Today's Shanghai | News(2000)

July

Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd., an oil product manufacturer, has defended the State's recent increase in petrol and diesel oil prices, saying China still enjoys far cheaper fuel than many other countries.

Shanghai Airlines and China Eastern Airlines were two of nine Chinese companies objecting to a recent proposal by Civil Aviation Administration of China to raise plane ticket prices. Since the end of last year, fuel prices have risen by US$36 to US$48, causing an increase in transportation costs.

The annual mass wedding ceremony, organized by the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Committee and Luwan District, will be held for the third time on October 15. The ceremony is open to Shanghainese, non-local residents and foreiners.

Local airline companies have begun to recruit foreign flight attendants. China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd. now has eight Japanese stewardesses and several European attendants.

The cancellation of Anti-Gambling Rules in a standing session of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress last week don't mean that gambling will be allowed in the city.

Roche, the Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, will invest US$300,000 in Chinese National Human Genome Center in Shanghai, with annual payment of US$100,00, to support it research into genetic diseases.

Shanghai's old, State-owned cinemas are feeling the pinch as new joint-venture picture houses such as the City Studio Cinema and the Haixing Cinema steal their audiences.

Between January and June, Zhabei police arrested 51 people suspected of trafficking, selling or distributing porn material and confiscated more than 180,000 pirated VCDs and CDs and more than 6,000 illegal publications.

More than 300 farmer families living on China's third largest island, Chongming Island, were hit by a tornado and storms but no one was injured.

Air China Flight 1216 bound for Beijing from Shanghai Pudong International Airport ran off the runway just before takeoff.

A gang of 24 farmers-cum-burglars from Southwest China's underdeveloped Guizhou Province was busted recently by Xuhui District Police.

Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport has become China's first airport to be voted the country's best for its high standards of service throughout four years of operation.

The city is witnessing this year's summer transportation peak with more than 400,000 passengers travelling by rail daily, according to Shanghai Railway Station.

The target for this year's exports in the city has been raised from US$ 20 million to US$ 21 million.

A 40-kilometer-long super-speed magnetic levitation rail is expected to cut commute time between Pudong International Airport and the financial hub of Lujiazui to a maximum of a quarter of an hour.

On the afternoon of July 10, a tropical storm left Shanghai without inflicting any damage on the city, but it did bring winds of just under force 6 and heavy rains.

Shanghai Jiaotong University is going to set up the country's first digital art and cultural industry college. A letter of intent was signed recently.

A wolf sauntered out of Huashan Hospital and roamed on bustling streets in the downtown area last week, causing traffic jams after pedestrians fled in all directions.

Two men were recently prosecuted at the No. 1 Branch Procuratorate for murdering a man and dumping his body in a river in Pudong.

The city is witnessing an increase of the so-called sexual aids shops. It now has over 2,000 such shops, the proliferation of which has drawn criticism from some locals.

Access to verdicts in some high-profile court cases is available through the Internet at a website launched on July 1 by Municipal No. 1 Intermediate Court.

Of 1,000 migrant workers aged between 18 and 35 in Shanghai questioned by the local Youth League Committee, 17.7% said they were often looked down on by Shanghainese.

The official launch of Viagra on the Chinese mainland has been cautiously welcomed by experts in Shanghai's hospitals.

Three highly valuable bronze animals heads, recently returned to their rightful home in China after being bought through auction in Hong Kong for HK$30 million, will be displayed in Shanghai.

The Modern World Space Aviation Technology and Culture Exhibition opens in Zhongshan Park on July 10. The exhibition will last two months.

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