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China Daily

Property curbs make their mark in Shanghai

In memory of Leslie Cheung

Contents

Bird Flu

Breathing Bike

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Shanghai reports two more H7N9 cases

SHANGHAI – Two more people were confirmed infected with the deadly H7N9 bird flu strain that has claimed the lives of six people nationwide, local authorities said Saturday.The two male patients, 66 and 74 years old, respectively, developed flu symptoms late last month and were diagnosed with pneumonia over the past two days, the city’s health and family planning commission said in a statement.

A total of 11 people who had close contacts with the two have not shown flu symptoms. As of Saturday, China has confirmed 18 H7N9 cases – eight in Shanghai, six in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui, in the first known human infections of the lesser-known strain. Of all, four in Shanghai and two in Zhejiang have died.To stem the spread of the virus, Shanghai, Zhejiang’s provincial capital of Hangzhou, and Jiangsu’s provincial capital of Nanjing have suspended live poultry trading.The national Health and Family Planning Commission said on Saturday that the country’s H7N9 cases were isolated and there has no sign of human-to-human transmission.

VocabularyPneumonia: a serious illness that affects your lungs and makes it difficult for you to breathe 肺炎Stem: to stop something from happening, spreading, or developing 阻止Suspend: to officially stop something from continuing, especially for a short time 暂停Live poultry trading: 活禽交易Poultry: birds such as chickens and ducks that are kept on farms in order to produce eggs and ducks 家禽Human-to-human transmission: 人对人的传染

Breathing Bike

Matt Hope is an artist from the UK. Living in Beijing for five years, he has observed the extreme environmental conditions. As an installation artist, he invented a bike to generate clean air for its rider.Hope said he made this bike to bring more attention to the air problem and to spark discussion about what an individual can do about the poor air quality.

VIDEO

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/video/2013-03/13/content_16304219.htm

Property curbs make their mark in Shanghai

The latest government measures to reverse rising property prices are chilling speculation in Shanghai, while prospective homebuyers are waiting for the rules to take effect. In Shimao Riviera Garden Shanghai, a high-end residential development that has attracted well-heeled buyers from across the region, an owner is offering his apartment for up to 10 percent less than the average market price. The owner, who also owns six other apartments, is offering discounts ranging from 5 percent to 10 percent on all the properties. Chen Xi, a property agent with Shanghai Deovolente Realty said the owner is obviously a speculator who, like many others, had bet that property prices in Shanghai had only one way to go — up.

But government resolve to lower prices must have caught him by surprise, forcing him to dump his holdings in a hurry before the government's market-cooling measures are fully felt, Chen said. But the discounts this owner offered still seemed too small to lure buyers. "We got lots of inquiries, but no deal," Chen said. Indeed, the government measures stemming from the policy of keeping property price increases below GDP growth is being felt not only in Shanghai, but in property markets in all other major cities as well.

The Shanghai municipal government declared on Saturday that it will resolutely implement the market-cooling measures, including the levy of a 20 percent real-estate capital-gains tax on transactions in the secondary market except for those that qualify for an exemption. These include properties owned for more than five years and those that are owned by people who have no other real estate holdings. Since then, the market has been rife with speculation that the sellers will pass the tax onto the buyers, resulting in an increase in the final price. But property agents said such worries seem groundless unless there is going to be a drastic tightening in supply.

In memory of Leslie Cheung

Raindrops fall on a portrait of late Hong Kong canto-pop singer and movie idol Leslie Cheung on top of a wreath outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong March 31, 2013, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Cheung‘s death.

A fan adjusts a portrait of the late Hong Kong canto-pop singer and movie idol Leslie Cheung over a wreath outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong March 31, 2013, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Cheung's death.

A fan carries a photo album of the late Hong Kong canto-pop singer and movie idol Leslie Cheung near wreaths at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong March 31, 2013, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Cheung's death. Exhibitions, concerts and tribute events are held in Hong Kong to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Cheung, who leapt to his death from the hotel on April 1, 2003.

A fan wearing a T-shirt featuring a portrait of the late Hong Kong canto-pop singer and movie idol Leslie Cheung poses in front of wreaths and flowers outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

http://v.ku6.com/show/7LHPC4OkZuzSP8Fo.htmlsong

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