Today's Shanghai | News(1999)

January

Pudong Airport is expected to invite the presidents of the world's top 500 companies who will attend an international conference held in Pudong later this year.

Authentic VCDs (video CDs) for the Oscar-winning Titanic were issued early this week to satisfy the needs of millions of Titanic fans in China.

The municipality's policy towards the control of firecrackers during the Spring Festival remains unchanged, according to sources from the Public Security Bureau. That is, firecrackers could be set off between February 15 to 20 from 19:00 pm and 1:00 am outside the designated banned areas.

In the city's first drug trial involving "ice", two people received death penalty, one got death reprieve and one got life sentence, according to court sources.

Shanghai uncovered approximately 400 cases of smuggled goods worth more than US$96.4 million last year, according to recently-released statistic.

The British Education Exhibition '99 Shanghai was held over the past weekend at Shanghai Library. Eighty-eight British education institutions landed there to lure Chinese students.

More than 500,000 poor financially challenged residents in Shanghai are now receiving regular aid thanks to the creation of an "aiding-the-poor" system.

For the first time the number of applicants wanting to pursue post-graduate studies at Shanghai-based institutes and universities exceeds 30,000.

Export of machinery and electric products passing through Shanghai Customs reached US$6.1 billion last year, up 19.6% over 1997, according to the latest statistics.

A survey reported that 75% of deaths in Shanghai were caused by chronic diseases, such as cerebral-cardiovascular disease, malignant tumors and respiratory system diseases.

To establish a financial security zone that will cover Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces will be on the top of this year's agenda for People's Bank of China Shanghai Branch, said a senior official.

There will be 45,348 graduates from Shanghai's technical institutes, colleges and universities this year, among them 5,668 are post-graduates.

The city has 31,271 candidates registered to take the postgraduate examination this year, an increase of 3,479 over last year. The examinations are scheduled at the end of this month.

Shanghai plans to build the Longhua Airport into a helicopter airport for tourists, emergencies and disaster relief.

The city's biggest police operation at the district level this year rounded up 64 detainees suspected of criminal acts by January 21.

Shanghai pledges to remove corrupt factory managers as a way to make State-owned enterprises economically viable, Mayor Xu Kuangdi said on January 21.

The Second Plenary Session of the city's 11th People's Congress is scheduled to open on February 2 to discuss this year goals in economic development.

Shanghai has founded the nation's first tropical cyclone laboratory, said an official with Shanghai Municipal Meteorological Scientific Research Bureau.

General Electric International Inc. signed a contract in Shanghai on January 18 to build the central monitoring control system for the second phase of Shanghai sewage project.

Some 200,000 pirated compact discs (CDs) and various audio-video products that had been confiscated last year were destroyed in Putuo District last Sunday.

The city opened China's largest supermarket last Sunday to meet growing consumer needs. Located on Jinshajiang Road, the supermarket is run by the Supermarket General Corporation under the Shanghai Farms Bureau.

As the year 2000 approaches, the city's campaign against the millennium bug, nicknamed Y2K, continues in its second phase. Shanghai Year-2000 Working Committee was formed to address the problem.

Information on Shanghai's public administration can be browsed online at http://www.spis.sh.cn. About 24 governmental departments, such as police, court, commodity pricing, industrial and commercial administration, are included in the network.

Medical experts have warned that Shanghai, the largest city in the country, could witness rapid growth in the spread of AIDS if public awareness of preventive measures is not given priority.

Criminal cases involving women are increasing at a rate of 2 to 3% annually. According to a district court, a marked characteristic about women criminals is that they are young and poorly educated.

An arctic jet stream will continue to blast Shanghai during the weekend. As a result, the temperature will drop to 2 or 3 degrees below zero Centigrade. However, snow is not expected yet.

Municipal officials want to regulate the city's burgeoning sex shop industry. Shanghai Family Planning Products Administration wants to take control of such shops that sell sex-related products.

Fire inspections of 600 places uncovered 776 fire hazards. Officials issued 429 violations of fire codes and cited 22 people for providing inadequate fire-prevention measures.

Shanghai completed the second phase of the carbon black project on January 14 as a final effort aimed at stimulating the production of tires.

About 10,000 boxes of smuggled wine, brandy and whiskey were seized by customs officers early this week. The case turned out to be the biggest liquor-smuggling case ever in the 50-year history of the People's Republic of China.

The local economy is expected to grow by 9% this year, two percentage points higher than the nation's planned growth rate.

Shanghai Jiaotong University began construction on a science and technology building over the weekend as part of its plan to build China's "silicon alley" in Xujiahui.

Contractual foreign investment in Shanghai reached US$701.3 million last year, a 9.92% increase over 1997, despite the unfavorable global investment environment.

Shanghai needs to control use of land while restructuring the development zones and expanding industries, local officials said.

Renji Hospital is conducting clinical tests on Viagra--an impotence drug from the American drug-manufacturer Pfier--as part of research that could lead to government approval of the drug in China.

The city will enroll more students to study at senior high schools this year thanks to the construction of eight new boarding schools.

Shanghai was among the 54 cities named "the outstanding tourism city in China". Shanghai, on the top of the list, claims an advanced transportation network, clean air and a high percentage of green space.

A college student who was illegally searched at Watson's after being suspected of shoplifting will get US$1,205 in mental compensation. This is the first such case in China.

A man who had allegedly caused the deaths of at least 146 people while serving as their doctors has recently been arrested after being found out in Shanghai.

Taihu Lake is expected to become clearer by 2000 thanks to a campaign launched by the State to stop pollution discharge. It is joined by Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province and Shanghai.

Taxis from seven largest taxi companies in Shanghai have been decorated with exclusive colors and top lights recently as part of the city's move to improve the image of the taxi sector.

Local doctors warn residents against epidemic diseases such as live diseases and flu that are commonplace during warm winters in Shanghai.

A local dentist has developed a new treatment of straightening teeth without braces. The new procedure, which is especially effective on hard-to-straighten teeth of middle-aged people, has been nominated as a candidate for an international prize.

The city's revenue reached US$9.8 billion last year, an 11% increase over 1997. The growth rate exceeded the city's target rate of 10% in terms of GDP.

A series of charity activities have been carried out in Shanghai to raise money to help local low-income families during the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Heavy fog on Monday resulted in the cancellation of dozens of flights leaving Shanghai and temporarily closed the newly-opened Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway.

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