Chinese communication studies
世界华人传播学研讨会召开
Photo by Yao Fanw



A Joint Conference of Chinese Communication Studies was held on December 29 to 30 at Xiamen University. The subject of the conference was 'Chinese Communication Studies in the Global Context'. Around 70 scholars and experts from around the world attended. Pictured is Martha Watson, President of the National Communication Association, USA.

 

 

Economics

Hexiangxi shop rents soar
禾祥西路店租暴涨
Commercial rents on Hexiangxi Road have surged by 400% or more compared with the rates five years ago. Some shop owners hard hit by the rent increases are putting up signs announcing closure.

Buynow begins construction
百脑汇破土动工
Construction of the Xiamen Buynow Science and Technology Building opposite the Electronic City complex has begun, with completion expected in late 2007. The new building, built by Taiwan's Blue Sky Group at a cost of more than 30 million USD, is intended to be a digital center integrating office, R&D, exhibition, sales and commercial spaces.

Spring Airlines to team up with Air Asia
春秋航空拟与亚航联手
Air Asia and Spring Airlines, the two carriers which opened the Xiamen-Bangkok and Xiamen-Shanghai budget routes respectively this year, are going to team up. The two carriers are currently in talks about cooperation in opening domestic budget routes transiting through Xiamen to Southeast Asia. Flights will begin early this year.

 

 

Society

60% of estates to be equipped with "electronic eyes"
六成社区将装上"电子眼"
Local authorities aim to build sophisticated surveillance systems into at least 60% of residential estates next year. Under new requirements published by the Municipal Government, plans for new residential estates must include surveillance systems. Plans and installation of the safety equipment will be subject to inspection.

Zhongshan Road evening pedestrianization
中山路夜间步行街将开放
Phase I of the plan for evening pedestrianization of Zhongshan Road will officially begin before Spring Festival. A tentative date of January 24 has been put forward for the first evening closure to road traffic. Under the plan, a 650m section of Zhongshan Road extending from the ferry terminal to the South Siming Road intersection will be open to pedestrians only from 6pm to 10pm every day.

Playing cards to boost rights awareness
维权扑克赠送外来工
Local authorities plan to distribute 50,000 free sets of playing cards printed with information about housing, medical and social rights to migrant workers. It is hoped that the cards will give them the legal knowledge to protect their own rights and interests while they are travelling or enjoying their time off over the Spring Festival holidays.

Xiamen to build world's highest Ferris wheel
厦要建世界最高摩天轮
Xiamen plans to build the world's tallest Ferris wheel at Hulishan Fort. The 138m structure will just top the current record holder, the 137m London Eye.

Doctors to receive professional insurance
给医生上执业保险
Local authorities are currently requesting proposals from major domestic insurers for the provision of professional insurance for doctors. With such insurance, individual doctors would not be held liable for compensation in the event of a medical accident, and patients would make claims directly to the insurance carrier.

Waste recovery to be centralized
拟建废品收购集中区
For a long time, areas around a waste recovery station have been insanitary dead spaces. To solve this problem, local authorities are contemplating centralizing the city's waste recovery industry by building a single waste recovery center.

Half of local entrepreneurs suffer from health problems
厦门企业家近半高血脂
Since the official launch of the Xiamen Entrepreneurs' Health Initiative in March last year, nearly 100 local entrepreneurs have received physical checkups. The results show that their health is in a less than optimal state, with 47.9% suffering from high levels of fat in the blood and 28.2% from hypertension.

 

 

Education

School buses to go yellow
校车穿上"黄衣服"
Xiamen's education, safety, traffic police and traffic administration departments have recently issued a joint set of regulations covering school buses. Under the new rules, all buses operated by schools for transporting students to and from school must be painted yellow, must indicate the school name on the body, and must have "School Bus" signs on the front and rear windshields.

New student aid measures
街道助学新举措
Following the launch of the "Loving Care Supermarket", the Jialian Sub-district Office of Siming District has announced a student aid program which will provide continuous financial aid to students from primary school to university graduation. Eight students from low-income families have already received a total of RMB 10,000 in aid.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Energy efficiency
树立高效节能典范
Ten departments in the Beijing municipal government have promised to cut energy consumption in their office buildings by 20% this year. Energy management consultants will give advice on the installation of energy efficient lighting, ventilation, air-conditioning and heating systems. They will particularly focus on saving electricity. Other public buildings, including hotels, shopping malls and office buildings, will also be required to take measures to reduce energy consumption.

Veggie prices up
蔬菜价格上涨
Residents paid 74.1% more for 40 out of 54 varieties of vegetables in 2005. The price hikes were partly due to a reduction in the area of land given over to growing vegetables, and partly due to low yields in typhoon-ravaged regions. Two cold snaps in early and mid December, and frequent typhoons in summer and fall, contributed significantly to the decline in the production of vegetables such as eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes. Price rises on the international market also led to increases in exports of garlic, which contributed to the high price level at home.

Bikes have a place on the road
提倡自行车代步
The construction of a well-developed road network for pedestrians and cyclists is a necessary part of a city's transport policy, especially in a densely populated city like Beijing. However, it has become increasingly difficult to ride a bicycle on the roads, and many bicycle lanes in the capital have now been replaced by passages for larger vehicles or car parks. Supporting and encouraging cyclists and minimizing the use of private cars have now become part of the city's scheme to upgrade the public transport network.

Shanghai 上海

Healthy city plan revealed
公布健康城市规划
As part of a five-year (2006-2010) plan to create a healthy city, Shanghai will highlight healthy neighborhoods and healthy enterprises, and pick volunteers and healthy families to spread awareness of healthy lifestyles. Residents aged 35 and above are being encouraged to have their blood pressure checked at least once a year, and employers are being persuaded to organize 10 hours of exercise per month for their employees.

China's 1st LNG ship launched
国内首艘液化燃气轮下水
China's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has sailed out of its shipyard in Shanghai, heralding a new era for China's shipbuilding industry. LNG carriers are regarded as a high-tech product with high added value in the shipbuilding industry. Before now, they had only been built in Japan, South Korea and several European countries.

8 lane Shanghai-Nanjing expressway open
沪宁快线拓宽后元旦通车
The expressway linking Shanghai and Nanjing was opened on New Year's Day. With an extended length of 248 km, the eight-lane expressway is expected to help ease traffic jams between Shanghai and Nanjing. With a speed limit of 120 km per hour, the drive from Nanjing to Shanghai will take just two hours.

Guangzhou 广州

Water prices up
水价将升
Water rates for city residents will be raised from 0.9 yuan (US$0.1) per cubic meter to 1.32 yuan per cubic meter. For a household that uses no more than 22 cubic meters each month, the rate will be 1.32 yuan per cubic meter; use of 22-30 cubic meters will be charged at 1.98 yuan/m3; and for more than 30 cubic meters, the rate will be 2.64 yuan. The new policy will help save water and increase citizens' awareness of water shortages.

Kungfu vs. karate
武术对擂空手道
Ten competitors, including one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's bodyguards, have arrived in Guangzhou to attend a Chinese kungfu vs. karate competition. Spectators will have a chance to judge whether Chinese kungfu can overcome karate, a martial art from Japan.

Fastest metro starts service
世界最高速地铁运营
The world's fastest underground train zipped through Guangzhou for the first time last week. It is hoped that the service will begin to tackle the city's serious traffic problems. The train, running at speeds of up to 135 kilometers an hour, can carry up to 675 passengers, and will be able to operate for more than 30 years.

Royalties levied on karaoke singers
唱卡拉OK将收歌曲版税
People who sing in karaoke bars may have to count the number of songs they belt out, as local authorities are considering a one yuan (0.13 US dollars) royalty fee for each number performed. The move, designed to settle long-standing intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes over the use of songs in karaoke bars, is expected to bring several billion yuan to the city's music industry annually.

Chongqing 重庆

New runway and passenger hall
机场将建新跑道和侯机厅
Chongqing Airport plans to build its second runway and third passenger hall during the "11th Five-Year-Plan" period(2004-2009). There will be 130,000 flights landing and taking-off from Chongqing Airport every year by 2010, making the airport one of the 10 busiest in China.

Pork smokers fined
公园内熏肉被罚款
Spring Festival is drawing near, and one Chongqing tradition is to eat smoked pork during the holiday. However, two citizens who attempted to smoke 8 large barrels of pork over ten days in a park in Yuzhong District have been fined. Heavy smoke from their barrels seriously polluted the surrounding environment, and neighbors registered several complaints.

First alcohol-fuelled vehicle
首辆使用酒精燃料小巴亮相
The first vehicle to burn alcohol instead of petrol has gone on the streets in Chongqing. The engine of a minibus was converted to run on alcohol, which is thought to be better for the environment.



Hong Kong 香港

Welcomed New Year with carnivals
狂欢迎新年
Thousands of tourists counted down to 2006 at Hong Kong's newest hot spot Disneyland for ringing in the New Year. Disneyland was in an aura of jubilation. In front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, visitors swung to the enchanting tunes of Tony Carpio and his big band. In Fantasyland, guests danced to the music of reggae, R&B and soul. On Main Street USA, the air was filled with the spicy scent of succulent Nuremberg sausages and lamp satays. Besides Disneyland, Times Square, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin Park and Lan Kwai Fong were the traditional rendezvous of the New Year' s eve carnivals.

Salt tide may affect HK, Macao
盐潮可能影响港澳
Fresh water supplies to Hong Kong and Macao could be affected if the present severe salt tide in Guangdong continues to flow. The tidal phenomenon, caused by drought, is at its worst for several years. Salt water levels in some rivers in Guangdong were 12 times higher than requirements for drinking water.

US beef imports resumed
恢复美国牛肉进口
HK will resume processing applications for beef imports from the United States with immediate effect. The import of beef from the United States has been temporarily suspended since December 24, 2003 after the detection of a case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, mad cow disease) in Washington State on December 23. Every consignment of beef will need prior written permission from the department of Health & Safety and will have to be accompanied by a health certificate.

Taipei 台北

Problems in higher education
量多质低高教声誉下降
In recent years, Taiwanese experts believe higher education on the island has seen a steady decline, which is one of the reasons for the current economic slowdown. One of the problems has been the unbelievably rapid increase in the number of universities. This increase has brought about erosion of their reputation as places for development of high moral standards. The government has been advised to formulate a clear concept of what education means and to set more ambitious goals than those that are being pursued at present.

Credit-cards under pressure
信用卡发放面临危机
Taiwan's credit-card market is expected to undergo unprecedented consolidation in 2006. Banks are likely to readjust their strategies to correct the excessive issuing of cards over the past few years. Taiwan has over 45 million credit cards in circulation among 8 million adults, which is far too many, experts say.


Vocabulary
surveillance 监视
contemplate 打算
optimal 适宜的
entrepreneurs 企业家
pedestrian 行人
cold snap 突冷
karate 空手道
BSE 牛绵状脑病
belt out 拉开嗓门唱
royalty 版税
consignment 寄售
consolidation 合并