Written by:
Staff Reporter Amber Butler-Davis
Edited by: James Kelly

The Chinese calendar has worked since the Emperor Huang introduced the cycle of the Zodiac in 2600 B.C. The Chinese calendar follows the circle of the moon, meaning that, according to our Western calendar, the beginning of the new year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February.

This year, falling under the symbol of the ox. The holiday will be celebrated on the 26 and 27 of January. A complete circle of the Chinese lunar calendar takes up 60 years, which is then divided into five cycles containing 12 years in each.

Each of these 12 years is named after a particular animal. The legend is that the Lord Buddha summoned all of the animals to appear to him as he departed from this earth. The following 12 animals are the only ones that came to say farewell to him. A rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a sheep, a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a bear.

The Buddha then named a year after each animal in the order they arrived as a reward for coming to say goodbye to him. The Chinese belief is that an individual that is born in a certain year will therefore carry with them the certain characteristics of the animal that that year was named after.

With this year being the year of the ox, here is what we can expect to see from being that were born in the ox’s years. Tenacity, steadfastness, a suspicion of dubious schemes, little time for idle conversation and a commitment to hard work. It is surprising to say that President Barack Obama falls under this symbol.

Other prominent oxen’s include Diana the Princess of Wales; former President Richard Nixon; impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh; singer Bruce Springsteen; and actors George Clooney, Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda, Morgan Freeman and Dustin Hoffman.

The manager of Merlion Asian Market in Nashua, Joy Chaisiriwon explained how this is going to be the biggest celebration in China. Many families will get together on the Sunday of the 26th for the Pai Pai ceremony, she continued.

Chaisiriwon also said that this is the time when families attempt to affect their fortunes for the forthcoming year, whether it be in health, wealth or grandchildren.

She explained how there are three basic items that are essential to the ceremony. First, there has to be a whole chicken, complete with the head and feet; a serving of crispy pork; and a pan-fried fish, complete with the head and fins, Chaisiriwon said.

Every home will be decorated in red and gold, while a blossoming tree will be brought into the house and decorated with wishes written on slips of red paper. All of the food eaten on the Chinese New Year’s Eve has specific importance.

Along with the fish, chicken and pork, there must also be uncut noodles, which symbolise long life. In addition, dried bean curd and seaweed are there to represent health and happiness.

Fried rice with egg contributes abundance while the Peking duck promises fidelity. Additionally, any dish containing Bok Choy will bring good luck.

Don’t forget about the traditional desserts that must include coconut candies, preserved ginger, watermelon seeds and dried peanuts. 



The recipes below can help you enjoy the celebration of the Chinese New Year as well as having a positive affect on your future year.

STIR-FRIED BOK CHOY WITH RED PEPPER


2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic,
Finely chopped
 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1 bunch bok choy, leaves separated and cut on the diagonal

1 red pepper, cut julienne

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine or sherry

1 spring onion, finely sliced


Heat wok, and add oil. Toss in garlic and ginger, sauté for 30 seconds. Add bok choy and pepper; cook until tender. Add additional soy sauce, sesame oil and sherry to taste. Serve hot with egg noodles.

 Serves 4-6.



MANDARIN PANCAKES


2½ cups unsifted flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon lard, cut into small pieces

Sesame oil


Mix the flour and the salt. Add boiling water, and stir with chopsticks. Add the lard, knead all and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

 Roll the dough into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Slice into 1-inch long pieces. Take one piece of the dough, and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, and place another flattened disc on top. Using a rolling pin, roll into a disc about 5 inches in diameter.


To cook, place each pair of pancakes into a small nonstick pan. Cook until small brown spots begin to appear. Turn the pancakes over, and do the same on the other side. Remove to a plate. Repeat the process with each of the pancakes. 
When cool, carefully separate each pair of pancakes. Keep warm. To be served with Peking Duck.

 Serves 4-6

Wannabe Porn Star Detained

Copyright Melbourne Age

(Shanghai Bureau – Edited: James Kelly)

The public security bureau in Shanghai told the China Daily on December 19 that a woman is being detained after she made a video of herself performing sex acts then uploading it onto the Internet.

The statement said that the woman, surnamed Huang, was detained for spreading pornography online. The video, which runs for approximately 12 minutes, first appeared on the Internet at the end of October. The title of the film was called “Kappa girl at Shanghai No 1 Department Store’s east building,” this is referring to the sportswear shop where Huang worked.

The bureau said it quickly became the most popular download on the mainland with over thousands of people downloading it during the past month.

Initial reports told how the video started on a blog belonging to a Shanghai resident surnamed Lu, However, police were quick to realise that Lu was simply Huang’s alter ego.

Police explained how she set up the blog to make a profit from her ill-mannered behaviour by offering advertising space and interviews for cash. On the blog, Huang said she would be willing to do interviews that would provide exclusive information about herself for 30,000 yuan a time.

The wanna-be porn star is also being accused of sending a copy of the video to a former colleague surnamed Wang.

Despite all of the police effects of removing the video, it is still available online today.

The bureau, believe that a man in the Hubei province is responsible for spreading the video and the police are investigating him further.

Lu Heping, a Beijing lawyer stated to the China Daily and said, “Anyone who films, uploads or distributes such videos, is guilty of disseminating pornography.”

Economy Shrinks Weddings

Written: Amber Butler-Davis
Edited: James Kelly
As reality sinks in, the garment worker bursts into tears then reaches for her wedding cake and throws it furiously at a near by wall. Now I know this might just sound like a slight melodramatic fit on the brides behalf but when she realised that the wedding gift money did not cover the cost of her modest wedding party what else was there to do.

Her husband quickly got in contact with his relatives and was able to borrow VND4 million (US$236) from the family. This happy couple had only ordered eight tables at VND650,000 each.

Due to the economic slowdown orders from overseas customers has resulted in a dramatic slump. Many Vietnamese factories and their thousands of workers have been standing still or have been laid off because of so little business.

Brides to be are now simply trying to create their dream wedding on a tight budget. Many woman are now renting their dresses which is only costing them anywhere between VND100,000 to VND200,000. Wedding cakes that used to be three or five tiers high are being replaced with cakes that are only as big as an average hand span. While the guest can still enjoy a four course meal the portions of the meals can now been seen as a taste testing ordeal.

Mai Thi Duy Phong, the manager at Tan Vinh Loc restaurant in the Binh Tan District, where many of the factory workers from Ho Chi Minh City celebrate their weddings is sad to say that he has had some brides trying to pay for parties by offering their wedding jewelry and the traditional gifts that they receive from their in-laws. Mai explains that it is generous but she just does not have the heart to accept their offerings, she can only imagine what the brides must be thinking handing over precious pieces like that.

Now, weddings are simple and the guests often tell one another to eat a hearty meal before attending the ceremony. Plus the dress code has changed dramatically, you no longer see tuxedos, skirts, dresses or make-up at weddings, everyone comes in jeans and a t-shirt.

Workers weddings are now very simple affairs for the restaurants. Sometimes it is only a house with roughly 30 tables, there are 10 guests to a wedding and sheets of plywood separate the different parties.

Nguyen Xuan Thong, from the northern province of Ha Tinh, and Dinh Thi Hai from the nearby Nghe An Province, told how they spent only VND5.8 million ($341) on their wedding last month. The couple explained how they could not even pay for all of it since they only earn a total income of about VND3 million ($177) a month.

Despite the cost and financial difficulties at the present time, factory workers are still planning weddings. Almost all factory workers are now haunted by wedding debts, leaving them to borrow money form relatives are using the wedding gift money to pay for everything. However, now the greeting money pile is shrinking as everyone is sitting in the same boat and cant afford to be as generous as they used to be.

Tran Cam Hong, owner of Dai Nam restaurant in the Binh Tan District has been hosting nearly 70 parties a month this wedding season and explains how the workers’ weddings are even plainer this year.

The results from a survey that was conducted among HCMC industrial parks showed that only 30 percent of the workers who were in a couple in love, dared to marry. Among those who were married only 13 percent were considering about having children.

Le Thi Bich Thuy, the owner of the Lien Thuy restaurant that is in the district explained how there has been a decrease in workers’ weddings at the restaurant when looked at the same time as last year. Thuy also explained how more than half of the wedding parties only were having five tables of guests or less. Sadly, some of the couples had already paid their deposit but then have had to postpone their wedding because either both or their partner have been laid off at work.

With such a low income this has caused brides to be and prospective grooms to think about whether or not they should tie the knot. Instead of enjoying the happy day, couples have been worried about no-shows, hoping that all their guests will come and greet them.

As a result, many wedding parties are lasting till after midnight because the brides and grooms have been waiting for more guest to arrive so they do not start the celebrations on the scheduled time.

Tan Vinh Loc restaurant’s manager Phuong told how the restaurant now has to accept orders of only four to five tables and they must allow their guess to be flexible on the ending time because if not, the workers just won’t book with them. Phuong understands that it is a problem that the workers cannot avoid and the restaurant will help as much as they can.

Hong of Dai Nam restaurant told how the one couple last week waited till 8 pm and still only then the guest s only filled six of the nine tables that had been booked. However, one couple was lucky last week as the greeting money they received from their wedding was able to cover the cost. They expressed their delight and explained that if the greeting money had not covered everything then they would not have known what to do.

James Kelly – Managing Editor
Amber Butler-Davis – Staff Reporter
Tough Coral proving to survive tsunami damage.

Many of the coral reefs were badly damaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred four years ago. However, scientists are happy to report that in some of the coral reefs there is rapid recovery happening.

It was feared that some of the reefs off the coast of Indonesia could take up to nearly a decade to begin to recover. Not that long ago, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) did find evidence to prove that there is rapid growth of young corals in some of the more badly-hit areas.

A spokesman also explained how some of the reefs that were already damaged before the tsunami were also recovering.

The WSC explained how some of the local communities were in deed abandoning their destructive fishing techniques and had started even transplanting corals into the damaged areas.

Stuart Campbell, the coordinator of the WCS’s Indonesia Marine program was excited by this news and expressed how this was such a great story and how it showed that the ecosystem was resilient and could recover form natural disasters.

Campbell continued by explaining how these particular findings provided new insight into the coral recovery process, which will be able to help them manage coral reefs in the face of the climate change.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef expert from the University of Queensland in Australia, who did not take part in the study, commented on the findings and was not surprised since corals typically recovered if they were not affected by fishing or coastal development. Hoegh-Guldberg told the Associated Press that he is discovering similar results around the southern Great Barrier Reef. He explained how many reefs that experience major catastrophes could bounce back quite quickly.

Countries across the Indian Ocean have been remembering the 2004 disaster, which did take the lives of 230,000 people.

In Indonesia, Thailand and India, prayers were said on Friday December 26. While in Sri Lanka, they declared a two-minute silence in memory of those that were killed in the tragedy.

Amber Butler-Davis
Staff Reporter

Xi Fu, 30, is an artist that is able to support himself with brushes and scrolls has proved that love can be more elusive. Xi’s name in English actually means seeking happiness and the Chinese street artist is doing just that. With not being able to use his hands to their full potential, Xi continues finding happiness on the streets of China despite his handicap.

Shortly after Xi was born, a nurse dropped him, causing the disability, creating it hard to walk as well as the problems with his hands. After being in school for three years, he was forced to leave as the school deemed it was too time consuming to teach him, even though Xi had learnt to use his feet and toes instead of using this hands and fingers.

At the age of 18, his hopeful mother took him into an arts center and asked if there were any chance her son would be able to have painting lessons. Xi was smart and confident as well as highly skilled and the teacher present saw no reason that Xi would not be able to paint. The teacher explained to Xi how many people do make a living from their artwork.

After spending three intense years of one-on-one training with his teacher, Xi was told that it was time for him to earn a living from his art. At the young age of 21, Xi the “foot artist” went out to the streets of China to show the world what he was capable of.

For the past nine years, Xi has roamed around the Chinese capital writing calligraphy and painting different flowers with his feet. In a good month, Xi can earn close to 3,000 yuan which is more that most Beijing office workers. Xi also sells his work for 100-200 yuan each.

However, Xi does enjoy his work he explains how it is not an easy way to live. He does come across some very rude and insensitive people but takes it on the chin and understands that everyone can have his or her bad moments.

Deep down, Xi admits that he does have an inner pain, as he truly believes that his disability is making it difficult to find a wife or girlfriend. But, he will remain cheerful and seeing that he has accepted his life, it does make him uncomfortable if he feels that other people feel sorry or pity him.

Xi lives with his parents in a rural suburb south of Beijing so the money he earns allows him to have fun and go out with his performance-artist friends. Xi enjoys relaxing with a beer, which he has mastered pouring with his feet. Along with drinking beer, he also enjoys dancing and music and can sometimes be found at the local bars in Beijing’s ancient Drum and Bell Tower neighbourhood.

Xi is thankful that he has close friends and has been able to accept his disability by living in the present. When he is asked what he will do one day when he can longer dodge the police on the streets to set up his studio he simple answers that he is not thinking about that right now, I only think about being happy.

Amber Butler-Davis
Staff Reporter

In August 2008, China’s most anticipated anti-monopoly law was finally introduced; it was only thirteen years in the making. This law will provide an inclusive framework that will help regulate competition and prevent monopolistic behavior.

Despite its use of vague language, there are still many unanswered questions such as which authority will be in charge of implementation and also there is an air of uncertainty regarding its exact applications. But apart from these questions, the law has been received well. Many law firms and observers have said it is a positive development and it will definitely be a step forward in helping China with international practices while increasing fair competition in the country.

Coca-Cola’s recent bid for China Huiyuan Juice will be the first deal to be reviewed under the new law. The deal is being closely monitored by the M&A community and this will help give everyone a clearer idea of how the new law will actually be implemented.

Coca-Cola offered to buy China Huiyuan Juice in early September for $2.3 billion. Those involved in the process mentioned that the key to a speedy approved deal will in fact be the definition of the market that will be most affected by the deal and the submission of extensive documentation that must include details such as the impact on the competition.

This deal in particular had to determine whether it would be the whole beverage market that would be affected or only the juice or cola sections. A legal source that would like to remain un-named said that whether we take pure juice or cola separately or take an overview of both markets. In the end, Coca-Cola’s take over of Huiyuan juice will in evidently generate monopoly concerns. But, when put into context with the whole soft drink market, the monopoly concerns will be significantly less.

In the concerns of the documentation, the legal source did suggest that the notifying company should indeed work with highly experienced lawyers when it comes to submitting the required documents. If the information you provide is in a clear and concise format, this will help dramatically when forming a rational definition of the relevant market. It will also decrease the amount of time that the Ministry of Commerce (MOCOM) takes to reach a final decision.

Coca-Cola’s legal adviser is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom while Huiyuan Juice has appointed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
In the Anti-Monopoly Law, clause number 23 instructs the notifying companies to submit a total of five documents. These documents include, an extensive report on the competition situation in the relevant market in question, this report is extremely important when determining an outcome of the review.

The legal source explained that is the relevant market defined in the report is too large, it could actually delay the MOCOM to review it. However, if the market outline is too small, the MOCOM could actually block the deal because of monopoly concerns.

An official of MOCOM commented on the market competition report and said that it should be quite detailed but carefully measured. The report should include an analysis of barriers to the market entry and also a breakdown of the market share. In a nutshell, the more detailed and complete the report is the better of it is to succeed.

The MOCOM explained how they have often had to ask for extra documentation because the initial report has not had enough depth to it. A Shaghai lawyer, who has experience in antitrust notification, said that supplementary documentation requests are the main reason why most of the antitrust reviews are delayed by the MOCOM.

Since the new law has only just been hatched, the rules, guidelines and processes attached to it are still being a work in progress. Also, its effectiveness on the Chinese M&A activity can not be completely estimated yet.

Therefore, Coca-Cola is being watched like a hawk at the moment, in the hope to give some insight into the future application of this legal development.

Product Review
by Amber Butler-Davis (Staff Reporter)

If you are in the market for a stylish, feature-packed yet pocket able device, the N85 should be on your list for consideration.

Design

If you have held the N95 or the N96 then you will notice that the N85 does have a smaller footprint in your hand. Weighing only 128 grams and measurements of 103 x 50 x 16mm mixed with the curved edges helps accentuate the impression of being a small phone too.
This small phone has a 2.6-inch QVGA screen and the keys are on an OLED panel. The OLED displays have a better screen legibility and consume less power. They have been used in Nokia’s S40 models and it is good to see that the company is now placing them in the higher-end Nseries. The display is brilliantly bright making the colours juicy and the text crisp.

The light sensor that can be found beside the front facing camera also does a great job when adjusting the brightness to suit the ambient lighting. On the top edge of the phone you will find the micro-USB port, a 3.5mm audio jack and the power button. One thing to mention about the N85 is that is does not have a 2mm charging port, it uses the micro-USB head for both charging and connecting to your PC. All you have to do is use separate adapters. The volume controls, a key lock button and a pair of speakers at both ends are on the right side of the phone.

If you select a phone because of its camera, you might be a bit disappointed with the shutter on the N85. There is no distinct feel between half-pressing and depressing the button.

The N85 is a dual slider, and usually these can create problems with the top row of keys being too close to the edge of the slider, but the N85 is not that bad. When it is in close slide mode, the N85 gives the impression that it has touch-sensitive keys because all the conventional buttons disappear. As you have seen on previous Nokia dual sliders, the multimedia keys morphs to the relevant controls when you are listening to music or playing a game.

Features

When it comes to features, Nokia has thought of everything for the N85. The phone has support for tri-band HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth stereo, GPS with Assisted-GPS, a 5-megapixel camera with a pair of LED flash and an integrated FM transmitter. However, it does not have an onboard DVB-H but I think we can live with out that since we are not in a country that supports it.

Besides the different screen size, the N85 offers all the features you would have seen in the N95 or N96. The N85 comes with a hot-swappable microSD expansion card slot and a 8GB flash media comes in the box so memory is not a problem you have to worry about.

On the user interface, you get the standard S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 fare. So those who have used a Nokia S60 phone before will have no trouble just picking this phone up and using it right away.

For the gamers, you will be happy to hear that the 8GB microSD card comes with 15 preinstalled games. These include Asphalt 3: Street Rules, Block Breaker Deluxe, Bounce, Brain Challenge, EA SPORTS FIFA 08, Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, Midnight Pool, Mile High Pinball, Reset Generation, Snakes Subsonic, The Sims 2 Pets, Space Impact: Kappa Base, System Rush: Evolution, Tetris, and World Series of Poker Pro Challenge.

Also sharing is one of the features that play a huge role in Nokia’s push for its multimedia-rich devices. Ovi, Flickr and Vox are the three services that are available out-of-the box. However, you will need to keep in mind that these services do require a lot of features for one to share images, videos and multimedia so make sure you are on a good plan with net access or you may get a shocking bill at the end of the month.

Other applications that come preinstalled on the N85 included Search (search app for both in-device content and on the Web), Maps (for navigation), QuickOffice (read-only version), PDF reader, Zip manager and Application updater.

Performance

The 1,200mAh cell is rated for about 7 hours of talk time and approximately 15 days on standby. On average, you will be able to get two days use out of it. These two days included making calls, sending messages, listening to music, surfing the Web and using the phone’s navigational features. One thing that is a major plus with the N85 it that when you connect it to your PC via the data cable this will actually charge your phone while you organise everything on your PC.

You are able to fly through the menus with no problem, they are set out in a very user-friendly manner. The audio quality might surprise you, it is quite good via the onboard speakers and you are able to get decent pictures with the camera in bright conditions.

The N85 sure does have a lot going for it. In fact, if you were tossing up between the N96 and this, I would have to recommend the N85. That is unless you really do need the larger 2.8-inch screen and DVB-H connectivity.

Stranded in Thailand Airports

Bangkok Bureau

After Thailand’s main international airport in Bangkok was closed down, the stranded Chinese tourists finally arrived safely in Shanghai on November 30 just before dawn broke.
Just over 2,700 Chinese tourists were trapped in Thailand. People onboard the China Eastern MU Flight 548 left the Shanghai Pudong International Airport at noon on the Saturday however they returned to the airport at 2.15am on Sunday.

Twenty-eight of the tourists aboard that flight then had to fly to Kunming, the provincial capital of southern Yunnan Province, from Shanghai.

Chinese aviation authorities sent a number of planes to Thailand to rescue the remaining Chinese tourists after the Suvarnabhumi International Airport was closed.

Zhou, a father of a stranded tourist, rushed to the Pudong airport at 1am on Sunday to meet his stranded daughter, when she arrived back from Thailand. His daughter had an internship lined up with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation but had to return home when anti-government protesters fled through Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport earlier that week.

Zhou explained how his entire family was deeply concerned for his daughter’s safety after hearing that the Thailand airport was closed. His family felt a great relief when they learnt that she could take a charter flight and return home safely.
Gao, a manager of a Shanghai food company, went to Thailand for market research and was not meant to be back in Shanghai for another week was pleased to be home sooner than expected. Gao also praised the Chinese government for organizing charter flights so quickly in such a stressful situation.

A spokesperson for the China Eastern explained how the plane returned those people who had tickets for that airline, including 26 members of the operating crew. If seats were available still, then other Chinese citizens were allowed on board the plane.
China Southern Airline’s Boeing 777 landed at Southern Guangzhou Baiyun International airport at 3:17am on the Sunday morning too, bring another 531 stranded Chinese tourists home safely. This plane was mean to arrive early but was delayed due to the disorder in the Thailand airports.

Nearly over 10,000 passengers passed through the airport since Sunday morning, causing extremely heavy traffic jams from Bangkok towards the airport.
At 5.40am another 315 Chinese tourists flew back home on the scheduled by Air China Flights CA072 into Beijing International Airport.
An hour later, 219 tourists arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport by a Boeing 767 of Shanghai Airlines.

Chinese officials arranged seven different charter flights to retrieve the remaining stranded Chinese tourists in Thailand. Air China, Southern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines also sent more planes to Thailand to help bring everyone home.