Zhuhai

Airpocalypse: Beijing’s bad, but PRD can’t be too smug about pollution

Posted: 01/16/2013 7:00 am

The smog in Beijing

Photographs of the smog in Beijing have hit international newspapers and caused a stir in the blogosphere over the past few days as PM2.5 readings reached 900 in some areas. To give you an idea how bad that is, 301-500 is considered “hazardous” according to the official US measurements in Beijing. In fact, there is no classification for anything above 500, so it simply reported “beyond index”.

Now hospitals in the capital are struggling to deal with illnesses caused by the unclean air, according to Shanghaiist.

However, Beijing is far from the only Chinese city suffering from heavy pollution. Hangzhou, among others, saw rescue services fail to respond to a factory fire for nearly 3 hours because the fog prevented anyone from noticing.

Here in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), which is a manufacturing hub, cities are struggling to reduce the number of cars on the road which has an impact on air quality.

There’s no good reason not to buy an air purifier

The Ministry of Environmental Protection provides data on its English language website. According to the website’s figures, the state of the air in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is ‘good’, as is the air in Foshan, Zhuhai and every other PRD city for which there is data.

However, the ministry’s data describes Beijing as “mild polluted” (sic), so perhaps its standards can’t necessarily be trusted.

On Monday, the Guangzhou City Government held a meeting to discuss progress on a drive to reduce PM2.5 in the air by at least 6% from 2010 to 2015, Guangzhou Daily reports.

The paper says the city is currently on course to do this, but an article in the same issue said that Guangzhou would take at least 10 years to get the Air Quality Index down to 35, the level that is deemed safe in China.

Leading air pollution expert Wu Dui of Zhongshan University said even that would be an amazing achievement as the city would have to reduce the PM2.5 reading by an average of 1.2 micrograms per cubic meter every year.

Although the PM2.5 reading in the city is not as high as Beijing or Shanghai, the article goes on to say that the PRD still leads the way in causing damage to the ozone layer through human activity.

The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou provides information on air quality and PM 2.5 readings through an app that you can learn about at the consulate’s website.

In Shenzhen, during the ongoing Municipal People’s Congress, a political adviser criticized a quarry in Futian District’s Antuoshan area for causing air pollution that could be affecting 100,000 residents, Shenzhen Daily reported:

Saying that nothing related to the quarry has improved since last year’s session of the Shenzhen committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), She Guozhi raised the issue again at a panel discussion Sunday and strongly criticized related government agencies.

Over the weekend, PM2.5 levels at 17 of 18 monitoring stations in Shenzhen exceeded the national daily average limit of 75 mcg per cubic meter, calling into question the claims on the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s website.

However, Shenzheners told local media they were glad to be in Shenzhen and not Beijing. Nine flights from Shenzhen Airport were canceled on Sunday because of the hazy weather in destinations such as Beijing and Tianjin.

In Dongguan, local newspaper the Dongguan Times ran a front page spread claiming that the air quality situation in the city is good, Danwei.com reported. Some netizens reacted with skepticism, others with pride.

One can never be too careful about these things. A report from Beijing University released last month concluded that PM 2.5 had sent 8,572 people to early graves in Guangzhou and three other major Chinese cities.

There is no good reason not to buy an air purifier.

(Home page photo credit: Shenzhen Standard)

Tagged: airpocalypseDongguanFoshanGuangzhouPM2.5ShenzhenU.S. ConsulateZhuhai

Another key PRD rail route opens: Macau-Zhuhai to Guangzhou launched, tickets pricey

Posted: 01/7/2013 10:00 am

There has been a lot of domestic and international coverage of the new Guangzhou-Beijing high-speed rail in recent days, with much of the coverage noting it’s the longest high-speed rail line in the world. While it’s a boon to those in Guangzhou who want to get to the capital or points in-between without fighting crowds at Baiyun Airport and sliding into cramped airplane seats, the Guangzhou-Beijing line isn’t the only notable rail link to have opened over the Christmas holidays.

Indeed, Gongbei Station at on the Zhuhai-Macau border opened on December 31, creating easy rail access from nearly all points in the PRD to Zhuhai and Macau. The line, which isn’t exactly a traditional high-speed rail line, starts at Guangzhou South Station and extends down the west side of the PRD. Up until the end of 2012, its last station was Zhuhai North, which many will tell you isn’t all that close to Zhuhai. From there, people had to take an hour long taxi ride to get to the border, sometimes at considerable cost.

The new station opening means the train will extend south from Zhuhai North down to Gongbei, which is the name of the border crossing with Macau. The journey takes 80 minutes in total, as the line stops multiple times in towns and villages along the route.

So how much does it cost for a ticket? RMB 70 for a regular ticket, or RMB 90 if you want to travel in style, in first class. And that is a problem for many who live along the line, according to the Macau Daily Times:

But according to local media reports, many city residents complained that the tickets are set at unreasonably high prices, which are over 50 percent higher than the prices before the Intercity was extended to the current stop at Gongbei. It was pointed out that at an average of RMB0.598 per kilometer, tickets of Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway is even dearer than that of Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Railway (RMB0.58/ km), and is the “most expensive Intercity Railway in the whole country”.

Coaches between Guangzhou and Zhuhai are operating at around RMB60-80 for a one-way ticket and some of the companies are cutting passenger fares to compete with the new Intercity link.

Despite the pricey tickets, the line will be a boon for Zhuhai, which should see many more weekend vacationers pop down from Guangzhou.

If you’re interested in high-speed rail in the PRD, don’t forget to check out our full review of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section.

Tagged: borderHigh Speed RailMacaoMacauPRDrailwayTourismTrainsTransportationZhuhai

Guangdong Province chooses 3 areas to pilot anti-corruption measures amid deep mistrust

Posted: 12/14/2012 5:27 pm

Guangdong Province, as is often the case, has been chosen to pilot some of the country’s newest legislation. According to China Business Journal (via The Atlantic), Hengqin County in Zhuhai, Nansha County in Guangzhou and Shixing County in Shaoguan will be “experimental zones” for a system to make information about officials’ assets publicly available in 2013.

This was announced after a period of just over a month in which scandals involving officials in the province came thick and fast.

While corruption seems to be everywhere these days, the Fabius Maximus blog, which focuses on economics and geopolitics, argues that corruption in China is not at dangerous levels when you consider how corrupt America was when it was at a similar stage of development.

But anger at official corruption is widespread and raw. Both Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping have emphasized the need to tackle corruption in order to maintain stability.

As The Atlantic points out, making genuine long-term progress through this experiment, which is part of Guangdong Province’s five year plan, would be a hell of an achievement:

The idea of an official assets disclosure system was first put forward in 1989, followed by ceaseless calls from the public, as well as proposals submitted by representatives of the National People’s Congress, demanding the establishment of such a system. But objections from various interest groups have held the plan up in the air.

Allegations of official misconduct are not slowing down. One of the more high profile cases came in Shenzhen at the beginning of this week.

In recent days, an online post accusing a Shenzhen subdistrict government official of abusing power and arranging jobs for numerous relatives was picked up by several newspapers, according to Shenzhen Daily.

In the post, a director surnamed Chen, now with the Cuizhu Subdistrict Office in Luohu, has been accused of arranging jobs in the office for 50 relatives and buying an RMB 500,000 (US$79,986) car with public funds. He also stands accused of buying an RMB 400,000 car for his own use when he was appointed head of Cuizhu Subdistrict, which would have been unaffordable on the salary he was earning.

But the exposure and punishment of the occasional official is unlikely to satisfy a public hungry for broader reforms. Demanding that officials declare assets does not stop corruption, which is described by author Murong Xuecun as “abuse of power.”

Moreover, the three counties selected are of little importance on a national level. Such reforms have been experimented on before in villages and counties, only to die out when the person who introduced them moves on.

Officials who illegally amass money can easily move it overseas. And nepotism in government departments and state-owned enterprises is so prevalent that whenever any seemingly undeserving person is promoted, many people immediately assume it be a case of nepotism.

A public that is seeing higher living costs while salaries remain stagnant is growing tired of being left in the dust by a ruling class that is not introducing the meaningful reforms to help them.

This was best illustrated by the case of the government official, Yuan Songfang, who recently jumped to his death from his residence building in Zhongshan after months of protests in Haizhou Village, which he presides over.

This case is a tragic example of the conflict between maintaining stability and tackling special interests.

Tagged: ChinaCorruptionGuangdongGuangzhouNanshannepotismshaoguanZhuhai

Daredevil flights and a new helicopter highlights of Zhuhai airshow

Posted: 11/13/2012 10:12 am

The 9th International Chinese Aviation Expo has kicked off in neighbouring Zhuhai. It’s the largest airshow of its kind in China, with 39 countries and 650 aircraft manufacturers representing, alongside hundreds of aircraft, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily. It will be underway until the November 18th if you’re interested in popping over to see it; ticket information is here.

Zhuhai is known as somewhat of an aviation hotbed in China. The airshow is frequently used for political ends, and will be so again this time. The PLA is exhibiting the new WZ-10 attack helicopter at this year’s show, and has so far been mum about its capabilities.

News reports also noted Zhuhai is planning the construction of 12 new airports for private planes, and will simplify the exam and approval procedure for pilots.

If you’re interested in aviation in China, we can wholeheartedly recommend the book China Airborne by Atlantic writer James Fallows.

Tagged: attack helicopteraviation expojames fallowsplawz-10Zhuhai

Guangzhou braces for the largest anti-Japan protest yet

Posted: 09/18/2012 9:30 am

Even when relations between Japan and China are cordial, September 18 is a sensitive date. In 1931, Japan staged the Mukden Incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria, and later the rest of China, on September 18. Each year, China marks the event as another in a long line of humiliations by great powers.

The problem is, relations between Japan and China aren’t exactly cordial this year. Over the past several days, thousands of people have taken to the streets in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, and across China to protest Japan’s claims to the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. In one case in Shenzhen, the windows of Japanese businesses were smashed and police resorted to pepper spray and water cannons to clear the crowds. That was on Sunday, and today is the anniversary of the Mukden Incident.

Protests have already started outside the embassy in Beijing today, and Guangzhou has set up barriers in Tianhe to handle an influx of protesters. The photos below are from last night and this morning in Tianhe.

We’ll keep you updated on events throughout the day. If you happen to be Japanese or have Japanese friends, best warn them to steer clear of public gatherings in the PRD today.

Tagged: anti-japanDiaoyuDongguanGuangzhouProtestSenkakuShenzhenTianheZhuhai

More anti-Japanese protests roil the PRD, water cannons used to subdue crowds

Posted: 09/17/2012 8:00 am

A protester smashes the window of a Japanese store in Shenzhen.

It was another weekend of simmering discontent in China over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, with it boiling over at times in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Our neck-of-the-woods was only one front in the nation-wide outburst of anger at the Japanese, with a Panasonic and Toyota plant damaged by fire in Qingdao.

It’s estimated there were protests of varying size in 85 Chinese cities on the weekend, with arguably the largest in Shenzhen. Reuters reports police fired water cannons, pepper spray, and tear gas to subdue rowdy protesters:

Protesters attacked a Japanese department store, grabbed police shields and knocked off their helmets. One protester was seen with blood on his face. At least one policeman was hit with a flowerpot.

Another 10,000 hit the streets in Guangzhou, overturning cars and smashing the windows of Japanese businesses. Dongguan also had a small-scale protest, while those angry with Japan in Zhuhai also demonstrated according to the South China Morning Post (behind a paywall):

In Zhuhai, demonstrators gathered in the downtown Gongbei district at about 9am. They broke through three police roadblocks and, according to Hong Kong-based RTHK, threw rocks and water bottles at Japanese cars parked on roadsides. Police were seen distributing water to the demonstrators.

Some of the worst protests happened in other Chinese cities as well, with protesters pelting the Japanese embassy in Beijing with eggs while a Japanese man had his dog killed at the hands of an angry mobs in Shanghai, according to posts on Weibo.

It’s clear the Diaoyu/Senkaku issue has become more than simply a hot-button issue, and the protests seem to be proceeding with tacit approval by the Central Government. Some reports on Twitter indicated that buses of protesters arrived at the Japanese embassy in Beijing, indicating the event was planned, while factory workers in Zhuhai and Dongguan said they were given the day off in order to participate.

With the political instability in China at the moment, don’t expect this issue to go away anytime soon. Let’s hope our Japanese friends and colleagues stay safe in the meantime.

Protest in Shenzhen on Sunday September 16

Tagged: anti-japanese protests riotsDongguanGuangzhouJapanpanasonicShenzhentoyotaZhuhai

Male victim of domestic violence applies for restraining order in Guangzhou

Posted: 08/13/2012 7:00 am

Domestic violence has been a hot issue in China ever since celebrity “Crazy English” founder Li Yang admitted to beating his American wife last year. But it’s not always the female that finds itself the victim of domestic violence.

A man in Guangzhou’s Baiyun District has accused his wife of beating him, according to the Information Times. The man, surnamed Zhang, is appealing to have a restraining order taken out against her.

Zhang met the woman, surnamed Li, 18 years ago, and after a two-year romance they got married and had a son. However, after they got married, Li became a much more irritable person, and began to get violent. It got to a point where Zhang could not take it anymore.

When Zhang initially suggested getting a divorce, his tearful wife resisted. But after Zhang filed for divorce, Li appeared outside his place of work with a muscular man and demanded he come out. The security guard eventually managed to turn them away. In the end, Zhang applied for the restraining order which will prevent his ex-wife from harrassing him, including by telephone.

Guangdong Province’s first case of a man taking out a restraining order against a woman was in Zhuhai’s Xiangzhou Court in July last year. The reason cited was that the wife had threatened to have male relatives come and beat the husband.

Couples going through messy break-ups are never far form the news in this part of the world. In January this year, one couple threatened to publish each other’s nude photos online after a dispute.

Tagged: Crazy EnglishDomestic ViolenceLi YangProtective OrderRestraining OrderXiangzhou CourtZhuhai

The PRD begins cleaning up the mess left behind by Typhoon Vicente

Posted: 07/26/2012 3:21 pm

After we told you that Hurricane Vicente was the worst to hit the region in 13 years, it has emerged that the death toll is currently at three, with six more missing, according to local media. Two of the dead were in Zhuhai, according to Sohu News.

Chengguan are enlisting the help of members of the public to clear fallen trees, but busiest of all will be the insurance companies, according to local media. Hundreds of millions of yuan worth of damage has been done in the region by Vicente.

Much of the damage was caused by trees falling on cars and buildings. There was also infrastructural damage such as telephone wires that were torn down in Zhuhai, pictured below.

A landslide blocked the Shenyan Tunnel in Shenzhen, according to The Southern Metropolis Daily, but no casualties were reported.

An estimated 110,000 trees in Shenzhen were damaged or blown down, according to the paper.

Guangzhou was also badly affected. It will continue to see heavy rain today and tomorrow, but the hot weather should be back by the end of the week.

Even Nasa was caught unaware by the rapidly increasing intensity of the typhoon. And according to the Democratic Underground, if a similar type of storm were to affect a vulnerable area of the U.S. coast such as the Florida Keys, New Orleans, Houston/Galveston, or Tampa Bay, the death toll could easily be in the thousands.

Most flights and ferry services that were cancelled have now resumed.

You can view the latest Nanfang Studio on the aftermath of the storm. It’s titled “Cleaning Up After Typhoon Vicente” and can be viewed here.

Tagged: Democratic UndergroundGuangzhouNasaShenzhenTelephone WiresTreesTyphoonVicenteVincentZhuhai

Gongbei MRT station to be completed by the end of 2012… maybe

Posted: 07/23/2012 7:25 am

While no firm date has been released, residents in Zhuhai and Macau can expect the long awaited Gongbei station, connecting the Guangzhou-Zhuhai intercity mass rapid transit (GZMRT) to open by the end of the year, according to Zhuhai Daily. Of the four major Zhuhai stations on the MRT line, only Zhuhai North Station is currently operational.

Far and away the most important of the four stations, completion of the Gongbei station is now well behind schedule. The station is critical as it is one of two ports of entry on land between mainland China and Macau. According to officials, the project’s delay has resulted in serious congestion throughout the port. Moreover, until the station is complete, travellers have no choice but to take a 40-minute shuttle bus to reach the border as there is no other means of public transportation.

From the beginning, development at the site has been plagued with controversy, and construction woes. The high density of underground pipelines has made navigating the terrain incredibly complicated for construction crews. What’s more, following the July 23, 2011 Wenzhou rail crash, new engineering requirements and safety regulations were introduced, all of which have further delayed the project. Yet despite the delays, a recent progress report stated that construction could be completed as early as the end of August, provided there’s no severe weather between now and then, and all final inspections go smoothly.

As to when the station will be open to traffic however remains anyone’s guess. According to the Nanfang’s Danny Lee who recently investigated the story, completion by the end of the year is incredibly optimistic: “From what I could see, the station is far from finished. Major delays to the final leg of the rail line have clearly been influenced by the Wenzhou rail disaster… I suspect the station won’t be operational till sometime in 2013.”

Tagged: GongbeiGongbei PortMacauMRTTransportTravelZhuhai

Stepping in to save a man’s wife

Posted: 07/17/2012 7:00 am

Among the many horrifying stories about Chinese hospitals, a good number involve patients stealing from the hospital or other patients. Last month, six were arrested in Shenzhen for doing just that. Last week, we told you about patients in Shenzhen taking dine and dash to ridiculous new levels.

But a story that recently came from Beijing and went viral has a few more shades of grey.

Last week, a Beijing man named Liao Dan became an internet celebrity and was named “Rescuing Wife Man” after he was accused of forging a seal and defrauding a hospital of 172,000 RMB to pay his wife’s medical fees. His wife was diagnosed with uremia four years ago. A few days later, a Guangdong man sent 172,000 RMB to the Beijing man to help him return the money, the Guangzhou Daily reports.

Chen Lihao, committee member of Zhuhai Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the CEO of YGSofting Co., Ltd, sent money to Liao after hearing his story and sympathizing. He hopes Liao’s penalty will be reduced because the money has now been returned. Chen said he doesn’t condone forging the seal, but thinks Liao deserves help because he was acting selflessly. “We should applaud the man’s devotion to his wife, and our society should do more to combat uremia,” said Chen.

One user of Sina Weibo said that in the grand scheme of things, it was a small amount of money considering he was trying to save his wife.

The story of a Beijing man being sent to jail and a stranger from Guangdong helping him could have been something out of All Men Are Brothers, one of China’s “four great novels.”