Results tagged “recession”

• Barack Obama and Bill Gates endorse real estate in Xi'an [Danwei] "The developer erected four giant 10x6m billboards around the building, each displaying the portrait of one "spokesperson" coupled with a quote in English and Chinese. In the Obama sign, the quote of choice is 'The values upon which our success depends have never changed,' a slight adaptation from a line in his inaugural address: 'Our challenges may be new....but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old'."
• Red tape to test transsexuals' desire [Eastday] "It was revealed last month officials at the Ministry of Health plan to set clear criteria for people who qualify for the surgery, as well as the hospitals and staff allowed to carry it out. Some in the transgender community, however, have raised concerns the new rules could be too strict [...] His fears center on the fact that, if the rules are approved, patients will have to prove they have had the desire to swap their gender for at least five years, and have lived full-time as their chosen gender for two years."
• A Virtual Game to Teach Children Languages [NYTimes Bits Blog] "Kids choose an avatar and pick a scene, like a castle in a fantasy land or a supermarket in the United States. They are confronted with challenges, like dodging flying monsters or buying fruit, all of which ask them to use English. If they hit a ceiling in their language capabilities, they go to the wizards’ library and read so-called magical books that teach them lessons. The company is initially focusing on kids age 7 to 12 in China but plans to expand globally, eventually teaching many different languages to kids all over the world."

• Woah! Is the Shanghai Disneyland idea back on? A Disney news site reports that Bob Weis, Exec VP of Walt Disney Imagineering may have been hired as the creative lead for the "in-development" Shanghai Disneyland Resort. [AWN]
• An exhibition about Cartoon Games is starting on the 4th at the Shanghai Exhibition Center (that building across the street from the Portman). We're curious and entry's only 50RMB! [Xinmin]
• Oh no, signs the recession still isn't completely over! Rental prices for high-grade offices here continue to plunge. [China Briefing]

We thought we had heard enough about death this past weekend during the Qingming Festival, but in an increasingly populated city bursting with residents, something oft-neglected when it comes to the logistics of city planning comes from the more morbid end of the spectrum. That's right, we're talking about funerals.

This is either incredibly genius or incredibly desperate, but Zhang Li, a college student in Hubei province, has opened up a web store on Taobao to sell her "spare time".

• After 15 years, China Soccer Ceases Publishing [China Sports Review] "To adapt a new economic climate, we are to restructure our product. During the restructuring, China Soccer will temporarily cease publishing from March 10. Thank you, our readers, for your support all these years and being along with us."
• NBA May Benefit as China Boosts Sports Arena Plans [Bloomberg] "China’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) of extra spending, announced in November, includes boosts for cultural and sports- related infrastructure. That’s prompting local governments to sound out the NBA about managing future stadiums, said Tim Chen, NBA China’s chief executive officer."
• China to Overcome Global Recession First, Rogers Says [Bloomberg] "China’s reserves allow the government to spend on projects that will make the nation more efficient and competitive as the global economy recovers, said Rogers, the author of 'A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World’s Greatest Market.' Signs China is taking steps to liberalize its currency will also benefit the country, he added."

The CCP warned that 2009 will be "possibly the toughest year" to secure economic and agricultural development since the beginning of the century. A document issued jointly by the State Council and the Central Committee said that the world economy's slowdown would have an increasingly negative impact on the Chinese economy. The best solution for keeping growth up would be boosting rural areas using social security schemes and rural land and employment rights protections. Will 2009 be the year migrant workers actually choose to stay home? Source: Xinhua

Welcome to the latest episode of Chinese Soundbites, a podcast series brought to you by ChinesePod and Shanghaiist. Every week we'll be bringing you topics and words pulled straight from the headlines, in Mandarin Chinese.