Water Lantern Festival
泰国水灯节
Photo by Yao Fan



The Thai Water Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on December 15 in the Thai calendar, fell on November 16 this year. With the strong support of the Thai Consular Office Xiamen and Air Asia, Thai students from Chinese Language and Culture College of Huaqiao University got together with Thais from the Overseas College of Xiamen University to celebrate the occasion. Altogether over 800 people gathered to watch the events last Saturday night.

The climax came when Miss Water Lantern, selected from 11 contestants, led the participants in lighting the candles and setting the lanterns afloat on the water.

Seen in the picture are Thai students dressed in traditional Thai costumes near the Dragon Lake of Jimei, selling water lanterns made of materials specially imported from Thailand.

 

 

Economics

Price of LPG for residential use to rise again
民用液化气可能再涨价
The city's gas company has submitted an application to raise gas prices. As the price of crude oil in the international market remains high, the local supplier of LPG for residential use can barely cover its costs.

USD 610 million utilized in first 10 months
前十月利用外资6.1亿美元
Foreign capital actually utilized in Xiamen in the January-October period this year totaled USD 610 million, which was the highest amount in Fujian Province, jumping 23% since last year.

 

 

Society

Two masterminds of "spam" arrested
查获两名"网络垃圾主谋"
Xiamen's "net police" have recently cracked a case which threatened the normal operations of the Internet, arresting two master "spammers" and seizing 12 "spam computers".

Lovers' marathon planned for next year
情侣马拉松赛明年举行
The organizing committee of the Xiamen International Marathon has approved plans for the 2006 Couples Marathon Challenge Tournament & Valentine's Day Long Race Romance Show. This joint arts and sports event will be staged on February 11 next year on the Island Ring Road. The winners of the race will receive a prize of RMB 9999.99 in cash, 999 roses, one night's free accommodation in a luxury bridal suite in a local hotel and a champion's medal. To sign up for the event, call 0592-5032129.

Replicas of marathon sculptures to go to Lausanne
马拉松雕塑复制品将赴洛桑
At the invitation of the International Olympic Committee Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, the eight marathon sculptures sitting on Xiamen's Island Ring Road will be reproduced and the replicas shipped to Lausanne for permanent display on the square in front of the IOC Headquarters.

AIDS sufferers treated locally
艾滋病人可在本市就医
All of the three AIDS sufferers diagnosed since the end of last year are now receiving medical treatment at No. 1 Hospital. Previously, AIDS sufferers had to travel to Fuzhou and Guangzhou for treatment. Anyone who suspects that he/she has contracted AIDS may go to the city's disease control center for a free anonymous checkup.

Surgeons urged to think twice before raising scalpel
外科医生不能随便动刀
The local health authority is currently drawing up regulations for classifying operations in order to stop surgeons from exceeding their authority/grade by performing unjustified operations.

Reservations for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner heating up
年夜饭开始火爆预订
Although the Chinese New Year is still two and a half months away and most catering establishments have yet to produce the menus, almost half of the seats in hotels and restaurants for year end feasts and Chinese New Year's Eve dinners have already been reserved.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Two wheeled trouble
电动摩托和踏板车将被禁
Expat motorcycle and scooter riders enjoy weaving in and out of traffic jams, but many of them are unaware that they are driving illegally. The main reasons electric scooters are to be banned are safety and battery pollution. People can drive electric scooters with no training, and judging by the way some people ride bicycles it is surely a recipe for disaster. Many motorcycles and scooters do not meet the required Europe III emission standards.

Residents work 53 minutes overtime per day
每日人均加班53分钟
According to a recent survey, Beijing residents now work nine hours and 50 minutes in an average working day. This figure includes one hour and five minutes of commuting, seven hours and 52 minutes at work and 53 minutes of overtime. People aged from 31 to 35 have the longest working hours, with 67.4 minutes of overtime on average.

Diesel bus clean up
净化柴油公交车
Beijing has launched a clean-up project by modifying diesel buses. The move aims to reduce particle emissions belched from diesel engines by 90 percent. A filter and diesel oxidation catalyst will be fitted to the vehicles, which will be run on low sulphur diesel. Currently about 120,000 diesel-fueled vehicles are on the road in Beijing. Only 24 percent of them conform to the Euro II exhaust emissions standard.

Bilingual signs to be standardized
规范双语标牌
Erratic bilingual signs, including such gems as "Don't Fall Down" and "Being Urgent Call 110 Quickly", will be corrected as the government steps up efforts to avoid errors and improve consistency. New standards will be issued for bilingual signs used on the transport network and at tourist and cultural sites. The effort to improve standards reflects Beijing's determination to use the 2008 Olympics to burnish its reputation as a modern, cosmopolitan city.

Shanghai 上海

Half of safes are unsafe
过半保险箱不保险
More than half of the safes on sale can be broken into in less than fifteen minutes using basic tools. Only 18.8% of Chinese made safes built in other provinces, which take 90% of the market, met quality standards. The major defects included large gaps between the door and the frame of the safe, thin steel plates and poor quality locks.

Historic sites to be renovated
历史旧址将翻修
The Shanghai government will renovate 30 historic buildings and lanes over the next two years, as the first step in conserving all of the city's more than 600 heritage houses. This is the first time the government has financially supported such an extensive renovation of historic houses.

Trial alcohol ban
商场试行向未成年人禁售酒类
A group of supermarkets and malls will begin a trial ban on alcohol sales to minors before a full ban is implemented next year. Supermarket chain Metro and local convenience stores All-Days and Kedi are among the selected group of stores that will allow alcohol sales only to persons aged 18 years and over. Stores that sell alcohol to minors will be fined up to two thousand yuan.

Guangzhou 广州

Names wanted for Beluga Whales
为欧洲白鲸征名
Guangzhou Ocean World is seeking names from the public for its two Beluga Whales. The whales, originally from Russia, are worth 3 million RMB. The goal of the campaign is to develop creative and attractive names that express the character of the Belugas. Each name submitted should only be 2 or 3 Chinese characters long.



Cartoon exhibition for fire safety education
卡通展宣传防火
The first cartoon fire safety exhibition in Guangzhou library aims to educate the public about fire safety. Many visitors have already said that this fire safety display is more effective than traditional notices, and it is also very popular among children. With the excellent response from the public, the exhibition is expected to be developed into a regular feature.

First multi-functional mobile clinic
首个多功能流动诊所运行
Guangzhou's first multi-functional mobile clinic was put into operation at the First Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College this month. The mobile clinic is designed to provide a complete set of routine health checks, such as x-ray examinations, cardiograms, ultrasound examinations and gynecological examinations, all in around one hour. It is also equipped with delivery room facilities for emergency purposes.

Chongqing 重庆

Immunization signs for bird flu appear
禽流感免疫有标识
The first batch of immunization signs for bird flu have been officially published. One kind is a green foot-ring for live birds, and another kind is a stick-on label for poultry products. Residents who are buying poultry are reminded to check for the signs, which has been enforced in the city from November 20 and will be inforced in the outlying counties from December 1.



Ten symbols of Chongqing announced
十大"城市名片"出炉
The list for ten "symbols" of Chongqing has been announced. They are: beautiful women; hotpot; Jiefangbei; Hongyan; a local phrase, "Xiongqi"; the Three Gorges; local hero Zourong; Bridge City; Fishing City; and Hot Spring City.

Jiefangbei to be China's third biggest CBDs
解放碑成全国第三大商务中心区
The total sales recorded in the Jiefangbei Central Business District (CBD) will top 20 billion yuan by the middle of December this year, making it the third biggest CBD in China.

Hong Kong 香港

91 new HIV cases recorded
91例患者呈HIV阳性
91 people in Hong Kong have tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) antibody in the third quarter of 2005. 28 out of the 91 acquired the infection through heterosexual contact, 36 via homosexual or bisexual contact, 4 through injecting drugs, 2 from cases of blood or blood product transfusion and there were 2 cases of prenatal transmission. 19 cases remain unconfirmed.

City ready for WTO Ministerial Conference
备演世贸组织部长级会议
The Hong Kong SAR government has completed a series of exercises to test responses to any incidents that may occur during next month's WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. This is the biggest joint exercise that the government has ever conducted. The exercise included simulation of a range of scenarios.

Taipei 台北

Citizens welcome charter flights in 2006
台胞盛赞两岸新春包机
Residents on the Chinese mainland have given a warm welcome to the decision made by the civil aviation associations on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to launch charter flights in 2006. The charter flights will run from January 20 to February 13. They will link Taipei and Kaoshiung in Taiwan with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

Bank unions protest merger plans
银联会抗议银行合并
A crowd of bank union members rallied in downtown Taipei threatening to go on strike in protest over the government's plan to merge state-run banks. Union members said they feared the government's policy of creating stronger banks by mergers and privatizations would cause job losses.

 

 

Interpreting Asia Interpreting Europe
"亚欧口译"教材正式发行
Photo by Yao Fan



The launch ceremony for new video training materials of "Interpreting Asia Interpreting Europe" project was held at Xiamen University on November 20th.
An international multi-lateral cooperation sponsored by the Asia Link Programme of the European Union, the project aims to facilitate cooperation among Asian and European countries by improving the levels of interpreters. Since early 2004, the University of Westminster, Dublin City University, Hanoi University of Foreign Studies and Xiamen University have been working together on personnel training and producing and publishing DVD training materials. Through taking an active part in the project, Xiamen University Accreditation Centre for Interpreters and Translators has gained recognition for its high levels of professionalism and competence for interpreter training.


Vocabulary
spam 垃圾邮件
replica 复制品
scalpel 手术刀
interpret 口译
facilitate 使容易
accreditation 认证
scooter 小摩托车
belch 喷出
cardiogram 心电图
catalyst 催化剂
gynecological 妇科的
sulphur 硫磺
immunization 免疫
erratic 奇怪的
heterosexual 异性恋的
burnish 增色
homosexual 同性恋的
prenatal 产前的