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- December, 1997
- November, 1997
- October, 1997
- September, 1997
- August, 1997
- July, 1997
- June, 1997
- May, 1997
- April, 1997
- March, 1997
- February, 1997
- January, 1997
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1997---April
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Community activities have
been frequently held in communities throughout the
city with performance art as its staple. Various
kinds of opera clubs are formed.
Shanghai was once the home
town of high-quality pianos. "Nierer" and "Strauss"
were the former brand leaders. But as competition
grows, Shanghai's famous brands have given way to
one called "Zhujiang" form Guangdong Province.
Aiding the poor has been
on the top agenda of the city's Helping-the- Poor
Foundation. It has decided to provide 1,500 poor
families with US$100,000 before the holiday.
A great variety of sales
promotional ploys can be found in Shanghai. Many
seem to be attractive as they promise "lucky numbers".
But many have been found to be tricks on the part
of salespeople.
The municipal education
commission recently reiterated its stand in the
collection of tuition charges and other forms of
payment in primary and middle schools. It urged
all the schools citywide to stop collecting unreasonable
fees such as "construction fee"(supposed to be used
in construction of school facilities).
World-famous companies'
investment in Shanghai has been well paid off. 50
Fortune 500 companies have launched about 100 projects
in the city with a total investment of $3.16 billion.
The State Planning Commission
and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange
jointly issued "The Provisional Regulations on Administration
of Project Financing Overseas" in Beijing last week.
Shanghai began the second
phase of the city's biggest sewage treatment project
last Friday to protect the upstream waters of the
Huangpu River from contamination.
Metallurgic equipment manufacturing
has become a second business at the Baoshan Iron
and Steel complex, a milestone for the giant steel
company which was built with imported equipment.
China's customs authorities
are holding an exhibition in the city to inform
the public about their battle against smuggling.
The 12-day show displays 700 pictures, 400 objects
including drugs and seized properties.
Phone lines have reached
more than 440,000 households in the city's suburbs.
At present, there are 36.6 telephones for every
100 rural families.
A Chinese culture contest
for foreign expatriates will be held later this
month. It aims to help foreigners have a better
understanding of Chinese history, culture and arts.
This year's April 18 is
the seventh anniversary of the opening of Pudong
New Area. In the past seven years, Pudong has been
the national leader in economic development. Its
GDP in 1996 reached US$6.2 billion, a nine-time
increase over the year 1990.
On April 16, the ninth meeting
of Pacific-Asian Travel Association was held in
Shanghai. About 200 representatives from the tourism
industry all over the world were present.
The fourth China Flower
Exhibition was held in Changfeng Park last weekend.
Everyday thousands of visitors visited the park.
During the exhibition, about one million pots of
flowers from various parts of the world were displayed.
To boost the tourism in
Shanghai, two organizations have been established
to administer the over-all development of the industry.
Some of the city's foreign-funded
ventures have violated China's Labor by not signing
contracts with employees and not paying into workers'
pension and housing funds, a local trade union official
said recently.
Re-employment agencies in
Shanghai have helped almost 890,000 laid-off workers
find new jobs, according to the Shanghai Bureau
of Labor.
More than 20,000 state-run
enterprises in Shanghai will be granted State property
right certificates by mid-year.
America's Ford Motor Co.
and Shanghai Jiaotong University announced the opening
of China's most advanced automotive computer technology
center which will house the world's latest computer
equipment for auto design, engineering, manufacturing
and product information management.
The Tibetan Hotel, funded
by the Tibet Autonomous Region Government, is under
construction. The 399-room hotel is located in Xujiahui.
Shanghai has got its sixth
information network which is provided by China Infohighway
Communications Co. The network now boasts of 15,000
registered users in six major cities across the
nation.
A recent survey reveals
that university graduates are favoring small companies
in their job-seeking. The survey also shows that
only 10 percent of students have found work, Others
are said to be seeking better opportunities.
Shanghai is expected to
build about 900,000 tons of ships this year, which
will be a 10-percent increase over last year.
The construction industry
has become a key industrial sector in Pudong New
Area. Last year, the industry achieved an added
value of US$409 million.
Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone
in northern Pudong New Area reported an industrial
output of US$95 million in the first quarter.
Education reform has been
carried out in the city's technical(or middle-level
professional) schools. Starting from this fall,
all the technical schools will charge newcomers.
The construction for one
of the would-be world's tallest buildings-- Shanghai
Jinmao Building, is underway. The main structure
has been raised to a height of 296.9 meters, which
makes it the tallest structure in Shanghai.
Peony has always been regarded
as the queen of all flowers. Now Shanghai's residents
are being provided with a chance to view blossoming
flowers vying for human attention. About ten thousand
peonies have been planted in Shanghai Botanical
Garden where a peony festival is going on.
The preparations for the
Eighth National Games are going on smoothly as the
municipality attaches great importance to it. On
March 8th, a preparatory meeting was held, which
was attended by Mr.Li Tieying, member of the Political
Bureau and Mr.Huang Ju, the party secretary.
Four projects in Shanghai
were listed as the country's prioritized projects
for this year. They are Shanghai Waigaoqiao Electricity
Plant, Shanghai Port, Project Phase 3 of Shanghai
Baoshan Steel Corp. and a bio-immune production
line.
The targeted export value
this year for the city's export industry, as the
vice-major Mr.Jiang Yiren said, should be around
US$14.5 billion.
The construction for Chongming
National Green Food Park has been started. As one
of strategic measures to fully develop the island,
the park will make good use of the suburban county's
environment and agricultural foundation.
As the so-called "black
taxis"(unlicensed taxis) are running freely on the
streets throughout the city, the traffic department
are called upon to crack down these licenseless
taxi drivers.
Shanghai's drive to promote
ethical and cultural progress will be shifted into
a higher gear in the run-up to the Eighth National
Games scheduled for October.
A front-page editorial accentuating
stock market stability, published on March 7 in
the influential China Securities, failed
to calm down the heady expansion of the last several
weeks.
Shanghai's state-run industry
must step up development in the second quarter to
fulfil its targets for the first half of the year.
The city government is trying to create a strong
management team to guide industry to faster growth.
Capital investment continues
its flow into Pudong New Area which has been considered
the growth engine of the nation. About US$24 billion
was absorbed between 1991 and 1995.
The city is witnessing a
sudden increase in the numbers of cybercafes (Internet
cafes). Haodu Plaza is said to be the most attractive
place for cyber-surfing.
To alleviate the bussing
problem, Shanghai Car Corp. will add more than one
thousand new buses and mini-buses to the city's
transportation industry.
Starting from April 1, there
will be more traffic police on the road. It is one
of the measures taken in the "Traffic Order Month".
It aims to punish all those licenseless drivers,
jaywalkers, etc.
On March 31, the Information
Office of the State Council released a white paper
titled "progress in China's Human Rights Cause in
1996" which outlines China's achievements in various
domains of its human right cause in the past year.
Over the past two years,
Shanghai has donated $15 million to 140 development
projects. Meanwhile, 49 officials were sent there.
Australian Prime Minister
John Howard's visit to Shanghai is expected to help
boost the trade between the city and Australia.
This week is animal rights'
week. Over the last weekend, "bird-loving" week
started. This annual event is aimed to promote the
protection of wild animals.
More trains are running
between Shanghai and the capitals of Zhejiang and
Jiangsu Provinces. Every 20 minutes there is a train
leaving for Hangzhou and Nanjing respectively.
Shanghai Customs last Friday
set up a subsidiary in Nanhui County, its last in
the suburbs, to speed up the county's growth in
export-oriented economy.
Clean water is expected
to flow in Suzhou Creek, the river that pulsates
with the city's vicissitudes. The clean-up campaign
started last week will help to rid the floating
garbage and timber. According to the blueprint of
the city, the creak is expected to be a scenic spot.
Residents in Pudong New
Area feel satisfied with their living conditions
in the east part of the city(once regarded as rural),
as a recent public opinion poll shows.
Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdie
met with Newt Gingrich, the house speaker of the
United States on March 30.
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