Beijing This Month -- Issue 77,April 2000

Although the aquarium claimed the suspension was for renovations of the performance pool, JV China, the American company responsible for the animals, revealed the aquarium had not paid up and so performances had been stopped March 1.

“Lida Company, the business owner of aquarium should pay JV China US$450,000 a quarter in accordance with the contract,”said Zhu Yuantao, JV China lawyer. So far, Lida owes JV China US$150,000.”

Aquarium spokesperson Wang Xiaolai claimed so much had been spent on completion of the project no money was left.

Wang also said JV China had not applied for permission to raise the wild animals from the Fishery Bureau.

Fishery Bureau environmental section official Wang Yamin issued a warning that the two sides should make sure they protect the animals involved while settling their dispute.

Happy Days

More than half of primary school students feel “unhappy”at school, revealed Beijing Education and Science Institute survey, according to Life Times.

The survey found 46.8 percent of students admit they are afraid of some teacher(s) in the school, 37.4 percent worry about teachers talking with their parents and 52.5 percent feel nervous when they are summoned to the head teacher’s office.

“Institute experts” in the same article suggested schools should engender a more relaxed atmosphere for students.

Besides the education quality, teachers should pay more attention to the psychological growth, they said.

Fast Shanghai Link

It will take four hours to reach Shanghai when the US$15billion Beijing-Shanghai express line is completed in five years. Train speeds will approach 300 kilometers per hour, according to Beijing Morning Post.

The 1,300-kilometer long railway will be the first of its kind in China, said Zeng Peiyan, director of the State Planning Commission. The line will also link Xuzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi and Suzhou.

Women Really, Really Want

Beijing women want most of all to be doctors, according to a survey of the top 10 professions by Beijing Meilande Information Company published in Beijing Youth Daily.

The survey found 17.3 percent of Beijing women would like to be a doctor, followed by accountancy 13.5 percent, university teacher 11.8 percent, government clerk 6.5 percent, middle school teacher 5.5 percent, lawyer 5.3 percent, kindergarten teacher 4.5 percent, primary teacher 4.3 percent and manager 4 percent.

Exactly 3 percent of the Beijing women surveyed expressed any desire of becoming a reporter or an editor.

University Begins

Construction of a new Beijing “University city” kicked off recently in the Zhangping County, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

The 800 million yuan (US$ 96.4 million) construction project of Ji Li University includes seven institutes and one culture exchange center. The project represents the biggest “University city”ever sponsored by a private company.

Ji Li is negotiating teaching and dormitory arrangements with Beijing Foreign Language University and Beijing Broadcasting University.

About 2,000 Ji Li students are expected to settle in the city by August this year.

Smile Train

An international children’s charity has donated US$20 million to help eradicate cleft lips and palates in China. p7.jpg (15756 bytes)

The Smile Train donation will support free physician training, free surgery for children and research to find a cure for clefts which affects millions of children worldwide.

In partnership with the China Charity Federation (CCF), the Smile Train has already provided free surgery to 2,000 children in China.

The Smile Train will cover the cost of 4,000 additional surgeries to be performed by Chinese doctors this year.

Chinese Study

The Yew Chung Education Foundation will launch “Learn Putonghua Chinese Language and Culture in China”summer school for students aged 11-18, July 20-August 9.

The program will provide its participants an opportunity to not only study Mandarin but also explore culture as the course starts in Beijing and continues to Yantai, the capital city of Shangdong. For further information, call 8583-3731.

Star cruises

The good ship Superstar Leo sets sail for Danang in Vietnam, Xiamen and Sanya in China from April 2.

Superstar Leo can accommodate 2,000 passengers with 1,000 cabins and a crew of 1,300. She features a seven-story atrium, 1,000-seat showroom, 16 food and beverage outlets and a pool deck.

Riveting Reading

The Beijing government launched its first authorized new Chinese language website, the 21 Dragon News Network (www.21DNN.com) recently in Beijing, according to China Daily.

The website groups nine official media outfits: Beijing Daily, Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Evening News, Beijing Economic Daily, Beijing TV Station Group, Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station, Beijing Cable Broadcasting Station, Beijing Morning Post and the Beijing Broadcast and TV Weekly.

The report says the website will update news 24 hours a day, and will establish news bureaus around the world.

Hotel Celebrates 10th Birthday

The Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong will celebrate the 10th anniversary on April 1. Chang Fu Gong is a Sino-Japanese joint-venture complex, consisting of a five-star hotel, an apartment building and an office building together with a shopping arcade.

Popular Pets

At present, there are 100,000 registered cats and dogs in Beijing, and expenditure on pets amounted to about 20 million yuan, according to Life Times.

The actual number of pets in the capital is about 400,000. The average monthly consumption of a pet is about 50 yuan.

Pet products are booming, according to the article. Food, clothes, shoes, toys and shampoos are all available at supermarkets.

Yikelong Furniture City sells beds especially for dogs and cats. Pet websites are popping up. Some release information on pet markets.

Caf”Network Expands

An internet caf”street has come into being in Zhongguancun, according to China Business Times.

Wang Yuesheng, a private entrepreneur, is the boss of Feiyu internet bar, has seen his 30-square-meter bar with 25 computers expand to 500 square meters with 168 computers in two years.

Wang’s bar thrives on the west side of the south wall of Beijing University. The cafe can help him enlist talent for his other computer-related business.

Feiyu is the biggest internet cafe in Beijing, and 150,000 surfers have visited the caf”in six months, according to Wang.

Popular Guys

Qinghua University graduates are in great demand and some can expect to earn astronomical starting salaries, according to Beijng Evening News.

About 200 work units attended Qinghua campus job fair.

For every Qinghua graduate, there are 8-10 work units looking to hire over the past few years. By March, 900 work units wanted to hire more than 10,000 Qinghua graduates. There will be 1,400 Qinghua graduates in 2000.

At the fair, high-tech enterprises advertise starting salaries on notice boards. One computer company offered 3,000-4,000 yuan for bachelor’s degrees, 4,000-6,000 yuan for master’s degrees, and a negotiable salary for doctorates.

According to one un-named recruiter from a domestic telecommunications company, even a 100,000 yuan annual salary is not high enough to attract the Qinghua computer and telecommunications majors.

Multinational companies virtually monopolize the high-tech talent market by offering 240,000 to 350,000-yuan annual salaries.

Popular Bodies

More than 2,000 people since May have registered to donate their bodies to science after death, according to Life Times.

Beijing Red Cross Association has established three donor venues, including the Peking Union Medical College, Beijing Medical College and Capital Medical College. Registrants”ages range from 18 to 89.

Most are classified as intellectuals, and the rest are retired cadres, workers and farmers. By March 2000, the association had registered 30 donor deaths.

Every four students at Peking Union Medical College must share one cadaver. Shanghai, Nanjing, Yangzhou have also begun donor drives.

Airline Streamlines

British Airways will introduce US$942 million worth of first class products over the next two years. The products include:

“A new cabin offering more space and facilities than other economy products, as well as a doubled hand baggage allowance; making British Airways the first major airline to offer four distinct cabins.

“A lounge in the sky” featuring full flat bed for business class travelers. Larger personal video screens, in-seat power for laptop computers and phones.

“A totally refurbished Concorde with new seats and new bathrooms.

“World traveler economy upgrading on the long haul fleet, with new seats, seatback video and new interior. A focus on family travelers includes initiatives like “Feed families first” and in-flight toys from top London toy store Hamley’s.

“Upgrades of check-in and lounges, including a completely new terminal at New York JFK.