Well's spiritual tale bubbles over
ONCE upon a time, Shanghai Star British copy editor, Sophie Gale, met an elderly Shanghai lady. The bespectacled, quaint woman, in her 80s, speaking in English, told Sophie she was from Bubbling Well.
'365' project for better housing
IT is now very hard for Wang Jilin to pick out the exact location of his old house on the expanse of green land now covered with flowers he once lived on for over 40 years.
Pimp kills wife's client
A MAN who had been acting as a pimp for his wife and helped bludgeon one of her clients to death, was recently prosecuted at Zhabei District Procuratorate.
Waiting for your ship to come in
A LIFE-size cardboard cut-out of a blonde air stewardess with "WELCOME" written across her midriff greets customers of China Travel Service (CTS) shipping department, inside the Jingmen (Golden Gate) Hotel on Nanjing Road West. A notice on the wall at reception reads in Chinese "Whatever your needs, we will promptly meet them."
Internet helps in fight against crime
WHILE computer hackers are a headache for the police, the web is also a useful weapon for the police in investigating crimes.
2 husbands face court hearing
YANGPU District Court recently prosecuted a man who tried to gas his wife, his lover and himself after his wife refused to agree to a divorce.
Winds, rain freshens urban air
STRONGER winds and more rain helped disperse air pollutants in Shanghai last week, making the city's air cleaner.
Move to Pudong
AS the 10th anniversary of the opening up of Pudong New Area draws close, major domestic financial institutions are shifting their Shanghai business headquarters to the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, billed as Shanghai's new financial centre.
Seeking solutions to pollution on-line
DO you dream about sleeping without being woken by noisy trucks in the middle of the night or power drills in the morning? Touring the Bund and being able to breathe fresh air? Or walking along the brilliant Nanjing Road pedestrian mall without getting your nose assaulted with cigarette smoke?
Tourists can stay 2 days visa-free
ALL overseas tourists who come to Shanghai via Pudong International Airport or Hongqiao International Airport may now stay for up to 48 hours without having to obtain a visa beforehand.
Banks on y2k alert for leap year change
DESPITE the smooth global transference into the third millennium virtually Y2K bug-free, local banks said they are still on the alert for millennium bug glitches today and yesterday - also considered high risk days.
Hongqiao airport ranks top in China
HONGQIAO Airport ranked top among China's airports, handling 752,300 tons of cargo and mail last year, according to statistics released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China yesterday.
Shanghai to have 11 metro lines
A NETWORK of rail track including a total of 11 metro lines, seven light rail lines and three rail tracks is to be constructed in the city, according to Shanghai Urban Planning and Administration Bureau.
Tianyuan signs court pact
By Wan Lixin
AN agreement to prevent possible cases of corruption during the relocation of Tianyuan Chemical Plant (Tianyuan) was recently signed by Changning District Procuratorate with the plant. The agreement spells out measures to curb waste, to ensure the proper disposal of chemical wastes, to prevent the flow of State assets into private hands and other unlawful acts. Tianyuan, a major State-owned chemical plant in Shanghai specializing in producing caustic soda, chlorine, hydrochloric acid and other chemical products, was founded in 1929 by Wu Yunchu, a patriotic national entrepreneur. The plant located in Changning District now has 2,600 employees and covers an area of 250,000 square metres. As it is now close to the city centre and surrounded by residential areas and plant is a serious polluter, the plant has long been a source of concern among the residents and municipal urban planners. It was decided the plant would suspend production before the end of this year and be relocated to a new site in Caojing Chemical Zone in Jinshan. The relocation is listed as one of the 10 major municipal projects that are "practical things with the people's interest at heart." The corruption-prevention agreement was signed given that many State-owned enterprises are plagued by poor management and corruption. According to the procuratorate, major efforts will be devoted to enhancing legal consciousness through education among the employees, perfecting regulations and instituting stricter monitoring of the removal process on the part of the procuratorate. Special attention will also be paid to the smooth transfer of the chemical waste from the plant in order to minimize its impact on the local residents. The district procuratorate last year alone brought to justice 18 corrupt officials from 17 State enterprises including banks, building companies, metallurgical manufacturers and others. Most of the suspects were accused of bribe-taking and embezzlement of public funds, the total value of which was put at over 8 million yuan ($960,000).
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