Beijing Today (May 23, 2001)

Page 1

It’s a good time to visit the other Ming Tombs Page 16

FRIDAY MAY 25 2001

Cui Jian, father of Chinese rock music, is trying his hand at acting. Page 12

NO. 3

By Xiao Rong Beijing has three preconditions for Taiwan before any discussions about joint hosting of the 2008 Olympics, said the vice chairman of the Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee. Jiang Xiaoyu said at a press conference that discussions can only take place with the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee if: 1) Beijing is selected to stage the 2008 Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC); 2) the IOC permits events to be held in another Chinese city be-

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Three Conditions for Cross-Straits Olympic Games sides Beijing. According to current IOC rules, the Olympics can only be held in one city in one country; 3) Beijing and Taiwan must cooperate under the OneChina policy. “Although it’s too early to consider the possibility of a crossstraits Olympics, some activities, such as cross-straits marathons, have already been jointly held by Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee and Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee,” said Jiang. Jiang was speaking at a party held by Hong Kong supporters of the Beijing Olympic bid.

She has only one duty, that of a teacher. Page 9

The Chinese government declared the end of fixed pricing in the domestic car market on Monday. Although observers believe it is a delayed announcement, they still welcome it. According to their opinions, it is a clear signal, which means that the government has changed its attitude from protection to active supervision. The government hopes that domestic firms will achieve more in taking more market share before the entry to WTO.

DELAYED ANNOUNCEMENT BUT CLEAR SIGNAL

Perfect 100: High Marks for Ufsoft The performance of Ufsoft last Friday at One hundred is a SSE will elevate perfect grade for ChiWang higher on the nese. But for Wang list next year, as his Wenjing, the chairholding of 55.2% Ufman sitting on the soft stock now is board of directors of equivalent to 5 bilBeijing Ufsoft, it took lion yuan ($600 milless than a day to lion). achieve this mark afWang, 36, ter 13 years’ hard together with his work. friend Su Qiqiang, Last Friday, Ufsoft started Beijing UfUfsoft President Wang stock was listed for soft in 1988 as a speWenjing the first day on the cialist in accounting Photo by Cheng Tieliang main board at the and business manShanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). agement software. Its debut was the focus of the day Now Ufsoft, with its headquarand drew investors. Shortly after ters at Beijing’s Zhongguancun the market opened its afternoon Technology Park, is the biggest session, the SSE 600588 stock accounting and business mansoared up to 100 yuan, equiva- agement software developer and lent to about $12, making Ufsoft the biggest independent software the third public listed company vendor in China. to achieve the 100-yuan mark in Its accounting products have China’s stock history. It also set taken over 40% of the market in a new record by achieving that China and been the biggest playhigh in its very first trading day. er there since 1988. “Going on the main board is Last year, as most high-tech just a target of a certain phase,” companies sought listing on the said Wang. Hong Kong and overseas stock“And better is yet to come.” markets, Wang decided to stay Months ago, Wang was listed where he started. in the Forbes World’s Richest. “We chose to wait for the main With a personal net worth of board, Now you can see that we $60 million, he ranked 41 among were absolutely right,” Wang said the 50 wealthiest men in China. with a smile. By Song Xiaogang

A salesman waits for customers in the Asian Games Village Auto Market

By Li Zhao/ Duan Xiaodong The Chinese government declared the end of xed pricing in the domestic car market on Monday. Producers, sales agents and market forces will now determine the price. The Chinese media has already begun debating if this overhaul might damage the domestic car industry. State Planning Committee ofcials said the reform would encourage consumption and competition among domestically-produced cars. In the past, the Chinese car market was under a tight monopoly determined chiey by government purchases and a rigid pricing system. However, the domestic car market has completely shifted in recent years, with individual car purchases surpassing the old government quotas. Car producers and dealers now compete ercely. With this as the backdrop, the State Planning Committee surrendered its xing role and let prices be determined solely by market forces. It is an unavoidable step in the liberalization and progress of the domestic car industry in preparation for China’s imminent

Photo by Zhuang Jian

WTO entry, analysts say. However, this announcement can hardly be called a sudden revolutionary act, as the Chinese automobile market has been opening to the market already for several years. Many producers simply do not submit their prices to the government for approval. The lower band limit was already broken and some analysts believe the policy shift is in effect a delayed announcement, with no likely effects on the market. But they still praise the policy change, news that conforms with the winds of the times, a positive step for a government. It will encourage producers to sharpen their competitive edge, nudging previously reluctant domestic producers to develop more economical, safer and energy-efcient vehicles for ordinary citizens. Small capacity, high cost, low protability and high debt producers must take drastic measures. Chinese consumers increasingly follow developments in the international car market, and their appetite for foreign vehicles is almost palpable in the popular auto shows. Thus consumers have high expectations, but producers and dealers remain more lev-

el-headed. Domestic producers received the end-of-pricing notice on May 10, and most have adopted a “watch-and-wait” attitude towards price cuts. Typically, they rule out the possibility of an overnight price war, but predict a slow and steady decline of prices, with growing emphasis on “value for money”. In fact, dealers around the country report calm and stability. In the words of a manager in the Asian Games Village Auto Market, one of Beijing’s prominent car dealing marketplaces, future price cuts will more likely derive from market changes than the “letting-go” policy. Family Annual Income

By Tian Ye

Number of cars per 10,000 persons

Unit: 1000 yuan

1.2 Million Chickens Slaughtered in Hong Kong

No Virus Detected in Mainland By Xiao Song

Photo by Li Xin

Heavyweight boxers Evander Holyeld and John Ruiz, read Beijing Today articles about them. Page 8

China has ordered that all authorities in charge of quarantine, animal epidemic prevention and foreign trade and economic cooperation must keep an eye out for bird flu after an outbreak in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao must be

disinfected, according to a circular issued by the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Sources with AQSIQ indicate China has not detected any case of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

In a bid to prevent the H5N1 bird flu from mixing with other viruses, the Hong Kong government has ordered all of its 1.2 million chickens and other poultry to be slaughtered after the strain apparently caused the death of hundreds of chickens last week. About 440,000 birds were destroyed including chickens in the retail markets, fresh provision stalls

and in the wholesale markets from last Friday. Officials at the Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Shenzhen, an important channel of live poultry for the Hong Kong market, have denied that the virus originated on the mainland, saying that all the 1.3 million live poultry exported to Hong Kong this year met standards.

EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: PANG LEI ■Under the auspices of the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government ■Run by Beijing Youth Daily ■President: Chen Xing ■Editor in Chief: Zhang Yanping ■Executive Deputy Editor in Chief: He Pingping ■Director of the Editorial Department: Liu He ■Deputy Director of Editorial Department: Liu Feng ■Price: 1 yuan per issue ■13 yuan for 3 months ■Address: No.23, Building A, Baijiazhuang Dongli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China ■Zip Code: 100026 ■Telephone/Fax: (010) 6590-2525 ■E-mail: bjtoday@ynet.com ■Hotline for Subscription with Red Cap Company: (010) 6641-6666


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