The Social Welfare Department of the Hong Kong government Friday announced an extra fund of over a million HK dollars will be allocated to help out people with emotional and family problems arising from financial crisis.
A spokesman for the department said Friday that just as other economies, Hong Kong is being affected by the global financial turmoil to a certain extent.
Some people may face personal financial crisis as a result of investment failure and unemployment as well as difficulties with their emotions, family relationship, and accommodation, he said.
To address these people's needs, the department will inject additional funding of 1.2 million HK dollars to two local social service organizations including CEASE Crisis Center and the Family Crisis Support Center to related strengthen support services.
Each will be allocated an additional 600,000 HK dollars to set up a Financial Crisis Emotional Support Hotline to provide counseling service which will commence on Oct. 13.
In addition, social workers will provide face-to-face counseling and organize support groups to help those in need by strengthening their skills in coping with stress and working out positive ways to manage their problems.
Where necessary, social workers will also refer cases to appropriate welfare services for follow-up.
Source: Xinhua
Friday, October 10, 2008
Party on Great Wall highlights Chinese language
A "Chinese language only" party has drawn more than 300 people from 40 countries to the Great Wall, where they enjoyed themselves by speaking Chinese and savoring the folk culture.
The "Night of Chinese" cultural activity was held at Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall about 60 km from Beijing on Thursday, attracting diplomatic envoys, people from multinationals and foreign chambers of commerce, as well as Chinese calligraphers and folk artists.
Participants drew Chinese paintings and calligraphy, had Chinese chess and tea, and made kites -- and they all communicated in Chinese.
The activity was aimed to give Chinese language lovers an opportunity to appreciate the time-honored culture on the Great Wall, the symbol of the Chinese civilization, which was a unique experience, said the organizers, the China Great Wall Institute and the Commercial Press.
According to official figures, about 30 million people are claimed to be studying the language overseas. Nearly 3,000 institutions of higher education in more than 100 countries and regions have set Chinese learning courses.
Since 2004, more than 260 non-profit Confucius Institutes have been set up in foreign countries to teach Chinese language and culture.
Source: Xinhua
The "Night of Chinese" cultural activity was held at Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall about 60 km from Beijing on Thursday, attracting diplomatic envoys, people from multinationals and foreign chambers of commerce, as well as Chinese calligraphers and folk artists.
Participants drew Chinese paintings and calligraphy, had Chinese chess and tea, and made kites -- and they all communicated in Chinese.
The activity was aimed to give Chinese language lovers an opportunity to appreciate the time-honored culture on the Great Wall, the symbol of the Chinese civilization, which was a unique experience, said the organizers, the China Great Wall Institute and the Commercial Press.
According to official figures, about 30 million people are claimed to be studying the language overseas. Nearly 3,000 institutions of higher education in more than 100 countries and regions have set Chinese learning courses.
Since 2004, more than 260 non-profit Confucius Institutes have been set up in foreign countries to teach Chinese language and culture.
Source: Xinhua
Suicide sparks concern for officials' mental health in quake zone
Authorities in the southwest China May 12 quake zone are seeking ways to improve the mental health of their staff after a 40-year-old senior official of Beichuan County, one of the worst-hit areas, committed suicide.
Dong Yufei, the county agriculture commission head and disaster relief office director, hanged himself in a temporary office on Oct. 3.
Dong, who lost his 12-year-old son and other relatives in the quake, left a letter that read: "I feel too much pressure from life and work everyday. I cannot hold on any further. And I just want a good rest."
Officials and the public in Sichuan Province are now questioning the amount of pressure under which grassroots officials work.
"It was surprising for such an iron man to fall like this. It was a great pity and worth our reflection," said Feng Bin, first deputy head of the Organization Department of Communist Party of China Beichuan County Committee.
"Dong was a positive man. We're surprised at his suicide," said Tang Anwen, the county agriculture commission deputy head.
"I asked his permission for sick leave that morning. He told me to take care of myself. I never imagined he would take his own life that afternoon.
"He became depressed after his son died. Although he displayed a strong will and worked hard, he was in a depressive mood," Tang said.
Dong's death resonated among local officials in the province.
"Most of grassroots officials in the quake-hit area were weighed down with tasks from their superiors. The workload is at least five times greater than before the quake and locals always complained a lot to them," said Luo Yingguang, head of the municipal publicity department of Mianzhu, also a badly hit area.
"In such a time and in such a post, I have to learn to be strong. I have so many affairs to deal with every day," said Mianzhu deputy mayor Guo Yongfu, who lost her 22-year-old daughterin the quake.
"Whenever people ask me how my daughter is, I always say she is receiving treatment outside Sichuan," said Guo.
Zhang Wei, a psychologist and deputy head of West China Hospital affiliated to Sichuan University, said, "Three to six months after the quake is an bursting point of psychological crisis. Depression can set it after the initial tension eases.
"Grassroots officials are the focus of the pressure, with tasks from the superiors and requirements from the public. But they are also common people and are victims of the victims."
However, psychological intervention was not possible because ofthe lack of personnel -- even for the children, let alone officials, he said.
In total, 466 officials of Beichuan, a quarter of the total, died in the quake. Many others lost relatives.
In July and August, the county government offered psychological and material support to officials who lost loved ones. They also dispatched officials to other areas and promoted some to ease the pressure.
It also had a compulsory vacation policy, forcing them to rest,but with the heavy burden of rescue and reconstruction, few really rested.
Dong Yufei's suicide prompted the government to give more care to the grassroots officials.
"Now the reconstruction goes on the right track. We're considering sending them for training in other cities. The focus is on psychological help," said Feng Bin.
"This is an unseen rescue. I hope Dong was the first and last suicide," said a county government official without telling his name.
Source: Xinhua
Dong Yufei, the county agriculture commission head and disaster relief office director, hanged himself in a temporary office on Oct. 3.
Dong, who lost his 12-year-old son and other relatives in the quake, left a letter that read: "I feel too much pressure from life and work everyday. I cannot hold on any further. And I just want a good rest."
Officials and the public in Sichuan Province are now questioning the amount of pressure under which grassroots officials work.
"It was surprising for such an iron man to fall like this. It was a great pity and worth our reflection," said Feng Bin, first deputy head of the Organization Department of Communist Party of China Beichuan County Committee.
"Dong was a positive man. We're surprised at his suicide," said Tang Anwen, the county agriculture commission deputy head.
"I asked his permission for sick leave that morning. He told me to take care of myself. I never imagined he would take his own life that afternoon.
"He became depressed after his son died. Although he displayed a strong will and worked hard, he was in a depressive mood," Tang said.
Dong's death resonated among local officials in the province.
"Most of grassroots officials in the quake-hit area were weighed down with tasks from their superiors. The workload is at least five times greater than before the quake and locals always complained a lot to them," said Luo Yingguang, head of the municipal publicity department of Mianzhu, also a badly hit area.
"In such a time and in such a post, I have to learn to be strong. I have so many affairs to deal with every day," said Mianzhu deputy mayor Guo Yongfu, who lost her 22-year-old daughterin the quake.
"Whenever people ask me how my daughter is, I always say she is receiving treatment outside Sichuan," said Guo.
Zhang Wei, a psychologist and deputy head of West China Hospital affiliated to Sichuan University, said, "Three to six months after the quake is an bursting point of psychological crisis. Depression can set it after the initial tension eases.
"Grassroots officials are the focus of the pressure, with tasks from the superiors and requirements from the public. But they are also common people and are victims of the victims."
However, psychological intervention was not possible because ofthe lack of personnel -- even for the children, let alone officials, he said.
In total, 466 officials of Beichuan, a quarter of the total, died in the quake. Many others lost relatives.
In July and August, the county government offered psychological and material support to officials who lost loved ones. They also dispatched officials to other areas and promoted some to ease the pressure.
It also had a compulsory vacation policy, forcing them to rest,but with the heavy burden of rescue and reconstruction, few really rested.
Dong Yufei's suicide prompted the government to give more care to the grassroots officials.
"Now the reconstruction goes on the right track. We're considering sending them for training in other cities. The focus is on psychological help," said Feng Bin.
"This is an unseen rescue. I hope Dong was the first and last suicide," said a county government official without telling his name.
Source: Xinhua
Chinese herbal injections fail tests in deaths probe
Experts have found the ciwujia injections suspected of causing the deaths of three people in southwest China failed to meet standards, authorities in Yunnan Province has said.
Tests on samples from batches 2007121511 and 2007122721 of "Ciwujia Injection" used in the No. 4 People's Hospital of the Honghe Autonomous Prefecture of Hani and Yi Nationalities showed the products were substandard, said Sun Yuemin, the expert team leader investigating the deaths and a senior doctor with No. 2 Hospital affiliated to Kunming Medical College.
"The herbal injections were produced by Wandashan Pharmaceutical. They differed in shades of colour. Some looked turbid and some rubber caps of the bottles were swollen," he said." But we are still unsure what caused these problems."
Experts dispatched by the Ministry of Health had tested 180 samples from the two batches, but found no toxins, such as rodent poison, pesticide or herbicide, Yunnan Provincial Health Department announced on Thursday.
The problematic injections were produced in December by Wandashan Pharmaceutical in northeastern Heilongjiang Province. The medicine was extracted from ciwujia, a type of Siberian ginseng.
In total, 19 people used the injections in the No. 4 People's Hospital of Yunnan's Honghe Prefecture, said hospital president Liu Ru.
Six patients had strong adverse reactions, including vomiting and comas, after being injected with ciwujia from the two batches. Three died in hospital on Monday. The others were described as stable, but still under observation.
The firm recalled 3,600 bottles of injections, less than 10 percent of the total of the two batches, following the deaths of the three people, said Feng Dianguo, the company's deputy party chief.
"Nearly 48,000 bottles were produced for the two batches, and we recalled 3,600 bottles, or 360,000 milliliter. The rest had been used."
Wandashan Pharmaceutical, with more than 570 staff, had suspended production to cooperate with the investigation.
Siberian ginseng injections are often used to treat thrombosis caused by weak liver and kidneys. It is also believed to be helpful in treating coronary heart disease, nervous exhaustion and menopausal problems.
Source: Xinhua
Tests on samples from batches 2007121511 and 2007122721 of "Ciwujia Injection" used in the No. 4 People's Hospital of the Honghe Autonomous Prefecture of Hani and Yi Nationalities showed the products were substandard, said Sun Yuemin, the expert team leader investigating the deaths and a senior doctor with No. 2 Hospital affiliated to Kunming Medical College.
"The herbal injections were produced by Wandashan Pharmaceutical. They differed in shades of colour. Some looked turbid and some rubber caps of the bottles were swollen," he said." But we are still unsure what caused these problems."
Experts dispatched by the Ministry of Health had tested 180 samples from the two batches, but found no toxins, such as rodent poison, pesticide or herbicide, Yunnan Provincial Health Department announced on Thursday.
The problematic injections were produced in December by Wandashan Pharmaceutical in northeastern Heilongjiang Province. The medicine was extracted from ciwujia, a type of Siberian ginseng.
In total, 19 people used the injections in the No. 4 People's Hospital of Yunnan's Honghe Prefecture, said hospital president Liu Ru.
Six patients had strong adverse reactions, including vomiting and comas, after being injected with ciwujia from the two batches. Three died in hospital on Monday. The others were described as stable, but still under observation.
The firm recalled 3,600 bottles of injections, less than 10 percent of the total of the two batches, following the deaths of the three people, said Feng Dianguo, the company's deputy party chief.
"Nearly 48,000 bottles were produced for the two batches, and we recalled 3,600 bottles, or 360,000 milliliter. The rest had been used."
Wandashan Pharmaceutical, with more than 570 staff, had suspended production to cooperate with the investigation.
Siberian ginseng injections are often used to treat thrombosis caused by weak liver and kidneys. It is also believed to be helpful in treating coronary heart disease, nervous exhaustion and menopausal problems.
Source: Xinhua
Chinese-led research team creates bionic gecko feet
A U.S. research team led by Chinese scientists has created a nanotube-based dry adhesive that surpasses the stickiness of gecko feet -- no easy feat, since the animals can cling to nearly any type of surface.
Geckos rely on aligned microscopic hairs for their gravity-defying climbs. Their design mimics this arrangement, with a vertically aligned array of straight carbon nanotubes topped by a layer of curly, entangled nanotubes, Wang Zhonglin, the lead researcher from Georgia Institute of Technology, told Xinhua on Thursday.
Just as in the gecko foot, the combination produces an adhesive with superior strength in the shear direction -- clinging against the pull of gravity -- and regular strength in the normal, perpendicular direction, which allows the adhesive to be easily pulled away from a surface. The shear adhesive force of the nanotube array is almost 10 times that of the gecko foot.
Though the material might seem most appropriate for use by Spider-man, the real applications may be less glamorous. Because carbon nanotubes conduct heat and electrical current, the bionic gecko feet could be used to connect electronic devices.
Another application might be for adhesives that work long-term in space. "In space, there is a vacuum and traditional kinds of adhesives dry out, but nanotube dry adhesives would not be bothered by the space environment," said Dai Liming, another lead researcher from University of Dayton.
Their paper will appear in the Oct. 10 issue of journal Science. For the future, the researchers hope to learn more about the surface interactions so they can further increase the adhesive force. They also want to study the long-term durability of the adhesive, which in a small number of tests became stronger with each attachment.
Source:Xinhua
Geckos rely on aligned microscopic hairs for their gravity-defying climbs. Their design mimics this arrangement, with a vertically aligned array of straight carbon nanotubes topped by a layer of curly, entangled nanotubes, Wang Zhonglin, the lead researcher from Georgia Institute of Technology, told Xinhua on Thursday.
Just as in the gecko foot, the combination produces an adhesive with superior strength in the shear direction -- clinging against the pull of gravity -- and regular strength in the normal, perpendicular direction, which allows the adhesive to be easily pulled away from a surface. The shear adhesive force of the nanotube array is almost 10 times that of the gecko foot.
Though the material might seem most appropriate for use by Spider-man, the real applications may be less glamorous. Because carbon nanotubes conduct heat and electrical current, the bionic gecko feet could be used to connect electronic devices.
Another application might be for adhesives that work long-term in space. "In space, there is a vacuum and traditional kinds of adhesives dry out, but nanotube dry adhesives would not be bothered by the space environment," said Dai Liming, another lead researcher from University of Dayton.
Their paper will appear in the Oct. 10 issue of journal Science. For the future, the researchers hope to learn more about the surface interactions so they can further increase the adhesive force. They also want to study the long-term durability of the adhesive, which in a small number of tests became stronger with each attachment.
Source:Xinhua
Targeting climate change in Himalayas
The Ministry of Science and Technology and the United Nations Environment Programme jointly launched a three-year program yesterday to address the increasingly worrying effects of climate change in the Himalayas.
"The rapid melting of snow and glaciers in the past 10 years has threatened economic development and ecological balance in the Himalayas faster than any period of time in the past half century," Zhang Shigang, the coordinator of the UNEP China Office, told China Daily yesterday in Beijing.
Global warming is causing a rapid meltdown of snow and glaciers in the Himalayan region, resulting in glacial overflows along the Himalayan range, data from the independent International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development showed.
Similarly, weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and extreme, with droughts and floods worsening, he said.
The latest program aims to improve understanding of these problems and provide first-hand data for local governments to make more constructive policies to instruct residents on adapting to climate change, Zhang said.
The program will cover five regions: the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, Qinghai and Gansu provinces, and Sichuan province.
The UNEP plans to provide $1.2 million for the program. It will also use the funds to research climate change in the country's coastlines.
Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang has also called on the international community to work on a mechanism for the development of technology and its transfer to address the problems of climate change.
"Technology is central to adapting to climate change," he said.
Source:China Daily
"The rapid melting of snow and glaciers in the past 10 years has threatened economic development and ecological balance in the Himalayas faster than any period of time in the past half century," Zhang Shigang, the coordinator of the UNEP China Office, told China Daily yesterday in Beijing.
Global warming is causing a rapid meltdown of snow and glaciers in the Himalayan region, resulting in glacial overflows along the Himalayan range, data from the independent International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development showed.
Similarly, weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and extreme, with droughts and floods worsening, he said.
The latest program aims to improve understanding of these problems and provide first-hand data for local governments to make more constructive policies to instruct residents on adapting to climate change, Zhang said.
The program will cover five regions: the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, Qinghai and Gansu provinces, and Sichuan province.
The UNEP plans to provide $1.2 million for the program. It will also use the funds to research climate change in the country's coastlines.
Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang has also called on the international community to work on a mechanism for the development of technology and its transfer to address the problems of climate change.
"Technology is central to adapting to climate change," he said.
Source:China Daily
Warmer world threatens "Happy Feet"
More than half the colonies of Antarctica's penguins, including emperor penguins made famous by the Hollywood film "Happy Feet", face decline or are in danger of being wiped out if the world warms by 2 C, a report says.
Rising temperatures in coming decades would lead to less sea ice in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica and fewer nesting sites and feeding grounds for penguins, global conservation group WWF said in the report "2 C is Too Much".
"The problem is very serious. Antarctica and the Arctic are the most threatened regions from climate change," Juan Casavelos, WWF's Antarctic Climate Change Coordinator, said yesterday.
"In the Antarctic Peninsula, the temperature has risen 2.5 C in the past 50 years, which is five times faster than the global average," he said on Barcelona, Spain, where the report was released at this week's International Union for Conservation of Nature congress.
Global temperatures have already risen on average by about 0.6 C since the Industrial Revolution, mainly through the burning of fossil fuels.
The report said unless nations slash carbon emissions, the world would warm by an average 2 C in less than 40 years.
But temperatures near the Poles have already risen much faster, leading to dramatic melting of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, off the bottom of South America, and sea ice at the North Pole.
"The situation is quite critical because in the past 50 years, the emperor penguin population has decreased by 50 percent in all of Antarctica," Casavelos said.
On the Antarctic Peninsula's northwestern coast, Adelie penguin numbers have dropped dramatically over the past 25 years, WWF's report said, calling for rich nations to agree to steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in UN-led climate talks.
"Fifty percent of the colonies of the iconic emperor penguin and 75 percent Adelie penguin colonies face marked decline or disappearance if the global temperature is allowed to rise 2 C above pre-industrial levels," the report said.
"Under 2 C global warming and the projected decrease in sea ice thickness and increase in open water area, emperor penguins will find it increasingly difficult to find new nesting areas," it said.
With less sea ice, Adelie penguins could be pushed further south but this could hamper their hunts for food during the dark winter months because they needed at least a few hours of daylight to find food, the report said.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Rising temperatures in coming decades would lead to less sea ice in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica and fewer nesting sites and feeding grounds for penguins, global conservation group WWF said in the report "2 C is Too Much".
"The problem is very serious. Antarctica and the Arctic are the most threatened regions from climate change," Juan Casavelos, WWF's Antarctic Climate Change Coordinator, said yesterday.
"In the Antarctic Peninsula, the temperature has risen 2.5 C in the past 50 years, which is five times faster than the global average," he said on Barcelona, Spain, where the report was released at this week's International Union for Conservation of Nature congress.
Global temperatures have already risen on average by about 0.6 C since the Industrial Revolution, mainly through the burning of fossil fuels.
The report said unless nations slash carbon emissions, the world would warm by an average 2 C in less than 40 years.
But temperatures near the Poles have already risen much faster, leading to dramatic melting of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, off the bottom of South America, and sea ice at the North Pole.
"The situation is quite critical because in the past 50 years, the emperor penguin population has decreased by 50 percent in all of Antarctica," Casavelos said.
On the Antarctic Peninsula's northwestern coast, Adelie penguin numbers have dropped dramatically over the past 25 years, WWF's report said, calling for rich nations to agree to steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in UN-led climate talks.
"Fifty percent of the colonies of the iconic emperor penguin and 75 percent Adelie penguin colonies face marked decline or disappearance if the global temperature is allowed to rise 2 C above pre-industrial levels," the report said.
"Under 2 C global warming and the projected decrease in sea ice thickness and increase in open water area, emperor penguins will find it increasingly difficult to find new nesting areas," it said.
With less sea ice, Adelie penguins could be pushed further south but this could hamper their hunts for food during the dark winter months because they needed at least a few hours of daylight to find food, the report said.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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