January 11, 2008
The top headline of today’s Beijing Daily Messenger has a good news for people who frequently use bus routes starting with the number 9. The city government published new rules yesterday that give a 60% discount to people who pay by farecard on those routes, and 80% to student card holders. But the policy only affects trips in the city proper; further out, farecards only give a 20% discount over cash fares.
Today’s photo shows pop duo Twins moved to tears at the release of their new album, which took place at a press conference in Beijing yesterday. The cute faces and energetic performing style of the Hong Kong singers has made them very popular with mainland teenagers.
Other headlines:
• The Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced a revised figure for calculating salaries of hourly and daily workers. Because of recent adjustments to the national holiday schedule that increased the number of annual legal holidays from 10 to 11 days, average monthly workdays have fallen from 20.92 to 20.83. The Ministry’s announcement describes how to calculate daily and hourly wages from a monthly figure using 21.75 for the number of “salaried days” in a month.
• Beijing will set up 126 Olympic Cultural Squares during the Olympics and Paralympics. These attractions will include art galleries, exhibitions, and Olympic-themed activities. Oddly, as recently as last month, the number of Olympic Cultural Squares was reported to be just 26 (links: Chinese, English).