Xinghai Choir visits Thailand
星海合唱团访泰
Photo by Zheng Xiaodong



Xiamen Xinghai Choir left for Bangkok, Thailand on November 12 on a 6-day visit in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Chinese-Thai diplomatic ties. The picture shows the last rehearsal by the choir members before their departure.

 

 

Economics

Fujian-Taiwan harbor to be built this year
闽台避风渔港今年动工
Construction of a harbor of refuge at Gaoqi for Fujian and Taiwan fishing boats will begin before the end of the year. Upon its completion in 2007, this modernized fishing port will be a part of a complex comprising Xiamen's largest wholesale and logistics center for aquatic products. Costs of the project are estimated at RMB 178.313 million.

Xiamen ranks 22nd in property price increases
房价涨幅全国22位
Xiamen's average property price rose slightly in October, reaching RMB 6,709.5 per square meter, up 0.6% on the previous month. This increase in property prices ranks 22nd among China's 70 largest cities.

Xiamen short of 100, 000 workers next year
明年我市缺10万工人
Xiamen's economy will grow strongly next year, leading to a shortage of 100,000 workers. Analyses of demand in the job market show that the four most labor-intensive industries (construction, electronics, apparel and catering,) are most likely to experience difficulty in hiring enough new staff.

 

 

Society

Anti-pickpocket squad recruits 60 volunteers
反扒队拟招60名志愿者
With local citizens' enthusiasm for fighting pickpockets exceeding the wildest expectations of the local police, the transport police have decided to recruit 60 volunteers instead of 30 as originally planned.

Contest held to showcase skills of estate security guards
社区开展保安技能竞赛
Who is the best estate security guard? 110 estate security guards, recommended by the city's realty management companies, recently demonstrated their skills in a contest, with those achieving satisfactory scores awarded a Junior Security Guard National Vocational Qualification Certificate. The contest was the first one of its kind in Xiamen.

Shenzhou VI commemorative ingot up for grabs at month's end
神六纪念金条月底发售
The National Museum of China will soon distribute 1,000 sets of Shenzhou VI commemorative gold ingots. As the exclusive distributor in Fujian Province, Jinlu Jewelry will start accepting orders in a couple of days. The 80 sets allocated for Xiamen will be put on sale on November 25.

Mobile phones sending illicit messages face disconnection
发违法短信被停机
According to a joint communique issued by the Xiamen Communications Administration and the Command Center of Xiamen Public Security Bureau, since the first prosecution of a mobile telecoms user engaged in illicit activities on September 12, the authorities have prosecuted 1,387 cases of illicit mobile phone use. As a result, the number of reported cases of text message fraud has plummeted by 60-70%.

Xiamen to build Fujian's first eye bank
筹建全省首个眼库
Xiamen Eye Center sees an annual average of 1,000 patients in urgent need of cornea transplants, but performs only 200-300 cornea transplant operations each year. In order to resolve the problem of cornea shortage and to restore the eyesight of people blinded by cornea problem, the Center is currently applying for permission to build the first eye bank in Fujian Province.

20-plus local citizens intend to donate organs
20余位市民要捐遗体器官
Since the implementation of Fujian's Regulations on the Donation of Remains and Organs two months ago, more than 20 local citizens have signed up to donate their organs. The oldest donor is 79 and the youngest 25.

Seashore along Island Ring Road to be cleaned up
环岛路一段近日整治
The city Environmental Management and Inspection Committee has recently announced its clean-up program for the seashore under the "One Country, Two Systems" sign. The clean-up is currently underway, and will be completed for inspection next month.

 

 

Education

Xiamen University student wins "Best Leadership Skills Award"
厦大学生获"最高领导才能奖"
A team from Xiamen University has been rated "a distinguished team" at the recent Simulated UN Commission on Human Rights Conference Contest; its team member Fan Dan won the "Best Leadership Skills Award". The contest took place at the Northwestern Polytechnical University, attracting 36 teams from 35 colleges and universities nationwide.

Xiamen University's EMBA program ranks 4th on popularity list
最受欢迎EMBA厦大排第四
Xiamen University's EMBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) Program ranks 4th on the recently published list among China's top 10 EMBA programs of 2005. In the top three spots are the School of Economics & Management Tsinghua University; China Europe International Business School;and the Guanghua School of Management, Beijing University.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Hospital for low-income patients opened
开设低收入病人医院
Residents on minimum living allowances and some 600,000 immigrant workers with low incomes have been given a new hope for cheap but reliable hospital services. Though still small in scale, the new hospital is the first government-funded institution for the urban poor and the large floating population, and will be a model for other cities.

Stores to display air quality status
商场自曝空气质量
Haidian District's busiest supermarkets and department stores are displaying real time information on their indoor air quality during holidays and at weekends, in the first initiative of its kind in the country. The displays aim both to inform the general public and to encourage retailers to ensure that they provide healthy environments for their customers. When standards are not met, modifications include increased ventilation and controls on numbers of customers entering stores.

Sohu selected as ICS sponsor for Beijing Olympics
搜狐当选北京奥运官方赞助商
Sohu has been selected as the official sponsor of Internet Content Services (ICS) for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Sohu will provide exclusive services to BOCOG in constructing, operating and hosting the official BOCOG website, www.beijing2008.com, for this historic event. The contract will be effective through December 2008.

Poultry trading, breeding banned
城区禁止买卖饲养生禽
Due to bird flu outbreaks in Anhui, Hunan and Liaoning provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Beijing has stopped all market trade in live poultry and ruled out poultry breeding in its urban areas. The move, which has also stopped poultry products from entering Beijing, shows China's reinforced levels of alertness against the epidemic.

Shanghai 上海

Dolls for newly-weds
新人树脂肖像受欢迎
A Shanghai company is displaying specially designed resin dolls of newly-weds. After the company receives photos of the bride and groom, it will produce dolls in resin exclusively for the couple. This new service in the wedding industry is proving popular among Shanghai citizens.



Survey reveals business motivation
收入低求职难成创业主因
Over half of the surveyed private business owners admit that "raising a family" and "difficulty of finding a suitable job" are the top reasons for them starting their own enterprises. "Being forced to begin their own business because of job changes" was the other main motivation for business owners.

Cartoon mall to be set up
将建动漫墙
Shanghai has set up a state-level base for the development of the fledgling online game animation industry, and a cartoon theme mall will also be established soon. Many domestic and overseas software corporations specializing in web games and animation will operate in the zone. The income of Shanghai-based web animation firms have so far accounted for about 70 per cent of the country's gross volume.

Young, single mothers doubled
年轻未婚妈妈增加一倍
Shanghai's teenage mothers have doubled in number in the last decade and the phenomenon of the increase in unmarried and teenage mothers has attracted concern. A hotline dedicated to single mothers has been launched, providing them with medical consultation and assistance.

Guangzhou 广州

Hearing to be held on Metro fares
将开地铁价格听证会
A hearing will be held early next month to discuss a plan for the price of Metro tickets. The city's Metro company has said that fares should be based on mileage rather than on sections, as they currently are calculated. The fare adjustments do not necessarily mean a fare hike. On December 28, Guangzhou Metro lines 3 and 4 will begin operating. The fare policy will be the same as for lines 1 and 2.

Sex culture festival
举办性文化节
A sex culture festival has been getting down to business as part of Guangzhou's efforts to promote healthy sex. The festival, with the theme of "healthy and harmonious sex," has a special exhibition about sex culture and sexually transmitted diseases. Sexologists are presenting forums on various subjects.

Largest car-shipping port to be built
将建国内最大轿车运输港
Nippon Yusen KK and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, along with Chinese companies, plan to jointly build one of China's largest port facilities for shipping automobiles. Located in Guangzhou, the facility is slated to start operating in mid-2006, and will be able to handle up to 600,000 vehicles a year, shipping finished cars from Toyota Motor Corp.

Chongqing 重庆

2 hours to diagnose bird flu
两小时诊测禽流感
The equipment for diagnosis in the Chongqing Center for Diagnosis of Infectious Animal Diseases is currently the best in the west of China. It takes only 2 hours to diagnose bird flu. Presently the center is working 24 hours a day.

Prices of agricultural products low
农产品价格跌至四年内最低点
The prices of agricultural products in the third quarter of the year are at the lowest point in their cycle. The price index of the main agricultural products has fallen below 100 for the first time in the past 4 years. At the same time the prices for grain and corn have decreased sharply.

Trains to Sanya to start next year
明年至三亚铁路通车
Passengers will be able to take the train from Chongqing to Sanya from May 1 next year. The reconstruction of the western railway line in Hainan has already begun. When the reconstruction is completed, Sanya railway station will have more trains to cities such as Chongqing, Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

Hong Kong 香港

Disneyland cuts ticket prices
迪斯尼门票对本地居民降价
Hong Kong Disneyland will offer ticket discounts to local residents for one month to thank them for their support. The theme park denied the move was prompted by low attendance at the park, which opened two months ago. A peak time ticket for an adult will cost HK$300 instead of HK$350. The discount, given to visitors with a Hong Kong ID card, will last until December 8.



Half of employees work overtime
一半雇员工作超时
In 2005, about half of all Hong Kong employees worked overtime. Although a survey indicated that the average working week was 50 hours, almost all those polled wished to work fewer hours and the expected working time per week was 44 hours. The average working time from 1995 to 2004 was 46.2 hours per week, compared with 41 in the United States and 48 for the mainland.

Students petition Harry Potter author
万名哈利波特迷力邀作者访港
Ten thousand Harry Potter fans in Hong Kong have signed a petition pleading with author J.K. Rowling to visit and give them a reading. The invitation and the petition was sent two months ago through the British Council, and the organizers of the Hong Kong Book Festival, which runs until November 27, are waiting for a reply.

Taipei 台北

Fewer female smokers
女烟民总量减少
The number of smoking female workers in the real estate rental, cultural, sports and recreational service industries has been rising over the past three years. A survey shows that one in every eight female workers in the real estate rental industry is a smoker but the overall percentage of female smokers in the workplace has decreased.

Hot-pot hazard warning
火锅底料可能有害健康
According to Taipei health officials, preservatives and additives found in hot-pot ingredients may be hazardous to health. Tests of products indicated that hot-pot ingredients from traditional markets were found to be safer for consumers than those found at supermarkets and hypermarts.

Rooster comes before Golden Horse
"金鸡"先于"金马"奖
Hollywood star Jackie Chan has won the Golden Rooster best actor award in the first year that mainland China's prestigious film awards have tried to upstage Taiwan's by admitting ethnic Chinese actors in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The Golden Rooster ceremony came a day before Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, considered the Chinese-speaking world's Oscars because it includes all Chinese language movies.


Vocabulary
aquatic 水产的
intensive 密集的
ingot 金块
illicit 非法的
cornea 角膜
retailer 零售商
sexologist 性学专家
breeding 饲养
resin 树脂
fledgling 刚出道的
animation 动画片
hike 增加
hazardous 危害的
hypermart 连锁店