Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/article/1080239/china-digest-november-12-2012
China

China Digest, November 12 2012

BEIJING

100b yuan for subways

Beijing expects to spend 100 billion yuan (HK$123.2 billion) to build more underground rail lines, or more than a third of the total value of the lines already built, the People's Daily reported, citing Vice-Mayor Chen Gang at a panel discussion on Friday with other delegates to the 18th party congress. No other details were given about the investment plans. Beijing has spent about 260 billion yuan to build its current 442 kilometres of metro lines, Chen said.

Boost for disabled jobs

Local authorities plan to invest 220 million yuan annually to encourage Beijing enterprises to employ disabled people, the Beijing Daily reported. Every company in the city would be eligible for an annual subsidy of 3,000 yuan if they hired a disabled local resident. For enterprises with disabled employees accounting for 1.7 per cent or more of their workforce, the subsidy would be doubled. There are currently more than 213,000 disabled residents of working age in Beijing, but only 118,000 have jobs.

CHONGQING

Help for hungry girl

A 15-year-old girl in Yunyang county who needs to eat eight meals a day, including 5kg of rice, because of a metabolic condition, will be given free treatment for the disorder by a local hospital, the Shanghai Daily reports. She developed her abnormal appetite 10 years ago, but the problem worsened last month. She stopped going to school during grade 5 so she could eat. People have also donated thousands of yuan to help the family.

Billboard proposal success

A 25-year-old spent a month's wages to rent a large digital billboard to help propose to his girlfriend in the centre of Yuzhong district on Saturday, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The four-minute video showed the man and 60 of his friends dancing to the popular Gangnam Style song. She said yes.

GUANGDONG

Airport trip time to halve

A new Airport Express Line slated to open in June 2016 in Shenzhen will halve the travel time between the city's central business district, Futian, and the airport, the Shenzhen Daily reports. At a cost of 33.2 billion yuan, the 51.9-kilometre line will feature 18 stations. The trip currently takes about an hour via the metro. Each express train will have eight carriages, including two designated for airport-bound passengers. The line's fares have not been set.

Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen

The annual China Hi-Tech Fair, the largest and most influential exhibition of advanced technologies in China, will be held from this Friday to November 21 in Shenzhen, which is known as a hub for hi-tech companies, the China Economic Herald reports. The fair will focus on promoting scientific and technological innovation, as well as upgrading development quality.

Fujian

Two jailed for fake shoes

Two men were recently sentenced to six years in jail in Siming district, Xiamen , for selling counterfeit training shoes worth millions of yuan, the Xiamen Daily reports. The men sold the shoes on Taobao.com the country's largest e-commerce site, between July and August 2010 for about 40 to 50 yuan a pair, or about 10 per cent of the price of the authentic shoes. In August 2010, police raided the warehouse and seized 80,000 pairs. One of the men was caught in December that year, and the other was caught the following month.

Safety texts for drivers

Provincial transport authorities will spend about 3.5 million yuan a year to send text messages to 8 million drivers across the province to promote road safety, Fjsen.com reports. The first messages were sent this month, and drivers can expect to receive them for public holidays and during adverse weather conditions. Drivers can receive the messages for free by signing up for the service with local police.

HAINAN

Work starts on water plant

Construction began on a desalination plant in Sansha city on Saturday, and work should be finished by December next year, Xinhua reports. The 70-million-yuan plant will provide clean water to nearby islets and passing ships.

Fugitive jailed for attack

A man who was on the run for more than 10 years has been sentenced to four years in jail for joining others in beating someone to death during a fight between gangs at a nightclub on March 28, 2001, the Hainan Economic Daily reports. The man was under the age of 18 when the attack took place. He lived at large in Guangzhou before turning himself in to police in August last year.

SHANGHAI

Ocean creatures on show

An exhibition featuring 64 types of vertebrates from the world's oceans opened yesterday at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, the Xinmin Evening News reports. The Spirit of the Ocean exhibition includes endangered species such as a whale shark, a finless dolphin and a grey reef shark. The specimens were obtained after the animals died, some from pollution or impact with a ship's propeller. The show will run until January 10.

'Condom tester' ad pulled

A job posting seeking women as "condom testers" in Shanghai was pulled from the classified-advertisement website Baixing.com on Friday after several people complained that it appeared to be a guise for prostitution, the Shanghai Youth Daily reports. The advert, posted on November 4, claimed that a domestic condom manufacturer was looking to hire "lively and good-looking women" aged 18 to 25 to work as condom testers in the Pudong New Area, with a salary of up to 3,000 yuan a day. More than 20 people applied before the post was removed.