China will represent approximately one third of the total IT market in the region excluding Japan by 2003, said IDC's China IT Market Overview 1999, quoting Research Director for IDC China Jared Peterson as saying.

By 2000, the IT market in China is forecast to grow to 15 billion U.S. dollars from 9.24 billion dollars in 1998, and an annual growth rate of 27.8%, the fastest in the region, could last till 2003, IDC said.

China surpassed South Korea to become the second largest IT market excluding Japan in 1998 and in 2000, it is expected to pull ahead of Australia to become number one IT market in the region excluding Japan, it added.

Hardware accounted for 85.9% of China's total IT market in 1998 and IDC witnessed strong growth in the data communications equipment, packaged software and IT services areas.

Finance has captured the largest IT spending with a share of 32.2%, followed by telecom and transportation at 18.1% and 10.1% respectively, said the Massachusetts-based IDC, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company.

"The Chinese government actively participates in the standardization process of third-generation mobile telecommunication systems. We have offered our technology and proposals to that end," Wen Ku, vice-director of the science and technology department with the Ministry of Information Industry, was quoted by today's China Daily as saying.

Wen made the remarks at the 17th Meeting of the 8/1 Task Group with the Radio Committee of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R).

The 12-day routine meeting is to discuss and define detailed parameters to be used to set standards for third-generation mobile telecommunications, also called IMT-2000.

The final proposal will be set and approved in October this year at the last meeting of the 8/1 Task Group.

In an effort to standardize technologies related with third- generation mobile telecommunication systems, the ITU has started evaluating various standards since 1985 and has received 15 different proposals by last June.

China, with the world largest mobile phone market potential, plays a key role in the standardization drive.

In June last year, China submitted a technology standard proposal (TD-SCDMA) to the ITU in an attempt to gain a position in future standardization procedures related to IMT-2000.

However, the ITU failed to reach a uniform set of standards because of various interests represented by world telecom giants.

The typical candidate standards are the Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access W-CDMA favored by European and Japanese companies, and the CDMA2000 supported by North American companies.

Last Saturday afternoon, Fu Cheng, a 31-year-old man from a village in Jinzhou District of Dalian, was caught 10 meters down in a well while he was down getting water and the walls collapsed.

Local police came to the rescue and an excavator was sent for.

The machine began digging the earth from around the well, while villagers and policemen hauled away stones. But, in the process, there was another cave-in, making the rescue work more difficult.

Finally, at about one in the morning, Fu could be faintly heard groaning down below and he was pulled out of the well about an hour later.

He is now reported to be in good condition after receiving emergency medical treatment.

The law was adopted by the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress to deal with tourism planning and management, travel services, guides, and scenic spots. It says that travel services have to publicize their services and fees and can not increase fees or provide sub-standard services or goods.

Travel services and guides shall provide services in accordance with the contracts. They should not change routes unless agreed upon by the client, nor should they reduce services and increase fees.

The law encourages both Chinese and foreign businesses and individuals to invest in tourism and government departments are to provide incentives for investment in tourist projects in suburban and outlying county areas.

Last year, Beijing had 2.3 million overseas tourists, bringing in 2.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of earnings to the city.

Thanks to its reform and opening policy, China has bought the rights to books from 30 countries and regions, and has picked up an impetus to buy copyright for publishing in China.

SCA sources said incomplete statistics showed 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities traded in copyright with the outside world.

In 1998, when the domestic book-transaction market was on a down turn, the international copyright trade between China and other nations grew substantially.

The scope of countries, from which books are imported, has expanded to countries including the United States, Great Britain and Japan.

The Press and Publishing Journal reported on Monday the volume of copyright transactions in Beijing so far this year comprised 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the nation's volume last year.

Shandong Province ranked first in China in exporting copyright in 1998.

Quite a number of far-sighted and competent publishing houses in China paid special attention to importing books on science and technology, finance and economics, and other fields in rapid development, the newspaper reported.

Shen Rengan, SCA deputy director, noted at a recent meeting China's copyright transaction of audio-video products began improving.

The authentication process of contracted copyright has effectively protected the legal rights of involved publishing units, said Shen.

The first group of banned imports include used clothing, pornographic books and magazines, industrial waste containing harmful or radioactive materials, used automobiles and motorcycles and their major parts destined for dismantling or renovation, seeds, plants, fertilizers, feed, additives and antibiotics used for planting or breeding export products.

Restricted imports include: Plastic raw materials, including unprocessed polyester, polyester chips, polyester filament yarn and chemical stable fibre, cotton, cotton yarn, cotton gray cloth, rolled steel, including non-alloy rolled steel and stainless steel.

A recent notice issued jointly by the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) noted that classifying import materials for processing ventures is intended to ensure better management.

"We are trying to encourage the processing sector to move toward a high-tech and high value-added orientation," according to MOFTEC Minister Shi Guangsheng.

Shi attended a conference held last week and also noted that "different types of commodities will be subject to different treatment." Firms approved by the GAC and under the supervision of in-house customs officers, as well as bonded factories with computer systems linked to local customs offices and no record of illegal activities; enterprises engaged in special industries such as aircraft and ship manufacturing will be under the bonded supervision of Chinese Customs and exempt from the guarantee money-machine account system.

All other ventures which process materials subject to import restrictions will be required to abide by the guarantee money-machine account system. Related ventures will also be required to deposit funds into a Chinese Customs account with the Bank of China.

Related funds and accumulated interest will be refunded when a venture re-exports processed goods within a specified period of time.

Steven Kulich, 42, is a tall and handsome American with eye-catching thick beard. Away from Kansas, his hometown, which in his words is "opposite to Shanghai in every aspects," he has been teaching in Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) for six years.

With fluent Chinese, a group of Chinese friends, a sweet family and a prized job, he fares quite well in Shanghai.

"Its an active and exciting place," he said.

"I'm fascinated by Kulich's class."

In fact, kulich is a real busy figure at SISU. His main subjects cover cross-cultural communication, advanced conversation and inter-cultural studies. And his students range from juniors, graduate students to college teachers.

Full as the schedules are, he is still glamorous enough to attract and satisfy the increasingly picky students.

Once he talked about "cultural shock" to junior students. What he provided was not just facts or theories, but a series of gestures and motions. When he put his hand with the edge on the neck and moved slowly, he let the students guess what kind of feeling it expressed, and then the students knew it---I'll kill you, and slowly.

"I'm always fascinated by Kulich¡¯s class," Zhang Yinghua, a junior student said. "What he taught is just interesting and unforgettable."

Sometimes, he will conduct some small tests and use videos to animate the whole class.

"No students feel sleepy in his class, although in some boring class they often like to doze a little," Wu Xiao, a class monitor, said.

"I like an active teaching style such as the Western self-discovery style,¡± Kulich said. ¡°The class will be more effective if the students can really experience something and remember it."

Model Husband and Father

Normally a person feels lucky not because he has made a pile, but because he can enjoy a sweet family. Kulich is such a lucky one.

He has a German wife and two lovely daughters, one in primary school, the other still in the kindergarten.

As a devoted husband and father, he firstly chose to live in the ideal city: Shanghai. "I want a modern city with good facilities for the family and international school for my children," he said.

Then, he won't forget to see a movie with his wife every week. In addition, he found it quite enjoyable to go shopping with his wife although he hates long time shopping.

Even his everyday sport is related with his daughters. He takes his daughter by bike very quickly to school in the morning, and then rush back to the university. And in the afternoon he again rides her home.

When he is free, he teaches the girls English and a little Chinese. In order to help them to be more creative, he only gives them two hours to watch TV each week, and encourages them to do more drawing and game playing.

Loving and strict, he proves to be a model father and husband.

When in China do as the Chinese do

Kulich is a flexible man.

He can enjoy almost all the Chinese food, no matter whether it is cooked by a chef in a famous restaurant, or simply his wife's "masterpiece".

He enjoys all kinds of music: classic, jazz, pop and traditional Chinese, everything is fit for his appetite.

When he first saw SISU, he felt disappointed because of the small campus. But now he thought it was beautiful, with the appearance of some new buildings.

He speaks quite good Chinese. He knows how to use chopsticks. He likes bicycle, realizing it's the most convenient way of traffic in such a crowded city as Shanghai.

Usually, foreigners go to some clubs for relaxation. But Kulich shows no interest in such places.

"Most foreigners go there because they don't like the life here. They want a place to complain," Kulich said. "But I always have good times, my life now is very much a part of the Shanghai style."

Life dealing with cultures

Kulich teaches cross-cultural communication. And interestingly enough, his home is also inter-cultural. A German and an American living in China, they have to deal with three cultures every day.

And Kulich is always enthusiastic about different cultures. Wherever he goes, China, Singapore, Indonesia, he just enjoys learning about the cultures.

Yet he learns not for the simple sake of learning, he tries to use his knowledge to help those who feel frustrated with the life here.

In fact, he has been conducting cultural training seminars for some companies to help some overseas managers enjoy the culture and life in the city.

"If I can understand how to communicate effectively, and how to help other people communicate effectively, then I can be more successful in my job," Kulich said. "I really hope to be a bridge between the two cultures."

The performance has a unified name, i.e. Physical Activity During Big Class Break, it is called big because the break time is usually 25 to 30 minutes, longer than the usual one.

It was in 1996 that Dalian put into practice the Physical Activity During Big Class Break, which combines interest, aesthetic education and physical education to achieve the dual goals of excising body and fostering collective spirit. The activity has since become an important part of quality education of Dalian schools.

Director of the Physical Education Health and Art Department of the National Education Ministry, Yang Guiren gave an affirmation on Dalian mode. He said the Physical Activity During Big Class Break in various forms in Dalian was very creative, it promoted students' healthy development while doing good for spiritual civilization construction. Dalian mode should be popularized across the country, he said at last.