IN BRIEF (Page 2)

China's most advanced submersible-support vessel is put into operation in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Aug 6. The 13,000-ton ship is 125 meters long - about the length of 28 sedans if placed end to end. Yu Fangping / for China Daily |
Shipping
Vessel advances deep-sea salvage
Shenqianhao, China's first ship that carries a saturation diving system allowing divers to work at depths of up to 300 meters and capable of conducting submarine rescue and salvage, was put into service on Aug 6 in Qingdao, Shandong province, according to a statement from the Ministry of Transport.
The ship was built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry and will be managed by Shanghai Salvage Co. The deep-water saturation diving system in the ship allows 12 divers to work in turns at depths of more than 300 meters.
Education
Varsities plan open-house sessions
Forty-one top universities in China have collectively put forward the idea of having more open-house sessions with the general public to raise technological awareness, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
Chen Jining, president of Tsinghua University, delivered the joint public pledge on behalf of the 41 universities involved in the program. Chen said higher education institutions have a social responsibility to open their libraries and science labs and promote innovation among the public.
Peking University, which hosts a summer camp for high-school students from across the country, promised to open its main labs and libraries to visitors starting from the third week of September, which also coincides with the national Science and Technology Promotion Week.
Health
Attitude toward sex, pregnancy
Almost half of female migrant workers under 30 have become pregnant before marriage, a dramatic jump in the number of unwed mothers compared with only a generation ago, according to a report published by the National Population and Family Planning Commission on the migrant population's changing behavior in sexual and marital affairs.
The report, based on monitoring results of migrant workers in 2011, said nearly 43 percent of the second-generation female migrant workers got pregnant before getting married, 16 percentage points higher than their counterparts of older generations. Experts warn that increased pregnancy before marriage may result in more violations of women's rights.
The report defines migrant workers born in the 1970s and earlier as the first generation and those born later as the second generation.
Entertainment
Lower movie-ticket prices favored
Many Chinese people are shunning cinemas because of the sky-high ticket prices and a lack of diverse movie options, according to a study by the Guangzhou Public Opinion Research Center in 423 cities and counties in 23 provinces and four municipalities.
Of the 5,000 people polled, more than 65 percent said they have not visited a cinema within the last year, although 52 percent said they would be interested in doing so.
Thirty-one percent of the respondents said tickets prices are too expensive, while 50 percent said they would like to see prices lowered.
Pharmaceuticals
Crackdown in fake medicine scam
Police have arrested more than 1,900 people suspected of making and selling fake medicines in a series of raids on underground production bases, the Ministry of Public Security said on Aug 5.
The nationwide operation, which started on July 25 and involved 18,000 police officers in 31 provincial-level regions, has crushed 24 networks manufacturing counterfeit medical products worth 1.16 billion yuan ($182 million; 147 million euros).
Police seized 205 million tablets designed to look like brand-name products for treating hypertension, diabetes, skin diseases and cancer, the ministry said.
Lifestyle
Foreign brands rule the roost
The five most recognized brands in China are all from overseas, according to the latest Campaign Asia-Pacific 2012 Asia's Top 1,000 Brands report.
Released for the ninth time, the report, jointly published by the monthly trade magazine Campaign Asia-Pacific and the global information and insights provider Nielsen, covered 14 major products and services categories across a total of 73 sub-categories among 12 key regional markets in the Asia-Pacific.
In the Chinese market, the top 10 brands that made the list include Apple Inc, Nestle S.A., Chanel S.A., Sony Corp, Samsung Group, Uni-President Enterprises Corp, Panasonic Corp, Nike Inc, Canon Inc and Starbucks Corp. It is the first time that the luxury brand Chanel was listed among the top 10.
China Daily
(China Daily 08/10/2012 page2)
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