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| 44 |
When the House Prices Goes Down I heard that China OKs personal property seizures. Armed Thugs Assault Villagers Opposed to Seizure of Property: Hundreds of men armed with shotguns, clubs and pipes on June 11 attacked a group of farmers who were resisting official demands to surrender land to a state-owned power plant, witnesses said. Six farmers were killed and as many as 100 others were seriously injured in one of China's deadliest incidents of rural unrest in years. The farmers, who had pitched tents and dug foxholes and trenches on the disputed land to prevent the authorities from seizing it, said they suspected the assailants were hired by corrupt local officials. They said scores of villagers were beaten or stabbed and several were shot in the back while fleeing. Reached by telephone, a spokesman for the provincial government said he could not confirm or discuss the incident. "So far, we've been ordered not to issue any information about it," he said. Large contingents of police have been posted around Shengyou, about 100 miles southwest of Beijing, but bruised and bandaged residents smuggled a reporter into the village Monday and led him to a vast field littered with abandoned weapons, spent shell casings and bloody rags. They also provided footage of the melee made with a digital video camera. Despite the attack, the farmers remained defiant and in control of the disputed land. They also occupied the local headquarters of the ruling Communist Party, where they placed the bodies of six of their slain compatriots. A crowd of emotional mourners filled the courtyard outside; hanging over the front gate was a white flag with a word scrawled in black ink: "Injustice." Residents said party officials abandoned the building and fled town, apparently because they feared they would be blamed for the killings. "We want to know who gave the orders, who sent them to attack us," said Niu Zhanzong, 50, a bald, wiry farmer who made a video of part of the battle before men knocked him down, smashed his camera and broke his arm. "We hope the central government will come and investigate. We believe in party central, but we don't believe in the local police." The seizure of farmland by local officials to build roads, dams, factories and other projects, often for personal profit, has emerged as an increasingly volatile issue in the Chinese countryside, where the government owns all land and gives farmers only long-term leases. Peasants often complain they are unfairly compensated when officials confiscate their plots, and have staged hundreds of protests over the issue in recent years. The incident in Shengyou, a wheat- and peanut-farming village in central Hebei province, was unusual because the men sent to suppress the peasants appeared to be hired thugs rather than police, and because the conflict resulted in so many casualties. Residents said the men arrived in six white buses before dawn, most of them wearing hard hats and combat fatigues, and they struck without warning, repeatedly shouting "Kill!" and "Attack!" Police failed to respond to calls for help until nearly six hours later, residents said, long after the assailants had departed. Access to firearms is strictly regulated in China, but villagers said the men fired on them with hunting shotguns and flare guns. They also wielded metal pipes fitted with sharp hooks on the end. Because of the preparation, residents suggested the men might have ties to organized crime groups working with local officials. The attack was first reported Monday in the Beijing News, a state-run tabloid known for testing party censors. The paper said one of the assailants died in the clash, and reported that authorities have already dismissed the party chief and mayor of the nearby city of Dingzhou, which governs Shengyou. Officials in Dingzhou declined to answer questions, and managers of the Hebei Guohua Dingzhou Power Plant did not return phone calls. ........ http://www.progress.org/2005/emdom07.htm |
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Shanghai is Hot Peter, technically yes.....but I never have and it's usually isn't a problem even when they x-ray the bags. |
| 42 |
Is 10,000RMB/Month a Ridiculous Offer? Some good points have been made (chinese, Little Monkey). Maybe if aims is looking for something different, the pay might suite him. But yes it is a very low starting salary. There are other non-obvious expenses that will come up...traveling home is a big one and paying local taxes. Personally if the salary was a bit more I would consider it (I'm still young and single ;). To me it wouldnt be about the money (unless it was a dead end position), but instead as a stepping stone for something better....but thats just me. I've always loved Shanghai so I wouldn't need much encourgement to go. Good luck to aims with his decision. |
| 41 |
Luoyang Telephone Number Upgraded That would be called an informed decision(s). IBM sold a less-than-profitable company, the buyer just happened to be Chinese. And what about steel? China still imports most of it's steel including scrap. A whole three companies........who are still based in the U.S. |
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Helping by Hiring Don't forget "No good deed goes unpunished." I've found the latter to be more true. |
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Life in a Low Cost Labor World When comparing FedEx to Express Man, there is one big difference: accountability. I doubt Kaui Di would be compensate you for a damaged or missing package. It's all automated with FedEx as far as tracking it online to filling a claim. But within Shanghai Kaui Di sounds like a great idea. |
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I Got my U.S. Visa Beijing isn't timid, just smart. They understand that to keep foreign capital flowing in they need to keep businessmen happy and that means making the visa process easy (including for Americans). If it was very diffucult, companies wouldn't hesitate for a second to go elsewhere like Malaysia or Thailand. On the other hand, I don't see many Chinese (or Brazilian) businessmen flying into America to open new factories. Please spare us your anti-US propaganda....and you're forgetting who WJS works for. |
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I Got my U.S. Visa Kaili - True, the other countries didn't come to mind, but still possible. I guess it's only easy for illegal aliens from Mexico who will probably end up getting a free pass anyways |
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I Got my U.S. Visa ILH: I meant as far as international conflicts are concerned. As far as immigration and citizenship, it's one of the easier countries. |
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I Got my U.S. Visa Sometimes isolation isn't a bad thing. If you take some time to refresh on your History, you would see that the U.S. has always been this way. |
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Budget Travelers are the Majority That's a pretty cool site. Why didn't I think of it =) On the other hand, I don't know if it'd comfortable inviting a total stranger especially if I goto leave for school or work. Catch 22 I guess......... |
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Two Cats in my Garden That was nice of you guys. I have a cat myself. This summer we fed 2 cats and 1 kitten that hung around our compound. Homeless cats are usually less picky than a well fed cat. I just wanted to emphized that sweets are big no-no's. Chocolate can be fatal =( If you have any scraps from preparing dinner like meat or fish you can always give those. Don't forget water ;) |
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Two Cats in my Garden Try to avoid giving any kind of sugar or sweets, especially chocolate. But they always love meat and fish leftovers =) |
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A Car Towed Away for Temp Parking Were you amazed maybe? ;) It's good that they are starting to crackdown. Wait and see, in a few years the fine will be 800+ RMB. |
| 30 |
Google Desktop Sorry but "MS old and busted; Google the new hotness." Longhorn will be outdated by the time it hits the shelfs. |
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Benz Taxi in Shanghai Yea I tried to call in and one to Pudong airport but the girl on the phone was like "OK I have Santana 2000, good for 4 people. What is your address.".....err she didn't get the message. Easier just to flag one down duh. |
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Wendy Started to Learn to Drive That is true....the metro construction is not being put on hold (yet). Line 2 is already being expanded West and East. All in all, there will about 9 lines. |
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Cannot Post Comment on this Site? I made the ban list too =) |
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I am a Tough Customer Good for you! In the U.S. it is very common (almost expected) to complain at bad service or product quality. But for those in Shanghai who's Chinese is far from fluent (like myself), calling in and complain would be just one more headache and usually gets no results. Do you think I can contact you next time and have you file the complaint ;) j/k. |
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Airport Construction Fee If I recall correctly, in Bangkok you used to have to buy the airport tax before leaving. Can't remember if they have included it in the ticket or not (500 baht). |
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Wangjianshuo's Blog is Famous Until they block your site at work, I'll still visit 2 - 3 times a day ;) |
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Call 96900 for Navigation Direction Is this for buses only or general directions around the city? |
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Kodak Digital Image Printing Kiosk Are we talking about 4x6 or 6x? something...? Porbably misunderstood that, but if it's only 4x6 that would make it a bit more than in the U.S.. I found a small Kodak shop on Hong Mei that did 5x7 for an ~1.5rmb. But anyways, even at 4rmb I can see it being used for 2 reasons: 1-The need for a picture or two NOW.... 2-Some embrassing pictures you don't wanna anyone to see ;) |
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Kodak Digital Image Printing Kiosk Nice.....5 RMB is pretty cheap for a 6" picture. |
| 18 |
Sony Ericsson GC75 in Shanghai That's a bit more than I would pay considering I've had it free =) Anyways, if I'm in Shanghai, the LAST thing I would be doing is surfing the web (unless I lived there). |
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U.S. Paused All Visa Application in China I think it's also due to the back-and-forth retaliations of China and the U.S.. The U.S. will make a new rule that China doesn't like and and China will counteract by creating one making it harder for American's to get into China....and so on. I think it's only temporary though....the U.S. usually welcomes immigrants with open arms, but after 9/11 it has been just easier to reduce the number of visa's handed out rather than spend more money on personel and training. |
| 16 |
Sony Ericsson GC75 in Shanghai That's cool......be nice in the U.S. except T-Mobile is getting rid of free GPRS =( |
| 15 |
My Own Cartoon Picture with Home Style+ Cool but 3/4 of the pic's are red X's. |
| 14 |
Experiencing Maglev Shanghai He probably didn't feel like dragging his luggage up and down the stairs and through the trains. Like previously said, very bad planning on Shanghai's govt part. It would have been perfect if it extended into the inner ring. Same with #2 subway line...it should extend to Hong Qiao airport. |
| 13 |
Maglev - A Failure? I don't care if it's a failure, I'm still gonna ride it when I'm in Shanghai over the summer just for the heck of it. Now Beijing -> Shanghai Maglev would be VERY cool. |
| 12 |
Canon WebView Camera VB-C10 Wow for that much you could hire a guard ;) |
| 11 |
DHL Airwaybill Number Yup, seems pretty fast to me...........a week or so aint bad at all. |
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Service Pause Site Migrating Yea and keep us updated on the new car, maintaince, troubles, and what not =) |
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Big Drop in Price of my Car Here's some free advice: when you take your car for service, watch the tech's work on it. You have no idea how many times people have went in for a simple oil change at the dealership (called Stealerships in the U.S., guess why =) and they forget to put the new oil in. Then try to deny any fault and one is stuck going to court. Just keep an eye on them and keep all paperwork ;) |
| 8 |
Big Drop in Price of my Car Here's some free advice: when you take your car for service, watch the tech's work on it. You have no idea how many times people have went in for a simple oil change at the dealership (called Stealerships in the U.S., guess why =) and they forget to put the new oil in. Then try to deny any fault and one is stuck going to court. Just keep an eye on them and keep all paperwork ;) |
| 7 |
Big Drop in Price of my Car Here's some free advice: when you take your car for service, watch the tech's work on it. You have no idea how many times people have went in for a simple oil change at the dealership (called Stealerships in the U.S., guess why =) and they forget to put the new oil in. Then try to deny any fault and one is stuck going to court. Just keep an eye on them and keep all paperwork ;) |
| 6 |
Sanya Travelogue - on the Beach Wow! This is a lot different than I remember Sanya from a few years back. When I went with my father and brother, there wasn't much to do there except the beach. The most we could think of was renting a motorcycle around town. I don't know what part of town it was, but it was mainly deserted. My (personal) preference is still Thailand, but I think I will go back to Sanya sometime. |
| 5 |
Old Houses in Shanghai - Part III Isn't the house in the second picture occupied by a real-estate company? I would LOVE to live in there. That's what I love about Shanghai, you just be walking and look up and feel like you're in Europe or America. Good thing these houses are protected. |
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Old Houses in Shanghai - Part II Couldn't be that harsh.....look at the 2nd picture. Nice 7-Series BMW. This might not be their only house. |
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Just Few Steps Away from My New Car Good luck. Owning a car is like having a child, only the best will do. It's an expensive hobby. What is the warranty like on these cars? In the U.S., most now come with a 3 year warranty on almost anything that could break, plus a 7 year warranty on drive train parts (engine, transmission, axles,). These help a lot when something breaks. Also, do you happen to know the price of a license plate in Beijing or Tianjin? In addition, what fee's and/or requirements are there for bringing a used car into China from abroad? |
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March 20 Taiwan Election How about a translation for the rest of us? =) |
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Rent an Apartment in Shanghai Don't forget the Gubei area. Some of the older apartments are also reasonably priced. |