Hi－tech exchange
台交会展位数突破1600个
Photo by Liang Wei

The 10th China Xiamen Machinery && Electronics Exhibition (CXMEE) opened in Xiamen on April 8, attracted Taiwanese businesses to use 260 of the record 1,612 booths. The Exhibition was part of a series of activities aimed at promoting economic integration across the Straits. Left, a technician demonstrates advanced industrial tools for customers at the exhibition.

 

 

Economics

Xiamen chips in to IC industry
IC产业新增厦门“芯”
The Fujian (Xiamen) Integrated Circuit Design Industry Center has opened in Phase II of the Software Park. Xiamen, with its geographic proximity to Taiwan and easy access to the wealth of expertise in Taiwan’s IC design industry, is set to become China’s leading IC design center, producing computer processing units and IC chips.

RMB 30m loans for small companies
中小企业最高可贷3000万
Due to the strength of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Xiamen, the China Development Bank has made Xiamen the first city in Fujian Province to roll out its new SME credit program. Credit will be available to companies whose operating policies meet the bank's requirements. Funds set aside this year to meet demand from Xiamen SMEs total RMB 60-100m.

First Taiwanese fruit market
福州首家台湾水果交易中心开业
On April 7, the first exchange for Taiwanese fruit opened in the Fuzhou Fruit Wholesale Market, increasing the supply of Taiwanese fruit for Fujian residents. The exchange will import at least 100 tons of fruit per month, four times the amount available a year ago when Taiwanese fruit was first imported to the mainland.

 

 

Society

Writing to Mom and Dad
写信给父母
The Xiamen qualifying competition for the Young People's Letter Writing Contest has started. The contest, with the theme of “Mom and Dad, I want to tell you”, aims to promote communication between young people and their parents and to give children more of a voice in society. All students at the city’s primary schools and junior middle schools may sign up for the contest.

Mawei wins living environment award
马尾船政历史文化遗产获奖
The 2005 list of China Human Settlement and Environment Awards was published on April 6 by the National Construction Ministry. Winner of the national urban environment award was Weihai City in Shandong. In recognition of the project to preserve its ship-building heritage, Mawei, in Fuzhou, won one of 34 awards handed out to "model districts".

Electric thief sentenced to 10 years
窃电者被判入狱十年
Following 18 months of investigation and evidence collection, Chen Caipei, the owner of Nan’an Shuangling Stone Factory, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after being convicted of theft of electricity worth over RMB 90,000. The sentence is a warning to other potential electricity thieves who refuse to believe that stealing electricity is a criminal offense.

Migrant workers to receive unemployment insurance
农民工可参加失业保险
From September 1 on, migrant workers in Fujian Province will be able to opt to take out unemployment insurance on the same terms as unemployed urban residents, with the employer contributing 2% and employee 1% for the insurance.

 

 

Education

Awards for Outstanding Diplomacy
厦大两学子获“杰出外交奖”
At the 15th Harvard World Model United Nations Conference Contest, He Fang and Tang Jie, representing Xiamen University’s School of Management, received Awards for Outstanding Diplomacy, the most coveted prizes of the contest. Five students from Chinese institutions received the awards, with Xiamen University students capturing more awards than entrants from any other Asian institution.

Xiamen University listed in Forbes
厦大管理学院入选《福布斯》
The School of Management, Xiamen University, has been listed in the 2006 List of China’s Most Valuable Business Schools, published by the Chinese edition of Forbes, the business magazine. The school was ranked 8th for full-time MBA study and 11th for the part-time course. Rankings were based on return on investment.

Fuzhou University through to programming finals
福大参加国际大学生程序设计竞赛
A delegation from Fuzhou University has come through the Asia regional qualifying round for the ACM (the Association of Computer Machinery) International Collegiate Programming Contest. They took part in the world final on April 9 in the US. This was the first time that a Fujian higher-education institution had qualified for the world finals.

 

 

Big numbers

USD 430m of investments
厦门三月利用外资4.3亿美元
Xiamen attracted a total of USD 430 million in foreign investment in March, the highest monthly total since China initiated the reform and opening-up policy over 20 years ago. Xiamen’s continuing advantages in attracting Taiwanese investment are becoming increasingly apparent, with seven Taiwanese projects each garnering an investment of USD 10m or more.

RMB 12.6m for lobby
1260万福联大饭店大堂易主
The lobby on the ground floor of the United Hotel has been auctioned off to a private bidder, who paid a price of RMB 12.6 million, a rate of about RMB 5,300 per square meter.

RMB 1m prizes
百万重奖游戏玩家
From April 20, online game players everywhere will be able to log onto the www.ourgame.com to compete in the Wuyishan Online Championships. Wuyishan City, one of China’s most popular tourist destinations, will provide RMB 1.19m in prize money for the Championships in a bid to raise the profile of the city.

 

Vocabulary
coveted 令人垂涎的[ling(4),ren(2),chui(2),yan(2),de(0)]
opt 选择 [xuan(3),zhe(2)]
convict 宣告有罪 [xuan(1),bu(4),you(1),zui(4)]
settlement 居住地[ju(1),zhu(4),di(4)]
booth 展位[zhan(3),wei(4)]