China's children too busy to play
Beijing, May 13 - At the age of 12, Zhuzhu seems to have everything a child could dream for -- plenty of toys, beautiful clothes and even a piano. Zhuzhu however, has little time to play, with a mountain of homework to do.
Like most other Chinese children her age, Zhuzhu has to go to school from Monday to Friday, nine hours a day -- an hour more than her parents spend at work. Come the weekend, her mum and dad indulge themselves in a lengthy lie-in -- Zhuzhu however, isn't so lucky. Unlike her parents, she has to get up early for piano lessons on Saturday and Sunday morning, followed by private extracurricular Maths and English classes the afternoon.
As a reward for her hard work, Zhuzhu's parents let her play with her toys for one hour on Saturday and Sunday evening. "She will have plenty of time to play after she enters university," said Zhuzhu's 42 year-old mum An Hui, a department manager of a PR company in Beijing.
Zhuzhu is not alone. According to a new survey conducted by the Chinese Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC), increasing numbers of children in large cities across the country are experiencing joyless childhoods. The CYCRC surveyed 2,500 primary and secondary school pupils across the country in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changchun, Chengdu and Lanzhou. The results of the survey reveal how, due to long school hours and growing pressure from parents to study hard, children are feeling unhappy about a lack of playtime.
On average, China's children spend 8.6 hours a day at school, with some spending 12 hours a day in the classroom. The survey also claimed that the majority of children spend longer hours at school than their parents spend at work. Almost all of the students involved in the survey said they had to do homework, revise and prepare for classes after school. Around half of the students' parents testified that they often don't allow them to play outside as it means less study time.
The CYCRC survey also reveals that when they do have spare time for play, many children are either too tired to play or have nobody to play with -- only 4 in 10 of the survey's participants claim they had friends to play with. Indeed, Sun Yunxiao, director of the CYCRC noted that heavy study loads have exhausted children, more than half of the survey's participants said that what they want most is, "A good night's sleep." Chinese students are put under ever-increasing pressure by their parents to study hard due to the country's highly competitive market for university places and jobs.
Study pressure has led to an increase in stress, psychological problems and even tragedy. Last June, a 16 year-old girl from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, committed suicide after failing to pass the entrance exam for a respected senior high school.
In spite of persistent requests from the Ministry of Education asking parents to stop enrolling their children in extracurricular courses and requesting schools to limit homework time to one hour a night, primary and secondary schools have continued to offer after school Maths and English classes, with the sole aim of sending more students to good universities. "Too many students are striving for the limited places in higher education resources may be a reason for schools' flout to the circulars," said Sun Yunxiao.
As for Zhuzhu, her mother, An Hui, knows full well that her daughter doesn't get enough sleep or playtime, "We have no other choice," she said, "if she gives up now and doesn't study hard, she will regret it as her future will be lost. She will complain to us more then." "This is the reality of China," An sighed.
China to launch lunar orbiter
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China plans to launch a lunar orbiter in the second half of 2007, in a first step towards a lunar probe, Xinhua news agency quoted the director of the National Space Administration as saying on Sunday.
If the Chang'e I orbiter succeeds in orbiting the moon, the next step would be an attempt to land. Ultimately a moon rover would collect samples before returning to earth, Sun Laiyan said in a speech at Beijing Jiaotong University.
"The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space," Sun said.
Plans for a lunar orbiter launch in 2007 were included in China's white paper on its space program, unveiled last year.
The moon rover mission would be due in 2012, Xinhua said, citing unidentified earlier reports.
In 2003, China became only the third country -- after the United States and the former Soviet Union -- to launch a man into space aboard its own rocket. In October 2005, it sent two men into orbit and plans a space walk by 2008.
China will continue manned space missions, and would attempt the spacewalk and docking vessels in space, Sun said.
China's space capability aroused international concern in January when it destroyed one of its ageing satellites by launching a missile from earth.
China will develop 12 Beidou or North Dipper satellites, some destined for geostationary orbit. It plans a navigation and positioning system of more than 30 satellites, Sun said.
It would also develop a generation of launch vehicles that were less polluting and costly, but delivered higher performance and greater thrust, he said.
Man fined $78,000 for second baby
BEIJING, China (AP) -- A private businessman has been fined 600,000 yuan ($78,000) for breaking China's strict one child policy, state media reported.
Xinhua News Agency said family planning officials in Anhui province handed out the fine. It did not identify the businessman or say how he broke the law.
China's family planning policy, implemented in the late 1970s, limits most urban couples to one child and rural families to two in an attempt to control population growth and conserve natural resources in the world's most populous country.
Rising incomes mean some newly rich can afford to break the rules and pay resulting fines. But last month the government said it would crack down on rich lawbreakers with bigger fines.
China has about 1.3 billion people, 20 percent of the world's total. The government has pledged to keep the population under 1.36 billion in 2010, and under 1.45 billion in 2020.
Bentley dazzles China
China's top auto shows always feature several luxury sedans that are priced extremely high and attract most of the visitors. And one of them is Bentley.
Considered one of the world's leading ultimate-luxury cars, Bentley made a strong presence at the Auto Qingdao 2007 exhibition that began on May 18 and its sales figures are growing.
The carmaker didn't need to attract people's attention with performances or car-revealing ceremonies at its booth in Qingdao. Enthusiastic crowds encircled the cars, which were definitely a focus of the exhibition.
These super luxury cars have made inroads into the Chinese market. Bentley first appeared on the Chinese mainland in 2002 and sold 51 cars. Kingston Chang, business manager of Bentley China, told China Daily website more than 100 Bentley cars were sold in China in the first four months of this year, which doubled the number of the same period last year.
According to Chang, the prestige of owning a Bentley and Chinese people's greater recognition of the brand both contributed to these sales results, and the full product line, which are priced between 3 - 13 million yuan ($392,346 - $1,700,168 USD), provide various choices to consumers.
Highlighting the car's origin and its most famous customer, the Queen of England, Bentley has appealed to the rich as many admire things linked with royalty. For Bentley, Queen Elizabeth II is the best person to illustrate the car's nobility and quality. "But no one can invite the Queen to be a spokesperson," Chang said with a smile.
Chang added they have been preparing for its seventh showroom on the Chinese mainland, in the southwestern city of Chongqing, and the automaker is also planning to open two more in 2008.
Although China is the fifth largest market for Bentley, Chang said a car-making expert predicted the country would become the largest within ten years.
Bentley's most expensive sedans are the best sellers in this strong-emerging market.
"Our Chinese clients always target cars of the highest quality and order the most advanced accessories, unlike buyers in Europe and the United States who prefer their cars customized," explained Chang.
And China is home to seven Mulliner728s, of which there are only 10 globally. They are among the most expensive cars in the world, priced at 12 million yuan ($1,569,386 USD).
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