Today's Shanghai | News(1998)

1998---February

Shanghai Spring Talent Exchange Fair '98 will be held on February 27 at Shanghai Exhibition Center. 800 or so companies will attend the fair.

University students in Shanghai will no longer have any problem in making calls at school. East China Normal University is the first university that has installed one telephone for each dormitory. And other universities such as Fudan University are also installing telephones in student dormitories.

Pudong New Area has announced 8 new preferential measures in order to attract more foreign investors.

Shanghai now has a mobile population (a term used to refer to non-local job-seekers, usually from countryside) of 2.5 million. The schooling of the kids of peasant workers is becoming a thorny problem.

Pudong New Area so far has attracted 5,000 foreign-funded enterprises. Among them, there are 381 projects whose investment exceeds more than US$10 million.

The city's new government will devote itself to further opening Shanghai up to the world and pushing forward the city's modernization drive, Mayor Xu Kuangdi told the 11th Shanghai People's Congress.

Shanghai will become an international shipping center around the year 2005 by building a deeper waterway at the estuary of the Yangtze River and more deep-water berths.

Shanghai has attracted some 42,000 college graduates from other provinces over the past five years. The number of non-Shanghai graduates found jobs in Shanghai has increased by 15% every year. Almost 25% of them hold a doctor's or master's degree.

Shanghai has developed a three-year plan to improve the environment by reducing noise and air pollution, cleaning rivers and creeks and reducing untreated sewage.

Shanghai Foreign Service, the top headhunting firm for foreign companies in Shanghai, has so far recommended 15,000 white-collar workers to foreign companies.

Commemorative activities on the 100th anniversary of the late Premier Zhou Enlai's birth have been going on through a great variety of means. Premier Zhou Enlai in Shanghai, a TV series, was premiered in Beijing; local citizens kept long queues to buy books on him.

Xu Kuangdi has been re-elected as mayor of Shanghai during the Shanghai's 11th People's Congress. The newly elected seven vice-mayors are Chen Liangyu, Jiang Yiren, Zuo Huanchen, Feng Guoqin, Zhou Yupeng, Zhou Murao and Han Zheng.

Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi met with visiting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the evening of February 18.

February 19, 1998 is the anniversary of the death of Comrade Deng Xiaoping who passed away last year. People throughout the country commemorated the great leader in a great variety of ways.

Milestone, the documentary film dedicated to the late Comrade Deng Xiaoping, was premiered on CCTV on February 19.

The city's efforts in fighting against corruption is gaining momentum. Public prosecutors are getting tough with officials who take bribes or solicit gifts. Last year the city discovered 1,040 cases of bribery, graft and dereliction of duty last year.

Shanghai Dazhong Co., Ltd., recently announced its plan to reduce the prices for spare parts for Santana, the flagship car in the industry.

In an effort to reduce air pollution from wasted gases from vehicles, the city formed a team to enforce the adoption of non-leaded gasoline for vehicles of all kinds.

According to market researchers, air-conditioners, video CD players, camcorder and home-care equipment will be the hottest-selling items.

Shanghai exported US$2.25 billion worth of high-tech products last year, up 23.6% from the previous year.

Shanghai invested over US$24 billion in fixed assets in 1997, an increase of 2.6% from 1996.

The reform of state-owned enterprises is moving full steam ahead in Shanghai. One focus of the reform is to reduce the numbers of failed companies. Last year there were 27 debt-ridden enterprises that declared bankruptcy.

Shanghai's 11th People's Congress begins meeting on February 12 to finalize a five-year plan for the city's economic and social development.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation expects China's imports and exports to reach US$345 billion in 1998.

About 220,000 laid-off workers found jobs through Shanghai's seven re-careering centers in the past year. So far more than 1 million people have been laid off from the city's state- owned enterprises as a result of the reform.

The gross domestic product of the city's suburbs is set to grow by 15 percent this year, down 3.8 percent from last year.

Shanghai's medical industry, one of the city's emerging pillar industries, saw major developments in 1997. It had an output of US$1.3 billion.

Over the past five years, Shanghai has invested US$13.8 billion in urban projects such as bridges, highways and the subway.

The city's postal and telecommunications industry is expected to reach a turnover worth US$1.6 billion this year, up 30 percent over 1997.

Shanghai continued to maintain its rapid economic growth in 1997 when consumer prices fell remarkably, according to a report released by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau earlier this month.

Caohejing Hi-tech Park, the local silicon valley, sees rapid growth in its three pillar industries, namely information technology, new materials and bio-medicine.

The air quality in Shanghai deteriorated in 1997 because of the increased use of coal, while the water quality basically remained stable.

More than 1,200 consulting agencies in Shanghai have emerged to help the city's senior citizens.

During the city's ongoing 11th People's Congress, Mayor Xu Kuangdi stated in the government's annual report that the growth rate for this year's GDP is 10%.

Shanghai's flower sales have reached one-third of the total sales in the country. Every year about 0.3 billion bouquets are sold. Throughout the city there are 4 large-scale flower markets, 1,100 flower shops and more than 2000 mobile flower stands.

Shanghai's publishers are planning to publish more than 10,000 kinds of books in the new year. A hot theme among publishers is Shanghai's latest development and the challenges it faces in the millennium.

Abnormally hot weather hit Shanghai. The maximum temperature on February 12 reached 25.1 degrees centigrade, up 5.6 degrees from the previous day. This might persist for a few days.

Reform of state-owned enterprises is among the key issues for Shanghai's 11th People's Congress which convened on February 12.

Despite the financial crisis in some Asian countries, Shanghai's exports increased 11% last year.

The Shanghai Medical Genetics Institute and Fudan University have developed a new method to grow transgenic goats whose milk contains Human Factor IX, which is used to treat hemophilia B.

Shanghai will push forward the anti-corruption campaign this year with several new measures, including not to buy mobile phones for leading officials.

Last week, the country's first environmentally-correct moped that uses liquefied-petroleum-gas was manufactured in Shanghai by the Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute.

The city is producing 10,000 bronze mirrors to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late premier Zhou Enlai on March 5.

Golden Star, the famous local brand for color TV, became a cash cow last year. The total sales reached 800,000 sets and its market share has amounted to 22% by the end of last year.

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