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COMMERCIAL aircraft from the Chinese mainland will land and take off on Taiwan for the first time in 56 years this month, under a landmark agreement on direct cross-Straits charter flights for the upcoming Spring Festival.
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| Nation |
- WEEK IN BRIEF
SHANGHAI
- Weather
A rainy week
- Fight is on for corporate travellers
THE rapidly growing business-travel market in China is sparking fierce competition between domestic travel agencies and foreign travel management companies.
- Second-hand but still skyrocketing
SHANGHAI's second-hand property sector experienced its strongest growth of 2004 in December, as previously owned housing in downtown areas continued to win the favour of foreign investors. The benchmark index, which tracks both prices and volumes of housing, climbed 2.9 per cent in December, the greatest gain of the year, according to a monthly report from the Shanghai Existing Property Index Office, released recently.
- Wacker plans joint venture
WACKER, a leading international chemical company headquartered in Munich, Germany, announced in Shanghai on January 18 a regional joint venture project with investment of around 1 billion euros.
- Omron invests for future growth
OMRON has announced plans to invest 10 billion yen (US$96 million) in Shanghai to expand its production capability over the next three years.
- Japanese firms localize purchasing to cut costs
JAPAN is increasing its purchasing of parts and equipment in China, as the Shanghai International Exhibition of Parts and Equipments marks its 8th anniversary January 26-28.
- Mayor notes shift toward quality
THE city has set the relatively moderate goal of an 11 per cent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for the new year, with a greater focus on economic efficiency and quality, Mayor Han Zheng said.
- Breathe more easily
THE air quality of Shanghai has noticably improved as a result of efforts by the municipal environmental authority over recent years. In each of the past two years, there have been more than 300 days when the air quality reached Grade Two, as graded by the national standard, according to a report recently released by the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.
- Alarms, barking dogs protect metro
METRO Line 3 has introduced an anti-theft alarm system and, in addition, two well-trained German police dogs will be "working" in the metro from now on, the Shanghai-based Youth Daily reported.
- Just pretend
"WANTED: a boyfriend to rent during the Spring Festival." A message left on the Internet bulletin board of Shanghai Jiaotong University aroused huge controversy, the Shanghai-based Youth Daily reported.
- High stakes war on gambling continues
GAMBLERS will remain under a police hammer over the next five months, the Ministry of Public Security said January 17 in Beijing. The central government has set up a special team to deal with the problem across the nation, with the issue regarded as a cradle of corruption.
- Numbers of the week
4,039 metres
- Nearly 137,000 killed in accidents in China in 2004
A TOTAL of 136,755 people were killed in traffic, work-related and other accidents in China last year, said a senior official with the State Administration of Work Safety in Beijing on January 15.
- Question of deterrence
CHINA should reform its criminal punishment system to reduce the use of the death penalty and increase long-term prison sentences, Zhang Jun, vice-minister of justice, said recently at a forum on modern criminal law and human rights protection, Beijing News reported.
- Mainland, Taiwan agree on charter flights
COMMERCIAL aircraft from the Chinese mainland will land and take off on Taiwan for the first time in 56 years this month, under a landmark agreement on direct cross-Straits charter flights for the upcoming Spring Festival.
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