Science workshop enters community
科技工作室进社区
Photo by Yao Fan



On July 22, the City Science Association presented the name plates to the first two children's science workshops in Xiamen. They are in the Jiangcun estate in Huli and the Qianpubei estate in Siming. The workshops aim to encourage young learners to carry out scientific research in their spare time. In the picture left, children are learning to make animal shaped models using little machine tools.

 

 

Economics

US Department of Commerce opens office in Xiamen
美商务部在厦"设点"
The US Department of Commerce has officially opened an office in Xiamen as part of the International Partner Network program. The opening of this office will help to develop business in the city, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses which want to work with American companies.

3 top-level firms move headquarters to Xiamen
3家重量级企业"迁都"厦门
Since Fujian Industrial Tobacco Company relocated to Xiamen, three other firms have also made the move, setting up purchasing, sales or R&D headquarters here. The firms are all important businesses within Fujian Province: the Septwolves Group, the Zhongcheng Stock Company and the Hengan International Group.

House prices to rise gently
下半年我省房价稳中有升
The Fujian Construction Department has published the official report on the state of the Fujian real estate market in the first half of the year. Judging by house prices, a shortage of housing has caused the imbalance in real estate supply and demand to continue. The supply of affordable housing will not match demand for some time, and factors such as land prices and construction investment suggest that prices will continue to rise, only more slowly, in the second half of the year.

Rises in incomes and spending
上半年居民收入支出增长
The results of surveys conducted by the Xiamen Statistics Office show that the average household had a disposable income of 8,443 yuan in the first half of this year, a rise of 12.92% over the same period last year; household spending in the same period rose by 11.52% on last year to 5,514 yuan.

Xoceco teams up with LG.Philips
厦华结盟LG-飞利浦
In the last few days Xoceco has signed an agreement with LG.Philips LCD to formally begin strategic cooperation. This cooperation will allow both companies to compete more effectively in the international flat-screen TV market.

GDP growth highest in the province
GDP增幅居全省第一
According to official figures, the total value of production in Xiamen in the first half of this year was 47.6 billion yuan, up 15.5% compared to the same period last year. Among the nine cities in Fujian Province, this was the biggest rise.

80 new internet cafés to open this year
今年可新增网吧80家
The target for new internet cafés this year has been set at 80. The conditions for opening a café are less restrictive than in previous years, and the process for gaining approval has also been simplified.

 

 

Society

138m ferris wheel to tower over Xiamen Island Ring Road
138米摩天轮将矗立环岛路
Japan's Large Ferris Wheel Company has prepared the third set of revised plans for the Xiamen Island Ring Road Ferris Wheel Fairground. The plans, which have already been submitted for approval by the planning department, include a 138m diameter ferris wheel as the centerpiece of a large integrated tourism and amusement park.

Legislation for charities
拟为慈善事业立法
Responding to repeated calls for legislation from local deputies to the People's Congress, the city government is planning to quickly introduce rules to govern the growth of charities, ending the present "legal vacuum". The legislation will aim to solve the problem of insufficient donations and to inspire enthusiasm for public spirited projects in all areas of society.

Bus "stars"
公交车也要选"明星"
From August this year, the city government will award the titles of "Star Bus", "Star Driver" and "Best Route" in recognition of the greatest achievements in public transport. The titles will be awarded four times a year. Xiamen Daily has already set up a voting hotline (5581719) to gather the opinions and advice of Xiamen residents, and to pass this advice on to the relevant departments.

Full inspection for glass walls
玻璃幕墙全面接受"体检"
The city's Department of Construction and Management has decided to carry out the first full inspection of all glass walls within city limits. They aim to check the stability and safety of glass walls in use, and will focus particularly on buildings which are over ten years old and areas with the greatest numbers of people.

New taxi colors hit the streets
改色出租车开始上路
The new designs for the exteriors of Xiamen taxis have finally been decided, and the process of respraying the fleet is already under way. The six taxi firms in the city chose five different colors, and the first taxis with the new look are already doing business on the Xiamen streets.

Alterations to South Hubin Road
湖滨南路"动手术"
The first stage in the alterations to South Hubin Road is under way, and is predicted to finish by the end of next month. However, the final stages will have to wait until the work on the Shugang flyover and the airport highway is finished. The new road will have five new footbridges and fewer breaks in the railings on each side. The current six traffic lanes will be increased to eight, and the mango trees along both sides of the road will be protected.

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Developing more underground space
拓展地下商业空间
Beijing is planning to step up the pace of development of its underground spaces in the next few years. At present, only one tenth of the underground space in the city has been developed, mostly for residential purposes, but in recent years development of underground space for commercial purposes has been on the rise. The municipal government is encouraging greater use of underground space as a part of their plans for saving energy.

Electronic waste treatment plant to open
首次使用电子垃圾处理厂
A garbage treatment plant that is capable of processing 1.2 million discarded household electric appliances will open in Beijing before the end of this year. Electrical goods containing poisons such as lead, mercury and cadmium are extremely harmful to both humans and the environment. Illegal collectors of discarded appliances frequently strip them for their metal and dispose of the toxic waste carelessly, causing serious pollution of the soil, air and ground water.

Employees on paid leave amid summer heat
员工带薪休高温假
Employees from Beijing-based industrial enterprises have begun their paid leave this week as the city enters the hottest period of the year. Businesses may adopt a temporary six-day week schedule in the coming fall to offset the summer holidays and catch up with their production plans. The summer vacation is designed to ease a power crisis which has intensified as a heat wave bakes the city.

Roads, railways open to private investment
私营资金可投资公路铁路
The north expressway to Beijing International Airport, the Beijing-Pinggu Expressway, the third phase of the Beijing-Chengde Expressway and the State Highway 110 renovation are all open to investors who wish to build or operate them. Subway projects will also operate as a franchise system along with petrol stations and parking lots. Infrastructure construction and operation is being opened to private investors to ease financial pressure on the government and to improve service standards.

Shanghai 上海

Railway Station gets sniffer dogs
铁路安检使用警犬
Seven German Shepherds recently began duty at Shanghai Railway Station. They are trained to sniff out and remove flammable or explosive articles that can endanger passengers. The canines made their official working debut in the city during March 2003, when two quarantine dogs took up positions at Pudong International Airport to prevent harmful organisms from entering the city. They have also joined the city's Metro line security inspection team to detect explosives.

Experts urge protecting dialect
专家呼吁保护方言
More and more parents in Shanghai have discovered that their children are forgetting how to use Shanghai dialect to express themselves. Experts have recommended that TV and radio stations set up channels and programs using Shanghai dialect, and that schools offer selected courses taught in it. The experts believe the Shanghai dialect can be protected and passed on to future generations while maintaining high standards of Mandarin Chinese, preserving a multicultural environment in the city.

Two universities merge
两高校合并为新交大
Shanghai Jiaotong University and Shanghai Second Medical University have merged, forming the new Jiaotong University of Shanghai. With the merger, the two universities will be able to make full use of their respective strengths and will enhance the overall quality of higher education in Shanghai.

Guangzhou 广州

Public prosecutors use new digital system
公审启用数控系统
The Guangzhou public prosecution department has adopted a new digital management system named the "V2004," which is used for processing public prosecution and appeals cases. The new system will streamline the judicial process and reduce human errors.

Illegal taxis face 100, 000 yuan penalty
的士非法营运将罚十万元
Transport authorities will step up a crackdown on illegal taxis by imposing a 100,000 yuan (US$12,100) penalty on drivers caught at the Baiyun Airport. The airport will also ban private and company vehicles from the waiting area outside the arrivals hall to crack down on illegal taxis. Drivers coming to meet passengers may still park their vehicles at the airport. No parking fee will be charged for vehicles which depart within 15 minutes.

CPI lower than national and provincial level
消费物价指数低于省内国内
Guangzhou's CPI rose by 2.1 percent during the first six months of this year, up one percent compared with the growth rate in the same period last year. The growth rate, however, is still lower than national and provincial averages. The Price Bureau expects a stable CPI growth rate in the second half of this year, forecasting a two percent annual growth rate.



Allianz eyes larger role in mainland market
德金融巨头欲扩展大陆市场
The Guangzhou Branch of the German financial giant, Allianz Insurance, is eyeing a larger slice of the non-life insurance market on the Chinese mainland with its expansion plans. The company is seeking new corporate customers among exporters and manufacturers whose revenue relies highly on outstanding receivables in production. Allianz will offer their clients risk management solutions with their product liability insurance and domestic-trade credit insurance.

Chongqing 重庆

Three Gorges investment fair
将举办三峡投资会
Chongqing will hold its second Three Gorges Investment Fair on September 26th to promote economic development in the 15 districts and counties within the Three Gorges area, and to create more job opportunities for immigrants relocated for the Three Gorges project. The fair is expected to attract investment from China's developed provinces and coastal cities.

Hong Kong 香港

Hong Kong will keep currency pegged to US dollar
现行资金与美元持平
The HK SAR will keep its currency pegged to the US dollar and has no intention of changing its Linked Exchange Rate System, which has been the anchor of HK's economic stability. The revaluation of the renminbi announced by the Bank of China is likely to benefit the economy of Hong Kong, offering greater competitiveness for Hong Kong's exports to the mainland, along with sustainable economic development.

More residents visit mainland in 2004
2004赴内地游居民增多
Hong Kong residents made a total of 38.6 million personal visits to the Chinese mainland last year, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier. Nearly 60 percent of the trips were made by men and 27 percent by people aged 40 to 49. Those who work in the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, as well as in the restaurant and hotel sector, account for a large percentage of the travelers.

Taipei 台北

10, 000 jobs offered for flood victims
台风灾区增加一万个工作
10,000 job opportunities are being offered to flood victims in central and southern Taiwan in the wake of Typhoon Haitang. Flood victims can register with local service centers for upcoming job opportunities such as cleaning up damaged households. Applicants must bring with them documents certifying that their houses and crops have been damaged by floodwater.

Taiwanese not lured by 3G
第三代手机缺少卖点
Telecoms operators are currently fighting a rather unusual battle: they are trying to introduce 3G technology into their services, but consumers seem to have no interest at all. The telecom operators might have to take a tip from a local daily, which has claimed that ‘3G' stands for ‘Girls, Gambling and Games' - these things might at least help to attract customers. More than 76 percent of mobile subscribers use their handsets only for phone calls while barely 18 percent use the GPRS features.


Vocabulary
disposable 可支配的
revise 修改
statistics 数据
strategic 战略的
mango 芒果
peg 限定标准
sniffer 嗅探器
cadmium 镉
crunch 紧缩