创党一代海外取经记

品德与生活

If you fancy "chicken without sexual life", "husband and wife's lung slice" or even "bean curd made by a pock-marked woman" then you will have to look elsewhere."Spring chicken", "pork lungs in chili sauce" and "stir-fried tofu in hot sauce" are the correct translations of dishes at some Beijing restaurants, according to an initiative designed to help visitors navigate bilingual menus.Currently, odd translations of food served up in the capital's eateries are causing food for thought.The Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, and the Beijing tourism administration, is about to change all that.The project is part of Beijing's municipal tourism administration's preparation for the Olympic Games next year, when at least 500,000 foreigners are expected to visit.Beginning March 2006, the translation project gathered a database of dishes and drinks from 3-star rated hotels and large restaurants. A draft list was put online at the end of last year seeking public feedback.Subsequently, a second draft added more than 400 common dishes at restaurants in Beijing's Houhai and Wangjing districts, where foreigners like to gather.The recent draft has been online since last Saturday, at www.bjenglish.com.cn and www.bjta.gov.cn.The finished draft is likely to be published in October, said an official with the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, quoted by the Beijing News.The final version will be published online and "recommended" to restaurants.Restaurants will not be forced by the government to use the suggested translations, the newspaper quoted an unnamed tourism administration official as saying.

BRUSSELS - Javier Solana, European Union top diplomat, expressed here on Thursday his concern over Taiwanese leaders' comments on the Chinese province's application for UN membership."I have noted with concern the comments made by Taiwan's leadership on October 24 concerning Taiwan's application for UN membership under the name of Taiwan," Solana said in a statement."The EU has a substantial interest in peace and stability in East Asia. It has a particular interest in the continued prosperity and security of Taiwan and in the maintenance of peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait," he said.    The fundamental position of the EU is that the Taiwan question must be solved peacefully through cross-Strait negotiations between all concerned parties."We have concerns about the current policy of Taiwan's authorities to pursue a referendum on the question of UN membership in the name of Taiwan," Solana said, adding "This concern flows from the EU's conviction that both sides of the Strait should refrain from statements or actions which might raise tension across the Strait and which might be perceived as a unilateral change in the status quo."The proposed referendum would risk making it harder for Taiwan to enjoy the pragmatic participation in the activities of specialized multilateral fora, "when there are clear public interests for this and when statehood is not required." he said"I therefore want to encourage both sides to take further initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue, practical cooperation and confidence-building," he concluded.

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Beijing is planting trees and plants along riverbanks instead of covering them with concrete to fix its river system. It has taken almost 10 years for the capital to accept and use this idea. The ecosystems in the streams are gradually coming back to life because of the cleaner water, providing a good habitat for animals and plants, and ideal leisure sites for local residents.  Zhuanhe which connects with Kun Ming Lake in the Summer Palace is one of successful example of the river ecological treatment in Beijing. "In Beijing, there are 52 rivers with a total length of 520 kilometers inside the sixth ring road. Yongding and Jingmi rivers are the city's two main water sources, and Qinghe, Bahe, Tonghui and Liangshui are key drainage waterways," said Yu Kongjian, dean of the Sight Engineer Institute with Peking University. Originally, Beijing only wanted to control the floods by letting water flow out as soon as possible. Therefore, riverbanks were cemented down in order to prevent water leakage and the growth of plants, which could slow the water speed down. However, the shortage of rainfall in Beijing since 1999 showed that this method was not correct. On the one hand, streams had less fresh water to clean themselves. On the other, more polluted water was dumped into the rivers as more people moved into the capital. And in the summer of 2001, something bad happened. "The rivers in Beijing turned blue overnight and gave off a smelly odor," said Liu Peibin, vice engineer of Beijing Water Authority. There was an algae bloom due to so much pollution in the water. Algae covered the water surface and consumed most of the oxygen, and many creatures in the water died as a result. These "concrete pools" became the haven for swarms of mosquitoes which forced tens of thousands of residents nearby to close their windows and doors tightly especially in summer days. The water authorities had to act quickly for public safety. The first step was to demolish the concrete covering the riverbanks. The soil was exposed to water again, and the water could circulate down to the riverbank. Secondly, in order to stimulate oxygen in the streams, engineers put big stones in the water to create mini waterfalls. And they grew trees like willows and plants such as bulrush along the riverbanks. "Bulrush can purify polluted water through absorbing nitrogen and phosphorus in the water and exhaling oxygen," Deng added. "Gradually Zhuanhe came back to life and got rid of the polluted and smelly water. This would be impossible today if the brook was still covered in concrete." "What we did with Zhuanhe is a milestone in the progress of river treatment with new ecological ideas," said Deng Zhuozhi, vice engineer of Beijing Water Project Institute. He took charge of the Zhuanhe project. "How to fix up rivers depends on our attitude towards floods. We should learn to make friends with floods in a country where two-thirds of China's cities are short of water. Therefore we should reserve water as much as possible instead of discharging it ineffectively," said Yu.

SHENZHEN: Efforts to explain and publicize the new Labor Contract Law have thwarted many attempts to dodge the provisions included in it, but violations still occur, an official of a worker's union said Wednesday."We have been keeping an eye out for any abnormal redundancies and it appears the situation is improving," Xie Liangmin, sub-chief of the legal affairs department of the All China Federation of Trade Unions, said during a visit to this southern city.However, a company in Guangdong Province was recently found to have fired a group of contract workers and then rehired them through a manpower services company, Xie said."All attempts by companies to evade their responsibility to take care of their employees will be punished after the detailed regulations of the Labor Contract Law are issued," he said.The federation is working closely with the authorities to draw up detailed regulations, the release of which is likely to be postponed until the first quarter of next year, Xie said.Although the federation has publicly criticized two companies - IT equipment manufacturer Huawei Technology and retail giant Wal-Mart - for attempting to dodge some parts of the law before it takes effect on January 1, no punishments have been handed down.Dong Ping, an official with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, called on companies to come to terms with the legislation."The law provides an opportunity for companies to develop harmonious and stable working relationships with their employees within a more competitive environment. A successful company always respects its employees and abides by the law," Dong told a forum on promoting the new law.Terry Guo, CEO of Foxconn Technology, a leading IT manufacturer with operations in Shenzhen, said it would give its full support to the Labor Contract Law."The new law will prod companies into becoming more efficient and upgrading their technology. It should help them accelerate their strategic repositioning and restructuring," Guo said.He said Foxconn will work to improve the quality of its staff, save energy and encourage innovation to offset expected rises in its operational costs.The company has also revised its human resources policy and internal regulations to bring them in line with the Labor Contract Law.

Hong Kong' benchmark Hang Seng Index plunged 5.18 percent on Monday to close at its lowest level this year, drawn by growing troubles in the global credit markets and weakness in the Chinese mainland bourses.     The Hang Seng Index fell 1,152.50 points, or 5.18 percent, to close at 21,084.61 on Monday, its lowest level in nearly seven months, amid worries on the near collapse of U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns.     Over the weekend, the subprime mortgage crisis claimed another major victim -- Wall Street's fifth largest investment bank Bear Stearns. Wall Street fell sharply on Friday on the news, followed by Asian markets.     The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened at 21,318.03 and fluctuated between 21,041.26 and 21,473.40 during the session. Turnover was at 94.37 billion HK dollars (12.16 billion U.S. dollars), up from last Friday's 88.28 billion HK dollars (11.32 billion U.S. dollars).     Three of the four major categories lost ground. The Properties lost most at 5.73 percent, followed by the Commerce and Industry at 5.58 percent and the Finance at 5.32 percent. The Utilities, the only gainer, edged up 0.21 percent.     The biggest decliners in the local benchmark index were mainly China-based companies. Index heavyweight China Mobile fell 4.6 percent to 102.50 HK dollars. Smaller rival China Unicom slid 4.6 percent to 16.32 HK dollars.     Shenhua Energy fell 8.9 percent to 32.95 HK dollars, and Ping An Insurance was down 7.6 percent at 53.20 HK dollars.     The Chinese mainland's biggest insurer, China Life Insurance, slid 7.4 percent to 25.70 HK dollars. Non-life insurer PICC P&C tumbled 11.5 percent to 6.48 HK dollars.     Air China, Chinese mainland's biggest international carrier, lost 50 cents or 8.5 percent at 5.40 dollars as oil continued its relentless climb to a fresh high of 111.80 in Asian trade Monday on a weaker dollar. The company will report its 2007 results later Monday. The mainland's biggest airline by fleet size, China Southern Airlines skidded 73 cents or 12.5 percent to 5.13 dollars.     PetroChina, Asia's biggest oil and gas company, dropped 6.6 percent to 9.42 HK dollars. Major oil firm Sinopec fell 8.1 percent to 6.14 HK dollars on investor concerns about steep losses at its refining division given the recent surge in crude prices.     Property stocks tumbled, in line with the downward trend in the overall market, and on reports of softening housing prices in the city's new territories.     Sino Land Co, which has the highest exposure to the local residential market, fell 11 percent to 15.42 HK dollars.     Asian billionaire Li Ka-shing's property flagship Cheung Kong Holdings, fell 5.7 percent to 99.05 HK dollars.     Hong Kong's biggest property developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd (SHK Properties), slumped 4.8 percent to 112.60 HK dollars.     CLP Holdings and Hong Kong Electric were the only gainers in Monday's trade as CLP Holdings up 1.1 percent to 65.30 HK dollars and Hong Kong Electric rose 3.3 percent to 50.90 HK dollars.

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The Bank of Communications (BoCom), China's fifth largest lender, said its net profit reached20.3 billion yuan (2.86 billion U.S. dollars) in 2007, up 65 percent from 2006.     By the end of 2007, total assets of BoCom stood at 2.1 trillion yuan, up 22.7 percent from a year earlier, according to its 2007 annual report released on Wednesday.     Net interest rate income rose 36 percent to 54.1 billion yuan and fee income from credit card sales and asset management products surged 137 percent to 7.1 billion yuan.     The Shanghai-based bank and HSBC Holdings Plc., which holds a roughly 19 percent stake in BoCom, are preparing to establish a credit card company and a pension fund company, according to the report.     BoCom, which listed on the Hong Kong stock market in 2005, returned to the mainland's A share market in April last year. Its shares rose 2.77 percent to 10.39 yuan in Shanghai on Wednesday.

An investor smiles before an electronic board showing stock information at a securities firm in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province March 20, 2007. [newsphoto]The net income of the 287 funds launched by 53 fund management firms totaled 124.8 billion yuan, while paper profits reached about 146 billion yuan, according to WIND, a provider of Chinese financial data. The profits were more than 38 times greater than the seven billion yuan earned in 2005 by all 206 funds under 46 fund management firms. The majority of profits came from the 216 stock-leaning funds, which have at least 60 percent of their investments in stocks. They reported total operating profits of 261.4 billion yuan, accounting for 96.53 percent of all fund profits. The country experienced a fund investment boom last year as investors shifted low-interest bank deposits into the bourses, which surged 130 percent last year after a four-year slump. Fifteen million people have invested in funds. The proportion of individual investors in closed-end funds rose to 74.21 percent by the end of 2006, an increase of 18.05 percentage points from the end of the first half, according to WIND. China raised 390 billion yuan in 90 new funds and registered 7.78 million new accounts in 2006. More than 300 mutual funds have sprung up in China since 1992. The funds are valued at around one trillion yuan, accounting for 19 percent of the present stock markets.

常州二氧化锆全瓷冠

Geneva - China urged the United States on Friday to correct its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures targeting Chinese coated paper, reiterating that these measures violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.In consultations held in Geneva, Chinese officials questioned the consistency of the US measures with WTO regulations, and urged the United States to consider China's concerns seriously and correct its measures, said a statement from the Chinese WTO mission.The two sides also clarified some matters in the dispute and agreed to continue their contact on the issue, the statement said.Friday's consultations were held under the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism. China brought the case to the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body on September 14.According to Chinese trade officials, from November 2006 to July 2007, the United States launched five anti-dumping and anti- subsidy investigations into Chinese coated paper and steel tubes, which involved 635 Chinese enterprises with 70,000 employees and goods worth US0 million.Five dual investigations against Chinese products in less than a year was unprecedented in the history of world trade, the officials said.According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the US decision not only violated WTO rules, but also went against a 23- year-old US bipartisan policy.

SHENYANG -- The Liaoning Provincial Higher People's Court on Monday made a final judgement to uphold the death penalty for a principal in a bogus ant-breeding project that raised 3 billion yuan (7 million) from investors.Last February, Wang Zhendong, board chairman of Yingkou Donghua Trading (Group) Co., Ltd. in northeastern Liaoning Province, was sentenced to death while 15 company managers were given jail sentences of between five and 10 years by the Yingkou Intermediate People's Court.However, Wang and the managers appealed to the provincial high court after the first instance.Wang promised returns of 35 to 60 percent for the fictitious project under the name of Donghua Zoology Culturing Co., Ltd and Donghua Spirit Co., Ltd. between 2002 and 2005.The ants were to be used for making liquor, herbal remedies and as aphrodisiacs.More than 10,000 investors signed contracts with the company before the case was investigated in June 2005.Wang, however, continued to swindle investors who visited the company and told them the business was doing very well. He misused 798 million yuan raised from investors, buying himself luxury goods and lending money to others.One investor committed suicide after realizing he had been duped, the Yingkou court heard. Wang's actions also caused huge economic losses for investors and many subsequently suffered depression, the court said.All of Wang's property was confiscated, while the managers received fines ranging from 100,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.Also in Liaoning, police in December arrested the chairman of a company that went bust trying to make an aphrodisiac tonic from ants after thousands of angry ant farmers demanded payment.Wang Fengyou, chairman of the Liaoning Yilishen Tianxi Group, was in criminal custody on allegation of instigating social unrest.The company had organized thousands of ant farmers to supply it with insects on condition that they paid a contractual bond. However, it stopped paying its suppliers in November and the angry ant farmers feared they would lose their bonds and payments due.Thousands of ant farmers had gathered at the company offices to demand their money, but Wang allegedly paid company executives and employees to organize protests outside government buildings instead.