Global village

Come all ye faithful

Christmas church services are being held in most of the major cities and expats are advised to go online to find out where the events will be staged.

An easy way to find a service is to go to a popular search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, and type in the area you want.

For example, type in Qingdao, Christmas Service and you will discover that the Qingdao International Christian Fellowship (QICF) will hold its Christmas Services on December 23 at 10 am. For more info about a meeting place contact murraypeat@gmail.com

Expat flood continues

China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security estimated there were 150,000 expatriates legally employed in the country in 2005. This was almost double the figures from three years ago.

In 2008 this figure is expected to soar to more than 250,000.

To be considered a legal hire, the worker must have a valid "Z" visa and accompanying work permit. There are estimates that the total number of expatriates working in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing could be more than 500,000, with most deciding to instead carry "F" visas, which do not legally permit them to work.

Bah, humbug

The students from Tsinghua, Peking and Renmin universities last year wrote an open letter to China Daily complaining that Christmas is a Christian holiday imported from the West and local people should stick to their own traditions.

"Western culture has been changing from a breeze and a drizzle into a wild wind and a heavy storm," they declared. "This is vividly embodied in the rising popularity of Christmas."

They wanted Chinese to stop sending Christmas cards, decorating their homes and businesses, and buying gifts for their children. The comments triggered widespread online debate and more than 40,000 people made comments.

Some supported the students while others told the students not to be "such party poopers".

AND ANOTHER THING...

Santa Claus probably has an office in south China. China is the world's top toy exporter, selling 22 billion toys overseas last year, or 60 percent of the global total. The factories in the southern part of China also make the world's largest number of plastic Christmas trees.

(China Daily 12/21/2007 page19)