Today's Shanghai | News(2000)

June

Passenger transportation by the Shanghai Railway Bureau is expected to increase by 7% to more than 26 million on a year-on-year basis during the summer vacation which starts on July 1.

As in previous years, teachers and university students will enjoy price cuts when they choose to travel by air in the summer. Teachers are entitled to a price reduction of 25%, and students 40%.

The city's relative sea level is predicted to rise by 50 to 70 centimeters by the year 2050, which is most crucial to local development.

While experts agree university students who go into business can reap enormous benefits from the hands-on experience, they warn these students against neglecting their studies.

The city's 151 State-owned book stores have made a public pledge to fight against pirated books, audio-video and electronic publications.

Senior researchers have called into question the authenticity of a recent report which claimed the divorce rate among laid-off women workers in the city is rising.

Local doctors hope regular dental cleaning, increasingly popular in Shanghai, will help improve people's teeth.

Despite the tremendous popularity of mobile phones in China, the world's second largest market for cell phones, many users bemoan the high charges they incur through the two-way billing system.

A man was recently arrested for organizing obscene dance performances to attract customers to a club, according to Jinshan District Procuratorate.

Local tea drinkers are warned to be careful about what they drink because some teas have been found to contain excessive levels of lead and pesticide.

More female and juvenile addicts were found among the increasing number of drug-consumers, according to the result of a survey conducted recently by the city of 300 registered drug addicts.

The near-video-on-demand service from Shanghai Cable Television was formally launched last week by Shanghai Cable TV Station and Shanghai Cable Network Company Limited. It enables subscribers to read Eastday.com's news and watch a movie on TV.

About 13 shows, including the opera Othello presented by the British Royal Opera and the dance version of Carmen by the Spanish National Dance Troupe, have been selected for the second Shanghai International Festival of Arts.

Residents of Puxi (the west side of the Shanghai) will have natural gas for cooking and hot water by the end of this year, according to Shanghai Gas Business (Group) Co., Ltd.

Red tide, which has engulfed coastal areas around Taizhou Bay in East China's Zhejiang Province since early May, is now receding.

Drug cases solved in Shanghai this year showed a 40% gain compared with last year. The higher rate of solution is proportionate with a growth in the incidence of drug crimes.

Traffic volume on ferries across the Huangpu River has been decreasing, according to the general manager of Shanghai Ferry Service Co., Ltd. in a recent interview.

Preparations for the 11th Shanghai Tourism Festival to be held from October 14 through to November 12 are well under way, according to the festival's first plenary meeting.

The British Consulate General in Shanghai officially opened new offices for its Cultural and Education Section on the first floor of Pidemco on Fuzhou Road on Friday.

Chinese professionals now can take exams of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examinations Board for marketing, accounting and secretary's diplomas. These diplomas are widely recognized in Britain and many parts of the world.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Shanghai Branch, will provide up to three years of mortgage loans for people who wish to start Kodak Express outlets.

Contracts were signed by the China Development Bank, one of the major State policy banks in China, and local Shanghai Suzhouhe Cinstruction Co., to provide US$60 million in loans for the restoration of the Suzhou River.

Shanghai's aging population--the city now has 2.3 million people older than 60--is putting tremendous strain on the city's top hospitals.

Local radio station Joy FM (103.7 FM) has adopted a new format for its English language talk and music June 1.

With the Metro Line 2 going into full operation on Sunday, residents can now travel between Puxi and Pudong in only 29 minutes rather than the one hour the journey used to take by bus.

A man and a young woman died following an explosion in an apparent double suicide on Saturday evening in Fengxian County, according to Fengxian Police.

Minimum monthly salaries for foreign cultural and education experts would be raised by 85% from March this year, China News Service reportedly recently.

The Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission is calling for party members and officials at all levels to see a film, entitled "The Choice Between Life and Death", to aid the anti-corruption campaign.

Between January and April, Shanghai dealt with foreign trade worth US$2.76 billion with the Europe Union, up 62.5% over the same period last year, according to the Customs statistics released recently.

Fierce competition has made tourism in Shanghai a low-profit industry compared to the lucrative trade it was a few years ago.

A fishing boat on the Yellow Sea which contained 55 people hoping to illegally immigrate, was intercepted by Shanghai marine police braving stormy seas on Monday.

Termites may be tiny but they can topple a whole building--and a nest of them has been found on the pedestrian section of Nanjing Road.

For the past 10 months, Shanghai's Ancient Chinese Sex Culture Museum, the first of its kind in China, has been operating in the red.

Disputes over advertisements for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases are getting sharper among local hospitals and the health administration.

On June 5, the International Environment Day, Premier Zhu Rongji delivered a televised address, calling on the nation to make efforts to protect and improve the environment.

Talks are continuing between aviation companies from Shanghai and Taiwan about the formation of a joint venture to transport cargo between the mainland and the island province.

Postage stamp sales in Shanghai are still slow even though the Shanghai Postal Bureau turned US$966,000 worth of stamps into paper pulp on May 31 to rid itself of unsalable stock.

Work is underway to move Shanghai Museum on Hongqiao Road in west Shanghai to Pudong New Area, just below the Oriental TV Tower.

Hong Kong investor of Printemps has been doing a little spring cleaning as it transferred shares in the loss-making upmarket department store on Huaihai Road to Shanghai Yimin Department Store Co., Ltd.

Foreign investors are being sought for China's first express railway, construction of which is expected to begin next year. The railway, running from Shanghai to Beijing, will shorten the journey from 14 hours to seven.

As of June 1, the city entered the 122-day flood season, according to Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters. Total rainfall during this season will be more than the average in past years.

Despite the State taking a tougher stand against illegal practices, especially price cuts in the civil aviation market, loopholes still exist in the intermediary ticket sales offices.

An international human resources seminar on how to stimulate the economy will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on June 12 with 150 representatives from Shanghai-based overseas institutions attending.

The number of Shanghai farmers has been growing over the past couple of years, though the growth in their per capita net income has slowed.

Metro Line 2 will officially open to the public in the first part of this month, according to Shanghai Metro Corporation. Trains will then be running at 10 minute rather than 15 minute intervals they now operate at.

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