shanghai

Easier delivery

NEARLY 60 per cent women in Shanghai now choose to have a Caesarean section when giving birth, an increase of 40 per cent over a few years ago, according to a survey conducted by the Women Health Care Institute. Most of the women were afraid of the pain associated with child birth and requested the operation. Thanks to the pressure of competition and the higher profits earned from Caesarean operations, most hospitals provide the operations on demand. Statistics show that half of the women who receive the procedure are capable of normal childbirth. Doctors have said the risk of disease is higher when women choose to have a Caesarean section when compared to natural childbirth.

Picky travellers

LOW-PRICE trips to Southeast Asian countries have proven not to be as popular as local travel agencies expected. A trip to Thailand was only being charged at between 688 yuan to 999 yuan (US$83 to 120). However, insiders said it was good news for the tourism industry because locals have stuck to more rigorously scheduled trips offered by qualified agencies, rather than putting price at the top of their list.

Art thieves

THE court hearings of two Chinese art thieves in Changning District Court was delayed because both suspects shifted the blame onto the other. Chen Zheng and Deng Yongxing, both from Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, stole 19 famous paintings from upscale hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing since 1990. They were high school classmates and both learnt Chinese painting when they were young. Both of them confessed in court that the other party was the main perpetrator.

Robbers sentenced

THREE robbers who were at large for nine years were caught recently and sentenced to either five or six years imprisonment by Nanhui District Court. The three criminals, together with two other suspects, robbed a brick factory owner of 6,000 yuan (US$723) in 1995. They fled to other provinces and changed their names According to a report, two of them were caught early this year, one in South China's Guangdong Province and the other in Fengxian in Shanghai. The third, already in jail for another crime, was charged for a second time.

Sperm saving

A SPERM-PRESERVATION service on trial in a Huangpu District hospital since the start of the month has had 10 people registers to "deposit" sperm. Tang Xiaohui, head of the hospital said would start the bank formally after getting to know the market better. The hospital charges 2,500 yuan (US$301) for men under 35 years old and 3,500 yuan for those above that age. Another 200 yuan is required as an annual fee. Tang said the hospital would give health examinations before sperm-collection and sign a contract with depositers, letting them know of the risks the preservation poses to the sperm.

Car-renting obstacles

VISITORS from other provinces are being turned down by local car-renting companies as they require local resident certificates or local warrantors to lower risks in the business. But the rule does not apply to foreigners who only have to show a passport to rent a car. An employee of Hertz, a car-renting company, said the company could incur great losses if their clients didn't have a steady income or property.

Pumps watched

A "black box" will be fitted in the gasoline pumps of each filling station this year to prevent employees stealing petrol from their customers. Some gas station owners changed computer settings and stole 5 to 10 per cent of gasoline from customers filling up at their stations. The city has printed 100,000 pamphlets to give drivers some basic knowledge of gasoline pumps.

Canadian flavours

A CANADIAN Food Festival, jointly sponsored by the Canadian Consulate General and Shanghai Sugar, Cigarette & Wine Co Ltd, is on at the No.1 Food Store on Nanjing Donglu through to November 22. At the festival, two typical Canadian specialties, ice wine and maple syrup, have been introduced to locals. A total of 300 products are on display and sold at the store.

BEIJING

Higher power rate

CHINA will see another increase in the electric power rate in the near future, according to a plan made jointly by the State power sector and Asian Development Bank. The plan, which will be implemented in December, will increase household rates first. Households now pay 15 per cent less than industrial users, in contrast with international practice. In developed countries, the rate for household power use is twice that for industrial use. Household create variable and peak usage times that are more costly to the power provider than the less variable industrial usage. However, since Chinese household income levels are still low, the rate increase will be slight.

Law elites to be awarded

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Institute of Law is planning to honor outstanding young experts in law, a step aimed at encouraging young law experts to contribute more to the rule of law in China. Any law expert under the age of 39 who has had academic papers or books published in recent years is eligible for the new Fading award. The institute has set up an expert panel of judges, led by Wang Jiafu (who chairs the China Law Society's academic committee) to select recipients of the award. Established in October 1958, the CASS institute is the most authoritative and prominent in law research and education in China.

HUBEI

Poisonous leak

A SULFUR dioxide leak that occurred November 9 at a chemical firm in Yidu City in Central China's Hubei Province, caused illness in 108 people living nearby. All those affected, who had symptoms of respiratory diseases including coughing and distress, have been hospitalized. Eighteen of them were seriously poisoned, but were out of danger, according to the local hospital. Lightning strike caused a power failure which in turn caused failure of the sulfur dioxide-insulating tower system and the resulting leak at the Chuxing Company, city government sources said. The accident site has been closed and the leak has been brought under control.

YUNNAN

Illegal Emigration

POLICE in Southwest China's Yunnan Province cracked an illegal emigration case early November, catching one "snakehead" - a human smuggler - and 58 illegal emigrants from South China's Fujian Province, according to a report November 9 in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province. The snakehead, surnamed He, faked passports and visas and arranged for 58 people from Fuqing City in Fujian to leave China via Kunming Airport and ground transport terminals. The group planned to go to Britain via Myanmar and Brazil with the help of international snakeheads. The illegal emigrants paid snakeheads from 160,000 to 250,000 yuan (US$19,350 to $30,230) each.

ANHUI

Malfeasants punished

Ninety-seven local officials were found responsible for a milk powder scandal that killed more than a dozen babies earlier this year in the eastern province of Anhui. The officials, all connected to local government or supervision departments, were accused of "not discovering or fully investigating" the case. They will be punished after clarification of their specific role, local newspapers said. China has launched a crackdown on sales of inferior milk powder after at least 13 babies died and nearly 200 fell ill after being fed the fake milk powder. An inspection team also found more than 50 companies producing inferior-quality milk. In August, two officials were jailed for failing to prevent the sale of fake milk powder.

TAIWAN

More suicide attempts

A RECENT survey showed that 10.2 per cent of the university students in Taiwan Province have attempted to kill themselves in the previous year. The survey, conducted by Cheng Kung University, randomly selected 3,848 university students, and found that 1 per cent of them had attempted suicide in the week before the survey was conducted. The number is much larger when the study included the whole year. About 10.2 per cent of the students said they had attempted suicide during the previous year. Depression, feelings of hopelessness and excessive media coverage of the subject are the main reasons for the increasing suicide rate. Relevant data showed that the number of people who killed themselves in Taiwan reached 3,195 last year, 1.46 times the number of ten years ago.

HUNAN

Beer acquisition

InBev, the world's largest brewer by volume, acquired the remaining 45 per cent of Hunan Debier Brewery Company on November 8. The US$18.2 million transaction is part of InBev's ongoing integration process of Lion Group Breweries, which it acquired earlier this year. As one of the leading brewers in East China's Hunan province, InBev now has a market share of over 80 per cent in Changsha, Hunan's capital. With a capacity of 120,000 tons, the Hunan Debier Brewery is expected to increase Inbev's profitability and market share in the province.