News in review

Monday____June 13

Job preferences of graduates changing

Preferences of Chinese college graduates for employment have been changing in recent years as the country undergoes transformations in its economic and industrial structure, a recent survey found.

Knowledge-intensive industries such as information, education and healthcare are hiring more college graduates, while labor-intensive ones such as manufacturing are losing their appeal to job hunters, according to the College Graduates' Employment Annual Report.

The survey polled more than 250,000 college students who graduated in 2015.

The report, in its eighth year, also found that small and medium-sized private companies and enterprises, as employers, are gaining increasing favor from college graduates, compared with State-owned enterprises or transnational counterparts.

The report also said that the employment rate of college graduates has remained comparatively stable despite the slowing economy. (Photo 1)

Dormant SOEs to be regulated or shut down

China will regulate dormant state-owned companies to ensure they either re-start operation or file for liquidation, according to an official statement.

Dormant companies that have failed to submit annual operation reports or tax declarations for at least two consecutive years must do so or have their business licenses revoked, according to a statement jointly released by the State Administration for Industry & Commerce and the State Administration of Taxation.

The move will force non-performing "zombie enterprises" that waste resources, to shut down as they distort the general economic picture, the statement said.

The reduction of overcapacity in sectors such as steel and coal is high on China's reform agenda this year and plans have been announced to shut down non-performing plants and re-employ laid-off workers.

Tuesday____June 14

China uses first high-orbit remote sensing satellite

China's first high-orbit remote sensing satellite, Gaofen-4, went into use after six months of in-orbit testing, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense announced.

Gaofen-4 is China's first geosynchronous orbit high-definition optical imaging satellite and the world's most sophisticated.

During the in-orbit test, Gaofen-4 has been used to collect images of flood-hit areas in south China and monitor fires that occurred in southwest China's Sichuan province and in Russia.

China started the Gaofen project with the launch of Gaofen-1 in April 2013. It aims to launch seven high-definition observation satellites before 2020, designed for disaster prevention, surveillance of geological disasters and forest disasters and weather forecast.

Beijing No 1 in housing unaffordability: study

Rising property prices in China's major cities have scared off many young people and the situation is only becoming worse as rent in those cities is becoming unaffordable.

Statistics for rent in 42 major cities show that Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen - cities in the first tier - take the lead in housing rent nationwide. Beijing is at the top of the list of housing unaffordability in China for the third straight year, according to a report released by real estate services firm E-House China.

The average monthly rent in Beijing has already hit $10.86 per square meter per month. To rent a 100-square meter house in Beijing would be $1,067 a month. The price is much higher in regions closer to the city center.

Beijing was at the bottom of another list: China's most livable cities. (Photo 2)

Wednesday____June 15

Beijing bars display 'All-gender toilet' signs

Some bars in Beijing are displaying a sign on their restrooms to show their open attitude to all genders, according to qdaily.com.

The "All-gender toilet" sign shows three figures: one wearing a dress, one in trousers and one wearing half dress and half trousers.

The All-gender toilets, or gender-neutral toilets, welcome people of all sexes, including transgenders. The initiative was launched by Beijing Gender Health Education Institute, a nongovernmental organization, on May 17, which marked International Day Against Homophobia.

More than 30 organizations, mostly cafes, bars and NGOs, have joined the initiative.

Top 350 universities in Asia are ranked

A ranking of the 350 top universities in Asia puts National University of Singapore as No 1, followed by the University of Hong Kong.

Tsinghua University from the Chinese mainland placed within the top 10, ranking fifth and surpassing Peking University, which ranks ninth.

A total of 124 universities from China including 82 from the Chinese mainland, 7 from Hong Kong, 34 from Taiwan and 1 from Macao made the list of "QS University Rankings: Asia 2016".

Dr Zhang Yan, QS' director for China operations notes that in regards to higher education, China takes the lead in academic research, innovation and talent cultivation. Further, he believes the government should put more effort into encouraging investment in the area and carry on reforms in education to attract more young talent to come to the country to study and work.

The ranking is made by Quacquarelli Symonds, a British company founded in 1990, specializing in education and study abroad programs.

Thursday____June 16

Adopted children in China for a discovery mission

More than 90 Chinese children, accompanied by their adoptive families from the United States, have returned to China to locate their birthplaces.

Most of them were returning to China for the first time. They will review their adoption files, take traditional Chinese cultural classes, return to the orphanages where they lived before being adopted and travel to tourist destinations.

The heritage tours have been organized by the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption since 2006. They are aimed at helping Chinese adoptees living overseas to understand how they were adopted, recapture their childhood, and learn more about traditional Chinese culture.

More than 4,000 Chinese adoptees have been invited to visit the country since 2006.

The US tops the list of countries where Chinese orphans have been adopted. Julie Kavanagh, minister counselor at the US embassy in Beijing, said more than 90,000 Chinese children have been adopted by US families since 1979. (Photo 3)

China's first passenger plane may debut this year

China's first domestically produced large passenger aircraft, the C919, is to make its maiden flight in the second half of this year, according to the Chinese Flight Test Establishment.

However the Commercial Aircraft Cooperation of China, the maker of the C919, told the media later that the jet is still being tested, and its maiden flight could be postponed until next year.

The C919 is expected to strengthen China's capacity in high-end equipment manufacturing.

Twenty-one foreign and domestic customers have already placed 517 orders for the jet. (Photo 4)

Friday____June 17

Loan sharks demanding nude photos of students

A growing number of Chinese university students are being targeted by loan sharks who demand nude photographs as collateral, according to a newspaper report.

"The nude photos will be made public if the borrowers fail to repay their debts with interest," an insider was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily.

Some students who failed to repay their debts in time have been threatened with sexual violence or having their nude photos published online, the newspaper said.

One female university student, who was referred to as Li to protect her identity, said, "The interest rate usually reaches more than 30 percent a year, and a student can borrow from several hundred yuan to many thousand yuan."

Li borrowed money from a loan shark group to start a business in February, and said she had since been threatened that her nude photos will be published if she failed to pay.

Cram schools go after gaokao takers

Students who took the National College Entrance Examination, or gaokao, and are unsatisfied with their exam score and want to get better marks are finding they are hot property for cram schools.

A teacher, surnamed Zhang, at a well-known institute in Beijing, said it will place students in basic, advance or key classes based on their exam scores.

"Though we place them in different classes, the tuition fees are same at about 70,000 yuan ($10,647) a year including accommodation," said Zhang.

A teacher in another cram school said that for students who require one-to-one instruction, the fee goes up to 300,000 yuan ($45,630).

Some 9.4 million students took the test on June 7-8.

A fl amingo chick is seen at the Nanning Zoo in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Wednesday. The baby bird was hatched on June 4. Xinhua

(China Daily USA 06/17/2016 page12)