited Beijing for a weeklong stay. The students will visit the capital's tourist sites including the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven. They will hold discussions with some of their Beijing counterparts as well as do some academic research at local museums.

Taipei 台北

Taiwan salary increases lag behind in Asia
台湾薪水增幅在亚洲落后
Salaried employees in Taiwan received a net salary increase rate of only 0.8 percent in 2005, ranking at the bottom of a cross-border survey of 14 regions and countries in Asia. Employees in India enjoyed a net salary increase rate of 4.5 percent this year, the highest among their Asian neighbors. The study attributed Taiwan's poor showing to its relatively high inflation rate of 3.2 percent, negating an average pay increase of 4 percent for Taiwan workers in 2005.

Researchers make colorful rice
七彩米吸引年轻人
With youngsters increasingly drawn to Western hamburgers and fries, researchers are trying to lure them back to healthier diets with something more traditional-rainbow-colored rice. The ancient Asian staple will soon be available in pink, green, yellow and purple, each colorful grain of rice with its own nutritional boost. The colors come from healthy foods instead of dyes. The colored rice is expected to be in stores by the middle of next year, and will likely cost about twice as much as regular rice.



Vocabulary
anthracite 无烟煤
aquaculture 水产业
stowaway 偷渡者
entrepreneur 企业家
strapped 困窘的
feeder 支线
pledge 承诺
recruitment 招募
rehearsal 排演