“We could easily spot traitors who served the Japanese because their hands were not harsh from labor work.” Page 9
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 2004
The sexual innuendo common in jokes in er ren zhuan have put the folk performance off stage. Page 11
Your wallet will hardly feel a thing when you pay for the street-style delicacies in Vietnam. Page 14
NO. 140
CN11-0120
HTTP://BJTODAY.YNET.COM
China Confirms Further Bird Flu Outbreaks China’s Ministry of Agriculture Thursday confirmed previously suspected outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of avian flu in east China’s Anhui Province and Jiangxi Province. This followed the conformation Wednesday of a previously suspected outbreak in Chenggong County, Yunnan Province. The confirmation was based on reports from the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory. No humans have been reported to have contracted the disease so far. Local governments in the affected areas have been taking measures including the slaughter of fowls and compulsory vaccination to prevent the spread of the outbreak. Also reported were new suspected bird flu cases - in Dongxiang County in Jiangxi Province, Shilin County in Yunnan Province, and Luoding and Haifeng in Guangdong Province. As soon as the suspected cases were spotted, local governments began slaughtering chickens and implementing compulsory vaccination. Samples have been sent to the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory. Before the latest outbreak, bird flu had been confirmed in Long’an County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the city of Wugang in Hunan Province, Wuxue in Hubei Province and Chao’an County, Guangdong Province. (Xinhua) (See reports on page 2, page 4 and page 5.)
Poultry keepers in Lhasa vaccinate local chickens on February 4.
Guo Liying, one of the six graduates, waits for the outcome of her interview with a potential employer.
Make Way for Super Nanny By Xiao Rong he arrival of six diploma-qualified housekeepers in Shanghai last Sunday has sparked something of a media frenzy, with all of them quickly securing well-paid jobs in the metropolis. The six are the second batch of graduates from Hebei Industrial Vocational School’s household management major, and have been snapped up by local professionals impressed by their education background. Guo Sujie, one of the six graduates told Beijing Today in a telephone interview Tuesday, “I am expecting to find the right position for my future career in Shanghai.” He and his five other classmates are now taking a one week training course covering childcare and cooking to be better qualified as housekeepers. Hot demand Shanghai Laibang Household Management, the company that brought the six graduates to Shanghai, has received numerous calls and on-line enquiries from Shanghai residents interested in employing this new kind of “super nanny.” With the exception of Guo Sujie, who has been employed by Shanghai Laibang as a management staff, the graduates have all signed contracts to work in Shanghai as nannies or housekeepers. Compared with the 500 to 600 yuan housekeepers with no formal qualifications generally earn, they will receive an average monthly salary of 1,800 yuan. This initial success has encouraged the company to introduce more such graduates into the local household management industry. But not everyone is convinced that such qualifications are necessarily a good thing. An unnamed manager from Shanghai Jialilai Household Management was quoted in Shanghai’s Evening News as saying, “It’s true that these students have received systematic education in the field of household management, but when it comes to practical housekeeping skills, it’s quite another thing!” He also expressed concern that such graduates might have higher career expectations than nannies or housekeepers with no qualifications and less bargaining power, and might be tempted by the offer of higher pay to change jobs. The current training course the five housekeepers-to-be are undertaking has highlighted the fact that theory is not enough, more practical
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EXECUTIVE EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA EDITOR: XIAO RONG DESIGNER: LI SHI
skills are required, Guo Sujie told Beijing Today. “The media has been paying us too much attention, which has affected our work,” he said. “We just want to focus on our jobs with a low-key attitude.” Guo did not respond when asked whether he and his classmates were resolved to continue in this type of work in the long term. Most of the first group of graduates from his major, who were sent to Beijing last year, have given up working as housekeepers, for various reasons. A humble career? While the benefits of the introduction of qualified housekeepers in Shanghai remain to be proven, steps are also being taken in Beijing to develop the market for qualified household management staff. A group of 39 students last December became the first in China to receive the certificate of senior household management authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. During the three-month training course, trainees are required to complete 17 subjects covering Chinese and western cuisine skills, household sanitation, nursing for the elderly and infants, as well as English, computer skills, legal studies and ethics. The training course was co-sponsored by the ministry and Beijing City University, which has established a Household Management Experimental Center to carry out research in this area. Su Ying, head of the experimental center office, told Beijing Today, “Feedback from clients has shown that, of the 39 graduates, those from outside Beijing are better received than local trainees because they tend to have a more humble attitude in regard to their positions.” It usually takes some time for graduates to become accustomed to working as nannies or housekeepers, despite their qualifications, according to Su. She attributed this fact to traditional social values that discriminate against those who work in the service industry, especially housekeepers. Jia Li, one of the 39 graduates of the course, echoes Su’s view, describing her experience working as a housemaid as “purgatory.” Jia said she was not good at housework before and seldom did housework at home. “My confidence was greatly boosted after I finished the
‘At first I just couldn’t tolerate the idea that I was working as a servant.’ — Jia Li
Local officials in Jinan, Shandong Province have intensified poultry market surveillance. Xinhua Photos
Photo provided by Shanghai Morning Post
training course, but I never imagined that I could be so miserable in the process of getting used to the role of a housemaid.” Jia has had two housekeeping jobs since her graduation, one working for a company manager, the other for a magazine. Her employers expressed satisfaction with her service, though later she was chosen by the training center to undertake management work. “At first I just couldn’t tolerate the idea that I was working as a servant,” said Jia, “In the past, I was looked after by my family, but now, I need to take care of others.” But Jia says she has gradually come to accept her role, “My idea is that having taken on this job, I should try to do it as best as I can.” More qualified staff needed Most of Jia Li’s fellow graduates of the training course, however, are no longer working as housekeepers. “Once they have succeeded in treating their career equally, they will get more development chances,” said Su Ying. Referring to recent news stories about the employment in China of housekeepers from the Philippines, Su Ying expressed confidence that most employers would prefer to hire locals. “Besides, we are more familiar with the requirements of our local clients here. For example, most clients in Beijing, be they foreign entrepreneurs or Chinese, would like to employ housekeepers that can cook traditional Chinese cuisine and can teach their children about Chinese culture.” There is great potential for China’s household management market, Su stressed, but the key issue lies in the lack of qualified locals. Li Fuzhi, director of the Household Management Research Institute of the Beijing City University, maintains that long-term education rather than short-term training should be an efficient way of solving the problem. “The healthy development of China’s housekeeping industry should not solely depend on short-term practical training courses organized by various household management companies,” Li said. “Only when sound higher education and vocational education systems have been established, can the abundant local labor force be turned into labor resources.” Based on the successes and failures of the first senior household management qualification training course, the experimental center is considering focusing on more specialized training courses such as family nutrition and nursing. “It’s just a trial for our center to hold the training course for the senior household management qualification and it’s far from perfect,” concludes Su. “Still, I’m optimistic about the growth of China’s senior household management market, which I believe will be a future trend of the housekeeping industry.”
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