Students' cross Straits get-together
两岸学子大联欢
Photo by Yao Fan



The musical fountain square in Bailuzhou Park became a sea of celebration on the evening of July 28. Organized by the China National Students Union, students from 25 universities on both sides of the Straits, including Peking University and Taiwan University, held a joint party here.

 

 

Economics

Xiamen anti-AIDS drugs exported to over 40 countries
厦抗艾药输向40多国
Xiamen MCHEM PHARMA Group has recently joined forces with the Clinton Foundation in the US, entering into a global supply agreement under which the pharmaceutical manufacturer will supply high-quality, low-priced anti-AIDS drugs to the Foundation on a long-term basis. This is the first time that a Chinese enterprise has ever cooperated with this prestigious foundation, which will benefit AIDS sufferers in over 40 member countries around the world.

C & D, ITG among China's top 100 listed companies
建发国贸入围中国上市公司100强
Fortune Magazine (Chinese edition) recently unveiled the list of China's top 100 public listed companies for 2004. Two heavyweights based in Xiamen, Xiamen C & D Inc. and Xiamen International Trade Group appeared on the list.

Haicang paintings receive huge orders
数十万元订单"垂青"海沧油画
At the recently 3rd Xiamen Gift & Home Decoration Show, Haicang oil paintings attracted much attention from domestic and overseas businesspeople, with over 30 Haicang painters receiving orders worth hundreds of thousands of RMB placed by businesspeople from all over the world, including the US, India and Taiwan. These are the largest ever orders since the official opening of Haicang Oil Painting Street on May 18th of this year.

Natural gas available island-wide by 2010
2010年岛内普及天然气
The Special Xiamen Urban Gas Program for 2004-2020, which involves a long-term investment of RMB 1.014 billion, has recently been accepted by an expert panel after review. Under this program, up to 700,000 households in Xiamen will have access to piped or bottled gas by 2010, with natural gas available island-wide.

 

 

Society

Botanical Gardens raises ticket price
植物园票价调整
On July 12th, the price of the local sightseeing annual pass was raised to RMB 60. On August 1st, the price of admission tickets at Xiamen Botanical Gardens rose to RMB 40. For the higher price, the Gardens will provide a series of supporting services for visitors and improve service quality.

Xiamen sells its most expensive vehicle ever
厦门卖出最贵汽车
A Carrera GT sports utility vehicle (SUV) was sold for the staggering price of RMB 6.45 million at the official opening of the Xiamen Porsche Center, breaking the previous record of RMB 5.85 million for a Rolls-Royce car sold last year at the Xiamen Auto Show. It is the most expensive vehicle ever sold in Xiamen.

Postal foreign currency savings system in trial operation
邮政外币储蓄系统试运行
Xiamen Postal Savings will launch foreign currency business in September. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Jiangmen have recently started the trial operations of their respective China postal foreign currency savings systems.

Another four-star hotel appears
华美达厦门长升荣膺四星
With the permission of the Fujian travel authorities, Ramada Hotel Xiamen (Xiamen Rising Hotel) has received its four-star rating, making it the tenth one in the city. Founded on July 28th, 2001, Ramada Xiamen Hotel has been offering guests from home and abroad its unique combination of elegance, convenience and impressive facilities for four years.

Xiamen grabs gold at English Speaking Contest
英语演讲比赛厦门队夺冠
The Children's English Speaking Contest, sponsored by Ping An Insurance Co. of China, was held on July 31st in Fuzhou, with the Xiamen team taking the first prize. The competitors were all minors under 15. The eight members of the Xiamen team all won prizes, and two of them made it to the national final, to be held in Dalian on August 22nd.

Xiamen to form rock-climbing team
厦将组建攀岩队
Xiamen will soon have Fujian's first ever rock-climbing team. In anticipation of the 2006 All-China Games, the local authorities will organize a rock-climbing team and put it through rigorous training. The team will compete in a qualifying match at Xiamen's first rock-climbing tournament on July 30th - August 7th.

1st University Students' MV Design Contest held
首次大学生MV设计大赛
The "Cool Air MV" Design Contest, jointly organized by Cool Air Chewing Gum and MTV Global, has sent out invitations to scores of colleges and universities throughout the country. Promotion for the Xiamen area will include events held in Xiamen University. For more information, please visit www.coolair.com.cn. During this contest, MTV will host the "Cool Air MV" fashion party in Xiamen.

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

1, 200 public toilets to be refurnished
1200个公厕将换新貌
Beijing will launch the largest toilet revolution in its history this year in a bid to make its environment more pleasant for the ever increasing numbers of Chinese and overseas tourists. The massive project, launched in early March, aims to replace its notoriously fetid back street latrines with clean, well-maintained flush toilets. The move is part of the city's efforts to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games.

New animal disease prevention center
欲建动物疾病防控中心
To ensure the safety of animal products and enhance Beijing's overall capacity for controlling animal diseases, the Beijing City Government will spend nearly 200 million yuan (about 12.5 million US dollars) on building an animal disease prevention and control center, which will collect, analyze and store information on various animal diseases, diagnose outbreaks of diseases and test veterinary medicines.

World Carnival opens on schedule
世界狂欢节如期开始
The world's largest touring carnival event, World Carnival, opened in Beijing on July 29th as scheduled. It is expected to receive about 2.5 million visitors. If the weather and tourist demand permit, its stay might be extended till October 16th, a week longer than planned. The World Carnival first came to Beijing in 2004, when it received over 1 million guests in 52 days.



Disney on Ice breezes in
迪斯尼冰展又来了
After the success of last year's "100 Years of Magic," Disney on Ice returns to Beijing with "Three Jungle Adventures," which will run from August 2nd to 7th at the Workers' Stadium. This 90-minute performance on ice features some 24 characters from favorite Disney jungle stories including Mowgli and Baloo from "The Jungle Book," and Simba, Timon and Pumbaa from "The Lion King." World-champion skaters will play the various roles and perform high-flying stunts that will leave audiences breathless.

Shanghai 上海

Int'l publishers eye copyright trade
国际版权展吸引众多出版商
A copyright trade fair is scheduled to be held in Shanghai in August in conjunction with a book exposition. Twenty-five internationally recognized publishers, including Oxford University Press, have confirmed attendance at the fair. Drawn by the robust copyright trade in Shanghai and eastern China, international publishers have booked more than 50 booths at the fair. The trade fair will feature exhibitions, trade talks and seminars on copyright trade in eastern China, Europe and America. The Book Expo, scheduled to open on August 6th, will last for nine days.

Wal-Mart to speed up expansion
沃尔玛加速扩展
The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart ,plans to open seven new outlets in east China by the end of this year, increasing the total number from 48 to 55. The company's first outlet of the seven opened in Shanghai's Pudong District on July 28th, with a floor space of 18,000 square meters. Currently, there are more than 100 supermarkets in Shanghai, including the world famous Carrefour, Metro, Lotus and Auchan.

Oriental signs agreement with Australian TV
东方台将走入澳电视
While international media giants are making a big push to tap into the Chinese market, China's homegrown media corporations have begun to expand overseas. The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group (OPG), the city's largest entertainment conglomerate, has signed an agreement with Australian PAN TV Ltd to acquire a stake of its World Movies Channel. Once the stock transfer process is completed this year, Shanghai Oriental will become the first Chinese media company to become directly involved in foreign mainstream media.

Guangzhou 广州

Drive to improve air quality
致力提高空气质量
Motor vehicles in Guangzhou are to come under strict regulations in a bid to improve air quality. Vehicles that do not meet EU emission standards (EURO I and EURO II) will not be allowed on certain busy roads. The levels of sulphur dioxide, which is a major source of air pollution in the Guangzhou atmosphere exceeded the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard level II in 2004. Guangzhou has more than 1.74 million registered automobiles. Exhaust emissions are Guangzhou residents' second biggest concern, after public security.

Production to rise to 1.2 M cars annually by 2010
到2010年将产120万辆轿车
Guangzhou plans to produce 1.2 million cars by 2010 by taking advantage of cooperations with Japanese and ROK (the Republic of Korea) automobile manufacturers. It is currently the country's third largest car producer, behind Shanghai and Jilin.

Second-hand property price falls
二手房价下跌
Over 1 million square meters of commercial property was traded in June, up 40 percent compared with May this year. Second-hand property values declined by about 200 yuan per square meter during the same period. This was the first time second-hand real estate has declined in value in nearly one year. Experts do not expect prices to fall much further, and predict possible rises again soon.

Chongqing 重庆

New Harry Potter book selling well
《哈利波特六》热销
One hundred copies of the new Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which was released globally on July 16th, sold out fast in Chongqing. Hot sales of the book have also boosted the retail sales of the previous five Harry Potter books in the series. The Chinese version of the sixth Harry Potter book, published by the People's Literature Publishing House, is expected to be ready for the market in October.



Fossils of giant panda discovered
发现大熊猫化石
Chinese scientists have found fossils of a giant panda in a limestone cave in Wulong County, southwest Chongqing. They also stumbled upon fossil hedgehog teeth and well-preserved remains of bats on the expedition. Rock and sediment from all different ages since the Cambrian Era can be found in the cave, which has helped to illustrate the history of global evolution and atmospheric changes.

Hong Kong 香港

Leading email security provider sets up regional HQ
美电邮安全系统商设立总部
US-based email security provider IronPort Systems has selected Hong Kong for its regional headquarters. It will include sales, marketing and technical support departments. Supported by a strong technical team with long experience in the industry, IronPort Systems focuses on unique proprietary technologies, complemented by partnerships in the industry around the world.

Banks ready to expand RMB business
银行拟拓人民币业务
Hong Kong's banks are well prepared and have the strength to expand their Renminbi (RMB) business. RMB deposits have grown to 20 billion HK dollars (2.5 billion US dollars) since local banks were allowed to run RMB accounts in February last year. As a fund-raising platform for Chinese mainland enterprises, Hong Kong will help and encourage them to use the city to access the international market.

Taipei 台北

Mainland, Taiwan students held debating competition
首次主办两岸大学生辩论赛
A debating contest between university students from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan was held in Taipei from July 31st to August 2nd. It is the first time that Taipei has hosted such a contest. The mainland universities include Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, People's University of China, Xiamen University and Fujian Normal University. Attending from Taiwan are Taiwan University, Chengchi University, Shih Hsin University, Ming Chuan University, Soochow University and Chung Cheng University.

Taiwan signals easing of travel ban
欲放宽旅游限制
Taiwan has authorized a private group to handle talks with the mainland on allowing mainland tourists to visit the island, marking a step forward in lifting a decades-old ban between the two sides. China offered to let mainland tourists visit Taiwan in May and called for negotiations with Taipei on the details.


Vocabulary
pharmaceutical 制药的
prestigious 珍贵的
staggering 令人吃惊的
fetid 恶臭的
veterinary 兽医
conglomerate 混合联合企业
sulphur dioxide 二氧化硫
Cambrian 寒武纪的
limestone 石灰石
hedgehog 刺猬
proprietary 专利的