Kinglong contributes to Beijing Olympics
大金龙为奥运出力
Photo by Yao Fan



Kinglong Bus, which has emerged triumphant from the first bidding in Beijing for the supply of public buses, has again stolen the spotlight of the unified vehicle body design competition. Three designs submitted by Kinglong in conjunction with Tsinghua University have been reviewed and accepted by Beijing municipal authorities and the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee as the successful bid. Seen in the picture are Kinglong staff producing designs.

 

 

Economics

Wait-and-see sentiment permeates property market
观望情绪笼罩房地产市场
Many property developers may be disappointed by the wait-and-see sentiment permeating the market. Compared with the bullish property market in the same period a year ago, the trading volume of commodity housing in Xiamen has dropped by 26.9% to 0.7491 million square meters in the second quarter of the year.

Bid-inviting scheme for commercial operations on islets
制定经营性海岛招标方案
Local authorities are formulating a scheme to auction the commercial operations rights on islets by public bidding. The scheme will be implemented when the organising process is complete. There are 17 uninhabited islets of 500 or more square meters and 58 rocky reefs around Xiamen Island. They’re valuable resources for building Xiamen into an ecological bay for sightseeing and tourism.

Jiaomei applies for status as National-level Development Zone
角美申报国家级开发区
Zhangzhou City is currently making intensive efforts to apply for the status of National-level Taiwanese Investment Zone for its Jiaomei Integrated Industrial Development Zone in order to facilitate the influx of Taiwanese investment.

Aquatic produce exports face new barriers
水产品出口面临新壁垒
Since the beginning of this year, exports of aquatic products from Fujian Province, including Xiamen, has been in a serious situation with sliding export volume. What’s worse, Japan, one of the major destinations for Fujian aquatic products, is planning to put up higher trade barriers against aquatic products.

 

 

Society

Xiamen Honorable Citizens endowed with privileges
荣誉市民喜获厚礼
According to a newly instituted decree, people awarded with the title of Xiamen Honorable Citizen will be endowed with privileges such as priority services when seeking medical help at major hospitals and favorable treatment when taking Xiamen Airline flights, as well as free admission at major scenic spots such as Xiamen Botanical Gardens, Sunlight Rock at Gulangyu, Shuzhuang Park, and Haoyue Park.

Traffic police admonish pedestrians and cyclists
交警部门上路劝导
In response to the rising number of violations of traffic rules by non-vehicular traffic, the local traffic police recently took to the street to admonish pedestrians and cyclists to abide by traffic rules. The police found that over 90% of cyclists crossed the zebra crossing without dismounting, around 20% of which were cyclists of electric bicycles, and that 10% of pedestrians crossed the street at the red light, a percentage which had dropped from more than 70% previously.

Video surveillance system installed to bar minors
视频严控未成年人进入网吧
Sophisticated network monitoring systems have been installed at the city’s 157 registered Internet cafes for real-time transmission of netizens’ Internet-surfing information to the Monitoring Center of the Culture Bureau. These systems also contain video transmission monitoring to bar minors from entering Internet cafes. Xiamen is the only city in Fujian Province to use such systems, which will later be installed throughout the Province.

South Fujian Dialect Singing Contest to be held
海峡两岸闽南语歌唱大赛
The "Cross-Straits South Fujian Dialect Singing Contest," jointly organized by Xiamen Broadcasting and TV Group Co and Taiwan’s Gala Television Corporation, will take place in Xiamen in early August. Prospective contestants, aged 14-30, may sign up with the Program Center on the 19th floor of Xiamen TV Station before August 4.

Lin Zexu Life History and Anti-drug Exhibition staged
林则徐生平史迹与禁毒展
In commemoration of the 220th anniversary of Lin Zexu’s birth and the 166th anniversary of Destroying Opium in Humen, the Lin Zexue Life History && Anti-drug Exhibition recently opened at Xiamen People’s Conference Hall, where 200-plus pictures and dozens of cultural relics were put on display to exhibit Lin’s anti-drug feats and the implications of his anti-drug campaigns for the nation.

Fishermen voluntarily bring garbage onshore
渔民自发送垃圾上岸
Part of the effort to improve the environmental health of Xiamen sea areas is to prompt fishermen to bring floating garbage to the shore. Nine local fish farms have recently established an association to collect garbage dumped from fishing rafts and transport it to the shore. This is the first association of its kind in Xiamen’s aquaculture history.

Xiamen, Zoetermeer pair up
厦门与祖特梅尔市结好
Xiamen and Zoetermeer, in the Netherlands, have entered into an official agreement to pair up as international friendship cities. Zoetermeer is the 10th city to pair with Xiamen.

7-hour trip to Mount Wuyi
7小时可达武夷山
According to the Fujian Provincial Department of Transportation, construction drawings designed for Pucheng-Nanping Expressway have been reviewed and accepted by an expert panel. Construction of the expressway will kick off in September. Upon the opening of the expressway in late 2008, a journey from Xiamen to Mount Wuyi will take merely seven hours.

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Star-rated hotels phase out convenience items
星级酒店停供一次性消费品
Disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste and slippers, which used to be symbols of convenience and comfort in luxury hotels, will be phased out by Beijing's star-rated hotels in a bid to economize. Star-rated hotels will reduce the free toiletries provided in guest rooms and will wash quilt covers, pillowslips, and bath gowns solely at a guest's reques.

Chinese culture, language contest
老外角逐中国语言文化竞赛
A Chinese culture and language contest was held in Beijing on July 13. The contest, renowned as the highest level competition of the Chinese language, knowledge, and culture for foreign Chinese learners, attracted 90 participants from over 40 countries outside China.



To host int'l congress of science history for first time
首次主办世界科史会
Beijing will host the international congress of science history from July 24 to 30. The congress, the first hosted by the city, will organize several working meetings, science sessions, symposia and two public lectures. More than 1,000 scholars from around the world are expected to take part.

Urban per capita disposable income rises
城镇居民人均存款额上升
Urban residents' per capita disposable income reached 8,845.1 Yuan (1,066 US dollars) during the January-June period of this year, up 12.9 percent from the same period last year. The lowest-income group enjoyed a disposable income increase of 14.4 percent, two percent higher than that of the city's high-income group.

Shanghai 上海

Seafood markets worry about dye
海产品疑被有害色素污染
Several seafood wholesale markets in Shanghai have ceased selling products due to a fear that some goods could be contaminated with malachite green, a dye linked to cancer. The targeted products include soft-shelled turtles, salmon, and crustaceans. Results of inspections will be released in two weeks.

Pioneer in use of condoms
市民使用避孕套居首位
One-fifth of Shanghai's residents use condoms, leading the country in the use of this form of contraception. More than 40 million free condoms were handed out last year in the city of more than 17 million people to promote publicity and awareness of contraception and HIV/AIDS.

Volunteers set out for Hoh Xil
志愿者挺进可可西里
A team of Shanghai volunteers set out for Kekexili (Hoh Xil) July 16, which lies in the border areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They will help the area to set up wireless telecommunication facilities and train people there to use the technology. Kekexili, covering 45,000 square kilometers, is home to many rare species including the Tibetan antelope, yak, and wild donkey.

Shortage of key professionals
支柱产业缺乏高端人才
Shanghai is in urgent need of high-level creative management professionals for its key industries, to support the city's reformed industrial structure. The positions are open in the six pillar industries that the city is keen to develop: arts and culture, finance, bio-technology and medicine, material sciences, electronics and information, and harbor control and shipping.

Tightening grip on property prices
严控房产价格
Shanghai is developing an online program to make trading in the property market more transparent and manageable. All buying and selling information and the development stages of a property sale will be available to potential buyers, dealers, regulators, and property developers upon the completion of the website.

Guangzhou 广州

"Business as usual" for UK travelers
赴英游客照常成行
The London terror attacks have not deterred tours to England or Europe on the whole. Travel agencies remind tourists who are going to the UK that they should always stay with their group and take good care of their luggage. The UK will be open to Chinese travelers starting July 15 with package tours with prices ranging from 15 to 20 thousand RMB.

Emergency alarms for the elderly
设置老年人急救报警系统
The Guangzhou government will invest one million yuan (US$120,000) to help needy senior citizens obtain emergency alarms. The alarms will help seniors to obtain aid in an emergency situation. The service center will send the caller's essential health information to doctors from its data bank, in case the person who calls for help cannot speak when help arrives.

Food prices remain stable
洪水后食品价格平稳
The price of grain, meat and poultry remained stable during the June flooding, but egg prices increased to their highest level this year, to about 6.7 yuan per kilogram, and are expected to remain high as long as the hot weather continues. Vegetable prices also rose due to high temperatures and the heavy rains.

Chongqing 重庆

Unusual ad to win employment
创意简历赚足工作机会
An unusual advertisement posted at Chongqing University has attracted plenty of attention. In the advertisement, a graduate has offered to rent himself to a company for intellectual and physical use. So far he has attended 15 job interviews since graduating from the university.



Hong Kong 香港

Most financial institutions on mainland
银行在大陆设立机构最多
The Hong Kong banking sector has the largest mainland presence compared to other overseas banks, holding one-quarter of the business establishments set up by overseas banks on the mainland. In addition, there are 24 representative offices from Hong Kong scattered across the mainland.

Investors cautious about mainland homes
房地产商将减少大陆投资
Beijing's macro-economic control measures over the mainland’s property market have reduced Hong Kong home-buyers cravings for mainland properties. Buyers are waiting for the right time to enter the market as prices are expected to drop further. Hong Kong buyers have reduced their investment in the mainland property market by 8 per cent.

Disneyland Hotel bugged by beetles
迪斯尼酒店遭虫扰
Wood-eating bugs have infested more than 100 rooms at the luxury 400-room Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. The beetle-like bugs with long antennae were first noticed in May in wooden beds, TV stands, night stands, and coffee tables. Hong Kong Disneyland said the park would implement "stringent" quality-control measures.

Taipei 台北

CCTV programs offer live coverage from Taiwan
央视将拍摄报道台湾现实生活
CCTV has recently sent a television crew to Taiwan to produce a series about general conditions on the island and the life of its ordinary residents. The program will also be broadcast by the East-Taiwan Television Station, allowing Taiwan residents more access to mainland-produced TV programs.

Taiwan insurer eyes cross-straits venture
保险投资商看好大陆市场
Shin Kong Life Insurance, Taiwan's second-largest life insurer, plans to begin a life insurance venture on the mainland to tap a market that has been growing at an average of 30 percent annually since 1999. Insurers from Taiwan are eyeing the mainland market because the domestic market has become saturated.

Financial markets and schools close as typhoon approaches
台风到来商行学校关闭
A powerful typhoon, Haitang, is heading towards Taiwan and likely to lash the island with strong winds and heavy rain in the next few days. Financial markets and schools closed Monday as the island braced for the Typhoon with weathermen warning it would bring torrential rains and strong winds. Haitang, the first storm to hit Taiwan this year is expected to sweep over the island before heading towards the mainland if it stays on its present course.


Vocabulary
admonish 劝告
abide 遵守
permeate 充满
endow 给予
surveillance 监视
symposia 座谈会
disposable 一次性的
malachite 孔雀石
crustacean 甲壳类的
contraception 避孕
stringent 严格的
saturated 饱和的