China :: Shanghai

THE majority of new HIV carriers and AIDS patients in Shanghai are men aged between 25 and 44, city health officials said yesterday. About 82 percent of this year's newly-confirmed HIV carriers became infected through unprotected sex and half of them were homosexuals, the Shanghai Public Health Bureau said. The percentage of HIV carriers infected through intravenous drug injection decreased by nearly 20 percent from last year. "In some areas of the country, unclean blood donations and drug injections are the main spread means, but Shanghai is different," said Wu Fan, director of the Shanghai Center of Disease Control and Prevention. "Since the city found the first AIDS case in 1987, sex has always been the main spread means. And in recent years, as we encourage people to go for HIV virus inspection voluntarily, more cases have been revealed." The city has 74 HIV test sites, and anyone who suspects he or she may be affected can be tested there free. The sites ha...

LOCAL Metro management is working to reduce the problem of excessive emergency braking on Line 10 amid growing complaints from riders. Many Metro passengers have complained that trips on Line 10 are uncomfortable because the trains often engage their emergency brakes. The problem is triggered by Line 10's route peculiarities and a current signaling system deficiency, said Shao Weizhong, vice president of Shentong Group, the local Metro operator. Shao said Line 10 is special as drivers face an excessive number of curves along its downtown route. "Drivers have to be very skillful in controlling the speed so as to avoid causing uncomfortable feelings to the passengers," Shao said. Additionally, the signaling system on Line 10 triggers frequent emergency brakes without a clear cause, Shao said. He said the system supplier is looking for solutions. Line 10's operation has come under greater public scrutiny following the September 27 crash in which two trains collided when ...

There was a bittersweet conclusion yesterday to a former wartime refugee's search for "Mr Chu," the man who was so kind to her family during their stay in Shanghai. A relative of the "Shanghai Uncle," an elderly Jewish woman had been searching for to express her gratitude for his help more than 60 years ago, got in touch yesterday to share her childhood memories. But she also brought the sad news that Mr Chu, whose real name was Zhou Zhiji, died 10 years ago at the age of 88. His daughter, Zhou Huizhen, got in contact with the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum yesterday. The museum has been helping 73-year-old Vera Sasson, who lives in the United States, in her search. Zhou, now a 70-year-old grandmother, said: "My father was a warm-hearted man and he was probably one of only a few Chinese men who could speak English well in the community. When local families wanted to communicate with Jewish families, my father would always offer help with translation."...

THE relatives of Mr Chu, the "Shanghai Uncle" an elderly Jewish woman has been searching for years to show her gratitude for his help to her refugee family 60 years ago, have showed up today with fond childhood memories. Mr Chu, whose real name was Zhou Zhiji, died 10 years ago at the age of 88. He used to be a director of a Shanghai tobacco company and he could speak fluent English, which helped him to make friends with Jewish refugee families, said his daughter Zhou Huizhen, now a 70-year-old grandmother. Zhou said she was watching a local TV news program when she suddenly saw her father's photo being held by a 73-year-old Jewish woman, Vera Sasson, who was her playmate when she was only five or six years old. Zhou recalled that during the 1940s, her family had a very close relationship with their neighbor, a Jewish family living at 432 Kunming Road, Hongkou District. She said his father usually took the little cute Jewish girl home and invited her to eat Shanghai snack...

Former basketball star Yao Ming was among guests at a fundraising banquet for the Special Olympics last night in Shanghai. Yao saw his first bottle of Yao Ming 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, together with his shoe molds, make 200,000 yuan (US$31,423) in an auction at the event. The charity banquet raised nearly 2.9 million yuan for the Special Olympics. The first 1,200 bottles of Yao Family Wines will be available on the market for 3,800 yuan each. The 31-year-old multimillionaire also donated a super-sized jacket for auction, which was bought by a businessman for 160,000 yuan.

FOREIGN airlines are at the center of a growing number of passenger complaints, the local consumer rights watchdog said yesterday. The city industry and commerce administration based at Shanghai's airports said it had received more than 70 complaints this year up to October against foreign airlines. This is an increase of more than 120 percent on the same period last year. Around 40 foreign airlines provide services in Shanghai. "A lack of effective communication and airlines being unfamiliar with Chinese traditions and habits are the main reasons for complaints," Wang Guangdi, the director with the consumer rights protection committee office at the airports, said at a meeting yesterday attended by more than 30 foreign airlines. He said travelers complained that it was often impossible to get through on some airline hotlines. Language barriers were also an issue, said Wang. "Most companies require complaints in English," said Wang. "That's inconvenient ...

SHANGHAI will have a warmer weekend after a minimum temperature of 6.2 degrees Celsius was recorded yesterday, the lowest since the start of this autumn, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau. As the cold front is fading away and the mercury is estimated to bounce back to as high as 21 degrees Celsius on Sunday. However, rainy weather will set in early next week and the temperature will drop to a range between 13 and 10 degrees. Weathermen said the weekend spike in temperature will still be considered normal as temperatures over 20 degrees were recorded in previous Novembers.