News: February 2009 Archives

We've been burned so many times before, so we're taking this with a grain of salt - but China Tech News reports that China Unicom has reached an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone 3G to China by May 2009. If the rumor's correct, then it means that China Unicom will be launching the iPhone the same time it starts up its WCDMA 3G network nation-wide. Apple had allegedly been talking to China Mobile as well, but talks stalled over the tech company's iTunes app business.

Bullet trains will be replacing all the daily Z trains between Shanghai and Beijing, making the commute between China's two mega-cities take ten hours instead of 12. Sadly, prices will be rising to accommodate the new technology - up to RMB 655 for upper berths and RMB 720 for lower berths one-way. Comparatively, the Z train's upper berth was RMB 478 and the lower berth was only RMB 499. We wonder if these fancy schmancy new bullet trains will have “hard seating.” Sure, it sucks to be sitting for ten hours, but at least you won't be wondering why you didn't just shell out the exact same price to go by plane. Source: Urbanatomy

More people than ever are getting plastic surgery in Shanghai, according to Channel News Asia. One beauty enhancing outlet, Shanghai Time Plastic Surgery Hospital, reported that it had seen an increase in patients by 45% year-on-year. The most frequently requested procedures include rhinoplasty, face reshaping, breast augmentation and - that favorite of Asia - double eyelid surgery. Men are also increasingly becoming surgery regulars, usually asking for “hair and mustache implants.”

A site where cosplay enthusiasts can act out the online game Counterstrike, has been set up close to the ruins left by the Sichuan earthquake. According to the site's manager Dai Jun, the area's collapsed buildings make a good setting for the game. People in the area have protested against the park, but Dai Jun, quoted in Xinhua news says that the bereaved will find consolation in the reconstruction of tourist attractions, rather than in prayers alone. "How to restore the local tourist market and benefit the local villagers should be at the top of the agenda".

Photo by deeREK

According to the twitter grapevine (@zhongnanhai), CCTV might be using its recent disaster to cut down on the little benefits that come with office life. It's allegedly removed water coolers, mini-fridges, humidifiers and microwaves in the building inan attempt to prevent fires. Are the staff bonuses (adorably named the "Cultural and Ideological Progress Bonus," by the way) also a victim of the burning of TVCC?

Scared of AIDS? You should be. HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death in China last year compared with other infectious diseases, claiming almost 7000 people's lives in the first nine months of 2008. China's Ministry of Health said that until three years ago, fewer than 8000 people altogether had died from HIV/AIDS. Now the total has risen to five times that many. The main cause of transmission has switched from needle use to unsafe sex. Something to think about next time you watch your friend have one too many drinks on Tong Ren Lu. Source: BBC

Sad news for anyone hoping to play the role of laowai doctor #3, China has issued a law effectively banning actors and celebrities from appearing in medical ads. A new notice posted by SARFT bars people without medical qualifications from making health claims in an attempt to cut down on the snake oil sales tactics rampant throughout the country. The restrictions come after an internet hunt exposed at least 12 fake experts selling medicine under different pseudonyms in Shandong alone. Source:Reuters

A record 2,662 couples got married in Shanghai on Saturday, according to figures from the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau. That's three times the daily average of roughly 800 marriage applications and about 30% more than last year's Valentine's Day. A representative of the bureau said that younger couples are more likely to pick fashionable Western festivals, especially V-Day, to get married. We say these Shanghainese ladies will probably regret it in the future when they end up getting combined Valentines-slash-Anniversary gifts from their husbands. Source: Shanghai Daily

If you're one of those people who would like a “lucky number” for your newest 3G phone, China Mobile has started accepting applications in Shanghai for digits that start with 188. The auspicious numbers are supposed to help lure people into joining China's proprietary 3G network, TD-SCDMA. This made-in-China standard is competing with the more mature WCDMA from Europe and CDMA2000 from the U.S. Source: Shanghai Daily

12 people have been detained by Beijing police over the illegal fireworks that allegedly burned up the TVCC complex. Four CCTV staff members and the eight employees connected with the company hired to fire off the fireworks display have been detained for their suspected roles in causing the fire. CCTV said the fireworks had been powerful enough to require a special permit, but the broadcaster had not applied for one and deliberately ignored police safety warnings. Source: AP

Surprise, surprise! Talks between China Mobile and Apple over bringing the iPhone to China (legally) have stalled yet again - this time over the iTunes apps store. Allegedly, China Mobile is itching to operate the application store itself in a typical ploy to retain as much control as possible. Also, unlike their Western counterparts, Chinese phone users don't typically have credit cards, preferring to pay for things by depositing money into their mobile phone accounts. Add that to already ongoing issues like figuring out which of the three 3G networks the iPhone plays the nicest with, and it's probably safe to say we won't be seeing any Made-for-China goodness soon.

Shanghai Metro passengers can now access free transport and entertainment info at major Metro stations, now that the Shanghai Metro Guide has launched. The pilot scheme allows users to send a station code to a free number: 10658028. A website address is sent back and tells you close by bus lines, maps, shopping centers and restaurants. Sounds like you would need a slightly more advanced phone to use this service, but it should be a super useful addition to the city come World Expo time. Source: Shanghai Daily

Dumex, the powdered-milk unit of France's Danone, is now under investigation in Shanghai for possibly producing milk powder tainted with melamine. 48 Chinese infants who drink Dumex have allegedly suffered kidney illnesses, though the company says there is no evidence right now that the infants were sickened by the milk powder. Source: Xinhua

A 26-year-old Shanghai woman died in New York after being run over by an allegedly intoxicated off-duty police officer. Her family is now preparing to fly to the U.S. to handle funeral arrangements. The officer has now been charged with vehicular manslaughter, assault and driving while intoxicated. A woman identifying herself as the officer's mother blamed the victim, telling the New York Daily News that “It was her fault... my son went out and had a couple of drinks. He deserves to have a good time now and then.” Uh... worst mother ever? Source: Shanghai Daily

CCTV has publicly apologized for the fire that ravaged the TVCC building yesterday night, saying that it was their fault since their employees had illegally staged fireworks too close to the unfinished complex. In an official statement posted to its website, the network said it was deeply grieved “for the severe damage the fire caused to the country's property.” Altogether, the blaze destroyed the Mandarin Oriental, the TVCC's theater complex, killed one firefighter and injured six others. Source: IHT

The U.S. isn't the only country that's making incredibly super rich people cut down on their incredible super richness, China has now also set compensation caps for its State-sector financial companies. Salaries for top executives are now limited to 2.8 million yuan. Caps for pay packages will be slashed for regular executives, down to four times their annual salary (50,000 to 700,000 yuan). Oh, the humanity! Source: China Daily

An 11-year-old girl has mysteriously jumped to her death at school this morning, the first day she returned from the Spring Festival vacation. At around 8:50am, right after her first class, the girl jumped off from the sixth floor of Shanghai Children's Dream Experiment School. A teacher told Xinmin.cn that the girl had been unhappy with her mother, and that the two had a “strained relationship” during the winter holiday. Source: Shanghai Daily

We're shrouded in fog! And if you think you're having trouble getting around, think about how the 300 ships on the Huangpu River feel. Visibility is around 1000 meters all around, and reaches lows of 500 meters in some of the worse hit areas. This is the second time this month that fog has made things tough for the 2,000 incoming and outgoing ships Shanghai sees around the area. Last week, 700 got stuck at port. Source:Philstar

Construction on the new rail line between Shanghai and Hangzhou will start by late March, officials said. The line will be 159km long with trains that run up to 350kmph, shortening the trip between the two cities to 28 minutes. Altogether, the project is expected to cost 29.68 billion yuan. Source: Xinhua

Of no surprise to most people, the Baidu scandal has caused the search engine to lose some of its massive lead over Google in the Chinese market. While the company says its taken steps to correct the problems underscored by a CCTV expose, and U.S. investors are confident that Google won't ever win the race in this country, the numbers are still enough to make Baidu sweat a little. Google's share of the local online ad market rose 4.4% to 27.8% from the prior year. Baidu's rise was smaller, at 2.9% during the same period. Meanwhile, 4Q Internet traffic levels shrunk at Baidu, but gained at Google. Source: Bloomberg

A 99-year-old Beijing man became the oldest criminal defendant ever charged in Beijing, after going on trial for allegedly swindling 750,000 RMB from an American. Zhou Zhiping, born in 1910, seems to have Nigerian scammed his victim. He claimed to be a ex-provincial governor during the Nationalist rule of China, and said he needed help to unfreeze Nationalist assets held in the United States. Because of his age, Zhou was released on bail. He could face 10 years to life (whichever comes first) in found guilty. Source: Reuters

A English-language school that used the Disney moniker without permission was forced to pay 60,000 yuan in compensation to eight families. Originally, called Disney Miracle English Garden, it managed to draw a tuition of 100 yuan per hour from unsuspecting parents. As everyone knows, there's only one school here worthy of the big D: Disney English. Rumor is it that their teachers have to teach wearing mouse ears. Source: Shanghai Daily

Ex-Pudong Vice Governor Kang Huijun, who allegedly accepted nearly 6 million yuan in bribes, has been sentenced to life in prison. Kang, who became known as “Pudong's landlord,” was arrested in 2007. Besides the bribes, he and his wife, Wang Xiaoyin, also illegally owned 11 million yuan worth of property. Wang has been given a five-year term and about 18 million yuan of the couples' net worth has been repossessed by the government. Caijing published a great summary of what Kang and Wang did leading up to their arrest.

Congratulations, Shanghai! CEIBS (the China-Europe International Business School), located in Pudong, just became the first MBA program in Asia ever to make the Financial Times' Top 10 list of business schools. It climbed to 8th place, from 11th place last year, and beat out both MIT Sloan and NYU Stern. According to the FT's statistics, 92% of CEIBS graduates get employed three months after graduation, and their salaries increased the fastest - by 179% three years after graduation. Topping the top ten was The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the London Business School.

A man in a Guangzhou Lenovo store died after the cellphone in his chest pocket exploded. The explosion severed a major artery in his neck and caused massive blood loss, almost immediately killing him. Though the make and model of the mobile phone are still under investigation, a member of the staff said the man had just changed his cellphone battery to a new one. This is the 9th recorded cellphone explosion in China since 2002, so maybe it's best to make sure your cellphone's in a bag or something, rather than on your physical person. Hexun