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China probes "slave boss" in Uighur region
The report did not say where the workers were originally from, though it said some were confused about their backgrounds.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 14:04
Chinese police are hunting a factory boss who enslaved mentally handicapped people, forcing them to work long hours without pay and beating them if they tried to escape, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.
The boss of a construction materials factory in Uighur region, hired about a dozen people, many of whom are mentally disabled, to grind rocks into powder, but did not provide clothing, pay or enough food for the workers, Chinese website tianshannet.com reported.
The report did not say where the workers were originally from, though it said some were confused about their backgrounds.
He disappeared before police raided the factory on Monday morning, and may have fled with the workers -- some of whom had been enslaved for up to four years -- to Chengdu city in Sichuan province, the report said. His wife was being held by police.
Incidents of forced labour have shocked China in the past, with slave bosses often preying on the mentally handicapped.
In 2007, more than 1,000 people were found working as slaves in brick kilns in Shanxi province, following a father's desperate search for his missing teenage son. The central government vowed to prevent similar offenses, but cases are occasionally reported by Chinese media.
Last December, Chinese human traffickers targeted mentally disabled people from the southwestern Sichuan province countryside, luring them into dangerous employment contracts and sometimes even killing them in mine accidents for compensation.
"I have not asked the boss for the money yet," one worker who had been labouring at the factory for four years was cited by tianshannet.com as saying.
The report did not say where the workers were originally from, though it said some were confused about their backgrounds.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 14:04
Chinese police are hunting a factory boss who enslaved mentally handicapped people, forcing them to work long hours without pay and beating them if they tried to escape, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.
The boss of a construction materials factory in Uighur region, hired about a dozen people, many of whom are mentally disabled, to grind rocks into powder, but did not provide clothing, pay or enough food for the workers, Chinese website tianshannet.com reported.
The report did not say where the workers were originally from, though it said some were confused about their backgrounds.
He disappeared before police raided the factory on Monday morning, and may have fled with the workers -- some of whom had been enslaved for up to four years -- to Chengdu city in Sichuan province, the report said. His wife was being held by police.
Incidents of forced labour have shocked China in the past, with slave bosses often preying on the mentally handicapped.
In 2007, more than 1,000 people were found working as slaves in brick kilns in Shanxi province, following a father's desperate search for his missing teenage son. The central government vowed to prevent similar offenses, but cases are occasionally reported by Chinese media.
Last December, Chinese human traffickers targeted mentally disabled people from the southwestern Sichuan province countryside, luring them into dangerous employment contracts and sometimes even killing them in mine accidents for compensation.
"I have not asked the boss for the money yet," one worker who had been labouring at the factory for four years was cited by tianshannet.com as saying.
World's 5 biggest airlines now from Asia, LatAm
World's 5 biggest airlines now from Asia, LatAm
By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press,
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:37 a.m.
/ AP
IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
- AP
IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
- AP
IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
GENEVA — The world's five biggest airlines now hail from Asia and Latin America, highlighting the industry's shift away from the U.S. and Europe to higher-growth countries, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday.
Air China is twice the size of either Delta in the U.S. or Germany's Lufthansa. But despite emerging markets' strength and a broad earnings rebound this year, weak economic conditions in Europe and low margins are acting as a drag on profits, the group warned.
"The world is changing in aviation, and it's changing very, very quickly," IATA Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani told a news conference in Geneva. "Rapidly developing markets are shifting the industry's center of gravity to the East."
Air China has a market capitalization of $20 billion, followed by Singapore airlines with $14 billion and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific with $12 billion.
China Southern has a market cap of $11 billion, as does LATAM, the Latin American airline recently created from the merger of Chile's LAN and TAM of Brazil. U.S. carrier Delta and Germany's Lufthansa follow with market capitalizations of $10 billion each.
IATA said strong growth in developing countries and a rebound in North America are largely responsible for the industry's recovery this year.
Airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010, IATA said. This marks a massive turnaround from the $10 billion industry loss in 2009 and $16 billion loss in 2008.
Asian carriers will contribute $7.7 billion to the global total, while North American airlines will earn $5.1 billion. Europe, with estimated net profits of $400 million, lags behind the Middle East ($700 million) and Latin America ($1.2 billion). African carriers will earn $100 million this year, IATA said.
The full-year estimate is a significant jump from IATA's prediction in September for an $8.9 billion industry profit in 2010.
"2011 is going to be a much more challenging period," said IATA chief economist Brian Pearce, noting that heavy debts and new taxes will weigh on consumer travel spending in Europe and North America.
IATA forecasts net profits of $9.1 billion for the industry next year.
Bisignani warned that profit margins remain "pathetically low" and pose a threat to the industry in case of another economic shock.
Recently introduced air travel taxes in Britain, Germany and Austria, and efforts to introduce a regional carbon emissions trading market harm Europe's competitiveness, he said, noting that these further squeeze profit margins for the continent's carriers.
Fuel price rises are also expected to hurt profits in 2011, further driving the industry to reduce aircraft fuel consumption and find viable renewable alternatives.
Still, the Geneva-based group representing some 230 carriers and 93 percent of scheduled air traffic said the outlook is bright for Asia.
A rapidly expanding middle class in Asia and growing demand for air links between the continent's 15 mega-cities, with over 10 million inhabitants each, promise strong industry profits in the region, Bisignani said.
If "archaic ownership rules" in the United States were changed the industry might soon see the first takeover of a U.S. carrier by an Asian airline, he added.
The Italian, who has been at the helm of IATA for nine years, will be succeeded by Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler next year
World's 5 biggest airlines now from Asia, LatAm
By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press,
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:37 a.m.
/ APIATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
- AP IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
- AP IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec 14, 2010. The International Air Transport Association says airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010 after better-than-expected economic recovery and strong growth in Asia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
GENEVA — The world's five biggest airlines now hail from Asia and Latin America, highlighting the industry's shift away from the U.S. and Europe to higher-growth countries, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday.
Air China is twice the size of either Delta in the U.S. or Germany's Lufthansa. But despite emerging markets' strength and a broad earnings rebound this year, weak economic conditions in Europe and low margins are acting as a drag on profits, the group warned.
"The world is changing in aviation, and it's changing very, very quickly," IATA Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani told a news conference in Geneva. "Rapidly developing markets are shifting the industry's center of gravity to the East."
Air China has a market capitalization of $20 billion, followed by Singapore airlines with $14 billion and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific with $12 billion.
China Southern has a market cap of $11 billion, as does LATAM, the Latin American airline recently created from the merger of Chile's LAN and TAM of Brazil. U.S. carrier Delta and Germany's Lufthansa follow with market capitalizations of $10 billion each.
IATA said strong growth in developing countries and a rebound in North America are largely responsible for the industry's recovery this year.
Airlines will see net profits of $15.1 billion in 2010, IATA said. This marks a massive turnaround from the $10 billion industry loss in 2009 and $16 billion loss in 2008.
Asian carriers will contribute $7.7 billion to the global total, while North American airlines will earn $5.1 billion. Europe, with estimated net profits of $400 million, lags behind the Middle East ($700 million) and Latin America ($1.2 billion). African carriers will earn $100 million this year, IATA said.
The full-year estimate is a significant jump from IATA's prediction in September for an $8.9 billion industry profit in 2010.
"2011 is going to be a much more challenging period," said IATA chief economist Brian Pearce, noting that heavy debts and new taxes will weigh on consumer travel spending in Europe and North America.
IATA forecasts net profits of $9.1 billion for the industry next year.
Bisignani warned that profit margins remain "pathetically low" and pose a threat to the industry in case of another economic shock.
Recently introduced air travel taxes in Britain, Germany and Austria, and efforts to introduce a regional carbon emissions trading market harm Europe's competitiveness, he said, noting that these further squeeze profit margins for the continent's carriers.
Fuel price rises are also expected to hurt profits in 2011, further driving the industry to reduce aircraft fuel consumption and find viable renewable alternatives.
Still, the Geneva-based group representing some 230 carriers and 93 percent of scheduled air traffic said the outlook is bright for Asia.
A rapidly expanding middle class in Asia and growing demand for air links between the continent's 15 mega-cities, with over 10 million inhabitants each, promise strong industry profits in the region, Bisignani said.
If "archaic ownership rules" in the United States were changed the industry might soon see the first takeover of a U.S. carrier by an Asian airline, he added.
The Italian, who has been at the helm of IATA for nine years, will be succeeded by Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler next year
Re: World's 5 biggest airlines now from Asia, LatAm
This is only news to people who rarely leave the trailer park.
This is only news to people who rarely leave the trailer park.
[SIZE=+1]How China looks after its homeless people[/SIZE]
China National News
Thursday 16th December, 2010
(IANS)
As the cold wave sets in in China, authorities are reaching out to the homeless population and have launched fully-equipped facilities for them that include round-the-clock hot food, baths and entertainment.China National News
Thursday 16th December, 2010
(IANS)
Civil affairs bureaus in Shanghai and Guangzhou have said temporary shelters for the homeless people will be provided till spring. More than 1,300 shelters have been prepared in Guangzhou.
Hot food, bathing facilities and other services will be available at the shelters 24 hours a day. Each of them is also equipped with 40 to 50 beds. Entertainment activities will also be organised so that they do not feel lonely.
'As the temperature continues to drop over coming days, more resources and materials will be provided to those left homeless over the winter,' Ren Zhiyue, an official of the bureau's social welfare division, was quoted as saying by China Daily.
The shelters in Shanghai, which are located in 21 social assistance centres, assist 30,000 people each year, according to the bureau.
Their services vary, depending upon people's needs. A special education and protection centre will be available for the young, while the elderly and disabled can receive care assistance.
For those who refuse to go to shelters, local civil affairs departments will provide quilts, blankets, coats and other materials to help protect them from the cold, officials said.
Over the winter, an emergency rescue team will keep an eye out for the homeless, regularly patrolling at train stations, underpasses and bridges, as well as in culverts.
Social welfare homes, nursing homes and mental hospitals affiliated with the bureaus will receive more stockings, hats and heaters.
Non-government organisations and volunteers are being encouraged to help those in difficulty, while an emergency alert system will monitor the elderly who live alone.
BTW China, I read these posts as I'm curious about China and have about a third of my RRSP invested in the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
I like the direction China is going. China still limits certains rights and freedoms that we already have in Canada, but unlike the US and Canada, China is moving toward a more free and open society. Canada and the US are more free but moving toward a more authoritarian society as security concerns are used to justify the erosion of our rights and freedoms.
I have observed that China take corruption, insider trading and other corporate wrong doing more seriously than Canada and the US. If the Ponsi schemes like Madoff, or corruption/fraud like Enron occurred in China, the penalties would have been severe. I disagree with the death penalty, but I also disagree with letting corrupt CEO's and senior execs off the hook, and allowing them to keep billions in ill-gotten gains.
I think China needs to lighten up regarding religion/cults like Falun Gong and pro-democracy movements like that led by dissidents like Liu Xiaobo.
I like the direction China is going. China still limits certains rights and freedoms that we already have in Canada, but unlike the US and Canada, China is moving toward a more free and open society. Canada and the US are more free but moving toward a more authoritarian society as security concerns are used to justify the erosion of our rights and freedoms.
I have observed that China take corruption, insider trading and other corporate wrong doing more seriously than Canada and the US. If the Ponsi schemes like Madoff, or corruption/fraud like Enron occurred in China, the penalties would have been severe. I disagree with the death penalty, but I also disagree with letting corrupt CEO's and senior execs off the hook, and allowing them to keep billions in ill-gotten gains.
I think China needs to lighten up regarding religion/cults like Falun Gong and pro-democracy movements like that led by dissidents like Liu Xiaobo.
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video
Liu Xiaobo .....? a trouble maker supported by the west .
10 years of luxury brands in China
Year 2000: Richemont buys Shanghai Tang.
Shanghai Tang, a traditional Chinese clothes store opened by Deng Yongqiang in Hong Kong in 1994, was purchased by luxury brand Richemont in 2000, and it became the first Chinese local brand to enter the international luxury brand market. During a time when Western fashion was sweeping through all of China, Shanghai Tang provided a special Chinese style of fashion with Qipao (cheongsam) for ladies and characteristics of old Shanghai. It finally became one of the top international luxury brands and now has 40 boutiques around the world.
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【11】 【12】 【13】 【14】 【15】 【16】 【17】 【18】 【19】 【20】
【21】
video
The above has nothing to do with God .You will not exploit God.
Liu Xiaobo .....? a trouble maker supported by the west .
10 years of luxury brands in China
Year 2000: Richemont buys Shanghai Tang.
Shanghai Tang, a traditional Chinese clothes store opened by Deng Yongqiang in Hong Kong in 1994, was purchased by luxury brand Richemont in 2000, and it became the first Chinese local brand to enter the international luxury brand market. During a time when Western fashion was sweeping through all of China, Shanghai Tang provided a special Chinese style of fashion with Qipao (cheongsam) for ladies and characteristics of old Shanghai. It finally became one of the top international luxury brands and now has 40 boutiques around the world.
【1】 【2】 【3】 【4】 【5】 【6】 【7】 【8】 【9】 【10】
【11】 【12】 【13】 【14】 【15】 【16】 【17】 【18】 【19】 【20】
【21】
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[SIZE=+1]delivering news about country to outside world[/SIZE]
China National News
Friday 17th December, 2010
(ANI)
Wang Chen, minister of China's State Council Information Office, has said that his country would be more open and transparent from next year in giving information and news about China to the outside world.
Chen made his remarks at a New Year reception attended by nearly 400 guests, including representatives of major news organizations, spokesmen from government agencies and diplomats stationed in Beijing.
"In the coming year, the office will constantly enhance communication with the media both at home and abroad to make China's voice heard in an accurate, objective and comprehensive manner," China Daily quoted him, as saying.
He further stated that dissemination of news from China had improved in 2009, and added that the management of Internet information was standardized.
Meanwhile, "a series of events like the Fourth US-China Internet Industry Forum initiated by the office have helped deepen international understanding and cooperation," he added.
"Now foreign media pay more attention to China and report more objectively on the country's changes and developments from varied perspectives," he said.
Chen further urged the foreign media to respect the laws and regulations of the country while reporting from China. (ANI)
China National News
Friday 17th December, 2010
(ANI)
Wang Chen, minister of China's State Council Information Office, has said that his country would be more open and transparent from next year in giving information and news about China to the outside world.
Chen made his remarks at a New Year reception attended by nearly 400 guests, including representatives of major news organizations, spokesmen from government agencies and diplomats stationed in Beijing.
"In the coming year, the office will constantly enhance communication with the media both at home and abroad to make China's voice heard in an accurate, objective and comprehensive manner," China Daily quoted him, as saying.
He further stated that dissemination of news from China had improved in 2009, and added that the management of Internet information was standardized.
Meanwhile, "a series of events like the Fourth US-China Internet Industry Forum initiated by the office have helped deepen international understanding and cooperation," he added.
"Now foreign media pay more attention to China and report more objectively on the country's changes and developments from varied perspectives," he said.
Chen further urged the foreign media to respect the laws and regulations of the country while reporting from China. (ANI)
Buy Real Estate in China and get a Free Wife!
Just when I thought I'd heard every creative way of flogging off property when the chips are down - along comes a new one to prove me wrong - an entrepreneurial developer in Beijing, China, has decided to lure buyers to his luxury Ecological Bay project with the offer of a wedding to one of their sales ladies - and he's even throwing in a dowry to seal the deal...
In an astounding display of what going beyond the call of duty for work means, the sales girls working in the Jin Tai Cheng sales office in Beijing have agreed to act as bait to tempt buyers.
The Ecological Bay villa development is hoping to entice Chinese men who are finding it tough to nab a wife - thanks to the Government's ‘One Child' policy, there are around 120 men to every 100 women.
The Chinese economy has slowed down dramatically over the past six months and demand for real estate in China's major cities declined sharply.
In a sign of increasingly desperate times for China's property market, with housing sales plummeting by as much as 20 per cent - new ways to sell property are constantly being thought up- but this has to be the most novel idea yet.
The Ecological Bay website asks, ‘Planning to buy a house? Can we tempt you with the offer of a young bride - and a dowry as well?'
Once buyers decide to purchase a home, when they are on the site choosing kitchen colours and curtains to kit out their new pad, they can also browse the sales girls' age, height and read information about their other...assets.
If a buyer and a sales girl date successfully and go on to marry, the company is offering a wedding present of £6,000 to couples who are still married after a year.
The company lured the sales ladies with a commitment to pay eight per cent in sales commissions as well as the opportunity to secure a wealthy husband.
Mr Li Jingguo, Director of the research centre for urban development and environment under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Last year was the gloomiest period for China's real estate market since housing reform in 1998, in the face of the global economic downturn."
More articles:
Just when I thought I'd heard every creative way of flogging off property when the chips are down - along comes a new one to prove me wrong - an entrepreneurial developer in Beijing, China, has decided to lure buyers to his luxury Ecological Bay project with the offer of a wedding to one of their sales ladies - and he's even throwing in a dowry to seal the deal...
In an astounding display of what going beyond the call of duty for work means, the sales girls working in the Jin Tai Cheng sales office in Beijing have agreed to act as bait to tempt buyers.
The Ecological Bay villa development is hoping to entice Chinese men who are finding it tough to nab a wife - thanks to the Government's ‘One Child' policy, there are around 120 men to every 100 women.
The Chinese economy has slowed down dramatically over the past six months and demand for real estate in China's major cities declined sharply.
In a sign of increasingly desperate times for China's property market, with housing sales plummeting by as much as 20 per cent - new ways to sell property are constantly being thought up- but this has to be the most novel idea yet.
The Ecological Bay website asks, ‘Planning to buy a house? Can we tempt you with the offer of a young bride - and a dowry as well?'
Once buyers decide to purchase a home, when they are on the site choosing kitchen colours and curtains to kit out their new pad, they can also browse the sales girls' age, height and read information about their other...assets.
If a buyer and a sales girl date successfully and go on to marry, the company is offering a wedding present of £6,000 to couples who are still married after a year.
The company lured the sales ladies with a commitment to pay eight per cent in sales commissions as well as the opportunity to secure a wealthy husband.
Mr Li Jingguo, Director of the research centre for urban development and environment under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Last year was the gloomiest period for China's real estate market since housing reform in 1998, in the face of the global economic downturn."
More articles:
China
Anticipated limit on license plates fuels car-buying frenzy
By Chen Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-23 07:53
A backlog of cars are waiting to be inspected on Wednesday in Beiyuan, northern Beijing, as car owners rush to apply for license plates before an expected limit takes effect next year. Zou Hong / China Daily
BEIJING - The capital city is expected to release a package of detailed rules on Thursday to ease its growing traffic gridlock, including axing new car license plates from next year.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 pm. Though no official information was available in advance, a rumor was circulating that the city will take a leaf out of Shanghai's book and limit license plates.
The city will only grant 150,000 license plates next year and a resident without a Beijing permanent residence permit will need to provide proof of having paid local taxes for five consecutive years to purchase a car, the Economic Observer News reported an unnamed city transport official as having said.
Another rumor swirling around suggested that 240,000 license plates will be permitted next year.
If it proves to be true, the number of new cars in Beijing next year will be cut by at least two-thirds compared to this year, when Beijing had 4.76 million vehicles as of Dec 19, 700,000 more than at the beginning of 2010, according to official figures.
The rumors have fueled public concern that it will be more expensive to get a new car next year, which fueled car sales to those who want to register their plates before the end of the year.
Car ownership in the city increased 30,000 just in the past week, with a maximum addition of 5,000 cars per day, according to figures from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.
Chi Yifeng, general manager of Yayuncun Automobile Trade Market, the biggest dealership in Beijing, said daily car sales this week doubled those over the past two weeks and that he is worried the current buying frenzy will hit sales in the first quarter of 2011.
According to Chi, there are more than 460 car dealerships in Beijing and, if the rumor about license plates being limited to 240,000 proves to be true, a number of them will struggle to survive, which will have a knock-on effect on allied industries, such as repair services and insurance.
Wang Ruichao, a marketing manager at a Toyota dealership in Beijing, said he is worried that business will suffer if the number of license plates is limited.
"If only 20,000 licenses are granted a month, each dealership will only sell an average of 40 cars a month, which will be a big blow to us," he said.
Earlier this month, the Municipal Commission of Transport released a draft plan on clearing traffic congestion, which was posted online to gauge public reaction from Dec 13 to 19.
More than 3,000 responses were received from members of the public and only 5.8 percent of the respondents opposed the plan, while others made their own suggestions, according to the commission's website.
Respondents who opposed the plan were dissatisfied with proposals to restrict car use, the number of new cars allowed on the road and a congestion charge.
The draft plan also included measures to prohibit new government cars, increase the pace of building the transport infrastructure and expanding public transportation.
When necessary, it also suggested resorting to the measure used during the Olympic Games of restricting the number of cars on the road during peak hours on the basis of odd and even final license plate numbers.
No details were available in the draft on a possible start date for the proposed congestion charge and what concrete measures will be taken to prevent car ownership from increasingly too rapidly.
"The draft plan is just a framework. Its lack of detail has made the public feel uncertain about the measures that are likely to be taken," said Zhang Changqing, director of the transportation law institute at Beijing Jiaotong University.
"Its ambiguity may have misled the public and even created some panic," he said, calling for the government to be more open and transparent in formulating policies that affect every household.
China Daily
Anticipated limit on license plates fuels car-buying frenzy
By Chen Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-23 07:53
A backlog of cars are waiting to be inspected on Wednesday in Beiyuan, northern Beijing, as car owners rush to apply for license plates before an expected limit takes effect next year. Zou Hong / China Daily
BEIJING - The capital city is expected to release a package of detailed rules on Thursday to ease its growing traffic gridlock, including axing new car license plates from next year.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 pm. Though no official information was available in advance, a rumor was circulating that the city will take a leaf out of Shanghai's book and limit license plates.
The city will only grant 150,000 license plates next year and a resident without a Beijing permanent residence permit will need to provide proof of having paid local taxes for five consecutive years to purchase a car, the Economic Observer News reported an unnamed city transport official as having said.
Another rumor swirling around suggested that 240,000 license plates will be permitted next year.
If it proves to be true, the number of new cars in Beijing next year will be cut by at least two-thirds compared to this year, when Beijing had 4.76 million vehicles as of Dec 19, 700,000 more than at the beginning of 2010, according to official figures.
The rumors have fueled public concern that it will be more expensive to get a new car next year, which fueled car sales to those who want to register their plates before the end of the year.
Car ownership in the city increased 30,000 just in the past week, with a maximum addition of 5,000 cars per day, according to figures from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.
Chi Yifeng, general manager of Yayuncun Automobile Trade Market, the biggest dealership in Beijing, said daily car sales this week doubled those over the past two weeks and that he is worried the current buying frenzy will hit sales in the first quarter of 2011.
According to Chi, there are more than 460 car dealerships in Beijing and, if the rumor about license plates being limited to 240,000 proves to be true, a number of them will struggle to survive, which will have a knock-on effect on allied industries, such as repair services and insurance.
Wang Ruichao, a marketing manager at a Toyota dealership in Beijing, said he is worried that business will suffer if the number of license plates is limited.
"If only 20,000 licenses are granted a month, each dealership will only sell an average of 40 cars a month, which will be a big blow to us," he said.
Earlier this month, the Municipal Commission of Transport released a draft plan on clearing traffic congestion, which was posted online to gauge public reaction from Dec 13 to 19.
More than 3,000 responses were received from members of the public and only 5.8 percent of the respondents opposed the plan, while others made their own suggestions, according to the commission's website.
Respondents who opposed the plan were dissatisfied with proposals to restrict car use, the number of new cars allowed on the road and a congestion charge.
The draft plan also included measures to prohibit new government cars, increase the pace of building the transport infrastructure and expanding public transportation.
When necessary, it also suggested resorting to the measure used during the Olympic Games of restricting the number of cars on the road during peak hours on the basis of odd and even final license plate numbers.
No details were available in the draft on a possible start date for the proposed congestion charge and what concrete measures will be taken to prevent car ownership from increasingly too rapidly.
"The draft plan is just a framework. Its lack of detail has made the public feel uncertain about the measures that are likely to be taken," said Zhang Changqing, director of the transportation law institute at Beijing Jiaotong University.
"Its ambiguity may have misled the public and even created some panic," he said, calling for the government to be more open and transparent in formulating policies that affect every household.
China Daily
Society
UN hails China's food policies
By Qin Jize and He Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-24 08:11
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l BEIJING - China has made "remarkable progress" in growing sufficient food to feed its population, while making great contribution to the world's poverty eradication, a UN official said on Thursday.
The nation shifted from a food aid recipient to an international food donor in 2005, a sign of its "significant success" in coordinating and helping small-scale farmers boost productivity, said Olivier De Schutter, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
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During his nine-day stay, De Schutter met with governmental officials of various ministries, field trips to East China's Shandong province and interactions with professionals and NGOs. "The most impressive endeavor is that China has been able to feed itself within a few decades -- and that is one fifth of the world population," De Schutter said.
He noted that China has achieved a grain self-sufficiency rate of at least 95 percent, and that its grain reserves are estimated to be more than the double the 17 percent safety level recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
These achievements have not come easy, De Schutter said, due to the fact China's 1.3 billion population accounts for only 8.5 percent of the world's arable land and 6.5 percent of water reserves.
But the remarkable progress of agricultural production by 200 million small-scale farmers with an average holding of 0.65 hectares has cast light to the world that small-scale farming works, he said.
And none of these efforts could be possible without corresponding economic reforms such as the introduction of the Household Contract System in Agriculture since 1978, De Schutter said, which has infused a strong impetus to farmers' motivation.
Commenting on skyrocketing food prices in recent years, De Schutter believes international speculation factors were far from the only cause of the problem - but more a reflection of "the fragility of the agricultural system".
Emerging problems such as climate change and natural disasters have posed new threats to the food system, reshaping its structure into one that is prone to volatility and vulnerability.
But by applying grain reserves, De Schutter noted, China has overhauled the operation that has made its food system less dependent of the global market, which is another valuable lesson that the world can learn from.
China's current food reserves are equivalent to 40 percent of its annual food consumption, which are shared among the central government, local governments and the enterprises.
According to De Schutter, this serves as an efficient tool to stabilize prices and limit volatility in the face of external factors.
"If the prices are too low for farmers to make a decent income, the state can buy and build up the reserves. But when the prices are too high, they release the stocks to diminish the pressure," De Schutter said.
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UN hails China's food policies
By Qin Jize and He Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-24 08:11
l BEIJING - China has made "remarkable progress" in growing sufficient food to feed its population, while making great contribution to the world's poverty eradication, a UN official said on Thursday.
The nation shifted from a food aid recipient to an international food donor in 2005, a sign of its "significant success" in coordinating and helping small-scale farmers boost productivity, said Olivier De Schutter, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
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During his nine-day stay, De Schutter met with governmental officials of various ministries, field trips to East China's Shandong province and interactions with professionals and NGOs. "The most impressive endeavor is that China has been able to feed itself within a few decades -- and that is one fifth of the world population," De Schutter said.
He noted that China has achieved a grain self-sufficiency rate of at least 95 percent, and that its grain reserves are estimated to be more than the double the 17 percent safety level recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
These achievements have not come easy, De Schutter said, due to the fact China's 1.3 billion population accounts for only 8.5 percent of the world's arable land and 6.5 percent of water reserves.
But the remarkable progress of agricultural production by 200 million small-scale farmers with an average holding of 0.65 hectares has cast light to the world that small-scale farming works, he said.
And none of these efforts could be possible without corresponding economic reforms such as the introduction of the Household Contract System in Agriculture since 1978, De Schutter said, which has infused a strong impetus to farmers' motivation.
Commenting on skyrocketing food prices in recent years, De Schutter believes international speculation factors were far from the only cause of the problem - but more a reflection of "the fragility of the agricultural system".
Emerging problems such as climate change and natural disasters have posed new threats to the food system, reshaping its structure into one that is prone to volatility and vulnerability.
But by applying grain reserves, De Schutter noted, China has overhauled the operation that has made its food system less dependent of the global market, which is another valuable lesson that the world can learn from.
China's current food reserves are equivalent to 40 percent of its annual food consumption, which are shared among the central government, local governments and the enterprises.
According to De Schutter, this serves as an efficient tool to stabilize prices and limit volatility in the face of external factors.
"If the prices are too low for farmers to make a decent income, the state can buy and build up the reserves. But when the prices are too high, they release the stocks to diminish the pressure," De Schutter said.
3 sentenced to death in 2009 Shanghai gang shooting that killed 2
08:21, December 24, 2010
Three men were sentenced to death Thursday for the 2009 fatal shooting between two gangs that left two dead and two injured, local court said.
The Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People' s Court sentenced Zhang Hongfu, Liu Xiaohua and Ai Daiqing, major leaders of the two gangs to death for murder, drug dealing, illegally manufacturing firearms and ammunition, illegally possessing firearms, and the crime of interference with public administration, provocation and group fighting, according to a written statement issued by the court.
Eight other members of the gangs received jail terms from two years to life sentences for drug dealing, illegally manufacturing firearms and ammunition, illegally possessing firearms, provocation, or group fighting, the statement said.
Chinese law prohibits the private ownership of guns.
On May 22, 2009, the two gangs fought over a dispute of a drug debt of 20,000 yuan (3,000 U.S. dollars) and started shooting at the entrance of Huilihuayuan Residence on Changshou Road, Putuo District.
08:21, December 24, 2010
Three men were sentenced to death Thursday for the 2009 fatal shooting between two gangs that left two dead and two injured, local court said.
The Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People' s Court sentenced Zhang Hongfu, Liu Xiaohua and Ai Daiqing, major leaders of the two gangs to death for murder, drug dealing, illegally manufacturing firearms and ammunition, illegally possessing firearms, and the crime of interference with public administration, provocation and group fighting, according to a written statement issued by the court.
Eight other members of the gangs received jail terms from two years to life sentences for drug dealing, illegally manufacturing firearms and ammunition, illegally possessing firearms, provocation, or group fighting, the statement said.
Chinese law prohibits the private ownership of guns.
On May 22, 2009, the two gangs fought over a dispute of a drug debt of 20,000 yuan (3,000 U.S. dollars) and started shooting at the entrance of Huilihuayuan Residence on Changshou Road, Putuo District.
That's why there is no death penalty in Canada , we are too civilized .This is a great, model country.There is no problem with gang shooting ,drugs, murders or any other serious crimes. Hey man , the illusion is free .
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